With this letter of recommendation, Xiao Xuan could enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy with a legitimate recommendation in the future. That was extremely important to him.
Xiao Xuan did not put on airs or decline. He immediately stood, clasped his fists, and bowed with a solemn expression.
"Senior, I am endlessly grateful for such a generous gift! In that case, I would be honored to accept!"
"No need to be polite. You earned it."
Shui Yuehua laughed heartily, then took out the envelope she had prepared and handed it to Xiao Xuan.
"Keep the letter safe."
Shui Yuehua smiled and reminded him, "If you happen to lose or damage it on the way, it won't matter. Just come find me at Skywater Academy when the time comes, and I'll write you another."
"Rest assured, senior. I will take good care of it and will not let your kindness go to waste."
Xiao Xuan carefully accepted the letter and solemnly tucked it into a pocket in his inner clothing, making sure it was absolutely secure.
Seeing how steady and thorough Xiao Xuan was, Shui Yuehua sighed inwardly once more.
If Xiao Xuan could compete as a member of the Skywater Team, how could Skywater Academy fail to outshine all the other academies at the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament in a few years?
Fate played tricks on people. In the end, it had left her with a regret.
With the important business settled, the remains of the meal were cleared away.
Now that he had obtained his second Soul Ring, successfully advanced his Martial Soul to four stars, and gained a letter of recommendation on top of that, Xiao Xuan had no desire to linger.
Xiao Xuan hired a carriage and prepared to set off for Nuoding City.
Outside the inn, Shui Yuehua had brought Shui Bing'er specially to see him off.
Shui Bing'er stood beside her teacher, lightly pinching the hem of her clothes as she watched the young man climb into the carriage. She seemed about to speak, but hesitated.
"Please, you two needn't see me any farther. I'll take my leave!"
Sitting in front of the carriage door, Xiao Xuan smiled and clasped his fists to the two of them, then instructed the driver to flick the reins.
"Hyah!"
The wheels rolled, and with a crisp crack of the whip, the carriage kicked up a faint trail of yellow dust. It gradually receded along the broad official road, finally becoming a tiny black dot on the horizon.
At the entrance to the town, the cold wind stirred the ice-blue wisps of hair on the girl's forehead.
Shui Bing'er gazed in the direction the carriage had vanished, unable to look away for a long time. Her eyes held a trace of melancholy she could not quite explain herself.
After a long while, Shui Bing'er bit her lip and asked softly for no particular reason:
"Teacher... do you think we'll have another chance to meet him someday?"
Shui Yuehua turned to look at her prized pupil, who seemed a little distracted, and a tolerant, gentle smile flickered in her eyes.
She reached out and affectionately ruffled Shui Bing'er's soft short hair, comforting her in a quiet voice:
"Silly girl, if fate wills it, you'll meet again. But you'll have to work hard from now on, or when you do meet him, you might not even be qualified to stand by his side."
Hearing that, Shui Bing'er gained a new goal.
After returning to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, Xiao Xuan's life quickly settled back into a peaceful routine.
Thanks to his disciplined habit of keeping to himself, the few days he had taken off caused no stir whatsoever.
Aside from attending classes as usual, he went to the library to study all kinds of subjects. At night, he practiced meditation alone.
During this time, Xiao Xuan naturally did not forget to entrust his father with the task for the next stage.
On a trip home during a rest day, Xiao Xuan made a point of asking Xiao Wuyong to continue using his contacts in Soul Hunting circles to search for the exact whereabouts of wild lone bamboo.
This time, however, the age requirement for the main material was much higher. It had to be at least two thousand years old to meet the standard for fusion.
Fortunately, the age of a Plant-type Soul Beast like lone bamboo was relatively easy to identify.
Each dark, vigorous ring on the bamboo stalk represented several hundred years of growth. The deeper its color and the smoother and warmer its texture, the more substantial its age.
Even ordinary mercenaries who were not skilled at identifying it could get reasonably close by comparing it with a drawing.
Compared with the main material, the auxiliary material needed for his Martial Soul's next star advancement was what Xiao Xuan truly mulled over again and again.
