Vacation

"Let's talk business, Tian Meng. If you controlled your own power now, how strong an attack could you unleash?"

"I'm not too sure. Mainly because I haven't unsealed more of my origin for you to absorb."

"Is that so? Fine, then. At worst, I'll need you to help me kill a Mental Attribute soul beast over ten thousand years old for my fourth Soul Ring."

"Huh? Me stepping in? For real?"

Tian Meng's beady eyes were filled with shock. For a moment, he could not understand why Jiang Yue had suddenly brought this up. Both Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's own experience and Jiang Yue's previous experiences pointed to one thing.

That was, as long as one's talent was high enough, there would definitely be established experts willing to support them.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was certain that Jiang Yue's talent was excellent—so excellent that he had no thoughts of changing hosts. By normal logic, Jiang Yue, with such tremendous talent, should not have had to worry about his Soul Rings, at least not the first few.

It was merely a Mental Attribute soul beast with ten-thousand-year cultivation. Could Shrek Academy, which called itself the number-one academy on the continent, really refuse to let a genius hunt one?

That was what Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had thought before. Yet now, that notion had been utterly shattered.

After hearing Jiang Yue explain that the stingy dean of Shrek's Martial Soul Department had apparently gone mad and refused to honor the reward—

"What?! Jiang Yue, is that Yan Shaozhe really a level-ninety-five Super Douluo? A powerhouse like that actually cares about a ten-thousand-year soul beast?! He's stingier than most soul beasts I know!"

"You just don't know what kind of people his elders are. Him being this excessively stingy is already the result of his martial soul having completely burned itself out."

Jiang Yue was not making that up. Among Yan Shaozhe's entire family, he was already the cleanest one. His biggest issues were merely his character and personal conduct. Looking at the others—one was the leader of the world's largest Evil Soul Master organization, another was a supreme elder, and another was the chief consecrator.

Seen that way, Yan Shaozhe's little problems barely counted for anything in that family.

"I don't care what his elders are like! He bullied my host, so sooner or later, I'll help you get this score settled!"

"Fine, do as you please, Tian Meng. But before that, we still need to prepare for absorbing my fourth Soul Ring."

"According to my plan, time is a little tight. That gray bead might not recover much power by then, so I'll probably really have to trouble you to act once."

"No problem, no problem. I've slept for so long; it's about time I stretched my limbs. I'm still a million-year soul beast, after all. Most of my power may be sealed now, but dealing with a ten-thousand-year soul beast won't be a problem."

If Jiang Yue used Emotion Shakes Heaven, he could also deal with a ten-thousand-year soul beast. However, after a soul beast was killed, its Soul Ring would only remain for two hours. Jiang Yue was not sure how long he would need to recover after using Emotion Shakes Heaven.

Absorbing a Soul Ring beyond one's level already required being in excellent condition. Otherwise, failure would come easily—and failure meant exploding to death.

So unless it was absolutely necessary, it was better not to place his hopes on Emotion Shakes Heaven. Having Sky Dream Ice Silkworm act was more reliable. Ideally, Electrolux would quickly regain some power after obtaining Living Gold.

"By the way, since I'm awake for once, do you want me to unseal some of my origin now and help raise the age of your Soul Rings?"

"There's no need for that. Once I get what I need and absorb my fourth Soul Ring, we can raise them all at once."

"There's nothing else, so go back to sleep, Tian Meng. If nothing goes wrong, it'll still be nearly eight months. I'll wake you then."

"Mhm, work hard. I'm placing all my hopes on you. Wake me if you need anything. Good night."

After watching Sky Dream Ice Silkworm return to sleep, Jiang Yue immediately began mobilizing his Soul Power, circulating it through his meridians along a specific route.

Jiang Yue was now level thirty-eight. Even factoring in the difficulty of breaking through the bottleneck, eight months was more than enough for him to reach level forty, with time to spare.

He could not waste that extra time. He could continue cultivating or train his body. For a safer ten-thousand-year Soul Ring, delaying his breakthrough for a while was acceptable.

Jiang Yue was only eleven years old now and would not turn twelve for another half year. Becoming a Soul Ancestor at twelve was still an impressive cultivation speed.

The next day, the other homeroom teacher of Class One appeared in the classroom. Their luck was not bad—it was not that woman Zhou Yi.

Over the following days, Jiang Yue's routine was exceptionally regular. His destinations were equally fixed. Other than the teaching building, library, counseling room, cafeteria, and dormitory, Jiang Yue went almost nowhere else.

Wang Yan also fulfilled the agreement he had made with Jiang Yue before the Freshman Assessment, bringing out his treasured books for Jiang Yue. There was far more than just one book.

