#32Six months laterAI Model: moonshotai/kimi-k2-instruct-0905
Chapter 32 – Half a Year Later
From then on, apart from cultivating, Lin Mo spent every spare moment on the library's second floor.
The part-time job Director Su had offered him earlier? He'd turned it down.
The work wasn't hard—just shelving books—but it still ate into cultivation time.
Now that he was a First Ring Soul Master, he received a monthly stipend of one gold coin from Spirit Hall.
The money easily covered his living expenses; there was no need to waste precious cultivation hours for pocket change.
That would be putting the cart before the horse.
He had no intention of following Tang San and Xiao Wu's example, squandering the golden years of Spirit Master growth on trifles and fun.
Tang San ran off to the city smithy every day, hammering metal under the guise of "training" and "helping with expenses."
In truth, he merely borrowed the forge and Materials to craft his Hidden Weapons; even so, Lin Mo felt it was a misuse of priorities.
Time spent pounding iron would be better spent in wholehearted cultivation.
Once your power rose and you hit a Bottleneck, you could always revisit such side projects—perhaps even find a Breakthrough clue—rather than let them drag your progress down now.
Xiao Wu was worse, wasting her talent. One day she dragged Work-Study Students into rowdy games around campus; the next she wandered Nuoding City with Tang San, claiming she was "getting familiar with the environment."
Lin Mo couldn't help wondering: had this little rabbit come to the human World just for food and amusement?
Or, as she claimed, to avenge her mother?
If the latter, her conduct this past year was laughably filial.
The pair so neglected their Innate Full Spirit Power that, five years later in the original story, they still hadn't reached Spirit Elder.
Barely three Ranks a year—an embarrassing pace that squandered their Innate gifts.
Among the second-floor tomes—available only to teachers—books on Spirit Master training and Spirit Beasts absorbed him.
They were far deeper than the first-floor primers. Nuoding Academy's collection wasn't vast, yet it inspired a newly minted one-ring student like him.
He cross-checked what he read with the Blood Burst technique he'd devised, sparking fresh ideas.
These notions were still embryonic; they'd need time to refine and test.
For now, a second-stage Blood Burst felt a long way off.
Cultivation itself never stopped.
Every single day he sat in Calm Mind, raising spirit power without fail.
His and Charmander's shared energy made his speed faster than average to begin with.
Add ruthless discipline and growth stayed steady.
Occasionally he summoned Charmander to curl up beside him in the quiet corner of the library.
The little lizard loved the hush, dozing at his feet or peering around curiously.
The flame on its tail flickered, adding a warm glow to the book-scented air.
Half a year slipped past.
After months of grind, Lin Mo's spirit power reached the mid-point of Rank fifteen, and he still didn't slack.
Meanwhile, apart from him, Tang San, and Xiao Wu, the other Work-Study Students kept training.
Wang Sheng, after more than a year, had finally pushed his spirit powerto Rank ten last month.
He'd reported it to the Academy, passed the test, and secured a spot on the term-end Soul Hunting trip.
The day he broke through, he whooped through Dorm Seven and treated a few friends to the cheapest set-meal upstairs in the canteen.
Everyone was happy for him; among Work-Study Students, reaching Rank ten and becoming a real Spirit Master was rare.
His effort deserved respect—and more than a few envious stares.
Today was the sixth-years' final assessment.
Many upper-grade students had been cramming one last push, hoping to hit Rank ten before the deadline.
Otherwise they'd miss the Academy's group hunt.
Not everyone was as lucky as Lin Mo, singled out by the principal for a personal trip to Soul Hunting Forest.
If they missed the collective hunt, even if they later reached Rank ten, they'd wait another whole year.
Yu Xiaogang had used Tang San to peddle his so-called Ten Core Competitive Theories around Nuoding Academy,
but few believed them.
Given the chance to secure a spirit ring early, no one wanted to waste a full year.
The campus buzzed with nervous, expectant upper-grade students hurrying everywhere.
None of it concerned Lin Mo.
Thanks to the principal's favor, he'd obtained his first spirit ring six months ago and was already a bona-fide First Ring Soul Master.
The sixth-year finals and the Academy group hunt—so thrilling for others—were ancient history to him.
After a light breakfast upstairs in the canteen—two steaks, two rolls, a bowl of broth—Lin Mo strolled toward the principal's office.
Charmander had come out to share the meat, then contentedly returned to its Spirit space.
In all likelihood, these were his last two days at Nuoding Academy; he would file for graduation.
Walking the main path, he felt no nostalgia.
Nuoding had been a way-station: Awakening his Spirit, reuniting with Charmander, earning his first spirit ring, learning basics.
All of it was only the beginning.
His goal: godhood. Eternal life.
Staying longer in this tiny Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy would only hold him back.
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