Winchester Intermediate Academy

Just imagining the two women flying into a rage sent a chill down Yu Xiaogang's back.

"Keep it secret. I have to keep it secret!" Yu Xiaogang said in panic.

"As for a Soul Tool, I can only look for one once this whole affair blows over!" Yu Xiaogang rubbed his bushy beard and sighed helplessly.

If Yu Xiaogang had possessed Spirit Sea Realm spiritual power, he would certainly have noticed a patch of space twisting beside the balcony. (Li Mingzhu's domain ability grew stronger with his strength. He could use it now, but it consumed a great deal of energy and lasted only briefly.)

The one causing that distortion was none other than Li Mingzhu, who had come to observe what Yu Xiaogang was planning.

No matter how Li Mingzhu listened, he could not make sense of Yu Xiaogang's muttering. He understood every word individually, but strung together, their meaning escaped him.

Still, judging from the scattered fragments he overheard, Yu Xiaogang had completely abandoned any designs on him and had never suspected him of causing any of these incidents.

That let Li Mingzhu breathe a little easier for a while.

One week later!

Li Mingzhu's Soul Power had fully stabilized, and he could begin another round of pill-popping.

Yu Xiaogang had also finished planning his Soul Ring. Although his illustrated Soul Beast compendium was gone, he still had plenty of knowledge about Soul Beasts stored in his head.

After weighing the characteristics of the various Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest, he finally chose one he liked.

Although Yu Xiaogang was not particularly satisfied with the Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest, the Star Dou Great Forest was still far too dangerous, and he had no expert to protect him. Thus, he abandoned that idea.

Originally, Yu Xiaogang had wanted to ask Flender to help him hunt for a Soul Ring, but his secret made him wary of trusting Flender. After all, Flender had even dared compete with him for a woman. Who could say he would not grow curious about his breakthrough?

As the saying went, a man who dared fight him for a woman today would dare seize everything he owned tomorrow.

Left with no choice, he could only settle for his second option and ask Lin Nuo for help. With Lin Nuo's strength, helping him kill a thousand-year Soul Beast would pose no problem at all.

His safety would also be assured. If luck favored him and a Soul Bone dropped, that would be joy piled upon joy.

At the thought, Ganzi's breathing quickened, as though the Soul Bone were already before his eyes.

As for whether Lin Nuo would dare attack him, Yu Xiaogang had never worried about that at all. The reason was simple: his father was a Titled Douluo!

Inside the dean's office, Lin Nuo was asking Li Mingzhu about his cultivation progress.

"What? You're already almost at level thirteen!"

Lin Nuo's shocked voice echoed through the office.

"Just a lucky break!" Li Mingzhu replied with an obliging smile.

Hearing Li Mingzhu's reply, Lin Nuo's mouth twitched so hard he could barely hold his teacup steady.

Feeling profoundly out of sorts, Lin Nuo finally admitted that he was green with envy.

What did he mean, a lucky break? At that age, Lin Nuo had still been nowhere near level ten!

Envy was one thing, but he still had to keep up appearances. He placed his left hand on Li Mingzhu's shoulder and said encouragingly, "Mingzhu! It seems you've been working very hard at your cultivation, and that deserves praise. But don't grow conceited. Make sure you keep up the effort."

"Once you reach level eighteen, you can head to Winchester Intermediate Academy to further your studies."

"Winchester Intermediate Academy? Is there anything special about that academy?" Li Mingzhu asked Lin Nuo.

At Li Mingzhu's question, Lin Nuo cleared his throat. "Do you remember me telling you that outstanding students at that academy can enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy directly?"

Li Mingzhu nodded slightly. He had not forgotten that.

"Actually, what I said wasn't entirely accurate. Any talented student from an intermediate academy within the Heaven Dou Empire that has no ties to a sect can study at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."

Li Mingzhu was somewhat puzzled, not by those words, but by the change in Lin Nuo's attitude.

Li Mingzhu had long known that something was off about him, but since they were each getting what they wanted, he had paid it no mind.

Lin Nuo lifted his celadon teacup and leisurely sipped his tea. Tapping the desktop lightly with his fingertips, he said in a low voice, "You're wondering why I'm telling you all this!"

Li Mingzhu did not dodge the question and nodded frankly. He wanted to see why Lin Nuo was laying his cards on the table!

Li Mingzhu's frankness briefly startled Lin Nuo. The appreciation in his eyes grew brighter, and his opinion of Li Mingzhu rose as well.

"Your behavior tells me you're a clever person, so I'll speak plainly!"

"The greater a person's value, the greater their say should be! Your talent has now proven your value, and I no longer dare hide things from you. After all, I don't want to face a powerful expert's revenge in my old age."

"My earlier investment in you was meant to get you into this academy. But there truly is nothing wrong with the academy itself."

"All right, I've said my piece. Now, could you tell me what you think?" Lin Nuo raised his head and looked straight at Li Mingzhu.

After hearing him out, Li Mingzhu's mind went completely blank. Did I really come to Douluo? With the intelligence of a Douluo villain, shouldn't he be betraying me and setting me up?

When Li Mingzhu failed to respond for quite some time, Lin Nuo tapped the desktop with his fingertips.

The sound brought Li Mingzhu back to his senses. He said earnestly to Lin Nuo, "This is simply a matter of our respective interests. There's nothing strange about it. But what is this academy like?"

Having received a satisfactory answer, Lin Nuo laughed aloud. The stone weighing on his heart finally dropped away.

He then explained seriously to Li Mingzhu, "Winchester Intermediate Academy is located in Winchester City, in Dio Province. Not only does it have an excellent teaching staff, it also has one tremendous advantage!"

"Can you guess what that advantage is?"

As his words fell, Li Mingzhu looked at Lin Nuo, who was deliberately keeping him in suspense, and said irritably, "Dean, could you tell me what the advantage is?"

With Li Mingzhu playing along, Lin Nuo's mood improved considerably. He lifted his teacup and took another sip.

Then he glanced at Li Mingzhu and said softly, "The importance of Soul Rings to Soul Masters is beyond compare. To obtain a powerful Soul Ring, you must hunt a suitable Soul Beast. The Star Dou Great Forest has the highest-quality Soul Beasts and the widest variety, but it is far too dangerous. Soul Masters can only settle for the next-best option and hunt for Soul Rings in other places where Soul Beasts gather."

Lin Nuo paused. "And Winchester Academy is close to one such place. Its name is the Sunset Forest!"

"At this academy, whenever students need to obtain a Soul Ring, dedicated teachers will help them acquire one in the Sunset Forest." (Students at intermediate academies topped out at level 30. The academy was capable of helping Soul Elders hunt for Soul Rings on the outskirts of the Sunset Forest.)

Lin Nuo's words made Li Mingzhu's eyes light up. The Sunset Forest had always been his goal. To have everything connect so conveniently now truly made him marvel at how unpredictable the world could be!

Lin Nuo found nothing unusual about Li Mingzhu's excitement, since any commoner Soul Master would be excited by such treatment!

Lin Nuo shook his head bitterly. He had never enjoyed anything so good back in his day!

After this conversation, Li Mingzhu no longer had any objections to attending the intermediate academy.

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Lin Nuo dismissed Li Mingzhu.

As Li Mingzhu left, Lin Nuo stared fixedly at his retreating back!