Sending Word to She Long

Zhang Fei walked along, making calculations in his mind.

He truly did not want to trouble She Long. It was only a ten-thousand-year soul beast; Dragon Duke Meng Shu could have handled it easily. The old man was an eighty-sixth-level Soul Douluo, and with Serpent Grandmother Chao Tianxiang's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, hunting a ten-thousand-year soul beast would have been effortless.

But the problem was that Meng Shu was not at the academy.

At this time, the once-every-five-years Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was underway, the grandest event in the soul master world.

There were fifteen teams participating in the Heaven Dou Empire regional promotion tournament.

Those fifteen teams had emerged through fierce preliminary competitions.

The Heaven Dou Empire was divided into six major regions: Heaven Dou City, as a region directly under the Empire, had five qualification slots; each of the four kingdoms had two slots; and one duchy likewise had two slots.

The Beast Academy Team belonged to the Balak Kingdom, so naturally, they were competing for one of the Balak Kingdom's two qualification slots.

As a traditionally strong team of the Balak Kingdom, Beast Academy would have little trouble securing a qualification slot.

Before setting off, Dragon Duke Meng Shu had even made a special visit to Zhang Fei's small courtyard to remind him to cultivate in peace and not go out unless necessary.

Afterward, he left with the Beast Academy Team for Heaven Dou City to take part in the Heaven Dou Empire regional promotion tournament.

Once the promotion tournament ended, they would head to Star Luo City in the Star Luo Empire, the host location of this tournament, to participate in the final championship.

The round trip would take at least two or three months.

Zhang Fei did not want to sit around waiting that long, and he did not feel comfortable asking other teachers for help.

"Forget it. I'll have to trouble Grandpa to make a trip."

Zhang Fei sighed and quickened his pace.

The Spirit Hall branch was the largest building in Balak City. Located at the heart of the city, it covered an enormous area and was built entirely from white stone.

Zhang Fei found it easily.

He walked up to the main gate and took out She Long's Elder token.

"Excuse me, I wish to see the branch master."

The guards at the gate changed expression the moment they saw the token. They hurriedly bowed. "Please come in, my lord!"

Another guard immediately ran inside to report his arrival.

Before long, a middle-aged man clad in a Spirit Hall deacon's robe hurried out. He gave Zhang Fei a deep bow, his tone extremely respectful. "Please follow me, my lord. The branch master is already waiting."

Zhang Fei nodded and followed the deacon through a long corridor to a spacious office deep within the branch hall.

Inside the office, a burly middle-aged man stood by the window.

He wore a luxurious purple robe, with a purple-gold badge pinned to his chest. Seven stars were engraved upon it—seven rings, a Soul Saint.

He was Bruce, the branch master of the Balak City Spirit Hall branch.

Before She Long had left Balak City, he had specifically come here to give Bruce instructions.

Hearing the footsteps, Bruce turned around. When his gaze fell upon Zhang Fei, he immediately revealed a warm smile that even carried a hint of fawning. "Young Master Fei, I've finally been waiting for you. Please, have a seat!"

Zhang Fei waved his hand. "Branch Master Bruce, you're too polite. I came today because I have something to trouble you with."

"Please speak freely. So long as this branch can do it, I will never refuse!" Bruce said, patting his chest with utmost sincerity.

Zhang Fei took out the brief letter and handed it over. "Please send this letter to the Spirit Hall main hall in Heaven Dou City as quickly as possible. They will naturally know how to handle it there."

Bruce accepted the letter. When he saw the Snake Lance seal on the envelope, his expression turned solemn. "Understood! Rest assured, Young Master Fei. Spirit Hall has its own emergency information network. Specialized flying-type soul masters relay messages in shifts, traveling day and night. It will definitely reach the Heaven Dou City main hall within three days!"

"Good." Zhang Fei let out a breath of relief and cupped his hands. "Then I'll leave it to you, Branch Master."

