Ning Fengzhi's Visit

Through his probing with soul power, Zhi Lin also sensed that although Shi Quan's soul power was not as strong as his own, it possessed a vibrant, rising vitality. The greater the pressure he applied, the more majestic the power erupting from within Shi Quan became, like a warrior who grew braver with every battle.

"His soul power truly is unusual." Zhi Lin thought to himself. The robes around him gradually began to stir without wind. Though he was merely sitting there, the pressure surrounding Shi Quan increased bit by bit.

Shi Quan's expression remained unchanged. The Divine Art within him continued circulating, and as the pressure steadily increased, he secretly used his Inner Force to activate the Life Attribute of the Blue Silver Grass.

A faint blue halo gradually appeared around his body, radiating vigorous vitality.

To outsiders, it looked as though his Spirit Soul was helping Shi Quan bear the oppression brought by Zhi Lin's soul power.

At this point, the soul power pressure Zhi Lin was releasing had reached Level 30.

"What dense life energy. His Physical Fitness truly is remarkable. At Level 21, he can withstand the soul power pressure of Level 30. No wonder he could absorb a Thousand Year Spirit Ring. But judging by this, he still has not reached his limit!" Zhi Lin smiled faintly and increased the soul power he released once more.

Level 31, Level 32...

As the level of soul power pressure continued to rise, Shi Quan revealed a pained expression. In order not to expose his true limit, he could only say to Xiao Meng in his mind, "Xiao Meng, use the Blue Silver Grass to wrap me up."

"No problem." A deep blue light burst from the Blue Silver Grass. In the next instant, the Blue Silver Grass in Shi Quan's hand extended up along his arm, directly wrapping around him and shielding his entire body within it.

Zhi Lin looked at the scene before him in surprise, thinking that Shi Quan had finally reached his limit. Only then did he withdraw the soul power pressure. Level 34 was already an astonishing degree—he had surpassed thirteen levels.

Huff!

Seeing that Zhi Lin Douluo was no longer releasing soul power, Shi Quan finally let out a breath of relief. The Blue Silver Grass around him slowly receded.

As the pressure dissipated, however, Shi Quan felt that the Inner Force within his body had not stopped circulating. Instead, with the disappearance of the massive boulder that was Zhi Lin Douluo, it began to circulate faster and faster.

"Has this... broken through?" A flash of delight passed through Shi Quan's eyes.

"Thank you for your help, Teacher." Shi Quan rose and bowed to Zhi Lin.

The senses of the three Soul Douluo were extraordinarily sharp, and they immediately noticed that Shi Quan's Soul Power Level had actually risen because of Zhi Lin's pressure.

Shi Quan's Inner Force had originally been on the verge of breaking through to Level 22, and Zhi Lin Douluo's pressure had become the opportunity for his Breakthrough.

After breaking through Level 20, Shi Quan had discovered that cultivation was far more difficult than it had been from Level 10 to Level 20.

The saying that one would never be able to break through if they failed to reach Level 30 before the age of twenty was not without basis.

In truth, cultivating from Level 20 to Level 30 was much harder than cultivating from Level 30 to the Fortieth Rank. This was also one of the reasons Tang San had only advanced from Level 13 to Level 29 during his six years at Notting Academy.

Level 20 to Level 30 was actually the first bottleneck in a Soul Master's cultivation. The earlier one broke through this bottleneck, the smoother subsequent cultivation would become.

"He actually used the soul power pressure released by Zhi Lin to break through! Hahaha, not bad, not bad. Worthy of a genius." Meng Shenji laughed. "Shi Quan, let's discuss your enrollment. If you have any requests, you can tell us directly."

"Teacher, I hope you can help me find a forest, preferably somewhere with a good natural environment and some peace and quiet. I do not like being disturbed while cultivating or studying."

Meng Shenji said directly, "Rest assured, we have the most Simulated Cultivation environments for plant-type Spirit Souls. I can have someone take you to look at them shortly. Whichever one you like, just tell him, and I will assign it to you personally."

"I hope the academy can provide materials related to Spirit Souls. Heaven Dou City should have more comprehensive and abundant theoretical knowledge, right?"

"That is certain. We do not want your Spirit Soul Theory to go to waste either. Whatever materials you need, as long as you ask, we will do our best to provide them."

"There is one more thing. I want to join the Heaven Dou Battle Team and participate in the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament."

Upon hearing Shi Quan's request, the three people present were stunned.

In their imagination, Shi Quan should have been a bookworm. They had never expected that he would want to participate in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.

After a brief pause, Meng Shenji said, "Shi Quan, the Heaven Dou Battle Team is special. Its members are selected fairly and impartially. If you want to join, you can only rely on your own strength to take part in the selection."

"Selection?" Shi Quan looked at Meng Shenji in confusion.

"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament is held once every five years. After the Heaven Dou Battle Team finished competing in the previous tournament, the academy began internally selecting members for the next Heaven Dou Battle Team. In the first year, sixteen people would be preliminarily selected. Seven would form the Heaven Dou First Team, while the other nine would form the Heaven Dou Second Team.