Xiao Xuan had set his sights on a famous treasure: the hundred-thousand-year right leg bone left behind by the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin!
According to the events of the original story, that Soul Bone possessed the abilities of flight and self-healing.
If he could fuse that hundred-thousand-year Soul Bone into his Martial Soul as an auxiliary material, would the transformed Martial Soul directly grant him the ability to fly?
Or would it grant him the abilities to regrow severed limbs and heal himself?
However, whether it could be fused and whether he could inherit those wondrous traits would only become clear after he obtained it and the system assessed it.
But Xiao Xuan knew perfectly well that he absolutely could not act rashly right now.
At this point in time, that old fellow Tang Hao was still in the vicinity of Nuoding City. Going after Ah Yin's Soul Bone now would be courting death.
The best time to make his move would definitely be after Tang San had successfully graduated from Nuoding Academy and set off for Shrek Academy in Suotuo City!
Only after that father and son had completely left the Nuoding area could he make a trip to the mountain behind Holy Soul Village without anyone noticing.
Having made up his mind, Xiao Xuan grew even more patient.
Springs passed and autumns came, as heat and cold took turns.
In the blink of an eye, two and a half years had passed since he returned from Soul Hunting in the Star Dou Great Forest.
His six years at the junior academy had finally drawn to a close.
Xiao Xuan was about to graduate, which also meant that Tang San and Xiao Wu would soon leave Nuoding City for Shrek in Suotuo City.
On the day of the graduation ceremony, Nuoding Academy's great hall was festooned with decorations and filled with lively noise.
The academy had specially arranged a grand farewell banquet for this year's graduates. Many students attended in their finest clothes, bidding one another farewell.
Yet Xiao Xuan did not so much as show his face at the crowded celebration.
He had already turned down every invitation to the party, using the excuse that there were many chores at home and he needed to help his parents put the shop in order.
Xiao Xuan had no interest in joining that kind of celebration.
At this sensitive juncture, the smartest thing to do was to make his presence before Tang San as inconspicuous as possible, so as not to invite complications.
After all, in a few days, he would be going to Holy Soul Village to dig up the grave of Tang San's own mother.
The lower a profile he kept now, the less likely it would be for anyone to come looking for him if the truth came to light someday.
Meanwhile, inside the great hall, Tang San and Xiao Wu stood in a corner, their eyes constantly searching the crowd passing by.
"Xiao Wu, did you find Xiao Xuan?"
Xiao Wu clenched her back teeth and shook her head, her expression sour. "I asked around, and that guy Xiao Xuan didn't even come to the graduation party! He said he had to go home and help his family run their shop!"
Hearing that, Tang San's expression also darkened somewhat.
For six years, he had kept his promise and stayed out of Xiao Xuan's way. Now that they had graduated, Tang San thought it was time to settle their old scores, but that guy had not even come to the graduation party!
The wager match he had lost to Xiao Xuan two years ago had remained a thorn in Tang San's heart.
Now that his Soul Power had reached rank twenty-nine, and his Hidden Weapons and Tang Sect techniques had improved as well, Tang San believed his strength had long since surpassed Xiao Xuan's.
He had planned to win against him fair and square at the graduation party and thoroughly wipe away the humiliation of that day.
Who would have thought that Xiao Xuan would simply skip the graduation party altogether?
But then he thought about how Xiao Xuan was in such a hurry to help manage his family's shop after graduation.
The slight furrow in Tang San's brow smoothed out, and a faint smile curved his lips. He turned to comfort Xiao Wu instead.
"Forget it, Xiao Wu. You don't need to be angry."
Tang San rose and straightened his clothes. "Teacher arranged for us to attend a top advanced academy, but what does Xiao Xuan have? At best, he'll attend an ordinary advanced academy, which surely can't compare to the Shrek Teacher arranged for us!"
At that point, Tang San turned to look out at the night, a proud expression appearing on his face.
"From the moment we walk out of these school gates today, we'll be taking two completely different paths from him."
"The gap between us will only grow wider in the future. There's really no need to keep dwelling on one little victory or defeat."
"Hmph, he's getting off easy!" Xiao Wu pursed her lips, but accepted his reasoning.