"D-Rank."
"Xia Qian, Two-star Dou Fighter, age twenty."
As the final student reported in, Ruo Lin's lips curled into a satisfied smile. "Well, we actually have a C-Rank among this year's new students. Not bad at all." She turned to Goku and added gently, "Thanks to you, this was much easier. I'll be relying on you again tomorrow."
"No problem," Goku replied with a nod. "Let's head back for now."
He glanced toward Xiao Mei with a friendly smile. "Since you're Xiao Yu's sister, would you like to come along and hang out with us?"
"Ah? S-sure!" Xiao Mei was momentarily stunned—she hadn't expected Goku to personally invite her. She immediately nodded repeatedly, her heart pounding with excitement. From the moment Goku had first appeared at the Xiao Clan estate with that overwhelming presence, she'd been deeply impressed. And now, being personally invited by such a powerful figure made her feel like she was floating.
Goku gave a slight nod, and with a casual wave of his hand, he and the girls vanished on the spot.
"They just… left? We don't even know where to meet up again! That's way too unreliable!" Feng Gu and the others stood stunned in place.
"Let's head back for now," Lin Man said calmly. "They'll still be here for another two days. We can just ask again later."
"Guess we don't have much choice…" The others murmured in agreement and gradually dispersed.
---
The intense recruitment trials continued in Wu Tan City for three full days, making the city livelier than ever. Every day, hundreds signed up hoping to pass, but only a few made it through.
By the end of the third day, only twenty-three students had been accepted—and that was after Goku had deliberately lowered the difficulty. While none of them were once-in-a-generation prodigies, they were still elite among the younger generation.
Morning sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the room. On the bed, Goku slowly opened his eyes, still groggy from sleep. After letting out a few yawns, he reluctantly crawled out of bed.
"Good morning, Master!" Yue Mei greeted him sweetly, still rubbing her eyes. The moment she saw Goku wake, she quickly got up and began helping him get dressed—having long since embraced her role as his attentive maid.
Just then, Moonlight entered the room with a basin of fresh water. She hurried over when she saw Goku was awake, setting the basin down on the table before joining Yue Mei in dressing and tidying him.
Looking at the two stunning beauties fussing over him, Goku couldn't help but feel incredibly pleased. At first, he'd found it a little awkward being waited on like this—but now? He'd gotten used to it. In fact, it felt odd not having at least one beautiful woman by his side.
'Sigh… Looks like I'm getting more and more decadent these days…'
What should've been a quick dressing-up session ended up taking nearly half an hour.
At that moment, Xiao Yu's tall and graceful figure appeared at the doorway. "You lazy bum! You're just getting up now? Hurry up—Instructor Ruo Lin and the others are already waiting at the plaza! We're heading back to Jia Nan Academy today. Try to maintain at least a bit of a mentor's image in front of the new students!"
"Alright, alright, don't rush me," Goku said as he splashed water on his face. Then, taking Xiao Yu and the two girls by the hand, he vanished from the room—reappearing moments later at the bustling recruitment plaza.
"Well, look who finally showed up!" Xue Ni's teasing voice called out. "I thought you were so busy snuggling with Yue Mei and the others that you couldn't get out of bed. Come on, let me check—did you leave any handprints on their boobs?"
"You perv! Knock it off! There are people watching!" Xiao Yu stepped forward, smacking Xue Ni's hands away without mercy.
"Alright, enough playing around," Ruo Lin said gently as she approached Goku with a warm smile. "Since you're here, let's get ready to depart."
Nearby, a handsome young man was staring dreamily at Ruo Lin. His name was Lin Nan, the strongest among the male recruits. Originally, he'd been smitten with Xun'er from the canon, but since she wasn't present, he had now transferred his affections to Ruo Lin—drawn by her gentle demeanor and mature beauty.
A boy next to him noticed his expression and whispered, "Don't tell me you've got a crush on Instructor Ruo Lin? If I were you, I'd give up now. Haven't you noticed how close she is to Instructor Goku? With someone like him around, if you annoy him… you might just get squashed."
