72: Chapter 72 They Graduated Early

Tang San hurried all the way to the girls' dormitory building. As soon as he stood steady, he called out toward the upper floors.

"Xiao Wu!"

In just a moment, the young girl with playful long braids poked her head out of the window. Seeing Tang San downstairs, her eyes curved, but she didn't come bounding down like she did when she first enrolled. Instead, she asked aloud, "What is it, Tang San?"

Tang San looked up at her, a soft smile appearing unconsciously on his face, and his tone softened a little: "Can you come down? I have something I want to discuss with you."

Xiao Wu pouted, but still turned and went downstairs. Walking up to him, she put her hands behind her back and tilted her head to look at him: "Speak, what is it?"

"Lin Yue says that with our current Cultivate and mastery of Spirit knowledge, Nuoding Academy has nothing left to teach us. We can completely graduate from the Elementary Academy early; even the content of the Intermediate Academy won't stump us."

Tang San looked at her, his tone carrying a hint of cautious inquiry: "I plan to leave Nuoding City. Lin Yue recommended that I go to Shrek Academy in Suotuo City to take a look. It's an academy that only accepts monsters, and it has very powerful teachers. I want to ask you, are you willing to go to Suotuo City with me?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

She had no attachment to Nuoding City anyway. In this small city, the highest-level Spirit Master was only a Spirit King, and the targets to pursue and Opportunities for improvement it could offer her were negligible.

Not to mention that she originally came from the Star Dou Great Forest and had always wanted to see the prosperity of the human World. She also wanted to improve her strength faster. Suotuo City was far more prosperous than Nuoding City and had more Opportunities, so it was indeed a good place to go.

Her eyes rolled, and she first asked: "Is Sister Lin Yue going?"

When asking this, Xiao Wu sighed silently in her heart.

She could easily have Tang San, this Genius with twin spirits, wrapped around her finger; her progress bar for pursuing him was long since maxed out. But when it came to Lin Yue, the progress bar was stuck at 66% and wouldn't move at all.

She had tried acting soft and clingy while calling her sister, tried asking for advice on Cultivate, tried showing off her movement techniques and soft skills in front of Lin Yue, and even tried helping out when Lin Yue was being given a hard time. Yet, Lin Yue always kept her at a distance—warm, yet distant—and she could never see through what Lin Yue was thinking.

It had been so long, and not only had she failed to enter Lin Yue's heart, she hadn't even figured out a fraction of Lin Yue's true background.

After failing to make any progress after so many attempts at pursuing her, Xiao Wu couldn't be bothered to waste any more effort.

After all, compared to the hard-to-crack Lin Yue, Tang San, whom she already held firmly in her grasp, was clearly more useful.

Tang San answered honestly: "Lin Yue plans to travel the continent alone, training everywhere to hone her Cultivate, and will not be leaving with us."

"Is that so."

A perfectly measured look of regret appeared on Xiao Wu's face, and she immediately nodded readily: "Alright, then I'll go to Suotuo City with you! Anyway, I'm tired of staying in this Nuoding City. It's good to go see a big city; it's better than being trapped in this small place."

Seeing her agree, a brilliant smile instantly bloomed on Tang San's face, and even his earlobes turned a little red. He nodded quickly: "Great! Then let's go talk to the Dean about graduating early today, and we'll set off first thing tomorrow morning!"

Xiao Wu watched him like this, a faint, imperceptible smile curling the corners of her lips, though her heart remained completely calm.

Pursuing Tang San was just too easy.

That afternoon, the three of them—Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Lin Yue—walked into the Nuoding Academy Dean's office together.

After hearing their request to graduate early, the teacup in the old Dean's hand dropped onto the desk with a "clang." He didn't even bother to wipe up the tea that spilled all over the table, staring at the three of them with wide eyes, nearly crying on the spot.

"Graduate? Graduate early? No, no! Absolutely not!"

The old Dean stood up anxiously and paced around the three of them: "You three are the treasures of our Nuoding Academy. Who doesn't know that our Nuoding Academy produced you three, Geniuses rarely seen in a century? If you leave, the academy's reputation will collapse!"

Over the past two or three years, relying on these three Geniuses, Nuoding Academy's reputation had spread from an obscure Elementary Academy to the entire Heaven Dou Empire.

Countless nobles and Spirit Master Families broke their heads trying to send their children to learn at Nuoding Academy (primarily to interact with the three Geniuses). The academy's size had doubled, they were receiving so many sponsorship fees that their hands were soft from counting them, and the old Dean was fawned over wherever he went, enjoying infinite prestige.

Now that the three pillars were leaving, how could he bear it?

But he also knew that he couldn't keep these three people at all.

Lin Yue was already a Level 31 Battle Spirit Elder at age nine. She could cripple a Spirit Grandmaster with a single spear strike without even using a Spirit Ability, and even he couldn't take three moves from her.

Xiao Wu was also a Level 30 control system Spirit Master, an absolutely troublesome Spirit Master.

Although Tang San was slightly behind, he was already a Level 23 control system Spirit Grandmaster.

At this age, with this level of Cultivate, not to mention Elementary Spirit Master Academies, even students graduating from Intermediate Spirit Master Academies could rarely reach this level.

Geniuses never follow the curriculum step-by-step. Forcing them to stay in the academy would only delay them and end up giving the academy a bad reputation.

The old Dean paced anxiously, but eventually sat back down in his chair, dejected. With red-rimmed eyes, he sighed: "Fine, fine. I know that this small Nuoding Academy truly cannot keep you golden Phoenixes. I will process your graduation paperwork, but... when you become successful in the future, don't forget that you walked out of Nuoding Academy."

The three of them quickly agreed. The old Dean didn't hesitate, immediately having the graduation paperwork processed on the spot, and even specially approved a large scholarship of five hundred gold coins, stuffing it into their hands.

This is the treatment a Genius deserves; Geniuses must be cultivated with money.

The next morning, the old Dean, along with all the teachers of the academy, stood at the academy gate, crying as they saw the three off.

Watching their retreating figures, the old Dean wiped away his tears. His heart was both proud and sorrowful; what Nuoding Academy could teach them had indeed reached its end.

At the city gate, the three stopped.

Lin Yue looked at Tang San and Xiao Wu and spoke calmly: "Let's part ways here. I am going west, and you are going east to Suotuo City. Take care along the way."

"Sister Lin Yue, you must be careful traveling alone." Tang San looked at her, his tone full of worry, "If you encounter any trouble, you can come find us in Suotuo City at any time."

Xiao Wu also waved her hand and shouted with a smile: "Sister Lin Yue, see you if fate allows!"

Lin Yue nodded, said nothing more, turned, gripped the World-Breaking Spear at her waist, and walked toward the official road to the west.

Her figure was straight and crisp, quickly disappearing at the end of the road. She completely broke away from the main storyline of the original work, hiding in the vast sea of people on the continent, becoming a hunter hidden in the shadows.

Watching Lin Yue walk away, Tang San withdrew his gaze and smiled at Xiao Wu: "Let's go too, Xiao Wu."

Xiao Wu nodded and walked ahead, skipping and jumping. Tang San hurriedly followed behind her, reaching out to steady her from time to time, afraid she might trip over a stone on the road, looking for all the World like he wouldn't leave her side for a moment.

The two chatted and laughed all the way as they headed in the direction of Suotuo City.

The news of the three leaving Nuoding City didn't reach Yu Xiaogang's ears until three days later.

During those three days, Yu Xiaogang had locked himself in his dormitory. It took him several days to recover from the despair of being expelled from his Family and the loss of the immortal Opportunity, before he finally grabbed onto the last straw of hope...