Heaven Dou Royal Academy's Trial

A few days after Chen Ming accepted the Dean's terms, an unexpected figure appeared before him.

Yu Xiaogang, who had previously looked down on Chen Ming's Sub-Dragon Martial Soul, appeared before him. With a somewhat stiff smile, he said that as long as Chen Ming was willing to help his disciple Tang San, he could reluctantly offer Chen Ming some guidance regarding his Martial Soul and cultivation.

Chen Ming could figure out Yu Xiaogang's true intentions without even thinking.

First, Chen Ming was a Defense System Spirit Master. Yu Xiaogang wanted him to serve as a front-line damage sponge for his precious disciple Tang San.

This was hardly surprising. In the original timeline, Yu Xiaogang had deliberately pushed Xiao Wu toward the front lines from the very beginning, making her charge into battle in Tang San's place. After entering Shrek, he had openly and covertly made Tang San the core of every tactic.

Second, it concerned Yu Xiaogang himself. He had been stuck at level twenty-nine for decades, with no hope of breaking through for the rest of his life.

Chen Ming's cultivation speed, however, was extremely fast—far beyond what someone with Innate Level Seven Soul Power should have achieved. Yu Xiaogang wanted to study Chen Ming and see whether he could use him to break through his own level twenty-nine limit.

Granted, Yu Xiaogang possessed a great deal of knowledge, and building a good relationship with him could have provided plenty of useful information. But whether rationally or emotionally, Chen Ming felt there was no benefit in such an arrangement.

After all, Yu Xiaogang had only approached Chen Ming because he wanted a tool. A tool was not a disciple; as long as it was useful, why would it need so much nurturing?

Using the Dean as a shield, Chen Ming rejected Yu Xiaogang on the grounds that the Dean valued him highly. Yu Xiaogang's face turned livid with anger, but he had no way to argue. He could only leave behind the words, "You will regret this," before flicking his sleeve and leaving.

Because of this incident, although Chen Ming and Tang San came from the same hometown and shared a dormitory, they treated each other as though the other did not exist, with no interaction whatsoever.

After Old Jack learned of the matter while delivering vegetables, he was furious. In a low voice, he complained that Tang San was an ungrateful wretch, then gave Chen Ming some freshly picked wood ear mushrooms and vegetables.

Through the students he had beaten into submission, Chen Ming found a way to purchase meat, eggs, and milk. Every morning, someone delivered fresh eggs, milk, and a small piece of fresh meat to the academy gates, and Chen Ming took them back to prepare himself.

Meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, staple foods...

More knowledge, a suitable Mimicry Training Ground, and increasingly refined cultivation techniques.

Chen Ming spent most of his days cultivating in the mine pit the academy had specifically excavated for him. He cultivated little by little, slowly but steadily. At other times, he summoned his Martial Soul and used his back and shoulders to collide and rub against the raw ore.

He kept a low profile and continued cultivating in the proper environment.

By the end of the first year, Chen Ming's cultivation had risen to level twelve. Excluding the one level of Soul Power gained from absorbing a Spirit Ring, he had increased his cultivation by a full four levels in a single year.

When the academy went on break, Chen Ming invited Xiao Wu to visit Holy Soul Village. As a result, Chen Ming thoroughly ruined the matter of Xiao Wu and Tang San acknowledging each other as siblings.

In the eighth month of the second year, Chen Ming's cultivation finally rose to level fifteen.

At that point, Tang San and Xiao Wu, both with Innate Full Soul Power, were at level sixteen, and Chen Ming had nearly caught up to them.

Seeing Chen Ming reach level fifteen so quickly, the academy's Dean was both delighted and helpless.

He was delighted because Chen Ming's cultivation progressed at an astonishing pace, not inferior in the slightest even compared to Innate Full Soul Power. Chen Ming would surely become a powerful figure in the future, perhaps even reaching the legendary level of a Soul Douluo.

