Chapter 161: The End of the First Semester
By the time Furina returned to the classroom with light, brisk steps, Wang Yan was already standing at the podium, and Huo Yuhao and the other two had just taken their seats.
Her timing was perfect—neither early nor late, just right.
Wang Yan raised his eyes to glance at her and nodded in acknowledgment. "Good, everyone is here. We're about to select the class monitor. Please find a seat."
Furina casually took an empty seat. Once she was settled, Wang Yan cleared his throat and officially began the explanation:
"There will be two class monitors—one primary and one deputy—filled by students from the Assault-type and Control-type respectively. The two monitors will rotate the primary and deputy positions every month. I will now present the nominations, and everyone will cast an anonymous vote."
With that, he turned and wrote two columns of names on the blackboard—the first column for Assault-type candidates, the second for Control-type candidates. Without exception, every name that appeared on the list belonged to students who had either secured or were pending confirmation of core disciple status.
The voting results held no suspense. Wang Dong and Huo Yuhao were elected with the highest number of votes respectively.
Wang Yan had originally considered including Furina among the Assault-type candidates. After all, the strength she had demonstrated in the matches was indistinguishable from that of an Assault-type soul master.
However, Furina herself politely declined, insisting that she was "just a pure Support-type soul master." Wang Yan could hardly press the matter, and so it was dropped.
Next, Wang Yan distributed the badges representing core disciple status. Those students with pending core disciple status also received a badge, but unlike the official core disciple badges, theirs carried a time limit—once the first-year studies concluded, they would have to be handed back to the academy.
Afterward, Zhou Yi appeared in Class One and began a brief lecture. The content she covered was largely similar to that of the other classes, but listening closely, it seemed slightly better than what the other instructors offered. At the very least, she had incorporated some of the insights and ideas Furina had previously proposed—presumably, she had gone back and pondered them seriously.
The days that followed were as tranquil as still water.
A week later, Xu Sanshi sought out Furina once more.
He had accepted Furina's invitation and was willing to lead the Black Tortoise Sect into the Church of the Water God. However, he was frank about his hopes that Furina could provide a little more—something he could use to persuade his father and silence the murmurs of dissent, a show of "sincerity." Otherwise, he feared he might return home missing an arm or a leg.
Furina agreed readily.
She gave Xu Sanshi a copy of the Mysterious Heaven Technique cultivation manual, transcriptions of several Tang Sect secret arts, and a pistol with a single bullet. She indicated that he could take these without worry—Tang Ya would not mind, because she herself had even better things in hand.
Xu Sanshi accepted with great delight and vowed with absolute certainty that he would bring back good news for Furina.
Furina placed considerable trust in the promises of these "love-brains." She only reminded Xu Sanshi not to reveal for the time being that he had already joined the Church of the Water God. He should start with small, gradual efforts, slowly building better relationships with Jiang Nannan and those close to her.
If they could one day become "Shrek Seven Devils" together, that would truly be the best way to walk side by side with Jiang Nannan.
The days that followed returned to simplicity—cultivation, completing divine trials, day after day.
In the blink of an eye, the first academic year was drawing to a close, and the holiday break was approaching.
During this period, Huo Yuhao's soul power reached rank 36. His progress was not exactly slow, but he had far too many disciplines to study—soul tools, necromancy... with so many areas dividing his attention, his cultivation speed was naturally affected.
Wang Dong successfully broke through to Soul Elder, with soul power at rank 33 and a third soul ring with a cultivation of seven thousand years.
Xiao Xiao also stepped into the Soul Elder level, though limited by her innate talent, her soul power stalled at the peak of rank 32, and her third soul ring hovered around two thousand years.
On Furina's side, she smoothly completed the Goddess of Life's first divine trial.
[Goddess of Life First Trial completed. Rewards: Soul power rank +1; All soul ring cultivation years +500; Due to exceeding mission parameters, Goddess of Life divine position affinity +15%.]
Combined with her daily cultivation during this time, her soul power had steadily reached rank 55.
Following that, the Goddess of Life's second divine trial descended.
[Goddess of Life Second Trial: Within a one-year period, raise soul power rank to 60, and personally aid a total of two hundred living beings, including soul beasts.]
[Completion rewards: Soul power rank increased by one level; All soul ring cultivation years increased by five hundred years; Goddess of Life divine position affinity increased by ten percent.]
The second trial didn't seem overly difficult either—only the latter condition was somewhat vague. What exactly was the definition of "aid"? Would treating a soul beast's injuries count? It certainly couldn't be limited to humans, or the reward would likely be diminished.
But where there's a will, there's a way. A plan had already formed in Furina's mind: she intended to travel alone to the Great Star Dou Forest, to the Lake of Life, and seek out that Silver Dragon King who lay slumbering and recovering from her wounds—to plot great matters together.
That Silver Dragon King, though she had inherited the Dragon God's wisdom, was also a hopeless, through-and-through love-brain. In truth, when it came to schemes and tricks, she was not necessarily a match for the Golden Dragon King. Regardless, she still possessed strength roughly equivalent to a First-Class Deity and was the undisputed "Sovereign" acknowledged by the soul beasts.
If she could be won over, the soul beast faction of the Great Star Dou Forest would become another pillar of support. Completing the Goddess of Life's divine trials thereafter would proceed far more smoothly.
Of course, there were risks to this approach—the Divine Realm would inevitably take notice of any unusual movements from the Silver Dragon King. But given the Goddess of Life's universally loving and merciful nature, she would likely accept the Silver Dragon King.
Only, Furina was uncertain: when the Silver Dragon King detected the presence of two deities' auras upon her, how would she react? With vigilance and wariness, or would she view her as an enemy?
Nevertheless, she had a contingency plan—Neuvillette. At a critical moment, he could step in to mediate. Even if they were no match for the Silver Dragon King, escaping would not be a problem. And if negotiations truly broke down, then she would simply have to let the Silver Dragon King taste something "hard to chew."
At the same time, she'd be delivering a meritorious deed to the God of Destruction, giving him greater leverage to suppress Tang San within the Divine Realm.
Of course, before that, she still had one pressing matter to address—helping Tang Ya resolve the Tang Sect's grievances and exacting revenge for the Tang Sect.
Just before the holiday break, she had already contacted Long Ziyun, one of the Four Protectors of the Church of the Water God, through the Intelligence Department's personnel.
It wasn't that Long Ziyun was more suited than the other three, but rather that the other three all had pressing matters at hand and might not be able to get away that day. Since Long Ziyun was the first to receive the message, by the time Lei Bao and the others tried to set aside their duties and rush over, it was already too late.
When Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao learned that Furina and Huo Yuhao were heading back to the Church of the Water God's headquarters, they too expressed their desire to come along and see it for themselves.
Wang Dong had already exchanged letters with his family in advance, and they supported his decision.
Everything was arranged.
A new journey was about to begin.