The next morning, at dawn.
Li Changsheng woke up in bed, feeling exceptionally calm. It was probably because he'd spent the previous day resting, then gone straight back to the dormitory and fallen asleep after paying his respects at the Sun God's shrine and parting ways with Shen Yueliang.
Thinking about all the things that had happened between him and Shen Yueliang the day before, Li Changsheng felt an inexplicable emotion stirring within him.
Damn, I'm over ten thousand years old. Why am I suddenly always thinking about a six-year-old child? I'm a monster!
Leaning against the bed, Li Changsheng raised a hand, intending to slap himself, but after a moment's thought, decided against it.
Seeing sunlight spill into the room, he hurried out of bed and packed some essentials, along with a few books to pass the time, into his Storage Soul Tool.
The semester was about to end. Li Changsheng had cultivated while entertaining himself, and a little over a month ago, his Soul Power had finally reached the bottleneck at level twenty.
As for why he'd waited until now to obtain a Soul Ring—
There was a reason, of course. Li Changsheng had the Longevity skill, but he wasn't the sort to waste time.
Zi Buyu had once told him and Shen Yueliang that although her Book Fragrance Domain could transform the way Soul Masters meditated, it didn't technically count as meditation. So when breaking through to a new major realm, it was best to stay at that level a little longer and lay a solid foundation.
Li Changsheng soon finished packing. He didn't have much to bring, really. He'd need to take a few gifts when visiting Shen Yueliang's home, but there was no harm in buying those after they reached the Star Luo Empire.
Then he opened the door and left the dormitory.
It was the last day of the semester, and many students were heading to their little courtyard classrooms.
The teachers would assign some holiday homework for the students to finish before classes resumed.
In terms of its teaching system, however, the Pre-Education Academy was basically a copy of Shrek Academy.
The holiday homework was most likely focused primarily on improving Soul Power.
During his time studying at the Pre-Education Academy, Li Changsheng had come to understand just how terribly the incident during the entrance exam had shaken the academy.
Even now, months later, the Pre-Education Academy could only maintain the status quo of an ordinary Junior Soul Master Academy, teaching theoretical knowledge.
Shen Yueliang had told him that it wasn't pressure from above. The incident itself had been shrouded in an eerie atmosphere, and no one knew whether students would meet untimely deaths if they were sent out on another mission in teams like that.
The Pre-Education Academy's dean wanted to develop it into a unique Junior Soul Master Academy, but he also had to consider the safety of those six- and seven-year-old children.
After all, a Soul Saint had died under mysterious circumstances, and later, a Titled Douluo had even infiltrated Li Changsheng's consciousness. All of these events were more than enough to prove that the whole affair was far from simple.
Li Changsheng soon arrived at the courtyard.
Zi Buyu and Shen Yueliang were preparing breakfast. Shen Yueliang wasn't wearing her mask; she was dressed in simple, casual clothes.
This was their daily routine.
Li Changsheng walked over and watched from the side.
On an ordinary day, if it were just him and Shen Yueliang, Li Changsheng could help out. But with Zi Buyu, the Otaku Douluo, there, there was no need for him to lend a hand.
Instead, they started talking about what lay ahead.
Zi Buyu dropped small, shrimp-like ingredients into the flour and stirred gently. Then she glanced at Li Changsheng standing nearby and said listlessly, "Is everything ready?"
Li Changsheng nodded. "Mm. We can leave whenever you are."
Shen Yueliang didn't join in. Whenever she cooked, she devoted all her attention to the pot, where things could change at any moment.
Soon,
an exquisite, fragrant meal was laid out on the stone table.
The three of them sat together.
Unusually, Zi Buyu brought out a jar of wine today and poured herself a small cup. A faint smile appeared on her usually stiff face.
"Today is the last day of your first semester. I haven't taught you much over the past six months, but everyone in your year—and even the other teachers—has seen how much you've improved. To be honest, I'm not good at teaching students. When the dean asked me to take charge of you two, I was actually worried I'd ruin you. I'm a Titled Douluo, and yet, honestly, I'm pretty useless."
After drinking a cup of wine, Zi Buyu swept the hair off her forehead with a bold gesture, revealing her youthful-looking but extremely frail face. Her cheeks were flushed, as though a fire had been lit beneath them.
"Teacher, you really can't hold your liquor. One cup and you're already drunk."
Li Changsheng picked up some food with the serving chopsticks and put it in his bowl. As he savored the dishes, he said with a smile, "Teacher, you're being too modest."
Shen Yueliang chimed in from the side. "If it weren't for your Book Fragrance Domain, how could Li Changsheng and I have improved so quickly? We're only six or seven, and our Soul Power is already close to the Soul Elder level. A large part of that is thanks to you."
Li Changsheng didn't think Shen Yueliang was flattering her.
That was simply the truth.
