The Time for the New School Term Had Arrived

After successfully absorbing his First Soul Ring, Lin Li excitedly stood up. At the same time, he felt soreness and swelling throughout his body, along with a faint itch in his left wrist.

It was very uncomfortable.

But he was also recovering at an astonishing speed.

Lin Li knew that as long as he kept his Martial Soul activated, Mahoraga's terrifying regenerative ability would slowly restore his body.

After all, Mahoraga could even recover after having its head cut off. Lin Li did not expect to survive having his head severed, but recovering severed limbs should still be possible, right?

"Student Lin! It's wonderful that you're all right!"

When Su Director saw Lin Li wake up, he immediately came over excitedly and examined him. Only after confirming that Lin Li had suffered no permanent injuries did he finally relax.

This touched Lin Li somewhat. After all, when had he ever seen something like this?

The Douluo Continent's feudal society was a middle-world society whose conflicts were limited to those between nobles and commoners, as well as conflicts among Soul Masters. Unlike his previous life, where any two people could have conflicts with each other.

"I'm fine, Director Su."

"That's good. How is your Soul Skill?"

Seeing that Lin Li was all right, Director Su relaxed as well. He was somewhat curious about what Lin Li's Soul Skill was.

"It passively increases my abilities. I can't actively use the Soul Skill. After absorbing the Soul Ring, I felt that my strength, speed, and reaction speed had all increased by fifty percent."

Although that was what he said, the increase was actually more than that. His recovery ability and Soul Power had also improved.

He had not mentioned everything because he was afraid of frightening Director Su. After all, even the improvements Lin Li had described were already shocking enough.

"Fifty percent!"

Sure enough, after hearing Lin Li's words, Director Su cried out in surprise, clearly finding it hard to believe.

Lin Li could understand. After all, even Dai Mubai's Third Soul Ring, obtained from a top-tier Martial Soul, was not as powerful as his own.

If anything was more powerful than a percentage-based Soul Skill, it was a passive percentage-based increase.

Although he had lost the fun of actively using a Soul Skill, the boost to his basic attributes gave Lin Li peace of mind. That way, he would not have to worry about failing to react in time to release a Soul Skill if he was ambushed.

At the same time, Lin Li was looking forward to the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

After all, according to the setting, a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was guaranteed to have two Soul Skills. If one of them was an increase to his basic attributes, the other Soul Skill could let Lin Li experience the unique Soul Skill releases of the Douluo Continent.

"As expected of an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring. It's even more powerful than I imagined!"

"What?"

Lin Li looked at Director Su in confusion, and the latter explained that the Soul Ring he had absorbed was actually eight hundred years old.

"I see."

Lin Li calculated things in his heart. If he continued absorbing Soul Rings this way, he could make his Second Soul Ring a thousand-year one, and his Fourth Soul Ring a ten-thousand-year one...

He should be able to adapt to Mental Shock too, right?

If he really could, then perhaps he could absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for his Seventh Soul Ring!

Lin Li sank into his own fantasies as he walked with Director Su toward the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest.

Then, at Lin Li's request, Director Su dropped him off at the entrance of the Spirit Hall before returning on his own.

The Spirit Hall's benefits were quite good. After becoming a Soul Master, one could receive a monthly allowance of one Gold Soul Coin.

Lin Li then smoothly entered the Spirit Hall. After his Soul Power was tested and found to be at level thirteen, Ma Xiunuo stubbornly dragged him along and refused to let him leave.

In the end, Lin Li only managed to get away after saying that he was already eight years old.

After Lin Li left, Ma Xiunuo wanted to look at Lin Li's awakening records. As a result, he saw Lin Li's name at the very top of this year's Martial Soul awakening information.

Ma Xiunuo immediately became so angry that his beard bristled and his eyes bulged.

"This brat actually tricked an old man like me!"

"No honor at all! He tricked me! Next time, I definitely have to keep him here!"

Meanwhile, Lin Li had no idea what Ma Xiunuo was planning. He simply wandered around the city.

One Gold Soul Coin a month!

When he told stories, so many people had gathered around to listen, yet he only earned a few Silver Soul Coins each time, even with the portion skimmed by the tavern owner.

That alone showed how generous the Spirit Hall's benefits were. For a moment, Lin Li was almost won over.

After buying some delicious food that he usually could not bear to purchase, Lin Li returned to the dormitory and began cultivating.

However, before cultivating, Lin Li could still clearly feel the faint itch in his left wrist. He had originally thought it was an injury caused while absorbing the Soul Ring, but the wounds on his body had already healed long ago, while that sensation remained.

Lin Li raised his hand and examined it carefully. As a result, he discovered a silver scale the size of a fingernail on the palm-side of his wrist.

