Graduation

Li Luo saw Tang San's signal, understood his intent, and nodded to indicate that he could demonstrate his soul skill to the Notting Dean.

Li Luo did not have the energy to concern himself with Tang San right now, because as Tang San obtained his soul ring and advanced to a Soul Grand Master, Li Luo himself also received a feedback boost.

Li Luo's soul power bottleneck loosened, breaking through from level 22 to level 23, and at the same time, he felt the age of the soul ring representing Tang San increase once more.

It was roughly around 2,000 years; in other words, Tang San had absorbed a thousand-year soul ring to advance to a Soul Grand Master, and his current physical limit could already accommodate the energy contained within a two-thousand-year soul ring—it had simply doubled.

The changes brought to Tang San's martial soul by the thousand-year soul ring and the benefits to his own body were immeasurable.

After receiving Li Luo's consent, Tang San demonstrated his thousand-year second ring to the Notting Dean.

Tang San first used the Blue Silver King to entangle the Notting Dean.

"Second soul skill, Blue Silver Parasitism."

Subsequently, the Notting Dean was wrapped tightly in the Blue Silver King. The Notting Dean tried to pull at it, only to discover that even with his strength as a Soul Ancestor, he could not easily snap Tang San's Blue Silver King.

"It seems the Azure Vine's enhancement of the Blue Silver Grass martial soul is truly outstanding. Just the toughness of the Blue Silver Grass right now is enough that even I have to exert some effort to struggle free from the restraint."

The Notting Dean praised Tang San's Blue Silver King martial soul highly.

"There's more, Dean."

"First soul skill, Blue Silver Creation."

At this moment, a blue-green light emerged from the Notting Dean's body, and the Blue Silver King upon him began to turn translucent.

Tang San's first soul skill could convert the soul power contained within the Blue Silver King into life force, applying healing to the target.

If the second soul skill was used to assist the first, rapid and efficient healing could be achieved.

Tang San summoned several Blue Silver vines to bind a nearby ordinary century-old tree, rooting them into the soil.

His Blue Silver King could absorb nutrients from the soil, plants, and animals, converting them into his own soul power and life force.

This was not a trait possessed by the Blue Silver King, nor even the Blue Silver Emperor, but a characteristic generated after Li Luo's Prismatic Evolution.

Now, with the Parasitism soul skill provided by the Azure Vine, Tang San could advance to attack and retreat to defend; he could quickly help teammates recover from injuries and soul power, while also absorbing the opponent's soul power to replenish his own.

Casting a healing soul skill on a Soul Ancestor across ranks was a very soul-power-consuming task, but now that Tang San was in the Star Dou Great Forest, the energy he could absorb was practically inexhaustible, and Tang San used this to quickly recover the soul power he had just expended.

The purpose of this trip had been achieved, and the Star Dou Great Forest was ultimately too dangerous to stay in for long, so Li Luo and the others found a carriage heading to Nuoding City and whipped the horses to return to the academy as quickly as possible.

In the carriage, the Notting Dean discussed graduation with Li Luo and Tang San.

"Xiao Luo, Xiao San, you are both Soul Grand Masters now. In all my years of teaching, this is the first time I've seen children as gifted as you."

"Even though you are only in your second year, I would very much like for you to remain at Notting Academy."

"But I know that the academy can no longer provide any help to you. You are currently in the golden age of cultivation; I cannot let a small place like Notting Academy shackle your development."

"Xiao Luo, Xiao San, have you two considered graduating?"

Although the Notting Dean was very reluctant to part with these two genius students, and if Li Luo and Tang San had followed the standard path to the sixth grade, graduating at the level of a Soul Elder or even a Soul Ancestor would have been of even greater benefit to him.

Having two Soul Elders graduate from a primary soul master academy sounded quite impressive.

One must know that an average Soul Elder was already the graduation standard for an intermediate soul master academy.

However, the Notting Dean was a good man; he did not wish for geniuses like Li Luo and Tang San to waste four years in a small place like Nuoding City.

Furthermore, he was already fifty years old and only a few years away from retirement; without the drive of a young man, he had no thoughts of climbing any higher.

With his strength as a Soul Ancestor, he could be considered one person below ten thousand in the small Nuoding City; even the City Lord of Nuoding, an imperial baron, had to give him a measure of respect.

"You are already Soul Grand Masters now; to be honest, Notting Academy can no longer help you much."

"If you intend to enroll in an intermediate academy, I can write two letters of introduction for you."

The Notting Dean looked at Li Luo and Tang San, waiting for their response.

Upon hearing the Notting Dean's words, Tang San did not reply, but instead turned to look at Li Luo, seeking his opinion.

Li Luo's will was his own; Tang San would always remain loyal to Li Luo's commands.

Li Luo thought for a moment and also felt there was no point in staying at Notting Academy any longer, though he had no desire to go study at another soul master academy, as it had become meaningless.

However, Li Luo still accepted the Notting Dean's good intentions.

After the three returned to Notting Academy, Li Luo and Tang San sought out Xiao Wu and spoke of their plan to graduate and leave the academy.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu immediately clamored to leave with Li Luo and Tang San.

The three went to the Notting Dean's office, where the Dean learned for the first time that there was another genius like Xiao Wu in the academy. Seeing that Li Luo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu were together, he happily issued three graduation certificates and letters of introduction.

Li Luo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu had just thanked him and were about to leave the office when an uninvited guest took the initiative to show up.

"Creak!"

The door to the Dean's office was pushed open directly; the person who arrived did not even have the courtesy to knock.

The person who entered wore a tattered scholar's robe, had a scruffy beard, and sported a flat-top haircut; this person was none other than Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang had somehow learned that the Notting Dean had taken Li Luo and Tang San out of the academy, and he guessed that they had reached level 20 and were preparing to advance to Soul Grand Masters.

Yu Xiaogang had not yet given up on the idea of taking Li Luo and Tang San as his disciples, guessing that with their talent, they would choose to graduate and leave Notting Academy once they became Soul Grand Masters.

Fearing that he would never find them again once they left, he waited anxiously for two and a half days, and upon learning that the Notting Dean had returned with them, he rushed to the office at the first opportunity.

To be fair, Yu Xiaogang had arrived at a truly opportune moment; had he been even a step later, Li Luo, Tang San, and Xiao Wu would have already departed Notting Academy, leaving him with no one to find.

"You two are here as well?"

Yu Xiaogang stared at Li Luo and Tang San in surprise, his gaze quickly falling upon the graduation certificates and recommendation letters held in their hands.

"Are you two graduating?"

Li Luo and Tang San ignored Yu Xiaogang, pulling Xiao Wu along as they prepared to walk around him and leave.

"Wait!"

Yu Xiaogang blocked Li Luo's path.

"Is there something you need, Master Yu Xiaogang?"

Li Luo looked at Yu Xiaogang calmly and questioned him, placing a deliberate emphasis on the word "Master."