9: Chapter 9 Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix

"Ding-a-ling!" The bell for class rang.

Before long, a middle-aged man walked into the classroom.

He was wearing a Zhongshan suit and had his hair slicked back.

This was the homeroom teacher, Homeroom Teacher Liao Dafu.

Arriving at the podium, he scanned the classroom as usual, but when he saw Lin Mo and the other two, he froze for a moment.

"Lin Mo, Niu Dachun? Well, this is a rarity. How did you two Crouching Dragons and Fledgling Phoenixes deign to come to class?"

He then looked at Lu Mengmeng.

"And Lu Mengmeng, didn't your father ask for leave for you?"

Teacher Liao Dafu felt exhausted. It would be bad enough to have one or two Crouching Dragons or Fledgling Phoenixes in other classes, but in his class, there were three all at once.

Especially Lin Mo—he used to have to carry fast-acting heart pills with him every day.

Thinking of the fast-acting heart pills, Teacher Liao Dafu hurriedly patted his pocket.

"Whew~ Thank goodness, I didn't forget to bring it today..."

"Old Liao, look at what you're saying. Haven't you noticed that my Soul Power has already reached level five?" Lin Mo said, sounding annoyed.

Hearing this, Teacher Liao Dafu quickly pushed up his reading glasses to observe Lin Mo.

He discovered that it had indeed reached level five.

His heart was immediately shocked.

As the homeroom teacher, he knew the situation with Lin Mo's Martial Soul better than anyone.

It could be said that it was a useless Medicine Cauldron Martial Spirit.

It would never be able to break through level three in this lifetime.

This was also the reason he had advised Lin Mo to focus on the liberal arts college entrance exam.

But now, in just over a week, Lin Mo had broken through to level five Soul Power.

He both loved and hated this student.

His liberal arts grades were always the best in the school.

His knowledge of Martial Soul theory was even more impressive than his own, but unfortunately, he had a big mouth.

He was always bringing up Martial Soul theories that even he didn't understand.

Currently, quite a few teachers would take a detour when they saw him.

"Ahem, alright. I see you didn't listen to my advice and are still planning to take the martial arts exam!"

He sighed lightly and looked at Niu Dachun.

"And what about you, Niu Dachun? Why are you back? Your Soul Power... eh?"

Teacher Liao Dafu just realized that there was actually a fluctuation of Soul Power coming from Niu Dachun!

Probing with his Soul Power, he found it was actually level three Soul Power.

This left him even more shocked.

If Lin Mo's Martial Soul was half-crippled, then Niu Dachun's Martial Soul was completely crippled.

Yet, only a week had passed, and even Niu Dachun had increased his Soul Power by three levels.

This made him suspect that these two Crouching Dragons and Fledgling Phoenixes were not trash, but hidden geniuses.

"Ahem, alright. You keep working hard and strive to reach the passing line of level five Soul Power before the college entrance exam!"

Finally, his gaze flicked toward Lu Mengmeng; he opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't say a word.

She was a problem student who had listened to Lin Mo's bullshit theories and absorbed soul crystals indiscriminately.

And the result? Not only did she not die, but her Martial Soul had mutated.

He didn't know if it was just the luck of the foolish.

Currently, the entire First High School was in an uproar because of this.

He heard it had even attracted the attention of several Martial Soul Academies.

"Before class starts, I have one thing to say."

"After a decision by the various middle schools in Linjiang City, in order to improve students' practical combat abilities, it has been decided to open the primary soul-hunting secret realm, the 'Wasteland Secret Realm,' for everyone to improve their combat experience."

As soon as this news came out, the students immediately let out exclamations.

"The Wasteland Secret Realm! Isn't that the secret realm recently discovered in Linjiang City? I heard it was just rated as a primary secret realm not long ago. They're actually opening it for us to use?"

"Yeah, I heard that the output of non-attribute soul crystals in this primary secret realm is extremely high."

