After being assigned to the team, Wu Xing got to know Yu Tianheng and the other Core Disciples on the team. That marked his official entry into the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team.
Those Core Disciples had long since shed the arrogant, overbearing attitude they'd shown when they came looking for him yesterday. Now, they treated him with clear respect.
After all, a team always spoke through strength.
The stronger you were, the more say you had. And after seeing Wu Xing's performance last night, they were thoroughly convinced.
The curriculum at Heaven Dou Royal Academy was fairly relaxed. There were only a handful of theory classes each week, adding up to less than five hours.
Most of the remaining time was either free time or team combat training, meant to help the entire team work together.
There were several types of combat training. The most common were exercises in the academy's simulated environments, followed by Soul Fighting matches at the Great Soul Arena.
Of course, hunting Soul Beasts in the forest counted too, but that happened less often. Usually, an instructor would take everyone once someone on the team reached the required Soul Power Level.
After one class, Wu Xing had gained a basic understanding of the academy's curriculum.
"Brother Wu Xing, after lunch, Yan Yan will take you around Heaven Dou City. We can stop by the Great Soul Arena, too."
As soon as class ended, Dugu Yan eagerly linked her arm with Wu Xing's again and made the suggestion.
Wu Xing had only just arrived at the academy and wasn't familiar with the area. The instructor hadn't rushed to schedule team training, instead kindly giving him a few days off.
"I think what you really want is to go finish your mission."
Wu Xing knew exactly what Dugu Yan was up to.
He couldn't help marveling at how relentless Soul Masters in this world were in their pursuit of strength.
They worked far harder and with far more self-discipline than the students on Blue Star preparing for their college entrance exams.
"Hehe." Dugu Yan wasn't embarrassed at all to have her little scheme exposed. Instead, she admitted it freely. "I just want to get stronger faster, so I can keep up with you, Brother Wu Xing."
"I only have seven more matches at the Great Soul Arena before I complete my Monthly Mission. It's worth a full thirty thousand points!"
Dugu Yan looked like a little miser. Thirty thousand points could buy three Ten Thousand Year Perfect Soul Rings in The Group, ones that any Soul Master could absorb without worrying about Soul Shock.
Even though she was the richest little heiress in The Group, thirty thousand points was no small sum.
"What's your Soul Power Level now?" Wu Xing asked with a laugh.
"I'm at level forty-three." Dugu Yan answered proudly.
She'd been in the Chat Group for less than five days, and her strength had already climbed from level thirty-six to level forty-three.
Before, she wouldn't have dared dream of such a thing. So of course she wasn't about to pass up any points.
And she wasn't the only one. There wasn't a single member of The Group who felt otherwise.
Even the haughty His Holiness the Pope and the calm, steady Bo Saixi couldn't resist the irresistible allure of points.
She was also wondering whether she could save up one hundred thousand points before reaching level fifty, then absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring outright.
She was a young woman, after all; she had her vanity too. The sight of her Fourth Ten Thousand Year Ring a few days ago had stunned the entire faculty and student body and left her grandfather unable to believe his eyes. She could still remember it vividly.
Because of that, she'd set herself a goal: to accomplish the same feat before the Elite Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament began.
"You're leveling up even faster than I am." Wu Xing clicked his tongue. Was this the power of a big spender?
Dugu Yan giggled and playfully shook his arm. "That's all thanks to you, Brother Wu Xing, for telling Yan Yan what those Immortal Herbs were used for. Otherwise, how could I have improved so quickly?"
At that, she suddenly remembered something and asked, "Brother Wu Xing, do you know Tang San?"
"I do. What made you ask about him?" Wu Xing asked, mildly curious.
"Was he the one who stripped my grandfather's garden of every Immortal Herb in the original timeline?" Dugu Yan asked, her voice tinged with anger.
"He didn't just strip the place bare. He called your grandfather his sworn brother, knew exactly what the Immortal Herbs were for, and still didn't spare you even one."
Wu Xing curled his lip. He had nothing but contempt for Little Scumbag's character.
"Bastard!"
Dugu Yan gritted her teeth in fury. "No wonder Grandpa's been wrapped around his finger these past few days. He keeps saying he can cure the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Poison in my body."
"Is Tang San still with your grandfather?" Wu Xing stopped in his tracks, surprised.
He'd assumed Dugu Bo would throw Tang San out as soon as he learned the secret of the Immortal Herbs. He hadn't expected him to keep Tang San right under his nose.
"Yes, but don't worry, Brother Wu Xing. I told Grandpa about the Immortal Herbs, and now he's just keeping Tang San confined somewhere else."
Dugu Yan nodded and told Wu Xing everything about Tang San.
The Immortal Herbs were no trivial matter. After Dugu Bo rebuilt the Poison Array, he moved Tang San to a remote location.
To prevent anyone from noticing anything amiss and the information from leaking, Dugu Bo also set up a new Herb Garden and transplanted a great many herbs there that looked useful but were actually worthless.
After hearing Dugu Yan's account, Wu Xing nearly burst out laughing. Without his greatest opportunity, would Little Scumbag still manage to rise up when faced with a pile of ordinary herbs?
"Well done."
Wu Xing reached out and ruffled Dugu Yan's short, blue-violet hair again. Then he said earnestly, "Yan Yan, I'll help you get rid of the poison in your body completely. You don't need to use that idiot's foolish method."
After all, the thing about Dugu Yan that drew him in most wasn't her figure or her looks. It was those snake-like eyes!
Wu Xing couldn't speak for other people, but to him, they held a strangely wild allure.
If she used Little Scumbag's method and her pupils became ordinary, that allure would surely fade. He didn't want that distinctive feature of hers to disappear.
"Mm. Thank you, Brother Wu Xing." Dugu Yan gazed at Wu Xing, stars filling her strange, snake-like eyes.
Watching them, Ye Lingling felt as if she were just getting in the way—a walking light bulb.
She wanted to find an excuse to leave, but she couldn't bear to miss the conversation about the place of opportunity. In the end, she could only silently follow behind them.
Perhaps sensing her friend's change in mood, Dugu Yan hurried to stop and turn around. "Lingling, come with us after lunch. How could we go out without you?"
As she spoke, she took her best friend by the hand.
Pulled along, Ye Lingling came back to herself and rolled her eyes helplessly.
Her best friend had finally remembered she was there!
Still, did she even need lunch? She'd already had her fill of watching them feed each other dog food!
Dugu Yan stuck out her tongue sheepishly at Ye Lingling's eye roll. She'd been so caught up in her own happiness that she'd neglected her friend.
"Brother Wu Xing, what do you think of Lingling?"
Dugu Yan's eyes shifted slightly as she suddenly asked.
"Lingling's lovely. Quiet, gentle, and with the air of a refined young lady."
Wu Xing glanced at Ye Lingling and answered honestly.
"Then how about making Lingling your girlfriend too?"
A sly curve tugged at Dugu Yan's lips as she ventured the suggestion.
She hadn't asked Wu Xing to invite Ye Lingling back into the Chat Group. Dugu Yan could be carefree and a little spoiled and willful, but she wasn't thoughtless.
If she brought it up, there was no telling whether Brother Wu Xing would be unhappy. And if the members of The Group all followed suit, what would she do then?
Besides, if things went that way, the Chat Group would sooner or later become a clique divided into factions. Neither she nor Brother Wu Xing would want to see that.
So she'd never brought it up, and she certainly wasn't going to ask outright.
Right now, the best way to resolve the matter was for Lingling to become Brother Wu Xing's woman too.
That way, she could solve her best friend's lifelong problem and get her back into the group legitimately. What could be better?
Before you continue