Chapter 165: Revisiting the Heavenly Struggle
After two hours of struggle, Flander finally caught all the water arrow frogs in the lake, each with nine hundred years of cultivation.
Then, Flander carefully checked twice more to make sure there were no water arrow frogs with nine hundred years of cultivation in the lake before returning to Shi Lin's side.
"We've basically caught all the water arrow frogs in the lake. That's all we have. Catching these things is just too much work," Flander said breathlessly to Shi Lin.
"That's enough. I'll give you the Gu worms in half a month," Shi Lin said to Flander, stroking his chin.
"Alright, Xiao Lin, since that's the case, then thank you for your trouble. It's not easy to come to the Star Dou Great Forest. Is there anything else you want? I'll go and catch it for you." Flander said earnestly to Shi Lin.
"That's all. Next, I plan to work hard in my cultivation and strive to break through level 30 as soon as possible," Shi Lin said earnestly to Flander.
"You've actually become ambitious? Not bad, not bad. With your talent, you should indeed put all your energy into cultivation and strive to break through your realm as soon as possible." Flander looked at Shi Lin and nodded in satisfaction.
In Flander's eyes, Shi Lin was wasting his talent by running around all day; he should have put all his energy into cultivation and combat.
"Yes, the dean is right," Shi Lin nodded in agreement.
Flander nodded as he looked at Shi Lin's serious expression.
"Alright, since you don't need any other spirit beasts, come back with me. I imagine Zhao Wuji and the other students have almost finished absorbing their spirit rings by now," Flander said with a smile to Shi Lin.
"With Teacher Zhao's abilities, it should be about right." Shi Lin pursed his lips and nodded in agreement.
"Keep up," Flander said to Shi Lin, then turned and entered the forest, where he began to run wildly.
Shi Lin glanced in Flander's direction and then plunged into the forest as well.
The two of them rushed towards the camp at an extremely fast speed.
...
Half an hour later, Flander and Shi Lin returned to the camp.
At this moment, the camp was peaceful and quiet. There were no problems, no one was injured, and no spirit beasts took the opportunity to attack the camp.
Seeing that everything at the camp was alright, Flander breathed a long sigh of relief.
After all, these are his students. If anything goes wrong when he takes them out to hunt soul beasts, then he will have served as the dean for nothing.
When the trainees in the camp saw Flander, they all stood up and came to him, bowing to him.
"No need for formalities. Have you all finished absorbing your spirit rings?" Flander asked the students in front of him.
"They've all absorbed it, and two are still in their rooms consolidating their cultivation," a student stepped forward and explained to Flander.
Flander nodded, then looked at the number of people; most of the trainees he had brought this time were here.
Only Zhao Wuji and Shi An are not here.
"Teacher Zhao took Brother Shi An to hunt spirit beasts. They set off half an hour ago and should be back soon," another student said to Flander.
"Okay, go back and rest. We can leave here after they come back," Flander said to the students in front of him.
"Yes, Dean Flander!" The students in the camp saluted Flander, then turned and went back into the camp to rest.
"Dean, I'm going to rest too. Running around in the forest is really tiring," Shi Lin said, bowing to Flander.
"Yes, you've worked hard too. Go back and get some rest." Flander nodded to Shi Lin.
Shi Lin turned around and went back to a room, where he sat cross-legged. Before he could even enter a meditative state...
Zhao Wuji then brought Shi An back from outside.
Upon hearing the sound, Shi Lin immediately broke out of his cultivation state and came out of the room.
As soon as they stepped outside, they saw Zhao Wuji and Shi An returning from outside the camp.
Seeing Shi An's expression, Shi Lin felt relieved. Shi An was beaming with joy, clearly having just absorbed a very good soul ring and acquired a very good soul skill.
"Greetings, young master." Shi An bowed to Shi Lin as soon as he saw him come out.
"No need for formalities. Dean Flander, when are we setting off back?" Shi Lin said to Shi An, then turned to Flander and asked.
After hearing Shi Lin's words, Flander looked up at the sky. It was already noon, and it would only take two or three hours to leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Alright, Xiao An, let's go pack up the camp. You go and stabilize your cultivation. We'll leave the Star Dou Great Forest once your cultivation is stable," Flander said after thinking for a moment, turning to Shi An.
