182 A New Semester Begins

Tang Wulin usually produced fourth-grade Thousand Refined items. When theoccasional luck was with him, he would create third-grade metal, while when itwas against him, he would forge fifth-grade items.

Although making fifth-grade products were enough to complete the tasks, itemsof the third-grade and higher would receive additional payment. Tang Wulin waspleased to discover that after forging a third and a fourth-grade metal in thebeginning, the rest were all second-grade. That was a lot of extra money!

The fact that the quality of his products had improved signified that he hadbettered his understanding of metal.Teacher Mu told me before that when I canforge first-grade metals with a thirty percent success rate, I’ll be ready totry Spirit Refining.

He had originally thought that it would take three years before he couldattempt it, but now it seemed that he would be able to try it sooner than heexpected. If he could easily produce second-grade metals without trying hisbest, how far off could first-grade be?

What Tang Wulin wasn’t aware of was that his harvest from his trip to HeavenDou City truly was astounding. Apart from the Dragonscale Fruit, hisexperiences and gains in the intermediate spirit ascension platform hadbroadened his view on soul beasts and soul skills. What was most significant ofall, however, was the complete upgrade he had received from absorbing theThree-Eyed Demon Ape’s spirit energy.

As a spiritual-attribute soul beast, the Three-Eyed Demon Ape’s spirit energywas far more volatile than that of normal beasts. Combined with the excessspirit energy that surpassed his bodily limits, Tang Wulin had faced atremendous amount of danger.

If Old Tang hadn’t come to his rescue, his cultivation would have deviated,resulting in permanent injuries at the best and an agonizing death at theworst. Wu Zhangkong’s guilt had stemmed from this grave possibility.

But, Tang Wulin had survived and made an extreme breakthrough. Although hehadn’t benefited as much as breaking a Golden Dragon King seal, his gains wereclear.

His spirit soul had reached heights he never thought possible and theMysterious Heaven Method had improved both his spiritual power and soul power.

After refining these two energies, his fundamental strength had increasedsignificantly. No matter which occupation a Soul Master has, these two energieswere an essential part of their foundation. This was why Tang Wulin’simprovement in this regard had aided his forging.

Having finished earlier than he expected, Tang Wulin didn’t immediately goturn in the tasks. Instead, he chose to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Method.His understanding of metals deepened over the next three days as hecomprehended many things during this meditation.

Eastsea City’s month-long calm came to an end with the new school semesterstarting and was once again bustling with noise and excitement.

Students streamed into the academy, all of them brimming with positivity. Thiswas their second semester. After they finished it, they would advance to thenext grade. Though they looked forward to moving up a grade, the dreaded gradepromotion exams loomed over them.

For those attending an intermediate Soul Master academy, they absolutely hadto have reached two rings by the time they graduated from their six years inthe elementary division, otherwise they wouldn’t be issued a graduationdiploma. On the other hand, those in the advanced division needed to have threerings to properly graduate.

Regardless of the academy, not every student could meet this requirement.Those in the upper grades would be extremely pressed for time.

Students in the first two grades were still able to relax though. The urgencyof advancing their cultivation was still at the back of their minds.

Yun Xiao and Zhou Zhangxi were exploring the academy while chatting aboutvarious things. The two had become good friends after a semester together.

“Have you seen Wulin or anyone else from class zero? Speaking of them, there’ssomething really weird! I heard that Wang Jinxi and Zhang Yangzi transferred toanother academy.” Zhou Zhangxi smirked. “They’re probably too ashamed to be inthe same class as those three.”

Yun Xiao rolled his eyes. “Do you think a genius who already has two rings inthe first grade would feel ashamed? It’s definitely something else. You know, Ibet Wulin is feeling the pressure now. I heard Gu Yue is already a SoulGrandmaster now and he’s the only one in their class who still only has onering. I wonder how much longer class zero will last?”

Zhou Zhangxi’s eyes lit up. “It would be good if the class shuts down, thatway they would have to come back. We’re class one right now, but we both knowhow strong our class really is. What will we do for this semester’s ClassPromotion Tournament? Won’t we just get demoted at this rate?”

Yun Xiao shrugged. “We’ll just drop down to class two I guess.”

Zhou Zhangxi’s twisted with displeasure. “Don’t you feel even a shred of teamhonor?”

Yun Xiao said, “You need strength to win honor. Shouldn’t you focus oncultivating instead of thinking about such useless things?”

The two continued to converse as they made their way to the dormitories.Suddenly, something caught Yun Xiao’s eye. He nudged his friend and whispered,“Look, it’s Gu Yue.”

Zhou Zhangxi followed Yun Xiao’s gaze and found an expressionless Gu Yue thatwas wearing the academy uniform.

She had a delicate appearance, but wasn’t particularly pretty. At least, shewas still far from Ouyang Zixin’s level. Her unique temperament, however, had adominating effect on others. Even Xie Xie found himself affected by her; onlyTang Wulin seemed immune to her charms.

Yun Xiao and Zhou Zhangxi were no exceptions. They felt suppressed the momentthey saw her as if they were a low-level soul beast seeing a powerful soulbeast.

Gu Yue had grown taller and prettier over the last semester, which somehowcondensed her domineering aura.

Gu Yue didn’t notice the duo and continued to walk toward the academy’sentrance.

“She really doesn’t have any regard for others!” Zhou Zhangxi waited for herto leave before he whispered to his friend.

Yun Xiao snickered. “What do you understand? I found out long ago that Gu Yueis actually the strongest in class zero. I don’t think anyone below the fifthgrade is her match. If class zero participates in the Class PromotionTournament… Hehe. I can’t even imagine how much she will shine.”

“She’s that strong? Even stronger than Xie Xie?”

Yun Xiao smirked. “Should be.”

Outside of the teacher’s building.

“Teacher Wu, please take care of this student. We’ve examined her and shedefinitely qualifies to enter class zero.” Long Hengxu solemnly told WuZhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong shifted his eyes towards Long Hengxu before lowering his head tolook at the timid girl before him. He coldly said, “My class only acceptsmonsters, not ordinary people. Do you really think she qualifies? She only hasone ring.”

Long Hengxu frowned. “Speaking of which, Teacher Wu, I think your class zerocould use some adjustment. There’s no problem with Gu Yue and Xie Xie, but whydid Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi leave? The academy principal explained whathappened to me, but I don’t think forcing a pair of Soul Grandmasters to leavefor the sake of the one-ringed Tang Wulin is right. Also, why does class zerostill need to exist? I found a genius for you yet you’re making all sorts ofexcuses. I’m going to ask the academy to close down class zero since you onlyhave three students then.”

Wu Zhangkong gazed at him with icy eyes. “You should say that to the principalinstead of me. Students have their own choice, and I have my own choice. You’reXu Xiaoyan right? I’ll give you a chance. You have one month to obtain mine andmy student’s approval. If you don’t, then regardless of your background, Iwon’t accept you as my student. Understood?”

Xu Xiaoyan listened with her head lowered, timidly nodding. She wanted to buryher little head into her chest right now.

“Follow me. I’ll arrange your dorm assignment.” Wu Zhangkong didn’t bother tosay goodbye to Long Hengxu, quickly turning around and leaving.