The thought of that fellow Tang Wulin sent a surge of anger through Gu Yuena. Attending classes with her brother at Red Mountain Academy was one thing, but he even pestered her brother after school.
And there was a faint trace of the Golden Dragon King's aura coming from him. It had to be the work of those False Gods.
Gu Yuena had left him alone for now because she feared some god had planted a contingency in him. Once the time was right, she would have Di Tian slaughter him.
Hearing Jiang Mingyuan's words, Leng Yaozhu's opinion of him rose a few notches. He could stay true to himself, resist the lure of benefits, and value friendship.
"What you said makes sense. Soul Masters can't fight alone. If you have companions you can trust to watch your back, you should cherish them."
Leng Yaozhu thought of Ya Li. The Federation Government had nurtured that woman, yet Yun Ming had used his proposal of marriage as a pretext to slap the Federation in the face, relying on his strength and backing. Ya Li had not even offered a word to the teachers who had once taught her or the colleagues she had worked alongside. She had simply dusted off her backside and left with Yun Ming.
"How about this? Given your current circumstances, I can agree to let you stay here with your companions. You can ask the local Spirit Pagoda for any cultivation resources you need. However, once the end-of-term break begins, you must come to Spirit Pagoda Headquarters in Shrek City to receive my instruction. How does that sound?"
For a designer, individual effort mattered most. Everyone approached design differently, making it difficult to judge whose ideas were good or bad.
As his teacher, her most important task was to provide her student with sufficient resources and offer guidance on his overall direction.
Leng Yaozhu was very pleased with this student, and Jiang Mingyuan agreed with her proposal.
Only Gu Yuena was unhappy.
No! My brother! She was the mighty Silver Dragon King, the Soul Beast Co-ruler. Yet for the future of soul beasts, she now had no choice but to venture deep into the enemy camp.
She had become Leng Yaozhu's disciple precisely so she could use Leng Yaozhu's position to gain control of the Spirit Pagoda in the future. For now, she had to spend most of her time at Spirit Pagoda Headquarters.
"Brother!" Na'er's voice trembled, her eyes brimming with tears. Every day, she had to study under Leng Yaozhu while also thinking about the Soul Beast Revival Plan. Her subordinates were no less troublesome.
Only being with Jiang Mingyuan gave her a little comfort.
A gentle smile appeared on Leng Yaozhu's face. These two children were so close.
"Na'er, it's all right. I'll come see you during the break. We can still call each other on our Communication Soul Tools, too."
(Hiss. There's a problem here. The protagonist is financially comfortable, so he definitely would have bought Na'er a Communication Soul Tool. Logically, he should have stayed in contact with her the whole time she was away. Anyway, the protagonist not having Na'er's contact information is a plot hole. That's why Qin Yu had to call him over. Na'er wanted to surprise him, but she had absolutely no one who could help contact him, so Leng Yaozhu, a rank-nine designer, contacted him through the Designer Association.)
Na'er and Zi JI left that very evening. Leng Yaozhu still had to inspect the Spirit Pagoda in Eastsea City, so she would stay another day.
Jiang Mingyuan walked through the school gates and checked the time. There were still thirty minutes before class.
He had eaten breakfast, and Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were probably out of the dormitory by now. He could just wait in the classroom.
"Hey, did you hear? Eastsea City's mecha brigade caught fire. Quite a few people burned to death."
"I heard a fire-attribute Soul Master set it. That brigade captain was no good. He probably offended someone he shouldn't have, and they took revenge."
As Jiang Mingyuan headed toward the classroom, quite a few students along the way were discussing the incident.
Huh?
Jiang Mingyuan frowned. Everyone in that mecha brigade was a Soul Master. If an ordinary fire had burned more than half of them to death, that would be a joke. Had Guanglong offended someone else, too?
There were still only a few people in First Grade Class Five's classroom. Tang Wulin and Xie Xie sat silently in their seats.
Suddenly, the sound of the door handle turning caught their attention, and both looked over. The moment Tang Wulin saw who had entered, delight spread across his face.
