Teacher Zi Buyu's Innate Domain!

That night.

Li Changsheng, lying in bed, suddenly sensed something was wrong and snapped his eyes open.

A cold, eerie wind suddenly swept through the room.

Though he should have been lying in bed, he suddenly found himself in a pitch-black space.

He was standing.

At the same time, a cold, sinister voice echoed through the darkness beside his ear.

"Were you the one who taught Li Zishuo the Mysterious Heaven Skill?"

Li Changsheng shook his head. The instant he heard the voice, he pinched himself. It hurt, which meant this wasn't a dream. Yet the feeling was so dreamlike and illusory that it hardly seemed real.

He gathered his thoughts and asked the God of Wisdom, "God of Wisdom, what's going on?"

The God of Wisdom's voice rang out as expected:

< A Titled Douluo used their Martial Soul to enter your consciousness and temporarily control your thoughts. They are questioning you about Li Zishuo's cultivation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. You may answer however you like. >

Li Zishuo's cultivation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill? Could this person who had entered his consciousness have something to do with Li Zishuo's death?

He controlled his thoughts and replied as if half-asleep, "No. I don't know."

After Li Changsheng said this, the space trembled slightly. Cracks appeared in the darkness around him, then it shattered bit by bit. Li Changsheng opened his eyes a little and realized he was back in his room.

What was going on?

A Titled Douluo had actually come to question him about the Mysterious Heaven Skill?

Could Li Zishuo have been killed because of the Mysterious Heaven Skill?

That couldn't be right, could it?

Li Changsheng was shocked, and inexplicably afraid. If not for the Formless Cycle skill, he might have exposed the aura of the Mysterious Heaven Skill just now.

Could it have been done by a Soul Master who hated the Tang Sect?

Li Changsheng lay quietly in bed. He didn't practice the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but simply pondered a few things.

He didn't sleep all night.

The next day, Li Changsheng got up early. Over the past few days, his injuries had largely healed. Though his Soul Power had dropped by one level, his solid foundation, aided by his vital energy, meant he was already close to breaking through again. And today, he was due to attend class.

Li Changsheng didn't dwell too much on what had happened last night.

Li Zishuo's death had indeed surprised him, but he hadn't gone out of his way to grieve.

In this world, anyone could die, and everyone would die. No one was exempt.

Li Changsheng only made a mental note that once his strength had grown, he would avenge this descendant of his.

For now, his goals were simple: study, grow stronger, and complete his sign-in tasks.

After straightening his clothes, he looked at his youthful face in the mirror. He had gradually grown used to this appearance. Picking up the mask beside him, he left the dormitory.

The Pre-Education Academy had been far from peaceful these past three days. The higher-ups' reprimand had arrived right on schedule.

As a result, many students who had gone out on assignments gradually returned to the academy.

At the same time, the bodies of Li Zishuo and the other three had been kept at the Pre-Education Academy. According to the Seven Absolute Zither Master, some people from Shrek Academy were coming to investigate.

Li Changsheng didn't pay it much attention.

Following the long flagstone path, Li Changsheng arrived at his classroom.

It was another small, independent courtyard.

As soon as he entered, he saw the Seven Absolute Zither Master and a young woman with a wooden expression sitting there. They both held books and were murmuring as they read.

Li Changsheng walked over.

The wooden-faced woman looked up first, glanced at Li Changsheng, and gestured for him to sit nearby.

Only after Li Changsheng sat down did the Seven Absolute Zither Master raise her head thoughtfully. "You're here."

Li Changsheng gave a quiet "Mm" and glanced at the book the Seven Absolute Zither Master was holding and reading with such relish. It was a book of zither music?

"Let me introduce myself. Zi Buyu, your teacher. I look forward to working with you for the next six years."

Zi Buyu.

"Zi Buyu," literally "The Master said nothing."

Zi Buyu was fairly pretty, with a certain charm, but wore an expressionless face. She simply spoke to Li Changsheng.

"I've read your file. For certain reasons, you won't be going on assignments for the time being. Like her, your only task from now on is to read."

Zi Buyu lowered her head, turned a page in her book, and spoke calmly.

"Read?" Li Changsheng asked instinctively.

"Read."

"Won't we cultivate?" Li Changsheng asked, puzzled.

"When it's time to cultivate, you'll naturally cultivate. There are many ways to meditate; it's not something you can accomplish in a single stroke. Reading calms and nourishes the mind, smoothing out the rough edges of your temperament. That helps with meditation. All right, go get some books from the room. The two of you must read five books today. After class, write reading notes and hand them in to me. You can go back once they pass. If they don't, I'll keep you here reading by lamplight through the night."

Li Changsheng suddenly noticed the heavy dark circles around Zi Buyu's eyes.

Also, what kind of study method was this? At the prime of his cultivation, they were making him read books to smooth out the rough edges of his temperament?

Lady, I've lived for ten thousand years. My temperament's nearly been worn smooth already.

Suddenly, the Seven Absolute Zither Master tugged at his sleeve.

Li Changsheng looked over. Beneath her mask, the Seven Absolute Zither Master's eyes had lost much of their former brightness too.

She gave Li Changsheng a slight nod. "Give it a try."

