Journey to the Extreme North

When Lin Yun opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright. He stood up, stretched his limbs, and remarked, "So, I wasn't actually bluffing. The Soul Power gained from fusing with a Soul Bone is just too much. I was at level 34 after absorbing my third Soul Ring and that first bone, but this time, fusing with the Terror Claw Dragon Soul Bone pushed me straight to level 38."

"This is honestly just too damn good. I reckon by the time the semester ends, it'll be time to research Soul Rings again."

After that night, beyond just the fusion, Lin Yun had been contemplating whether he should simply leave early.

After much deliberation, Lin Yun decided to base his decision on the concept for his fourth Soul Skill. If the prospects for the fourth skill were good, he'd bolt; if it turned out to be mediocre, he'd stay at the academy and play it safe.

Although this sounded like a waste of breath, it was currently his best option.

At the very least, he couldn't afford to show any signs of rebellion at this stage.

Zhang Lexuan had no idea what Lin Yun was thinking and said quite eagerly, "Right, wait until the break to hunt for your Soul Ring. I'll accompany you. The academy was supposed to provide it for you anyway, so it's the same if I help you get it."

Lin Yun studied Zhang Lexuan for a moment before replying, "Thank you, Senior Sister. Your strength is far more reliable than that of the average teacher."

As he spoke, Lin Yun flexed his arm. Beyond the tearing effect Zhang Lexuan had mentioned, the Terror Claw Dragon Left Arm Bone had actually granted him a second hidden skill called Hell Claw. It ignited flames on his hands specifically targeting the soul; while the bone claws damaged the physical body, the flames scorched the spirit.

The pinnacle of mixed physical and magical damage!

The following eight months passed quite smoothly. Lin Yun broke through to level 40 in about four months.

The subsequent four months were primarily spent stabilizing his cultivation.

During these four months, Lin Yun had plenty of free time, and his relationship with Zhang Lexuan grew increasingly close.

He even used some less-than-honorable methods (getting her drunk) to tease out the reasons behind why Zhang Lexuan was different from the original story.

It started with Mu En and Zhang Lexuan discussing how to use her as a tether to keep Lin Yun tied to the Inner Court.

This was much as Lin Yun had initially suspected, though he hadn't expected someone as thick-browed and big-eyed as Mu En to be so underhanded.

The old man had actually changed the original contract so blatantly; he had no idea what kind of love potion Zhang Lexuan had been fed to accept such a disgusting arrangement.

Lin Yun could only attribute it to a release of pent-up feelings of indebtedness; after this round of release, those emotions had begun to loosen.

Following that, through several outings with Lin Yun, she gradually developed feelings for him.

Ultimately, Mu En's actions were simply too impatient. It was hard to tell what that old man was thinking.

He didn't trust Lin Yun, yet he wanted him to work for him, all while trying to win his loyalty through manipulation.

This included the matter of the Soul Bone; although it happened before Lin Yun arrived, it was hard to say Mu En hadn't instructed the Outer Court staff to withhold what was rightfully his, only to then "gift" it to him through Zhang Lexuan.

In the end, Mu En hadn't spent a single thing, yet he had used Zhang Lexuan as a white glove to bestow favor upon him.

If he had been a typical local, he likely would have fallen for this interlocking trap.

This only solidified Lin Yun's resolve to leave, and a plan began to take shape in his mind.

During the four months after stabilizing his Soul Power, besides cultivating his relationship with Zhang Lexuan, Lin Yun's main focus was using her connections to borrow books from the Inner Court library to learn everything useful about this world.

He also searched for rare treasures to repair the soul, two tasks that were essentially complementary.

Lin Yun was extremely cautious, using different identities to carry out these actions.

It could be said that Lin Yun was absolutely the busiest person in the Shrek Academy Outer Court; the way Huo Yuhao scrambled back and forth couldn't even compare to this.

Lin Yun had effectively used this semester to discard more than half of his attachment to Shrek.

Shrek in the era of the second generation was beyond saving; if one really wanted to change things, it would have to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch.

With the help of the various medicines Lin Yun had scoured, Electrolux's soul stabilized.

Electrolux also accepted staying within Lin Yun's Sea of Consciousness, and the two gradually developed a relationship similar to that of Huang Yaoshi and Yang Guo.

Friends across generations, both teacher and companion.

Lin Yun shared his concept with Electrolux, who replied, "Based on my observations, if you set up a teleportation array in advance and the opponent lacks spatial abilities, you will be able to retreat unscathed."

Having received this confirmation, for Lin Yun, everything was ready except for the final push.

The vacation that both Lin Yun and Huo Yuhao had been looking forward to finally arrived. Huo Yuhao wanted to obtain his second Martial Soul, and Lin Yun... had his own plans.

Thus, two groups—Lin Yun with Zhang Lexuan, and Huo Yuhao with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his mind—headed toward the same goal, beginning a race that was purely a test of speed and luck.