New Tasks

Where there was demand, there was a market. As the largest untouched soul beast forest on Douluo Continent, the Star Dou Great Forest naturally attracted spirit masters seeking to hunt soul rings.

To meet the spirit masters' needs, small towns gradually sprang up within a hundred li of the Star Dou Great Forest, formed by shops and inns mainly selling items urgently needed by spirit masters.

After Miao and Xiao Yu arrived in this nameless town, they casually found a decent-looking inn and settled down.

Xiao Yu took a thoroughly satisfying bath, washing away the dust of the past several days, then lay comfortably on the large bed.

"Ding. Congratulations, Host, for independently killing a hundred-year soul beast and absorbing its soul ring. Black-level Task completed. Reward: one Black-level Character Summoning Card and 100 Diamonds."

Just then, the system's notification sounded slowly.

"System, your reaction is really slow. It's been ages since I absorbed the soul ring, and only now did you react?"

Xiao Yu grumbled, then immediately decided to use the newly obtained black character card. His strength was still far too weak, so naturally, the more powerful people he had by his side, the better.

"Ding. Black-level character selection complete. Congratulations, Host, for obtaining Underworld Fighter Violent Star Hui Huo. Martial Soul: Bennu Bird. Innate Soul Power: level 9. Current Soul Power Level: 85."

"It really is an Underworld Domain system."

Xiao Yu grumbled again, but he was extremely satisfied with the result. This Hui Huo was an Underworld Fighter from the LC era, immensely powerful and said to possess strength comparable to the three great lords of the underworld. He was practically the nemesis of Dohko, the Libra Gold Saint.

With a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse and a Soul Saint-level powerhouse protecting him, Xiao Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. So long as he did not provoke a top-tier continental power with Titled Douluo experts, such as Spirit Hall, the Clear Sky Sect, or the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he could basically swagger across the continent.

"Ding. It has been detected that the Host has broken through level ten and reached the Spirit Master realm. New tasks are now being issued as follows:"

"Task One: Enroll in a Junior Spirit Master Academy. The task level is related to the academy enrolled in. The specific correspondence is as follows:"

In an instant, a complete map of Douluo Continent appeared before Xiao Yu's eyes, with each small dot representing a Junior Spirit Master Academy.

Xiao Yu reached out and tapped one of the glowing circles. Detailed information about the academy immediately popped up, including its name, size, location, the headmaster's cultivation, the teachers' average levels, and so on. The final entry explained the task level associated with that academy.

After spending roughly twenty minutes browsing through these Junior Spirit Master Academies, Xiao Yu had basically grasped all their information.

Among them, the Soul Master Academies associated with the highest task level, Black-level, numbered three: Spirit Hall Junior Academy, Heaven Dou Royal Junior Spirit Master Academy, and Star Luo Royal Junior Spirit Master Academy.

Given Xiao Yu's talent, getting into these academies would not be difficult. However, just from their names, one could guess which factions had established them. After witnessing Xiao Yu's potential, those major powers would have to be insane to let him go.

Even if they did not force Xiao Yu to join them, studying at a Soul Master Academy for six years would inevitably require him to use the academy's resources. That would amount to owing them a debt of gratitude, and in this world, debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay.

Below those three academies were more than a dozen Soul Master Academies ranked Purple-level. Out of curiosity, Xiao Yu checked Notting Academy's level. With a Soul Ancestor-level headmaster stationed there, Notting Academy also offered Yellow-level rewards.

However, Tang San was only one year old at the moment. By the time he and Xiao Wu enrolled, Xiao Yu would nearly have graduated. It would be difficult for them to even cross paths. As for intercepting Xiao Wu or snuffing Tang San out in the cradle, the risk level was simply too high. Don't forget, they had someone with a hammer protecting them.

"I'll pick a suitable one from among these dozen or so Purple-level Soul Master Academies."

Xiao Yu slowly moved the map floating before him, browsing through the qualifying academies one by one.

For most spirit masters, being able to join an academy protected by a powerful sect was undoubtedly an excellent thing. Thus, many academies backed by influential factions gave themselves simple, straightforward names to attract students. Xiao Yu could basically guess the force behind them just by looking at their names.

After ruling out several clearly unsuitable academies, Xiao Yu's gaze settled on one called Bright Mirror Junior Spirit Master Academy.

The academy's headmaster was a level fifty-seven Soul King, while its teachers had an average cultivation around the Soul Elder level. It was located in Kaiser Province, beside the Silvia Kingdom, far from Spirit City, Heaven Dou City, and Star Luo City. It suited Xiao Yu's preferences perfectly.

After Xiao Yu closed the academy map interface that had popped up, he finally noticed several other tasks listed beneath the task of joining a Junior Spirit Master Academy:

"Task Two: Become the chief student within one year. The task level is the same as the level corresponding to the academy enrolled in."

"Task Three: Become the academy chief within three years. The task level is one rank lower than the level corresponding to the academy. If the academy's level is White-level, this task is invalid."

"Task Four: Successfully graduate from the Junior Spirit Master Academy. The task level is the same as the level corresponding to the academy enrolled in."

"Task Five, Red-level Task: Break through to the Soul Elder level within one year."

"Task Six, Black-level Task: Break through to the Soul Elder level within three years."

"Task Seven, Purple-level Task: Break through to the Soul Elder level before graduating from the Soul Master Academy."

"Becoming the chief mainly tests practical combat ability. The graduation task is more like a free benefit. With my current talent, unless the academy has taken the wrong medicine, how could I possibly fail to graduate after enrolling?"

Xiao Yu muttered, "The last three tasks are meant to push my cultivation. The lowest, Purple-level, requires reaching level thirty before graduation. I remember that Tang San and Xiao Wu were both level twenty-nine when they graduated from Notting Junior Spirit Master Academy. A few days after going to Shrek, they both broke through level thirty. That basically means the system's minimum requirement for me is to keep pace with those two."

Why call it the minimum requirement? Xiao Yu guessed it was because Tang San had not yet eaten any Immortal Herbs when he graduated from Notting Academy, so his cultivation speed had yet to reach its peak. On top of that, he had to forge iron to earn money while at the academy, which took up quite a bit of his time.

As for Xiao Wu, as a reincarnated soul beast, she should have been the fastest cultivator among the Shrek Seven Devils. This could be seen during the Spirit Master Competition: the other six consumed Immortal Herbs and broke through to the Soul Ancestor level, while Xiao Wu initially lagged behind them because she had not consumed the Similar Heartbroken Red. Yet by the time they headed to Spirit City for the finals, she had also broken through level forty and reached the same realm as the others.

Therefore, the reason Xiao Wu had also failed to break through level thirty upon graduating from the Junior Spirit Master Academy was most likely because that rogue rabbit often spent her time eating, drinking, playing, and stirring up trouble.