In the end, the sausage vendor left, smiling as he did.
After hearing the vendor's lofty aspirations, the three decided to support him by buying out his entire stock of starch sausages. Naturally, the majority of it ended up in Tang Wulin's stomach.
Nan Fusheng did not comment—after all, one party was willing to sell, the other to eat. He just hoped they wouldn't check their soul communicators and accidentally come across that news article…
That night, Tang Wulin put on a masterclass in "bottomless appetite," eating from one end of the food street to the other, and then looping back for seconds.
This gave Xie Xie a harsh life lesson: even if you're only treating people to street food, Tang Wulin could still bankrupt you.
Nan Fusheng mostly tagged along, sampling a few things here and there. He did try the "Clay Pot Beef" that Xie Xie recommended so passionately—and he had to admit, it was pretty good.
As the semester came to a close, all the students were overjoyed—it meant vacation. A full month of no school, no cultivation pressure. Even soul masters were still kids, after all.
Class Zero was no exception. The day after visiting the Tang Sect, the academy officially went on break. Gu Yue and Xie Xie both left—Xie Xie to return home, and Gu Yue said the same.
Tang Wulin stayed in the dorms.
Nan Fusheng, meanwhile, began riding soul trains across various cities, planting Timeworms for future use.
Now that the "Dream Stealer" potion had fully digested, Nan Fusheng's first soul skill had evolved. No matter how far away a Timeworm-host was, he could now influence their emotions remotely—or even borrow their vision, like a surveillance camera.
At the moment, he had one Timeworm on Wu Zhangkong, one on the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear, and another on the Man-Faced Demon Spider. All others had been reclaimed.
(Side note: After retrieving the two Timeworms from the Spirit Ascension Platform, he'd even "fed" the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. At this point, it was likely nearing the thousand-year level.)
Tianxing City, Qingfeng City, Sunset City… Tiandou City. Nan Fusheng spent over ten days visiting more than a dozen cities. In the end, he only left marks in seven of them—he always kept two Timeworms in reserve.
At present, Nan Fusheng was riding a soul train from Sunrise City to Sun Moon City. He sat by the window, watching scenery blur past at high speed. Occasionally, train staff pushed trolleys down the aisle offering food.
"This kind of view does have a certain charm…"
He watched the blurred scenery outside the window with a trace of enjoyment. But even beautiful views grow dull over time, and this one was especially blurry. Before long, he closed his eyes and slipped into a light nap.
The journey to Sun Moon City was long, and the soul train roared steadily across the tracks.
Suddenly, a chill surged through him, jolting him awake. Nan Fusheng opened his eyes, scanning the car. Passengers filled the seats. Some children leaned against the windows, curiously looking outside. Nothing seemed amiss.
But the unease in his heart didn't go away. His hair stood on end. His instincts screamed—danger. And not a small one.
Not in the car… then could it be outside?
His gaze shifted to the window again. Same blurry countryside scene—less urban now, more rural farmland.
At first glance, nothing seemed unusual… until he noticed several bright lights in the distance.
"Wait—light?"
Nan Fusheng's eyes narrowed. Those weren't lights. Those were fixed-mount soul cannons, trailing fiery streaks as they sped directly toward the train car.
"If this hits head-on, I'm toast—and that's assuming I survive at all."
Yet Nan Fusheng didn't panic. He calmly rose and headed toward the restroom, ignoring the puzzled glances from other passengers. Some children also noticed the flashing lights outside.
"Daddy, what's that out there? It's so bright! Are those fireworks?"
"Haha, let Daddy take a look…"
BOOM—
The father's words never finished. A deafening blast rocked the train. The car was thrown off the rails. What had moments before been a scene of warmth instantly turned into hell on earth.
The train only had eight cars. But the fixed-mount soul cannons were powerful enough to knock the entire train over.
Screams erupted in every direction.
Meanwhile, in Tiandou City, Nan Fusheng stood calmly atop a high-rise, adjusting his state of mind.
Most soul trains had surveillance. That's why he ran to the restroom before escaping. The moment the soul cannon hit, he'd used the Starworm marker to teleport back here.
Tiandou City was a historical landmark. To preserve its legacy, buildings weren't allowed to exceed 50 meters, ten stories tall at most.
Standing on the roof, he could see ancient treetops towering over rooftops. Looking down, the city's rich historical atmosphere seemed to wash over him, calming his heart.
"No doubt about it—that soul cannon barrage was aimed at the train. This must be the work of those terrorists in the news. Tch, can't believe I'm getting the 'main character treatment' too."
Nan Fusheng calmly analyzed the situation. He'd registered under his real ID when boarding the train. The Federation would investigate the attack. A bit of trouble might come his way.
But what truly puzzled him was the attackers' goal. Was this just wanton destruction? Or did they have a bigger objective?
"I should head back. If it gets dangerous, I can just teleport out again—unless the enemy has space-type abilities, there's little that can stop me."
Before leaving, he had left a Starworm inside the Soul Train. As long as it remained active, he could return at any time.
"Gate."
—
A stench of burning smoke hit him as soon as he arrived, making him wrinkle his nose.
Even worse were the cries and screams of agony all around him.
Nan Fusheng didn't waste time. He quickly crouched down, found some cover, and minimized his presence.
The entire train had been flipped. Those lucky enough died instantly. The unlucky ones had limbs crushed under wreckage, wailing in pain.