Early the next morning.
Lin Feng had just finished breakfast when he was called to the academy's clearing.
Flender stood before everyone, his gaze sweeping over the new students, a smile on his face.
"Since you've decided to stay, let's make one thing clear first."
"Remember to pay your tuition of ten Gold Soul Coins each today."
At that, Lin Feng raised his head.
"Ten Gold Soul Coins?"
Flender looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"What, do you have a problem with that?"
He still remembered what had happened at the entrance yesterday perfectly clearly. If this brat's talent hadn't been so astonishing, he would never have been so accommodating.
"I can pay the tuition. But first, I'd like to know what the academy plans to teach."
Lin Feng glanced around.
"Surely we won't just pay up and spend every day running laps around the village?"
Beside him, the corners of Ma Hongjun's mouth twitched, but he didn't dare laugh.
Flender's expression cooled a little too.
"Do you think Soul Masters only need to sit around cultivating and wait to acquire Soul Rings?"
"Coordinating Soul Skills, combat experience, and surviving in Soul Beast forests-you need to learn all of those."
"Beating Mubai yesterday shows that you're strong. But the opponents a Soul Master encounters won't always be weaker than them."
Lin Feng didn't argue.
That was true enough.
He had Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue guiding his cultivation, but he still had far too few opportunities to actually fight different Soul Masters.
"I'm willing to learn those things. But I'd like to keep my own routine for regular cultivation."
"Let's hear it first."
Lin Feng didn't keep him guessing.
"Physical conditioning and practicing close-range attacks with my spider legs in the morning. Spiderweb control training in the afternoon, and meditation for the rest of the time."
"I'll attend the academy's practical combat classes, but I'd like to replace ordinary running drills with something better suited to me."
Flender studied him for a moment.
"That sounds all very nice. But what can your spiderwebs do besides tie people up?"
Lin Feng raised his right hand, emerald light glowing in his palm.
"What would you like to see?"
Flender bent down, picked up a few small stones, then suddenly flung them out.
Four stones flew in different directions at different speeds, two of them deliberately sent past Lin Feng toward his back.
His Second Soul Ring lit up.
Several strands of spider silk shot out, each chasing a stone in midair.
The threads wound around the stones, intercepting them one after another.
Rather than immediately drawing them back, Lin Feng controlled the silk, setting the four stones down beside Flender's feet in sequence.
The last one barely made a sound as it landed.
A flicker of surprise crossed Flender's eyes.
The silk strands differed in thickness, and the force used to draw them back had also been adjusted.
That wasn't something he could accomplish by relying on the power of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring and casually tossing out a web.
"Have you practiced this before?"
"For a long time."
Lin Feng's answer was brief, with no mention of who had taught him.
Flender nodded.
"All right. You can train your own way normally, but I'll check on you every few days."
"If you're just making excuses to slack off, you'll still have to follow the academy's arrangements."
"No problem."
Lin Feng withdrew his Martial Soul and took out ten Gold Soul Coins.
He had already asked what he needed to know, and he had no intention of quibbling over tuition.
Beside him, Ning Rongrong watched, her eyes brightening slightly.
So the academy's arrangements were negotiable too?
Flender put away the money and turned his gaze to her and Oscar.
"As for you two, start with twenty laps around the village today."
Oscar's face immediately fell.
"Dean, twenty laps?"
"Support-type Soul Masters aren't good at head-on combat. When danger strikes, stamina and speed are what keep you alive."
Flender pointed outside the village.
"If you don't finish, you won't be having dinner tonight."
Oscar didn't dare say any more and turned to head out. Ning Rongrong glanced at Lin Feng, then followed him.
After the others dispersed, Lin Feng went to the clearing behind the dormitory.
First, he checked on Ah Yin by the window.
The golden markings on her blades of grass were still clear, and the soil remained moist. She hadn't withered from all the traveling.
Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did he begin training.
He had found the wooden posts yesterday, and they varied in thickness.
Lin Feng completed his Martial Soul Possession, his arms transforming into spider legs as he constantly changed direction around the posts.
Thrust, flick, block, sweep.
After a few sets of movements, beads of sweat soon appeared on his forehead.
"You're pulling back too slowly on the right," Bibi Dong reminded him through her inner voice.
"If your opponent attacks your shoulder at that moment, you'll have to take another step back."
Lin Feng reset his stance and practiced the same movement again.
After several repetitions, he strung spider silk between the posts, leaving himself several passages of different widths.
This time, he could no longer swing his attacks freely.
He had to avoid the silk beside him while thrusting his spider legs precisely into the marks on the posts. The slightest deviation meant repeating the movement.
Sweat dripped from his forehead down his chin, but Lin Feng didn't stop.
Reaching level forty in Soul Power didn't mean he had perfected his abilities. The more familiar he became with them now, the less likely he would be to fumble when something unexpected happened after entering the forest.
Watching from a distance, Flender observed him for a long time before finally looking away.
This brat's words weren't polite, but he was willing to put in the work when he trained.
At that thought, some of his displeasure dissipated.
That evening.
Everyone gathered in the clearing again, preparing to follow Flender to Suotuo City.
Oscar, however, still hadn't appeared.
Ning Rongrong had arrived early, her clothes neat and her breathing perfectly steady.
Flender glanced at her.
"Have you finished all twenty laps?"
"Yes."
Ning Rongrong answered quickly.
But the smile disappeared from Flender's face.
"Does running to Suotuo City for food count as finishing your training?"
Ning Rongrong's expression stiffened.
Their surroundings immediately fell silent.
"Oscar was still trying to cover for you just now."
"He didn't finish his own task, and he lied for you," Flender said gravely. "I've already sent him back to keep running as punishment."
Ning Rongrong pressed her lips together, then suddenly looked at Lin Feng.
"He gets to make his own arrangements. Why can't I?"
Lin Feng had been examining the scrapes on his hand. At her words, he looked up at her.
"Leave me out of it."
"When I had objections, I voiced them to his face and showed the dean what my training involved. Since you agreed to run, just say so if you haven't finished."
Ning Rongrong was momentarily at a loss for words.
"This kind of training is completely useless for my Martial Soul..."
"If you want to know whether it's useful, you can ask. If you think it's unsuitable, you can discuss it."
Lin Feng cut her off.
"You skipped the running because you didn't want to do it, then came back and said you'd finished. When we enter a forest together later, who'll know whether you'll do what you promised?"
Those words made Dai Mubai look over as well.
The defiance on Ning Rongrong's face gradually faded, though she still looked somewhat embarrassed.
Flender took over.
"The academy won't force anyone to stay. If you want to remain, make up the training you owe today."
Lin Feng looked at Flender again.
"But if you're punishing her with running, make it clear how much she has to run. Surely she can't be expected to keep running until everyone's anger has died down."
Flender glared at him.
"I'm not that muddleheaded yet!"
He turned back to Ning Rongrong and stipulated that she finish her remaining laps, forbidding her from having Oscar run in her place or cover for her again.
Ning Rongrong fell silent for a moment before finally answering quietly:
"I'll finish them."
With that, she turned and walked toward the village entrance.
Only then did Flender wave for the others to follow.
"Let's go. Tonight's class is in Suotuo City."
Lin Feng raised his head, looking toward the lights gradually coming on in the distance.
The Soto Great Soul Arena.
At last, I can try my Soul Skills against a few different opponents.