Shi An had just absorbed a spirit ring and needed to consolidate his newly improved cultivation, which was why Flander lingered in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Thank you, Dean." Shi An bowed gratefully to Flander, then returned to his room to consolidate his cultivation.
Flander and his group began tidying up the camp, trying their best not to damage the environment, since this was the territory of spirit beasts.
An hour later, Shi An's cultivation had basically stabilized, so Flander and the others left the Star Dou Great Forest.
...
Ten days later, Shi An drove Shi Lin back to the Shi family manor.
Flander and his companions returned directly to Shrek Academy. They still had teaching duties to attend to, and with the number of students at Shrek Academy increasing, Flander and his group were quite busy.
"Finally, I'm home." Shi Lin looked at the thick walls of the Shi Family Manor and smiled broadly.
The Shi Family Manor is now more fortified than Notting City, and the patrol teams have been replaced with newly appointed Soul Masters.
The Shi family's Soul Master training program is divided into two parts: one is the core members, with Shi Zhen and Shi Lin sparing no effort to train these people and make them high-level Soul Masters.
The other part consists of ordinary Soul Masters, mainly the guards and servants of the Shi family. Shi Zhen and Shi Lin decided to keep the Soul Power level of the guards at level 40 and that of the servants at level 30.
These people outside the Shi family manor are guards trained by the Shi family. Their martial souls are basically farm tools or ordinary plants and animals. They were forcibly upgraded to soul masters through the top-grade wine gu, and are now only at level ten or so.
Because the martial souls lacked combat power, Shi Zhen purchased a batch of swords and sabers from Gengxin City, along with armor produced by the Ironclad Gu, to equip the swords and sabers with the armor.
The Shi family's guards were almost as powerful as Soul Masters of the same level.
The top-grade wine gu can basically help these people break through to level 30 or so, and then it will lose its effect. Shi Zhen also doesn't want his guards to be too strong.
If it's too strong, it will backfire.
After entering the Shi Family Manor, Shi An did not stop the car and went directly to Shi Zhen's courtyard.
At this moment, Shi Zhen was cultivating. Upon hearing the sound of the carriage outside, he broke out of his cultivation state and came out of his study.
"Son? He's back?" Shi Zhen looked at Shi Lin with a shocked expression, paused for a moment, and asked Shi Lin.
"Just got back from the Star Dou Great Forest." Shi Lin said with a smile as he entered the study and found a place to sit down.
"You brat, you came out of seclusion and didn't even look for me, you went straight to the Star Dou Great Forest with Flander. You don't care about your father at all." Shi Zhen returned to his seat and said to Shi Lin with annoyance.
"Hehe, I was just thinking of going out for a walk to clear my head. By the way, Dad, is everything alright at home lately?" Shi Lin asked Shi Zhen.
"What else could happen? Everything is basically settled. Next, we just need to focus on our cultivation and try to break through level 30 as soon as possible," Shi Zhen said to Shi Lin, shrugging his shoulders.
"If there's nothing else, I'm also planning to go into seclusion," Shi Lin said to Shi Zhen.
"No, if you're talking about something, I actually have something I need you to do." Shi Zhen suddenly thought of something and said to Shi Lin.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Shi Lin was suddenly stunned and looked at Shi Zhen curiously.
"Yesterday, the Lord of Notting City sent me a letter. The Heaven Dou Empire is recruiting talented individuals, inviting those with vision to come to Heaven Dou City to become advisors to the Heaven Dou Royal Family. If they perform meritorious service, they can obtain a noble title." Shi Zhen handed a parchment scroll to Shi Lin.
"Dad, do you mean you want me to try my luck in Heaven Dou City?" Shi Lin looked at Shi Zhen with some doubt.
At this moment, Shi Lin felt that he must not be his biological son anymore, after all, what biological father would send him to such a place?
"Dad, do you have a mistress outside? Did you have another son?" Shi Lin asked Shi Zhen with a frown, his tone full of disdain.
"Get lost. Notting City has basically stabilized, and the Heaven Dou Empire is also relatively stable now. That's why I was thinking of sending you to Heaven Dou City to gain some experience. After all, you won't improve much if you stay at home all the time," Shi Zhen said to Shi Lin with a serious expression.
