Finally Level Ten

Half a year later.

At dusk, the work-study students in Dorm Seven had, for once, stopped cultivating. Instead, they watched Jiang Jiu meditating and regulating his breathing with more than a little envy.

Wang Sheng, in particular, was wrestling with complicated feelings.

Half a year ago, Jiang Jiu had been at level eight, while he was at level nine.

By the time Jiang Jiu cultivated to level nine, Wang Sheng was still at level nine.

Now Jiang Jiu had already broken through to level ten, while Wang Sheng was still stuck at level nine!

Could the difference in Innate Soul Power really be that huge?

Thinking of Tang San and Xiao Wu, both born with Innate Full Soul Power, he had completely given up on the idea of breaking through to Soul Master and defeating Tang San.

The gap in their cultivation speeds was simply too large—large enough to outweigh the influence of their Martial Souls on their combat strength.

The other work-study students were merely a little envious. Their Soul Power had never been as high as Jiang Jiu's, so they couldn't relate to the experience of being overtaken in a straight line like Wang Sheng had.

"Xiao Jiu, how is it?"

When Jiang Jiu opened his eyes, Xiao Wu asked nervously.

"Mm, no problems. I'm already level ten."

"That's great!"

Xiao Wu excitedly pumped her fist, happy for Jiang Jiu.

After half a year together, the warmth between them hadn't cooled in the slightest. They'd nearly slept the whole bed into smelling the same.

As for the other bed, it was piled high with all sorts of things they'd bought together over the past six months.

It looked completely different from when it had held only two bundles.

"Congratulations, Brother Jiu!" Wang Sheng and the others began offering their congratulations too.

"I never thought our work-study students would soon have a third Soul Master," someone exclaimed, proud to share in the achievement.

Xiao Wu's smile faltered for a moment, then returned to normal.

She'd spent half a year preparing herself mentally.

So be it—Soul Hunting. Better to pick a target and get it done in one go.

"Wang Sheng, how does the academy usually arrange for students to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings?" Xiao Wu asked.

As the champion truant, and because she was already a Soul Master, she'd never needed to learn about these things.

Wang Sheng, on the other hand, was in his sixth year and had only recently reached level nine. He was bound to know a great deal about the matter.

Wang Sheng scratched his head, thought for a moment, then began, "Sister Xiao Wu, it's like this."

"The academy usually arranges for teachers to help students who reach level ten hunt Soul Beasts together at the end of the semester."

"Usually, several sixth-year students go on a Soul Hunt at once, and occasionally there'll be a fifth-year student too."

"If you don't want to wait, you can only hunt Soul Beasts on your own, like you did, Sister Xiao Wu. For example, you could find someone to help you."

Wang Sheng might not have had an easy time before Xiao Wu and the others arrived—he'd been bullied pretty badly—but he was still a genuine top student at Nuoding Academy. He'd have no trouble reaching level ten before graduation.

"The end of the semester? That won't work." Xiao Wu shook her head, then asked, "Find someone to help?"

Her own "Soul Hunt" wasn't of any use as a reference. She'd simply found a place and condensed her Soul Ring herself.

The only useful example was Tang San.

That Grandmaster had helped Tang San hunt for his Soul Ring, right? She seemed to remember him mentioning it.

"Xiao Jiu, let's ask Tang San when he gets here."

"Sure."

Jiang Jiu hadn't expected Xiao Wu to take this so seriously.

Waiting half a year for Nuoding Academy to arrange a group Soul Hunt wasn't out of the question. Even at level ten, he could continue cultivating and accumulating Soul Power.

But without a doubt, it was the worst option.

If they encountered a responsible, patient teacher, they might be fine. But if the teacher leading the group was just going through the motions to tick a box, they could be handed a Ten-Year Soul Ring—and then they'd have nowhere to cry.

Of course, a Ten-Year Soul Ring would still be something the students at Nuoding Academy were grateful to receive.

But Jiang Jiu's goal couldn't possibly stop at a Ten-Year Soul Ring.

If he didn't wait for Nuoding Academy to make arrangements, he'd have to figure something out himself.

First option: use Xiao Wu's connections and somehow get to Star Dou Forest, then have Daming and Erming toss out a three- or four-hundred-year Soul Beast.

Chance of success: zero. Forget it.

Second option: use Tang San's connections and have Yu Xiaogang lead the group. If that didn't work, at least get a permit to enter Soul Hunting Forest.

Without a permit, he'd have to sneak into Soul Hunting Forest, which would be far too dangerous.

Besides, Tang San was more important than Yu Xiaogang. In terms of combat strength, Tang San with his Hidden Weapons was probably more formidable than Yu Xiaogang.

That one was worth a try.

Jiang Jiu could also think of a third option: go and corner the dean of Nuoding Academy.

Surely a first-year student who'd cultivated to level ten would carry at least some weight?

If he was polite and acted well-behaved, nothing bad should happen even if he was turned down.

Ideally, he'd combine the second and third options, putting together a Soul Hunting team of the dean, Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and himself.

If all of that failed, they'd just have to wait another half a year.

If he took Xiao Wu along on the Soul Hunt, they might be able to break away from the main group and hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Beast.

"I never burn incense until I'm desperate, then I go scrambling to the Buddha." Jiang Jiu laughed at himself.

He really had been too focused on improving himself. That wasn't a bad thing, after all; in the end, the only person he could truly rely on was himself.

But given the situation now, if he'd made himself more noticeable to the dean earlier, his chances of successfully asking for help would undoubtedly have been higher.

Then again, he was just a six-year-old child on the outside. Expecting him to make the rounds and burn incense was a little too fanciful.

Maybe his spirited morning runs had already won over the old dean?

After amusing himself with that thought, Jiang Jiu went back to cultivating.

He could look for help and keep cultivating at the same time.

"Xiao Wu, I'll cultivate for a bit. Remember to remind me when Tang San gets here."

"Mm-hm, leave it to me."

In Dorm Seven, the work-study students saw that Jiang Jiu had reached level ten but wasn't slacking off at all to celebrate. One after another, they straightened up and began their evening cultivation.

A role model really was a role model. All they had to do was follow his example.

As for Xiao Wu, she lay on her side under the covers as usual, blinking her big eyes at Jiang Jiu as he cultivated.

Xiao Jiu's already level ten. Does that mean I can break through to level fourteen too?

For some reason, Xiao Wu felt that Tang San, despite having been born with Innate Full Soul Power, was cultivating a little slowly. Tang San's Soul Power was higher than hers at the moment, but that didn't change her opinion.

Maybe when she broke through from level twelve to level fifteen, Tang San would only just have gone from level thirteen to level fifteen. After that, her cultivation would pull ahead of his.

Xiao Wu adjusted her cultivation speed. She only needed to keep pace with Xiao Jiu. However many levels he gained, she could more or less break through to match him.

Her Innate Soul Power was higher than Xiao Jiu's?

But it also took more Soul Power for her to advance one level in the teens than it took Jiang Jiu to advance one level.

As for Tang San falling behind, that was Tang San's problem.

Dorm Seven fell silent once more.

That night, Tang San returned to the dormitory beneath the moonlight.

It happened almost every day, and he felt his days were quite fulfilling.

In particular, coming back at night to see everyone working hard gave him a sense of security.

But today, something seemed a little different?