Chapter 443 - Challengers (1/2)

Two hundred kilometers were nothing to Tang Wulin, but how Xu Lizhi handled it was another story. Even though he ate pork buns and soup buns as they ran, he could feel himself get thinner and thinner.

“d.a.m.n you, Spirit PaG.o.da!” Xu Lizhi shouted, shaking an angry fist at the sky.

Gu Yue glanced at him curiously. “What are you doing?”

Xu Lizhi turned to her. “I've decided that I'm never going to sell my buns to them!”

Ye Xinglan scoffed. “We'll see what the future holds.”

Tang Wulin, on the other hand, was deep in thought. “The plan was to clear two cities today, but we'll only be able to clear one at this rate. We'll take a break when we reach the city, then we'll go visit the local academy in the afternoon.”

They soon found a small inn to stay at, and after a couple hours of rest, they would be good to go. They were soul masters after all.

They were currently in Skyorder City, about two thousand kilometers from Bright City. Several cities still sat between them and their end goal of Bright City, and they no longer had a car nor the money to buy another. After clearing this city, they would have to hop on a train to continue their journey west.

Tang Wulin asked around to see where the local soul master academy was. Just as he expected, there was a fairly respectable academy here. It was called Skyorder Star Ocean Academy and specialized in flying-type soul masters. In fact, that was a requirement for potential students seeking admission. However, it wasn't an advanced academy.

Advanced academies were inst.i.tutions that raised genius soul masters, mecha pilots, and battle armor masters. Of course, such academies didn't actually have to produce battle armor masters. They just had to have a program oriented toward raising them. Students usually graduated from advanced academies between the ages of twenty-two to twenty-five. Even at Shrek Academy, it was rare for a student to become a one-word battle armor master around those ages. Other academies couldn't even hope to compete.

“I have to call him!” Tang Wulin muttered to himself. He was the only one of his team not resting at the moment. He wasn't too tired yet, and he had something more important to do. He took advantage of the complementary soul communicator in the inn's lobby to make a call.

As soon as the call connected, Tang Wulin said, “Uncle-master!”

“Wulin? How is your exam? Is everything going well?” Zhen Hua asked in a warm tone.

“Things aren't going well,” Tang Wulin said. “I ran into some trouble, and I need more money to finish the exam. I'm in Skyorder City right now, but I can't take any blacksmithing missions without my badge. Can you pull some strings to have the a.s.sociation branch here let me take some alloy-forging or spirit refining missions? And have them lend me some hammers too? I need the money for travel expenses.”

The line went silent for a moment, then Zhen Hua spoke up once more. “It sure must be tough for you. Just go over to the Skyorder Blacksmith's a.s.sociation. You don't have to forge, it'll be too much of a ha.s.sle to convince them considering your age and rank. I'll just have them give you money.”

“Thank you, Uncle-master!” Tang Wulin rejoiced in his heart. Amazing! Uncle-master's so generous! Having an uncle-master like him is the best!

“No need to thank me.” Zhen Hua chuckled. “It is only natural that I do this much for you. Just come visit me when you have a chance.”

“Definitely!” Tang Wulin said eagerly. If he visited, he would have a Divine Blacksmith to teach him, not to mention all the delicious food he would be able to eat! Nothing could stand between him and food!

By the time Tang Wulin left to visit the local Blacksmith's a.s.sociation and came back with another million credits added to his card, his companions had finished recovering.

“Let's buy another car,” Xie Xie said, his eyes s.h.i.+ning with excitement.

“What does everyone else think?” Tang Wulin swept his gaze across the rest of his companions.

Ye Xinglan was the first to voice her thoughts. “I think having a car would be really convenient. It won't be as fast as a train, but it'll good for getting around within cities. We will also be able to use the onboard GPS to save some time finding our way around.”

“Alright. Let's buy another one!”

It didn't take long for Tang Wulin's group to buy a car. Fortunately for them, they managed to find one that was the same make as the one they had wrecked, and for roughly the same price too. With everything in order, they continued onward to Skyorder Star Ocean Academy.

Skyorder Star Ocean Academy was situated in the southwest corner of the city limits. The academy was established two thousand years ago, and though its history was not nearly as long or prestigious as Shrek Academy's, it was still a prominent, well-known academy.