Setting Out for the Capital City

Three days later, early morning.

At the western road junction of North River Mouth Town, a dark mass of people had gathered in a circle.

On a day that was not for Go to Market, a scene like this was still fairly rare.

In the middle of the crowd, Zhang Xiaoyu held her six-month-old daughter, Ling Si, and looked at Ling Yi standing before her with a bundle on his back. Her eyes were red, and tears kept falling.

Beside her, Ling Xiaoshan held Ling Shan's hand. Father and son both looked deeply reluctant to part. Little Ling Shan sniffled from time to time, his eyes wide as he tried hard not to cry.

The family of five stood at the very inside. A little farther out were Grandfather Ling Changqing, Grandmother Yan Hong, eldest uncle Zhang Dahe, aunt Ling He, and cousin Zhang Lei. Farther out still were Third Grandpa Ling Changshui, elder cousin Ling Bai, the grandson from Third Grandma Ling Changxiu's family, Ling Yi's older cousin Ye Hong... and so on, all sorts of close and distant relatives of the Ling Family.

"Ling Yi!"

Just then, a slightly stiff, distant voice came from the carriage by the roadside more than ten meters away. "It's about time. We have to set out—!"

"All right! Coming—!" Ling Yi called back loudly in that direction. Then he looked around at the relatives beside him, his gaze finally stopping on Ling Xiaoshan, Zhang Xiaoyu, and the others as he said gently, "Dad, Mom, I should go. Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

"..." Ling Xiaoshan opened his mouth, but in the end, he merely raised a hand and rubbed Ling Yi's head, saying in a low voice, "When you're away from home, take good care of yourself."

"Mm-hmm, Xiao Yi has always been the best..." After Zhang Xiaoyu finished speaking, she held little Ling Si and buried her head in Ling Xiaoshan's arms, her shoulders shaking from sobs.

"Xiao Shan." Ling Yi drew his gaze back from his parents and looked at Ling Shan, reminding him, "Remember to help Mom take good care of our little sister."

"Mm!" Ling Shan nodded hard, his eyes rimmed red and his voice thick with a nasal tone.

"Lei Ge."

Hearing him, Zhang Lei puffed out his chest and took half a step forward.

Ling Yi smiled and lightly punched him on the shoulder, saying, "Keep an eye on things at home. Help me take care of A'Huang and Meow Meow. Don't forget to practice your skills often. When I come back, I'll go hunting with you in the Old Forest again..."

"Don't worry, A Yi!" Zhang Lei heard this and thumped his chest loudly, saying in a loud voice, "I definitely won't let you down—!"

After punching Zhang Lei's shoulder once more, Ling Yi looked around and gave everyone a broad smile. Through that smile, he passed his calm and peaceful state of mind to each of them.

Finally, he bent down and reached out, rubbing A'Huang and Meow Meow hard on the head. These two little... no, they should be called big fellows now.

A'Huang and Meow Meow were already six years old now. The former stood one meter tall at the shoulder, while the latter stood ninety centimeters at the shoulder. Their bodies were long and sleek, and even without counting their tails, they were over one and a half meters in length. Among Li Hua Cats and Earth Dogs, they could be considered enormous creatures.

Over the past year, Ling Yi had taken the method soul masters used to breathe in and exhale the spiritual energy of the outside world during meditation, modified it into versions suitable for cats and dogs respectively, then taught it to them through Hypnosis.

Thanks to the selfless contributions of over a hundred cats and dogs from Shan Hai Village and the surrounding villages, the current A'Huang and Meow Meow had already condensed a trace of Soul Power inside their bodies, roughly equivalent to a human at Level 0.1.

Although it was extremely, extremely little, it was still a qualitative leap.

Under Ling Yi's control, the cats and dogs that participated in the experiments had developed all sorts of problems, but fortunately, none of them had been in any danger of losing their lives.

Unfortunately, experiments on beasts could be carried out through the other cats and dogs in the village and the Neighboring Village, but if he wanted to modify a Meditation Method for people without Soul Power—such as Ling Yi's parents, grandparents, eldest uncle, and aunt—to cultivate, that was difficult to implement...

