Borrow

Worthy of a Platinum Bishop—his mind really was sharp. By doing this, he had pushed Qian Renxue right in front of him without exposing her identity. Yang Yunhai secretly sighed.

Still, no matter what, the outcome was good. After speaking with Qian Renxue, she would certainly help him fend off quite a few troubles, especially Ning Fengzhi.

"Also, if anyone asks whether Spirit Hall invited you after testing your Soul Power Level, or why you chose not to join Spirit Hall," Salas continued, "you can use the Zhu Zhuqing you saved as your reason for declining. As for whether Spirit Hall invited you, just say that the staff member conducting the test did ask, but you refused."

"Afterward, perhaps that staff member saw that your Martial Soul was the Blue Silver Grass, a publicly acknowledged Useless Martial Soul on the continent, and simply let you go without paying much attention."

"Thank you for your guidance, Bishop," Yang Yunhai said repeatedly.

Salas nodded slightly and continued, "Besides that, after joining Heaven Dou Royal Academy, there are two people you need to watch out for."

"One is Yu Tianheng, captain of the Heaven Dou Battle Team and the direct heir of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. The other is Vice-Captain Dugu Yan. Her Martial Soul is the Jade Phosphorous Serpent, and her grandfather is Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo who has some history with Spirit Hall."

"Is it serious?!" Yang Yunhai could not help asking.

"Not really." Salas shook his head. "He does not bear any deep hatred toward Spirit Hall itself, but he has considerable grudges against one of our Titled Elder. The two have fought in private many times and have been rivals for years."

As he spoke, he looked Yang Yunhai in the eye and continued, "In short, be more careful at the academy from now on. Do not expose your identity."

Yang Yunhai nodded solemnly. "Thank you for the reminder, Bishop."

"Mm." Salas nodded and slowly rose to his feet. "All right, you have stayed here long enough. It is time to leave. Heaven Dou Royal Academy is outside Heaven Dou City, and it is not a short journey. It is getting late today, so going tomorrow morning will not be too late. As for the reward, you can come again at the beginning of next month under the pretext of collecting your Soul Master subsidy. I should be back by then."

"For this month's Soul Master subsidy, just collect it yourself at the hall downstairs. If you need anything in the future, you may come find me at any time. Also, I will send someone to the Chang Gong Family as soon as possible to get their story straight, so there is no need to worry."

"Yes!" Yang Yunhai, who had risen with him, nodded solemnly. He tucked his Soul Master certificate into his collar, bowed, and left.

Having talent and strength really did mean different treatment. After taking the initiative to close the door and stepping into the corridor, Yang Yunhai could not help inwardly sighing.

If he had not displayed enough value, given the Salas from the original novel, Yang Yunhai reckoned the man would not even have spared him a glance.

With that thought, he strode downstairs.

Before long, he arrived at the counter in the main hall, showed his certificate, collected his subsidy from the young receptionist, and left directly.

Some time later, he returned to the hotel. Reaching the door to his room upstairs, he knocked lightly.

Footsteps immediately sounded from within. Then, with a creak, the door opened, revealing Zhu Zhuqing.

It had to be mentioned that Yang Yunhai was currently 1.72 meters tall, while Zhu Zhuqing stood just over 1.6 meters with shoes on. Looking down from that angle, he could not see his feet at all.

"I collected the money, and I also looked into the Soul Master Academies nearby on the way." Yang Yunhai instantly reined in the lecherous gleam in his eyes. As he walked inside, he repeated what he had told Salas earlier and expressed his desire to join Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

After hearing him out, Zhu Zhuqing did not say much. She merely nodded. "You decide."

"Then we'll stay at the hotel tonight and go to Heaven Dou Royal Academy tomorrow morning." Yang Yunhai sat on the large bed and continued, "I also asked for the academy's address on the way. It is in the outskirts and quite far from Heaven Dou City."

"Okay." Zhu Zhuqing nodded slightly as she returned to sit on her own bed.

