Three Years in a Flash, the Realm-Switching Leaf

Tang San had changed. Lin Qingchen noticed it at a glance.

Ever since he had returned one noon, he had often looked at Lin Qingchen with a fiercely competitive gaze.

Damn, did this kid eat something bad?

Then he instinctively glanced at the Book of Talents. Tang San's page hadn't changed much, except for an extra talent at the end of the list.

[Feudalism Warrior]: A talent that can be unlocked after gathering at least four of the five: heaven, earth, sovereign, parents, and teacher. At this point, the bearer's support for feudalism reaches its peak, until he becomes a Feudal Patriarch himself. Greatly increases his respect for heaven, earth, sovereign, parents, and teacher, and greatly increases his desire for power. If he has descendants, this talent will automatically evolve into [Feudal Patriarch], greatly increasing his desire to control his descendants on top of its existing effects.

Uh...

Lin Qingchen rubbed his eyes and made sure he wasn't seeing things.

Wait, when exactly did Tang San get involved with Yu Xiaogang again?

Didn't Dean Lei Nuo say Yu Xiaogang got so angry he coughed up blood and was hospitalized?

Holy crap, and there's that huge boost to his desire for power and all that.

Is this right?

But after seeing [Feudal Patriarch], Lin Qingchen understood why Tang San could pull off those outrageous moves ten thousand years later. Perhaps, in his eyes, splitting his daughter's soul was for her own good. Though apparently, that did seem to be how it turned out.

Lin Qingchen shook his head. In that case, it seemed Tang San and he were destined to become strangers.

He wouldn't feel the slightest burden about taking the Seed of Life, either.

Oh, wait, actually, I didn't feel much burden to begin with. Tang San isn't a relative of mine, after all. Men die for wealth, birds die for food, let alone when it comes to something as important as cultivation.

And so, Lin Qingchen cultivated and sparred with Lei Nuo, improving his practical combat skills.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

Another semester had ended, marking the end of third year.

"Little San, you broke through to level twenty already?"

Xiao Wu sat cross-legged on the bed, shaking Tang San's arm as she spoke playfully.

Everyone around them was used to it. Ever since the two had gone home at the end of their first semester, they had stopped holding back in front of others.

As time went on, everyone had gradually gotten used to it.

"Yeah, I just broke through." Tang San smiled and nodded, instinctively patting Xiao Wu's head before turning to look at Lin Qingchen.

His expression made it seem as though he had finally won for once.

As far as he knew, Lin Qingchen shouldn't have broken through to level twenty yet. After all, he had stayed at the academy the whole time and had never gone out to hunt Soul Beasts.

"Heh, once I come back from Soul Hunting with Teacher tomorrow, I'll be able to surpass you." Tang San seemed to be able to see the day he defeated Lin Qingchen already.

Looking at Tang San's gaze, Lin Qingchen shook his head inwardly. Then he felt happy.

Finally! My long wait wasn't in vain. Tang San has finally broken through to level twenty!

Because of his cultivation method, Lin Qingchen's normal cultivation speed was a little slower than Tang San's. But he had started at a high level, so he could actually have broken through to level twenty half a year ago. He had simply held himself back all this time.

It was only half a level's progress anyway. For the Blue Silver Emperor's Seed of Life, it was definitely worth it.

Besides, absorbing the fused Five Elements Soul Ring at level twenty would surely make up for it, so there was even less reason to care.

He shook his head and walked straight out of Dorm Seven.

"Boss, are you going out this late too?"

A newly arrived work-study student asked curiously, only for an older student to immediately cover his mouth.

"Kid, is what our boss does any of your business? He's the academy's strongest genius!"

As it happened, Wang Sheng and some of the other older students had already graduated. They had apparently gone to some intermediate Soul Master Academy. Lin Qingchen hadn't asked about it; chances were he wouldn't see them again anyway.

He didn't feel particularly nostalgic, either. They were ultimately not on the same level, and forcing themselves together would only be bad for the others.

