"What Holy Spirit Village?"
Ye Renxin looked at Dai Chengfeng with a puzzled expression. "As for the Nuoding Junior Soul Academy, I vaguely remember that there might indeed be such a soul academy in Nuoding City."
"However, it's just a small academy, capable of training only Soul Grandmasters or Soul Elders at most."
"Chengfeng, how do you know about it?"
As he spoke, Ye Renxin's eyes suddenly flashed with curiosity. "It seems I've heard someone mention this academy somewhere before…"
Dai Chengfeng, seeing Ye Renxin deep in thought, quickly shook his head with a smile to interrupt him. "It's nothing, Elder Ye. I just happened to hear about it…"
Yeah, right!
Others might not know, but as someone who had crossed over into this world, how could Dai Chengfeng possibly be unaware of the Nuoding Junior Soul Academy?
After all, it was the first academy attended by Tang San, the "Chosen One" of this world. It was also there that…
He encountered both Master Yu Xiaogang, the grandmaster con artist, and Xiao Wu, the hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast.
Previously, Dai Chengfeng had been discussing with Ye Renxin the fastest way to return to Wu'an City.
Since Dai Chengfeng had specifically mentioned that they couldn't cross through the Great Star Dou Forest—even with Dugu Bo's help—Ye Renxin proposed a route:
The group would depart from the southern gate of Tian Dou City, pass through Jialing Pass, Xilu City, and Spirit Hall City, then cross the Golden City Mountains to return to Wu'an City.
At first, Dai Chengfeng had nodded slightly in agreement.
But when he heard the words "Spirit Hall City," his face instantly shifted to an odd expression, and he couldn't help but silently grumble inwardly: 'Elder Ye, are you trying to sell me out?'
Still, it was just a passing thought.
After all, Dai Chengfeng knew well that Ye Renxin wasn't aware of his awkward relationship with Spirit Hall.
The reason this route was planned was purely with the intention of returning to Wu'an City as quickly as possible.
From a map perspective, this route was indeed the fastest.
But, absolutely not!
Dai Chengfeng understood that he was still just a tiny shrimp in the grand scheme of things, and perhaps he hadn't yet truly caught the attention of the powerful Lady Pope.
But one can never be too careful…
If he avoided Spirit Hall City, the other party might not bother to seek him out specifically.
But if he foolishly walked right into their territory, appearing under their very noses…
Given the Pope's style of handling matters, she might just think, 'Since he's already here,' and casually capture him.
At that point, he'd truly be crying to heaven with no response, and nowhere to turn for help.
In short, Spirit Hall City was off-limits for Dai Chengfeng.
Thus, Ye Renxin provided another route—one that would pass through Nuoding City.
They would still depart from the southern gate of Tian Dou City, but after reaching Jialing Pass, they would detour westward into the Balak Kingdom.
Then, they'd board a ship, traveling down the Balak River, passing through Nuoding City and reaching the Holy King River. They'd continue sailing directly to Wuping City.
While Dai Chengfeng was lost in thought—
Ye Renxin spoke again, looking at Dai Chengfeng with a curious gaze. "Chengfeng, is this route acceptable?"
"After all, since we can't go through Spirit Hall City, strictly speaking, the water route will be faster than the land route."
Dai Chengfeng didn't answer immediately but instead fell into deep thought.
'Based on the timeline, Master Yu Xiaogang should still be teaching at Nuoding Junior Soul Academy, and the 'Chosen One' Tang San and Xiao Wu should currently be studying there as well.'
At this moment, a flicker of curiosity flashed in Dai Chengfeng's eyes.
'I wonder if my appearance has caused any butterfly effects…'
'Did Xiao Wu get taken back to the Great Star Dou Forest by Da Ming and Er Ming?'
Dai Chengfeng pondered silently for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Elder Ye, this route works."
"Returning to Wu'an City along the Holy King River will also allow us to observe the progress of the Dujiangyan irrigation system along the way."
"Alright."
Ye Renxin put away the map and exited the carriage to continue the journey.
