Today's Time Was Maxed Out

The Sky Screen went dark here.

Today's viewing had ended.

However, the Sky Screen did not disappear. Just like when the Arena had appeared seven days ago, it remained. Today was the second stage.

Some impatient people had already started trying it out.

Having learned from their previous experience, they did not choose Hell Difficulty right away and selected Easy Mode instead.

But even in the second stage of Easy Mode, one could not clear it without extensive combat experience.

The second stage was not the six-year-old Tang San from Holy Spirit Village, nor was it Tang San after obtaining his first spirit ring. It was Xiao Wu from Nuoding Academy.

From Holy Spirit Village to Nuoding City, the Stage Boss had changed, but the difficulty remained the same.

Xiao Wu was far harder to defeat than Tang San.

They had thought Xiao Wu, who had lost to Tang San, was nothing special, but he was actually quite strong.

That was the genuine feeling of challengers who had been thrown around by Xiao Wu's Soft Skill.

Quite a few villagers from Holy Spirit Village also went to join in the fun.

Basically, they were defeated in less than a minute after entering.

They were no match for Xiao Wu and were defeated by him.

Lin Xianyu heard the villagers discussing it all around her. She took every word to heart, then bravely gave it a try.

Needless to say, she lost to Xiao Wu as well.

She could not even beat Xiao Wu in Easy Mode.

Wuwuwu, I'm such trash.

She had no real combat experience...

Forget fighting and killing in the future. She should just be a quiet, beautiful girl.

"Fortunately, the Sky Screen System came through again. I got another cheat!"

Lin Xianyu felt the reward sent by the Sky Screen.

It was exactly what she needed most right now—a spirit ring!

A spirit ring suited to her current physical condition, with the ability to increase its age as her physique and cultivation improved.

Lin Xianyu's first spirit ring was currently only around three hundred years old. The Spirit Ability it provided was not an offensive one, but a healing-type Spirit Ability.

"My Blue Silver Grass martial soul has reached level ten, and I obtained my first spirit ring. I'm also the first Soul Master to emerge in Holy Spirit Village since that Soul Saint died. Unfortunately, I don't dare show it."

Lin Xianyu thought of the Blue Silver Grass martial soul she had awakened.

The martial souls awakened by ordinary people were either Blue Silver Grass, some sort of flower, or farming tools.

Among the children of Lin Xianyu's batch who had awakened martial souls, three possessed Blue Silver Grass martial souls.

With the cheat provided by the Sky Screen System, Lin Xianyu had quickly reached level ten Soul Power after her golden finger came online. Now, she had also obtained a spirit ring suited to the Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

She did not like fighting and killing, so she had not chosen the path of a battle Soul Master, but that of a Support System Soul Master.

Her first Spirit Ability was Healing Light.

The Blue Silver Grass martial soul emitted light, which could heal certain injuries within the area around it.

It could also dispel fatigue and mental exhaustion...

This first Spirit Ability existed purely for healing.

"Sigh, I'll wait a little longer. Once I make it through, it'll only be another year or two. I can afford to wait!"

Lin Xianyu sighed, then returned to her shabby little house to rest.

The Sky Screen only provided one challenge attempt.

A loss was simply a loss.

There was no way to try again.

Lin Xianyu was no exception.

She could only return to rest, just like after the previous Arena challenge.

She slept until dawn.

Lin Xianyu felt much better.

She was now a Soul Master, but nothing had really changed. As usual, she randomly picked a lucky household and went there for breakfast.

After filling her stomach, Lin Xianyu said goodbye and left.

She wandered around the village alone.

Some children came to ask her to play with them, but Lin Xianyu refused.

She had become a child, but she had not truly become one. She resisted the idea of playing with children, so she decisively turned them down.

Lin Xianyu walked out of Holy Spirit Village alone and climbed the small hill nearby.

She stood atop the hill, gazing down at Holy Spirit Village at its foot.

The morning air was quite fresh.

Lin Xianyu began shouting at the top of her lungs. No matter how loud she was, her voice could not reach the foot of the mountain.

Her cathartic shouts released the negative emotions that had built up in her heart.

After shouting enough, Lin Xianyu stopped and lay down instead.

There were not only large rocks at the mountain peak, but also a patch of green grass.

Lin Xianyu lay flat and looked up at the sky.

Blue skies, white clouds...

What a beautiful living painting.

Lin Xianyu stared for a long while before finally getting up and slowly making her way down the mountain.

After returning home, Lin Xianyu began cultivating.

Though she had considered giving up, after practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill, she felt as though she had been possessed. If she went a day without cultivating, she felt terribly uncomfortable.

