Mysterious Heaven Skill Acquired, Tang San Hunts a Spirit Ring

Master's Dormitory.

Xiao Xian slowly opened his eyes, his expression calm.

But.

The surging Soul Power within him, the wildly circulating Soul Power... showed that he was far less calm than he looked.

"Being close really is nice... I can sense it so clearly."

"The first level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill is finally completely mine...!"

"As expected of the Mysterious Heaven Skill. I just switched over, and my Soul Power has broken through another level, reaching level thirteen."

No lamp was lit in the dormitory. The moon shone outside the window amid sparse stars, making the room barely visible.

Suppressing his excitement, Xiao Xian glanced at Tang San.

Tang San was sitting cross-legged on a cushion nearby. The fluctuations of Soul Power around him were obvious, but they were steadily weakening. He was clearly about to finish cultivating.

A little while later.

Tang San opened his eyes.

"How was it? Any problems?" Xiao Xian asked softly almost immediately.

"No. Teacher wrote it very clearly. There are lots of annotations and illustrations too, so it's easy to understand." Tang San shook his head.

"That's good, that's good."

"Looks like you're a genius too, Junior Brother..."

After praising him a few times and giving him a few reminders, Xiao Xian sent Tang San off so he could return early and get some rest.

Tang San still had to travel to Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow. It was quite far away.

If he failed to rest properly, then endured the exhausting journey, and got himself killed in Soul Hunting Forest...

Xiao Xian might have to graduate from Nuoding Academy and run away, heading to Suotuo City early to seek refuge with Spirit Saint Flender.

Master was not in the dormitory, so Xiao Xian ignored the bright Sunlight Spore in his senses and pretended not to know where Master was.

After lighting the lamp and tidying up, Xiao Xian left the door slightly ajar and headed downstairs, returning to Second Dormitory.

He lay down on his bed and nearly fell asleep the instant his head touched the pillow.

Xiao Xian had no plans to continue cultivating.

He recalled Xiao Jue as well.

Focusing fully on sensing the circulation of the Sunlight Spore inside Tang San's body consumed quite a bit of Spiritual Power.

Even he was finding it a little too much to bear.

"..."

The next day, before dawn.

A middle-aged man pushed open the door to Seventh Dormitory and carefully woke a thin, tiny child.

"Xiao San, it's time to go."

Tang San was pulled awake, still bleary-eyed and somewhat dazed.

There were still at least two hours before daybreak.

He had been very excited after returning last night.

He had spent a long time recalling everything he knew about spirit masters and had gone to bed very late. During that time, Xiao Wu had even asked him to go out and spar, but he had refused. She had looked down on him for it, saying he was scared.

"..."

One tall and one short figure walked out through the academy gates in the darkness.

Master had changed into a set of fitted clothes and looked much more capable, though his stiff face was still rather eye-catching.

He explained to the drowsy Tang San, "If we leave any later, your Senior Brother will be up. He didn't say so, but he'll most likely want to go spirit hunting with us."

"Your target spirit ring comes from a sugarcane-type spirit beast. It won't be difficult to kill."

"His time is valuable, so we shouldn't waste it."

Though Tang San was puzzled, he still nodded.

"..."

More than two hours later, Xiao Xian finally opened his eyes, got up, and washed.

Sure enough, the Sunlight Spore in Seventh Dormitory next door had already vanished.

The one on the sixth floor of the dormitory building was the same.

"Looks like they've already gone to Soul Hunting Forest."

If Xiao Xian had not acquired the first level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill yesterday.

No matter what, he would have gone with them.

Then he would have found a way to talk Tang San into cultivating in the carriage.

But he had already successfully obtained the first level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, so there was no need to waste that time.

Although Master and Tang San had set out a day later than in the original story, who knew whether they would run into that four-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake.

That terrifying spirit beast had thick hide and tough flesh, and it carried Potent Toxin.

As he was now, Xiao Xian and Xiao Jue would have a hard time killing it head-on.

"..."

After washing up, Xiao Xian bought breakfast at the cafeteria, returned to the sixth floor of the dormitory building, took out his key, and entered Master's dormitory.

Whenever Master was away, this place became his study room and cultivation room.

It was quiet, and no one disturbed him.

After Xiao Xian and Xiao Jue finished breakfast.

He patted the Purple-haired Big Dog in front of him and had it lie down properly.

Then he began researching how to have it switch to cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill as well.

Xiao Jue already knew how to meditate, so this was familiar work. It was not difficult, though it would take some time.

"..."

The days passed one after another.

Until ten days later.

Tang San finally returned to Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy, dragging the stiff Master along with him.

Xiao Xian was in class when he spotted a small figure carrying a middle-aged man on his back, struggling to climb the dormitory building, through the classroom window.

"Teacher Mo, my teacher has returned from spirit hunting. It looks like something happened, so I'm leaving first!"

Under the astonished gazes of his classmates, Xiao Xian rushed out the door.

"Fine, go slowly, go slowly. Be careful not to fall!" The teacher at the podium, Mo Hen, readily agreed.

Xiao Xian, Xiao Chenyu, and the others were among the few students at Nuoding Junior Spirit Master Academy who enjoyed such privileges.

"..."

Master's Dormitory.

Slightly out of breath, Xiao Xian knocked on the door, then pushed it open and entered directly.

"Teacher, Xiao San, you're finally back! Did the spirit hunt go smoothly?"

"Eh?! Teacher, what happened to you...?" Xiao Xian stared at Master in shock.

Master lay weakly on the bed, his face dark and ashen.

Tang San was also sitting wearily in a chair, covered in dust from travel. He looked exhausted, but his complexion was much better than before. His body also seemed to have grown, and he appeared faintly taller.

"Xiao Xian..." A bitter smile appeared on Master's dark, stiff face as he lay on the bed.

"Senior Brother." Tang San stood and greeted him, then looked at Master respectfully. "Teacher, let me explain. You should rest."

Xiao Xian saw that Master and Tang San seemed much closer now.

He naturally guessed what had happened.

It seemed that snake... they had most likely failed to avoid it.

Tang San recounted everything that had happened in Soul Hunting Forest in full detail.

"Teacher first bought a map showing the distribution of plants..."

"We could originally have headed straight for that hundred-year-old sugarcane..."

"...but halfway there, Teacher's martial soul discovered many Nether Wolf corpses. The corpses had turned black from poison. To be safe, we took a long detour... but in the end, a four-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake still blocked our path. Those Nether Wolves had also been its prey."

"We weren't fast enough and were quickly caught... Teacher's martial soul was bitten several times while trying to stop it, then dissipated immediately..."

"In the end, amid the chaos, I accidentally stabbed the Mandala Snake inside its mouth with my dagger and killed it..."

"Teacher was badly poisoned. His hands, feet, and abdomen all swelled up... He was on the verge of dying."

"I barely managed to remove some of the poison using the method Father taught me, but it still wasn't enough."

"Fortunately, that hundred-year-old sugarcane was nearby. I absorbed its spirit ring and obtained my First Soul Skill. Its effect was fairly good, and I barely managed to save Teacher..."

As he said this, Tang San's tone carried a trace of relief.