Now that Tang San had broken through to level twenty, it was time for him to get things ready.

Meanwhile, Tang San excitedly found Yu Xiaogang and told him he had broken through to level twenty.

"Little San, I knew I wasn't wrong about you." Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San on the shoulder.

"It's all thanks to your teaching, Teacher. As expected, there are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters. Although Lin Qingchen started at a higher level than me and his Martial Soul is stronger than my Blue Silver Grass, I still reached level twenty before him."

At the mention of Lin Qingchen, Yu Xiaogang's expression instantly turned cold. "He's just a fellow who acts arrogant because he has a little talent. He isn't worthy of being your opponent."

The mere thought of Lin Qingchen made Yu Xiaogang angry. The fellow had dared to publicly disregard this Grandmaster's theories.

Back then, after taking Tang San as his disciple, he had been in an excellent mood. He had suddenly remembered Lin Qingchen, whom Lei Nuo had said had the makings of a Titled Douluo. He had wanted to see what the boy was made of, and if he was good enough, he could reluctantly give him some pointers or even take him as a disciple.

Then, sure enough, Lin Qingchen had firmly shut the door in his face.

He had brought out his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul theory, only for Lin Qingchen to slap him in the face with the fact that its sales were practically nonexistent.

That had made him very unhappy.

What was more, for some reason, the moment he saw Lin Qingchen, he had felt an instinctive loathing, as though he were looking at the man next door who had stolen his beloved.

The more Yu Xiaogang thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He hurriedly shook his head, driving away those inexplicable thoughts.

"All right, Little San. Tomorrow, Lei Nuo and I will take you to hunt for your Second Soul Ring. I've already found a Soul Beast I like for you."

There was no helping it. He could handle a Ten-Year Soul Beast, but if he wanted to fight a Soul Beast seven or eight hundred years old, he'd better rely on Lei Nuo, a Soul Ancestor.

Tang San was overjoyed. As expected of his teacher, he handled things so carefully and thoughtfully!

"Yes!"

On the roof, Tang Hao couldn't help nodding as he listened to Yu Xiaogang.

I didn't expect this fellow to be so thoughtful. It seems this Grandmaster isn't as awful as others say.

"Little San really is a genius. He's only nine and he's already broken through to level twenty. Ah Yin, if your spirit in heaven could see what a genius our son is, you'd be very happy too, wouldn't you?"

Tang Hao murmured, then snatched up the wine jug beside him and drained it in one gulp.

"Just wait, Ah Yin. I'll avenge you. Spirit Hall, just you wait!"

The night flew by. Early the next morning, Lei Nuo and Yu Xiaogang took Tang San aboard a carriage bound for the Soul Hunting Forest.

Tang Hao followed them in secret. Although a Soul Ancestor could already do as he pleased in the Soul Hunting Forest, Tang San was his only hope for revenge, so he couldn't set his mind at ease.

Lin Qingchen watched Tang San leave Dorm Seven, then silently pulled a broken leaf that seemed to be burning with firelight from his robes.

[Incomplete Realm-Switching Leaf] (purple wonder)

Description: Affected by a constantly fluctuating gravitational function, it is wrapped in constantly fluctuating spatial warps. At a frequency invisible to the mortal eye, it repeatedly makes extremely short-distance jumps toward the ground.

Effect: When its owner is subjected to a fatal attack, it erupts with powerful spatial force, taking the fatal blow in its owner's place and making one random spatial jump. It then consumes five levels of Soul Power.

The birth of a Wonder Seed was random, but once special conditions were met, the chance of something transforming into a Wonder Seed would increase significantly.

Lin Qingchen had found this leaf by chance himself, but only after seeing its ridiculously powerful effect had he fully resolved to go after the Blue Silver Emperor's seed.

After all, even his last lingering worry was gone now. So what if he ran into Tang Hao? It was only five levels of Soul Power.

Lin Qingchen looked in the direction of Holy Soul Village.

"Heh heh heh, Ah Yin, here I come..."