626 – Rank 39
Before Lan Xuanyu could walk into the kitchen, a s.h.i.+rt was thrown at him.
“You’re already so old, yet you’re still walking around naked. Hurry up and put some clothes on?” Nan Cheng’s annoyed voice came over.
“Aren’t I wearing shorts? We’re at home!” Although Lan Xuanyu said that, he still put on the s.h.i.+rt.
He sniffed and smelled the fragrance of the food. He quickly ran to the dining table and sat down, waiting for her mother to feed him.
Time didn’t leave many marks on Nan Cheng’s face. She rolled her eyes at her son and praised him in her heart. ‘My son’s figure is so good looking.’
“Why didn’t you bring Xiuxiu back for the summer break this year? Where did she go?” Nan Cheng asked as she served breakfast.
Lan Xuanyu said, “She went with Teacher Nana. She is an orphan and so did not return to Heaven Dou Planet. I invited her and she said that Teacher Nana was too lonely during the holidays, so she went to accompany her.”
Nan Cheng said, “Invite your Teacher Nana back next time. I haven’t seen her in a long time.”
“En, alright. Teacher Nana is good to us. We still see her every month. Did Dad say when he will be back?” Lan Xuanyu asked.
Nan Cheng said, “He didn’t say. His job is very confidential and I don’t know where he went. Anyway, I’m used to it now. He would be gone for at least two months and it could take quite a few months for longer missions.”
“Eh, Mom, why didn’t I hear any complaints from your tone?” Lan Xuanyu asked curiously.
Nan Cheng blushed and said, “What would I be complaining about? When we were young, he gave up a promising job for me and chose to go to Heaven Luo Planet with me. Otherwise, he could have been promoted directly in the exploration team. A man should prioritize his career, that is his sense of achievement. Now that he has finally achieved some achievements in this aspect, I obviously can’t stop him. Who knows, if he makes some contributions, you might have a father who is a general in a few years.”
Lan Xuanyu laughed. “Then can I go home and be a worm?”
Nan Cheng scoffed and said, “In your dreams. Speaking of which, how is your improvement this semester? Is your soul power still not improving?”
Lan Xuanyu shrugged his shoulders and said, “It’s alright. It’s still the same. Teacher Nana told me to suppress my soul power and not rush to break through. I’m still at the bottom of the cla.s.s. Rank 39. But actually, I can break through at any time. It’s just that Teacher Nana told me not to be anxious and to prepare well. Once the foundation of this step is established, my speed of growth will be very fast.”
That’s right, Lan Xuanyu’s soul power had been stuck at rank 39 for more than a year and a half. While acc.u.mulating at this rank, he actually felt that even if his breakthrough would be difficult, he could actually break through to rank 40 anytime.
But Nana didn’t let him break through in the end. It wasn’t just him; Bai Xiuxiu was the same as well. It was just that her soul power had stopped at rank 49. The same went for his other teammates.
Yuanen Huihui was stuck at rank 59 while Tang Yuge was at rank 69. The others were stuck at rank 49 just like Bai Xiuxiu. All of them were about to breakthrough.
Nana taught them a method to compress their soul power and even personally did it for them several times before they were unable to break through. In terms of soul power, other than Tang Yuge, who was still the number one in the cla.s.s, the others were no longer outstanding.
In cla.s.s, Bing Tianliang had broken through to six-ring and became a Soul Emperor. Ding Zhuohan had also just broken through and was only slightly slower than Bing Tianliang. He had surpa.s.sed Yuanen Huihui, who was already a five-ring Soul King when he entered the academy.
But with regards to Lan Xuanyu and his team’s acc.u.mulation, the main teacher, Xiao Qi, maintained a supportive att.i.tude. If it was any other academy, they would have long doubted it, but not in Shrek.
“Then when will you guys break through?” Nan Cheng asked doubtfully.
Lan Xuanyu squinted his eyes and said, “It should be around the start of this term.”
“Oh, you’ve stayed here for quite some time. It’s about time for you to break through. Son, will you be able to leave this last ranking of yours ?”
Upon hearing Nan Cheng’s question, Lan Xuanyu’s face darkened. “Mom, is this how you evaluate your son? There is a reason why my soul power is increasing slowly. I don’t think I can change it anytime soon. I will definitely still be at the bottom of the cla.s.s.”
Other than the few of them, there weren’t any other four-ring soul masters in the fourth year. The other students already had five rings. This was directly related to the 10,000-year Spirit Soul that they had fused in the Elven Planet.
A 10,000-year Spirit Soul not only provided them with great strength, but more importantly, it was also a source of motivation for them to work hard and cultivate! By increasing their rank, they would be able to fuse with their own 10,000-year Spirit Soul and go through a qualitative leap. Who wouldn’t look forward to it?
However, the upcoming term would also become an important period for their entire cla.s.s because they were about to face a real challenge.
Initially, they should have partic.i.p.ated in the first semester of their fourth year, but because they had too many cla.s.ses in the Star War Experiment cla.s.s. They had already learned some basic cla.s.ses, including wars.h.i.+p piloting and wars.h.i.+p command. Hence, the academy specially allowed them to complete their actual combat mission one semester later.
But starting from the second term, this was indispensable. Good preparation was the key to success.
“Actually, there’s no rush in cultivating. Your dad has a chance of becoming a general, right? Even if you really become a rice worm in the future, we can still support you. But the prerequisite is that you bring Xiuxiu back,” Nan Cheng said with a smile.
Lan Xuanyu looked at his mother doubtfully. “Mom, why do I feel that you’re already biased? You value Xiuxiu more than your son.”
Nan Cheng scoffed and said, “This is called preparing for a rainy day, isn’t it all for you? Hurry up and eat, it won’t stop your mouth.”
Lan Xuanyu ate his breakfast in satisfaction. In the next few days, he wanted to enjoy a relaxing and ordinary life. The academy had increased their holidays by a few days so he had time to return to Heaven Luo Planet. But in fact, he could only stay at home for five days.
Of course, he wouldn’t tell his mother that his future studies would include facing real danger, and that it was also an important hurdle during Shrek Academy Outer Court’s studies. For most Outer Court students, whether they could enter the Inner Court in the future depended on their performance in the missions in their fourth-year.
During the mission, a person’s ability and temperament would be completely revealed. During the entire process, their soul communication device would record it down and transmit it to the academy for a.s.sessment.
Although their soul power hadn’t improved much over the past few years, they were much more mature than before. Everyone was different now.
***
Somewhere else on Heaven Luo Planet.
In the courtyard of a villa that spanned over a thousand square meters, Qian Lei was sitting on a stone bench in the courtyard and eating a large pot of grapes.
After a few years, he had grown up as well, and he had changed the most among them.
Perhaps it was because of his fusion with the Golden Behemoth, but his figure was already developing in a non-human direction. At the age of 15, he was already over two meters tall and extremely tall. Just standing there would give people a strong sense of oppression.
Sitting on the stone bench was like sitting in the seat of a child, and it was a little funny.
“Qian Lei, a friend is looking for you.” Qian Lei raised his head and looked at the plump, middle-aged woman.
The middle-aged lady glanced at him with a look of disdain and left after calling out.
“Mom, who’s here?” Qian Lei caught up to the middle-aged woman and asked with a smile.
“Liu Feng, who else could it be? Didn’t your other childhood friends stop playing with you?” Qian Lei’s mother said in annoyance.