8 - 1 year and development
"What is it?" Xiao Wu looked curious.
Ye Zhen had a clear mind, and after recalling the plot, he understood. At this moment, Tang San was probably planning to go to the Soul Hunting Forest with Master Yu Xiaogang to obtain his first spirit ring.
Sure enough, the next moment, Tang San said, "Tomorrow, I will go to the hunting forest with the teacher to get my first spirit ring."
After hearing Tang San's response, Xiao Wu seemed to be a little depressed and muttered something softly. Tang San didn't hear it clearly, so he didn't pay much attention to it. "Alright, just remember to be careful." Ye Zhiqiu patted Tang San's shoulder.
Tang San's process of hunting for the first spirit ring was a bit tortuous, but the outcome was still good, so Ye Zhen wasn't too worried.
Tang San smiled and said, "With the teacher's company, don't worry. But Zhen, it's you who wants to hunt and obtain the spirit ring alone; that's what worries me."
"What? The boss is going to hunt for the spirit ring alone?" "No way, that would be too dangerous." "That's right..."
Wang Sheng and others exclaimed.
Then they persuaded Ye Zhen together to make him give up this death wish. After all, hunting soul beasts alone is still very dangerous. Didn't you see that Yu Xiaogang, a 29th-level soul master, was almost killed by a 400-year-old mandala snake?
However, Ye Zhen had made up his mind. He wanted to hunt for the spirit ring alone for a reason, because his first spirit ring would be at least a thousand years old. So if he asked his mentor to help him get the spirit ring, the school tutor would definitely not agree to his death wish.
To avoid trouble, Ye Zhen could only choose to hunt alone. Relatively, he also needed to be fully prepared, strong enough to withstand the physique of a thousand-year spirit ring, so at least the fully unlocked Sharingan or Mangekyou, along with the eight gates.
Once all of this was ready, Ye Zhen would consider entering the Soul Hunting Forest alone. The goal he set for himself was to obtain a ring within a year. The night was quiet, and there was no noise during the day.
Tang San sat cross-legged on the bed to practice as usual. He only slept a few hours a day and spent most of his time practicing Xuan Tian Gong, using practice instead of sleep.
The others had already fallen asleep, and some were even talking in their dreams.
Ye Zhen closed his eyes lightly, lying on the bed, unable to sleep. He was thinking about his mentality during the fight that day. From start to finish, Ye Zhen didn't think he was a war-thirsty and brutal person. He had a goal in what he did.
Due to the argument and greed, he had laid a heavy hand on some students who were still children in his eyes. Ye Zhen frowned and thought. I remember someone said in a previous life that the stronger the power, the more you must have a corresponding character to control it perfectly.
Otherwise, it's not you who controls the power, but the power that controls you. Ye Zhen forgot who said this, but he thought it was true. I think the best thing I can do is to train with people at my level to better control this battle state. Amid his thoughts, his consciousness slowly drifted off, and he fell asleep.
When he woke up, the first thing he saw was Xiao Wu's playful, smiling face as she looked at him. When he tried to move, he found himself trapped, wrapped in his blanket.
"Xiao Wu... Hurry up and help me here, or I won't give up, and next time, it will be you!!!"
"Haha en- haha me haha" Xiao Wu tried to say something, but laughter prevented her from speaking. She just placed a small mirror in front of Ye Zhen, who saw his face painted with a mustache, glasses, and a unibrow. Ye Zhen's face darkened instantly. What made it worse was the rest of the group, who had been watching, bursting into laughter.
Ye Zhen thought to himself: Well, they're kids; it's normal for them to want to have some fun after all that tension. But that rabbit will pay for this later, hehe...
Ye Zhen said, "Just wait, Xiao Wu, just wait," then slowly untangled himself. Once free, he cleaned his face and looked around, noticing that Tang San was nowhere to be seen in the dormitory.
"Boss, the third chief disappeared early in the morning, and it's estimated that he has already followed the master to the hunting forest. Today is the opening ceremony of Notting College, so you'd better get ready," Wang Sheng said.
