"Ugh, so annoying. Whatever, I'll just go cultivate by myself."
After a bout of wild imaginings and inner struggle, Bibi Dong chose to cultivate on her own. As for that guy Nan Xuan, whoever wanted to wait for him could do so.
Over in the boys' dormitory, Chen Gao was surprised to see Nan Xuan walk in. "Nan Xuan, shouldn't you be cultivating with the class monitor right now? Why are you back in the dorm so early today? That's a little strange."
Only after being asked did Nan Xuan realize what he had forgotten. But after checking the time, he saw it was already too late to go over. Bibi Dong would be returning to Spirit Hall after cultivating for a little while longer, and she did not live on campus anyway, so he simply decided not to go.
Of course, he could not say that, so he casually replied, "Oh, the class monitor had something to do and went back first. Cultivation's canceled for today."
Seeing that Nan Xuan said so, Chen Gao did not pursue the subject and instead brought up Nan Xuan's soul ring.
"Nan Xuan, you absorbed your soul ring, right? You missed an entire class this afternoon."
Nan Xuan nodded in confirmation.
"So what's your Soul Power Level now?" Yang Fei asked while doing stretches nearby.
"Ah, I forgot to have the teacher test my Soul Power."
Nan Xuan felt like he had been exhausted lately, forgetting everything. But he figured he had not actually forgotten just now—the teacher had probably been too shocked by his soul skill and overlooked it.
"Seriously? You could forget that? But you need to work hard at cultivating. I'll be level 10 in a few days, so don't spend all day focusing on the class monitor. Watch how you divide your time," Chen Gao reminded him with an old-fashioned air.
"Nan Xuan, that guy just doesn't dare get close to the class monitor, so he's jealous. Besides, with your looks, I think you're perfectly suited to living off a woman. Keep it up—we're hoping to bask in your glory too." Yang Tian played with the Silver Needle in his hand as he spoke with a grin.
Nan Xuan said nothing. He merely leaned closer to the mirror. Not gonna lie, he really was handsome.
"Nan Xuan, what's your soul skill? Can you show us?" Compared with anything else, Yang Fei cared more about personal strength.
Nan Xuan also wanted to know what his soul skill could do, so he nodded at Yang Fei.
Nan Xuan summoned his martial soul, the Wireless Router, then shouted, "First Soul Skill, Network Interconnection."
A streak of black light separated from Nan Xuan's martial soul and shot toward Yang Fei's head.
"..."
"Nan Xuan, did your skill just fizzle out?" Chen Gao's eyes widened, but he still could not see the expected effect of a soul skill.
"Hahaha! Ahahaha!" Unable to hold it in any longer, Chen Gao clutched his stomach and burst into laughter.
"Hey, Xuan, how about trying again?" Yang Fei assumed Nan Xuan was nervous because it was his first time using a soul skill, so he urged him to try once more.
Nan Xuan already understood the truth. One of his martial soul's traits was Detection and Concealment, so no one else could see that black light. He had also just realized that he did not need to shout his soul skill's name to activate it.
More importantly, he could keep the skill active indefinitely, and its Soul Power consumption was negligible. The skill mainly consumed spiritual power, but his martial soul had the Spirit Amplification trait, so even that consumption was not significant.
A set of information about Yang Fei appeared in Nan Xuan's mind.
"Name: Yang Fei. From Silver Needle Village, Aston Province, Heaven Dou Empire."
"Martial Soul: Silver Needle."
"Soul Power Level: Level 7."
"Date of birth: ..."
"Parents and family: ..."
"Personal history... (updated in real time)"
Nan Xuan was not alarmed by the information that had suddenly appeared in his mind, nor did he feel any headache.
"So this is the effect of my soul skill. And all that information is stored inside my martial soul—it only appears in my mind in the form of a lookup."
"Once I activate my soul skill, its range increases by fifteen percent of Douluo Continent for every ten Soul Power levels I gain. That fifteen percent means fifteen percent of Douluo Continent. Centered on me, the skill radiates outward in a circle, letting me observe all information within an area equivalent to fifteen percent of Douluo Continent."
"My Soul Power should be around level 12 now, so I can only observe ten percent. Once I reach level 20, it'll be twenty-five percent, and at level 30, forty percent."
"This skill is pretty overpowered. I'm definitely cheating." After sorting through his soul skill, Nan Xuan inwardly "cursed" all those cheating bastards.
"Ahem. No need to try again. I already activated my soul skill just now."
Nan Xuan coughed and put on the airs of a mystic. "Yang Fei, from the Heaven Dou Empire. There are four people in your family, and then..."
"Damn, is your soul skill just pretending to be a fortune-teller? Come on, Master Nan, read my palm for me." Chen Gao was initially stunned, then abruptly switched to the coy voice of a young girl.
"Get lost." Nan Xuan replied irritably.
The Yang brothers were still doubtful about the authenticity of the skill, but it all sounded far too real.
"Hehe, anyone else want their palm read?"
A fortune-teller? Impossible. He would never become a fortune-teller in his life—unless there were girls involved.
"Nan Xuan, what you said just now... you really didn't investigate it beforehand?" Yang Fei asked in disbelief.
"Of course not. We're all commoners. Where would I get the power to investigate you? Besides, you wet the bed when you were..." Nan Xuan said with raised brows and a grin.
"Alright, alright, we believe you. Please, great master, withdraw your divine powers." Yang Fei could not let Nan Xuan continue, or else it would be a huge problem if Chen Gao found out.
"So your soul skill counts as a support-type skill, right?" Yang Fei hurriedly changed the subject, unwilling to discuss that earlier matter.
"Oh, no, no. I think it should be a girl-picking type. Hehe." Chen Gao was becoming more and more envious of the skill. It was truly perfect for flirting with girls.
