Chapter 58: End of the School Year

Time passed like water, and in the blink of an eye, Lu Yuan had turned seven years old.

Two months had passed since he became Bibi Dong's disciple. In these two months, Lu Yuan's performance had completely won over the Elders and Cardinals surrounding the Supreme Pontiff. Even they had no choice but to admit that Lu Yuan was a supreme genius.

This was not only due to Lu Yuan's Golden Dragon Martial Soul but also because of his extraordinary ability to learn and his combat talent. Regardless of the kind of knowledge he was taught, he could quickly grasp the basics and gain a deeper understanding of it in a short period of time. Such learning talent was truly unique in the world.

Lu Yuan's strength was already the best among Spirit Masters, and during this period, he enriched his combat experience by fighting all kinds of Spirit Masters almost every day. Over the past two months, Lu Yuan had gained invaluable experience as he continued to progress in his battles with the Spirit Masters.

This combat experience was not only reflected in the use of his attack techniques but also in the optimal use of his meditation technique, Pure Qi Sutra, during combat.

At this point, the Pure Qi Sutra had already broken through to the next level.

This was largely due to the exchanges of pointers Lu Yuan had with Hu Liena. Whenever they had the opportunity over the past two months, they both tested each other. In one of these sparring sessions, thanks to enduring Hu Liena's mental attacks, Lu Yuan was finally able to break through to the next level.

The benefits of this breakthrough were immediate. Now, during combat, the speed at which his soul power was replenished was much higher, and his resistance to enchantments also became greater. This caused him, in sparring against Hu Liena, to stop being on the passive side and start counterattacking, which made Hu Liena feel a sense of crisis.

Additionally, the negative emotions that his second Martial Soul generated, which used to take a considerable part of the power of his technique to suppress, were now much less. He felt that, at least in combat, they would no longer be a hindrance.

Although Hu Liena and Lu Yuan had a good relationship and enjoyed spending time together, Hu Liena was a part of the Golden Generation and represented the Academy after all. Furthermore, in her fights against Lu Yuan, she noticed that the gap between them was getting shorter and shorter. As a result, she made the most of the Academy's resources and spent most of her days practicing with her team, only returning home late at night.

But with only one day left before the end of the school year, they looked forward to having plenty of time to spend together.

Meanwhile, at a certain Academy on the other side of the continent...

...

Nuoding Academy

It had been eight months since Lu Yuan's departure, and at this time, all the students were preparing to return home to see their parents.

Tang San was one of them.

This afternoon, he had gone to the smithy and asked for permission to be absent. Since joining the smithy, Tang San had significantly improved the quality of the various types of weapons and equipment produced, which boosted the business's profits. As a result, his salary had reached fifty silver coins every month, equivalent to half of a Spirit Master's stipend.

With his luggage packed, Tang San approached a girl his age who looked extremely cute, sitting in the Academy's courtyard.

"This… Xiao Wu, are you planning to return home for the vacation tomorrow?" he asked, scratching his head.

Months ago, Xiao Wu had moved from Room Seven to a separate residence from the students' rooms.

The Working-Students didn't take it badly, as their Big Sister had become the boss among the Academy students, both the working-students and the noble students, and they felt she deserved this kind of special treatment.

In addition, there were rumors going around that the Dean had taken Xiao Wu under his wing and was personally mentoring her. Both the working-students and the noble students had no objections to this. In fact, the noble students had come to learn from Xiao Wu's leadership over the past eight months that no number of connections or social status could save them from a beating if they pissed her off.

Over time, even the noble students had grown to admire her. Xiao Chenyu was one of them and had become one of her closest confidants alongside Wang Sheng. It seemed that the beating had made him reflect and turn over a new leaf.

Because of all these events, Tang San used to see her much less often than before. Most of the time, they only talked during morning classes or in some sparring sessions.

Still, for all the months they had known each other, the two could be considered good friends.

However, even someone like Tang San, who was not very good at sensing other people's feelings, could sense that something had changed in Xiao Wu over the past eight months.

Though her personality remained the same, there was a certain melancholy that flickered in her eyes, which contrasted greatly with her usual liveliness.

Xiao Wu, who was lost in thought, heard Tang San's question and turned to look at him.

"I'm not thinking of going home. I'll probably stay at the Academy," she said calmly.

Tang San was a bit dumbfounded to hear this. "In the whole year, you don't plan to see your family again?"

Xiao Wu's eyes darkened for a moment upon hearing the word "family", but she quickly regained her composure.

"It's not that I don't want to, but my family is very far away," she said, her eyes betraying a brief moment of sadness, but then she stuck out her tongue and continued, "Besides, that old man might get depressed if I'm gone for a long time."

Tang San didn't notice the change in Xiao Wu's emotions and smiled wryly at her words. He knew that the "old man" Xiao Wu was referring to was the Dean of the Academy, Lu Feng.

Xiao Wu was the only person in the entire Academy who dared to call him that.

Since Lu Yuan's departure, Lu Feng had been taking good care of Xiao Wu, as if she were his own daughter.

After thinking for a moment, an idea popped into Tang San's head.

"The Dean will be leaving in a few days to arrange Wang Sheng and Xiao Chenyu's participation in the Spirit Master Intermediate Academy Test, right? My village is not far from the Academy, so you can come with me while he's gone, how about it?" Tang San suggested with a smile.

After knowing her for a year, he could be considered to have some understanding of Xiao Wu. He knew that what she detested the most was boredom. This was why, if everyone left the Academy, she would be bored to death.

Xiao Wu lifted her adorable face, and her big eyes blinked for a moment as she thought.

She had been working tirelessly for the past few months to become stronger, so going away for a few days and accompanying a classmate to visit his family could be considered taking a little break.

"Well… Sister Xiao Wu will accompany you this time. I hope you have good things to entertain me," she said playfully.

Tang San's smile faltered.

"Ah... my family is actually poor, and we don't have anything to entertain you," he replied, a hint of worry in his voice.

Xiao Wu's eyebrow raised in amusement. "You are inviting me to accompany you, and you are reluctant to spend. Every month, you get your stipend and the salary for work in the blacksmith, and yet you're so stingy,"

Tang San twisted his mouth, and his hair stood on end, feeling like his savings were in jeopardy.

Seeing Tang San's reaction, Xiao Wu rolled her eyes and shook her head with a faint smile, "Just kidding, I have enough savings for the trip."

As she stood up, the fabric of her white dress with delicate pink trimmings fell gracefully around her petite frame. The moment she turned around, her scorpion braid swayed with a natural charm, "I still have to talk it over with the old man. We'll leave tomorrow then, Xiao San."

With a wave of her hand, she bid him farewell and walked away.

Tang San watched her go; his gaze fixed on her retreating figure. "Thank goodness she's only seven," he muttered. "If she were any older, I'd swear she was an expert at seducing men. A true fox spirit."

Realizing what he had just said, Tang San felt a blush creeping up his face.