Chapter 32: Half a Year Later
From that day on, aside from cultivating, Lin Mo spent every spare moment on the second floor of the library.
As for the part time job Director Su had offered him earlier, he turned it down.
The work was not difficult, just shelving books, but it still took up time that could be used for cultivation.
Now that he was a First Ring Spirit Master, he received a monthly subsidy of 1 gold coin from Spirit Hall.
That money was more than enough to cover his living expenses, so there was no need to waste precious cultivation time for a little extra pocket money.
That would be putting the cart before the horse.
He had no intention of following Tang San and Xiao Wu's example, wasting the golden years of Spirit Master growth on trivial matters and amusement.
Tang San ran to the city smithy every day, hammering iron under the name of "training" and "helping with expenses."
In truth, he was just borrowing the forge and materials to make Hidden Weapons. Even so, Lin Mo still felt that Tang San had his priorities wrong.
Time spent hammering iron would be better spent on focused cultivation.
Once strength increased and a Bottleneck was reached, he could always return to those side projects later. He might even gain a Breakthrough inspiration then, instead of letting them slow his progress now.
Xiao Wu was even worse, wasting her talent.
One day she dragged the Work Study Students into noisy games around the academy. The next day she wandered around Nuoding City with Tang San, saying she was "getting familiar with the environment."
Lin Mo could not help wondering, had this little rabbit come to the human World just for food and fun?
Or, as she claimed, to avenge her mother?
If it was the latter, then her behavior over the past year was simply laughable in terms of filial piety.
The two of them had neglected their Innate Full Spirit Power so badly that, 5 years later in the original story, they still had not reached Spirit Elder.
Barely 3 Ranks a year, an embarrassing speed that wasted their Innate gifts.
On the second floor, where only teachers could normally enter, Lin Mo immersed himself in books on Spirit Master cultivation and Spirit Beasts.
These books were far deeper than the basic primers on the first floor.
Nuoding Academy's collection was not large, but it was more than enough to inspire a newly advanced one ring student like him.
He continuously compared what he read with the Blood Burst technique he had created, and many new ideas began to emerge.
These ideas were still only in their early stages, and they would need time to polish and test.
For now, the second stage of Blood Burst still felt far away.
As for cultivation itself, he never stopped for a single day.
Every day, without fail, he sat in Calm Mind and steadily raised his spirit power.
The shared energy between him and Charmander already gave him a cultivation speed faster than average.
With his ruthless self discipline added on top, his growth remained stable and solid.
Occasionally, he would summon Charmander to curl up beside him in a quiet corner of the library.
The little lizard loved the quiet atmosphere. Sometimes it slept at his feet, and sometimes it looked around curiously.
The flame on its tail flickered gently, adding a warm glow to the air filled with the scent of books.
Just like that, half a year passed in the blink of an eye.
After months of hard work, Lin Mo's spirit power had reached the middle of Rank 15, yet he still did not relax in the slightest.
Meanwhile, aside from him, Tang San, and Xiao Wu, the other Work Study Students were also still training.
After more than a year of effort, Wang Sheng had finally pushed his spirit power to Rank 10 last month.
He had reported it to the academy, passed the assessment, and secured a spot in the term end Soul Hunting trip.
The day he broke through, he shouted all through Dormitory Seven and even treated a few friends to the cheapest set meal on the second floor of the canteen.
Everyone was happy for him.
Among Work Study Students, reaching Rank 10 and becoming a true Spirit Master was rare.
His hard work deserved respect, and more than a few envious looks.
Today was the final assessment for the sixth year students.
Many upper grade students had been making a last desperate effort, hoping to break through to Rank 10 before the deadline.
Otherwise, they would miss the academy's group hunt.
Not everyone was as fortunate as Lin Mo, specially chosen by the principal and personally taken to the Soul Hunting Forest.
If they missed the group hunt, then even if they reached Rank 10 later, they would still have to wait another full year.
Yu Xiaogang had used Tang San to promote his so called Ten Core Competitive Theories around Nuoding Academy, but very few people believed him.
When given a chance to obtain a spirit ring early, no one wanted to waste an entire year.
The academy was filled with tense and excited upper grade students rushing around.
None of this had anything to do with Lin Mo.
Thanks to the principal's favor, he had obtained his first spirit ring 6 months ago and had already become a proper First Ring Spirit Master.
The sixth year final assessment and the academy group hunt, things that were thrilling to others, were already old news to him.
After a simple breakfast on the second floor of the canteen, 2 steaks, 2 bread rolls, and 1 bowl of broth, Lin Mo strolled toward the principal's office.
Charmander had come out to share the meat, then returned to its Martial Soul space contentedly.
Most likely, these would be his last 2 days at Nuoding Academy.
He was going to apply for graduation.
Walking along the main path, Lin Mo felt no nostalgia at all.
Nuoding had only been a temporary stop.
Here, he had completed Martial Soul Awakening, reunited with Charmander, obtained his first spirit ring, and learned the basic knowledge he needed.
But all of that was only the beginning.
His goal was godhood. Eternal life.
If he stayed any longer in this tiny Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy, it would only slow him down.
.....
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