After completing a round of cultivation, Lin Xianyu could feel the improvement. It was truly minuscule, only a fraction of a point, but it was still improvement.

If people who had encountered a bottleneck learned the Mysterious Heaven Skill, every one of them would be thrilled to death.

After finishing her cultivation, Lin Xianyu did not completely lie flat. She still had to work hard to survive.

She was only six years old. Even if she was a Soul Master, she was still far too young.

Seven days passed amid her busy life.

The Sky Screen appeared on schedule.

Tang San absorbed the Mandala Snake's spirit ring, proving that Grandmaster's theory was complete nonsense.

However, Tang San was immersed in the joy of obtaining a spirit ring at the moment. His mind was a mess, and he could not think about anything else.

He tried using his first Spirit Ability and saw Blue Silver Grass rapidly spread out, wrapping around a tree.

Tang San tried using Blue Silver Grass's first Spirit Ability, then decisively ended it.

Seeing Grandmaster unconscious and still asleep, Tang San's face showed concern. He hurriedly gave Grandmaster the most attentive care.

In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived.

Using his hidden weapons, Tang San managed to get a soul beast less than ten years old.

The conditions were crude.

He could not eat anything good either and could only do his best to prepare a hot breakfast.

At the very least, Grandmaster would be able to fill his stomach after waking up.

When Grandmaster awoke and realized he had not died, that he was actually still alive, he immediately cried with excitement.

Then he discovered that Tang San had already absorbed his first spirit ring—the Mandala Snake that had chased them.

He had never expected it.

The Mandala Snake had become Tang San's spirit ring...

Though Grandmaster felt dizzy, he still forced himself to stay alert for safety's sake and left the Soul Hunting Forest with Tang San supporting him.

They had come by carriage, and they returned by carriage as well.

Blue Silver Forest.

Ah Yin escaped danger and successfully returned to her homeland.

Although Soul Masters pursued her, they were all useless low-level Soul Masters and were killed by Ah Yin instead.

By the time those powerful Soul Masters received news of Ah Yin, she had already fled back to her homeland.

Within Blue Silver Forest, even a Title Douluo would never be able to leave.

Just as no Title Douluo dared venture deep into Star Dou Great Forest.

After returning to Blue Silver Forest, Ah Yin found life in the forest far too dull.

But she did not dare go outside, afraid that some shameless Soul Master might catch her. That would be disastrous.

Though hiding in Blue Silver Forest was somewhat depressing, at least her safety was guaranteed.

The Sky Screen was now Ah Yin's best tool for passing the boring hours.

When she saw Tang San treating the Mandala Snake as his first spirit ring and even feeling smug about it, Ah Yin did not know how to mock him.

Should she say that choosing a Mandala Snake for a Blue Silver Grass martial soul was wrong?

No one would believe her even if she said it.

"Well then, his Blue Silver Grass martial soul is completely ruined."

Ah Yin sighed and continued watching.

Three days later.

Tang San supported Grandmaster as they returned to the academy.

They had returned so late that the students and teachers were all gone. If anyone had seen Grandmaster, who knew how they might have gossiped about him.

Tang San escorted Grandmaster back to his room but did not deliberately stay behind to care for him.

Grandmaster did not allow Tang San to remain and care for him either.

Tang San said goodbye to Grandmaster.

He left Grandmaster and headed toward the dormitory.

But before he could return to the dormitory, Wang Sheng dragged him somewhere else.

Work-study students held a very low status at Nuoding Academy.

They were far inferior to those students who had paid enrollment fees to enter.

Because those students had paid money, they bore tremendous hostility toward the work-study students who had paid nothing and were simply taking advantage of the academy.

Before Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived, Wang Sheng had been the strongest among the work-study students. He bore the responsibility of helping them regain their dignity.

Because he constantly clashed with the students who had paid their fees, he became a hero in the eyes of the work-study students and a thorn in the side of the regular fee-paying students.

Whenever work-study students were bullied, Wang Sheng would step forward. Every time, he took a brutal beating, so much so that as soon as his old injuries healed, new ones appeared.

Now that they had new bosses, whether Tang San or Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng finally felt relieved.

However, Wang Sheng had celebrated too early. Their new boss, Sister Xiao Wu, had something wrong with his head. The regular fee-paying students had not even come to trouble the work-study students, yet Xiao Wu had gone looking for trouble with them first.

When Wang Sheng heard that so-called rumor, he found it absurd.

He was not that exaggerated.

He only wanted to follow behind Xiao Wu and challenge the regular fee-paying students to one-on-one fights.

He had been bullied in the past, but now... he had new bosses, two of them.

He would no longer be the one getting bullied!