Looking at its familiar shape and color, Lin Li uncertainly guessed, "Could this be... a Spirit Bone?"

Although it was not a bone inside the human body, it truly resembled the scales and armor on the Earth Cave Beast. It was simply much smaller.

If he had to describe it, it should be a kind of exoskeleton... On the Douluo Continent, it should be called an External Soul Bone!

Lin Li had not expected his luck to be so good. He had obtained a Spirit Bone during his very first hunt, and it was an External Soul Bone, second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

He tried circulating his Soul Power and directing it toward the scale on his wrist. After trying for a while, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that the scale could extend and grow. At this stage, it could even completely cover his palm!

Since an External Soul Bone could grow, Lin Li was not disappointed that the scale could not cover his entire body. That was something he would be able to accomplish sooner or later.

With the desire to grow stronger as quickly as possible, Lin Li immediately sat cross-legged and began cultivating.

The days passed one after another, until the start of the school term drew near.

During these past few months, Lin Li had felt that life was truly boring!

Although Director Su occasionally came to keep him company and chat, Lin Li still longed for a child of similar status and standing to play with.

After all, Director Su's way of speaking still carried a strong lecturing tone, which Lin Li found difficult to endure.

As for those Noble Disciples, they generally fell into two categories.

Some did not know Lin Li and looked down on him,

while others had heard Lin Li's stories and wanted to keep him.

What a joke. Was Lin Li the kind of person who could be corrupted by money?

"Clink, clink, clink!"

The sound of Gold Soul Coins colliding rang out as Lin Li walked out of the dormitory area where the noble students lived.

He was not doing it for the money. He was doing it for unity among the students.

During this period, Lin Li had told another story about A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, stirring up a passion for cultivation in those Noble Disciples with poor talent.

After their parents found out, Lin Li received some additional financial sponsorship.

Now, the Noble Disciples at Notting Academy had only one type of person left: those who wanted to keep Lin Li.

Unfortunately, Lin Li was not interested in men, and he was not interested in girls who had not yet matured either.

Today was the official day for the start-of-term registration.

When Lin Li got up early that morning, he saw the entrance to Dorm Seven being opened. A group of youths wearing coarse hemp clothes covered in patches walked inside.

The two sides looked at each other, both somewhat confused.

"Hello. I'm a new student this year. My name is Lin Li."

"Hello, I'm Wang Sheng."

Finally, the boy at the front stepped forward and asked Lin Li, "Are you a Work-Study Student? I'm asking because of the clothes you're wearing..."

Hearing this, Lin Li looked down at himself and discovered that his clothes were very different from everyone else's.

It was not quite a difference between heaven and earth, but it was obvious that they did not belong to the same social class.

"Well, I'm an orphan. I earned all my money myself."

Lin Li's tone was very calm, but Wang Sheng and the others heard something entirely different.

At first, they had thought this was some new method the nobles were using to tease them. They had never expected him to be a tenacious child who supported himself... They had even been thinking about how to teach Lin Li a lesson. How hateful of them!

For a moment, a strange desire to protect Lin Li surged within Wang Sheng. He said to Lin Li,

"I'm the boss of Dorm Seven. You can call me Brother Sheng or Brother Wang. From now on, I'll protect you!"

Wang Sheng gestured for everyone to go make their beds, then went over to check on Lin Li. Part of the reason was that he was curious about how Lin Li had earned his money, which made him very eager to find out.

Lin Li did not insist on fighting Wang Sheng and becoming the boss himself. That would have been too childish.

If Wang Sheng brought it up, Lin Li could accept it, but taking the initiative to demand it would have seemed inappropriate.

Lin Li was also somewhat unaccustomed to Wang Sheng's attempt to get close to him, so he instead suggested going outside for a walk.

He was different from these Work-Study Students who had returned to school that day. He had arrived long ago, so he did not need to stuff quilts or organize his bed.

Besides, if Lin Li remembered correctly, there was an entertaining show to watch today.

Thinking this, Lin Li walked toward the main gate. After greeting the gatekeeper, he sat down inside the small room where the gatekeeper usually rested.

Since Lin Li gave the gatekeeper a Silver Soul Coin every time he entered or left, he had become the person the gatekeeper respected most. In the gatekeeper's heart, Lin Li's status was even higher than the academy dean's!

How much salary did that dean receive each year?

Could it compare with this little ancestor?

The gatekeeper bowed and scraped as he escorted Lin Li to his seat, then returned to his post and began waiting to check the information of students returning to school and registering.

Before long, the figures of an old man and a child appeared in Lin Li's field of vision.

They looked exactly like characters from an anime, with character designs completely different from those of ordinary passersby.

Old Jack and Tang San.