Spring passed into autumn, cold gave way to heat, and eight full months passed with the flow of time. During this period, Jiang Yue's cultivation steadily rose. About five months after the Freshman Assessment ended, the Soul Power within him finally broke through the frustrating barrier and reached a new bottleneck.

Level-forty Quasi Soul Ancestor. With just one Soul Ring, he could become a true Soul Ancestor. At the Outer Court, this cultivation level placed him among the strongest group. Even the Outer Court's twin stars, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, were only around this level. However, they had taken leave to hunt soul beasts as soon as they reached their bottlenecks, while Jiang Yue still planned to wait.

There was no other reason—it was because of his physical constitution. Compared to Spiritual Power, that was the true factor restricting the age of Jiang Yue's Soul Rings.

Living Gold could indeed improve his physical constitution, but that was not something achieved overnight. For the sake of his ten-thousand-year fourth ring, every bit of improvement now mattered. It would lessen the pain he had to endure later.

It was not only Jiang Yue. Nearly everyone in First-Year Class One had grown stronger. Most students had raised their Soul Power by around three levels, though there were naturally exceptions.

Wang Dong was a typical example. Eight whole months had passed, yet despite having been on the verge of breaking through from the start, her cultivation had only increased by a little over one level. She truly deserved her reputation as a lazy dog.

Jiang Yue even doubted whether Wang Dong could still reach the Soul Elder level after going home like she had in the original story. Even if she could not, it had nothing to do with Jiang Yue.

As the eight months passed, Jiang Yue's first academic year at Shrek Academy also came to an end. What followed was Shrek Academy's annual vacation.

The vacation was not particularly long, only one month. Moreover, that month was not for students to relax and play, but for them to integrate everything they had learned over the previous eleven months and prepare for the Upgrade Assessment at the start of the new term.

That was how it was put, but Jiang Yue truly wanted to know what First-Year Class One's teachers had taught during those eleven months. It had all been theory classes. First-years were not even allowed onto the Soul Arena, so there had been no actual combat at all. Yet the second-year Upgrade Assessment would send them straight into the Beast Arena to fight soul beasts?

Of everything the teachers had taught, only the knowledge related to various soul beasts would be useful in the Upgrade Assessment.

Normally, a soul beast of the same level was far stronger than a soul master. Without relying on a team, victory was impossible.

Since failing the advancement examination meant immediate elimination, none of the students dared to truly rest during that month. They all desperately pushed themselves at home, trying to overtake others around the curve in that one month.

Inside First-Year Class One's classroom, Wang Yan stood on the podium and swept his gaze over the students below, whom he had taught for some time. Over the next few years, people among them would be eliminated one after another. In the end, only some would graduate from the Outer Court, while an extremely small number would enter Shrek's Inner Court.

But those were matters for the future, not something Wang Yan needed to worry about now.

"Alright, students. I'll say a few simple words, then you can return to your dorms, pack your things, and prepare to go home."

"Unlike other Soul Master Academies, Shrek Academy holds its assessments at the start of every academic year. So during your time away from the academy, do not slack off in the slightest. Keep working hard and strive to remain at Shrek Academy in the next academic year."

"The academy's mandatory requirement for second-years is that your Soul Power must reach level twenty, and you must obtain a Soul Ring to truly become a Soul Grandmaster. I hope that when classes begin next year, no one from our class will be missing."

"That is all I have to say. Class is dismissed. You may go back, pack your things, and prepare to return home to see your family and friends."

Wang Yan waved his hand, signaling that class was over. Yet the students below were not particularly excited. The month they had thought could be used to relax had become a period of life-or-death cultivation. Who could be happy about that?

Jiang Yue was also preoccupied. He had prepared for this vacation for a long time, but now that it was truly about to begin, he still could not avoid feeling somewhat nervous.

He hoped nothing unexpected would happen with the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife. If something did happen, Jiang Yue could only set his sights on the Golden Tortoise in Star Dou Forest.

"Hey! Jiang Yue! What are you thinking about so seriously?"

Still deep in thought, Jiang Yue suddenly felt someone slap his shoulder.

"With your cultivation, there's definitely no problem for you in the Upgrade Assessment. What are you worrying about here? Are you worried that my cultivation will surpass yours?"

"Heh. Lazy dog, you should reach level thirty first. As far as I know, you're the slowest person in the entire class when it comes to cultivation progress."

"What?! I'm building up for a big breakthrough! Just wait! When I go home this time, even if I have to take pills, I'll take enough to reach level thirty!"

That was right. The newcomer was Wang Dong.

