The Calm Young Man

As the suckers on the hammer's handle began to writhe, Lin Ziyi was astonished to discover that the handle had actually extended quite a bit on its own!

Then, his martial soul seemed to come alive. The hammer's handle directly coiled around Ma He's sickle martial soul, each sucker clinging tightly to it!

Ma He's expression changed instantly!

From his perspective, he had not seen any change in Lin Ziyi's martial soul.

He only felt as though his own martial soul had been seized by the other party's hammer handle and was beyond his control!

Then, under his terrified gaze, his martial soul emitted specks of starlight before vanishing outright!

No matter how he summoned it, he could not summon his martial soul again!

"M-My martial soul?! Why is my martial soul gone?! You... what did you do to my martial soul?!"

Lin Ziyi was somewhat dumbfounded upon hearing that.

Just now, from his perspective, it seemed that his martial soul had... absorbed Ma He's sickle martial soul!

Moreover, he could feel that his Soul Power had increased somewhat. He was now on the verge of reaching level thirteen!

At that moment, the system's voice suddenly rang out in his mind:

Congratulations, Host, you have activated a new martial soul ability: Weak Soul Absorption!

Any martial soul that comes into direct contact with the Myriad Heavens Auction Hammer and is lower in level than the Host has a fifty percent chance of being completely absorbed!

After absorption, it can enhance the Host's Soul Power!

After hearing this, Lin Ziyi immediately understood.

To prevent Ma He from becoming even more panicked, Lin Ziyi hurriedly explained:

"Don't worry, your martial soul hasn't disappeared. It has merely been temporarily suppressed by my martial soul.

"You'll be able to summon it again in a couple of days."

A deep look of confusion appeared in Ma He's eyes at those words.

"What do you mean?"

Lin Ziyi's mind raced, and he quickly came up with an excuse.

"Actually, my martial soul is the Clear Sky Hammer of the Clear Sky Sect! You've heard of the Clear Sky Hammer, right?"

Upon hearing the words "Clear Sky Hammer," everyone around them, including Ma He, revealed astonished expressions.

Clearly, even this remote village had heard of the Clear Sky Sect's renowned name!

"You're a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect?" Ma He's expression turned grave. "Hasn't the Clear Sky Sect sealed itself off? How can its disciples still be traveling the world?"

Lin Ziyi nodded, an apologetic smile appearing on his face.

"Yes, I am indeed a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect.

"As for why I'm traveling the world... there are certain reasons that aren't convenient to discuss.

"I'm sure you've all heard of how powerful the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul is.

"Because of the suppression between martial souls, coupled with the fact that your martial soul's Soul Power was too weak, your martial soul temporarily failed to take form.

"Once the suppressive effect wears off in a couple of days, you'll be able to summon your martial soul again."

After Lin Ziyi's string of sophistry, Ma He did not pursue the matter further. Instead, he wore a grim expression, seemingly lost in thought.

At that moment, Liu Qiang stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Since it'll recover in a couple of days, it's no big deal. We believe a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect wouldn't lie."

With that, Liu Qiang looked at Lin Ziyi.

"Since this accident happened, let's call this match a draw.

"I imagine my sister has nearly finished tidying up the room. If you don't want to look around anywhere else, come back with me."

Lin Ziyi happened to feel somewhat apologetic toward Ma He, so he nodded without hesitation.

"Alright, then let's go straight to your home."

As he spoke, Lin Ziyi cupped his hands toward Ma He, then led Tushan Lingling and Little Fox away with Liu Qiang.

However, he did not know that the instant they turned around, the villagers, including Ma He, suddenly stared fixedly at the backs of the three of them. Their lips twitched slightly, exposing their sharp teeth!

At that moment, Tushan Lingling suddenly sensed something. She whipped around, only to see the villagers chatting and laughing among themselves, as though nothing was wrong.

Tushan Lingling narrowed her eyes slightly. Suddenly thinking of something, she used an Illusion Technique to pretend she had turned back around while actually continuing to watch them.

Just as she expected, before long, the villagers who had been chatting and laughing all suddenly stopped. With eerie synchronization, they looked toward the three of them!

Tushan Lingling's heart jolted at the sight!

However, she did not alert them. She simply turned back around, silently moved two steps closer to Lin Ziyi, and took his hand.

Lin Ziyi glanced at Tushan Lingling and noticed that Little Fox's expression looked somewhat unpleasant.

Feeling Tushan Lingling's small hand tightly gripping his, Lin Ziyi did not ask any questions and continued following Liu Qiang.

Before long, Liu Qiang led the three of them to the largest residence in the center of the village.

Beside the residence stood a wooden cabin. At its entrance, Liu Qiang's sister was bent over sweeping the ground.

Seeing her younger brother arrive with the three of them, Liu Qiang's sister, Liu Jing, immediately straightened up and revealed a gentle smile.

"The guests are back? The room has already been cleaned. You can move in right away."

Lin Ziyi smiled and thanked her. "Thanks for the effort, Sis."

Hearing him call her Sis, Liu Jing smiled happily and took Lin Ziyi's hand, pulling him toward the room.

Seeing this, Tushan Lingling hurriedly stepped forward, pulled Liu Jing's hand away, and stared at her warily!

Seeing Liu Jing's somewhat stunned expression, Lin Ziyi hurriedly squeezed Tushan Lingling's little hand and explained to Liu Jing.

"My wife is rather timid. Whenever she's away from me, she sticks close to me and won't let strangers approach. I hope you won't misunderstand, Sis."

His words both complimented Liu Jing and explained Tushan Lingling's behavior, allowing Liu Jing to quickly recover her smile.

"It's fine, it's fine. I was the one who overstepped as a mere village woman. I didn't mean anything by it, so don't misunderstand, miss."

Tushan Lingling snorted and ignored her.

Lin Ziyi smiled apologetically, then took Tushan Lingling into the room that had already been cleaned.

There were two beds and one table in the room, with nothing else inside.

Although it was simple, the beds had been changed with clean sheets and bedding. It was completely adequate for making do for one night.

Lin Ziyi nodded in satisfaction and thanked Liu Jing.

"Sorry for the trouble, Sis. Please also thank the Village Chief for me."

Liu Jing understood that the young man intended to rest and smiled as she waved her hand.

"No trouble at all. You should rest. I'll bring you dinner after I make it."

With that, Liu Jing turned and entered the residence beside them with her younger brother.

Once the two outsiders had left, Tushan Lingling hurriedly shut the door and used Soul Power to isolate the room from its surroundings.

Then she pounced over to Lin Ziyi and told him about the strange scene she had witnessed earlier.

After Little Fox anxiously finished telling him everything, Lin Ziyi maintained a smile throughout, without showing the slightest surprise.

Seeing her master act this way, Tushan Lingling froze for a moment before suddenly asking in delighted surprise:

"Master, did you already know about all this?"