As night fell, Yang Yunhai went straight to the cafeteria for dinner before returning to the dormitory.
Opening the door, he saw Tang San and Xiao Wu inside.
Most of the other beds were now empty, with only three left covered with bedding. One belonged to him, and the other two to his remaining dormmates. Wang Sheng and the few older work-study students had already graduated.
By right, he could also apply for graduation now. After all, the graduation requirement of a junior soul master academy was simply becoming a soul master.
But he did not plan to do so.
First, with his martial soul, innate soul power, and current rank 11 cultivation, there was no guarantee a middle-level soul master academy would even accept him. Tuition was also extremely expensive, far beyond what he could afford.
Second, even the closest middle-level academies, including Spirit Hall's own academies, were located far from Nuoding City. That would disrupt his plans.
Third, the large open area behind Nuoding Academy where Blue Silver Grass grew abundantly had already become an ideal training ground for him. The academy's instructors were not strong, and the vegetation around the dormitory provided cover. Even if he later managed to draw down an extra one or two bolts of lightning, it was unlikely to draw attention. In short, it made things easier.
After weighing it all, he concluded that staying at Nuoding Academy was still the best choice.
"Xiao Hai, you're back." One of his dormmates quickly greeted him when he entered.
They already knew he had gone to hunt his first soul ring. Now that he had returned, it meant he had succeeded in becoming a soul master. They, however, had not yet reached that stage.
Out of camaraderie and respect for strength, greeting him was only natural.
"You make it sound like he's been gone for months. We saw him leave, and now he's back." Xiao Wu lazily waved a carrot in her hand, nose twitching as she glanced at Yang Yunhai's hands.
"Xiao Hai, you've got no sense of loyalty. You went on a trip and didn't even bring back a gift."
"You probably already collected your monthly stipend from the Spirit Hall, didn't you?"
"Sorry, Xiao Wu, I was in a rush to return. I'll buy you some snacks later," Yang Yunhai replied with a smile.
"Hmph, that's more like it." Xiao Wu brightened and nodded before asking curiously, "So? Tell us, what soul beast did you kill? How many years? What skill did you get?"
"A Blue Vine, not quite 200 years old. The soul skill is Extension, letting my martial soul grow into a vine." He answered calmly, still smiling.
"Oh." Xiao Wu nodded with only faint interest. "At least it's a hundred-year soul ring. Not bad."
Extension? Just lengthening into vines? That had no offensive strength at all. By contrast, his own first soul skill, Bind, was an active control ability. Was that because his soul ring had come from an animal-type soul beast? That matched what his teacher's theory claimed.
Tang San silently admired Yu Xiaogang's wisdom once more. But when he looked back at Yang Yunhai, there was sympathy in his eyes.
A soul skill that only stretched longer was, without question, useless.
"It's alright." Yang Yunhai scratched his head. "Xiao Wu, I'll get back to cultivation now."
"Go ahead," Xiao Wu said casually, waving him off.
Tang San shook his head, sighing at how diligent Yang Yunhai was, but no longer paid him attention.
Yang Yunhai returned to his bed, sat cross-legged, and resumed cultivating.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, he resumed his routine of classes and training.
Later he bought snacks for Xiao Wu and his dormmates as a small celebration of his becoming a soul master.
Days turned into months.
Now that he had his first soul ring, his afternoons grew busier. He had to practice spearwork, exercise his body, and train multitasking to improve his vine control. On top of that, he experimented with new applications of his first skill, Stretch. This left him with less time for soul power cultivation in the afternoons.
Even so, his body had grown far stronger after absorbing the ring. His ability to draw lightning improved, too. He could now endure four strikes in one session instead of two, and his cultivation efficiency rose accordingly.
Though tedious, training no longer felt bleak. Having a clear goal fueled his passion and kept his spirits high.
A year passed. By then, only Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Yang Yunhai remained among the work-study students in Dorm Seven.
That did not disrupt Yang Yunhai's training schedule. The one most affected was Xiao Wu, who felt lonely with Tang San working at the forge and Yang Yunhai always training. Restless, she began challenging other dormitories one by one. She never lost.
In time, Xiao Wu dominated the whole academy, officially crowned the "big sister" of Nuoding Academy. Students scattered at her approach, and her fame soared.
Yet at night, she would revert into a sweet, obedient girl when with her sworn brother Tang San.
Yang Yunhai had no choice but to close his eyes and cultivate, unwilling to sit around and watch their sibling-like affection.
Two more years passed. With only a month left before graduation, he sat cultivating in the dormitory one evening.
"Hmm?" His eyes snapped open.
"Rank 20. Finally." His lips curled in a rare smile. "If my first soul ring hadn't been above the normal limit, giving me extra progress, I might not have broken through before graduation."
He glanced at Tang San and Xiao Wu sleeping, then lay down himself.
The next morning, he tidied the clearing where he had often trained, then headed to the Academic Affairs Office.
"You reached rank 20?" Director Su was stunned.
"Yes." Yang Yunhai nodded calmly.
"Since this is already my last year here, and there's only a month left anyway, I'd like to apply for early graduation."
Director Su recovered quickly, nodding with a smile.
"Xiao Hai, I didn't expect you to break through this early. Congratulations!"
This was Blue Silver Grass, the most worthless of martial souls, and with an innate soul power of just rank 0.5. For someone like that to reach rank 20 at such a young age was nothing short of miraculous.
Many with the same martial soul and same pitiful innate soul power never reached rank 20 in their entire lives.
"All your effort was not wasted. I won't say more. I just hope after graduation you continue to work hard and go further on the soul master path. Who knows, perhaps one day you will become known across the soul master world."
He did not truly believe that, but as Director, he felt obligated to encourage him.
"I will," Yang Yunhai replied earnestly.
After completing the graduation paperwork, he left the office, returned to his dormitory to pack, and then walked straight out of the academy toward Lone Grass Village.
Not long after his departure, word of his breakthrough spread across the academy.
Blue Silver Grass. Innate rank 0.5. Yet he had reached rank 20 at this age. It was a miracle, and the Director was proud to share the story.
Soon, Yu Xiaogang heard.
"Impossible!"
That was his first reaction.
Breaking through from rank 10 to rank 20 was vastly harder than the early stages. In his mind, even talented soul masters with far better martial souls rarely achieved such speed. And Yang Yunhai's first ring was not even at the optimal age.
"How could this be? Just diligence? Impossible."
Could there be another factor?
He decided to investigate, heading for the back mountain.
There, he found only thick Blue Silver Grass, a worn straw mat, and tree trunks scarred by strikes from grass-woven ropes.
"Even with this environment, it shouldn't be so fast." His brow furrowed.
"Did he over-train and force his potential out early?"
Without medicine to aid recovery, that might cause long-term harm.
Shaking his head, he concluded grimly, "This child is finished."
Compared to his disciple Tang San, who had already reached rank 29, Yang Yunhai was still far behind.
"This is what people mean when they say hard work can make up for lack of talent," Tang San murmured to himself after hearing the news, then dismissed it.
Rank 20, even with another ring, meant at best rank 21—still far below his own 29.
With such poor innate power, Yang Yunhai might not even break rank 30 in his lifetime. His teacher was proof enough of that.
Xiao Wu, on the other hand, cared little. She only wondered what to do that afternoon, and soon burrowed under her blanket to nap.
Tang San shook his head with a wry smile.
"Xiao Wu, I'm heading to work." He left the dormitory for the forge. With graduation looming, it was time to speak with his boss.
(End of Chapter)
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