Until his silhouette was gone entirely, a faintly discernible figure silently appeared on the roof of the training ground.
Dressed in black, eyes glistening like water so pure that you could see the bottom.
Under his attentive watch, the lethargic Lan Xuanyu trudged his way out of the training ground and made his way towards the dormitory.
The man clothed in black watched until Lan Xuanyu completely disappeared before his gaze turned vacant. He wanted to think but couldn’t recall anything.
Ji Hongbin went to Yin Tianfan’s office and entered the room.
Yin Tianfan was seated behind his office desk, leaning comfortably against his huge office chair with his legs propped up on the table. He happily sipped a glass of Heaven Luo Planet specialty hard liquor.
“Do you have manners at all? Don’t you know how to knock?” Seeing Ji Hongbin entering after pushing the door open, Yin Tianfan ridiculed out of habit.
“Do you think everyone is like you, huh? Lazing around all day, just eating and waiting for death?” Ji Hongbin snarled.
Yin Tianfan was stunned, “Have you eaten gunpowder? Why are you scolding me the moment you enter?”
Ji Hongbin said, “Thanks to your precious disciple. You knew that the basic requirement to get into that place is to reach rank 20 before the age of 12 to be qualified to take the test. In fact, the basic requirement now is for one to be rank 30 and above to qualify for the test–this rule was set over ten thousand years ago. People who are rank 20 wouldn’t usually apply for it. But that precious disciple of yours hasn’t even reached rank 20, and you aren’t anxious at all, huh? Have you forgotten what you wished for previously?”
Yin Tianfan laughed heartily. “I didn’t forget! I think my precious disciple is pretty good. By the way, why are you calling him my precious disciple? Isn’t he your disciple? You specialize in teaching him the cultivation of Martial Soul and Soul Skills, yet you’re blaming me for his weak Soul Power?” That gaze was clearly mocking Ji Hongbin for not teaching well, causing Lan Xuanyu’s cultivation to be weak.
Ji Hongbin raged, “How can it be my fault? His Soul Power cannot increase anymore––what can I do? Do I really pull up a seedling and hope that it would aid its growth? This fella eats and drinks well every day, he eats even more precious ingredients than I do, but his Soul Power can’t increase anymore. Aren’t you anxious? What about your dream?”
Yin Tianfan downed the glass of hard liquor, “Why should I be anxious? My precious disciple will be able to fulfill my dream! What’s there to be anxious about? Don’t forget that I want him to get into the Interplanet Command System, which is also a trump card. That’s right. The academy has an admission requirement of rank 20 and above, but for Interplanet Command System, one’s Spiritual Power is more important––the requirement is a Spiritual Power of 200 points below the age of 12. Usually, only those with 300 points and above would have a chance of enrolling, but how much is my precious disciple’s Spiritual Power? 800! You know what this means? Among all of the students in the Interplanet Command System, he is probably at the top of the list, so why should I worry? If he really can’t do it, I’ll just forcefully increase his Soul Power before the test. I don’t expect him to be a strong Soul Master anyway; what I want to groom is an invincible spaceship commander. So you worry about your own issue, it has nothing to do with me.”
“You…” Ji Hongbin’s nose was about to go crooked from anger, “You damn fatty, how could you be so shameless? Are you trying to stop Lan Xuanyu’s Soul Power from increasing on purpose?”
“Do you think I have an illness?” Yin Tianfan said in an exasperated tone.
Ji Hongbin scoffed, “Of course you do, you have a mental illness—it is publicly known.”
“Hey, if you want to attack me personally, I will…”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ll tolerate it! Big brother here won’t speak to you anymore, I shall not stoop to your level.” Yin Tianfan stood up and waved him off, “Go away, go away, don’t annoy me here.”
