The subsequent events of their journey through the Soul Hunting Forest were no longer relevant to Wang Qi and his companions, so the three naturally returned to Notting City.
Yu Xiaogang had a lot of work to do next: researching the theory of martial soul evolution based on the changes in Xiao Chenyu's martial soul, and also needing to research and expand Luo Sanpao's soul skills.
After obtaining his soul ring, Xiao Chenyu returned home and boastfully approached his 'good buddy,' recounting his experiences in the Soul Hunting Forest.
As for Wang Qi, his life was much more monotonous. Because of the holiday, he spent his days cultivating, having already quit his job at the blacksmith shop.
The reasons? First, the blacksmith shop's previous actions displeased Wang Qi; second, when he returned to the blacksmith shop, he discovered that cultivating there provided almost no increase in his soul power speed.
Without the boost to his cultivation speed, Wang Qi naturally wouldn't choose to stay at the blacksmith shop and continue associating with those people.
Time flew by, and the New Year arrived. After obtaining his soul ring and a month of cultivation, Wang Qi successfully broke through to level thirteen.
"I'll be nine years old today, and I'm only level thirteen. At this rate, it'll be very difficult for me to break through to level twenty, the Great Soul Master, before I turn twelve."
"Notting City is still too small. It's time to prepare for graduation."
This past month, without the support of the blacksmith shop's simulated environment, Wang Qi could feel his cultivation speed slowing down. At this rate, he'd be extremely lucky to break through to Great Soul Master before he turned twelve.
Furthermore, there's the matter of acquiring his second Soul Ring. The primary Soul Master Academy has no obligation, nor the ability, to help students acquire a second Soul Ring. Also, Tang San is about to enroll, and Wang Qi doesn't want to see Tang San catch up to his level.
We're all transmigrators, so why is he so arrogant? It makes him, the transmigrator, look stupid.
"My aptitude is what it is. Without a special fortuitous encounter, my innate soul power level can hardly be improved any further. The only way to grow quickly is to focus on the simulated environment."
"The school with the most simulated environments and the most complete range of attributes in the Heaven Dou Empire is undoubtedly the Heaven Dou Royal Academy. However, the admission requirements for the Heaven Dou Royal Academy are too harsh. It's simply not something I can do right now."
"Among fire attribute academies, the one with the best simulated environment is the Blazing Fire Academy. The admission requirements are: a fire attribute soul master in the junior division, a breakthrough to soul master before age eleven in the intermediate division, and a breakthrough to level twenty-five before age fifteen in the advanced division. My requirements do meet those of the Blazing Fire Academy."
"But after joining the Blazing Fire Academy, it will be much more difficult to contact Dugu Yan, thus basically losing the opportunity to plot for immortal herbs."
Wang Qi shook his head and decided to first collect information on intermediate soul master academies. He would personally visit them in person while there were still about half a year before the start of the semester.
The Gao Intermediate Soul Master Academy is located in Gao City. The principal is a level fifty-five wind attribute battle soul king.
Jia Lie Intermediate Soul Master Academy, located in Lie Jia City, has a principal who is a level 53 control-type Soul King.
Titan Intermediate Soul Master Academy, located... Hmm? When did an officially recognized intermediate soul master academy appear here?
Wang Qi was filtering through the intermediate soul master academies in the surrounding kingdoms of Fasno Province when he suddenly came across a new intermediate soul master academy's promotional flyer.
"Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy? Is there such an intermediate soul master academy? Oh, it's a new academy, less than two years old."
Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy is located on an active volcano at the intersection of Fasno Province, the Kingdom of Barak, and the Kingdom of Hagendas.
The principal, Li Pingyuan, is a level 63 fire-attribute power-attack type Battle Soul Emperor, formerly a thousand-general of the Heaven Dou Royal Guard, who retired due to injury. After graduation, he can be recommended to join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the Royal Knights, and the Royal Guard.
Looking at the information on the poster, Wang Qi admitted that he was a little tempted.