Li Changsheng let out a long breath, stood up, and took a book from the classroom: Prehistory of Douluo Continent. He also picked up The Era When Soul Masters Ate Raw Meat and Drank Blood, along with several biographies of heroes from the age before Tang San. One of them was called Dragon-Slaying Youth Gorzan.

After taking five books in all, Li Changsheng sat upright beside the stone table and began to read.

"History and biographies, and all from ten thousand years ago. Are you fond of the stories and customs of that era?"

Zi Buyu's voice sounded weak. Though she was a woman, she gave off the frail air of a man, and the eyes ringed with dark circles made her look a little comical.

Li Changsheng had just read the opening of Dragon-Slaying Youth Gorzan. He shook his head. "Modern history is nothing but the invasion of the Sun-Moon Continent. Countless heroic Soul Masters rose up in the struggle, and their stories have been passed down by the great empires. But most of them were exaggerated to the point of absurdity, with little truth in them, so they aren't very interesting to read. The older books have more flavor."

"Then shouldn't you be reading the accounts of the first generation of the Shrek Seven Devils, led by your ancestor Tang San, fighting the Spirit Hall?" Zi Buyu asked with some interest.

Li Changsheng smiled slightly. "Mm... I've read those before. Reading them several more times gets a little dull, doesn't it? Besides, Teacher, don't you think the era before Tang San's was interesting too? For instance, this biography says that in the era when Gorzan lived, the Dragon Clan ruled the Douluo Continent. Humanity was weak and oppressed. The protagonist, Gorzan, was raised by a dragon. In the end, the dragon who had raised him sacrificed itself to him, awakening his Golden Dragon Spirit and granting him a God-Given Spirit Ring. He became a pillar of the Dragon-Slaying Spirit Masters who opposed the Dragon Clan in that era..."

He paused. Li Changsheng hadn't read any further, so he turned a page. "Isn't a biography like this fascinating? Compared with battles between Soul Masters, I prefer these histories of struggles against other races."

Zi Buyu continued, "Aren't biographies even more fictional? Did the Dragon Clan really rule the Douluo Continent in some distant era?"

Li Changsheng said, "Maybe it really did?"

"Boom!"

Suddenly, Li Changsheng's entire body shuddered.

He immediately realized that the one level of Soul Power he had lost had returned. His Soul Power had risen from level fourteen back to level fifteen.

He stared at Zi Buyu in amazement, then looked around in confusion at the Seven Absolute Zither Master beside him.

Zi Buyu's wooden expression rarely softened into a smile, while her thin frame seemed all the more frail.

For some reason, the Seven Absolute Zither Master sounded a little envious. "Honestly. I read all night yesterday and didn't gain a level, but you showed up and leveled up right away."

Li Changsheng asked in surprise, "What's going on?"

The Seven Absolute Zither Master glanced at Zi Buyu. Seeing that Zi Buyu had lowered her head to read, she set down her sheet music and gave an envious little huff. "That's the benefit of reading."

Li Changsheng was speechless. Of course, he could ask the God of Wisdom, but he felt it was better to act a little surprised at a time like this.

"Come on, tell me. I was about to break through anyway, right? Your Innate Soul Power is already level twenty. What are you jealous of me for? Tell me." Instinctively, Li Changsheng raised his hand, wanting to ruffle the Seven Absolute Zither Master's silver-white hair, tied up in a bun.

The Seven Absolute Zither Master tilted her head. Hearing how eager Li Changsheng sounded, she finally gave in and said, "This is Teacher Zi Buyu's unique Innate Domain! The Book Fragrance Domain. Inside the domain, reading, reflecting, and discussing can all be converted into progress in Soul Power cultivation. The deeper your understanding of a book, the more progress you gain in meditation. So you're pretty clever."

At the Seven Absolute Zither Master's playful reply, Li Changsheng could only think how mischievous she was. It was the content of her words that truly shocked him.

An Innate Domain!

Domains were usually comprehended.

To be born with a domain was simply monstrous.

And this domain's effect was a little too incredible, wasn't it?

Reading and reflecting could be converted into Soul Power cultivation?

Zi Buyu casually added, "For children like you, the effect is pretty good. But for Soul Masters with high Soul Power, it's much weaker."

"Teacher, what is your Martial Soul?"

"Oh, something like yours. A book."

A book too? What did it do?

As he turned the pages and read, he asked, "Then how does your Martial Soul attack when it levels up? Is it also a control type?"

Zi Buyu turned a page in her book. "My Martial Soul is an auxiliary type."

An auxiliary-type Titled Douluo! A rare kind of Soul Master!

"Then what's your title, Teacher?"

"I never chose one. Too much trouble. Zi Buyu sounds nice enough."

So carefree!

After that, Li Changsheng didn't disturb Zi Buyu. Instead, he began to read carefully.

Just as the Seven Absolute Zither Master had said, as he read more deeply, Li Changsheng really did feel something subtle. His Soul Power circulated faster, and in his mind there seemed to be a vast ocean, surging with angry waves and crashing swells.

From that day on, Li Changsheng and the Seven Absolute Zither Master began their days of reading.

And Li Changsheng's six years of study at the Pre-Education Academy began as well.