He was helpless because Chen Ming's cultivation advanced too quickly. The academy was not ready yet, and the paperwork had not been approved. He could not possibly delay Chen Ming's future over a trivial matter like transferring academies.

However, since the enrollment period had already passed and Heaven Dou Royal Academy was no longer accepting students, Chen Ming still had to remain at the academy for several more months.

After learning that Chen Ming would be leaving Nuoding City, Xiao Wu showed some reluctance. After several years of living and fighting together, she had come to acknowledge Chen Ming.

Originally, she had clamored about going to Heaven Dou Royal Academy as well. But when she learned that Heaven Dou Royal Academy had Soul Douluo-level experts and might even have Title Douluo, Xiao Wu immediately fell silent and never mentioned going there again.

Tang San, on the other hand, revealed a trace of excitement, feeling that he would finally no longer have to stay with someone as unpleasant as Chen Ming.

Still, Tang San had quite a few objections regarding Chen Ming entering Heaven Dou Royal Academy. He believed that he was more qualified than Chen Ming. In the end, however, Yu Xiaogang talked him around with a few deceptive words, making him believe that Yu Xiaogang surely had better plans for his future.

In the third year after awakening his Martial Soul, Chen Ming, whose cultivation had reached level seventeen, was personally escorted by the academy's Dean all the way to Heaven Dou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire.

As the Dean of a junior Soul Master Academy and an imperial baron, he personally wrote a letter of recommendation, then spent money to pull strings and deliver it to the admissions office of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, which had just begun work.

Looking at the letter's description and the recommender's status, the three Education Committee Members of Heaven Dou Royal Academy frowned slightly. After some discussion, they sent Qin Ming, one of the young talents they had recently trained, to investigate personally.

Following the address on the recommendation letter, Qin Ming arrived at an inn outside Heaven Dou City and found Chen Ming and the Dean.

"Are you Mr. Lu and Chen Ming? I am Qin Ming, a teacher from Heaven Dou Royal Academy. The three Education Committee Members sent me to verify the situation. Please come with me."

"Alright, alright." Though he was older than Qin Ming, Dean Lu was exceedingly polite toward him, lowering his own standing considerably.

The status of a teacher from Heaven Dou Royal Academy was far higher in the outside world than that of a Dean from a junior Soul Master Academy like him.

On a flat patch of open ground, Qin Ming took out a table and numerous miscellaneous items from his storage Soul Tool.

"First step: test your Soul Power." Qin Ming pointed to the crystal ball on the table. Chen Ming stepped forward and, with practiced ease, poured Soul Power into it. The crystal ball shone brightly.

Seeing that light, Qin Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and wrote "Level Seventeen" on the registration form.

Qin Ming then had Chen Ming summon his Martial Soul. Looking carefully at Chen Ming in his Martial Soul Possession state, Qin Ming stepped forward to examine him for a moment. He tested areas such as Chen Ming's tail and shoulder armor with his hands, then finally wrote the words "Verified" in the Martial Soul section.

Chen Ming was then ordered to release his first Spirit Skill. Seeing its enhancement effects, Qin Ming revealed a genial smile. His hands moved swiftly over the registration booklet as he marked off Chen Ming's admission assessment and registration in full.

In this era, the advancement of most Spirit Masters was recorded by Spirit Hall. From Spirit Master, Soul Grandmaster, and Soul Elder to Title Douluo, certification for all these ranks was handled entirely by Spirit Hall.

Moreover, in ninety-nine percent of cases, the information on Spirit Hall ranks was accurate and could hardly be altered afterward.

The Spirit Hall registration documents had already been submitted, but as the highest academy in the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou Royal Academy still had its own set of standards.

This was especially true for students like Chen Ming, who were not nobles themselves but had been recommended by nobles. The requirements for examining and registering every piece of information were particularly strict.

Yet Chen Ming's performance and talent had long been sufficient to pass those demanding rules.