Still Thinking About Revenge?

"Zhu Wu, this is the Soul Beast Illustrated Handbook I promised you." Once he arrived, Xiao Chenyu straightforwardly handed over the booklet in his hand.

The Beginner Soul Hunting Forest was a place where the empire raised soul beasts in captivity. The types of soul beasts inside were all recorded, and the relevant information was compiled into books and distributed to Beginner Soul Master Academies across the land. Just like that, it became the official standard teaching material for Beginner Soul Master Academies.

Simply put, this book was actually Notting Academy's classroom textbook.

Families like theirs, which possessed imperial Nobility Titles, basically all kept copies at home so their children could study them before awakening their Martial Souls. Only commoner families found them difficult to obtain. To him, it was merely cheap local street-stall merchandise.

"Thank you." Zhu Wu accepted it with a smile.

"You're Xiao Chenyu!" Xiao Wu suddenly cut in from the side.

"You are?" Xiao Chenyu turned his head to examine her.

"This is the boss of our Dorm Seven, Sister Xiao Wu." Wang Sheng puffed out his chest slightly as he introduced her.

One of Dorm Seven's two students with Innate Full Soul Power, Xiao Chenyu was startled and quickly bowed slightly. "Greetings, Sister Xiao Wu."

"What are you standing around for? Pay your respects to Sister Xiao Wu!" He turned to his underlings.

"Greetings, Sister Xiao Wu!" The lackeys bowed in unison.

Xiao Wu seemed to enjoy this feeling of being admired. She immediately straightened her back and nodded slightly. "Get up, all of you."

"Xiao Chenyu, you're not bad." She turned to look at him, appearing quite satisfied.

She had completely forgotten her original intention of using a sparring match as an excuse to beat Xiao Chenyu up and vent her anger.

"You flatter me, Sister Xiao Wu." Xiao Chenyu smiled. "If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving first."

"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded lightly.

"I'll be going too. I finished my morning run, but I still haven't had breakfast." Zhu Wu cut in.

Without waiting for Xiao Wu to speak, he waved to his dormmates, turned, and left. As he did, he gave Xiao Chenyu a look.

Xiao Chenyu was a sensible person. He cupped his hands toward Xiao Wu, then led his underlings after Zhu Wu at a distance.

"..." Xiao Wu's words, meant to ask Zhu Wu to bring something tasty back to the dormitory, caught in her throat before she swallowed them back down.

"Let's head back too." She glanced at her dormmates, then turned toward the dormitory.

"Brother Zhu Wu, is something wrong?" On the other side, once Xiao Wu had gone far away, Xiao Chenyu sped up to catch Zhu Wu and asked curiously.

"How should I put it..." Zhu Wu stroked his chin. "Sister Xiao Wu has a somewhat violent personality and seems to enjoy picking fights. If there's no reason to deal with her, my advice is to take a detour whenever you see her, lest she drag you into a sparring match and beat you up."

"Of course, that's only my personal opinion. Whether you listen is up to you. I'm only warning you this time to repay you for giving me this book."

"Alright, that's it. Farewell!" He raised the booklet in his hand and turned to leave.

"..." Xiao Chenyu stood there blankly, looking somewhat conflicted.

Two quarters of an hour later, Zhu Wu returned to the dormitory after breakfast and quietly read by his bed. Meanwhile, Xiao Wu nibbled away at a carrot. After finishing it, she tossed and turned on her bed, unable to sleep. In the end, unable to bear it any longer, she called Wang Sheng and the other dormmates out.

And she still wants revenge? If she hadn't latched onto Tang San in the original story, Hu Liena would probably have brought Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo to kill her before Bibi Dong even entered the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Da Ming and Er Ming. Without Tang San, she wouldn't even have had someone or an opportunity to sacrifice herself for.

An accessory tool rabbit, through and through!

Zhu Wu glanced at the empty dormitory, then at the door, curled his lips, and lowered his head to continue reading.

That afternoon, he climbed trees behind the mountain and did push-ups to loosen his muscles and bones. Physical education classes in his previous life had taught him quite a few exercise movements. More importantly, these exercises would not harm his body if practiced incorrectly. Since they could be promoted in schools for the next generation, they certainly had not been chosen at random.

Neither too intense nor too light—they were perfect for someone his age!

Once he grew tired, he returned to the dormitory, sat at the edge of his bed, and circulated the Universal Meditation Method to cultivate Soul Power.

When night came, he went for another light run, released Little White to eat along the way, then found a place to practice the movements of the Longevity Exercise.

The following days went much the same way. The only difference was that classes had been added to his mornings.

Until, several days later, he spotted Tang San helping Yu Xiaogang upstairs outside the dormitory.

Looks like he encountered the Mandala Snake just like in the original story. Zhu Wu did not think much of it and continued with his routine.

A quarter of an hour later, in a room on the dormitory's top floor.

"Little San, go to Spirit Hall in Notting City later. Someone there will help you test your Soul Power and register you as a Spirit Hall-certified soul master. Once you have the certificate, you can collect a Soul Master Subsidy from Spirit Hall every month." Yu Xiaogang lay on the bed as he instructed Tang San. "That way, you won't have to live as tightly as before."

"Teacher, is this subsidy handed out for free?" Tang San could not help asking.

"Mm." Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly.

