Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

Chapter 21 Graduation

Sixth grade has finally ended, and so has all of my studies at Notting Junior Soul Master Academy.

By graduation, Yang Ping'an's soul power had increased to level fifteen, which was considered average among all the students—neither too high nor too low.

Normally, in such a primary Soul Master academy, there are occasionally a few exceptionally outstanding students, but these are usually above level 20, and there are basically no students above level 25.

Yang Ping'an now has several future directions in front of him. The first direction, which is the one that all students usually choose, is to study at an intermediate soul master academy.

Normal intermediate soul master academies usually have admission requirements, which are basically just becoming a soul master. However, some slightly better intermediate soul master academies have higher requirements for students.

Yang Ping'an studied it carefully and it seemed that there was no suitable intermediate soul master academy for him. Moreover, apart from seeking protection, going to an academy did not seem to have any other significant purpose.

In the original story, Tang San and Xiao Wu skipped the intermediate soul master academy and went directly to Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy's requirements were even more outrageous: students had to reach level 25 or above before the age of twelve. Those who claimed to have reached level 20 or above by the age of twelve were simply throwing money away.

What does it mean to reach level 25 or above at the age of twelve? In my previous life, this would have been at least the level of a top scorer in the city's college entrance examination. At least in the last six years, no genius of this level has appeared in Notting City.

Since becoming a Soul Master, although his physical attributes have improved through the absorption of Soul Rings and the growth of the Purple Gold Mastiff, his cultivation speed can only be maintained at two levels per year, and his Soul Power improvement speed has been significantly slower.

This is perhaps the difference in innate soul power. Despite his best efforts, he could only barely increase his soul power by twelve levels in six years. It seems that his improvement will become slower and slower in the future.

The second option is to develop independently, either by joining some mercenaries or by becoming an external member of a major power.

However, from any perspective, it is difficult to make a choice.

Intermediate Soul Master academies offer a relatively stable learning environment, but tuition fees are quite high, typically ranging from twenty to fifty gold soul coins per year, with some aristocratic academies charging even more.

Moreover, many intermediate and advanced soul master academies are essentially one entity, primarily serving to supply talent to advanced soul master academies.

Especially those good advanced soul master academies, they basically only recruit nobles, with only a very small number recruiting commoners.

After much deliberation, Yang Ping'an finally decided to go to the Intermediate Soul Master Academy.

With his current strength, if he really didn't go to school, he could only become a rogue cultivator. Rogue cultivators generally have no resources or background. Although they are carefree, they also have no backers and are like ants among those high-level soul masters.

After gathering information from various sources, I finally chose a decent intermediate-level Soul Master Academy, one that was at least suitable for my Martial Soul and could serve as a support for me in the short term.

Douluo Continent is also a place where power and backing are important. I remember in the original work, the students of Shrek Academy once said outside the Soul Hunter Forest that the students of the Soul Master Academy were the easiest to bully.

In fact, this is the exact opposite of the other side. Normally, between soul master academies, both sides have each other's backers. They usually just fight and don't go too far, at least they won't kill each other.

However, if you provoke a rogue cultivator, you might easily run into a brick wall. Who knows what kind of power network rogue cultivators might have, or who knows if they are fearless? You should know that rogue cultivators basically obtain all their resources through plunder, and they are all more ruthless and decisive.

Choosing a college is quite difficult, as there are many different options available.

First of all, Yang Ping'an immediately ruled out Shrek Academy from the original story. With his current soul power level, he couldn't even meet the minimum admission requirements for Shrek Academy. Moreover, Shrek Academy became too involved in many things later on, with most of its members being his enemies. In addition, Yang Ping'an also looked down on Shrek Academy's teaching methods.

Secondly, there was the Spirit Hall's intermediate-level Soul Master Academy. After some hesitation, I gave up on it. The Spirit Hall was indeed suitable for the development of ordinary people, but the high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall were pure idiots, and there would be endless fighting in the future. It was better to get away from it as soon as possible. Besides, with my current strength, I would only be cannon fodder if I went to the Spirit Hall's intermediate-level Soul Master circle.

Ultimately, Yang Ping'an chose a mid-level Soul Master academy that he felt was very good, which would at least allow him to develop quietly for a few years and also give him some backing.

Information travels very quickly among Soul Masters. In just over twenty days, Yang Ping'an received his admission notice to the Intermediate Soul Master Academy and officially graduated from the Notting Junior Soul Master Academy.

After graduation, Yang Ping'an returned to Wanghun Village, preparing to say his final goodbye there.

Yang Ping'an arrived at his parents' graves, poured three cups of wine in front of them, and then drank directly from a wine bottle in his hand.

As they drank more and more, the expressions on their parents' faces became clearer. Father and son played together, and the mother was kind and gentle. No matter where they were, the three of them were always happy together.

However, their home was destroyed, and their parents were forced to leave the family in order to survive. Even if they went into seclusion, their father was killed and their mother died of depression. The culprit of all this did not receive any punishment in the end, even in the original story.

That night, Yang Ping'an unusually did not cultivate, because after this, he probably wouldn't have time to come back and see his parents for a long time.

The next morning, Yang Ping'an woke up from his drunken stupor, his eyes now deep and cold, filled with hatred.

He gritted his teeth, summoned the golden mastiff to patrol outside, and then began to move the only bed in the room, under which was a stone slab.

After various parties worked together, and after leaving several stone slabs and even part of the foundation, they finally obtained a wooden box.

The wooden box contained only a storage ring and some gold soul coins. Originally, these gold soul coins were meant for his own use. If he hadn't become a soul master, these gold soul coins would have ensured his livelihood for half his life.

Yang Ping'an's real purpose was to find the storage ring, and his parents had ended up in such a state because of the things inside the ring.

Opening the bamboo ring is not complicated; you just need to inject your soul power, and there are no special requirements.

After Yang Ping'an infused his soul power into the storage ring, the contents inside were astonishing.

Inside was a long lead box containing many books, a large amount of gold soul coins, and even a considerable number of pills.

All of this can be said to be what Soul Masters dream of, but it is also the source of all disasters.

(End of this chapter)