Li Changsheng felt that after he obtained his Second Soul Ring, his Soul Power would probably break through level twenty-two straight away. Perhaps it would go even higher.
Zi Buyu picked up her wine cup. "All right, I know you two little ones are good with words. Do you think I don't know myself? Forget it. No more talk about that today. It's only a holiday, after all. You haven't graduated. Come on, Li Changsheng, have a drink! We'll drink until dusk! Then, under cover of night, your teacher will show you what a Titled Douluo can do!"
Zi Buyu was probably feeling sentimental today, and her tolerance for alcohol was truly awful. One tiny cup had already made her feel a little dizzy. That was why she'd gone on such a long speech, and why she was unusually bold today, so different from her usual bookish self.
Li Changsheng looked at Shen Yueliang, feeling rather helpless.
Shen Yueliang smiled faintly too. "Are you drinking?"
"Of course I am!" Li Changsheng slapped the table at once. His body might have been a child's, but his soul wasn't!
And so Li Changsheng really did drink with Zi Buyu. Even in his current body, his capacity for alcohol was frighteningly good. After three cups, Zi Buyu had completely collapsed onto the table, while Li Changsheng drank the rest of the wine without a care. He then helped Shen Yueliang carry Zi Buyu to her bedroom.
Not until dusk
did Zi Buyu wake up.
Holding onto the doorframe, Zi Buyu looked at the two of them reading beneath the pavilion and frowned. She remembered leaning on Li Changsheng's little shoulder while drinking with him. She should have felt at least a little awkward, but she didn't. She did her best to put on the calm, dignified air a teacher ought to have.
Then she went beneath the pavilion and cleared her throat. "Let's go."
Li Changsheng and Shen Yueliang exchanged a glance. Seeing that Zi Buyu's weary expression had improved a little, they felt reassured.
Neither of them suggested leaving the next day instead.
Zi Buyu had asked them both a week earlier
whether they were afraid of heights.
Soon, Zi Buyu took a huge device from her storage container. It looked like a streamlined ship's hull.
It was large, about five meters long from bow to stern, and coated in black. It had structures resembling bird wings, yet its waterdrop shape gave the impression that it could cut through the wind with astonishing force.
Li Changsheng recognized it at a glance.
A seventh-grade flying Soul Tool from the Sun Moon Empire: the Water Flow Shuttle.
Zi Buyu pointed to the Water Flow Shuttle she had set on the ground. "This is the Water Flow Shuttle I told you about before. It can travel ten thousand li in a day, but only someone at the Soul Douluo level or above has enough Soul Power to operate it. To reduce its weight, it was forged from Cloud Float Mud, a mineral unique to the Sun Moon Empire. Its special property is that it has to ascend to an altitude of ten thousand meters before it becomes lighter. And because of the material, the whole craft is transparent. That means we'll be completely exposed up in the sky—though, in practice, we won't be. Luckily, neither of you is afraid of heights."
Zi Buyu had given them another introduction to her Soul Tool, which served as a means of transportation.
There was no denying that the Sun Moon Empire's cutting-edge development of Soul Tools was beyond what ordinary people could even glimpse.
Normally, Soul Tools like this couldn't be bought. But the Pre-Education Academy's Soul Guidance Department had a high-ranking Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire. Besides, the Pre-Education Academy was in a special location, so it wasn't subject to the restrictions imposed on the three original empires of Douluo Continent.
"All right, get on. We should reach the Star Dou Great Forest by tomorrow morning. Once we've obtained your Soul Rings, I'll take you home. Li Changsheng, you're going to visit Yueliang's family, right?"
Before Li Changsheng could answer, Zi Buyu immediately circulated her Soul Power. She didn't release her Martial Soul, but Soul Rings appeared around her.
Yellow, yellow, purple, black, black, black, black, black, black.
The nine Soul Rings—yellow blazing like radiance, purple gleaming like annihilation, black dark as destruction—interwove and reflected one another. In the fading light of dusk, they radiated an overwhelming presence.
As Li Changsheng watched, he realized that Zi Buyu's Soul Rings had all been ten-thousand-year rings starting with the fourth.
That undoubtedly meant Zi Buyu had been in excellent physical condition back then. So why was she so frail now?
Could it be...
Staying up late was bad for you?
No, reading was bad for you!
Zi Buyu leaped straight into the Water Flow Shuttle.
The Water Flow Shuttle was very much like an airplane, though smaller, and the core arrays engraved inside it were incomparably complex.
At the same time, the rear section slowly opened, like a pair of wings.
Li Changsheng stepped aside to let Shen Yueliang jump on first.
Shen Yueliang leaped up and landed inside the craft.
Li Changsheng jumped in after her.
As soon as he entered, Li Changsheng couldn't help sighing from the bottom of his heart.
Sure enough, maybe he should have "immigrated" to the Sun Moon Empire back then.
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