A cultivation method like "Mysterious Heaven Skill," which allowed an Ordinary Person to cultivate, was the greatest bug on Douluo Continent.

This was a qualitative change from nothing to something. Hidden weapons and the like were ultimately just lesser paths.

Ling Yi said goodbye to all his relatives, hooked his thumb around the strap of the bundle on his shoulder and lifted it, then strode toward the carriage more than ten meters away.

Before he even got close, a tall figure came forward from beside the carriage. "Xiao Yi."

"Master Jiang." Ling Yi greeted him with a smile.

"Don't forget the letter I gave you," Master Jiang reminded him. "Your talent in forging is truly very good. Don't waste it—"

"Don't worry." Ling Yi patted his chest. "I definitely won't forget—"

"By the way, can you tell me now what relationship that Vajra Old Man Jin has with you?"

"My master!"

Hearing Ling Yi's question, Master Jiang subconsciously straightened his back and said with some pride, "The old man is a blacksmith at the Blacksmith Master level. Together with Li Qiang Blacksmith Master, who serves as a Palace Enshrinement in the Waterwood Principality, and Fu Shan Blacksmith Master, who holds a post in the military, they're known as the principality's 'Three Great Masters'—!"

Hearing Master Jiang's words, a boy of around ten, who had just walked over to urge them on, swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue. He looked at Master Jiang and Ling Yi with a very complicated gaze, his mouth moving slightly. In the end, he nodded to Master Jiang and said to Ling Yi, "Get in the carriage. There's a stretch of mountain road on the way that will waste quite a bit of time. If we set out now, we should be able to reach Mu Zhi City before dark."

"All right." Ling Yi nodded and answered with a smile, "I'll trouble you this time, Young Master Ethan—"

Ethan Parker waved his hand and said, "Don't call me young master. In any case, you'll be enrolling soon. From now on, just call me senior."

After Ling Yi agreed, Ethan Parker exchanged a few more pleasantries with Master Jiang, and the two bid each other farewell.

Very soon, a perfectly ordinary carriage swayed along the Official Road and set off, traveling west the whole way.

Mu Zhi City was located slightly southwest of North River Mouth Town, about a hundred and forty-plus li away.

In the carriage, Ling Yi smiled as he greeted Ethan Parker's younger male cousin and younger female cousin, showing not the slightest resentment toward the two of them for having taken North River Mouth Town's Work-study Student slots last year.

Instead, these two children, a boy and a girl the same age as Ling Yi, seemed somewhat uncomfortable in the face of his smile. They only revealed awkward yet polite smiles.

At this time last year, even though their families clearly could afford to pay the tuition, they had still chosen to take the Work-study Student slots and send the two of them to Green Leaf Elementary Soul Master Academy in Mu Zhi City.

During this year of academy life, what they had seen, heard, and personally experienced had made them deeply realize just how insignificant their status as young master and young miss of a small family in North River Mouth Town truly was.

Now, seeing Ling Yi, whose status was even lower than theirs, the two children of about seven could not help but feel a bit more closeness toward him as a fellow townsman once they thought of the environment in the academy.

It was just that the matter of the slots from before stood between them, making both sides—well, mainly the two of them—feel somewhat at a loss.

By contrast, the slightly older Ethan Parker had now already advanced to the higher grades, and his Soul Power was also nearing Level 10. At present, more of his thoughts were focused on cultivation and his hopes for his First Soul Ring.

Compared with his two younger cousins, he had an even deeper understanding that in the academy, in Mu Zhi City, and even in the Waterwood Principality and on Douluo Continent, one's own strength came first!

Here, seeing that the one older and two younger people in the carriage did not seem in the mood to chat, Ling Yi naturally would not be tactless enough to push forward or take the initiative to find topics to talk about.

They were all children, so they should say and do things that fit children.

At the same time, Ling Yi was also thinking back over what Master Jiang had said before they parted.

It had only been a single brief sentence, yet it contained quite a lot of extraordinary information. After experiencing farewell today, stepping out of his comfort zone, and heading toward an unknown place, Ling Yi could not help letting his thoughts run loose like an unbridled horse, his restless mind leaping onto a Somersault Cloud and flying toward the horizon.