"Ugh…" Lin Nan froze. He instinctively glanced over—just in time to meet Goku's eyes.
That single glance sent a wave of pure terror through his body, as if a primordial beast had locked onto him. His legs nearly gave out. For a moment, Lin Nan was sure he saw his own death in those eyes. He broke into a cold sweat and immediately buried any thoughts of pursuing Ruo Lin deep in his heart.
'You think trash like you can compete with me? Dream on.' Goku scoffed inwardly, smirking.
"Goku, I'll be counting on you again," Ruo Lin said warmly, unaware of the small drama that had just unfolded behind her.
Goku gave a nod, then turned to the group of students who had finished saying goodbye to their families. "Alright! Everyone hold hands. We're heading to Jia Nan Academy."
"Hold hands?" The innocent teens exchanged nervous glances, a few even blushing slightly. Though unsure of the reason, no one dared disobey. Within moments, they'd formed a circle, hand in hand.
Goku casually placed his hand on Ruo Lin's shoulder, and with a single thought, they vanished—leaving behind a crowd of stunned onlookers.
---
Elsewhere…
Deep underground, in a dim and ancient hall, ripples of spatial energy flickered as cloaked figures slowly emerged from the darkness.
Their expressions were grim. No one spoke, but the look in their eyes said it all: unease… fear.
Each exuded an overwhelming aura, marking them as top-tier powerhouses, among the strongest in the entire continent. Yet even these mighty beings seemed deeply shaken.
What could possibly cause such dread?
The hall was deathly silent.
Eventually, on the high platform at the center of the chamber, a ripple of space revealed the final figure—another cloaked individual whose presence caused all the others to turn their gaze toward him.
He swept his eyes across the assembly, and after a long pause, finally sighed.
"…The plan has failed."
Those few words exploded like thunder.
Though most of them had already suspected it, hearing the confirmation from their Clan Leader's own mouth still sent shivers down their spines.
Silence reigned once again—until one elder, his voice raspy, finally spoke:
"The Nihility Devouring Flame has been taken. The Ancient Jade is also in that man's hands… Even the plan to steal the Dou God's legacy has fallen apart. We've been cornered. Clan Leader, what now?"
"A dead end…" Hun Tiandi muttered, his tone hollow. Goku's commanding figure flashed through his mind, and even he—undoubtedly one of the most powerful beings on the continent—felt a chill run down his spine.
A cold light flickered in his eyes.
"It's all because of him. Everything was on track until he appeared. Years of planning… ruined."
His eyes grew darker.
"…Hmph. Fine. Let's use him. Let him find the Ancient God's Cave for us."
He stood still for a moment, lost in thought. Then, his voice echoed across the hall—icy and ruthless.
"Accelerate the plan. Even if we must drown the Central Plains in blood, we cannot fail. We'll gamble everything—this is our final chance. We've chosen our path. There's no turning back. If we lose…"
"Then we die trying."
__
Five days had passed since Goku brought the new batch of students to Jia Nan Academy. The new semester had officially begun.
In the courtyard of theResidence, a group of beautiful women sat together, their gazes all fixed seriously on the sparring match taking place just ahead—between Goku and Ruo Lin.
Ruo Lin smiled gently at Goku and gave him a nod. Her curvaceous figure swayed with elegant maturity, exuding a womanly allure. "Goku, you better go easy on me," she teased softly.
As she spoke, she slowly raised her hand. A green storage ring on her slender finger glimmered faintly. In a flash of light, a brilliant blue whip materialized in her grasp.
The whip was entirely cobalt blue, radiating a thick and stable energy. Its handle was intricately carved into the shape of a serpent's gaping maw, and within that maw was embedded a gleaming blue magic core, roughly the size of a baby's fist. Along the length of the whip were runes etched in fine detail—runes of Dou Qi that emitted a faint and ethereal glow.
