Ever since Tang Wulin had taken Qing Linyun as his master, the good days had come for the boy.
Everyone could see the change in Tang Wulin. They couldn't quite say what had changed, but anyone with a discerning eye could tell that something about the boy was growing more and more unusual.
For one thing, halfway through class, he was often called away by Teacher Linyun, that elusive figure who appeared and vanished like a divine dragon.
At first, everyone thought it must be something good. Only later did they realize he wasn't being called away to work at all. He was getting private lessons.
In just a few days, Tang Wulin's Soul Power had shot up as if he'd been taking tonics.
Level 13, level 14, level 15, level 16, level 17.
Others might not climb even one level in a year, but he had jumped four in a matter of days. The whole class stared with their eyes wide.
"What kind of miraculous elixir do you think Teacher Linyun's been feeding Tang Wulin?"
"Who knows? I saw him talking to Tang Wulin by the training field yesterday. The way he treated him, you'd think Tang Wulin was his own son."
"No use being jealous. He's found a big thigh to hug. We'd better just attend class like good students."
The words were dripping with sour grapes, but the facts were right there.
Tang Wulin really was different from before.
I used to be a loser, and you all looked down on me. Now I'm a real lion! You'll all have to see me in a new light.
I, Tang Wulin, will climb to the very top, one step, one step, one step, one step, one step, one step at a time. I'll be the king of Douluo Continent!
That afternoon, Wu Changkong's class was drawing to a close.
The classroom was quiet as the students worked on their own. The rustle of pen tips across paper mingled with the wind outside, making for a particularly pleasant sound.
Wu Changkong sat behind the lectern, leafing through a lesson plan and occasionally looking up to survey the classroom.
Just then, someone pushed the classroom door open from outside.
Qing Linyun stood in the doorway, with Tang Wulin behind him.
"Senior brother."
Qing Linyun nodded to Wu Changkong.
"I've brought him back."
Wu Changkong looked up at him, then at Tang Wulin, who stood behind him with his head lowered. He nodded without saying much.
Tang Wulin bowed to Wu Changkong and hurried into the classroom with his head down.
His steps were much steadier than before, and his whole bearing had changed somewhat. He was no longer as self-conscious and sensitive as he used to be.
If anything, he seemed a little full of confidence?
Later, when Xie Xie was boasting to others, he said one look at the way Tang Wulin walked was enough to tell he'd been trained by an expert. He was nothing like the rest of them, who'd learned on their own.
The moment he stepped over the threshold, the classroom erupted in a buzz.
"Here we go again! Teacher Linyun took Tang Wulin out again!"
"He was gone half the day this time, wasn't he? Look at him. I bet he got some other benefit."
"I'm so jealous. I want Teacher Linyun to teach me one-on-one too."
"You? Do you have Tang Wulin's luck?"
"Hey, have you noticed? Tang Wulin's Soul Power fluctuations are on a completely different level from last week. During the last special training session, Teacher Wu sent him flying with one slap."
"How could he not be amazing? Teacher Linyun gives him private lessons every day. I'd take off too."
"Oh, please. Even with private lessons, you need a good foundation. With a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, could any number of private lessons make it blossom?"
"Don't be so sure. Didn't you see the spirit he had when he walked in? He had the wind at his heels."
Whispers rose and fell as pairs of eyes clung to Tang Wulin. Some were envious, some curious, and a few were bubbling over with sour grapes.
All the attention made Tang Wulin squirm. In the previous nine years of his life, he hadn't received as much attention as he had this past week.
He lowered his head, quickened his pace, and slipped back into his seat.
Xie Xie had been waiting for him there.
As soon as Tang Wulin sat down, Xie Xie leaned over and nudged him with his shoulder, lowering his voice, a mischievous smile on his face.
"Brother, come clean. What good stuff did Teacher Linyun give you this time?"
"N-no, nothing."
The tips of Tang Wulin's ears reddened a little as he instinctively protested.
"He just... just taught me a few things."
"Taught you things?" Xie Xie waggled his eyebrows. "Can teaching you things make your Soul Power jump three levels? Brother, you didn't even try with that lie."
Tang Wulin opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Of course he couldn't tell him.
His master had given him a Thousand-Year Blue Silver King Torso Bone. If word got out, the whole academy would erupt.
Not to mention that over the past few days, his master had also helped increase the age of his First Soul Ring, forcibly raising it from ten years to a hundred.
Whenever he thought about it, his chest grew warm.
