The horned scale horses raced along, the shaded trees outside the carriage blurring into a single streak. Inside, the passengers felt no jolting at all.
The carriage was spacious, with more than enough room to sit or lie down.
Fang Lin sat cross-legged in meditation for a while, but in the end, he couldn't settle his mind. Resting his chin in his hand, he watched Dugu Yan and Yu Feng chat merrily.
Dugu Yan had meant "watch Fang Lin" literally, while Yu Feng had come purely to join the fun. And so, in a muddle, Fang Lin found himself heading to Heaven Dou City with two tails.
Fortunately, Dugu Yan had paid for the carriage, so Fang Lin thought it over and put up with it.
But with the two of them following him, how was he supposed to pick up the Whale Gelatin later?
The three entered the city, where the streets and markets buzzed with voices.
As they passed a stone building, Fang Lin slowed his steps.
It was the Brocade Workshop, a well-known clothing shop in Heaven Dou City.
Dugu Yan spotted the two silk banners fluttering beneath the eaves and grew interested.
"Let's go in and have a look."
With Dugu Yan leading the way, Yu Feng followed her inside. A girl in a short green jacket came out to greet them with a smile.
Dugu Yan looked around and chose a strapless qipao patterned with clouds. After changing into it, she casually asked the two of them what they thought.
"Well? Do I look good in this?"
"Beautiful, beautiful! This purple really makes your skin look fair, and on you, Sister Yan, it looks absolutely elegant."
Yu Feng spared no praise for the one who had paid for the carriage.
Fang Lin had been planning to take the chance to get "separated" from them, but when he heard the key word, he instinctively cast a critical eye over her.
To be honest, though Dugu Yan was still young, her figure was hardly inferior to Zhu Zhuqing's.
Hmm, purple really does have its charm.
After that thought, Fang Lin quietly slipped out of the Brocade Workshop while the other two were absorbed.
Begonia Studio.
At the counter, Fang Lin didn't see the long-bearded elder from before. In his place was a veiled girl with a waterfall of long blue hair spilling over her shoulders. Her figure looked slender and delicate.
Fang Lin glanced around and, seeing no sign of the elder, took out the receipt he had given him earlier and handed it to the blue-haired girl.
"I'm here to buy something. I paid a deposit before."
The blue-haired girl glanced at the receipt in Fang Lin's hand but made no move to take it. Instead, she called toward the wall behind her, "Uncle Ye."
A moment later, a gap appeared in the wall. Only then did Fang Lin notice a hidden door behind the counter.
The long-bearded elder emerged from the hidden door. When he saw Fang Lin, a kindly smile spread across his face.
"Young brother, you're back rather quickly. Did you bring enough Gold Soul Coins this time?"
Fang Lin took out the receipt and the remaining Gold Soul Coins. The stack of more than a thousand coins on the counter shone with a dazzling golden light, drawing an extra glance from the blue-haired girl.
Uncle Ye swept his hand over them, storing them in his Storage Soul Tool, then nodded.
"1,190 coins. The count is correct."
One advantage of a Soul Tool was that one could instantly grasp everything about the items stored inside, including their quantity.
Fang Lin accepted the Whale Gelatin. His gaze passed over the blue-haired girl's face before returning to Uncle Ye.
"Ahem, shopkeeper, my father really is the one who needs this."
Uncle Ye looked momentarily taken aback. Then, as if he had realized something, he chuckled.
"I understand, I understand. If it's inconvenient for your honored father to come himself, I can write you a prescription for him to try first."
Fang Lin opened his mouth, then sighed softly and gave up arguing.
After leaving the medicine shop, he looked again at the sign beneath the eaves. To the right of the three large characters spelling "Begonia Studio" was a carving of a begonia in full bloom.
When he returned to the Brocade Workshop, Dugu Yan was talking with the young shop assistant. Most of the designs didn't come in her size, so she had only chosen the styles and would have them made to measure.
Yu Feng sat by the entrance, holding a box of fried food and chewing with both cheeks bulging.
