Chapter 415 - Onward to Heaven Dou City

Once the train station staff confirmed that there was no snake in the vicinity, the crowds of people quickly calmed down. The brief snake scare had passed, and the train heading for Heaven Dou City quickly filled up. Once the embarkation process was complete, the train then started moving forward, gently at first, then picking up speed until it was zipping toward Heaven Dou City.

“Damn it!” Xu Lizhi, Ye Xinglan, and Gu Yue had just arrived at the train station and could see the train carrying Tang Wulin leave the station. “We just missed the train. Well, at least there are a lot of trains going to Heaven Dou City. We’ll just have to wait half an hour.”

“According to the rules of the exam, it’s time for us to part ways here. Good luck.” Ye Xinglan fist bumped Gu Yue.

Gu Yue smiled. “Let’s see who gets back first then. I’m going to go buy my ticket.”

The vast majority of the first grade students were still busy making money. Tang Wulin was the only one whose journey had truly begun.

The soul train rapidly picked up speed until it reached a high-speed cruise. Tang Wulin found himself in the dining car along with around a dozen other people. He soon realized that he had made a mistake.

He was getting hungry.

The aroma of food hung in the air of the dining car. The food served on these trains couldn’t be called spectacular, but it didn’t matter to Tang Wulin when his stomach was growling! However, he was penniless. He couldn’t buy any food. Money hadn’t been an issue when he snuck onto the train, but it was an issue now.

The other people in the dining car were already seated and eating breakfast. Tang Wulin patted his empty stomach as he looked around.

The Academy is so mean! They didn’t even let us eat breakfast before starting the exam. Tang Wulin felt depressed. He firmly believed that if his stomach weren’t full, his strength wouldn’t be at one hundred percent. Well, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to bear with it for now...

Tang Wulin soon faced another problem. The staff were checking tickets again! Tickets were checked once more on the train to prevent stowaways like Tang Wulin. The dining car was at the very center of the train. Since the staff started checking tickets from the front and back ends of the train, they would check here last.

At that moment, Tang Wulin saw ticket checkers appear from both doors of the car. He knew he was cornered, and he had no plans to lie either.

“I don’t have a ticket,” Tang Wulin calmly told the train attendant.

“Huh? You don’t have a ticket?” The train attendant put on a grave expression. “So you’re a stowaway then. Please buy a ticket immediately.”

Tang Wulin could only force out a bitter smile. “I don’t have any money either.”

The train attendant sized him up. “Kid, your clothes are so clean. How could you not have any money on you? Did you run away from home?”

Tang Wulin was only fourteen years old now. Even if he was tall, he still had baby fat left on his face.

“Yeah. I ran away from home.” Tang Wulin looked at the train attendant helplessly. “I have relatives in Heaven Dou City. I can get money from them to pay for a ticket. Would that be alright?”

“Come with me.” The train attendant brought Tang Wulin to the train conductor was. Since he was just a child, the train attendant didn’t treat him too harshly. There was nowhere to run on the train anyway. Tang Wulin couldn’t escape.

They quickly arrived at the conductor’s room in the operations carriage, which sat at the center of the train.

“Ma’am, this kid is a stowaway and he doesn’t have any money for a ticket. What should we do with him?”

The conductor was a lady who looked to be in her late twenties. Although she wasn’t particularly beautiful, she did have a dignified air around her.

“A stowaway? Kid, why are you doing such things at such a young age?” asked the conductor. “Come on, tell me. What’s your situation?”

Tang Wulin took a deep breath. “Actually, I’m a student from Shrek Academy. I’m currently in the middle of an exam and all of my possessions were confiscated by the Academy before I was sent out. My exam requires me to go all the way to Bright City, so I had no choice but to sneak on. Big Sis, I know I was wrong in doing this. I would be fine with you having some of your attendants escort me to get money to pay for a ticket once we arrive in Heaven Dou City. I have ways to get money there. I’ll pay double the ticket price I swear.”

“You’re a student from Shrek Academy?” The conductor and the train attendant stared at him in shock. Shrek Academy was a legendary existence. It was practically a holy site for ordinary people like them! Yet the ordinary looking kid before them claimed to come that holy place.

“Kid, you’ve already snuck onto the train. Don’t go lying now too,” the conductor said sternly.

Tang Wulin pouted. “I’m not lying! I really am a Shrek Academy student. I’ll prove it right now! Just watch!” He took a step back and urged the soul power within his body into action. Three purple soul rings rose from his feet and revolved around him, thrumming with a trace of power. This display stunned the conductor and attendant.

On the Douluo Continent, everyone had a martial soul, including the ordinary people. Those who were ordinary understood exactly what a soul master was, so when the conductor and attendant saw three purple soul rings, they could hardly believe their eyes. Most ordinary people would never personally see a purple soul ring in their entire lives.

“I-it’s purple,” the attendant muttered. “Is that a thousand-year soul ring? How are all three of them thousand-year soul rings?”

"Because I’m a student of Shrek Academy!” Tang Wulin proclaimed proudly.

His plan had been simple. All he had to do was flaunt his status as a soul master. Shrek Academy may have confiscated all of his possessions, but they couldn’t seal his martial soul. As long as he had his martial soul and soul power, most problems could be solved with his status as a soul master. He had only realized it after Mu Xi had turned him away from the Blacksmith’s Association. In the end, he was a soul master!

Soul masters stood at the peak of society tens of thousands of years ago. They still did so to this very day. Everyone looked up to soul masters. Minor money problems could easily be swept under the rug as long as he revealed his status.

Tang Wulin’s current number one priority was saving time. He no longer even planned on going to the Blacksmith’s Association when he arrived in Heaven Dou City. His focus was completing the exam as quick as possible, which would then allow him to use his excess points to help his classmates.

“Little Brother, you’re a three-ringed soul master. That makes you a Soul Elder, right? Are you really from Shrek Academy?”

Tang Wulin nodded. “Yeah! Big Sis, Shrek Academy is just too mean. They want everyone in my grade to to visit ten cities within fifteen days. Then we have to defeat a soul master at least five ranks above us too! And after all that, we still have to get back to Shrek Academy within the exam period. I won’t pass unless we do all of that.”

The conductor stared at him blankly. “And they’re having you do this all alone? Just how old are you? I can’t believe they would send a boy like you out all alone! They’re terrible!”

The attendant tugged at the conductor’s sleeve. She was bad mouthing the legendary Shrek Academy!

Even silent cursing was not usually permissible. It was a holy land after all.

The conductor immediately realized her mistake and turned back to Tang Wulin with a warm smile on her face. “How may we be of help to you then, Little Brother? At the very least, I can use my authority to excuse you from paying for a ticket.”

Tang Wulin beamed as he recalled his soul rings. “Thank you, Big Sis! I need to visit a bunch more cities on the way and challenge some people too. Do you know if there are any places in Heaven Dou City where lots of soul masters gather? Um. Also, could I borrow some money from you? I’m getting kind of hungry. Don’t worry though! I’ll definitely pay you back once I return to Shrek Academy.”