"Grandmaster, it's getting late. If you have nothing else to attend to, we should set out."
The Soul Ancestor dean's words interrupted Yu Xiaogang's world-shaking wisdom.
He glanced up at the sky and realized that it really was time to leave.
"Xu Yuan, the dean and I must take Little San to the Star Dou Great Forest to find a suitable soul ring!"
"Before we leave, I need to borrow your wish-granting tree martial soul to make another wish!"
"There are three hundred Gold Soul Coins in this pouch. Consider it compensation for the wish slot you'll lose this time!"
Yu Xiaogang took out the money pouch he had prepared beforehand and tossed it into Xu Yuan's hands.
Although he had looked utterly pathetic while using his soul skill, his display of deep pockets still left everyone staring.
"Three hundred Gold Soul Coins!" Wang Sheng sucked in a sharp breath.
"No wonder Tang San was willing to take Grandmaster as his teacher. He's unbelievably generous!"
"If he can throw hundreds of gold coins at Xu Yuan, who isn't even his disciple, wouldn't his actual disciple Tang San soar straight into the heavens?"
The work-study students looked at Tang San with eyes full of envy and regret.
Had they known Grandmaster was so rich, they would have found a chance to become his disciples too.
Only Tang San knew the truth of his own situation.
Even the roast chicken and steamed buns they bought at the cafeteria were paid for with his Gold Soul Coins. When had Grandmaster ever given him a single Gold Soul Coin?
Forget Gold Soul Coins-he had never even seen the shadow of a Copper Soul Coin.
Which of them was actually his teacher's disciple, him or Xu Yuan?
Besides, his teacher had stayed holed up in Nouding Academy for so long without ever going out. Where had he gotten those Gold Soul Coins?
Confusion showed on Tang San's face. He racked his brains but couldn't make sense of it.
At that moment, the Soul Ancestor dean quietly turned away, unable to bear watching.
Counting the three hundred Gold Soul Coins borrowed this time, Yu Xiaogang now owed him a full five hundred.
Most importantly, Yu Xiaogang was completely penniless again.
That meant he would have to keep covering all three travelers' expenses on their way to the Star Dou Great Forest.
As expected of a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan-throwing away gold by the thousands, spending it like dirt!
The Soul Ancestor dean kept his face composed, but his heart was bleeding.
Even as the dean of Nouding Academy, he couldn't withstand Yu Xiaogang borrowing money like this.
Fortunately, Yu Xiaogang was about to obtain his third soul ring.
Once he became a Soul Elder, he would receive a monthly Soul Master subsidy of one hundred Gold Soul Coins.
He only needed to wait patiently for five months to get his money back.
At that thought, the Soul Ancestor dean slowly exhaled.
"Grandmaster, please!" Xu Yuan put away the money pouch and spoke warmly.
Standing before the wish-granting tree martial soul, shimmering with brilliant colors, Yu Xiaogang felt as though a lifetime had passed.
I wish that during this soul hunt, my... uh... lower appendage, which was ravaged by the Mandala Snake's venom, could become hard again!
Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes tightly and silently recited his embarrassing wish.
"As you wish!"
A dazzling burst of white light erupted, and the dormitory returned to silence.
"Teacher, are you all right? Did your wish come true?" Tang San asked with concern.
Everyone else in the dormitory also looked expectantly at Yu Xiaogang.
"For this wish, I employed my latest research into wish-granting martial soul theory!"
"We'll have to wait until this soul hunt is over to know the answer!"
Yu Xiaogang waved a hand casually and spoke as though it were nothing.
"Your latest wish-granting martial soul theory?"
Tang San's face filled with admiration. His teacher truly deserved to be called a Grandmaster of martial soul theory.
If his blue silver grass martial soul hadn't held him back, how could he have failed to defeat a mere Wang Sheng with his teacher's theories?
"Enough talk. Let's go!"
Since Tang San had nearly lost to Wang Sheng, Yu Xiaogang was too ashamed to stay any longer.
Watching the three figures leave the academy, Xiao Wu couldn't help asking, "What did that Yu Xiaogang wish for this time?"
"He didn't say. How could I possibly know?"