"As I should, as I should!" Bruce quickly returned the gesture, then asked tentatively, "Does Young Master Fei need anything else? Medicinal herbs, Gold Soul Coins—just say the word..."

"No need. Thank you." Zhang Fei smiled and turned toward the door. "I'll go back and wait for news. Farewell."

After returning from the Spirit Hall branch, Zhang Fei headed straight for the training grounds reserved for the Advanced Class.

It was midday. Shouts, collisions, and the thunderous blasts of Soul Power erupted one after another within the training grounds, making the place lively indeed.

After half a year of grueling cultivation, everyone in the Advanced Class had made considerable progress.

Shi Hu, Wang Meng, Jiang Cong, Meng Yiran, and the others had all broken through by one level, their Soul Power becoming more solid.

Iron Mountain and Niu Zhen, the two defense-type soul masters, had grown an entire size larger.

As for the oldest student and class monitor, Li Gang, he had successfully broken through the level-thirty bottleneck a month ago. With the help of academy teachers, he had obtained a thousand-year Soul Ring. He was now a level-thirty-one Soul Elder, with two yellow and one purple Soul Rings—the first Soul Elder in the Advanced Class.

At that moment, Li Gang stood in the center of the arena, proudly displaying the strength of a Soul Elder.

"Third Soul Skill, Dark Shadow Ambush!"

With a low shout, his purple third Soul Ring suddenly lit up. His entire body became a blurry black shadow, instantly crossing more than ten meters before tearing the testing stone to pieces with one claw.

"Excellent!"

Shi Hu and the others clapped and cheered, their faces full of envy.

Though Soul Elders and Soul Grandmasters were separated by only one level, it was a qualitative leap. With one additional thousand-year soul skill, their combat power could not be compared at all.

Li Gang recalled his Martial Soul, unable to hide the pride on his face.

Over the past half year, everyone had cultivated desperately so that they would not be left too far behind by that monster.

Although... it seemed... they definitely still could not catch up.

Just then, everyone saw Zhang Fei stroll in leisurely.

"B-Boss? Why do you have time to inspect us today?" Shi Hu greeted him with a grin.

"Everyone's here?" Zhang Fei swept his gaze around before it landed on Li Gang. "Oh! Not bad! Old Li, you've improved quite a bit!"

At his words, Li Gang immediately put away his smugness and hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no. I'm nowhere near Boss's level."

Zhang Fei smiled and got straight to the point. "Just letting everyone know—I've reached level thirty. In a few days, I'll be leaving the academy for a while to hunt my third Soul Ring."

"Really? Congratulations, Boss!" The quick-witted Jiang Cong was the first to react, grinning as he cupped his hands.

The others also offered their congratulations one after another. They were smiling, but none of them looked particularly shocked. It could even be said that they were completely unfazed.

After all, they had long become accustomed to Zhang Fei being a monster.

Zhang Fei had been about to brag a little, but now he did not even know how to begin!

He rubbed his nose, looking somewhat disgruntled. "That reaction... Can't you at least give me some face and act a little shocked?"

Shi Hu scratched his head and gave a simple smile. "Boss, we want to be shocked, but we went numb a long time ago."

Zhang Fei: "..."

Fine. Being invincible was such a lonely thing.

Beside them, Meng Yiran stared at Zhang Fei without blinking, but her delicate face was filled with resentment.

Over the past half year, whether deliberately or at Meng Shu's instruction, Meng Yiran often sought Zhang Fei out. She brought him pastries, asked about his cultivation, and invited him to meals.

But Zhang Fei was always lukewarm toward her, making her so angry that her teeth itched.

Zhang Fei was not some hopeless romantic, nor was he uninterested in Meng Yiran.

He simply wanted to win over the little angel first. He could not afford to pick up sesame seeds and lose a watermelon.

After offering everyone a few simple words of encouragement, he returned to his own small courtyard and continued consolidating his cultivation.