Active volcanoes rank very high in fire-attribute simulated environments. Cultivating in such an environment would increase Wang Qi's cultivation speed by at least 20%, significantly shortening the time needed to advance to a Great Soul Master.
As for the background of the Mountain Fire Intermediate Soul Master Academy? Wang Qi didn't care; there were only three possibilities. First,
the Four Elemental Cities were closely allied but defiant, so the Heaven Dou Royal Family decided to suppress them and establish this academy—a fact evident from the fact that a Soul Emperor-level expert established an intermediate Soul Master academy.
Second, Emperor Xue Ye sensed a potential shift in the situation and prepared to inject fresh blood into the Royal Knights and Royal Guard.
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Third, disguised as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue, or Xue Beng Xue Qing, the purpose of establishing a Soul Master Academy was to strengthen ties with the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom and the Barak Kingdom.
Regardless of what the various parties were thinking—whether it was a power struggle or suppression of the Four Elements Academy—it meant that the academy's resources were at least comparable to those of a high-level Soul Master Academy.
Wang Qi's biggest shortcomings were resources and time, but he wasn't in a hurry to make a decision. He decided to use the six months before the start of the intermediate Soul Master Academy to travel extensively, observe the academies, and gain experience.
As for danger? The Spirit Hall era was different from ten thousand years later; even now, evil Soul Masters were called Fallen Soul Masters.
What does "fallen" mean? It means lacking ambition and being controlled by desire.
What does "evil" mean? It proves that they have formed a power base and possess the strength and confidence to confront traditional Soul Masters head-on.
Otherwise, why would there be cults and demonic sects in martial arts stories, but never a Fallen Cult?
Wang Qi immediately decided to graduate early. He packed his bags and headed towards Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, heading straight for the principal's office.
"What? You want to graduate early? Graduating at this time seems..."
Wang Qi understood the principal's meaning. Intermediate Soul Master academies have two enrollment periods each year. The first is during the graduation season of various junior Soul Master academies, where students receive their diplomas and pass the examinations, and both parties jointly decide whether to enroll.
The second enrollment period is similar to that of junior Soul Master academies, aimed at recruiting geniuses.
If Wang Qi graduated now, he would have a gap of about six months, and the principal was worried that something might happen to him during this time.
"Principal, I've made up my mind. In the next six months, I will travel across the continent to investigate which intermediate Soul Master academy is more suitable for me, so I'm leaving the matter of graduation to you."
Wang Qi bowed to the principal. The principal wasn't Wang Qi's father, so he naturally wouldn't try to persuade him too much. Since his soul power and soul rings met the graduation standards, the principal directly approved Wang Qi's graduation application.
Walking alone on the paths of Notting Academy, looking at the academy where he had lived for nearly three years, his heart was filled with emotion.
"Wang Qi? I thought you'd be staying home cultivating after the holiday. What brings you to the academy? Going to the library?"
Xiao Chenyu, dressed in a black outfit, had sweat on his forehead, indicating he'd just finished training.
"No, I came back to the academy to take care of some business. By the way, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, nothing much. My father heard somewhere that Yu Xiaogang wanted to take me on as a disciple, so he spent money to arrange a meal for Yu Xiaogang. That's why I just got back from training."
Xiao Chenyu recounted recent events with a wry smile, his eyes filled with helplessness.
"So you've become Yu Xiaogang's disciple? I see, congratulations!"
"What congratulations? We know what we're doing. By the way, what are you planning to do?"
"I applied to graduate."
"What? You graduated? So early! You're only nine this year, Wang Qi! You could have trained at the Notting Junior Soul Master Academy until you were twelve before graduating. Never mind, you have your own ideas, I won't interfere too much. Come on, brother, I'll take you to eat."
Without giving Wang Qi a chance to refuse, Xiao Chenyu pulled him towards the restaurant. They chatted and laughed along the way, reminiscing about their friendship from their first meeting. Wang Qi was filled with emotion.
But all good things must come to an end, and it was time to say goodbye. (
The previous six chapters have been slightly revised, which took a little time.)
(End of Chapter)