When he reached the door to the dean's office, Lin Mo stopped, took a deep breath, then raised his hand and knocked.
"Come in." Dean Wang Zongchang's familiar voice came from inside.
Lin Mo pushed the door open and entered.
Dean Wang Zongchang was sitting behind his broad desk, reading a document in his hand.
Hearing the movement, he looked up. When he saw that it was Lin Mo, a smile immediately appeared on his face, without the slightest trace of surprise.
He casually set the document aside and leaned back in his chair, looking at Lin Mo as though he had long expected him to come.
Wang Zongchang knew quite a lot about this student.
From Lin Mo's egg martial soul when he enrolled, to its hatching into Charmander, to personally taking Lin Mo to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain his first soul ring.
He had also witnessed Lin Mo's diligence on the library's second floor over the past six months.
He knew very well that Lin Mo had lofty ambitions and that this tiny Nuoding City could never contain him.
With the talent Lin Mo had demonstrated and the lofty ambitions he harbored, he would never-and should never-be confined to this tiny Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
Wang Zongchang went straight to the point. "Lin Mo, you came to see me today to apply for early graduation, didn't you?"
Lin Mo nodded, confirming the dean's words.
He stepped forward, took from his clothes the metal token that granted him free access to the library's second floor, and gently placed it on the dean's desk.
"Yes, Dean. I've come to apply for graduation. Here's the token for the library's second floor, and thank you for looking after me during this time."
At this point, Lin Mo paused, then straightened and looked solemnly at the dean before bending slightly at the waist to bow to him.
Wang Zongchang reached out and took the little key, idly turning it over in his hand a few times as he looked at Lin Mo with a somewhat complicated gaze.
He could not help feeling wistful.
Nuoding Academy was indeed too small for Lin Mo.
Neither its resources nor its teaching staff could meet the needs of Lin Mo's future cultivation anymore.
Moreover, from their everyday conversations and his observations, he could sense that Lin Mo had long since planned his future path.
His goal was clear, his steps firm!
Otherwise, given his appreciation for Lin Mo, he would not have minded setting aside his old pride and trying to take Lin Mo as his disciple.
A gifted student with innate rank-six soul power, an unusual and powerful external beast martial soul like Charmander, and such dedication to cultivation.
Not to mention that Lin Mo's attribute also matched his quite well: they were both fire-attribute soul masters.
With so many compatible conditions laid out before them, anyone would have been tempted.
But he also knew very well that even if he truly offered to take Lin Mo as his disciple, just as Yu Xiaogang had back then, Lin Mo would probably reject him without hesitation, just as he had rejected Yu Xiaogang.
He had a very clear understanding of his own strength.
With his cultivation as a four-ring Soul Ancestor, he stood out in Nuoding City, belonging to that small handful at the very top.
But in a slightly larger city, such as the capital of the Balak Kingdom or those major cities with advanced soul master academies, his cultivation would hardly be enough.
Moreover, a good soul ring was extremely important to a soul master, and obtaining one required sufficient strength to defeat, or even kill, a suitable soul beast.
With his cultivation as a four-ring Soul Ancestor, helping Lin Mo obtain a highly compatible second soul ring would pose no problem at all.
Hunting a hundred-year soul beast was not particularly difficult for him.
But the crux of the problem was that, with Lin Mo's cultivation speed, it would take only a few years for him to reach the bottleneck at rank twenty or even rank thirty.
At rank thirty, Lin Mo would need a thousand-year soul ring.
And once he reached the stage of needing a thousand-year soul beast, even a Soul Ancestor like Wang Zongchang would find it somewhat taxing.
The gap in strength between thousand-year soul beasts and hundred-year soul beasts was enormous, and dealing with them was far more dangerous.
Besides, killing and defeating had always been two entirely different levels of difficulty.
Not to mention precisely inflicting severe wounds on a thousand-year soul beast that met Lin Mo's requirements without killing it, all while keeping Lin Mo safe. That would be difficulty piled upon difficulty.
After all, it was clear from the meticulous care Lin Mo had taken in choosing Torkoal when obtaining his first soul ring.
This little fellow had a very clear plan for his future soul rings, and his requirements for them were relatively exacting as well.
He certainly could not be satisfied with just any soul beast old enough to qualify.
Lin Mo's rank was still low now, so Wang Zongchang could still offer him some help.
Once Lin Mo's cultivation rose and he needed thousand-year and ten thousand year soul rings, it would be difficult for Wang Zongchang to offer him any substantial help.
Since he could not provide Lin Mo with long-term support in obtaining soul rings, the most essential need in a soul master's growth, why bring it up and embarrass them both?
Moreover, with Lin Mo's intelligence, if he truly intended to take a master, he would have asked Wang Zongchang long ago, just as Tang San had taken Yu Xiaogang as his master.
Since he had not, that meant Wang Zongchang was not the teacher Lin Mo had in mind.
That was also why he had always kept his wish to take Lin Mo as a disciple buried in his heart, never revealing it.
At this thought, Dean Wang Zongchang put the key into a drawer, then looked at Lin Mo with a gentle smile and said decisively:
"Lin Mo, I approve your application for graduation."
He paused, then continued, "You've already learned almost everything Nuoding Academy can teach you.
You'll have to forge your own path from here. With your talent and character, your future achievements will surely know no bounds."
Hearing the dean agree so readily, Lin Mo felt relieved as well. He bowed respectfully to Dean Wang Zongchang. "Thank you, Dean, for your guidance and care over this past year and more!"
Wang Zongchang chuckled and asked, "Lin Mo, since you've decided to graduate early, do you have any specific intentions and plans for the time ahead?"
Lin Mo pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "Dean, during the upcoming break of a little over a month, I plan to return to Soul Emperor Village first."
At this point, Lin Mo could not help reflecting to himself that this would probably be his only chance to return to Soul Emperor Village in the next few years.
Once he embarked on his studies at an intermediate soul master academy, his subsequent cultivation and studies would inevitably occupy most of his time and effort, leaving him practically no time or energy to return to the village.
He continued, "When the break is nearly over, I'll set out right away to study at an intermediate soul master academy."
Hearing Lin Mo's words, a look of understanding appeared on Wang Zongchang's face, and he nodded to show that he understood.
Then, as though remembering something, he asked again, "Have you decided which intermediate soul master academy you want to enroll in?
With the talent you've shown so far, I imagine every intermediate soul master academy would be scrambling to extend an olive branch to you, wouldn't they?"