Upon hearing Shi Zhen's words, Shi Lin lowered his head slightly and began to ponder.
Going to Heaven Dou City has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages are that Heaven Dou City is the center of the Heaven Dou Empire, with abundant resources and the Ying Yang Ice And Fire Eyes. More importantly, the Shi family needs a title.
After all, the current occupation of Notting City is only a de facto occupation by the Shi family. If the Heaven Dou Empire were to forcefully demand it, the Shi family would have to hand over a large amount of wealth.
The downside is that when involved in politics, one is easily assassinated or beheaded if one is not careful. Moreover, Xue Qinghe is actually Qian Renxue in disguise, which increases the danger to Shi Lin.
Shi Lin frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and then nodded heavily.
"Alright, let's set off in three days. Here are thirty soul tools and one million gold soul coins that I've prepared for you. Don't be stingy with money while you're traveling." Shi Zhen handed a soul tool to Shi Lin.
"Dad, if you give me all of this, is it enough for the family?" Shi Lin was stunned for a moment; this was no small sum.
"Of course it's enough. During the six months you were in seclusion, the net profit exceeded three million gold soul coins. I used eighty percent of it to acquire various resources and train guards." Shi Zhen smiled slightly, his voice full of pride.
"Three million!" Shi Lin stared wide-eyed at Shi Zhen in disbelief.
"Yes, our family's liquor business is already twice the size of last year, and it will continue to grow in the future. I'm planning to expand our family's territory today," Shi Zhen said excitedly to Shi Lin.
"Dad, calm down. Didn't I tell you before that we shouldn't let our family's power grow too fast?" Shi Lin said to Shi Zhen with wide eyes.
The Shi family is still a small force that has just become a Soul Master family. If they earn too much, they will not only easily become someone else's blood bag, but they may also be wiped out if they are not careful!
"Don't we know our family's situation? I'll have your Uncle Fugui take a group of people to a nearby town to buy a piece of land to build a winery. The elders of Shijia Village have also found a piece of land to brew wine! In this way, the three of them will compete for profits, the price of the wine will be driven down, and fewer people will be interested in this business." Shi Zhen raised his eyebrows and said to Shi Lin.
Upon hearing Shi Zhen's words, Shi Lin was stunned. He hadn't expected his father to be so powerful, expanding his business so much.
"The key to this plan is whether we can acquire the territory near Notting City. Father, isn't this too risky? If we're not careful, it'll all benefit someone else," Shi Lin said to Shi Zhen, frowning slightly.
"I believe you," Shi Zhen said softly.
This made Shi Lin's teeth ache; this task was just too difficult.
"Never mind, Dad, I'll have someone arrange a car for me later. I'll go to Heaven Dou City tomorrow," Shi Lin said helplessly to Shi Zhen.
"Okay, just tell me what you need and I'll arrange it for you," Shi Zhen said to Shi Lin.
"Father, after I leave, have those merchants buy antidote prescriptions on the Douluo Continent. I want all kinds of antidote prescriptions. Once you have thirty, send them to Heaven Dou City for me," Shi Lin said to Shi Zhen, stroking his chin.
Now that he's gone to Heaven Dou City, Shi Lin will try to get his hands on the Ying Yang Ice And Fire Eyes from Dugu Bo.
"No problem." Shi Zhen nodded.
"Father, I'm going to make preparations. I'll be leaving tomorrow." Shi Lin clasped his hands in a fist salute to Shi Zhen, then turned and left.
Shi Zhen watched Shi Lin's retreating figure and sighed softly.
My son is smart, quick-witted, and resilient, but he's a bit lazy and needs some pressure to keep going.
...
After leaving Shi Zhen's courtyard, Shi Lin found a secret passage and entered the basement.
First, Shi Lin took away all the soul beast corpses in the ice storage, whether they were hundreds or thousands of years old, leaving none behind.
Secondly, there were medicinal herbs. The century-old medicinal herbs in Shijia Botanical Garden were now piled up like mountains, and Shi Lin didn't stand on ceremony and packed them up to take away.
Finally, Shi Lin returned to his courtyard and took all his notes with him.
For the foreseeable future, Shi Lin will likely be living in Heaven Dou City.
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[end of the chapter]