Returning to the Academy

The next morning, after a night's sleep, Su Tianyu felt refreshed and invigorated.

After a quick breakfast, he went to the town's carriage rental office and hired a carriage. After two days on the road, he finally reached Heaven Lake City.

He lifted the curtain and looked at the city rising from the ground ahead, his gaze turning distant. Not long ago, he had still been a Soul Master. Now he had returned as a Soul Grandmaster.

After paying the coachman ten Silver Soul Coins, Su Tianyu paid the city entrance fee and walked inside.

He headed north for less than an hour before three towering emerald-green buildings came into view. This was Heaven Lake City's only intermediate Soul Master academy.

Li Ergou, standing at the academy gates, spotted Su Tianyu approaching from afar. An ingratiating smile appeared on his face as he ran over to greet him.

"My lord, welcome back from obtaining your Soul Ring. I'll open the gate for you right away."

"Mm, Li Ergou, you've done well. I won't pursue what happened before."

Su Tianyu's expression was indifferent, and he showed the gatekeeper no kindness. He remembered how, when he had first come to Heaven Lake Intermediate Academy to enroll at seven years old, this gatekeeper had dared to stop him, claiming his letter of recommendation was fake. How could he have put up with that? He had immediately used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon through the Mysterious Heaven Skill to bring the man down.

Only after he had also shown his First Soul Ring had he managed to enroll at Tianhu Academy. Afterward, he had made trouble for the gatekeeper from time to time, stopping just short of wiping him out.

He crossed the academy square and arrived at the dormitory. Just as he pushed the door open, a figure hurried over to him and spoke excitedly.

"Su Tianyu, did everything go smoothly when you went to Heavenly Eye Forest to get your Soul Ring?"

When Zhang Tieniu learned that no academy teacher had accompanied Su Tianyu to hunt Soul Beasts, he had been extremely anxious. Fortunately, Su Tianyu had returned safely.

Zhang Tieniu looked at the handsome Su Tianyu before him. As commoners, they were suppressed at every turn at Heaven Lake Intermediate Academy, and the academy teachers had treated this Soul Hunting trip with cold indifference. It left him indignant, but what could he do? He was only a commoner with no backing. How could he help his friend?

"Tieniu, didn't I come back safely from Soul Hunting? Don't worry, the hunt went very smoothly. I happened to come across Soul Beasts fighting over territory, and one of them was just right for my Second Soul Ring. I waited until they'd fought and left both sides badly wounded, then dealt them a fatal blow. I absorbed the Soul Ring from one of them."

Su Tianyu could only lie to keep his friend from worrying.

"That's good. Congratulations on becoming a Soul Grandmaster. You'll be able to graduate from Heaven Lake Intermediate Academy without a hitch in two months." Zhang Tieniu was proud that his friend would successfully graduate from Tianhu Academy.

"Tieniu, your Soul Power is only at level eighteen right now. You need to work hard at cultivating it, or you won't be able to keep up with my pace."

Su Tianyu looked at the muscular Zhang Tieniu and teased him.

"It's fine. My talent is what it is. With level-three Innate Soul Power, reaching level twenty by sixteen would be good enough." Zhang Tieniu waved a hand unconcernedly, showing he didn't mind.

"By the way, have you decided which advanced Soul Master academy you're going to next? Once I become a Soul Grandmaster, I'll come find you," Zhang Tieniu asked with a serious expression.

"I'm not planning to enroll in an advanced Soul Master academy yet. There are a few things I haven't finished. I'll only consider enrolling after I've taken care of them."

Su Tianyu spread his hands helplessly. Though Tieniu meant well, these were things he couldn't know about yet. The fewer people who knew his itinerary, the safer he would be.

"All right, I won't ask any more. If your name shakes the Douluo Continent someday, don't forget your good friend with mediocre talent," Zhang Tieniu said, his voice downcast.

"How could that happen? No matter how famous I get, I won't forget you. When I first came to Heaven Lake Intermediate Academy, you were the one who helped me learn about all sorts of things here. That kept me from breaking some of the academy's rules."

The two went on chatting about news and amusing things around the academy, then cultivated their Soul Power. Before they knew it, day turned to night.

"Su Tianyu, I know a noodle shop in Heaven Lake City that makes good beef noodles. Want to go try them together?" Zhang Tieniu asked Su Tianyu, who had finished cultivating his Soul Power.

"I'm hungry too, and I was just about to get dinner. Let's go together. You lead the way." Su Tianyu got up from the bed and smiled and nodded at Zhang Tieniu.

The two passed the teaching building and came to the academy's broad square. Soul Guidance Lamps lit every corner, and quite a few Tianhu Academy students were strolling about in twos and threes. Some walked together, but more were senior student couples embracing in the square's garden, kissing each other passionately on the mouth.

At the sight, Su Tianyu's eyelids twitched wildly. For a single dog like him, it was a critical hit.

When the two lingered in the square, however, Su Tianyu's exceptionally striking looks attracted quite a few of the older and younger female students out walking.

Just then, two girls, one taller and one shorter, came walking toward them.

The girl on the left had light blue hair and wore a long, pale gold dress. Her light blue eyes studied the handsome Su Tianyu a short distance away, and they were filled with joy as she gave him a sweet smile.

The girl on the right also had long, light blue hair. Unlike the first girl, she frowned slightly as she looked at Su Tianyu nearby, her light blue eyes full of helplessness. She glanced at her younger sister, who was holding her arm, and walked over expressionlessly.

"Su Tianyu, we meet again. No matter how many times I see your face, I can never get enough of looking at it."

The smaller girl gave him a lovely smile, and her round, bun-like face immediately turned bright red. She couldn't help lowering her head to hide her burning cheeks.

Seeing this, the expressionless Lan Wei'an rolled her eyes and quickly turned her head away, unable to watch her younger sister make a fool of herself.

"Lan Weiqing, the same goes for you. Every time I see your bun face, I think it's very cute," Su Tianyu said with a smile.

"Really? Am I that cute?"

Lan Weiqing raised her head, her eyes shining as she looked at Su Tianyu, her heart filled with happiness.

"Really cute." Su Tianyu raised a hand and stroked the girl's head, then turned to greet the expressionless girl.

"Lan Wei'an, it's been a while. I heard you obtained your Second Soul Ring not long ago. We should spar and exchange pointers if we get the chance."

"Hmph. Don't use my sister's fondness for you to seduce me. I'm not interested in men."

Lan Wei'an's ears reddened slightly. She hurriedly raised a hand to smooth the stray hair beside her ear, her gaze darting around as she avoided looking at Su Tianyu's striking face.

Watching Lan Wei'an avert her gaze, Su Tianyu understood perfectly well, but he had no intention of exposing her. He chatted cheerfully with the two sisters for a few moments and didn't linger.