Meanwhile, Dai Chengfeng turned to Zhu Fan, his expression serious. "Uncle, my third soul skill is still somewhat incomplete. I plan to continue cultivating."
"While I'm cultivating, don't let anyone disturb me."
"Incomplete?" Zhu Fan looked puzzled.
He didn't understand—how could a soul skill be considered complete or incomplete?
But then he recalled how Dai Chengfeng had developed multiple uses for his originally unremarkable first soul skill, Innate Origin Metal Qi, such as adhesion, defense, and sword qi.
His second soul skill had also been enhanced into two stages, culminating in the White Tiger Holy Spirit Transformation.
Now, it seemed reasonable for him to focus on further developing his third soul skill.
Thinking this, Zhu Fan nodded. "Don't worry, Chengfeng. Leave it to me."
"Mm."
Dai Chengfeng said no more. He sat cross-legged, enveloping himself in a layer of dark green-black Nine Nether Dark Wind energy.
Faintly, an incredibly malevolent force began to intertwine with it.
---
Tian Dou City was very far from Nuoding City.
Dai Chengfeng's group first traveled by carriage, then switched to a boat, sailing downstream along the Balak River, before finally switching back to carriages.
They had already been traveling for about a month.
Along the way, they naturally encountered some setbacks, such as bandits and wild robbers who, upon seeing the carriages and the beauty of Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan, wanted to rob them of both wealth and virtue.
But this time, they were even less fortunate.
Bandit Zhang Si: "Hey hey hey, I'm back, you bastards! I am Zhang Si, the outlaw bandit!"
Zhu Fan: "Me, merely an 85th-rank Soul Douluo, Zhu Fan!"
Ye Renxin: "Me, merely an 82nd-rank Soul Douluo, Ye Renxin!"
Dugu Bo: "Me, merely a 92nd-rank Title Douluo, Dugu Bo!"
Bandit Zhang Si: o.O?
"Holy sh*t… f*ck!!! Big Brother, my life is over!"
Zhu Fan: "If you're weak, practice more; if you can't handle it, don't play!"
Bandit Zhang Si: "You damn… chirp chirp chirp…"
After this little incident, they continued their journey.
Finally, today, their carriage arrived at Nuoding City.
At this moment, the carriage slowly came to a stop at the gates of Nuoding City. Through the windows, everyone took in the sights of Nuoding City.
Overall, Nuoding City was an ancient yet vibrant city.
Its walls weren't particularly tall, but they were thick. The gates were open, and pedestrians and merchants streamed in and out, creating a lively scene.
"We've finally arrived."
Ye Renxin let out a gentle sigh, his eyes filled with exhaustion. "This long journey has nearly broken these old bones of mine. It'll be nice to finally rest for a night."
Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling rubbed their sore arms and shoulders. "Yeah, I really want to soak in a hot bath right now."
"Let's go find a clean and comfortable inn to have a good night's sleep."
Dugu Bo also nodded.
According to the original plan, the group would rest briefly in Nuoding City for a day before continuing their journey.
While everyone was still basking in the joy of finally being able to take a hot bath and rest for the night.
On the carriage, Dai Chengfeng still sat with his eyes tightly shut, his expression heavy with concentration.
"A whole month!"
"I've finally made some progress. Now comes the main event!"
Fully activating the Mustard Seed State, Dai Chengfeng focused his spiritual power entirely, observing the conditions within his body. Slowly, he manipulated the Asura Power like a carving knife, inching closer to the External Soul Bone: the Wings of the Evil God.
Though the power of the Evil God was formidable, it ultimately wasn't fully his own.
Dai Chengfeng had always harbored resentment toward it.
When he learned that the Nine Nether Azure Phoenix possessed dark attributes, he had wanted to "cut" into the Evil God's power, forcing it to become nourishment for himself.
Although evil and darkness weren't exactly the same attribute, they shared a high compatibility.
With the intervention of Asura Power—a more advanced primal force—it might be worth a try!
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