Xiao Wu became excited the moment he heard about fighting. He was a complete battle maniac.

If the regular fee-paying students dared to challenge him, Xiao Wu dared to accept.

Star Dou Great Forest.

At the outskirts of Lake of Life, Ah Rou, Xiao Wu, and their daughter Xiao Wu were all present.

Watching the scene on the Sky Screen, Ah Rou could not help glaring at Xiao Wu and saying irritably, "It's all your fault! Xiao Wu became a battle maniac because of you. You, you, you... you're truly guilty beyond measure!"

For a moment, she did not even know what to say.

"How can you blame me for this?" Xiao Wu shouted in frustration.

He had never intended to raise his daughter into a battle maniac.

Still, it was quite good that his daughter was a battle maniac. It meant he and his daughter had something in common.

"If I don't blame you, should I blame myself instead?" Ah Rou said angrily.

From today onward, she would correct Xiao Wu's bad habits...

She absolutely could not let him become a battle maniac!

Even if her daughter could not become a proper lady, she could not become a battle maniac either!

Ah Rou had made up her mind to reform Xiao Wu.

This poor child had no idea what he would face next.

Xiao Wu led the work-study students in accepting the challenge of the fee-paying students.

He did not fight first, instead sending out one of the work-study students. The result was a loss.

After all, they were work-study students and could not cultivate every moment of every day.

Xiao Wu was originally going to go second, but Tang San arrived just then.

As soon as Tang San made a move, he easily defeated the person sent out by the fee-paying students.

Then Xiao Wu entered the fight and defeated the leader of the regular fee-paying students.

Best two out of three.

The work-study students won twice and emerged victorious in the end.

Xiao Wu, the boss of Seventh Dormitory, rose in status as well.

He became the big boss of Nuoding Academy.

While Xiao Wu rampaged through Nuoding Academy, Tang San went to Spirit Hall in Nuoding City, registered as a Soul Master, and received the subsidy issued by Spirit Hall.

But this subsidy was not enough for Tang San, so he found a blacksmith shop to work at.

The uncle at the blacksmith shop saw how young he was and assumed he was just playing around, so he did not intend to hire him. But at Tang San's pleading, he gave him a chance to prove himself.

Tang San had learned blacksmithing from Tang Hao in Holy Spirit Village.

He had memories of how to exert force while forging, as well as a highly efficient method of blacksmithing.

Now, he demonstrated it before the blacksmiths, leaving them deeply shocked!

Some knowledgeable blacksmiths, after seeing Tang San's forging method, immediately recognized it—this was the so-called Chaotic Cyclone Fighting Style.

Thanks to the Chaotic Cyclone Fighting Style, Tang San was accepted by the blacksmiths and became an employee at the smithy.

After that, he began living a life of running between two places.

He attended classes at Nuoding Academy in the mornings, hungrily absorbing all kinds of knowledge, then went to the smithy in the afternoons to forge and earn money.

However, he needed to make hidden weapons. Relying solely on blacksmithing and the subsidy he received from Spirit Hall, who knew how long it would take him to save enough money to buy materials.

He also had to pay for Xiao Wu, the big sister's food and drinks.

Tang San felt that even after a year of hard work, he still would not be able to save any money.

Time flew by.

One year later.

After studying at Nuoding Academy for a year, Tang San decided to go home.

He invited Xiao Wu to return home with him.

Xiao Wu agreed and accompanied him back to Holy Spirit Village.

Seeing this scene, Xiao Wu's face darkened.

Ah Rou, on the other hand, found it amusing.

Tang San had not returned to Holy Spirit Village for over a year. Now that he was back, he felt as though everything had changed, even though Holy Spirit Village itself had barely changed at all.

He brought Xiao Wu back to his home, intending to introduce her to his father, but his father was not there.

Just as Tang San was at a loss, Old Jack came to his door and gave him a letter Tang Hao had left behind.

After reading Tang Hao's letter, Tang San was utterly baffled and could not make sense of the situation at all.

He did not know why Tang Hao had suddenly left.

He only knew that he no longer had a father.

He was alone.

And Xiao Wu was alone too.

At that moment, the two lonely people came to an understanding.

Xiao Wu thus became Tang San's younger sister.

Holy Spirit Village.

Lin Xianyu's neck had grown sore from looking up.

She lowered her head and rubbed her neck, even muttering under her breath, "What younger sister? She's clearly the switch that sends him berserk. Once Xiao Wu gets hurt, Tang San goes berserk..."

"Today's plot is moving fast. Is it going to show them registering at Shrek Academy?"

Lin Xianyu made a guess.

If it really went as she thought, then today's runtime would be completely maxed out.