Sharing Magikarp's Talents and Skills

"Respected Master Su, did any children in our village awaken Soul Power this year?"

The moment Su Yuntao stepped out of Spirit Hall, Village Chief Lu Rui hurried over and respectfully asked him.

"Old Lu, your village was quite lucky this year. Two children have Innate Soul Power, though it's a pity that one of them has a useless Martial Soul."

Looking at Lu Rui before him, Su Yuntao spoke with a regretful expression.

If only Lu Yi's Martial Soul hadn't been useless. If he could bring both children into Spirit Hall, the hefty bonus might even let him buy a house near Spirit Hall and marry Sisi this year.

"It's good enough that they have Soul Power. As long as they have Soul Power, there's hope!"

Hearing Su Yuntao's words, Lu Rui exclaimed excitedly.

Their three years of organized training, carried out according to the ancient texts, had not been in vain!

The children in the training program had eaten a full meal of meat every five days for the past three years. This third group had finally produced children with Innate Soul Power. Daoxiang Village was finally going to rise again!

That evening, Lu Yi sat in the courtyard, reading the Meditation Method in his hands by the fading light of the sunset. Magikarp stayed in the water vat beside him, keeping him company and occasionally blowing a bubble to show that it was still there.

"From now on, it'll be the two of us looking out for each other in this world." Lu Yi stroked Magikarp's little head, his face full of melancholy.

With that, Lu Yi sat cross-legged in the courtyard and prepared for his first meditation session.

That night, Lu Rui had gone to the neighboring village to discuss whether the Work-Study Student slot at Nuoding Academy, shared by the two villages, could be given to Lu Yi. He was staying overnight with relatives in the neighboring village and would not be back that night.

So Lu Yi did not have to worry about Lu Rui disturbing him while he meditated.

Thanks to the soothing chorus of summer insects, Lu Yi quickly entered a meditative state.

But he soon sensed that something was wrong. He withdrew from meditation, held his breath, and stared intently at his palm.

Before long, droplets of water began gathering in Lu Yi's palm, forming a Water Ball in the blink of an eye.

"I can share Magikarp's talents and skills?"

Feeling the instinctive talent to control water, as well as the two Soul Power circulation routes that had suddenly appeared in his mind, Lu Yi's face was filled with shock.

"Splash!"

Lu Yi casually tossed the Water Ball in his hand into Magikarp's water vat, then followed the Soul Power circulation route from his memories and activated the Soul Power within his body.

Splash!

As Soul Power poured into his legs, Lu Yi gave a light jump and shot more than three meters into the air.

Bang!

Following the method in his memories, he infused Soul Power into the soles of his feet and landed safely. The joy on Lu Yi's face was impossible to conceal.

"That's fucking awesome, Magikarp! You're my cheat-code daddy!"

Lu Yi scooped Magikarp out of the water, hugged it tightly, and kissed it hard twice, completely forgetting the disappointment he had felt when Magikarp awakened as his Martial Soul that day.

"Bloop~"

Cradled in Lu Yi's arms, Magikarp gently blew a bubble and calmly looked at him with its dead-fish eyes, its gaze filled with the wisdom of someone who had seen through him completely.

Heh. Man, you changed your face so fast even a fish couldn't forget it in time.

Time flew by, and three months passed in the blink of an eye. Today was the day Lu Yi and Wang Shu would leave for Nuoding Academy.

Yes, Wang Shu, one of the only two people in the village with Innate Soul Power and someone whose talent appeared better than Lu Yi's, had not accepted Su Yuntao's invitation to join Spirit Hall.

Instead, he stubbornly insisted on following Lu Yi around.

That was because he believed he had only managed to awaken Innate Soul Power after three years of training under Lu Yi's clever guidance.

So he thought Lu Yi was amazing. As long as he followed Lu Yi, he was sure to have a promising future.

Lu Yi did not know what to say about that. Back then, he had bought a book from a street stall and suggested to Lu Rui, the grandfather who had adopted him, that all the village children train together.

It was because one child in the village had set fire to a haystack at the grain field, and Lu Yi felt that letting those little brats run wild like that was no good.

On top of that, Daoxiang Village was too poor. Nearly every villager wore a numb expression, with no hope whatsoever of turning their lives around, and Lu Yi himself needed nutrition to train.

That was why he had proposed organized training. He had not expected it to succeed at first, but who could have imagined that Lu Rui's prestige was so high that he actually made it happen?

And with one meal of meat every five days, along with stewed soup made from a ten-year Blue Silver Grass Soul Beast or other wild grass Soul Beast corpse every eight or nine months or so...

Daoxiang Village had actually produced two twin stars who awakened Innate Soul Power: Lu Yi and Wang Shu.

Most importantly, Wang Shu's parents actually thought Wang Shu was right as well.

With no other choice, Lu Yi could only take Wang Shu in as his little brother.

Lu Rui had also hurried out in the middle of the night to borrow another Work-Study Student slot at Nuoding Academy. Fortunately, those people knew Wang Shu had good talent and might become a Battle Soul Master in the future, so they only symbolically charged sixty Bronze Soul Coins before assigning the slot to him.

"Xiao Yi, once you're at Nuoding Academy, work hard at your cultivation!

The village's future depends on you and Xiao Shu!" At the entrance of Nuoding Academy, Lu Rui handed the Martial Soul certificates to the gatekeeper, then patted Lu Yi on the shoulder as he spoke.

"Grandpa, I'll work hard!" Lu Yi nodded solemnly.

"Village Chief Grandpa, Brother Yi and I will both cultivate hard!" Wang Shu, standing to the side, nodded as well and shouted loudly.

"The Martial Soul certificates are fine, but you can't enter, sir. Those are the academy's rules." After examining the certificates, the gatekeeper spoke to Lu Rui in a gentle tone.

For some reason, the gatekeeper was not putting on the same snobbish attitude he had shown when dealing with Tang San and the others.

At that thought, Lu Yi glanced at Wang Shu's Martial Soul certificate. Maybe the gatekeeper was afraid Wang Shu would pull out an axe and chop him.

"Ah, I know. I'll just watch from here."

"Xiao Yi, you two go on in. Remember to cultivate well at the academy!" Lu Rui nodded at the gatekeeper's words.

"Mm, goodbye, Grandpa." Lu Yi nodded, hoisted his bedding and other luggage onto his back, and waved farewell to Lu Rui.

"Goodbye, Village Chief Grandpa!" Wang Shu waved farewell as well, then eagerly trotted after Lu Yi.

After entering the academy, Lu Yi felt as though he had arrived in another world. Every student walking through the academy was brimming with youthful vigor.

It was completely different from the outside world, where rural people had been numbed by crushing taxes and could feel nothing but despair. Here, one glance was enough to see boundless hope.

Lu Yi casually stopped an older female student by the roadside to ask where they needed to register, then led Wang Shu toward the teaching building, laden with bags and bundles.