"Brother Mingyuan! You're finally back!" Tang Wulin immediately rushed over and kept circling Jiang Mingyuan, carefully checking him for injuries.
His behavior left Jiang Mingyuan utterly baffled.
Wu Changkong also made his grand return during class, his expression as usual, without the slightest hint that anything was amiss.
During the special training that followed, Wu Changkong had no concerns about Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin's combat strength. Instead, he focused on integrating Xie Xie into their group.
The Class Promotion Competition was an annual highlight at Eastsea Academy, with every grade participating.
Today was the first day of the Intermediate Division's Class Promotion Competition. The school had rather heartlessly scheduled the matches for after classes.
The final bell had already rung, and students poured out of the teaching building in a great swarm. Very few, however, headed toward the Competition Platform.
Rather than watch the first grade's two weakest classes peck at each other like scrawny chickens, they were more interested in what was for dinner.
Dean Long Hengxu stepped onto the Competition Platform and amplified his voice with soul power. "Today is the first match of the Intermediate Division's Class Promotion Competition. First Grade Class Five will challenge First Grade Class Four."
Truthfully, Long Hengxu already had no doubts about the outcome. He had tossed two students fit for Class One into that class. As long as Wu Changkong wasn't a fool, sending those two out would make defeating Class Four a breeze.
Before they stepped onto the Competition Platform, Wu Changkong stopped Jiang Mingyuan to give him a few specific instructions. "Hold your strength in reserve. Don't act unless you have to. Information about individual abilities is crucial to Soul Masters. We'll be relying on you alone in the later matches."
Jiang Mingyuan made an OK sign.
Put your heart back in your belly and leave everything to me. There won't be a single problem.
The three students First Grade Class Four sent out were Jialong, Lin Zunyuan, and Moss. All three were one-ring Soul Masters.
With Long Hengxu's declaration of "Begin!" the match officially commenced.
On the platform, all six summoned their martial souls.
All three members of Class Four had white soul rings.
The Class Five trio's soul rings, however, stunned the spectators.
"How is that possible? They're all hundred-year soul rings!" Class Four's homeroom teacher was Kong Hanwen, a slightly plump, middle-aged man.
He stared incredulously at the three Class Five students on the platform, particularly Jiang Mingyuan. A Soul Grandmaster with a hundred-year soul spirit! Why had someone like that been placed in Class Five instead of Class One?
That damned Long Hengxu must have set him up on purpose.
On the Competition Platform, the Class Four trio could not help shrinking inwardly when they saw the imposing aura erupting from their opponents.
"Wulin! Xie Xie! You've been buffed. Get in there!"
Golden Feathers drifted down, applying the two most practical boosts-speed and strength-to Tang Wulin and Xie Xie.
Standing in the center, Tang Wulin charged straight at Jialong, who occupied the same position opposite him.
Xie Xie targeted Lin Zunyuan. His martial soul was a staff, so he appeared to be a control- or support-type Soul Master. As an agility-attack fighter, Xie Xie's duty was to eliminate those two types first.
Once their initial shock passed, the three opponents reacted. The soul ring beside Lin Zunyuan shone as he muttered an incantation. A beam of red light shot from the tip of his staff and landed on Jialong, making his already sturdy body a size larger.
Jialong's soul ring lit up at the same time, making him even bulkier on top of that and raising his height to a full two meters.
As an agility-attack Soul Master, Moss had a clear plan. Their opponents' support-type Soul Master, Jiang Mingyuan, had wings on his back and could obviously fly.
Moss had no ranged attacks. Charging over would only waste his time, so he might as well intercept Xie Xie.
But would he win?
You're guaranteed to lose, little bro.
The Class Four trio's soul power was low, only around rank thirteen or fourteen. Their martial souls were merely a little better than those of ordinary Class Five students. Against Jiang Mingyuan and his fellow experts fishing in a pond of minnows, they could not withstand even a single exchange.
Moss had only just engaged Xie Xie when a scream suddenly came from behind him. He hastily turned to look, only to find that Tang Wulin had sent Jialong flying with a single punch.
Xie Xie's voice rang out beside his ear as well.
"Don't get distracted during a fight."