"The soul crystal output is high, but you have to have the ability to get them. I also heard that although the monsters inside are all Tier 1 or Tier 2, they are still very dangerous."

"That's right, I heard that some people went in and were accidentally infected by the monsters, and in the end, they became monsters themselves."

"Who cares? As long as I can hunt some soul crystals, maybe I can reach level seven before the college entrance exam!"

Upon hearing this news, the most excited one was undoubtedly Lin Mo.

He was already trying to figure out where to get money to acquire soul crystals for cultivation.

After buying the materials for Da Chun's Martial Soul mutation and Soul Skill awakening, he only had a little over two million left.

Subsequently, not only did he need to buy soul crystals for cultivation, but he also needed to buy various medicinal herbs for his alchemy research.

If he didn't have enough funds, with their two C/D-grade Martial Souls, it would be impossible for them to shine brightly in the college entrance exam.

"Quiet!" Homeroom Teacher Liao Dafu patted the podium, and the discussion in the classroom instantly subsided.

"Although the Wasteland Secret Realm is open, it is not for you to go and mess around!"

"This activity will open every day at noon before the college entrance exam. It will be conducted in groups of three. The school will uniformly issue protective combat suits. The hunted soul crystals must be handed over to the school according to a ratio, and the rest will belong to the individual."

He paused and scanned the whole class:

"The most important point: the infected entities in the secret realm are infectious. Once you are scratched or bitten, you must immediately leave the secret realm to receive treatment. If anyone hides their injuries, don't blame the school for handling it according to school rules!"

"Teacher Liao, I heard there are some humanoid monsters inside. I wonder how these monsters compare to Soul Beasts of the same level outside the city?"

A male student wearing glasses raised his hand and asked, his eyes full of excitement.

"According to official announcements, there are indeed many humanoid monsters inside." Teacher Liao Dafu nodded.

"Comparing them to the Soul Beasts outside the city, each has its pros and cons. After you go in, make sure you never take off your protective suits, so you don't get scratched or bitten."

Lin Mo tapped his fingertips under the desk, his brain working at high speed.

He had also briefly understood the news about the Wasteland Secret Realm.

Currently, it was only mentioned that the production of ordinary non-attribute soul crystals inside was very high.

Because it had only recently been rated, it had not yet been opened to the general public.

He hadn't expected it to be opened to examinees first.

"Boss, why are you spacing out?" Lu Mengmeng nudged him with her elbow.

"Didn't you always want to go into a secret realm to take a look? This opportunity has come."

Niu Dachun also leaned over and smiled foolishly:

"Brother Mo, it's groups of three; it just so happens we can form a group."

Lin Mo came back to his senses and looked at the two of them:

"Sure, but after we go in, you have to listen to my commands."

He glanced at Lu Mengmeng,

"Especially you, Mengmeng, don't always think about rushing to the front."

Lu Mengmeng pouted:

"Got it, you're so naggy."

"Oh, ho, is this because your Martial Soul mutated that you've started to not listen to your boss? Do you believe I can make your Martial Soul change back!"

Hearing this, Lu Mengmeng was immediately panicked and started howling.

"Ow, Boss, no, no, no, I was wrong. From now on, Mengmeng will listen to everything you say!"

She had finally changed her fate with great difficulty, and she didn't want to go back to being someone who could only stand behind her teammates and shout "666".

She also didn't want to be like her father, who could only be suppressed by her mother for his whole life, looking timid and cowardly.

"Good that you know. Now take out all the spicy sticks in your bag and share them..."

Ding-a-ling!

The bell for the end of the first class rang.

He was just about to wait for Teacher Liao Dafu to leave so he could drag Lu Mengmeng to treat him to ice cream.

However, after Teacher Liao Dafu finished packing up his textbooks, he looked toward the back.

"Lin Mo, come with me to the office!"

Lin Mo was stunned.

He guessed in his heart that the smoking incident must have been reported to the homeroom teacher.

He could only helplessly agree, then stood up and followed him out.