Xu Yuan shrugged and headed out of the dormitory.
He had no interest whatsoever in Yu Xiaogang's wish.
The Wish-Granting Tree had already extracted the Golden Sacred Dragon essence and the Medicinal Power Crystal.
Other than that world-shaking wisdom and martial soul theory, what else did Yu Xiaogang have left?
He truly embodied the saying, "As long as I'm useless enough, you can't exploit me."
"Hey, Xu Yuan, how about we buy up whale rubber together?"
After experiencing the increase in soul power brought by ten-thousand-year whale glue, Xiao Wu had no desire to sit around meditating.
Before Wang Sheng and the others could catch up, Xiao Wu sidled over to Xu Yuan's ear and whispered.
"The strengthening effect of thousand-year whale glue has its limits!"
"Even if you eat thousand-year whale glue until you throw up, it'll be difficult to improve your physical strength any further."
Xu Yuan interrupted Xiao Wu's lovely fantasy.
"But isn't there still ten-thousand-year whale glue?" Xiao Wu immediately grew anxious.
Xu Yuan sighed and explained helplessly, "Whale soul beasts have always held a dominant position among sea soul beasts."
"Even sea soul masters of the same rank struggle to match them!"
"Ten-thousand-year demon whales spend their lives deep in the ocean. They're powerful and extremely difficult to hunt successfully."
Although people in this era didn't value whale rubber, that didn't mean it was easy to obtain.
Ten-thousand-year whale glue could only be obtained by hunting a ten-thousand-year demon whale.
To hunt a ten-thousand-year demon whale, one had to venture into the deep sea.
The ocean was a paradise for sea soul beasts to begin with, and their numbers were at least ten times those of land-dwelling soul beasts.
Even sea soul masters couldn't go wandering recklessly through the ocean.
"Ah!" Xiao Wu was immediately disappointed. She had thought she'd found a shortcut to cultivation.
"Still, the nobles of Nuoding City have unimaginably deep reserves. I can't guarantee that none can be found."
"You can ask the noble students at the academy to look around their homes."
Xu Yuan thought it was worth a try and tossed the money pouch to Xiao Wu.
"No problem! Wait for my good news!" Xiao Wu said excitedly.
Meanwhile.
Spirit City, the Papal Palace.
Dressed in a luxurious black robe embroidered with gold, wearing the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown, and holding a jeweled scepter nearly two meters long, Bibi Dong sat on the throne that symbolized the pope's authority.
Her skin was fair, her features almost flawless, and the sacred, noble aura she exuded made people feel an irresistible urge to prostrate themselves in worship.
"You're telling me that while I was in seclusion..."
"The two elders, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, encountered Clear Sky Douluo walking straight into their net while inspecting the Spirit Hall Main Hall in Barak City."
"After capturing Clear Sky Douluo, they escorted him to the Worship Hall and received a reward from the Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu."
"Now they're both cultivating in seclusion in the Worship Hall, temporarily leaving Spirit Hall's many affairs unattended."
Bibi Dong's slender brows furrowed slightly. If the man kneeling in the great hall hadn't been a Red-Robed Cardinal, she would have thought he was drunk.
"Your Holiness, that is exactly what happened!"
The Red-Robed Cardinal knelt on one knee, his manner respectful.
Hearing this, Bibi Dong's feelings grew even more complicated. She had been training desperately all this time, treating Tang Hao as the imagined enemy in her heart.
Who could have expected him to be so useless, handing himself over for nothing?
Even more unexpected was Qian Daoliu's softheartedness.
Had Tang Hao fallen into her hands, her martial soul would probably have devoured him completely by now.
"I remember that when Tang Hao left back then, he took a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone with him?"
Bibi Dong gripped her jeweled scepter as the matter suddenly came to mind.
Although the entire continent knew that Tang Hao had killed the previous pope, hardly anyone knew the true reason behind it.
Naturally, they wouldn't know about the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone either.
"Tell me..."
"If Tang Hao knew he was going to die, where would he hide his most precious possession before coming to meet his death?"
At Bibi Dong's question, the Red-Robed Cardinal's mind raced. Then he answered with absolute certainty.
"The Clear Sky Sect!"
Before you continue