Setting Out for Heaven Dou Imperial Academy!

"Theoretically, yes." Lin Ming nodded. "But this soul skill has its limitations. The distance and direction of the charge must be decided before activation and cannot be changed midway. It also requires a brief moment to gather power before activation. If an opponent interrupts it, that would be troublesome."

Even so, the power of this soul skill was already beyond question.

Lin Ming assessed his current combat strength—the Heaven-Piercing Divine Spear, a god-grade martial soul; three soul rings over a thousand years old, with the third one even reaching the ten-thousand-year level.

Combined with the Dark-Gold Dreadclaw Bear external soul bone and a physique tempered by three immortal herbs, this entire set of advantages meant that even against a level-fifty Soul King, he had the strength to fight.

Only a month ago, he had been a useless level-sixteen nobody who could barely survive.

Now, he had caught up with the geniuses of his generation and even showed faint signs of surpassing them.

And all of this was simply because he had bonded with Ning Rongrong as his "wife."

Several other names involuntarily surfaced in Lin Ming's mind—Qian Renxue, Gu Yuena, Bo Saixi, and the Snow Empress.

If he could bond with them as well, how far would his strength rise?

Lin Ming swallowed and forced himself to calm down.

Food had to be eaten one bite at a time, and roads had to be walked one step at a time. It was still too early to think about such distant matters. His most pressing task was to determine his next target.

He carefully analyzed the current situation.

Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King and leader of all soul beasts, should still be sleeping in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest. Going to find her with his current strength would be no different from courting death.

Bo Saixi, the high priestess of Sea God Island and a peerless level-ninety-nine Douluo, was far overseas. With his current status and strength, he had no way of reaching her.

The Snow Empress, foremost among the three great rulers of the Far North and a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul beast, was equally out of reach.

After thinking it over, the easiest person to approach at present was actually Qian Renxue, who was disguised as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.

She was in the imperial palace of the Heaven Dou Empire, while the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect lay within the Heaven Dou Empire's borders. Given the sect's status, approaching Crown Prince Xue Qinghe would not be difficult.

"Looks like I'll have to make a trip to Heaven Dou City," Lin Ming muttered.

"Lin Ming, what are you thinking about?" Ning Rongrong leaned closer, tilting her head as she looked at him.

Lin Ming snapped back to his senses and smiled. "Nothing. I was thinking about what we should do next. Come on, let's go back and see Master and the Sect Master first."

The two returned along the original path and soon found Sword Douluo waiting on the outskirts. When Sword Douluo saw the black soul ring behind Lin Ming, surprise flashed through his eyes, but he did not ask any questions. He merely nodded. "Not bad. Let's head back."

The three returned to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect together.

When Ning Fengzhi learned that Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda had evolved into the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and that her soul power had broken through to level thirty-three, the normally composed sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was so excited that he nearly jumped up.

"The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda! It truly is the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda!" Ning Fengzhi held Ning Rongrong's hands as he stared at the nine-tiered glazed pagoda, his eyes reddening. "Heaven blesses the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! Heaven blesses the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

He turned to Lin Ming, his gaze filled with gratitude and admiration. "Lin Ming, you truly are the lucky star of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! Not only did you evolve Rongrong's martial soul, but you also helped her raise her soul power by so much! I truly do not know how to thank you!"

Lin Ming replied modestly, "You are too kind, Sect Master. Rongrong is my future wife. It is only right for me to do these things."

Ning Fengzhi nodded repeatedly, then made an important decision.

"Lin Ming, from this day forward, your marriage engagement with Rongrong is officially confirmed!" Ning Fengzhi declared solemnly. "When you reach marriageable age, I will personally preside over your wedding! Furthermore, from now on, you shall possess half the inheritance rights of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! Whether the sect can flourish in the future will depend on you!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Rongrong happily jumped up on the spot and threw her arms around Lin Ming's arm. "Lin Ming! Did you hear that? Dad agreed to let us get married!"

Lin Ming smiled and rubbed her head, but a powerful sense of crisis rose in his heart.

The better the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect developed, the more wary Spirit Hall would become. In the original story, Spirit Hall had launched a surprise attack against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect after its ambitions swelled to a certain point, leading to that brutal battle that destroyed the sect.

Although several years still remained before that war, Lin Ming did not dare let down his guard. He had to raise his strength as quickly as possible while expanding his own influence as much as he could.

And to stand against Spirit Hall, Qian Renxue was a key figure.

As Spirit Hall's young mistress and the inheritor of the Angel God, she held tremendous influence within Spirit Hall. If he could bring her over to his side, he would have an important insider when the time came to oppose Spirit Hall.

Of course, Lin Ming would never admit that he had another reason for wanting to approach Qian Renxue—she was Qian Renxue, after all! An angelically pure face, a noble and aloof temperament, and a wildly popular goddess in the original story!

I'm not lusting after her beauty, Lin Ming silently told himself. I'm doing this for the future of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Yes, that's it.

After reassuring himself, Lin Ming presented his idea to Ning Fengzhi.

"Sect Master, I don't want to remain in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, training behind closed doors forever. I want to see the outside world. Ideally, I'd like to study at an academy, broaden my horizons, and make some friends."

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment, then nodded. "You have a point. Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Going out to gain experience would benefit you as well. Which academy do you want to attend?"

"Heaven Dou Imperial Academy," Lin Ming answered without hesitation.

Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was the foremost soul master academy of the Heaven Dou Empire. Located within Heaven Dou City, it possessed strong teaching staff and many students from noble families and among talented soul masters. More importantly, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe frequently visited Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, giving him an opportunity to come into contact with her there.

After giving it some thought, Ning Fengzhi felt that Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was indeed a good choice. "Heaven Dou Imperial Academy is not bad. Its teaching staff is excellent, and it is in Heaven Dou City, close to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. If anything happens, you can return at any time. How about this? Let Rongrong go with you as well, so the two of you can look after each other."

Naturally, Lin Ming had no objections.

Ning Rongrong raised both hands in agreement. "Wonderful! I've wanted to go play at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy for ages! I heard the cafeteria there has especially delicious food!"

Two days later, a luxurious carriage stopped before the gates of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

A teenage boy and girl stepped down from the carriage. The boy had black hair like ink, sharp brows, bright eyes, and a faintly roguish smile on his lips. He wore a well-tailored white martial outfit, with a special Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect token hanging from his waist.

The girl wore a long pink dress. Her skin was fair as snow, her features delicate, and her large eyes lively and spirited. When she smiled, two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks.

They were Lin Ming and Ning Rongrong.