Spirit Pagoda Top-Tier Gold Card

Just as he reached the school gate, a figure sidestepped over from nearby and stood directly in his path.

Lin Xun nearly walked right into him.

He took half a step back and looked up. Blue hair, handsome features, probably two or three years older than him. He wore the standard uniform of the Advanced Division.

The other boy tilted his chin up slightly, looking down at him from the corner of his eyes, a perfectly arrogant curve hanging from his lips.

A classic upperclassman's condescending gaze.

"You're Lin Xun? Zixin's ex-boyfriend?"

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

The blue-haired youth did not answer his question and simply continued.

"I don't know what tricks you used to deceive Junior Zixin, but breaking up with her was the right move. At least you have some self-awareness. Junior Zixin is a genius of our Advanced Division. Her talent as a mecha pilot is among the best in all of Donghai City. You're just 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 Junior Zixin again. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude."

After saying that, he shoved both hands into his pockets and looked down at Lin Xun, waiting for a reaction.

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

Where the hell did this idiot come from?

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

"So, who exactly are you?"

"Xu Xiaoyu." The blue-haired youth coldly stated his name. "Vice President of Donghai Academy's Student Council, fourth year of the Advanced Division."

When Xu Xiaoyu had gotten to know Ouyang Zixin, he had thought she was quite nice. She even looked at him with a hint of admiration. Besides, whether in looks or other aspects, although the Ouyang family could not compare with the Xu family, they were still fairly respectable in Donghai City. He had originally thought there might be a chance for their relationship to develop further in the future.

Yet soon afterward, he heard the love story between Ouyang Zixin, the goddess of the Advanced Division, and a junior from the Intermediate Division. In the end, the former had even been ruthlessly dumped by the latter.

Angered, he felt as though something he had set his sights on had been taken away, so he came straight to find Lin Xun.

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

Not wanting to bother with him, Lin Xun walked straight toward the academy gates.

"You..." Xu Xiaoyu seemingly had not expected to be ignored. He froze for a moment, and by the time he reacted, Lin Xun had already walked several meters away.

His face darkened. Taking two broad strides, he blocked Lin Xun's path again. This time, he did not merely stand in 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 glimmer flashed through his deep purple eyes.

"Ghk—"

The moment Xu Xiaoyu met his gaze, he let out a pained grunt. His hands uncontrollably clutched at 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 violently struck his mind, leaving him in unbearable pain.

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

Really, it was only because this guy would briefly become his future brother-in-law that Lin Xun had gone easy on him. Otherwise, it would not have ended so lightly.

Leaning against the stone pillar, Xu Xiaoyu finally felt the orchestra in his head begin to leave. The brass section went first, followed closely by the strings. The percussionists seemed to have had too much to drink and dawdled for another ten-odd seconds before finally falling silent.

By the time he recovered, even Lin Xun's back was nowhere to be seen.

"A spiritual power attack."

He gritted his teeth and said in disbelief, "A student from the Intermediate Division actually has a means of spiritual power attack."

Donghai City's Spirit Pagoda was exceptionally tall.

Not that it was taller than the Spirit Pagodas in other cities, but among Donghai City's buildings, it was absurdly tall. From over a hundred meters away, one could see its spire piercing the skyline. Its entire body was a lustrous 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 among soul masters: Shrek City handled geniuses, the Spirit Pagoda handled Soul Spirits, the Tang Sect handled hidden weapons, and the War God Hall handled fighting.

The four great powers each managed their own domain. They did not see eye to eye, yet none of them could do without the others. The Spirit Pagoda was the most unique among them because it operated a monopoly. Aside from a small number of wild Soul Spirits, more than ninety percent of all Soul Spirits on the continent had to be purchased 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 Donghai City was a branch. It could not compare to the headquarters in Shrek City, but in a small place like Donghai City, it was already a landmark.

"A lottery draw?"

Soul Spirits from the Spirit Pagoda could be obtained through lottery draws, which was also the cheapest method, costing only thirty thousand Federation Coins.

However, while there were hundred-year Soul Spirits in the lottery, there were also ten-year Soul Spirits and even defective ones.

Lin Xun became interested.

Back on Blue Star, he used to buy scratch cards whenever he went out. He loved this kind of lottery.

Although he had never won a single cent.

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

Give it a shot—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!

All in!

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

Lin Xun's face darkened.

The Spirit Master beside him couldn't help coughing lightly.

"Just bad odds."

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

"Lotteries carry risks. Going all in requires caution."

"Esteemed Soul Master, would you like to keep drawing, or purchase one directly?" the Spirit Master asked.

"Neither."

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

The Spirit Master 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-looking duds. Anyone would have looked grim.

She had already rehearsed her comforting words in her head.

"It's okay, student. Save up enough money and come back next time. I'll keep the twenty-percent-off coupon for you."

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

A golden one.

The edges of the card were inlaid with an extremely fine dark pattern, framed by a layer of gold trim. At its center was a tower-shaped emblem, beneath which was engraved a line of words.

"Spirit Pagoda across all realms, spiritual connection throughout the world."

"This is...?"

The Spirit Master's smile froze.

She had worked here for three years and had never seen this kind of card in person.

But she recognized it.

During the first week of employee training, the instructor had devoted an entire class to this card, speaking of it with nothing but reverence.

"The Spirit Pagoda Supreme Gold Card," the instructor had said. "Fewer than twenty have been issued across the entire continent. Their holders are either from the greatest top-tier families or core upper management of top-tier organizations. When you see this card, no matter who the holder is, how old they are, how raggedly they are dressed, or how little they look like a person, you will give them the highest standard of service."

The instructor had added, "But you'll probably never see one in your entire lives. The holders of such things basically never come to Donghai City, and they rarely take them out to use. So don't be too nervous."

Don't be too nervous?

At this moment, as the Spirit Master stared at the gold card on the counter, only one sentence remained in her mind.

Instructor, you lied.