The next day!
At the first glimmer of dawn, a rustling noise woke Lu Chen from his sleep.
Still groggy, Lu Chen opened his eyes for a look and found that Tang San was already up, getting dressed and folding his quilt.
He froze for a moment, then realized:
Looks like Tang San is going with his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt a Spirit Beast and absorb his first Spirit Ring.
Heh, go on, then. A plant Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, absorbing a Datura Snake's Spirit Ring- even if it brings temporary strength, a Datura Snake could never make Blue Silver Grass evolve in the right direction.
There's plenty of time ahead. As long as I find an opportunity first this time and kill the Blue Silver King in the Blue Silver Forest, Tang San will never awaken the Blue Silver Emperor. Sooner or later, he'll pay for the mistake he's making now.
With that thought, Lu Chen rolled over, pulled the quilt over his head, and sank back into a deep sleep.
Some distance away, Tang San, who had finished dressing and folding his quilt, turned to glance in Lu Chen's direction.
Tang San had cultivated the Purple Demon Eye, giving him frighteningly keen eyesight. Every tiny movement Lu Chen had just made had fallen under his gaze.
At that moment, he thought with malice filling his heart:
Lu Chen, we used to be the same. We had the same Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and the same innate full Soul Power.
But now, we're different. I've become the disciple of a renowned teacher, and under his guidance, I'm about to hunt a Spirit Beast and obtain my very first Spirit Ring.
But you, without anyone to guide you, will find obtaining a suitable Spirit Ring as difficult as ascending to heaven.
One step ahead means staying ahead at every step. I'll surpass you little by little. Once your innate divine strength can no longer serve you, that will be the moment I trample you underfoot!
Xiao Wu, wait for me. I'll make sure you know who the most dependable person in Room Seven really is!
At that thought, the corners of Tang San's mouth rose into a foolish, besotted smile, as though he had sunk into some fantasy.
Then Tang San shook his head hard. He took a long look toward Xiao Wu's spot before finally leaving Room Seven alone, without looking back.
About an hour after Tang San left, daylight finally broke in full, and the work-study students in Room Seven climbed out of bed one after another.
Although some wondered about Tang San's disappearance, no one truly cared.
Under Lu Chen's influence, all the work-study students had isolated Tang San. They neither spoke nor played with him, treating him as though he were invisible.
Even Xiao Wu, though Lu Chen had not interacted much with her, had not ended up sharing a bed with Tang San through a twist of circumstance as she had in the original plot.
Lu Chen was a butterfly who had transmigrated here, and the currents stirred by his wings had already begun affecting more and more things.
Lu Chen put on the brand-new uniform issued by the academy, and his entire bearing underwent a world-shaking change from before.
He had originally been a country boy, but now he looked every bit as good as those young nobles.
Thanks to his Gold Finger, which made him stronger just by breathing, Lu Chen was already tall and straight-backed. At only six years old, he stood 1.6 meters tall, and his body was packed with lean muscle, looking extremely masculine and brimming with strength.
Lu Chen had thick eyebrows and large eyes. Although his face still held a trace of childishness, it was clear that he was handsome.
His was not a delicate, feminine beauty.
It was a masculine beauty, resolute, decisive, and full of strength.
Completely transformed after putting on his uniform, Lu Chen met up with Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng, and the others. They went to the dining hall to eat together, then hurried to the field for the opening ceremony.
There was nothing unusual about the opening ceremony. It was simply the principal giving a speech, recalling the past and looking toward the future, encouraging every student to cultivate diligently and strive to reach rank-ten Soul Power, absorb a Spirit Ring, and become a Spirit Master as soon as possible.
After the opening ceremony ended, all the students returned to their respective classes. Lu Chen and Xiao Wu, both first-year newcomers, followed a teacher to the first-year classroom.
In the very first lesson of the term, the teacher taught them the Meditation Method for cultivating Soul Power.
Soul Power was a Spirit Master's highest priority!
Even a somewhat inferior Martial Soul would, at most, affect a Spirit Master's future prospects. But slow improvement in Soul Power determined whether someone was even qualified to become a Spirit Master.
Even at a junior Soul Master Academy, the standard for whether a student could graduate was whether they had reached rank-ten Soul Power, absorbed a Spirit Ring, and become a Spirit Master.
Thus, students had to begin cultivating Soul Power as soon as they enrolled, and the very first lesson the teacher taught was the Meditation Method for cultivating it.
Lu Chen had already learned the Meditation Method from Wang Sheng yesterday, but hearing the teacher explain it again today gave him many new insights.
Although Wang Sheng had taught him earnestly, sharing everything he knew, Wang Sheng himself had learned, at most, sixty percent of the full Meditation Method. The method he had taught Lu Chen was incomplete as well.
After hearing the teacher's authentic teaching this time, Lu Chen felt he had gained a great deal and developed further insights into the Meditation Method.
Once the teacher finished the lesson, he let everyone practice on their own.
Exceptionally gifted, Lu Chen easily entered a meditative state right there in class. With every breath, the energy of heaven and earth entered his body. Under his deliberate guidance, it traveled along the major meridians and their branches before finally gathering in his dantian.
The two Martial Souls within Lu Chen absorbed that energy, and after purification and refinement, it became his Soul Power and settled in his dantian.
After sensing it carefully, Lu Chen was overjoyed beyond measure. Having learned the complete Meditation Method, his cultivation speed had actually reached twice that of his usual state of breathing freely.
Upon discovering this, Lu Chen could not help grumbling inwardly about Wang Sheng. That fellow really was a poor student.
How had a perfectly good Meditation Method lost so much of its actual effectiveness after he learned it? It seemed that once Lu Chen returned, he could give that fellow a good mocking and share all his own cultivation experience with him while he was at it. After all, Wang Sheng had held nothing back from him.
Lu Chen was something of an exception in the classroom. He had entered a meditative state with great ease, possibly because of his Gold Finger. After all, every breath he took could absorb the energy of heaven and earth.
As for the others, each had their own problems. Some were lively and restless, unable to quiet their minds. Others were slow-witted and could not grasp the knack despite trying for ages. Many students scratched their heads and tugged at their ears, still unable to enter that meditative state.
Seeing this from the teaching platform, the teacher could only shake his head helplessly. He truly wanted to tell all the students at the top of his lungs:
You are simply the worst class of students I have ever taught!
Except for Lu Chen!
The teacher on the platform looked at Lu Chen, who had entered a meditative state early on, with eyes full of approval and nodded in satisfaction.
Then he turned his head and saw Xiao Wu sleeping soundly. He was so angry that he nearly tore out his own beard.
The other students could not enter a meditative state, but at least they were trying. Only Xiao Wu did not even bother putting on an act and had gone straight to sleep in class.
In truth, Xiao Wu could not be blamed for this. Having undergone Soul Beast Transformation as a 100,000-year Spirit Beast, she already had an enormous amount of energy accumulated within her and had no need to meditate at all.
She only needed to mingle among humans and gradually absorb their aura to slowly draw out the tremendous energy within her.