"Also, this is the Imperial Capital. We have only just arrived and do not know the place, so we should not wander around carelessly. That way, we will not accidentally provoke trouble we should not. So after dinner, we should stay in the room and cultivate properly." As he spoke, Yang Yunhai shifted to the center of the bed and sat cross-legged.

"Mm." Zhu Zhuqing nodded.

Yang Yunhai smiled and added, "There is still some time before dinner. Let's cultivate first."

"Okay." Zhu Zhuqing nodded. Yang Yunhai had arranged everything so thoroughly that she did not need to think about anything herself; all she could do was nod. Soon afterward, Yang Yunhai closed his eyes and entered cultivation. Seeing this, she climbed onto the bed, settled into position, and closed her eyes to begin cultivating as well.

Time passed bit by bit, and evening soon arrived. The two opened their eyes one after the other and took food from their Storage Soul Tools to fill their stomachs.

"Yunhai, this is for you." While they were eating, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly held out her hand.

Yang Yunhai looked up. Dangling between her fair fingers was a familiar teardrop-shaped purple gemstone earring—one of Zhu Zhuqing's Storage Soul Tools. The golden hoop that had gone through the ear had been wrapped again and again with a thin blue cord and tied securely, turning it into a necklace.

"Isn't this your Soul Tool?" He instinctively looked up at Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing's expression did not change. "I have another one. We will not be traveling far for the time being, so that is enough. Consider this temporarily lent to you. Return it when you have your own Storage Soul Tool. I have already put the Crystal we bought in Suotuo City inside."

"Zhuqing, thank you." Yang Yunhai smiled slightly and reached out to take it. He lowered his head a little, preparing to put it on and tuck it inside his collar.

"You're welcome." Zhu Zhuqing lightly pressed her lips together and lowered her head to continue eating.

Before long, after they finished eating and cleaned up, Zhu Zhuqing went straight back to bed to continue cultivating. Yang Yunhai first familiarized himself with the Soul Tool, stuffing in his newly collected Soul Master subsidy and the bundle he had previously taken out of Zhu Zhuqing's Soul Tool.

Then he sat cross-legged and resumed cultivating.

Late at night, they each finished cultivating, washed up, and went to sleep.

At that moment, a flash of light suddenly appeared at a hidden location somewhere in Heaven Dou City outside the window.

Not long afterward, in a room on the top floor of the Spirit Hall Temple, a plainly dressed man with a snake-shaped mark between his brows dropped onto the balcony with a thud and strode toward the sofa in the middle of the room.

"Salas, what did you call me here for?" Once he drew close, he casually sprawled onto the sofa and gave a slight nod.

"Please examine this, Elder." Salas respectfully stepped forward. As he handed over the original letter Yang Yunhai had submitted during the day and the report he had prepared that evening, he said, "A child came to the temple today. He had just turned . years old, and his soul power was level 32."

"Such good talent!?" The plainly dressed man was immediately intrigued. He sat upright at once and accepted the documents, opening them as he asked, "But why call me here for this? With such a promising seedling, just send him to Spirit City."

"Elder, this child's circumstances are rather special. You will understand once you finish reading," Salas said politely.

Hearing that, the plainly dressed man said nothing more and lowered his head to study the documents intently.

After his expression changed repeatedly for a while, he gave his own unique assessment with a smile. "This kid is quite something. He even managed to spirit away the Zhu Family's young lady—he has the same flair I had in my younger days." After saying that, he turned to Salas, his expression becoming solemn as he said seriously, "I understand. Once I return, I will report this to the Young Master immediately."

"Then I shall trouble you, Elder," Salas said politely.

The plainclothes man nodded, returned the document to Salas, then rose and walked to the window. With a flicker, he vanished.

Not long after, at the East Palace Prince Manor in the imperial city, the plainclothes man knocked on Xue Qinghe's door.

"Come in." Xue Qinghe's voice promptly came from within.

Only then did the plainclothes man push open the door and enter, quickly approaching Xue Qinghe, who was seated at the desk inside, reading.

He clasped his hands slightly and spoke respectfully.

"Reporting to the Young Master—"