"Brudder Lin... where'd you go just now?"
"Just looked around." Though Yu Feng's speech was muffled, Fang Lin roughly understood him. "Focus on eating. Stop talking."
What Yu Feng was eating was called fried milk taro, a specialty of Heaven Dou Street, said to have been invented by a Food System Soul Elder whose Martial Soul was milk. Fang Lin had tried it once. Besides being sweet, it stuck stubbornly to his teeth, and a single mouthful took ages to chew. It had something in common with the dry yogurt he had eaten in his previous life.
The two squatted by the entrance for about half a quarter of an hour before Dugu Yan finally emerged, still wanting more. She had changed back into the fitted green qipao she had arrived in, its hem falling below her calves and outlining her slender, well-proportioned figure.
"Back to the academy! Let's hire a carriage!"
Yu Feng was still chewing his fried milk taro, so the journey back was much quieter. Time flew as Fang Lin meditated, and when he opened his eyes again, they were already at the foot of the mountain where Heaven Dou Academy stood.
More than a dozen Mimicry Training Grounds were scattered across Heaven Dou Academy, starting at the foot of the mountain, but they were mainly for Soul Masters with natural attributes, such as lava pools for the fire attribute and ice crystal pools for the ice attribute. Places suited to Tool Soul Masters with saber- or sword-type Martial Souls were mainly halfway up the mountain, and most were built indoors.
When Fang Lin arrived, he saw a man standing there in the standard robes of a Heaven Dou teacher. He was around thirty, with short black hair and a refined, upright bearing. When he spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, giving the impression of a gentle breeze.
"Let me introduce myself. I'm Qin Ming, a Heavenly Supreme Level teacher at the academy, a level 58 Power Attack System Battle Soul King, and the next coach of the Imperial Fighting Team."
Qin Ming had sought Fang Lin out about the Imperial Fighting Team's membership. He had already spoken separately to Niu Heng, Yang Yue, Yu Feng, Yu Tianheng, the brothers Shi Mo and Shi Mo, and others. Although Niu Heng and Yang Yue had refused to join, he had assembled more than half the lineup, and the team had basically begun to take shape.
"Although you're reserve members for now, at your current Soul Power Levels, reaching level thirty is only a matter of a year or two. After that, you can become full members of the Imperial Fighting Team and represent the academy in exchanges with others."
Full members of the Imperial Fighting Team were required to have Soul Power above level 30. Their tuition was waived, and they received a fixed monthly allowance of credits and Gold Soul Coins. When acquiring Soul Rings, they would be escorted by a team of Soul Masters assigned by the empire. In return for these privileges, members also had to represent the academy on visits and exchanges with other Soul Master Academies.
The purpose was to display Heaven Dou Royal Academy's martial might and prestige.
But if he could, Fang Lin only wanted to enjoy the privileges and cultivate in peace.
"Teacher Qin, I don't mind joining, but could I just be a substitute?"
"A substitute?" A trace of surprise appeared on Qin Ming's amiable face. He repeated the question as though uncertain. "You mean you want to be a substitute?"
Fang Lin confirmed it with a nod, then asked quietly, "If I remember correctly, substitutes and full members receive the same benefits, don't they?"
Qin Ming paused for a moment, his expression turning somewhat odd. "If you're talking about the Gold Soul Coin allowance and help acquiring Soul Rings, there is indeed no difference. But if the team places in the Soul Master Elite Tournament, only full members will be granted noble titles and honorary rewards."
"I remember you're from Soto City. Your family doesn't hold a noble title, does it?"
Fang Lin blinked, sincerity showing in his eyes.
"Teacher Qin, I'd still rather be a substitute."
The Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament five years later would be like this year's Heaven Dou Tournament, only even more exaggerated. So-called once-in-a-century geniuses would appear in droves, and in the end, the Imperial Fighting Team wouldn't even beat the Skywater Team, stopping at the semifinals.
A noble title or whatever else was simply out of the question.