Nan Xuan rolled his eyes at him and ignored him. Turning to Yang Fei, he said, "I suppose it does. It doesn't have any offensive power, after all."
"Don't worry. Even if you have no offensive power, you can leave your back to me in the future. I, Chen Gao, will be the first to give you my back." Chen Gao patted his chest and spoke firmly.
"Yeah, us brothers too. We'll definitely be able to protect you in the future." The Yang brothers chimed in as well.
Looking at them, Nan Xuan felt the hot blood of youth stir within him. He smiled. "Good. From now on, as long as I have a bite of meat to eat, you'll have bones to gnaw on."
Chen Gao and the others: "..."
"I'm joking. Don't sweat the details. We'll all eat meat. As for the soup, that's for feeding dogs." Nan Xuan felt no awkwardness whatsoever over his slip of the tongue and immediately corrected himself.
"Well then, there's a girl in the class next door that I've kind of taken a liking to lately. Could you maybe..." Chen Gao rubbed his hands together, his face full of ill intent.
"No. Our abilities can't be used to interfere with feelings. If you like her, chase her yourself. Besides, if I told you all about her background, what if..." Nan Xuan directly refused Chen Gao's request. He could not casually help with something like this; he still retained the principles of his past life.
Chen Gao said somewhat disappointedly, "Alright. That really isn't something we should meddle with. I was careless."
Seeing Chen Gao lower his head in low spirits, Nan Xuan said, "Chasing girls requires money. Since I have this ability, we can make money."
The three of them immediately lit up. They were all commoners, and Gold Soul Coins had always seemed impossibly out of reach.
"But we can't put that into action yet. None of you have become Soul Masters. If I have you do anything without that status, it'll be troublesome. So cultivate hard. Once you've all become Soul Masters, we'll start a business and make money." Nan Xuan did not want money to fill their minds. He still wanted them to focus on cultivation, so an operation aimed at making money was more effective than any inspirational speech.
From that night onward, they cultivated like they had been injected with chicken blood.
In nearly half a year, Chen Gao had already obtained his first soul ring. His hundred-year soul skill was Soul Devouring Break.
The Yang brothers had also reached level 9 Soul Power. In a little while, they would be able to reach level 10.
During those six months, Nan Xuan and Bibi Dong's relationship remained at the level of good friends, with no other progress.
After learning that Bibi Dong's Soul Power Level was already 16, he had to admit that her talent was truly formidable and that Spirit Hall was genuinely sparing no effort in nurturing her.
Nan Xuan himself was currently level 15. After absorbing his soul ring last time, he had gone to make up the test and measured level 12. Three levels in half a year was a little slow for him. In other stories, people took off right away, while he seemed to have dropped a tier.
Still, he had not gained nothing. He often left the academy and used information to find opportunities, earning a little money. Then he rented a shop and started an appraisal business. As long as it was an object, he found that his soul skill could identify it. Of course, for "dead objects" without spiritual power, he needed to expend more spiritual power to investigate them. Otherwise, he would have wanted to gamble on raw stones.
Naturally, he would not pass up such a lucrative business. But without sufficient strength, even if he acquired something valuable, he would not be able to keep it.
Inside the academy's cultivation room.
"Little Xuan, is your martial soul really just a support martial soul?" Wearing a purple dress, Bibi Dong asked Nan Xuan with a serious expression.
"Classmate Little Dong, I've been saying it for nearly half a year. I really am a Support-type Soul Master." Nan Xuan spread his hands helplessly and gave a bitter smile.
"Hehe, that's for the best. That way, you'll never be able to beat me, and you can just stand behind me properly." Bibi Dong said playfully.
Bibi Dong stood up and tossed her dark pink hair. That ethereal feeling made Nan Xuan stare in a daze.
Don't misunderstand—Nan Xuan did not have any strange preferences. It was just that after spending so long in a child's body, he had come to like this cute style more and more.
"Oh, right, Little Xuan. There's only a little over a week left before this semester ends. Are you planning to go home?" Bibi Dong sat beside Nan Xuan and asked nervously.
"Probably not. I'm an orphan, and my old home is rather far away. Who knows what soul beasts I might encounter on the road? I plan to return there and retire once I'm strong enough." Thinking of the village chief grandfather in Iron Box Village and his deceased parents, Nan Xuan spoke with some emotion.
"Ah, is that so? Then that's great."
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant."
Realizing she had misspoken, Bibi Dong hurriedly corrected herself.
"It's fine. I know what you're thinking. You just want to play with me, right? After all, I'm the only one our age who dares get close to you now." Nan Xuan boldly reached out and stroked Bibi Dong's soft hair.
Bibi Dong's face flushed red. Embarrassed, she broke free from Nan Xuan's hand.
Seeing Bibi Dong like this, Nan Xuan was quite happy inside. At the very least, with him around, she had a good childhood. In the future, she would definitely have a good adolescence, middle age, and old age too.
"Ah, it's getting late. I'll head back first, then." Bibi Dong was embarrassed by Nan Xuan's earlier action, so she chose to flee.
Nan Xuan's lips curled upward. With both hands behind his head, he left the cultivation room as well.
Two days before the semester ended, the Yang brothers reached level 10 and applied to hunt soul rings.
The next day, the two returned to the dormitory happily and showed off their soul skills. Well, their soul skills were identical, but they could be fused together.
To celebrate everyone in the dorm becoming Soul Masters, Nan Xuan took them to have a meal on the second floor of the cafeteria. He had wanted to invite Bibi Dong, but it seemed his roommates still could not withstand her aura of death, so he gave up.
"First of all, congratulations to everyone for becoming Soul Masters." Nan Xuan raised his cup of juice and spoke with a smile.
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