One glance at the craftsmanship of the weapon was enough to know that this was a specially forged magic-core weapon. Judging by the gentle and fluid aura it exuded, its elemental attribute clearly matched Ruo Lin's water-type affinity. And the magic core embedded in the weapon? It was an eighth-rank water-elemental core—a gift from Goku himself.
With a weapon like this, Ruo Lin's combat strength had been dramatically enhanced.
Having recently mastered a new Heaven-Tier Water Dou Technique, she found herself itching to try it out—and who better to test it against than Goku?
"Come on, don't hold back. Attack me with everything you've got," Goku said with a calm smile, stepping forward casually.
Ruo Lin nodded without hesitation. She was well aware of Goku's strength and knew that, no matter what she did, it would be impossible to injure him. So she had no need to hold anything back.
A swirl of aqua-blue Dou Qi gathered around her body. With a flick of her wrist, her whip lashed out like a live serpent, flying directly toward Goku with incredible speed.
Goku tilted his body slightly, effortlessly dodging to the side. The whip, trailing watery energy, struck a decorative rock behind him with a loud crack, instantly reducing it to rubble.
Goku nodded in approval. "Not bad."
Ruo Lin flicked her wrist again, and the long whip twisted through the air like a serpent-turned-dragon, lashing out once more at Goku.
"Still too slow," Goku muttered with a shake of his head. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from his spot, reappearing more than ten meters away.
The whip slammed into the ground where he had just been, sending chunks of stone and earth flying into the air and leaving behind a massive crater.
But just when it seemed like the strike had missed, the whip suddenly extended like it had a mind of its own, shooting forward once more—and came within an inch of Goku's cheek!
This strike was swift and deceptive. Against anyone at the same level as Ruo Lin, it would've landed cleanly. Goku, however, merely raised a brow in appreciation.
Seeing that her basic attacks were ineffective, Ruo Lin didn't bother with further probing. Her expression grew serious as she activated her newly-acquired Heaven-Tier Dou Technique—Ice Dragon Break.
A torrent of azure Dou Qi surged along the length of her whip, causing it to transform into a massive, coiling ice dragon that hovered in the air, its eyes glowing with biting cold.
In the blink of an eye, the temperature of the entire courtyard dropped sharply. Frost spread rapidly across the ground, forming intricate blue patterns that crackled and hissed. The air itself seemed to solidify from the chill.
The overwhelming energy pouring from the ice dragon made the ambient spiritual energy grow chaotic. As the dragon let out a low, echoing roar, the environment transformed into a world of frozen death.
Goku waved one hand. A barrier of energy immediately enveloped the area, separating himself and Ruo Lin from the rest of the onlookers.
This would ensure none of the girls watching from the sidelines would be harmed by the intense cold.
"Now that's a Heaven-rank Dou Technique. Even with the barrier up, I can still feel the chill cutting to the bone," Saeko said with a serious expression. She couldn't help but admire the power Ruo Lin had displayed. If only she had water affinity, she would've wanted to learn this technique herself.
Meanwhile, the ice dragon soared higher, spiraling with ever-increasing intensity as it gathered more power. Ruo Lin's Dou Qi merged seamlessly with the beast, drawing in the energy of heaven and earth as it prepared to strike.
____
Translator's Note:
Hey everyone! I've just wrapped up translating my latest fanfic, and now I'm on the hunt for a new one to bring to you all. I'd love to hear your suggestions — maybe there's a great story out there that hasn't been translated yet and deserves some attention!
Before you recommend anything, though, here are a few conditions I'd like to set:
The main character shouldn't be an idiot — smart, decisive protagonists only!
No unnecessary power hiding. If the MC can solve a problem easily, they should do it.
Absolutely no "good boy" or pushover types.
The MC must be strong, confident, and respected — someone who stands tall in every scene.
Basically, I'm looking for stories where the main character owns their strength and doesn't waste time pretending otherwise.
So, if you know any hidden gems that fit this style, drop your suggestions below! I'll check them out and maybe one of them will become my next translation project.