Obtaining His Graduation Certificate and Heading to Suotuo City

Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy offered a standard six-year course, admitting children who awakened their martial souls at six. Students only needed to reach rank ten soul power before turning twelve, successfully obtain their first soul ring, and advance to become soul masters.

If they failed to reach rank ten soul power, students could choose to complete all their courses and serve a designated faction for five years in exchange for a graduation certificate.

Lin Chen had applied for early graduation after just one year of enrollment, breaking the academy's usual conventions and truly catching the dean by surprise.

The dean frowned slightly but did not reject him outright. Knowing full well that some people defied common expectations, he said gravely:

"Do you know the junior academy's mandatory graduation requirements? You can graduate once your soul power reaches rank ten, you obtain your first soul ring, and you successfully advance to become a soul master. You've only been enrolled for a year. I don't believe you've already met those requirements."

Faced with the dean's doubts, Lin Chen remained calm. He offered no lengthy defense, merely saying evenly:

"I have already met the requirements."

With that, he said no more. At a slight stir of his will, soul power quietly surged around him.

Hum—

Gentle yet substantial waves of soul power spread from Lin Chen's body. Neither sharp nor overbearing, they deliberately concealed every trace of his edge, yet remained exceptionally concentrated and weighty, brimming with depth and without the slightest instability of a recent breakthrough.

Liuli quietly appeared beside him, her body slender and graceful, her fur lustrous and translucent. Her twin tails swayed gently as a wisp of clear emerald wood-type spiritual power intertwined with pale blue water-type soul power around her, vibrant with spiritual energy, gentle but far from weak.

Two yellow soul rings of differing shades slowly rose from beneath his feet, one after the other, circling his body in an unceasing flow. Their colors were bright and pure, their substance dense and full, and the depth of their accumulated years far surpassed ordinary hundred-year soul rings.

Yellow, yellow!

Two hundred-year soul rings!

The instant both yellow soul rings fully appeared, the dean froze where he stood. His pupils abruptly contracted, and the composure on his face vanished completely, replaced by utter shock and disbelief.

He sprang to his feet and hurried two steps forward, staring fixedly at the soul rings flowing around Lin Chen. Even his breathing unconsciously slowed, his eyes filled with astonishment as he struggled for a long time to regain his senses.

"Two... two hundred-year soul rings?! You've broken through rank twenty?!"

The dean's voice trembled despite his efforts to steady it, his heart full of disbelief.

Only after a long while did the dean gradually calm his surging emotions. He let out a heavy breath, his expression becoming exceptionally solemn as he looked at Lin Chen with heartfelt admiration and affection.

"Excellent! What a young genius! My own horizons were too narrow."

The dean sighed in admiration again and again, his tone utterly sincere. "With your current cultivation, foundation, and aptitude, you have indeed long surpassed the junior academy's graduation standards. Keeping you here any longer would truly waste your talents."

There was no need for additional written tests or practical combat assessments. His two hundred-year soul rings and solid rank twenty-three cultivation alone were enough to prove everything. Lin Chen's theoretical knowledge, cultivation discipline, and combat foundation already far exceeded those of his fellow students, fully qualifying him to graduate.

Without further hesitation, the dean picked up the official seal and a blank graduation document, then took up his pen to personally process Lin Chen's early graduation.

As his pen rose and fell, lines of neat, precise writing appeared on the document, formally certifying that Lin Chen had completed every junior academy course, met the standards for soul power, discipline, and cultivation, and earned excellent marks in every comprehensive assessment, granting him permission to graduate early.

The vivid red academy seal came down firmly, leaving a clear, straight impression. The weighty graduation certificate from the junior soul master academy officially took effect, bearing the authority of official certification.

He then prepared an official recommendation letter from Notting Junior Academy for Lin Chen's further studies.

Holding the crisp new graduation document, Lin Chen bowed slightly in thanks, his manner as humble as ever. "Thank you for granting my request, Dean."

The plan Lin Chen had held in his heart for so long had finally come to fruition.

From that moment on, he officially left everything at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy behind him. He was about to embark on a new cultivation journey and step onto a higher stage.

After bidding the dean farewell, Lin Chen quietly turned and left the campus without the slightest reluctance.

Having obtained the academy's general recommendation letter, Lin Chen went on his own to the Notting Spirit Hall branch. At his request, Ma Xiunuo processed and issued a Spirit Hall recommendation certificate for his further studies.

After returning home, Lin Chen told his parents the full news of his early graduation and his plans to travel to Suotuo City to study.

Lin Tianyu and Li Su were initially stunned, then understood.

They knew their son was resolute, thoughtful, and steady in his actions, certainly not acting on a passing impulse. Moreover, Suotuo City's cultivation resources, teaching environment, and room for growth truly far surpassed those of Nuoding City, offering tremendous benefits for their son's future cultivation.

Though the couple were deeply reluctant to let their young son wander far from home, they were even less willing to shackle his path forward. After a little consideration, they nodded their approval.

To ensure the long journey was safe and trouble-free, make his enrollment proceed smoothly, and prevent the young Lin Chen from encountering any mishap while traveling alone, Lin Tianyu decided to escort his son to Suotuo City himself.

Father and son packed their bags simply, preparing clothes, cultivation pills, records and reference books, and everything else they would need. At the first faint light of dawn the next day, they set out early, leaving the Nuoding City where they had lived for years by carriage and speeding toward Suotuo City in the heartland of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The thousand-mile journey left them weary from carriage and horse. They ate in the wind and slept beneath the open sky, passing through one town and stretch of countryside after another and crossing rolling low mountains. After several days of traveling day and night, the majestic outline of Suotuo City finally emerged at the edge of their vision.

Compared with the small, peaceful, and limited Nuoding City, Suotuo City lived up to its reputation as a major cultivation hub in the Heaven Dou Empire's heartland, grand in presence and vast in scale.

Towering, thick walls of gray stone stretched on and on, their sturdy, weathered surfaces bearing the weight of passing years. Majestic gate towers rose into the clouds, imposing and magnificent.

Buildings stood packed together like scales on a fish and teeth on a comb. Broad, level streets extended in every direction, woven streams of people filled them, and carriages and horses passed without end. Everywhere radiated flourishing prosperity.

A rich, pure aura of soul power lingered in the air year-round. Cultivators dressed in soul master attire could be seen moving along the streets everywhere, and the overall cultivation atmosphere was a hundred times stronger than in Nuoding City.

As they stepped into Suotuo City, its bustling clamor swept over them. Shops lined the streets, taverns clustered together, and soul master workshops, rare medicinal herb stores, soul power cultivation facilities, and soul tool smithies were everywhere. Cultivation resources abounded amid a dazzling variety of trades, every detail revealing the depth and breadth of a great city.

Father and son had no interest in admiring the city's thriving sights. Forgoing any stops along the way, they followed the street signs straight toward the Spirit Hall Intermediate Academy in the city's central district.

Suotuo Spirit Hall Intermediate Academy occupied the most prized location at the very heart of the city. Its grounds stretched far and wide, its layout grand and imposing. Towering perimeter walls shut out the noise of the outside world, and its magnificent gates stood solemnly beneath two enormous stone sculptures bearing Spirit Hall's distinctive insignia. Its presence was austere and commanding, carrying the weight of an orthodox cultivation institution.

Compared with the small, modest Notting Junior Academy, its standards, scale, and presence were on an entirely different level.

The students coming and going had steady auras and deep foundations, with even the weakest at the Soul Grandmaster level. Soul Elder students could be seen throughout the streets and training grounds, cultivating diligently or sparring with one another. The academy's rigorous, intense cultivation atmosphere spurred everyone onward.