Night.
Heaven Dou Royal Academy, male dormitory building.
Room Six.
Inside the room.
After showering and changing into the Heaven Dou Royal Academy uniform, Lü Buliang sat on the spacious and clean floor, meditating and cultivating.
spirit power aura overflowed from his body, swirling around him, and three spirit rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—pulsated up and down his body, each emitting its own light.
On the smooth floor, Lü Buliang's shadow was reflected by the illumination of the lights.
If it were anyone else's shadow, it would merely be a silhouette formed by light shining on an opaque object.
Lü Buliang's shadow, however, was different; his shadow was not an ordinary silhouette, but a Spirit.
In any World, the existence of shadows, like rain and thunder, is a natural phenomenon.
Spirit Masters who use natural elements like wind, thunder, fire, water, and earth as their Spirits are common, but there has never been a precedent on the continent for using a natural phenomenon as a Spirit.
It was for this reason that Lü Buliang qualified as a special honors student and was able to realize his plan to join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
Now, what he needed to do was approach Dugu Yan as a Support System Soul Master of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team, then inquire about her grandfather Dugu Bo, and simultaneously understand the toxicity of Bi Lin Snake Venom, in order to better plan how to break the poison array Dugu Bo had set up in the Sunset Forest using Bi Lin Snake Venom.
Lü Buliang firmly believed that after traversing the poison array, everything would fall into place, and the two extreme spiritual energies generated by the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well should not immediately take his life.
If absolutely necessary, he could only rely on his relationship with Dugu Yan to meet Dugu Bo and enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well with Dugu Bo's permission and protection.
One way was to rely on himself, the other was to rely on others.
Between these two options, Lü Buliang would, of course, choose the former if he had the ability; in the face of self-interest, there are no eternal friends, and Lü Buliang would not choose to trust Dugu Bo, whom he had never met. At the same time, he also wanted to monopolize the Immortal Herb opportunities near the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
Although he had not systematically studied Immortal Herb knowledge yet, he had not forgotten the various Immortal Herbs described in the original novel.
Lü Buliang could distinguish Immortal Herbs based on the original descriptions and pick them.
For his plans regarding Immortal Herbs, Lü Buliang already had a clear goal: to first pick the antidote to all poisons, the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb.
Firstly, having this best anti-poison Immortal Herb on him would ensure he would not be harmed by Bi Lin Snake Venom.
Secondly, the Breaking Clan, who excelled in alchemy and poison-making, urgently desired to obtain the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb. According to the original novel's description, Yang Wudi, the clan leader of the Breaking Clan, had reached an extreme obsession with alchemy and poison-making, stating that he would willingly trade his life for the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb.
Therefore, Yang Wudi should agree to trade the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb for the Breaking Clan's alchemy and poison-making techniques.
Lü Buliang thought that since there was an opportunity to obtain Immortal Herbs and various natural treasures, he should maximize the value of these treasures.
And alchemy and poison-making could achieve just that.
So, after obtaining the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb, Lü Buliang planned to find a powerful backer, then travel to the Breaking Clan to conduct a transaction, trying to exchange the Youxiang Qiluo Immortal Herb for alchemy and poison-making techniques. After learning alchemy and poison-making, the herbs growing at the edge of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well would truly become treasures to him.
All plans and practices have deviations; Lü Buliang did not know if this plan could go as smoothly as joining the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. He only knew that if he had a plan, he should act, regardless of success or failure, he had to try.
Because, besides his Shadow Spirit and three Spirit Abilities, he had no other abilities; he had no heaven-defying cultivation techniques, no powerful system accompanying him, and even his physical constitution was that of an ordinary Spirit Master.
If he were to measure his own strength, Lü Buliang knew that he was just an ordinary Spirit Elder. In terms of talent, he was simply incomparable to people like Yu Tianheng and Tang San; even Ma Hongjun's talent was much better than his.
To acquire extraordinary physical qualities and to grow faster than others in a short period, the only way was to consume the two Ice and Fire Immortal Herbs mentioned in the original novel, then jump into the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for tempering, allowing his body and Shadow Spirit to undergo earth-shattering changes.
This was the path of counterattack Lü Buliang could think of; all future successes and failures would be determined by the Immortal Herb opportunities.
Outside the room.
It was already eight in the evening, and the simulated training area, the playground, and the Soul Duel Stage—all these training grounds—were closed. Students, having finished their day's training, were rushing back to their dorms to rest.
However, only those living on the highest floor of the dormitory could see such diligent students; students living on relatively lower floors were more lax or disdained cultivation, and naturally, their strength and talent were weaker.
The students of Heaven Dou Royal Academy were indeed as described in the original novel, a mixed bag; two-thirds of the students were there to pass the time, but this did not exclude some students with grand ideals, all striving towards the goal of becoming a Titled Douluo.