Since it's the opening ceremony, Ye Zhen naturally had to attend. The opening ceremony of Notting Junior Soul Master Academy is held on the playground, starting at nine in the morning. Unless something is wrong with the students, they are required to be present.
Ye Zhen and his group first went to the cafeteria for breakfast, then slowly walked towards the playground, chatting and laughing along the way.
The students on the main road saw the group of working and studying students approaching and quickly made way, afraid.
Ye Zhen and the others still didn't know, but at Notting Junior Soul Master Academy, their current class of work-study students was already well-known. The group of senior students under Xiao Chenyu still had many seriously injured in the infirmary.
Seeing the state of the people, Ye Zhen thought to himself: It seems it will be much more convenient to get negative emotions in the future. He thought happily.
At nine o'clock, the instructors of all grades at Notting College, led by a middle-aged man dressed in gray, stopped on time in front of everyone. He and Yu Xiaogang were very close, and he should be the director of Notting College.
On the high platform in the middle of the playground, the middle-aged man coughed, holding a stack of thick paper in his hand, and began his speech at the opening ceremony.
"Children, it's the beginning of the new year again..."
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After half an hour, everyone in the audience became drowsy. An hour later, Ye Zhen couldn't take it anymore, his eyelids trembling. The speech that started at nine in the morning finally ended after 12 o'clock.
The middle-aged man didn't pay attention to the expressions of the many students in the audience. Instead, he seemed very pleased with his speech, showing a smug smile on his face.
He smiled and looked around at the sleepy students, then fixed his gaze on Ye Zhen.
"Ye Zhen, the school will not take any action regarding the incident. I hope you can be a good student in the future," the director of Notting College suddenly said.
The students present heard Ye Zhen's name, and everyone looked over. For a moment, Ye Zhen became the focus of the audience. Ye Zhen didn't dare to be arrogant and looked at the director.
"Director, I will definitely be a good student in the future." Ye Zhen's immature little face, with a serious and obedient expression like a good baby, didn't make people doubt the authenticity of his words.
Ye Zhen, at six years old, coupled with this extremely innocent tone, left Wang Sheng and the others a bit stunned. Is this really their boss?
If Tang San were here, with his knowledge of Ye Zhen, he would be able to see through him in an instant. The director looked at Ye Zhen and nodded in relief. This child doesn't seem as unbearable as other teachers have said. Look at him, such an obedient child.
After the opening ceremony, Ye Zhen and his team were exhausted, had lunch, and then he went alone to the sixth floor of the dormitory, where the sixth-grade students of Notting College lived.
"Bang~" The door was opened with a kick.
Ye Zhen looked at Xiao Chenyu and the others, who were looking at him with a frightened expression.
"Boss Xiao, how's the injury? Has it gotten better?" Ye Zhen entered the room, casually looked around, and asked seemingly innocently.
Xiao Chenyu, who was lying on the bed, looked gloomy. Better? Not at all! You beat us up badly yesterday. Today, you're asking if we got hurt. Are you here to make it worse? Are we really being bullied?
[Negative emotion value from Xiao Chenyu +166...]
Xiao Chenyu got out of bed with a cold expression and stared at Ye Zhen. There was a posture of fighting Ye Zhen again.
Ye Zhen looked at Xiao Chenyu, who was walking towards him step by step, his eyes slightly narrowed. This guy got beaten twice by me, and he still wants to continue?
Ye Zhen activated his martial soul and asked, "Do I call you boss before or after beating you up again?"
Xiao Chenyu's face turned blue and white, and those strange eyes made people feel sick.
Xiao Chenyu's thoughts turned sharply. What's the point of fighting him? Even with a group of people, he still won. The least I'll get is a broken arm if I go against him.
"Boss Zhen, you're embarrassing me. Now at Notting College, we all know that you are the boss," Xiao Chenyu said flatteringly with a warm smile on his face.
Xiao Chenyu was born in the City Lord's Mansion, and his family had taught him since he was a child. Some people should not be provoked, especially those from big families and some talented soul masters.
