Spring turned to autumn, cold gave way to warmth,
and in the blink of an eye, five years passed.
The trio had all grown into twelve-year-old boys and girls in the prime of their youth.
Five years!
Those five years had been far too... long for Zhang Tianyu!
But now, at last, he could trigger the new storyline in Suotuo City!
Before triggering the new storyline, though, Zhang Tianyu felt it was necessary to check his current stats:
[Host]: Zhang Tianyu [Level]: 37 [Martial Souls]: First Martial Soul: Yellow Springs (Third Soul Ring unlocked) Second Martial Soul: (Not unlocked) [Soul Bones]: Golden Spear Iron Horse Right Arm Bone: From the hundred-thousand-year Golden Spear Iron Horse, with the attached skills [Breaking Formation Golden Spear] and [Thousand-Mile Iron Horse]. (New Soul Bone unlock progress: 50%) [Soul Tool]: None [Domain]: Yellow Springs: Nine Nether Forest Domain [Self-Created Soul Skills]: None [Items]: None [Gifts]: None [Reward Points]: 3690
The second Soul Ring came from the 42,300-year-old Earth Flying Eagle and carried the Soul Skill [Infinite Flying Sword], which allowed him to control Yellow Springs to attack others from a distance or ride it through the air in Sword Flight;
the third Soul Ring came from the 55,780-year-old Moon Kirby and carried the Soul Skill [Life-Chasing Sword Qi]. When he swung Yellow Springs, he could unleash sword qi that pursued his enemies, and he could combine it with Infinite Flying Sword to control and unleash it from afar.
As he felt each of these Soul Skills return, their familiar sensations and the increase in his strength put Zhang Tianyu more and more at ease.
Living was all about seeking peace of mind!
In this life, Zhang Tianyu had changed his tactics. Unlike in his previous life, he no longer constantly played little tricks to torment Yu Xiaogang and Tang San.
Instead, he only hit them with something big in certain special situations and circumstances.
After all, if he kept tormenting them with one little thing after another, they would grow wary, just as they had in his previous life, and start guarding against him in secret.
People could have a run of bad luck. They could suffer misfortune.
But no one could be unlucky forever!
Having learned from the lessons of his previous life, Zhang Tianyu tried to make the trouble he caused for them less abrupt this time.
He did his best to make sure there were clues to follow, and that they could find a reason for what happened. Even if they couldn't figure out the exact cause, they could at least get a rough idea of what was going on.
That would greatly lower their guard.
However, this approach couldn't last forever, because some items were simply too powerful and unreasonable. There was no way to find an explanation for their effects in this world.
Zhang Tianyu could only do his best. If he really couldn't manage it, there was nothing he could do.
The good news, though,
was that after five years, the system's preparations were finally nearing completion.
It would completely mask Zhang Tianyu's aura!
Every action left clues.
Just like in his previous life, no matter how careful and discreet Zhang Tianyu and the system had been,
the Douluo Will and The Gods had still discovered that he was the mastermind behind it all.
So this time, the system would simply block Zhang Tianyu's aura completely.
That way, no matter what happened, the Douluo Will and The Gods wouldn't discover any connection between the misfortunes that befell Yu Xiaogang and Tang San and Zhang Tianyu,
unless Zhang Tianyu himself got carried away and brought disaster upon himself.
In his previous life, Zhang Tianyu had wondered whether they had discovered him because he'd been too reckless.
But after thinking it over carefully, he remembered that The Gods had discovered he was pulling the strings even before he started acting recklessly.
And it was precisely because The Gods had already found out that he had appeared in person to warn them not to act rashly. Otherwise, he could kill Tang San outright—and The Gods wouldn't be able to bring him back to life.
Coming back to himself, Zhang Tianyu sneered inwardly. This time, I won't make the same mistake!
"I really can't understand what Grandmaster is thinking," Xiao Wu said as they walked through the streets of Suotuo City. Now grown into a lovely young woman, she wore a thoroughly puzzled expression. "So many good intermediate academies invited us. Why did Grandmaster insist that Ah San come to an academy whose name we've never even heard of?"
Zhang Tianyu thought, Of course.
I want to go to Spirit Hall Academy too. I want to meet Hu Liena and Bibi Dong early. But I can't!
Without unlocking the Jianghu function, how am I supposed to set Tang San and Yu Xiaogang up if I go far away?
Tormenting those two without leaving a trace is what I should be doing right now!
"Teacher must have his reasons for doing this."
Although Yu Xiaogang had only told Tang San to go to Shrek Academy and hadn't said that Zhang Tianyu and Xiao Wu should go too,
Tang San was still very happy to have the two of them with him.
"What reasons could he possibly have? If we weren't good friends, I wouldn't have come here with you." Xiao Wu pouted and complained.
What she really wanted to say was that if Zhang Tianyu hadn't planned on coming too, she wouldn't have come.
The person she wanted to follow was Zhang Tianyu, not Tang San.
"Come on, have a drink. Let's find somewhere to eat and rest for a bit." Zhang Tianyu took out a bottle of Happy Water and handed it to Xiao Wu. She smiled sweetly. Tianyu really knew how to treat her.
The passersby all looked at the three of them in astonishment.
Zhang Tianyu was just too handsome! Truly, they'd never seen a boy so handsome!
Though he was still young, all along the way,
from mature, voluptuous women to petite little girls,
every single one of them had their eyes light up when they saw Zhang Tianyu!
And then there was Xiao Wu standing beside him,
lively and charming, rosy-cheeked and lovely—an absolute natural beauty!
What a perfect couple: a handsome young man and a beautiful young woman!
As for the boy trailing along beside them...
Was he their servant? Their lackey?
Whatever he was, he certainly looked like a lackey!
"I'm warning you in advance, Ah San." Xiao Wu took a few sips of Happy Water, then let out a satisfied breath. "If that academy is just average, or not very good, I'm not staying here with you."
As she spoke, she glanced at Zhang Tianyu. He nodded and said, "Yeah, it won't hurt to take a look first."
Tang San nodded too. "That's right. Although I trust Teacher unconditionally, if it's really bad, I won't stay long, even with Teacher's recommendation."
The three of them reached an agreement. Nothing wrong with that.
Zhang Tianyu looked calm on the surface, but inwardly he could barely contain himself.
Good grief!
It seemed that after what had happened in Soul Hunting Forest, when Tang San's Soul Skill had gone out of control, Yu Xiaogang's standing with Tang San had taken quite a hit.
Before, no matter what Yu Xiaogang said or asked Tang San to do, Tang San would do it without hesitation—even if it looked like there was nothing to gain or even something to lose. He never doubted him in the slightest.
But now, he could actually say, "Even with Yu Xiaogang's recommendation, I won't stay long"!
Wonderful!
Just wonderful!
The master and disciple had already developed the beginnings of a rift, and heh heh heh, this time looked like it was going to be even more fun!
Before you continue