Yu Tianheng and his six teammates were among them.
After their conversation with Teacher Qin at the playground, Yu Tianheng and his six teammates also returned to their respective dorms. Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling lived in the female dormitory.
So, only Yu Tianheng, Oslo, Yu Feng, Shi Mo, and Shi Mo returned to the male dormitory.
On their way back to the dorm, the five were still discussing the topic of the new recruit. There was inevitably some friction regarding Lü Buliang's addition, as the positions of the seven team members were already firmly established, and replacing anyone with Lü Buliang felt somewhat awkward.
Especially since Lü Buliang was a Support System Soul Master, he could potentially take Ye Lingling's position at any time.
This was even more unacceptable to Oslo and Yu Feng.
The entire academy knew that within the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's first team, Yu Tianheng was pursuing Dugu Yan, while Oslo and Yu Feng were pursuing Ye Lingling, and the Shi Brothers were like two blocks of wood.
What if Lü Buliang joined and accidentally snatched both Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling away?
This was what Oslo and Yu Feng were worried about. Yu Tianheng, however, wasn't concerned that Lü Buliang would steal Dugu Yan, because Dugu Yan was as vicious and cunning as a venomous snake, and if she were that easy to win over, Yu Tianheng would have succeeded long ago. Why else would he have pursued her for two years without success?
"Hmph. Innate spirit power level seven, only thirty-fifth level at eighteen. I thought that Lü Buliang's talent was outstanding, but he's not even as good as me."
Walking down the dormitory corridor, Oslo snorted disdainfully, "I'm sixteen now, two years younger than him, and my spirit power has reached thirty-fourth level. I might even reach thirty-fifth level after another month or two of cultivation. With his talent, I really don't know what Teacher Qin saw in him."
"Leopard, you can't say that," Yu Tianheng said indifferently. "Lü Buliang is a Support System Soul Master, and his cultivation speed is slower than ours, battle Spirit Masters. If he can cultivate to thirty-fifth level spirit power at eighteen under not-so-good cultivation resources, it's still pretty good."
"Tian Heng, why are you speaking up for an outsider?" Oslo said somewhat angrily. "Teacher Qin told you to act like a captain, and you actually want to take good care of him? Be careful, as soon as he joins the team, he might set his sights on Sister Yanzi. Then let's see if you still have that generous and magnanimous captain's demeanor!"
Yu Tianheng snorted, "My talent and strength are undoubtedly outstanding in any academy. I spent two years and couldn't win Yan Yan over; with his talent, Yan Yan wouldn't even look at him. Moreover, Yan Yan said that besides Lingling, she has no good feelings for other Support System Soul Masters; they're too weak."
"Don't forget," the hulking Shi Mo, who was walking at the back, reminded them, "Teacher Qin said that Lü Buliang is not an ordinary support system. Think about it, Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia is already so domineering, Lü Buliang's Shadow Spirit might really have something extraordinary about it."
"Shi Mo, I almost forgot you said that," Yu Feng said with a grin. "Lingling is fifteen this year, but her spirit power has already reached thirty-third level. As a Support System Soul Master, that Lü Buliang seems to not even be able to compare to Lingling's talent. I estimate, ah, Teacher Qin has found another good-for-nothing this time. Didn't this happen before? And wasn't he forced to leave our team due to insufficient ability? Otherwise, Room Six wouldn't have been empty all this time."
Upon hearing this, Oslo burst into laughter, "Yu Feng, you actually used such a gentle tone to say such a condescending remark. No wonder Lingling said you're a sinister birdman."
Just then, the five's conversation abruptly ceased. Yu Tianheng, who was walking in front, stopped, and the others followed suit. Their current position was at the door of Room Six. Through the window, they saw a man sitting on the floor inside the long-empty Room Six.
The man's delicate features didn't make him particularly handsome, but the luxurious Heaven Dou Royal Academy uniform he wore somehow gave him a unique aura, making it impossible to tell that he was a commoner with the title of a special honors student.
"Is that guy Lü Buliang?" Oslo's face was pressed against the window, quietly observing Lü Buliang, who was sitting cross-legged and meditating inside the room. "From his appearance, he doesn't look like a commoner at all, that stinky bastard."
"He's finished cultivating," Shi Mo said, seeing Lü Buliang stand up, and immediately asked Yu Tianheng, "Captain, should we go in and say hello to him?"
Before Yu Tianheng could respond, Oslo replied first, "Of course. Didn't Teacher Qin say we should take good care of him? Yu Feng, let's go, we two will go in and take good care of him, see what makes him different from other Support System Soul Masters."
Yu Feng smiled triumphantly, rubbing his fists together, "Leopard, then what do you say we do?"
"Nonsense," Oslo snorted. "As future teammates, we naturally have to use our strength to test his uniqueness for everyone."