"Got it. Thanks, sir." Wu Changkong gave the security guard a slight bow, then went through the small gate toward the dormitory.
Back in his room, he peeled off his ash-covered training clothes, tossed them into the laundry basket, and stepped into the bathroom to turn on the hot water.
The water washed away a whole day's fatigue, along with the coal dust and iron filings clinging to his skin.
He leaned against the bathroom wall and closed his eyes for a moment, letting the hot water soak into the shoulder and back muscles that had been stiff all night.
After showering and changing into clean clothes, he sat cross-legged on his bed, closed his eyes, and began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
He could clearly feel that Shui Yu's pressure test had given his Soul Power another substantial boost.
At this rate, he would reach the bottleneck in less than a month—within two weeks.
Time flowed like water, slipping quietly away.
In the blink of an eye, two weeks had passed.
During those two weeks, Wu Changkong's days were divided into three parts, each packed to the brim.
By day, he studied and cultivated in Skywater Academy's advanced class, or trained in the Soul Master Mimicry Zone.
After classes ended in the evening, he headed straight to Tie Meng's smithy to swing a hammer. He forged everything from rough farm tools to weapons for the city guards. The hourly pay was modest, but it gave him a legitimate reason to use the smithy's forging equipment.
Late at night, he returned to the dormitory and sorted through the Battle Armor knowledge in his mind from twenty thousand years in the future, setting it down piece by piece as an introductory textbook that even a few girls with no background in the subject could understand.
The manual was a slim volume of barely a hundred pages, but every page held the cream of the crop.
When Shui Bing'er and the others received it, they treasured it like a rare find and gathered to study and discuss it whenever they had time.
Sometimes, over meals in the cafeteria, Shui Yue'er could be heard tossing out terms like "stress relief grooves" and "Soul Power attenuation coefficients," leaving the students at the next table utterly baffled.
During those two weeks, he also made a trip to the Spirit Hall Temple in Skywater City.
He collected his Soul Master stipend for the last time and repaid Shui Bing'er twenty Gold Soul Coins.
At his cultivation speed, he would break through to Soul Ancestor that month, and the stipend would stop.
Besides that, Wu Changkong had finished forging the chest and arm pieces of his Battle Armor.
Late one night, Wu Changkong reached the level-forty bottleneck. His meridians swelled, brimming with Soul Power.
"Finally, I can hunt for a Soul Ring."
The next morning, Wu Changkong and Shui Bing'er stood side by side before Ling Shuang's desk.
Wu Changkong knocked on the door. "Teacher Ling Shuang."
"Mm. Come in."
Ling Shuang had just put down her lesson plan. Looking at the two of them, she asked, "What is it? Do you need something?"
"Teacher, I've reached my bottleneck."
"Huh?" Ling Shuang looked up at him in confusion.
Two weeks earlier, she had given Wu Changkong a one-month deadline to reach his bottleneck. Now, only half that time had passed, and he stood before her saying he had reached it—twice as fast as she had estimated.
She fell silent for a moment, then closed her lesson plan, her face showing relief and pride. "Faster than I expected. Where do you want to hunt for your fourth Soul Ring?"
"The Far North."
Ling Shuang nodded, unsurprised.
The Heavenly Frost Sword was ice-attributed, so the Far North was indeed the most suitable place for him to hunt Soul Beasts.
Then she turned to Shui Bing'er, who stood beside him. "And what did you need me for?"
"I'm going with him."
Ling Shuang rose from her chair. "I'll have to ask the dean about that. Come with me."
The dean's office—
Ling Shuang knocked, and Shui Qinghan's voice came from inside. "Come in."
When they entered, Shui Qinghan was seated behind her desk, reviewing files.
Ling Shuang briefly explained that Wu Changkong had reached his bottleneck and needed to go to the Far North to hunt for his fourth Soul Ring.
Shui Qinghan asked, "Did you hunt for your first three Soul Rings in the Far North too?"
"Yes, but those hunts were on the Far North Plateau. It's still quite a distance from the Far North proper."
"How old a Soul Beast are you looking for this time?"
"Ten thousand years."
Shui Bing'er spoke in surprise. "Ten thousand years? Are you sure you can handle that?"
The gulf between a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and a thousand-year one was not a simple difference in numbers. It was a gulf in strength.
A single Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast could crush several nine-thousand-year Soul Beasts, and even a Soul King had to be cautious of the remnant soul's assault within a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
"I am."
"My third Soul Ring came from a seven-thousand-year Soul Beast. I'm confident I can raise that to ten thousand years for my fourth."
Shui Qinghan and Ling Shuang exchanged a look. The same word was written in both their eyes—monster.
According to the conventional theories of the Soul Master World as they knew it, a fourth Soul Ring's upper limit was usually around four or five thousand years. Anyone who could absorb a six- or seven-thousand-year ring was a genius among geniuses. Absorbing a seven-thousand-year ring made one a prodigy seen once in a century.
A Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring belonged to the realm of Soul Kings. It was something to consider for a fifth Soul Ring.
Yet Wu Changkong, still a Soul Elder, had said "ten thousand years" without hesitation.
"All right, then. I'll go with you myself."
Ling Shuang froze. "Aren't I going?"
By the rules, students hunting for Soul Rings were accompanied by their homeroom teacher and two subject teachers.
Only when a target's risk level exceeded the usual range did the dean or vice dean need to go in person.
"I'll go." Shui Qinghan waved a hand. "I know the Far North, and if he wants to hunt a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, we'll have to venture deep into the glacial belt on its outskirts. There are hardly any Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts on the Far North Plateau."
"Ling Shuang, stay at the academy and oversee preparations for the midterm assessments. They need you here."
Ling Shuang adjusted her glasses and nodded.
Shui Qinghan looked back at the boy and girl before her. "Just the two of you?"
Shui Bing'er nodded. "Yes. I'm going with Changkong."
Shui Qinghan picked up her teacup, took a sip, and considered it.
It would do Bing'er good to train in the Far North. She had cultivated within the family since childhood and had little real combat experience.
Besides, knowing Bing'er, the girl would find a way to follow him even if Shui Qinghan refused.
"Very well. The Far North is a natural training ground for ice-attributed Soul Masters. Some experience there will do you good."
"Oh, and bring Xue Wu along."
"She's ice-attributed too, and she and Bing'er have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. There'll be plenty of chances to fight along the way, so they can use the opportunity to hone their teamwork. With a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, every bit of rapport adds to its power."
Shui Bing'er nodded, her eyes brightening.
She had been thinking the same thing, but had not yet had a chance to say it.
Wu Changkong had no objection either. Bringing Xue Wu along would be no burden, and her Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Bing'er did need to be honed in battle.
Shui Qinghan stood and instructed Ling Shuang, "This hunt should take three to five days. While I'm away, Vice Dean Lan will handle all academy affairs."
"Understood."
By the time Shui Bing'er and Wu Changkong returned to the classroom, one after the other, the lunch break had just ended.
Shui Yue'er was sprawled over her desk, listlessly flipping through the introductory Battle Armor manual.
She looked up and saw them walk in side by side, and an aggrieved look crossed her face.
"Where did you two go? Were you sneaking off on a date?"
Shui Bing'er walked over to her younger sister's desk and rapped her on the head. "What goes on in that head of yours?"
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