Douluo Jueshi: I Don't Want to Be an Evil Soul Master

Chapter 86: One Step Behind

"Senior, can I ask you for advice?"

On the ring, Nana obviously heard Lin Xiao's comments and clasped her fists towards him.

"No, the gap in strength between us is too great." Lin Xiao shook his head. "Even if I could restrain myself from using my full strength, the gap in vision and combat experience between us can't be easily bridged. You won't learn anything from fighting me."

Lin Xiao looked around again, said no more, and just turned and left.

"I can't believe you're quite popular with these girls." Shangguan Qing had been waiting for a while not far behind Lin Xiao. "But who would have thought that Senior Lin, who is so approachable, would actually be..."

Lin Xiao glanced at her, and Shangguan Qing immediately stopped talking and didn't say anything else.

"Did you bring everything?"

"The pills are already here." Shangguan Qing glanced around and saw that there were many students nearby, so he didn't explain too much. "It's just that the materials you want are gone."

"Ok?"

Seeing Lin Xiao's puzzled look, Shangguan Qing continued to explain, "Not only the Ordinary Alliance, but even the better quality locust wood cores from the Aodu Chamber of Commerce have been bought up."

"You know this kind of thing is mostly used in places related to souls, and the demand is not that high, so we don't have much in stock on a normal day. I really can't get it for you in a short time."

"Do you know who bought it?"

Shangguan Qing shook his head. "I was just wondering, with so many requests, could it be one of your people?"

Lin Xiao thought about it and felt a bit unsure. The locust tree was also known as the ghost tree. He wanted the locust wood core to store residual souls. There weren't many soul masters who regularly interacted with souls, and most of them happened to be in the Holy Spirit Church.

Thinking of this, Lin Xiao glanced at Shangguan Qing again, "I don't know either. There haven't been any related missions in the sect recently. If it was really done by someone in the sect, it must have been his personal need."

Shangguan Qing listened to Lin Xiao's words and nodded thoughtfully, "By the way, although I don't have that locust wood core, I brought several metals with similar properties, as well as the elixir you requested."

As he spoke, Shangguan Qing handed over a storage soul guide, and judging by his gesture, he seemed to be giving it to Lin Xiao as well. With the power of the Ordinary Alliance, they could make a storage soul guide themselves, and in their eyes, it wasn't that valuable.

"What do you want to know?"

Seeing Shangguan Qing was about to say something, Lin Xiao added, "Don't try to fool me with those rhetoric. We all know the specific situation. Since this is a deal, just tell me what you want to know."

"How could I be so eager for quick success?" Shangguan Qing complained, "Then let's start with why you came to the academy."

"Aren't you here too? Do I need to ask specifically why I'm here?"

"That's hard to say." Shangguan Qing suddenly smiled. "You also know what kind of business the Ordinary Alliance is doing. Of course, I came here to invest as soon as possible."

"I think you're also aware that the Ordinary Alliance can only achieve its current status because Sister Wei'er manipulates so many nobles. And at the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy, there are many future nobles. I came here naturally to establish good relationships in advance."

"Why, are you the same as me?"

Lin Xiao had no doubts about Shangguan Qing's story. He had sensed it during their first few encounters. Although he looked like any other person his age, Shangguan Qing's every move was meticulously calculated. Not only would the inexperienced students at the academy, but even the nobles would probably have taken a second look.

"I'm different from you. I originally entered the academy just to learn soul guides, using the identity of a soul guide to cover up my original identity."

"So you're not the only one who entered the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy?" Shangguan Qing quickly guessed something else from Lin Xiao's words. "That's right, but each disciple was arranged to enter individually, and no one knows the identities of the others."

"I see." Shangguan Qing nodded. "You just said it was just the beginning. So what about now? Do you have other purposes?"

"Now..." Lin Xiao looked at Shangguan Qing and lowered his voice slightly, "Don't you think there are still many secrets in this academy?"

Shangguan Qing's expression changed slightly, "What do you know?"

Lin Xiao just shook his head, "The Xuanshui Pill is not worth the price."

"What else do you want? I'll help you find it."

"Let's talk about it next time. I'll come to you when I need you later."

"You—" Shangguan Qing watched Lin Xiao turn and leave, a word stuck in her mouth, but she didn't say it in the end. Although she didn't have the same skills as Shangguan Wei'er, she had already learned a lot from these seemingly simple words.

"What's wrong? Did you make the girl angry?"

Lin Xiao had not taken a few steps when he bumped into Lin Jiayi who was walking towards him. Beside him was a tall middle-aged man with a gloomy expression.

"Teacher, you saw it all."

"I saw it clearly." Lin Jiayi looked in the direction of Shangguan Qing. "If I remember correctly, that girl seemed to have come to you more than once. Did you refuse her kindness again?"

"Teacher, you misunderstood." Lin Xiao said helplessly. This familiar tone, I didn't expect that in this world, there are also elders who like to make such jokes.

"It's okay. Our academy doesn't prohibit these things. Besides, if you can enter our academy, your talent should be pretty good."

Lin Xiao did not respond, but just followed Lin Jiayi.

Seeing this, Lin Jiayi lost his desire to joke and turned to look at the middle-aged man next to him.

"So, you've made up your mind?"

"Yes, Director Lin." The man nodded. "Over the years, I've always felt that I could break through to the ninth level of Soul Master, but there was always something missing. So I decided not to return to the academy to teach for the time being. I will go into seclusion for a while to see if I can break through to the ninth level of Soul Master."

"Alright." Lin Jiayi sighed softly, "The academy has approved your application, but if you want to leave, do you need to collect some more documents? If you can make a breakthrough, it will be a good thing for the academy. I can give you a special approval."

"No need, Director. I already have an idea and I've already bought the necessary materials. There's no need to bother the academy."

"Well, I hope everything goes well for you."

"Thank you, director."

"Teacher, who was that just now?" Seeing the middle-aged man walking away, Lin Xiao's eyes moved slightly.

"Him." Lin Jiayi glanced back. "He's also a teacher at the academy, but the soul guides he researches aren't for combat use. That's why he hasn't been able to break through to the ninth-level soul guide for so long. I hope he can succeed this time."

(End of this chapter)