As the person with the highest cultivation in the class, someone who knew Wang Dong's secret, and someone who had interacted with her before, Jiang Yue was inevitably bound to have some contact with Wang Dong.

Jiang Yue could now treat Wang Dong with an ordinary mindset. He no longer resisted her too strongly or avoided her at all costs.

"How boring. You don't know how to say even one flattering thing."

"What do you want from me? If there's nothing, I'm going back to pack my things."

"There is, of course there is. Didn't we agree at the start of the term that you'd keep my secret, and I'd bring you something good next school year? Look forward to it. It'll definitely leave you stunned!"

"No need. I only hope you don't stand so close to me. Being too close to you as you are now will damage my reputation. I don't want people misunderstanding my sexual orientation."

"Hey! I'm only like this for now. In essence, I'm a great beauty too."

"If I return to my original appearance, even if you want to be my friend, you'll have to obediently line up."

"Mhm, mhm. Great Class Monitor Wang, if you really return to normal, how are you going to face all those girls who like you? If someone's love for you runs bone-deep, you may truly be burdened with grave sins."

"Alright, I'm in a hurry. Class Monitor Wang, you should think about how to deal with Dai Huabin instead. He stares at you the moment class begins. Because of that, even Zhu Lu's looks toward the two of you have become strange."

At the mention of Dai Huabin, the smile on Wang Dong's face instantly froze. Even after Jiang Yue had walked far away, she did not react.

At first, when Dai Huabin had looked at Wang Dong with an incomparably gloomy gaze, Wang Dong had wondered if something was wrong with his brain. After spending this semester together, she had confirmed that Dai Huabin really was sick.

Being stared at like that all day made Wang Dong's skin crawl.

Wang Dong naturally knew that Dai Huabin coveted her position as class monitor, but in her eyes, Dai Huabin was merely a clown jumping around. Once she reached three rings and erased the gap in Soul Ring numbers between them, if Dai Huabin still dared to look at her that way, she would beat him until he could not take care of himself.

Being watched like that every day, even if Wang Dong had been an ordinary person with a normal mind, she would have been driven insane. Not to mention that Wang Dong was, at heart, still a girl.

A boy staring at a girl like that every day was absolutely perverted. In Wang Dong's heart, Dai Huabin had already been labeled a pervert.

Besides, after the vacation, they would be second-years. Second-years could use the Soul Arena.

Wang Dong swore that she would teach Dai Huabin a lesson then. Otherwise, she would never be able to vent the anger that had built up during this time.

"Huh? Where did Jiang Yue go? I hadn't even told him what I was giving him before he left? Was he really in that much of a hurry?"

Shrek City. After locking the door to the counseling room, Jiang Yue turned around and saw a rather familiar figure.

"Senior Sister, why are you here?"

"I just came out of seclusion and heard some Outer Court teachers say that you won the Freshman Assessment championship, so I came to congratulate you."

"And to thank you. After eating the food you made last time, my state of mind recovered quite a bit. It even let me break through two levels in a row."

"Two levels in a row? Then congratulations, Senior Sister."

What did breaking through two levels in a row mean? Zhang Lexuan had already been a Soul Douluo. She had merely been stuck at one level because there had been problems with both her body and state of mind.

The issue with her state of mind had been the greatest. Even after her body recovered, her cultivation had remained blocked by it.

Based on Zhang Lexuan's situation in Jiang Yue's memories, he estimated that she was now roughly a level-eighty-four Soul Douluo. That talent was truly terrifying.

"There's nothing to congratulate me on. My cultivation was stuck because of my state of mind for so long, yet it was you, Junior Brother, who helped me. I'll remember this favor. If you need anything in the future, you can come find me anytime."

"It was only one meal. There's no need for this. Besides, I took payment for it. If you really want to thank me, wait until I have a chance to enter the Inner Court."

"A chance? You won the Freshman Assessment championship. Almost without exception, champions from previous years have entered the Inner Court. You should have more confidence in yourself."

"Who knows what the future holds? Maybe, no matter what, I still won't be able to 'test' my way into the Inner Court. Then I can only peacefully spend a few years in the Outer Court, barely earn an Outer Court graduation certificate, and return to Maple Leaf City to live out an unremarkable life."

"Your way of thinking really is novel. You look like you're heading home, right? I won't disturb you. Work hard during the vacation, and have a safe journey."

After saying that, Zhang Lexuan left directly. Jiang Yue did not take this brief encounter to heart. After putting away the key, he set off toward Star Luo City.

He did not travel with a merchant caravan or carriage, simply because time would not wait. Jiang Yue wanted to obtain the Spirit Devouring Carving Knife as soon as possible.