Spirit Pagoda Supreme Gold Card

Just as he reached the school gate, a figure moved sideways from nearby and blocked him squarely.

Lin Xun nearly crashed into him.

He took half a step back and looked up. Blue hair, handsome features, probably two or three years older. His uniform was the standard issue of the advanced division.

The other boy lifted his chin slightly, looking down at him from the corner of his eye, a textbook arrogant curve hanging from his lips.

The classic upperclassman's condescending gaze.

"You're Lin Xun? Zi Xin's ex-boyfriend?"

Lin Xun did not deny it. He nodded faintly. "That's me. And you are?"

The blue-haired youth ignored his question and continued speaking on his own.

"I don't know what methods you used to deceive Zi Xin, but breaking up with her was the right move. At least you have some self-awareness. Zi Xin is a genius in our advanced division. Her talent as a mecha pilot is among the very best in all of Eastsea City. You're only a junior from the intermediate division. It was inappropriate for you to cling to her in the first place."

He paused and raised his chin a little higher.

"I came to see you today just to make sure. Since you've broken up, make it a clean break. Remember, don't let me see you harassing Zi Xin again. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."

After saying that, he shoved both hands into his pockets and stood there looking down at Lin Xun, waiting for his response.

Lin Xun fell silent for a moment, several thoughts flashing through his mind.

Where did this wannabe big shot come from?

Back when he had dated Zhu Zhuqing, even Dai Mubai, her former fiancé, had not dared say a word of nonsense. Yet now, someone was actually threatening him over something like this.

"So who exactly are you?"

"Xu Xiaoyu." The blue-haired youth coldly gave his name. "Vice President of the Eastsea Academy Student Council, fourth year of the advanced division."

When Xu Xiaoyu had first met Ouyang Zixin, he had thought this junior was quite nice. She even looked at him with a hint of admiration. And whether in looks or other respects, although the Ouyang family could not compare to the Xu Family, they were still respectable in Eastsea City. He had originally thought that there might be a chance for further development between them someday.

Yet before he knew it, he heard the love story of the advanced division's goddess, Ouyang Zixin, and an intermediate division junior. And then the former had been ruthlessly dumped by the latter.

Angered, he felt as though something he had set his eyes on had been snatched away, so he came looking for Lin Xun directly.

"Oh." Lin Xun's expression remained calm. Over the years, it was not as if he had never had romantic rivals, but even Yun Ming had not been this confident when competing with him for Ya Li. This was the first time he had encountered someone so self-righteous.

Not wanting to bother with him, he walked straight toward the academy exit.

"You..." Xu Xiaoyu clearly had not expected to be ignored. He stood there blankly for a moment, and by the time he came to his senses, Lin Xun had already walked several meters away.

His expression darkened. He took two long strides and blocked Lin Xun again. This time, he did not merely block the way—he reached out as well.

One arm stretched directly across Lin Xun's chest, making it clear that he would not let him pass.

"I'm not finished." Xu Xiaoyu's voice turned cold. "What kind of attitude is that? I'm talking to you, and you're treating it like background noise?"

Lin Xun's patience ran out. He turned back and gave him a cold glance.

A dark red gleam flashed through those deep purple eyes.

"Ghh—"

The instant their eyes met, Xu Xiaoyu let out a pained muffled groan. His hands flew uncontrollably to his temples as he staggered back two steps, his back slamming into the stone pillar by the school gate.

It felt as though something had viciously struck his mind, leaving him in unbearable pain.

Lin Xun said blandly, "Senior Xu, whatever happened between Senior Zi Xin and me has nothing to do with you. Don't meddle in other people's affairs. Otherwise, next time won't be so simple."

He had only gone easy on the guy because Xu Xiaoyu might briefly become his brother-in-law in the future. Otherwise, it would not have ended so lightly.

Xu Xiaoyu leaned against the stone pillar as the orchestra in his head finally began to leave the stage. The brass section went first, followed closely by the strings. The percussionists seemed to have had too much to drink and lingered for another dozen seconds before finally falling silent.

