Sixth grade finally graduated, marking the end of all studies at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
Upon graduation, Yang Pingan’s Soul Power had risen to level fifteen, which was considered average among all students—neither too high nor too low.
Normally, in such junior Spirit Master academies, a few exceptionally outstanding students might occasionally appear, but even they would only reach level twenty or above, with virtually none exceeding level twenty-five.
Yang Pingan now had several future paths before him.
The first path, and the one most commonly taken by all students, was to attend an Intermediate Spirit Master Academy.
Normal Intermediate Spirit Master Academies generally had enrollment requirements, usually just becoming a Spirit Master.
However, some slightly better Intermediate Spirit Master Academies had higher demands on their students.
Yang Pingan carefully researched them and it seemed there were no Intermediate Spirit Master Academies truly suitable for him.
Besides seeking shelter, attending an academy didn’t seem to have much other significant use.
In the original work, Tang San and Xiao Wu skipped Intermediate Spirit Master Academies entirely and went directly to Shrek Academy.
Shrek Academy’s requirements were even more exaggerated: one had to reach level twenty-five or above before the age of twelve.
Those who claimed to reach level twenty or above by age twelve were purely for show, just paying tuition.
What did reaching level twenty-five or above by age twelve mean?
If this were in his previous life, it would be a genius on the level of a top-scoring college entrance exam student.
At least in the past six years, Nuoding City had not seen a genius of this caliber.
Since becoming a Spirit Master, although his physical quality increased after absorbing a spirit ring and the Purple Gold Mastiff grew, his cultivation speed could only be maintained at two levels per year.
His Soul Power advancement speed had clearly slowed down significantly.
Perhaps this was the disparity in Innate Spirit Power.
Despite his best efforts, he only managed to increase his Soul Power by twelve levels in six years.
It seemed future advancements would likely become even slower.
The second option was to develop independently, either by joining certain mercenaries or becoming an peripheral member of a major power.
However, from any perspective, both options were difficult to choose between.
An Intermediate Spirit Master Academy could provide a relatively stable learning environment, but the tuition fees were quite high, typically twenty to fifty gold coins per year, with some noble academies costing even more.
Furthermore, many Intermediate Spirit Master Academies and Advanced Soul Master Academies were integrated, primarily serving to funnel talent to the Advanced Soul Master Academies. New chapters come out on novelping dot com first.
Especially the better Advanced Soul Master Academies, which mostly only recruited nobles, with only a very small number accepting commoners.
After much deliberation, Yang Pingan still decided to attend an Intermediate Spirit Master Academy this time.
Given his current strength, if he truly didn’t go to school, he could only become a rogue cultivator.
Rogue cultivators generally lacked resources and backing.
While they might be carefree, they also had no support and were like ants among those high-level Spirit Masters.
After comprehensively understanding various pieces of information, he ultimately chose a good Intermediate Spirit Master Academy, one that was at least suitable for his Spirit and could serve as a temporary backer for him.
Douluo Continent was also a place that valued power and backing.
He remembered in the original work, the Shrek Academy group once said outside the Soul Hunting Forest that students of Spirit Master academies were the easiest to bully.
Actually, this was the exact opposite.
Between normal Spirit Master academies, both sides generally had their own backers, so it was usually just fights and nothing too excessive; at least, no killing.
But if one provoked a rogue cultivator, it was easy to hit a brick wall.
Who knew what kind of power network existed among rogue cultivators, or if rogue cultivators were reckless?
One should know that rogue cultivators acquired almost all their resources through plunder, making them individually more decisive and ruthless.
Choosing an academy was quite difficult, with various options available.
First, Shrek Academy from the original work was immediately ruled out by Yang Pingan.
With his current Soul Power level, he couldn’t even meet Shrek Academy’s lowest admission threshold.
Moreover, Shrek Academy became too entangled later on, with most of its members being his enemies.
Additionally, Yang Pingan scoffed at Shrek Academy’s teaching methods and didn’t think highly of them.
Next was Spirit Hall’s Intermediate Spirit Master Academy.
After some hesitation, he also gave up on this.
Spirit Hall was indeed suitable for the development of ordinary commoners, but its high-ranking officials were utterly brain-dead, and there would be endless conflicts later on.
It was better to stay away early.
Besides, with his current strength, he would just be cannon fodder in Spirit Hall’s Intermediate Spirit Master circle.
Ultimately, Yang Pingan chose an Intermediate Spirit Master Academy that he felt was very good.
At the very least, it would allow him to develop discreetly for a few years and provide him with some backing.
Information transfer among Spirit Masters was very fast. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
In just over twenty days, Yang Pingan had already received his admission notice from the Intermediate Spirit Master Academy and officially graduated from Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.
After graduating, Yang Pingan returned to Soulking Village, preparing to say his final goodbyes there.
Yang Pingan went to his parents’ graves, poured three cups of wine before them, and then took a bottle of wine himself and started drinking.
As he drank more and more, his parents’ expressions from the past reappeared: father and son playing together, mother kind and gentle.
No matter where they were, the family of three was always joyful.
But his home was destroyed.
His parents were forced to leave their family to survive.
Even in reclusion, his father was harmed, and his mother died of sorrow.
The culprits behind all of this never received any punishment, even by the end of the original work.
That night, Yang Pingan uncharacteristically did not cultivate, as he knew after this, he likely wouldn’t have time to return and see his parents for a very long time.
The next morning, Yang Pingan awoke from his drunken stupor, his eyes deep, cold, and filled with hatred.
He gritted his teeth, summoned the Purple Gold Mastiff to patrol outside, and then began to move the only bed in the room.
Beneath the bed was a stone slab.
After various manipulations, removing several stone slabs and even part of the foundation, he finally retrieved a wooden box.
Inside the wooden box was only a storage ring, plus some gold coins.
Originally, these gold coins were left for his own use; if he hadn’t become a Spirit Master, these gold coins would have ensured a worry-free life for half his days.
But Yang Pingan’s real goal was the storage ring.
His parents had met their unfortunate end because of the items inside the ring.
Opening the bamboo ring was not complicated; he just needed to inject his Soul Power, with no special requirements.
When Yang Pingan injected his Soul Power into the storage ring, the contents inside were startling.
Inside, there was a long lead box, many books, a large amount of gold coins, and even many pills.
All of these could be said to be things Spirit Masters dreamed of, but they were also the source of all disaster.