Chapter 14: The Dean of Notting Academy

Early morning, Notting Academy. 

Back mountain.

Zhou Chen sat cross-legged at the mountaintop, his hands facing the sky, his entire being shrouded in a layer of hazy golden light.

"Hu..."

After a long while, he exhaled a white arrow of breath and sat quietly for a moment before opening his eyes again.

"My soul power has indeed become more refined."

Standing up, Zhou Chen drew a circle with his hands, completing his cultivation routine.

All along, his soul power had been forcibly instilled by external forces. Although his soul power was as high as level 39, it was immensely unstable and often beyond his control.

However, the "Huangdi Neijing" he cultivated was a top-tier immortal cultivation method. After a few days of practice, his soul power had become much more refined and was now nearly as easy to control as his own limbs.

By now, the sun had gradually risen. Zhou Chen glanced at the sky and made his way toward the gates of Notting Academy.

He had already agreed with Yu Xiaogang and Tang San to accompany them to the Spirit Hunting Forest today to help them acquire spirit rings.

In particular, Yu Xiaogang, having taken the pill and broken through to level 30, needed a thousand-year purple spirit ring, which required hunting a thousand-year spirit beast.

Initially, Zhou Chen was against it, as he had a system and didn't need to hunt spirit beasts to obtain spirit rings. 

But with Tang San now his little fanboy and Yu Xiaogang one of his subordinates, as the leader, he had to help when his team had needs. Otherwise, who would follow him in the future? 

If people's hearts scattered, it would be hard to lead the team.

Thus, Zhou Chen had no choice but to take on this task.

Taking a leisurely stroll, Zhou Chen reached the academy gate, where Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had been waiting for some time.

Besides the two, there was another middle-aged man, similar in age to Yu Xiaogang.

The middle-aged man wore a robe and was slightly more handsome than Yu Xiaogang, with a slightly protruding chin and a gentle smile on his face.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Xiaogang, is this the young man you mentioned from the hidden family..."

Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"A truly outstanding young man."

The middle-aged man took a few steps forward, stood before Zhou Chen, and smiled warmly, "I'm Max, the Dean of Notting Academy. Welcome to our academy."

"Hello."

Zhou Chen returned the smile warmly, exchanging pleasantries, "You're here to help as well, right?"

"Yes... wait, you too?" Max was puzzled.

He had assumed Zhou Chen was also at a bottleneck, seeking to hunt for a spirit ring, but was surprised to find that this young boy was here to help!

Yet he was only six years old!

Even if Zhou Chen was as talented as Yu Xiaogang had boasted, coming from a powerful hidden family, at such a young age, he would at most be around level 10. How much help could he provide?

He'd be lucky not to get squashed by a spirit beast.

Max looked at Yu Xiaogang in confusion, but Yu Xiaogang just smiled wryly and said nothing, merely nodding.

A few days ago, while studying Zhou Chen's first soul skill, Yu Xiaogang had been equally shocked.

"Alright, let's set off."

Though Max was confused, he was confident in his level 42 Soul Elder strength. Even if Zhou Chen turned out to be a burden, he was capable of handling it.

With that, he clapped his hands, and a coachman drove out a large and sturdy four-wheeled carriage from the academy.

"The Spirit Hunting Forest outside Notting City is nearly four hundred li away from the academy. It's faster by carriage," Max explained.

"Thank you for your thoughtfulness."

Zhou Chen expressed his gratitude.

Thanking others didn't cost anything and could build good relationships—why not?

Moreover, Zhou Chen was quite interested in Max.

He might be spending the next few years at Notting Academy, and if he could recruit Max into Ziwei Palace, then Notting Academy would be under his control!

Soon, they all boarded the carriage and set off toward the Spirit Hunting Forest.

Along the way, Yu Xiaogang incessantly introduced Tang San to the knowledge of hunting spirit beasts and acquiring spirit rings and even gifted him the invaluable spatial soul tool—Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

Even Zhou Chen, who had a system, didn't yet possess a spatial soul tool!

The journey of four hundred li was neither too long nor short, and it was midday the next day when they finally reached their destination, the Spirit Hunting Forest.

The Spirit Hunting Forest was an artificial forest created by the Heaven Dou Empire to provide spirit rings for soul masters about to advance. It housed a fixed number of spirit beasts for soul masters to hunt.

However, most of these spirit beasts were ten-year and hundred-year beasts, with few thousand-year beasts, and virtually no beasts over ten thousand years.

Lifting the curtains of the carriage window, Zhou Chen looked out to see the outskirts of the Spirit Hunting Forest, where a row of stalls and shops selling food, medicine, and weapons crowded the open space, along with mercenaries posting bounties, their shouts echoing continuously.

"With a warrant, join a team to hunt a 300-year spirit beast, need five more people."

"Insect repellent powder, repels snakes, insects, rats, and ants, three silver soul coins per bottle."

"..."

"Let's get off and buy some supplies," Zhou Chen suggested.

With a wealthy sponsor, everyone naturally had no objections and went on a shopping spree, yet they only spent less than ten gold soul coins.

For Zhou Chen, it was a mere drop in the ocean.

Once everyone had finished their purchases, they abandoned the carriage and, led by the master and Max, headed deeper into the market.

There lay the true Spirit Hunting Forest.

However, what Zhou Chen and the others hadn't noticed was a pair of enchanting clear eyes watching them from not far behind.

"Elder Chrysanthemum, it should be him."

"Are you sure?" an effeminate voice asked.

"Of course I'm sure."

Upon hearing this, Hu Liena stepped down from a luxurious carriage bearing the Spirit Hall emblem, gazed at Zhou Chen's distant figure, and smiled, "With such good looks, it's hard not to recognize him!"