By the time he recovered, Lin Xun's back had already vanished from sight.

"A mental attack."

He gritted his teeth and said in disbelief, "An intermediate division student actually has a method of mental attack."

The Spirit Pagoda of Eastsea City was extraordinarily tall.

Not that it was taller than the Spirit Pagodas in other cities, but among Eastsea City's buildings, it rose with downright unreasonable height. From more than a hundred meters away, one could see its spire piercing the skyline. Its body was a pure, gleaming white, absorbing sunlight during the day and glowing on its own at night.

The Spirit Pagoda's status on the continent needed no explanation. There was an old saying in the soul master world: Shrek handles geniuses, the Spirit Pagoda handles soul spirits, the Tang Sect handles hidden weapons, and the War God Hall handles fighting.

The four great powers each managed their own domain. They did not see eye to eye, yet none could do without the others. Among them, the Spirit Pagoda was the most special, because it ran a monopoly. Aside from a handful of wild soul spirits, more than ninety percent of all soul spirits on the continent had to be bought from the Spirit Pagoda. Offend anyone but the Spirit Pagoda, or you could look forward to spending the New Year with empty soul rings.

This Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City was a branch. Its scale could not compare with the headquarters in Shrek City, but in a small place like Eastsea City, it was already a landmark.

"A lottery draw?"

Soul spirits from the Spirit Pagoda could be obtained through lottery draws. It was also the cheapest method, costing only thirty thousand Federation Credits.

However, while it was possible to get a hundred-year soul spirit, there were also ten-year soul spirits and even defective products inside.

Lin Xun became interested.

Back on Blue Star, he had bought scratch-off tickets whenever he went out. He loved this kind of lottery draw most.

Though he had never won a single cent.

He still had money. One system point could be exchanged for ten thousand Federation Credits, though there was a daily exchange limit. Even so, Lin Xun directly spent three hundred thousand Federation Credits on ten draws.

Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!

All in!

Then ten flashes of white light passed by, and every single one was a ten-year soul spirit. Six of them were even defective.

Lin Xun's face darkened.

The Spirit Pagoda attendant beside him could not help coughing twice.

"It's a matter of probability."

At that moment, the system's voice sounded at the most inappropriate time.

"Lottery draws carry risks. Going all in requires caution."

"Sir Soul Master, would you like to continue drawing, or purchase one directly?" the attendant asked.

"Neither."

Lin Xun reached into his clothes and fumbled around for a while.

The attendant still wore that polite yet awkward smile, thinking this unlucky fellow had probably run out of money.

Three hundred thousand had gone down the drain, exchanged for ten sorry excuses of soul spirits. Anyone would have a dark face after that.

She had already rehearsed words of comfort in her mind.

"It's all right, student. Come back after you've saved enough next time. I'll keep the twenty-percent-off coupon for you."

But in the next second, Lin Xun took out a card.

It was gold.

A circle of extremely fine dark patterns lined the edge of the card, surrounded by a gold trim. At its center was a tower-shaped emblem, with a line of words engraved beneath it.

"Spirit communication across all realms, spiritual connection under heaven."

"This is...?"

The attendant's smile froze.

She had worked here for three years and had never seen this kind of card with her own eyes.

But she recognized it.

During the first week of her orientation training, the instructor had spent an entire class explaining this card, speaking with reverence throughout.

"The Spirit Pagoda Supreme Gold Card," the instructor had said then. "Fewer than twenty have been issued across the entire continent. Every holder belongs either to one of the top great families or the core upper ranks of a top organization. When you see this card, no matter who holds it, how old they are, how poorly they are dressed, or how inhuman they look, give them the highest standard of reception."

The instructor had added especially, "But you'll most likely never see one in your lives. Holders of such things generally do not come to Eastsea City, and they do not take them out casually. So don't be too nervous."

Not be too nervous?

At that very moment, staring at the gold card on the counter, the attendant had only one sentence left in her mind.

Instructor, you lied.