"That's a really impressive Soul Skill. With our junior Jin Yang, maybe we really can place in the Whole Continent Soul Master Tournament."
Fang Qiong spoke with a smile.
"Yes, exactly!" The other senior girls chimed in.
They actually had little confidence in themselves. After all, the Plant Academy's resources were what they were, and few plant Martial Souls were top-tier. Not to mention, if their opponents had even one Soul Master who could counter plant Martial Souls, defeat was certain.
The Blazing Fire Academy, for instance.
If they ran into the Blazing Fire Academy, they could only slink away with their tails between their legs. Among the students currently eligible to compete, only Yao Zi had fire resistance.
Their eyes shone as they looked at Jin Yang. The Plant Academy had plenty of support-type Martial Souls, but this was their first time seeing one as powerful as his.
He could support and fight. Simply perfect!
Powerful support-type Soul Masters were far too rare, and most would never choose the obscure Plant Academy.
As for a support-type Soul Master who could represent the Plant Academy as a seeded competitor in the Whole Continent Soul Master Tournament, there wasn't a single one to be found.
The Plant Academy simply had no such student-except Jin Yang.
"Now we've got hope in the team battles." Yao Zi thumped a fist into her palm, excitement in her voice.
Early the next morning, Jin Yang was awakened by the sunlight dazzling his eyes.
He opened his eyes. Jiang Yan was still sound asleep on the other side of the bedroom.
Seeing this, he began his daily cultivation.
First, he summoned his Martial Soul and shrank it to half a person's height.
Then he rolled up his sleeves, baring his arms. With one hand gripping Sunflower's flower head, he reached the other into Sunflower's mouth and felt around.
Soon, his fingers found a perfectly round sphere-a ball of sunlight.
After he advanced to a three-ring Soul Master, the quality of the sunlight had improved enormously. Perhaps if he kept eating it over time, he wouldn't be far from attaining an indestructible body.
Even before he left Nuoding Academy, Tang San's ordinary hidden weapons had already been unable to pierce his skin.
Although getting hit still caused bruising beneath his skin, it was no longer easy to break the skin itself.
The sunlight he had just eaten was strengthening his flesh and blood.
He now felt that his physical strength had increased a little more.
The muscles on his body had also become considerably firmer.
Starting today, he would officially be attending classes taught by the academy's teachers.
Even as the esteemed disciple of the Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, he still had to attend class when the time came. There were no exceptions.
Only after he had cultivated for an hour did Jiang Yan slowly wake in the opposite bed.
"Huh? No way. Maybe I'm still asleep."
Jiang Yan rubbed his eyes, staring blankly at Jin Yang.
"Morning, Jiang Yan."
Jin Yang finished his cultivation and greeted Jiang Yan.
"Wait, so I am awake! It's so early, and you're already cultivating? Don't tell me you didn't sleep at all last night?"
Jiang Yan was utterly shocked.
He could hardly believe it.
What was this? Someone more talented than me was working even harder than me.
"No, I've only been up for a little while."
Hearing Jin Yang's answer, Jiang Yan remained half-convinced.
Then he stopped dwelling on it, swiftly climbed out of bed, and got dressed. After a quick wash, he took Jin Yang to the dining hall.
"Why aren't you eating? Since you're here anyway, you might as well have a little. Isn't the trip wasted if you don't eat?"
Jiang Yan looked in confusion at Jin Yang, who sat across from him without eating anything.
"I've already eaten. Take your time."
"Damn, you're such a grind! Just grind me into the dirt, why don't you?" Jiang Yan rolled his eyes, a steamed bun clenched in his hand.
He began wolfing down his food.
The Plant Academy's teaching building was fairly close to the dining hall, and the two entered it after only a short walk.
Unlike the other students in his year, Jin Yang followed Jiang Yan straight to the tiered classroom on the top floor.
Yao Zi and the others were already seated inside, waiting for class to begin.
When they saw Jin Yang come in, they all greeted him.
Yao Zi and Fang Qiong came over and led Jin Yang to a seat at the very front, right in the center.
It offered the best view and was more likely to catch the teacher's attention.
Though with Jin Yang's current fame, it would have been impossible for the teachers not to notice him anyway.
Time ticked by. Just before the clock's hands reached eight, Xuan Qing walked gracefully into the classroom with steady strides.
"Students, we'll begin class now." Xuan Qing's voice was gentle and pleasant, yet carried clearly through the room.
"In this lesson, we'll study the organizational structure of the Spirit Hall..."
Xuan Qing deliberately glanced toward Jin Yang's seat. It went without saying who this lesson had been arranged for.
"The Spirit Hall is divided into..."
Inside the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong was still frazzled as she dealt with the written reports submitted by the bishops and deacons under her command.
She hadn't been in a hurry to process those reports a few days ago, and now they were piling up.
Without the assistance of Elders Chrysanthemum and Ghost, many matters had become quite troublesome to handle, and the approval procedures required at every stage had grown even more complicated.
That was understandable. After all, those Soul Saints and Soul Douluos lacked both the strength and the authority to deal with most of these matters.
For every order Bibi Dong issued, these low-level workers would send back several times as many written reports.
In the past, aside from a small amount of essential administrative work, Bibi Dong could simply give Chrysanthemum Douluo verbal instructions for most matters. With his strength as a Titled Douluo, he could resolve them easily, without even needing an application.
Now that Chrysanthemum Douluo was absent, Bibi Dong was naturally swamped.
At this point, she wasn't thinking about Yu Xiaogang anymore, either. Reality proved that people who spent every day turning heaven and earth upside down over love simply had too much time on their hands.
If she couldn't finish today's paperwork, tomorrow's would continue piling up here, growing larger and larger like a rolling snowball.
Bibi Dong wished she could put all eight eyes and eight legs of her Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul to work.
Qian Daoliu had visited once.
After looking at the mountain of documents before Bibi Dong, he had silently retreated.
Although he didn't think Bibi Dong would ask him for help, what if she did?
In the vast, cold, empty hall, Bibi Dong wiped the sweat from her forehead and drew a deep breath. Just as she was about to relax, she detected footsteps outside.
"Your Holiness!" A voice came from outside the hall, making Bibi Dong's breath catch.
"Come in," Bibi Dong said after steadying herself.
"These are the new..."
Bibi Dong cut the cardinal off before he could finish. "Put them down for now. I'll deal with them right away. This is the last batch, isn't it?"
The cardinal stole a glance at Bibi Dong's expression and answered cautiously, "Your Holiness, this is indeed the last batch."
"Good, then. Go back to your work. Thank you for your efforts."
The cardinal withdrew silently.
Bibi Dong stared helplessly at the documents that had piled up before her once again.
For the first time, the Spirit Hall's rigorous bottom-up approval process gave her a headache.
"I wonder how many more days Elder Ju needs to rest." Bibi Dong tiredly rubbed the space between her brows and sighed.
Some things could only be appreciated once they were gone.
"Perhaps I should have delegated some authority long ago and established a department specifically to handle these matters."
Bibi Dong murmured to herself.
The light in her eyes seemed to flicker in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.
Rather than handle all this, she would have been better off going to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt down a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
Before you continue