When Lin Yun opened his eyes again, the sky was already bright. He rose to his feet, stretched his limbs, and said,
"So I wasn't completely just talking big. Fusing Soul Bones gives you a huge boost in Soul Power. After absorbing my third Soul Ring and fusing that Soul Bone, I reached level thirty-four. This time, fusing the Terror Claw Dragon Soul Bone shot me straight to level thirty-eight."
"This is really damn great. At this rate, I reckon I'll be researching Soul Rings again by the end of the semester at the latest."
After that long night, Lin Yun had not only fused the Soul Bone; he had also been thinking about whether he should just leave early.
After turning it over in his mind, Lin Yun decided to let his plans depend on how his fourth Soul Skill turned out. If it was good, he would make a run for it. If it was nothing special, he would stay at the academy and keep his head down.
It might sound like stating the obvious, but it was the best choice available to him right now.
At the very least, he couldn't afford to harbor any rebellious thoughts at this stage.
Zhang Lexuan had no idea what Lin Yun was thinking. She said warmly,
"By the way, wait until the holiday to go Soul Hunting. I'll go with you. The academy should have provided what you need in the first place, so it's just as well for me to arrange it."
Lin Yun looked Zhang Lexuan over for a moment, then said,
"Thank you, Senior Sister. You're a lot more capable than the average teacher."
As he spoke, Lin Yun rolled his arm. Besides Rend, which Zhang Lexuan had mentioned, the Terror Claw Dragon left arm Soul Bone had actually given him a second hidden Soul Skill.
It was called Hell Claw. Flames that specifically targeted souls would flare up in his hand: the bone claw wounded the body, while the fire in his palm scorched the soul.
The pinnacle of mixed physical and magical damage!
The next eight months went by quite smoothly. Lin Yun reached level forty in about four months.
He spent most of the following four months stabilizing his cultivation.
Lin Yun had plenty of free time during those four months, and his relationship with Zhang Lexuan grew closer and closer.
He also resorted to a few less-than-honorable methods—getting her drunk, to be precise—to pry out what had caused Zhang Lexuan to differ from her counterpart in the original story.
At first, Mu En and Zhang Lexuan had discussed using her as a leash to keep Lin Yun tied to the Inner Court.
That was more or less what Lin Yun had expected. What he hadn't expected was that Mu En, with his dignified, scholarly face, could be so brazen.
The old man had actually changed the original agreement so bluntly. Lin Yun had no idea what kind of spell Mu En had put Zhang Lexuan under to make her accept such a disgusting deal.
Lin Yun could only call it a release of her pent-up feelings of indebtedness. After that release, those feelings began to loosen their hold on her.
After that, as she went on several outings with Lin Yun, she gradually developed feelings for him.
In the end, Mu En had simply rushed things far too much. Lin Yun couldn't figure out what was going through the old man's head.
He didn't trust Lin Yun, yet he wanted Lin Yun to work for him, and he kept trying to make Lin Yun devote himself to the academy through psychological manipulation.
The matter of the Soul Bone was much the same. Although it had happened before Lin Yun arrived, it was hard to believe Mu En hadn't instructed the Outer Court to withhold what Lin Yun was owed, all while calculating that Zhang Lexuan had a Soul Bone of her own.
In the end, Mu En had contributed nothing, yet Zhang Lexuan had served as his proxy to bestow a favor on Lin Yun.
An ordinary local would probably have fallen for that whole series of interlocking moves.
That only strengthened Lin Yun's resolve to leave. At the same time, a plan began to take shape in his mind.
During the four months he spent consolidating his Soul Power, Lin Yun's main focus—aside from spending time with Zhang Lexuan and building their relationship—was borrowing books from the Inner Court library through her connections and studying everything useful he could find about this world.
He also searched for precious herbs and other treasures that could repair souls. The two tasks went hand in hand.
Lin Yun was extremely careful, using different identities for each of these errands.
It was fair to say that Lin Yun was the busiest person in Shrek Academy's Outer Court. Huo Yuhao's foolish running back and forth between two places didn't even come close.
That semester had also gone a long way toward dispelling Lin Yun's hopes for Shrek.
Shrek during the Douluo II era was beyond saving. If he really wanted to fix it, he would have to tear it down and start over.
With the help of one batch of medicinal ingredients after another that Lin Yun had tracked down, Electrolux's soul finally stabilized.
Electrolux also accepted staying in Lin Yun's Sea of Consciousness, and the two gradually developed a bond much like that between Huang Yaoshi and Yang Guo.
They were kindred spirits despite their age difference—both teacher and friend to each other.
Lin Yun also shared his plan with Electrolux. Electrolux said,
"From what I've observed, if you set up the teleportation array in advance and the other side has no spatial abilities, you'll be able to get away unscathed."
That confirmation meant that, as far as Lin Yun was concerned, everything was ready. All he needed was the right opportunity.
The holiday that both Lin Yun and Huo Yuhao had been looking forward to finally arrived. Huo Yuhao wanted to obtain his Second Martial Soul, while Lin Yun... had plans of his own.
And so Lin Yun and Zhang Lexuan, along with Huo Yuhao and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his mind, headed toward the same destination. The two groups began a contest based purely on speed and luck...
Before you continue