Then many of his plans targeting Shrek Academy could be put into action. Still, he would have to think them through carefully.
This was an unexpected delight.
Xu Yanli's consciousness returned to his body, and he continued absorbing the rich Life Force that had accompanied the Golden Ancient Tree's recognition of him as its master.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was the next morning.
"I'll take you back. Here's a leave slip. Just give it to your homeroom teacher later. With your cultivation at its current level, you probably don't need to attend some of the cultivation classes." Yan Shaozhe held out a leave slip.
Xu Yanli's eyes shifted. He hadn't expected the man to be so considerate. He hadn't even made his move yet, and someone had already handed him exactly what he needed.
"Then thank you, Dean," Xu Yanli said with a faint smile.
After taking the leave slip, Xu Yanli followed Yan Shaozhe toward the outer courtyard.
"With your talent, young man, you're absolutely guaranteed a place in the inner courtyard someday. So, how was cultivating in Shrek Academy's inner courtyard yesterday? Comfortable, wasn't it?" Yan Shaozhe coaxed him with a smile.
But when Xu Yanli's expression barely changed, Yan Shaozhe sighed helplessly. "All right. Young people like you don't enjoy listening to old folks like us ramble. How about this? I'll take you to the outer courtyard to get your leave approved. If you're interested, you can go to the library."
Yan Shaozhe grabbed Xu Yanli by the shoulder, then shot into the air. The two headed toward the outer courtyard at tremendous speed.
Classes had already started, and the bell had rung some time ago.
"Where's the class monitor?" Mu Jin asked, puzzled, as she looked at the empty seat.
"Heh, maybe he skipped class?" Wang Dong said, folding her arms and rolling her eyes.
"Teacher, he didn't come back last night. Maybe something came up and held him up." Tang Ling hesitated, then bravely stood to speak.
"Sit down. With that fellow's talent, it doesn't matter if he comes to class or not," Mu Jin said helplessly. "It's quite possible one of the inner courtyard teachers needed to see him..."
Mu Jin was making excuses for Xu Yanli. A gifted child like him couldn't be expelled over some trivial matter.
After teaching for about three or four minutes, Yan Shaozhe brought Xu Yanli to the classroom door and knocked. "Teacher Mu Jin, are you there?"
Mu Jin was just about to begin the lesson. When she heard Yan Shaozhe's voice outside, she immediately went to open the door.
"Dean..." Mu Jin hadn't finished speaking when she spotted Xu Yanli peeking out from behind Yan Shaozhe.
"Teacher Mu Jin, this is Xu Yanli's leave slip. With his talent, he needs more self-study, not excessive guidance from teachers." Yan Shaozhe smiled and motioned for Xu Yanli to hand Mu Jin the leave slip.
"Does he still have to take the new student examination?" Mu Jin paused before asking.
"Of course. Besides, he isn't skipping every class. He can simply choose which classes he wants to attend," Yan Shaozhe said with a faint smile.
Listening from behind him, Xu Yanli felt even more delighted. This was just too good.
Back when he was in school, he'd always wanted to skip class, but he'd never managed it. Now, in a way, he was skipping class on official business.
Just as Yan Shaozhe finished speaking, Xu Yanli stepped forward and bowed to Mu Jin. "Teacher, don't worry. I'll still attend most of my classes. It's just that for some, like cultivation class, I'll choose to cultivate on my own. Thank you for understanding."
Mu Jin replied gently, "Good boy. Just make sure you manage your time properly, and don't let your cultivation fall behind."
Xu Yanli winked at his classmates, then took the token Yan Shaozhe had given him and headed for the library.
He'd have to try it out first to see if it worked.
When Xu Yanli arrived at the library, he found it completely deserted. The vast library didn't have a single person reading.
Xu Yanli chuckled softly. Shrek Academy really was letting such an enormous library go to waste—and all those Martial Soul Hall records it had stolen back in the day, too.
Xu Yanli began browsing the shelves of books on Martial Souls.
Xu Yanli took a monocle from his Storage Soul Tool and placed it over his eye.
With every page he turned, the monocle recorded the text.
This wasn't really meant to be a recording device. It was there to test whether the signal would be blocked, and whether it would attract anyone's attention.
At Xiaoyao Pavilion in Shrek Academy's outer city.
"It's coming! It's coming!" one ninth-level researcher said excitedly.
The printer in front of him began spitting out documents: everything Xu Yanli saw.
When Xu Yanli had first made this lens, he'd done it purely to look cool. Its silver chain draped along his face, and the monocle sat over his eye, making him look like a true scholar.
Star Dou Great Forest.
"Your Majesty, are you planning to go to Shrek Academy, or...?" Di Tian asked respectfully.
The silver-haired, purple-eyed girl shook her head and laughed softly. "What is it that humans alone possess on the Douluo Continent these days?"
"Your Majesty, Soul Tools. The most advanced ones are in the Sun Moon Empire," Di Tian replied.
The girl nodded, clasping her hands behind her back. "All right, I understand. I'll cultivate for a while first. Next year, we'll go register at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy. You can pose as my elder."
"Yes," Di Tian said respectfully.
Nearby, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion rolled around in the dirt, listening to their conversation with some curiosity.
The silver-haired girl glanced at the Three-Eyed Golden Lion but said nothing.
Xu Yanli continued turning page after page, a trace of contemplation passing through his eyes.
Sure enough, some of this knowledge wasn't as simple as he'd imagined. What the original story said wasn't necessarily the whole picture.
What a pity he had no chance to look at the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
But when Tang Ya was taken by the Holy Spirit Cult in the future, he might have a chance to get it from them.
A glint of cold light flashed in Xu Yanli's eyes. It seemed he'd have to put his plan to learn from Electrolux into action as soon as possible.
After all, without Electrolux as a safeguard, he didn't dare trust that bunch of Evil Soul Masters...
Even with Electrolux there, he was still a little afraid. But with some of Electrolux's skills at his disposal, it should be easy to keep them under control, right?
Xu Yanli continued turning the pages in front of him, the book rustling softly.
Xu Yanli suddenly stopped at a page. He lightly traced the lines with his finger, his face full of confusion.
Xu Yanli flipped to the first page and looked at the book. Compendium of Martial Souls. Nothing wrong there...
He soon realized what was off: the author of this thing was Yu Xiaogang again...
Before you continue