On a country lane!
Lu Chen supported Lu An with his left hand and Rose with his right as the family stumbled along the road home.
Lu An's face was flushed crimson, his eyes full of humiliation and resentment. He opened his mouth, but only after a long while did he manage to say:
"Little Chen, I'm so useless!"
Tears had soaked the front of Rose's clothes. Once they were far from that fiend Tang Hao, her state of mind gradually settled. Her eyes were red as she said:
"Now that murderous wretch Tang Hao has stolen Little Chen's work-study student place. What is Little Chen supposed to do?"
After leaving that scene of trouble behind, all fear had long since vanished from Lu Chen's face, leaving only calm. His deep eyes were steady as he comforted his parents:
"Dad, Mom, don't worry. Grandpa Village Chief will definitely help me. Let's just go home today."
"Tomorrow, I'll go see Grandpa Village Chief, and we'll think of a way to trade for a work-study student place from another village."
Just then, Old Jack caught up, panting for breath. Hearing him approach, all three members of Lu Chen's family turned to look.
After catching up with the family, Old Jack first stopped to take several deep, ragged breaths. Then he rubbed his lower back with both hands and said, a trace of guilt in his voice:
"Lu An, Rose, Little Chen, I've let you down over this. I promised the place to Little Chen, but now Tang Hao has snatched it away."
"Don't worry. I'll stand up for Little Chen and find a way to get him a work-study student place."
"I can swallow my pride and visit the chiefs of the neighboring villages to ask them for an unfilled work-study student place."
"But you'll need to prepare some compensation for them, too. A mouth that eats another's food grows soft; a hand that takes another's gifts grows short. With some compensation, this will be easier to arrange."
Hearing Old Jack's words, all three members of Lu Chen's family were delighted.
Lu An and Rose thought joyfully that their son still had a chance to study at the Soul Master Academy, which meant he still had a chance to rise above the crowd.
In their simple view of the world, as long as someone could enter the Soul Master Academy, they would emerge as a noble Spirit Master.
With the status of a Spirit Master, their fortunes would turn around completely. Wherever they went, they would be able to find well-paid work.
They could even join the city lord's order of knights and gain noble status, along with city residency.
For their entire family, this was a wonderful opportunity that came only once in a hundred years.
Lu An and Rose exchanged a glance, each seeing the joy in the other's eyes. Then Lu An said respectfully:
"Village Chief, we'll leave everything in your hands. Once we get home, we'll weigh out three hundred jin of grain for Little Chen to bring along when he visits the other villages with you."
Three hundred jin of grain was no small amount. That Lu Chen's family could produce it so easily was all thanks to Lu Chen.
Because of his gold finger, which made him stronger just by breathing, Lu Chen developed quickly and possessed innate extraordinary strength.
He had been able to work in the fields when he was only a few years old. With his body of solid muscle, he worked even more efficiently than the family's old ox.
As a result, their family had enjoyed bumper harvests every year for the past few years. Even after paying taxes to the city lord, the remaining grain nearly filled their storehouse.
Taking out three hundred jin of grain was no problem at all for their family.
Old Jack nodded in satisfaction. With those three hundred jin of grain, he would have more confidence when approaching the other village chiefs.
Old Jack waved a hand and said, still indignant:
"All right, go home first. That bastard Tang Hao gave you quite a fright today. That bastard! I must have been blind back then to let that pair of ungrateful wolves, father and son, stay in the village."
"Hmph!"
Recalling everything that had just happened, Old Jack's face was still full of anger, and he kept cursing under his breath.
At Old Jack's mention of Tang Hao, a trace of terror appeared on both Lu An's and Rose's faces.
That glare from Tang Hao had truly frightened Lu An and Rose half to death. Honest, ordinary people like them simply could not withstand the imposing presence of a fiend like Tang Hao.
Lu An lowered his head. Remembering that humiliating scene, he could only say in a muffled voice:
"All right, Village Chief. We'll be going, then."
As they turned to leave, Lu Chen politely said goodbye to Old Jack:
"Goodbye, Grandpa Village Chief. I'll come see you first thing tomorrow morning."
Seeing how sensible and polite Lu Chen was, Old Jack felt much better. Smiling broadly, he waved and said:
"All right, all right. Goodbye."
"Little Chen, you're strong and healthy. Give your parents plenty of support."
After saying goodbye, Lu Chen supported his parents as they headed home.
Along the way, Lu Chen's mood improved considerably, and a gleam of excitement danced in his eyes.
His gold finger was powerful, giving Lu Chen a promising future. He was one hundred percent certain to become a mighty figure of his generation.
He might even become a god!
For now, however, Lu Chen was an illiterate country boy who could not read a single character or distinguish the species and ages of Spirit Beasts, so he did not dare hunt them indiscriminately.
Absorbing the wrong spirit ring would definitely diminish Lu Chen's potential greatly.
His talent did not lie in his martial soul. His martial soul really was nothing more than the most ordinary kind.
Thus, every spirit ring Lu Chen absorbed in the future would have to be carefully selected.
He had to ensure that each would allow his martial soul to evolve in the right direction.
From a low-level martial soul to a mid-level martial soul!
From a mid-level martial soul to a high-level martial soul!
From a high-level martial soul to a super martial soul!
From a super martial soul to a god-level martial soul!
As long as every Spirit Beast's spirit ring he absorbed perfectly matched his martial soul's attributes, everything he envisioned would become reality.
When that time came, he could take revenge!
Lu Chen thought viciously.
After Lu Chen's family of three returned home, they immediately went to their grain storehouse and weighed out three hundred jin of grain.
Then, after the three of them discussed it, they weighed out another hundred jin as a thank-you gift for Old Jack.
Old Jack was running around for the sake of Lu Chen's place. They could not fail to make some gesture of gratitude.
The next day!
Strong enough to drag an ox, Lu Chen effortlessly hoisted four hundred jin of grain onto his back and headed to Old Jack's house early that morning.
After seeing Old Jack, Lu Chen carried the extra hundred jin of grain into his house while thanking him.
Although Old Jack kept saying there was no need to be so polite, the smile on his face grew broader and broader.
His gaze was full of affection as he looked at Lu Chen, inwardly reflecting that this was what a good child should be.
After accepting the hundred jin of grain, Old Jack said no more and bustled out of Holy Soul Village with Lu Chen.
They visited every village around Holy Soul Village. After Old Jack made his inquiries, it turned out that only Radish Village still had a work-study student place available.
After Lu Chen offered the three hundred jin of grain, Radish Village's chief made the decision on the spot, formally trading their village's work-study student place to Lu Chen.
Lu Chen had finally obtained his ticket to the Soul Master Academy!