"Dean Su, it's been a while."
Inside the office, the orphanage dean, Su Bei, put down his pen in surprise and approached the three of them.
Although Lin Feng had changed a little from a few years ago, he was still recognizable. As for the two stunning women beside him, Dean Su had no memory of them.
"You must be Xiao Feng! And these two ladies are...?"
He patted Lin Feng's shoulder with satisfaction.
"I could tell from how dedicated you were in the library back then that you were going to achieve great things."
"When I heard you dropped out of the elementary academy, I was regretful for quite a while. I never imagined you were switching to soul theory research."
"True to form, your reputation out there is quite something now."
Lin Feng smiled but didn't delve into the topic.
"Dean Su, I've come today to bring a donation for the children—just a small one, one million gold soul coins, enough to give the kids a hearty meal."
Dean Su wasn't caught up in how Lin Feng could come up with such a large sum, but was puzzled instead:
"With your current status, you could've just asked the higher-ups of the Spirit Hall to allocate funds directly. Why bother coming in person?"
Lin Feng shook his head.
"This is a personal matter. I need to do it myself. Public and private matters shouldn't be mixed."
Besides the one million gold soul coins given by Qian Daoliu, Lin Feng and the others also had three million from the Nine-Heart Begonia clan—they weren't short on funds at all.
Su Bei nodded slightly, suspecting something:
"You're going on a journey?"
"More or less."
Su Bei smiled and looked toward Ling Yuan and Qian Renxue:"In that case, I'll ask you two to take good care of Xiao Feng. If you get tired during your travels, my doors are always open."
"Of course."
Before leaving, Qian Renxue sneakily lingered with Su Bei, whispering something to him.
Under Su Bei's surprised gaze, she took something from a cabinet.
Lin Feng was curious why Qian Renxue looked so happy, but didn't ask.
After bidding farewell to the long-unseen dean, Lin Feng decided to visit Dugu Bo.
The last time Dugu Bo had invited him over was months ago. Since Lin Feng's residence was kept secret, he had unintentionally been ignoring Dugu Bo.
Upon entering Dugu Bo's estate, the old poison master was still playing around with Dugu Yan as usual—chasing and teasing.
When he saw the three arrive, he stopped.
"Greetings, young master."
Qian Renxue replied calmly, "Mm."
When Dugu Bo looked at Lin Feng, he frowned and scolded:
"You brat, you've really grown important. Too caught up in soul theory to remember this old man? Or have you locked me away in a dusty corner of your brain?"
Lin Feng chuckled awkwardly. Truthfully, he had kind of forgotten.
Dugu Bo clicked his tongue at the obvious guilt on Lin Feng's face.
"Forget it. It's not a big deal."
They sat down in the guest hall. Dugu Yan leaned against Qian Renxue, giggling and chatting with her.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement, and her mouth opened and closed in awe.
Dugu Bo glanced at their friendly interaction and felt relieved.
"Xiao Feng, I've also been practicing those three soul paths you passed on. The effects are incredible. Will there be more in the future?"
"If all goes well, yes—but they're still in development."
Lin Feng's gaze shifted.
"Speaking of which, Grandpa Dugu, it's already been a year since our three-year agreement. Have you thought about where to go next?"
Uh...
Go somewhere? Life was pretty comfortable right now. As a guest elder, he even got early access to the remaining soul paths.
Why would he leave something this good?
Dugu Bo rolled his eyes.
"You really are sly, brat. Fine, I'll say it straight. Yan Yan will stay here to attend the elementary academy."
"As for me, I plan to ask the Grand Priest for an official position in the Spirit Hall. I'll formally join the organization and contribute. How's that?"
Qian Renxue stopped teasing Dugu Yan and gave him an approving look.
"Old Mister Dugu, that's very sensible of you. On behalf of the Spirit Hall, I welcome your official inclusion."
Dugu Bo waved his hand:
"No need to be so formal, young master. This old man doesn't care for such rules. Just speak freely."
Qian Renxue was briefly surprised—she hadn't expected Dugu Bo to be so carefree.
"That's good. Grandpa Dugu, we'll be leaving the Spirit Hall for a while. While we're here, we wanted to hand you something."
Lin Feng flipped his hand, revealing a piece of translucent white whale glue.
"This is whale glue. It enhances a soul master's physical constitution, thereby increasing soul ring duration. This particular piece can raise the first two soul rings by about 500 years."
Dugu Bo's pupils shrank. Aside from immortal herbs, this was the first he'd heard of something that could directly boost soul ring years.
He accepted the item and inspected it briefly.
"Another early discovery?"
Lin Feng smiled:
"Of course."
Dugu Bo exhaled deeply:
"You're using an open tactic here. With your reputation as a soul theory master, I can't even imagine what else you're hiding. Just releasing one cultivation path caused such a stir."
"If the news about whale glue got out, those nobles who waste it for... bedroom matters would be crying their eyes out."
Lin Feng lay back in his chair with satisfaction.
"Ah—what I'm hiding isn't much, but probably enough to pique a Title Douluo's interest."
Dugu Bo put the glue away and smiled slightly.
"Then I'll be looking forward to it."
"Big Sis Xue, are you and Big Brother Feng going on a long trip? When will you come back? Yan Yan's stuck here playing with Grandpa every day—it's kind of boring. You haven't visited me since last time either."
Dugu Bo's smile froze. Ouch—he'd been rejected.
Qian Renxue pinched Dugu Yan's soft little cheek and smiled:
"Yes, we're going on a journey."
"But don't be sad. In a year, when your martial soul awakens, you'll be able to attend the soul master academy."
"There, you'll meet lots of kids your age."
"Soul master academy?"
Dugu Yan tilted her head.
"Will there be people as amazing and pretty as Big Sis Xue and Big Brother Feng?"
Qian Renxue's lips curled:
"Probably not. Your big sis Xue and big bro Feng aren't ordinary soul masters."
"But..." She rubbed Dugu Yan's cheek, "You can become the strongest person in the whole academy!"
Dugu Yan's eyes lit up.
"Really? I can?"
Qian Renxue smiled sweetly and patted her head:
"Of course! Want to make a pinky promise? When we return, you'll already be the number one student at the academy."
"Yes, yes!"
Dugu Yan eagerly linked pinkies with Qian Renxue.
"Yan Yan will definitely become someone as amazing as Big Sis Xue and Big Brother Feng!"
T/N: For up to thirteen chapters ahead on this fic and twenty on my other, become a P@tron at [email protected]/LordHipposApostle