Mu En finally stepped in and helped Qi Xuan reseal that wisp of thunder dragon essence inside a bracelet for him to carry.
Getting an early taste of a heavenly tribulation's aura would offer at least some benefit to his future development.
Huo Yuhao hurried off to attend a lecture by Fan Yu, the vice dean of the Soul Tool Department.
That left Qi Xuan wandering aimlessly around campus alone.
From a distance, he spotted a crowd of students packed around the noticeboard beneath the teaching building-a rare sight indeed.
Qi Xuan struggled through the crowd, packed three layers deep inside and out, before finally squeezing his way to the front.
If Huo Yuhao were here, he could probably read the notice from outside the crowd.
Qi Xuan took a closer look. It turned out to be a new academy program.
Each month, students who had reached the level required to obtain a soul ring could apply through their homeroom teacher. The academy would arrange for teachers to lead them into the Star Dou Great Forest as a group to hunt soul beasts and obtain soul rings.
This was wonderful news for everyone.
For commoner soul masters without powerful backing, obtaining soul rings had always been one of the greatest obstacles in cultivation. Setting aside the dangers of combat, the Star Dou Great Forest itself harbored perils on every side, and encountering soul beasts that lived in groups made things even harder.
Now that the academy would coordinate everything, their chances of success would rise considerably.
Similar programs had actually existed before, but almost all had been reserved for core disciples receiving special training, helping them obtain soul rings at the very limit of what they could withstand.
This program had no such restrictions and was open to every student, but its standards had been lowered accordingly. They would only search for suitable soul beasts of a suitable age. As for the luxury of a tailor-made hunt for a specific soul beast of a specific age, students could forget about that.
Each student could apply only once per academic year. Of course, anyone who failed to obtain a suitable soul ring on that trip would receive priority next time.
That hardly counted as a restriction. After rank twenty, most people struggled to advance ten ranks within a year-even the Shrek Outer Court's graduation requirement was only to reach Soul Ancestor.
Not to mention that some people could remain stuck at rank twenty-nine for decades.
By that reckoning, Qi Xuan qualified-he had reached rank thirty four months ago.
But his situation was rather unusual. According to theoretical research in the soul master world, the maximum age one could withstand for a third soul ring should be around seventeen hundred years. Soul masters' physiques had generally improved over ten thousand years of development, but that limit certainly would not exceed twenty-two hundred years.
Qi Xuan was clearly no normal person. By his own estimate, his physical strength should allow him to withstand a soul ring of around nine thousand years-already the age most five-ring soul masters absorbed.
And he still wanted to take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, and try edging up to the ten-thousand-year mark.
That was outrageously far beyond the norm.
For most people in the mainstream soul master world, a black, ten-thousand-year soul ring was already a graduation soul ring.
Ninety-nine percent of soul masters never saw a soul beast over a hundred thousand years old in their entire lives.
If Qi Xuan successfully absorbed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as his third ring, he feared someone might abduct him one day and slice him up for research.
At that moment, he actually felt a little envious of Huo Yuhao-the Million-Year Soul Ring Tian Meng had given him happened to be white.
Aside from Huo Yuhao and soul masters with twin martial souls, every soul master in the existing records had needed to reach their fourth ring before they could absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
That included the First Generation Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago, as well as Mu En, who had only just parted ways with him.
Besides, this was not entirely risk-free for Qi Xuan either.
A soul beast aged nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine years and a ten-thousand-year soul beast might differ by only a single year, but conceptually, they were as far apart as heaven and earth.
That was why he had spent these past few months tempering his body.
Yesterday, he had gulped down a torrent of the Golden Tree's life energy in the Sea God Pavilion.
If he mooched some whale rubber off Huo Yuhao later and absorbed a tiny bit of thunder dragon essence, he should more or less reach the threshold for absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
As for how he would explain it if he actually succeeded...
He would take it one step at a time.
"Oh, what are you doing here?"
Qi Xuan turned his head and found Xiao Xiao grinning at him.
Xiao Xiao waved a hand in front of his face. "What, aren't you happy to see this young lady?"
Qi Xuan sounded helpless. "Happy, happy. What wind blew your esteemed self my way?"
Xiao Xiao and Qi Xuan walked along Sea God Lake, chatting as they went. "I've already absorbed that Heavenly Sound Magpie skull bone. I'm rank twenty-five now."
"Not bad." Qi Xuan gave her a thumbs-up, then glanced around. "Where's Wang Dong? How come I don't see her?"
Xiao Xiao shrugged. "She heard Huo Yuhao mention some soul tool lecture tonight and went along to join the fun."
Seeing how distracted Qi Xuan was, Xiao Xiao grew a little annoyed. "Aren't you even going to ask about me absorbing the soul bone?"
Qi Xuan readily obliged. "What new skill did that skull bone give you?"
This hopelessly straightforward fellow irritated Xiao Xiao so much that her teeth itched. "You could at least ask whether I was safe first!"
Qi Xuan looked puzzled. "You look full of vitality and in great shape. Obviously, it was a roaring success."
Finally at her wits' end, Xiao Xiao could only resign herself to it. "The Heavenly Sound Magpie skull bone strengthened my spiritual power and gave me finer control over the flow of soul power. It also gave me a new skill."
"Heavenly Sound Tremor. It uses sound waves to make the surrounding air vibrate, allowing me to scout or attack. If I release it through the Nine Phoenixes Saluting Flute, its range and effects become even stronger."
Qi Xuan nodded. It was a good skill. Although it could not compare with Spiritual Detection, at least she now had a scouting skill.
Xiao Xiao asked curiously, "I saw the notice just now too. Are you planning to sign up to get your Three Rings?"
Qi Xuan hesitated, then casually made up an excuse. "With that announcement out, there'll definitely be loads of people signing up. We freshmen probably won't get a turn anyway. I'll wait and see."
Xiao Xiao suspected nothing and pulled Qi Xuan toward the dining hall.
She pointed at her head. "To celebrate successfully absorbing this, I'm treating you to a feast tonight!"
Qi Xuan's eyes lit up. "Oh, you're too kind. I want to eat at the Sleeping Dragon Court."
Xiao Xiao stumbled. "You really aren't shy about asking, are you?"
The Sleeping Dragon Court was a perennial fixture in the top three of Shrek City's must-eat list.
With elegant decor and exquisite dishes, it fused soul beast delicacies and first-rate culinary skill in a single furnace. Its prices were high, but even students could afford to eat there.
Many teachers chose it for group meals, as did gatherings of friends and family. It was an upper-midrange restaurant offering good value for money.
As a result, the Sleeping Dragon Court was extremely popular at Shrek Academy, and customers generally had to join the queue in advance.
Huo Yuhao was a chronically penniless wretch, while Qi Xuan regarded money as dirt. Neither of them had any demands when it came to food.
As long as they had something to eat and did not starve to death, they were fine.
So although they often heard the Sleeping Dragon Court's name, they had never visited it.
Even after they had money in their pockets, the two still ate at the dining hall every day-running into the city to eat at a restaurant would waste cultivation time.
Qi Xuan had only mentioned it offhand to tease Xiao Xiao. He had never actually intended to make her treat him to a meal at the Sleeping Dragon Court.
Who would have thought Xiao Xiao would grit her teeth and stamp her foot, as though she had made some great resolve?
"Fine."
Before you continue