Once the graduation ceremony was over, sure enough-
Yu Xiaogang singled out Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Jin Jiuxiao.
He called all three into his office.
"Give me a moment."
Yu Xiaogang took out paper and a pen, weighing his words.
He wrote two letters of recommendation.
He handed one to Jin Jiuxiao. "Jin Jiuxiao, do you remember our wager from back then?"
"I remember."
Of course Jin Jiuxiao remembered. Ever since that sparring match with him, Tang San's state of mind had been affected.
That had been the first time the Tang Sect Secret Arts had suffered a setback in this world.
"Mm. Back then, I said that if you beat Little San, I would recommend you to a Soul Master Academy."
"That academy is called Shrek."
"Its dean is a high-ranking Soul Saint named Flender, an old acquaintance of mine."
Yu Xiaogang handed the other letter to Tang San. "The two of you just need to give your recommendation letters to Flender, and you'll be admitted without any trouble."
The two letters differed in content.
After all, Jin Jiuxiao was not his disciple. He had a family backing him.
But Yu Xiaogang had never seen this kind of lightning-type martial soul before.
It was difficult to judge which family Jin Jiuxiao came from.
According to Jin Jiuxiao himself, he came from a Secluded Family and could not reveal too much.
Yu Xiaogang found that explanation highly credible.
"Grandmaster, what about me?" Xiao Wu noticed she was the only one without a recommendation letter and could not help asking.
"Your circumstances are different from Jin Jiuxiao's, so I included your recommendation in Little San's letter."
Xiao Wu had no further questions. "All right. Thank you, Grandmaster."
"I've prepared a carriage for you. Do you have any other questions?" Yu Xiaogang's gaze kept moving between the three of them.
It finally settled on Jin Jiuxiao.
Xiao Wu had no issues, and Tang San, as his own disciple, was even less of a concern.
"Grandmaster, I still have some things to take care of, so I'll be taking a detour."
"But I'll get there in time."
Jin Jiuxiao did not want to set off together with Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Who knew what this little rabbit was thinking? She had still ended up entangled with Tang San.
Logically, after his warning, shouldn't a normal person's train of thought have been to find a chance to run?
Why was she drawing closer to Tang San instead?
Although he had taken Zi JI and the others to deal with Tang Hao, Xiao Wu did not know about that.
Forget it. As a fellow member of the Soul Beast Clan, he had already warned her.
If she insisted on sticking close to Tang San, he would respect her individual fate.
"Mm, arrange things as you see fit." Yu Xiaogang did not insist.
There was no way Jin Jiuxiao would join Spirit Hall.
If Spirit Hall learned that Jin Jiuxiao came from a Secluded Family, it would certainly develop designs on the family behind him.
They, on the other hand, would not probe too deeply into the family forces behind Jin Jiuxiao.
That would undoubtedly spare him a certain amount of trouble.
So, in Yu Xiaogang's view, Jin Jiuxiao would go to Shrek.
"All right, I'll be off first, then." With those words, Jin Jiuxiao left.
In any case, they would definitely travel faster than Tang San could by carriage.
When he returned home, he saw Dugu Bo lying on a lounge chair in the courtyard.
Dugu Bo had visited twice over these four years.
This was his third visit.
Spotting Jin Jiuxiao, Dugu Bo immediately greeted him. "Little Monster, have you graduated from the academy?"
"Mm. If you come looking for me in the future, go to the western suburbs of Suotuo City. There's a shabby academy called Shrek there."
"I'll be staying there for a while."
A huge question mark seemed to appear over Dugu Bo's head. "Shrek? Never heard of it."
"But I'll remember the location."
Jin Jiuxiao also sat down in a chair. "How have things been lately?"
Letting Dugu Bo know that his location was changing was one thing.
The other was asking how things were progressing on Dugu Bo's end.
At the mention of this, Dugu Bo's expression grew much more serious. "We can forget about counting on the Heaven Dou Empire's current high officials."
"Those high and mighty nobles don't care about soul beasts or peace."
"All they know is that high-ranking soul beasts have incredibly tasty meat and make fine delicacies."
"Nothing but a bunch of wine sacks and rice bags."
His disgust was plain to see. Dugu Bo truly looked down on those selfish good-for-nothings.
"But I've made some headway with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I've established contact with Ning Fengzhi."
"As for his stance, I'm not sure. That old fox is shrewd as they come."
Jin Jiuxiao nodded lightly. "Understandable. As a support-type soul master, he's managed to secure the unwavering loyalty of two Titled Douluo and develop the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to this extent."
"Without some ability to fall back on, he would have been devoured down to the last scrap long ago."
Dugu Bo took a small booklet from inside his robes and handed it to Jin Jiuxiao. "This is my summary of recent developments. It goes into a bit more detail."
Jin Jiuxiao took the booklet and began leafing through it.
He would never have known without looking. This old fellow Dugu Bo really got things done.
The booklet recorded the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Family's recent circumstances, as well as the various factions' attitudes toward soul beasts.
It also contained several conversations with Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, along with Dugu Bo's assessments and conjectures about him.
The situation with Ning Fengzhi was likewise recorded.
When he reached the final section, Jin Jiuxiao sat up straight, his mouth opening slightly as a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes. "Where did you get this?"
The final section was none other than a defense deployment map of the entire Heaven Dou Empire, its troop deployments, and the numbers stationed at key passes.
The Heaven Dou Empire's commanders, troop numbers, cultivation ranks, and ranges of strength were all tallied in the booklet.
Dugu Bo had even thoughtfully annotated the Heaven Dou Empire's weak points and mapped out attack routes from the Star Dou Great Forest into the Heaven Dou Empire.
He had calculated the reinforcement travel times and distances between different regions.
Seeing Jin Jiuxiao's surprise, Dugu Bo lifted his head, gave a light snort, and smiled smugly. "Little Monster, I'm not going to take your benefits for nothing."
"Didn't you say soul beasts and humans would have to fight sooner or later?"
"You can't go wrong making thorough preparations in advance."
"Even if Heaven Dou's defense deployment map changes, it won't be by much."
"After all, the Heaven Dou Empire only has so many troops, and its strength only amounts to that much."
"There's nothing I can do about the Star Luo Empire side."
Jin Jiuxiao drew a deep breath. "You're aiming to wipe out an empire here. I'm not planning to exterminate humanity."
"That's precisely why I'm willing to help you." Dugu Bo spread his hands. "If things keep going like this, humans and soul beasts will inevitably reach a point where neither side will rest until the other is dead."
Over these years, Dugu Bo had also given serious thought to the current circumstances and situation of humans and soul beasts.
He was human too!
The Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest beginning to take action was a signal that could not have been clearer.
If things really reached that final step...
"No matter the final outcome, the other side won't come out of it well either."
"Rather than let hatred be passed down without end, we might as well sever it completely in our generation!"
A vicious gleam flashed through his eyes. "Slaughter everyone unwilling to move toward peace, and won't those left be the people willing to build peace together?"