They can't afford to provoke such people; it could bring disaster to their small family. After all, the City Lord's Mansion of Notting City seems quite powerful, but on the Douluo Continent, a small city like Notting is nothing.
Xiao Chenyu also understands some human relationships better than his peers. He is arrogant when he can be, and when he can't, he goes with the flow.
Ye Zhen was a bit surprised to see this guy change so quickly.
Ye Zhen looked at Xiao Chenyu with interest and said, "If that's the case, then I'm disrespecting the boss's position. This is all by your own will. I didn't force you. After all, I promised the director I would be a good student. You know what I mean?"
After finishing speaking, Ye Zhen enthusiastically patted Xiao Chenyu on the shoulder, showing that the two had a great friendship.
"I understand, I understand... What the boss says is what it is, yes, this is our group's protection fee for this week." Xiao Chenyu took out a familiar money bag from his pocket with a painful expression on his face and poured it out. A dozen or so gold soul coins spilled out. These are the living expenses he just requested, and now he lost half of them on the spot.
Ye Zhen's eyes lit up. This guy is quite rich. Yesterday, I only took a lot of gold soul coins from him, and today I'm here again taking more.
Looking at the dozen or so gold soul coins that Xiao Chenyu handed over with a painful expression, Ye Zhen reached out, took them, and put them in his pocket.
[Negative emotion value from Xiao Chenyu +166...]
Ye Zhen looked at Xiao Chenyu with bright eyes. This guy is simply a treasure. He can provide negative emotions and squeeze out a lot of gold soul coins. I can choose something better to eat in the cafeteria in the future.
"Xiaoyu, I especially admire your kind of talent. In the future, if anyone at Notting College dares to bully you, just say my name." Ye Zhen patted Xiao Chenyu on the shoulder with a bright smile.
"By the way, the garden on the south side of the playground, make sure to clean it for me every day..." After giving the final order, Ye Zhen turned and left in a good mood.
Xiao Chenyu's face was tearless, and there's still one year left, and he'll be squeezed by this great demon for another year.
Only a year later, I will be able to graduate from Notting Junior College and then go to Notting Intermediate College. Thinking about this, Xiao Chenyu seemed to feel a little more comfortable.
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At Notting College, at night in the playground, three figures moved like ghosts, running together under the night sky.
"Haha... Xiao San, Xiao Wu. Don't run away! Come have some fun with Brother Zhen…" The figure behind them laughed and didn't forget to provoke.
Tang San and Xiao Wu's faces were dark. This guy was as tough as wearing armor. The first spirit ability of Blue Silver Grass was destroyed as soon as it was entangled, which made Tang San a little suspicious. His Blue Silver Grass was very strong, capable of pulling a tree with a thick calf at ninety degrees.
As for Xiao Wu's soft skills, let's not even mention that even when her legs were wrapped around Ye Zhen's neck, she still couldn't move him—it was completely useless. If Xiao Wu insisted, she would only end up hurting herself.
After almost a year of refining his body, Ye Zhen's physique was already strong and inhuman. Now, even though Tang San and Xiao Wu, both with 17th-level spirit power, were teaming up, they still weren't a match for Ye Zhen. Of course, that was when Tang San didn't use hidden weapons—the lethality of hidden weapons was still very strong.
However, Ye Zhen also had a trump card that he hadn't used. This year was not in vain either. He bought the Eight Gates in the first week.
Almost a year has passed, and now Ye Zhen has accumulated almost 15,000 points, which was neither too much nor too little. Over time, people got used to his ways, and the increase in points naturally slowed down, leaving Ye Zhen feeling quite helpless.
"I don't want to fight anymore; your physique is comparable to a humanoid soul beast. You're getting stronger every day, and it's too abnormal…" Xiao Wu stopped panting and complained. She really couldn't run anymore. Tang San's appearance was a bit better, but his chest was still rising and falling slightly.
Looking at Ye Zhen, who had stopped not far from them without panting, Tang San smiled bitterly. Ye Zhen's progress was so fast, especially his physique. At the beginning of the school year, Tang San and Xiao Wu had fought against Ye Zhen one-on-one, and they basically managed to put up a good fight. That was when Ye Zhen didn't use the Sharingan, and the two only competed in physical skills.
