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**
With his cultivation as a Soul King, Yin Shu carried Tian Ming through the air with extreme speed. It didn't take long before they were nearing the location where the father and son had been attacked.
As they drew closer, Tian Ming's expression shifted from hope to grief, finally settling into a look of absolute despair that would inspire pity in anyone.
"No! Father..."
From a distance, Tian Ming could see a giant black-scaled python on the ground devouring a person—it was his father, Tian Lie.
They had arrived too late after all.
Before they could reach the scene, this near-thousand-year Black-Scaled Python had already strangled Tian Lie and was in the process of swallowing him whole.
"Sigh!" Yin Shu couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.
There was nothing he could do about it now. However, a man who didn't hesitate to sacrifice himself to create an escape for his son—even if his cultivation was only at the two-ring Soul Grandmaster level—was a figure worthy of respect.
Such a person should not be eaten by a soul beast; at the very least, his child should be allowed to give him a proper burial.
The two landed near the scene.
Yin Shu set Tian Ming down and immediately released his Martial Soul.
An ancient, simple cyan wooden zither appeared in his hands. It radiated an aura of wind-attribute soul power filled with a sharp, cutting edge, looking vastly different from an ordinary instrument.
This was Yin Shu's Martial Soul.
When it first awakened, it was merely an ordinary wooden zither. Later, through cultivation and the fusion of wind-attribute power, it had evolved to its current level, standing only a single step away from the realm of a high-grade Martial Soul.
The Black-Scaled Python had noticed them the moment they arrived and acted as if facing a great enemy. It sensed an extremely dangerous aura from the older human. Opening its maw, it gave a forceful flick of its head, spitting out the food it had not yet finished swallowing.
It stared intently at Yin Shu, its forked tongue flickering as it bared its fangs and let out a menacing hiss. A strong surge of dark-attribute energy radiated from the giant black snake. As the dark soul power circulated, a massive amount of energy gathered in its tail.
This near-thousand-year Black-Scaled Python struck first.
Its body slithered rapidly, and with a sudden burst of strength, its long tail—covered in massive black scales—swung toward them. It whipped through the air with a forceful whistle, showing just how terrifying the physical power behind the strike was.
"Humph, a mere black python with less than a thousand years of cultivation dares to counterattack?"
Yin Shu let out a disdainful cold snort.
His right hand rapidly plucked the strings. Without even needing to draw in the energy of heaven and earth into the zither, the wind-attributed instrument instantly released a powerful whirlwind. Cyan light flared brilliantly around him.
Following the flash of light, a streak of cyan energy shot through the air. It wasn't a crescent-shaped blade or sword aura, but rather something resembling a thin, long thread—seemingly formed from pure, compressed wind energy, slender yet incredibly sharp.
The cyan thread flashed through the air, followed immediately by a cry of agonizing pain.
A large spray of blood splattered across the ground. The Black-Scaled Python's long tail had been severed instantly. Howling in pain, the python no longer dared to stand its ground. Ignoring its injuries, its body undulated frantically as it tried to flee back into the dense forest.
"Trying to run?" Yin Shu spoke coldly.
He plucked the strings several more times, and several more cyan threads of condensed wind energy pursued the beast like shadows. The cyan lights interlaced, instantly slicing the Black-Scaled Python into several segments.
Soon, a yellow soul ring drifted up from the corpse.
He had slain the Black-Scaled Python with ease, but there was no joy on Yin Shu's face.
This child had ultimately lost his father.
"Teacher Yin Shu..."
The voices of Huang Yuan and Jiang Zhu drifted from a distance.
The distance wasn't great, and the two of them quickly caught up.
However, when Jiang Zhu and Huang Yuan reached Yin Shu's side and saw the corpse of the Black-Scaled Python and the youth, Tian Ming, weeping over his father's body, their hearts were deeply moved, and they couldn't help but let out soft sighs.
Tian Ming's bitter weeping deeply moved Jiang Zhu, whose heart was the softest among them. Jiang Zhu, who was nearly sixteen, couldn't help but step forward and begin to comfort him like an older sister.
"Little brother, the dead cannot be brought back. You must restrain your grief and accept this change," Huang Yuan also spoke up to offer consolation.
Watching this scene, Yin Shu shook his head slightly.
He walked to Tian Ming's side, advising him to learn to be strong, and then shifted the topic to ask: "Child, where are you from? I see that neither you nor your father had high cultivation. Why did you choose this path? Did you not know that soul beasts occasionally haunt this road?"
Tian Ming sobbed, "My father and I came from the Balak Kingdom."
'We knew, but we heard that Blue Tyrant Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire is currently enrolling students. The deadline is approaching fast; if we took the main road, we might not have made it in time. That is why my father took me this way."
Yin Shu and the other two were surprised to hear this. Huang Yuan couldn't help but ask, "Little brother, you came here to register for Blue Tyrant Academy?"
"Yes," Tian Ming nodded.
"I just don't know if I meet the requirements."
He was still living in the shadow of his previous experience with Shrek Academy, fearing that he would apply again only to find he didn't meet the criteria. Blue Tyrant Academy was an advanced Soul Master academy his father had spent a great deal of effort researching.
Located in Heaven Dou City, it was said that this academy only recruited commoners and refused any nobles. Because of this, the registration fees, tuition, and aptitude requirements were all lower than typical advanced Soul Master Academies.
However, the quality of teaching was by no means inferior, and most of the teachers were commoner Soul Masters themselves. The relationship between teachers and students was said to be much better than in ordinary advanced academies.
However, because the academy's recruitment philosophy did not align with the mainstream, it was often looked down upon by other advanced Soul Master academies and was not very famous within the Heaven Dou Empire.
In his heart, Tian Ming thought of his father once more. Even in his final moments, his father had not forgotten to throw the bundle containing all their money to him, telling him to flee quickly.
He told him to find Blue Tyrant Academy in Heaven Dou City, join it, and study hard to become a powerful Soul Master so that he would never again have to suffer the humiliation they faced that day at Shrek Academy.
At the thought of this, Tian Ming couldn't help but fall into sorrow once more.
"Teacher, him... should we?" Seeing that Yin Shu remained silent, Jiang Zhu couldn't help but ask.
"Wait a moment," Yin Shu signaled with his hand and asked, "Child, how old are you this year?"
"Twelve years old," Tian Ming answered truthfully, though he didn't understand why he was being asked.
"Mmh, to have your level of cultivation at twelve is already very good. You can join Blue Tyrant Academy," Yin Shu said slowly, which caused Tian Ming to feel a mixture of shock and joy.
"This... you, who are you?"
"Little brother, it seems we have quite the fate! We are from Blue Tyrant Academy, and Teacher Yin Shu is one of our academy's mentors. Look, this is our academy's badge." Huang Yuan pointed to a blue badge on his chest.
Hearing this, Tian Ming's face, which had been overcome with grief since his father's passing, finally showed a hint of joy. He looked toward his father's body and shared this happy news in his heart.
"Your father may be gone, but you must live on with his portion as well. Now, we will help you bury your father, and afterward, you will return to the academy with us. How does that sound?"
"Thank you, thank you so much, Teacher Yin Shu. And to you two, senior brother and senior sister." Tian Ming felt an immense wave of gratitude.
He made a silent vow in his heart:
'Father, I can join an advanced Soul Master academy to study now. I will definitely work hard and strive for the qualification to represent the academy in the Continental Elite Young Soul Master Tournament in the future.'
'I will fulfill your expectations of me and become a powerhouse. When that time comes, I will go back to Shrek Academy on your behalf and make them lose all their reputation, to compensate for the bullying they showed you that day!'
**
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