Ji Hongbin sighed, and like a deflated balloon, he suddenly said, “One more month, just one more month left, and he’ll be 12 years old. If he can’t breakthrough rank 20 by himself, I’m afraid he really can’t become a true Soul Master anymore. He’ll have a very slim chance of becoming a Battle Armor Master. It’s such a pity! He asked me for a break today, and I granted him a 20 days holiday. I hope he will make use of these few days, maybe he will have a breakthrough once he relaxes.”
Yin Tianfan was in a daze, “You have plans to give up already?”
Ji Hongbin smiled bitterly and said, “It’s not that I want to give up, but if he really can’t do it, what else can I do other than to give up? If he reaches rank 20, he could give it a try, at least. He could still try by relying on his Twin Spirits, Self Martial Soul Fusion technique, and his grasp of Soul Skills with his outstanding Spiritual Power. But if he can’t breakthrough even rank 20, then he’ll just apply for your Interstellar Control System, then. Ay…”
…
“Teacher Ji agreed to let you take a break? Alright, I’ll get your mother to book the tickets as soon as possible. We will head to Heaven Dou Planet tomorrow.” When Lan Xiao received the news from his son, he didn’t dare to delay and quickly asked Nan Cheng to book the tickets. Although booking interstellar flight tickets at the last minute were much more expensive, he had a promotion these few years. His income had increased quite a bit, so it was much easier to bear the cost of interstellar traveling.
When Lan Xuanyu thought about the 20 days leave and the possibility of reaching rank 20, he got very excited too. He didn’t know how high Ji Hongbin and Yin Tianfan’s hopes were for him, he only wanted to have a good rest. It had been really tiring these few years.
“You could take a break too?” Qian Lei was surprised and laughed.
“En, Teacher Ji agreed to give me a 20 days break. What about you guys? Where are you guys going?” Lan Xuanyu asked Qian Lei and Liu Feng.
It had been three years, and both of them grew up quite a bit too. Qian Lei was fatter than before and was always smiling.
On the other hand, while Liu Feng lost some weight, he was clearly more capable and vigorous.
Following their increase in cultivation, they already had their second Soul Skill and were much stronger than before. Even without relying on Lan Xuanyu now, they had relatively strong battle power.
Liu Feng’s Soul Power was rank 26 while Qian Lei Soul Power was rank 25. They were the last few in the Elite Junior Class, but because they had Lan Xuanyu, their Dorm 333 had always been the top few in class.
“I’m going home to eat, drink, and be merry! Hahaha!” Qian Lei said gleefully.
Liu Feng said, “I’ll be cultivating hard when I go back and breakthrough rank 27 during the break. Teacher Mu said that there will be a very important trial next semester across all the academies in Heaven Luo Planet. Our Elite Junior Class will be participating in it in our small groups. Qian Lei, you should work hard too, when you go back.”
Qian Lei shrugged, “There’s no point in sharpening one’s spear only right before battle—I won’t be able to reach rank 30 before the trial anyway. But Xuanyu, you’ll be rank 20 soon, work harder, we’re all looking forward to seeing what your second Soul Ring would be.”
Lan Xuanyu waved his arm hard, “I’ll definitely be able to reach rank 20 during this break.”
Liu Feng said, “Xuanyu, what are you planning to fuse for your second Soul Skill? What is your Spirit Soul? Should you do something different for your second Soul Skill? Your first Soul Skill was white, ten years.”
Lan Xuanyu was stunned, he suddenly realized that he couldn’t answer this question because he hadn’t fused any Spirit Soul before!
Also, Lan Xiao and Nan Cheng strictly forbade him from spilling this secret. Hence, even though he didn’t know the reason behind it, he couldn’t tell anyone.
“I’m not sure what my second Soul Skill would be either. You guys will see it when I return from my break.”
The vacation break for the Elite Junior Class was a month, less than an ordinary junior academy. Mu Zhongtian had informed them yesterday that the trial would be held once school reopened, but he hadn’t told them what the selection was for—it seemed like the main competitor was from Ling Tian Continent.