Over the next three years, the Heaven Dou Battle Team members would be selected once each year. The selection would not end until the final year. Once the final team was determined, they would undergo further coordination and training."

"So that's how it is?" Shi Quan raised an eyebrow.

But it made sense. The Heaven Dou Battle Team represented the royal family's honor. It was not something one could join simply because they wanted to. Even if one possessed great strength and immense potential, it still depended on whether they fit the team as a whole.

In those novels, even when someone could join just by wanting to, the prerequisite was still having the strength to do so.

"No problem. I will join the Heaven Dou Battle Team through my own strength." Shi Quan nodded. With his strength, joining the Heaven Dou Battle Team would not be difficult.

Afterward, Meng Shenji and the other two discussed Spirit Soul Theory with Shi Quan for a while longer before this first meeting finally came to an end.

Only then did Shi Quan follow Xue Qinghe to his Dormitory. Everything inside was fully furnished, and it was clear that care had been taken.

Xue Qinghe still had other government affairs to attend to, so naturally he could not stay with him the entire time. After taking Shi Quan to the Dormitory, he gave him a few more instructions, telling him that if he had any problems, he could directly seek out the education committee or come to him, and that there was no need to stand on ceremony.

After Xue Qinghe left, the servant assigned by the education committee to take Shi Quan to view the Simulated Cultivation environments arrived as well. Under the man's guidance, they quickly reached the first one.

Leaving everything else aside, the Simulated Cultivation environments at Heaven Dou Royal Academy were indeed very well arranged. Upon entering these specialized cultivation grounds for plant-type Soul Masters, Shi Quan could clearly feel that his Blue Silver Grass Spirit Soul had become much more sensitive to its surroundings.

Shi Quan was in no hurry to make a decision. Meng Shenji had said that the academy had many Simulated Cultivation grounds, so naturally he had to take his time looking before choosing the one he liked best.

From the mountain, they walked down to the foot of the mountain, then from there to the lakeside.

Along the way, Shi Quan viewed more than ten Simulated Cultivation grounds. Every one of them was exceptionally complete, yet Shi Quan did not make a decision for a long while. It was not until he saw one Simulated Cultivation ground at the Foot of the Mountain that his eyes lit up, and he immediately decided to choose it.

The place Shi Quan chose was an open area beside the Foot of the Mountain. One side of the clearing leaned against the mountain, yet it did not block the sunlight. The surrounding forest was not dense, but it gave off a vibrant sense of life.

There was also a pool beside the clearing. The pool was no more than twenty meters in diameter. A small stream around two meters wide quietly fed water into it from the other side of the forest before flowing back out, ensuring that the pool always contained living water.

More importantly, there was a simple house beside the pool. It was built from wooden planks, plain and straightforward, as though it blended into the surrounding environment.

It was practically a condensed version of living against the mountains and beside the water. It even had a place to stay, so he would not need to travel back and forth between his cultivation grounds and the Dormitory every day. This would save him quite a bit of trouble.

After deciding on his Simulated Cultivation environment, Shi Quan drew up a list of the items he needed and handed it to the servant.

Most of the items on the list were materials.

The academy was currently on break, and most students had returned home. Only a very small number remained at the academy.

Although there were few students, the academy Cafeteria still kept several service windows open twenty-four hours a day, making things as convenient as possible for all students.

Shi Quan had long grown used to cultivating alone and did not find it boring. Being by himself was rather peaceful.

It had to be said that Heaven Dou Academy was quite efficient. By the next day, most of the items on his list had been delivered. As for the remaining small portion, he was informed that they would arrive within two or three days at most.

Shi Quan maintained his former routine: studying and researching Spirit Soul Theory in the morning, training in Martial Arts in the afternoon, and cultivating the Nine Yin and Nine Yang Divine Art at night.

Less than a week passed like this before Xue Qinghe came to find Shi Quan with a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man had a face like polished jade, a straight nose, square lips, and an elegant, gentle appearance. His immaculate white robe was without a speck of dust. He appeared to be in his forties, with gentle eyes and smooth black hair cascading down his back. Everything about him seemed so casual, without the slightest affectation.

"Brother Xue, who is this?" Shi Quan asked Xue Qinghe.

Xue Qinghe smiled as he introduced him. "Brother Shi, this is the Sect Leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi. He is my teacher, and he has come specifically to visit you today."

"This junior, Shi Quan, greets Sect Leader Ning." Shi Quan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

However, Ning Fengzhi stepped forward and supported him with one hand. Smiling, he said, "No need to be so polite. Right now, I am merely Qinghe's teacher. Since you call Qinghe your elder brother, call me Uncle Ning as well. I would also like to hear you address me that way."

Faced with Ning Fengzhi's goodwill, Shi Quan bowed once more without being either servile or arrogant. "Greetings, Uncle Ning."

Ning Fengzhi laughed heartily. "Good, good. Then from now on, I shall call you Xiao Quan."

"Uncle Ning, as you please."

At the side, Xue Qinghe timely said, "Now that Teacher and Brother Shi have been introduced, why do we not go inside and talk?"

"Uncle Ning, Brother Xue, this way, please. My little wooden house is rather simple. I hope you will not mind." Shi Quan smiled and led the two of them toward the wooden house.