Raising a Ten-Year Soul Ring to a hundred years was easy enough to say, but out in the world, which of these things wouldn't count as an immense favor?
At least, in Tang Wulin's still somewhat limited view at this point, increasing the age of a Soul Ring absolutely required some kind of god-level power.
A Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
Goldsong was finally no longer that useless Soul Spirit.
Ever since that day, his Blue Silver Grass's entangling power had more than doubled.
His master had even taken care of that for him. He kept this favor in his heart and would remember it for the rest of his life.
That was precisely why he wouldn't reveal a thing.
"Don't ask." Tang Wulin lowered his voice. "I can't talk about my master's affairs."
Xie Xie watched him for a moment, then suddenly smiled.
Xie Xie might not have been serious when he spoke, but he was a smart man. One look at Tang Wulin's reaction, and he understood most of it.
He patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder and asked no more, cheerfully changing the subject. "All right, all right, don't tell me. Just don't forget to treat me to a meal once you've made it big."
"Of course, of course." Tang Wulin nodded quickly, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
The two of them murmured to each other at their seats, keeping their voices very low, but quite a few people in the class still noticed.
Qing Linyun hadn't left yet.
Standing in the doorway, he swept his gaze across the classroom, paused on Tang Wulin for a moment, then turned to Wu Changkong at the lectern and smiled.
"Senior brother, I'll be going, then. Oh, right, the Class Promotion Tournament is in two days."
He was speaking to Wu Changkong, but his voice was just loud enough for everyone in the classroom to hear.
He had deliberately let the class hear him, hoping to raise Tang Wulin's prestige and draw attention to him, so the boy would begin to change from within, stop being the loser he once was, and develop the mindset of a strong person.
The strong deserved attention, and they also had to bear it.
"With Tang Wulin's current strength, he's sure to shine at the Class Promotion Tournament."
Another commotion broke out in the classroom.
Tang Wulin's face went red in an instant, and he waved his hands repeatedly.
"No, no, Master, you flatter me. I-I still have a long way to go."
Xie Xie chimed in beside him. "Brother, did you hear that? Even Teacher Linyun says you'll shine! I'll be counting on you to carry me then!"
"Stop talking nonsense!" Tang Wulin was so embarrassed he wanted to cover Xie Xie's mouth.
The classroom was in an uproar. Some joined in the teasing, some were envious, and some were sour.
But Gu Yue paid none of the commotion any attention.
She sat in her seat, gripping a pen, her gaze cold. She looked from Qing Linyun at the door to Tang Wulin with his reddened face, dark currents churning in her eyes.
She was nearly mad with anger.
These past few days, Qing Linyun had practically vanished from her sight.
He didn't come to class, and he was nowhere to be seen afterward. Even during the evening special training sessions, he spoke privately only with Tang Wulin, leaving her on the sidelines without so much as an extra glance.
When had she, Gu Yue, ever been treated so coldly?
What made her even more uneasy was this: what was Qing Linyun after, spending all day revolving around Tang Wulin?
Gu Yue knew that Tang Wulin had the Golden Dragon King Bloodline.
The Golden Dragon King Bloodline.
That presence that made her whole body uncomfortable was hidden in that honest, unassuming Blue Silver Grass Soul Master.
She hadn't made a move against Tang Wulin because she wanted to see the true nature of the bloodline and find out who had put it in a human.
But what about Qing Linyun?
Had he discovered it too?
He called Tang Wulin away all day long. Was he teaching him, or studying him?
The more Gu Yue thought about it, the more uneasy and angry she grew. She pressed the tip of her pen against the paper, poking one tiny hole after another.
Probe him.
The thought turned over and over in her mind.
I need to find a chance to sound Qing Linyun out. See whether he knows Tang Wulin's secret.
She bit her lip, considering how to bring it up without seeming too interested.
What if I just ask him directly?
No, that would be too abrupt.
Then what if I find an excuse to ask him out for a walk and sound him out indirectly?
That won't work either. That guy's too sharp. He'd probably guess what I'm up to before I even got the question out.
The more Gu Yue thought, the more torn and irritated she became. The tip of her pen poked a string of little holes in the paper.
Forget it.
At last, she said to herself,
I'll stop thinking about it. I can't make sense of it anyway. I'll find a chance to sound him out face-to-face. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, I'll deal with that later.
Either way, it's better than sitting here worrying for nothing.
I refuse to believe Na'er could easily get rid of this guy, but I can't!