Bang!!
The recoil from the jet of flame was far too strong. In that position, how could Yu Xiaogang possibly withstand it? He was hurled backward into the forest.
"Xiaogang, are you all right?"
Seeing this, Lin Nuo hurried over to help him up.
Yu Xiaogang weakly gripped Lin Nuo's arm. Looking at the destruction wrought by the flames, he could not help clicking his tongue in astonishment.
He had never expected Lin Nuo's idea to be so effective. Combined, the three soul skills produced power that ranked among the very best even for a thousand-year soul ring.
Lin Nuo's gaze settled on Yu Xiaogang. Seeing the satisfied expression on his face, he knew this soul hunting operation had truly come to an end.
Lin Nuo's idea was hardly complicated: Yu Xiaogang simply had to use his first or second soul skill together with his third, without any delay between them.
The instant Yu Xiaogang farted, he would use his third soul skill to ignite it, turning the fart straight into flaming gas to scorch his enemies.
Both men were pleased with its power. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect result was how awkward it was to use. Now that Luo Sanpao was gone, Yu Xiaogang had to release every soul skill himself. If it involved farting, for instance, he had to do the farting personally.
Surely Yu Xiaogang could not pull down his trousers and fart during a fight, making his enemies laugh themselves to death.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang could only use this skill as a last resort to save his life.
Their soul hunting was complete, and neither man had any reason to remain in the forest, so they prepared to leave.
By then, Li Mingzhu had long since returned to Nuoding Academy and was strolling through its grounds alone. Looking up at the sun's changed position, he guessed Yu Xiaogang and Lin Nuo should soon be leaving the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Ah!" Li Mingzhu sighed. He had spent so long tormenting Yu Xiaogang, but now his dealings with him had finally reached a stopping point.
Without Yu Xiaogang bothering him in the days ahead, he had only one thing left to do: cultivate!
Whenever the sun appeared, its radiance was too bright to look at directly. Yet Li Mingzhu braved that dazzling light, lifting his head to gaze at it.
He did not know what it would mean to reach the end of cultivation, but standing above all living beings like the sun was certainly a goal worth pursuing.
Time passed, and three years had gone by!
Inside his room, Li Mingzhu sat cross-legged in meditation. After three years, his appearance had grown even more handsome. His long hair was tied behind his head, his swordlike brows swept toward his temples, and ambition lurked deep within his dark eyes. His features were clean-cut and sharp, and beneath the composure of his handsome face lay a touch of pride.
Those three years seemed to have remade him from the inside out. Not only had his soul power reached level 29, but his height had shot up to 1.78 meters.
"Whew!" Li Mingzhu ended his meditation and exhaled a breath of stale air.
He rose and stretched his limbs. After cultivating for so long, his entire body ached terribly.
Over those three years, even without taking pills, his soul power had risen steadily at four levels a year. Now, he was only a single step away from level 30.
Once he had finished stretching, Li Mingzhu saw the faint golden light slanting into his room and confirmed that it was still early. He had not made the mistake of cultivating for too long.
Today was a special day. He was ready to leave for Winchester Academy; all he needed to do now was show Lin Nuo his soul power level.
A quarter of an hour later, having tidied up his appearance, Li Mingzhu knocked on the dean's office door.
Knock, knock, knock-
"Come in!"
A deep, resonant voice drifted out from inside.
Li Mingzhu raised his hand and pushed open the door, then strode toward Lin Nuo, who sat behind his desk.
"Oh, Mingzhu! You're here!"
Lin Nuo stopped his work and looked up, his gaze settling on Li Mingzhu.
Lin Nuo was usually good at keeping up appearances, which also served as a way of showing goodwill toward Li Mingzhu.
Li Mingzhu exchanged a few pleasantries with him before explaining why he had come.
"What? Your soul power has reached level 19, and you're only one step away from level 20?"
Lin Nuo's shocked voice echoed through the room, disbelief written all over his face.
Li Mingzhu nodded in confirmation once more, then revealed soul power fluctuations at level 19.
"Dean, I can leave for Winchester Academy now. Once I arrive, it'll be just the right time to obtain my second soul ring!"
Lin Nuo carefully sensed his power. Sure enough, Li Mingzhu's soul power fluctuations were nearing level 20, leaving him deeply startled.
He was not surprised by Li Mingzhu's plan. After all, how could the Soul Hunting Forest compare with the Sunset Forest in terms of soul beast resources?
Lin Nuo mused inwardly that if Li Mingzhu could grow stronger as quickly as possible, he would be able to reap the benefits sooner too.
Having thought everything through, Lin Nuo said softly, "Haha! Li Mingzhu, you truly are a genius. Just wait-I'll make the arrangements right now."
With that, Lin Nuo sat back down and took a letter from the innermost drawer of his desk.
The letter's kraft-paper envelope had a fine texture, and its dark red wax seal bore the academy's emblem. Inside lay folded sheets of plain stationery covered in elegant inked writing.
"Here!" Lin Nuo handed the envelope to Li Mingzhu.
Li Mingzhu accepted the letter and asked curiously, "What's this?"
Lin Nuo patiently explained, "This is a recommendation letter for Winchester Intermediate Academy. I obtained it for you back when you were at level 12."
"Now, all you need to do is take this recommendation letter with you, and you'll be able to enter Winchester Academy and receive the finest training."
"As for the benefits I described to you before, you can learn about them in greater detail at the academy."
Li Mingzhu put the envelope away and gave him the details of when he planned to leave for the academy.
Lin Nuo nodded at his words. From the moment Li Mingzhu had displayed his soul power, he had known the boy was leaving.
"Mingzhu, since you're leaving, let me also congratulate you today on successfully graduating from Nuoding Academy."
With that, Lin Nuo took out a graduation certificate and stamped it for him.
On his way back, Li Mingzhu looked at the graduation certificate in his hand and could not help laughing.
He had never expected to see something like a graduation certificate even after arriving in the otherworldly realm of Douluo.
Li Mingzhu walked along, stopping here and there. He would be leaving within three days, so he might as well wander around while he had the time. He probably would not return in the future.
Walking through the academy and watching the teachers and students come and go, Li Mingzhu could hardly have felt better. After all, this had been the first stop in his life.
Li Mingzhu had learned a great deal here. Of course, most of what he had learned came from the spoils he had obtained from Yu Xiaogang.
Thinking of Yu Xiaogang, Li Mingzhu could not help feeling a little wistful. Ever since Yu Xiaogang had absorbed his ten-year soul ring, he had rarely wandered around the academy.
Li Mingzhu had secretly checked on him a few times and found Yu Xiaogang doing everything he could to break through to become a level 40 Soul Ancestor. As for finding the soul tool, Yu Xiaogang had practically turned Nuoding City upside down, yet still found nothing. In the end, the commotion he caused grew too great, and he had no choice but to give up.
What Li Mingzhu found interesting was that, because of the problems with Yu Xiaogang's martial soul, although he could now use Martial Soul Possession, he had also developed severe side effects.
A martial soul could, in turn, influence its soul master, just as Xuan Zi in Douluo II had become gluttonous because of his Godly Taotie Bull.
Yu Xiaogang was the same. After his martial soul mutated, he became gluttonous and sleepy, and his face and figure changed so much that he looked like an entirely different person.
Later, Li Mingzhu ran into him once and did not even recognize him. He had grown fat-faced and big-eared, and often hugged a radish as he gnawed on it. Even thinking about it felt bizarre.
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