"Alright, everyone, sit down and get ready for class. Before we begin, let me introduce a new young classmate to you all. I believe after the battle just now, you've already seen how amazing he is." After finishing her words, Zhou Yan looked at Tian Lin. "Come on, Xiao Tian, come up and introduce yourself."
Tian Lin nodded and walked to the podium. "Hello everyone, my name is Jun Tian Lin. I'm seven years old, my martial soul is the Suppressing Demon Sword, and I'm an 18th-level Assault-type Battle Soul Master!"
As soon as he spoke, the class erupted into commotion, especially Aldor, who had fought him earlier.
Seven years old and already at level 18—what kind of concept is this? Aldor himself was already 14 years old when he reached level 18. Was this boy's talent truly so terrifying? No wonder the academy's top officials personally made an exception to allow him into the Royal Academy.
But despite this, Aldor still looked down on Tian Lin. After all, a commoner is still a commoner. So what if he's talented? Without sufficient cultivation resources, his future achievements would at most cap out at the Soul Emperor level.
Even if Aldor couldn't defeat Tian Lin now, he was confident that his family's influence and power could easily crush him.
A sinister gleam flashed in Aldor's eyes, clearly indicating that he had no intention of letting this matter go.
After his introduction, Tian Lin returned to his seat. This class was a mix of Control-type and Assault-type students, so there were two instructors.
One was Zhou Yan, their homeroom teacher, whose martial soul was the Butterfly, making her a Control-type Battle Soul Master at the Soul Ancestor level.
The other was a middle-aged man named Ye Ping. His martial soul was a Wolfhound, and he was an Assault-type Battle Soul Master, also at the Soul Ancestor level.
The classes focused on theoretical knowledge, such as the types of soul beasts most suited for Control and Assault-type soul masters to hunt, various skill combinations, and tactics for teamwork during battles.
Soul Master academies were quite different from the schools in Tian Lin's previous life. Theoretical lessons only lasted for half the morning. In the afternoons, students were free to cultivate on their own. They could choose to practice their soul power in mimicry cultivation zones, train their soul skills in open spaces, or even engage in duels at the combat arena.
Although the academy entrusted Tian Lin to Zhou Yan's care, she was a Control-type soul master. Thus, it was Ye Ping, the Assault-type instructor, who taught Tian Lin. Compared to the elegant Zhou Yan, Ye Ping seemed lecherous and unpleasant, and Tian Lin didn't like him at all.
Finally enduring the dull theoretical lessons, Tian Lin had lunch and then returned to his preferred method of cultivation. In the afternoon, he practiced swordsmanship, and at night, he meditated to enhance his soul power.
In the forest, Tian Lin was continuously swinging his Demon Sword. At this moment, he was completely different from how he was in the morning, his entire body radiating a strong killing intent. Every move he made was precise, quick, and ruthless.
He was practicing the Seven Kill Sword Technique. This sword art was designed specifically for killing enemies. The first move, Spreading Killing Intent, was a technique focused on accumulating and intensifying one's killing aura.
Not far away, hidden behind a large tree, three figures were secretly watching him. One of them was Aldor, accompanied by his two lackeys.
"Boss, this guy is terrifying. I think we'd better not provoke him. Wouldn't it be better if we just stayed out of each other's way?" one of the lackeys stammered, trembling as he watched Tian Lin's fearsome aura. The sheer killing intent emanating from Tian Lin made his hair stand on end.
"Idiot! We're nobles! To be humiliated by a commoner and not seek revenge would be an utter disgrace!" Aldor snarled. "Don't worry. I didn't just bring the two of you. I even spent a fortune to hire a student at the Heaven-Rank level. Dealing with this one-ring soul master will be a piece of cake."
"Hmph, so what if he's talented? Tonight, I'll cripple him. Let's see if the academy board members still favor him then." A cruel glint flashed in Aldor's eyes as he stared at Tian Lin.
The Seven Kill Sword Technique was far more formidable than the foundational sword techniques of the Shu Mountain Treasure Record. Despite practicing for a while, Tian Lin hadn't truly mastered it yet.
When Sword Douluo demonstrated Spreading Killing Intent, his killing aura would gather but remain contained, only exploding at the moment of attack, striking fear into his opponents. However, Tian Lin's killing intent was slow to build and easily dissipated.
This wasn't just because of his limited training time. More importantly, he hadn't killed anyone yet.
As the sky darkened, Tian Lin wiped the sweat off his forehead and sheathed his sword.
"Alright, that's enough for today. Time to go back and cultivate my soul power. I need to break through to level 20 as soon as possible. Once I do, I'll be able to learn the Sword Control Technique." Tian Lin had already mastered Shu Mountain Treasure Record's foundational sword techniques. With sufficient strength, he could soon begin practicing the advanced Sword Control Technique.
The sword arts of Mount Shu and the Seven Kill Sword Technique were opposites. One followed the principle of natural harmony, while the other thrived on overwhelming killing intent. Tian Lin was ambitious—he wanted to master both paths and eventually create a sword art of his own.
"Stop right there! You think you can leave that easily?" Suddenly, a group of people emerged from the forest, surrounding Tian Lin.
There were about ten of them, all around 17 or 18 years old. Among them, Tian Lin recognized one person—Aldor.
"You again? Do you ever get tired of this? Just tell me—what do you want this time?" Tian Lin asked, exasperated.
Aldor sneered arrogantly. "What do I want? I'm here to teach you a lesson!"
Tian Lin shrugged. "With just you? If everyone you brought is at your level, I could take all of you on by myself. Why don't you save yourself the embarrassment?"
"Hmph, of course, it's not just me. Today, I'll show you what a real expert looks like." Aldor suddenly turned to one of the people behind him and said respectfully, "Senior, I'll leave him to you."
"Don't worry, Aldor. He's just a kid—I'll handle him," said a young man who stepped forward with his hands behind his back. "Little boy, Heaven Dou Royal Academy isn't a place for commoners like you. I suggest you leave on your own, or I won't hold back."
Tian Lin could sense that this man was far stronger than Aldor—likely not just a Heaven-Rank student.
But to make him yield? That was still far from enough.
"Jun Tian Lin, 18th-level Battle Soul Master, martial soul: Suppressing Demon Sword!" With a flash of blue light, the Demon-Suppressing Sword appeared in Tian Lin's hand. His actions made his intentions clear.
The man sighed. "Since you're courting death, don't blame me. Chu Jie, 28th-level Control-type Battle Soul Master, martial soul: Bronze Ring!"
As Chu Jie spoke, a bronze ring appeared in his hand, and two yellow soul rings began to orbit around him.
At level 28, this man was indeed a Heaven-Rank student.
Moreover, Tian Lin vaguely remembered this Bronze Ring martial soul. It appeared in the original story during the All-Continent Soul Master Elite Tournament.
It belonged to a member of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy's second team—this very person.
Unfortunately, his Bronze Ring had been no match for the overwhelming strength of Dai Mubai, who had broken free in an instant and defeated him without resistance.
Even so, anyone qualified to participate in the tournament had to be quite talented among ordinary people.
"Perfect," Tian Lin thought. "This is a great opportunity to test my newly learned Seven Kill Sword Technique."