But after a few months, even without using his martial soul, Ye Zhen could still rely on his strong physique and rapidly evolving combat skills to crush Xiao Wu and draw with Tang San, who was fully capable of fighting.
At this point in time, Xiao Wu's soft skills basically had no effect on the increasingly strong Ye Zhen. Tang San relied on ghostly shadows to fight, and he could barely manage a draw.
After half a year, Tang San and Xiao Wu started teaming up. And even teaming up didn't mean they could defeat Ye Zhen; it just meant they didn't lose as badly.
By now, almost a year had passed. Although Tang San and Xiao Wu cooperated better and better, they were still defeated. Without Tang San using a powerful hidden weapon, Ye Zhen could easily crush the two. With Ye Zhen's current physique, he was able to open the first three gates without injury and the fourth gate with minor injuries.
The Eight Gates are like the shackles of the human body. Every time a shackle is opened, various attributes increase exponentially. Ye Zhen didn't need to open the third gate to deal with them; even if he opened the first one, the two wouldn't last a minute in combat.
Ye Zhen preliminarily estimated that if he opened the first three gates and used the Sharingan, which now had three tomoe, it would be enough to fight a 1,000-year-old soul beast.
Over the past year, Ye Zhen's growth had been tremendous. Whether it was fighting skills or the accumulation of points, it was an explosive increase. The speed was so fast that even Ye Zhen himself was shocked.
Looking at Tang San and Xiao Wu, whose faces were slightly flushed from the strenuous exercise, Ye Zhen reluctantly gave up the idea of continuing practice tonight. The three of them found a clean patch of grass and lay down side by side in a large fountain. While each rested, they looked at the star-filled sky and felt the slow, fresh night breeze.
Ye Zhen put his hands behind his head, his eyes gazing at the night sky. How long could this carefree, playful day last? Where would he grow in the future? Would he become a god? Then be restrained by the gods of this universe?
"Ye Zhen, are you going to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow?" Tang San suddenly asked.
Ye Zhen was stunned, slowly returning to his senses, and replied softly, "Yes, there are less than ten days left until the holiday. I should also go find the spirit ring; otherwise, this year will end, and I might not be able to keep up with you in ascending to Notting Intermediate Soul Master Academy."
In fact, the main reason Ye Zhen wanted to be promoted to the Notting Intermediate Soul Master Academy was that he had already fleeced all the sheep in this junior academy.
"Be careful…" Tang San seemed to want to say something. But when he thought about teaming up with Xiao Wu and still being easily crushed, he realized that Ye Zhen was no longer the same as before; his little friend had unknowingly grown to the point where he needed to be looked up to.
Thinking of this, Tang San sighed softly and could only feel the power of Ye Zhen's martial soul, not only possessing mysterious illusions but also constantly strengthening his physical body. Is this the spirit of the body? Xiao Wu's eyelids drooped, and her mood was a bit down. She always got like this when others talked about hunting soul beasts near her.
At this moment, a hand suddenly rubbed her little head gently, and Xiao Wu looked up—it was Ye Zhen.
"Little Rabbit, you're still weak now, and you can't change much. Come and get stronger, and you can make your own rules in the future." After saying these words, Ye Zhen got up and went back to the dormitory to sleep.
Only Tang San, with a dazed expression on his face, and a 100,000-year-old human soul beast pretending to be calm, were left. Xiao Wu was a little surprised—had she been discovered? Or was Brother Zhen just talking nonsense to calm her down?
But when she thought of Brother Zhen's strange eyes, Xiao Wu felt that there was a high probability she had been discovered. But she wasn't too worried—so what if she was discovered? Xiao Wu always believed that Ye Zhen wouldn't rush to report her. After a year of getting along, everyone had a basic idea of what kind of person they were.
Ye Zhen treated Xiao Wu well, except sometimes when it came to fighting, but the rest of the time, he was like an older brother treating his younger sister. It's just that this older brother was sometimes venomous, not as gentle as Tang San.