"In that case, Spirit Hall seems like quite a decent organization." Tang San looked thoughtful.

"It is merely a means of winning over soul masters." Yu Xiaogang sneered.

"The funds for Spirit Hall's subsidies are provided by the Two Great Empires. Spirit Hall is only responsible for distributing them."

"But wouldn't that mean Spirit Hall gets all the benefits for nothing? It gains a good reputation while winning over soul masters without spending money!" Tang San said in surprise.

"Of course it is not that simple. The emperors of the Two Great Empires are not fools." Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "Little San, you must understand that the Two Great Empires are wealthy and vast, their territories stretching for tens of thousands of miles. Cities, towns, and villages of every size are scattered across every corner of the continent. If the empires handled this entire matter themselves, it would not only consume tremendous funds but also vast manpower and resources. The burden would be immense."

"And that brings us to Spirit Hall's advantage." He paused, then, considering Tang San's age and identity, continued, "You only need to know that Spirit Hall is the Holy Land of the continent's soul masters. It has deep foundations, gathers a great number of soul masters within, and holds enormous appeal for soul masters outside it as well."

"Therefore, even if the Two Great Empires handled the matter entirely themselves, they could not stop Spirit Hall from recruiting those soul masters. Besides, soul masters are different from ordinary commoners. Managing them is also a problem."

"In comparison, leaving them under Spirit Hall's management is much easier."

This is the advantage of possessing Divine Inheritance. Yu Xiaogang sighed inwardly. The name of the gods has brought Spirit Hall far too much fresh blood, while also accumulating far too much prestige.

"It was precisely because Spirit Hall understood its own advantages that it took the initiative to propose the Soul Master Subsidy policy back then." Yu Xiaogang continued, "If the Two Great Empires refused, they would undoubtedly be pushing their domestic soul masters toward Spirit Hall. Yet if they agreed and took full responsibility for the matter themselves, it would place an enormous burden on their finances and military strength. That was something the Two Great Empires could not accept."

"Besides, the Two Great Empires had been in constant conflict back then, and both sides had already suffered severe losses."

"This is an open scheme!" Tang San said in astonishment.

"Correct, a naked open scheme." Yu Xiaogang nodded, his eyes full of satisfaction as he looked at his disciple.

Being able to say the words "open scheme" was enough to show how intelligent his disciple was.

Still, Yu Xiaogang had to admit that Spirit Hall's open scheme had forced the Two Great Empires into a ceasefire, allowing the continent to enjoy a rare period of peace in recent years. However, he had no intention of saying so. Instead, he continued, "Therefore, the Two Great Empires had no choice but to accept the Soul Master Subsidy proposal."

"However, the Two Great Empires certainly did not wish to spend their own money and effort only for Spirit Hall to reap the benefits for free. Thus, the two nations chose a compromise: they would provide the money, while Spirit Hall would provide the manpower. In this way, Spirit Hall had no choice but to deploy large numbers of its soul masters throughout the continent."

"From a certain perspective, this was also a policy of division, making it easier for the empires to infiltrate and recruit them."

Money moved people's hearts. Tang San nodded in understanding. The empires wanted to use Nobility Titles, wealth, or rather glory and riches, to recruit soul masters. Were the very few Work-study students and the large number of noble soul masters at Notting Academy not the result of this policy?

"Additionally, the Two Great Empires are not providing all the money." Yu Xiaogang continued. "The funds supplied by the Two Great Empires are mainly divided into two portions. One is an employment fee. As the name suggests, it pays Spirit Hall to provide people and labor and maintain its manpower. The other is the actual subsidy fund, jointly financed by the Two Great Empires and Spirit Hall."

"Thus, the final agreement was that the Two Great Empires and Spirit Hall would each contribute thirty percent of the subsidy funds, while the remaining ten percent would be paid by the Two Great Empires to Spirit Hall as an employment fee."

As for whether they can recruit anyone, that depends on their own abilities. Tang San nodded.

"In short, the Soul Master Subsidy is the result of mutual maneuvering between Spirit Hall and the Two Great Empires." Yu Xiaogang concluded.

"Of course, none of this has anything to do with you right now. Little San, what you need to do now is cultivate diligently. As for everything else, it is not something you need to consider at this stage. That includes the Soul Master Subsidy—take it when it is due. You need not feel any psychological burden."

"Yes, Teacher." Tang San nodded.

"Good, that will be all for today. Little San, go back and rest as well." Yu Xiaogang looked pleased.

"Mm. Teacher, rest for now. I'll bring you food at noon." Tang San replied. After speaking, he bowed slightly and turned to leave.

The next day, everything settled into place. Tang San quickly found work as a blacksmith in Notting City and began his daily routine of attending class in the morning, forging in the afternoon, and cultivating Soul Power at night. Zhu Wu did the same, though his activities differed from Tang San's. Since their schedules were packed every day, their interactions remained ordinary but harmonious. Each did his own thing, and no unpleasantness arose.

"Wang Sheng, let's go!"

Only Xiao Wu frequently went out to find people to spar with whenever she was bored, throwing the academy into chaos.

Since the story will be skipping ahead next, I finished writing this section first. The update came a little late, sorry!

As for Spirit Hall's subsidy, I wrote down a new interpretation. Consider it a secondary setting—if anything is off, just take it in good humor.