Xiao Wu

When Su Yuntao first heard that there was no soul skill, he thought something had gone wrong, and his mood sank terribly.

But when he heard the rest of Ye Lan's explanation, Su Yuntao excitedly gripped Ye Lan's shoulders and burst out laughing. "Hahaha, that's wonderful! As long as your aptitude has improved, what level won't you be able to reach later on? Once you get there, what soul skills could you possibly lack? It doesn't matter if your First Soul Skill is absent. I've never even heard of a Soul Ring that could increase Innate Soul Power anywhere on the Douluo Continent."

"As expected of a six-hundred-year First Soul Ring! Xiao Lan, you're truly a genius! A First Soul Ring with such a high cultivation age—no one on the entire continent has ever seen one, right?"

Ye Lan nodded, suppressing the joy in his heart. "I was just lucky this time! It was extremely dangerous when I absorbed the Soul Ring. I almost thought I'd be burned away!"

"It's fine as long as you made it through. From now on, you'll be like a fish leaping over the dragon gate—the sky is yours to soar through. I look forward to your future, Xiao Lan!"

"From now on, you mustn't take risks. This time, the process of killing the Sun-Chasing Tree went too smoothly, so I assumed its Soul Ring wouldn't be dangerous. If anything happened to you, I wouldn't be able to answer to your parents," Su Yuntao said with concern.

"I will. After we return to Nuoding City, I'm going to Vast Sea City, west of the Heaven Dou Empire, to cultivate for a while, Uncle Tao," Ye Lan said, speaking of his future plans.

"Xiao Lan, you've grown up too. You can decide your own path forward. A fledgling eagle must eventually learn to fly alone," Su Yuntao said.

A few black lines appeared on Ye Lan's forehead. What fledgling eagle? My mental age is about the same as yours, okay?

Su Yuntao then asked curiously, "What are you going to Vast Sea City for?"

"My Martial Soul can absorb sunlight to cultivate now. The weather there is better, and there are hardly any rainy days, so it's more suitable for cultivation," Ye Lan explained.

It rained from time to time around Nuoding City, while Vast Sea City had the most abundant sunlight and almost no rain, making it better for absorbing sunlight.

"Vast Sea City, huh? A famous coastal city of Heaven Dou. The scenery there is beautiful, and there are lots of pretty girls too. Bring back a wife while you're there~" Su Yuntao said carelessly.

"How old am I? What wife...? Cultivation is what matters most right now!" Ye Lan covered his head.

"You need a balance between work and rest. Xiao Lan, you really are hardworking, going all the way to Vast Sea City just to cultivate your Martial Soul."

"If my Martial Soul could absorb sunlight for cultivation, I wouldn't have thought of going all the way to sunny Vast Sea City." Su Yuntao praised Ye Lan's cleverness.

Ye Lan scratched his head and smiled. "Uncle Tao, you're not bad either. How many Soul Grandmasters can become deacons of a Martial Soul Branch Hall?"

"Of course, of course!" Su Yuntao laughed happily, clearly pleased by Ye Lan's praise.

Then Su Yuntao seemed to recall something and said seriously to Ye Lan, "Xiao Lan, now that your Innate Soul Power has reached Rank 8, I'll tell you the truth about your parents' disappearance once you reach the Soul Grandmaster realm at fifteen."

Ye Lan's shoulders hurt from Su Yuntao's grip. Confused, he asked, "Uncle Tao, can't you tell me now? I can bear the truth."

"You can't. Only after you have fully displayed your talent will I tell you the truth about your parents' disappearance," Su Yuntao said earnestly.

"Fine. Raising my soul power by ten ranks in four years is all. I'll give you a shock when the time comes," Ye Lan agreed helplessly.

"Keep bragging. Only the absolute top geniuses of Spirit Hall can raise their soul power by ten ranks in four years!"

Seeming to realize something, Su Yuntao did not want to hurt Ye Lan's confidence and changed the subject. "Now let's go to where the Striped Tiger's body was hidden and see whether it's still there."

"If the Striped Tiger is still there, I'll have Si Si make you a set of clothes." Thinking of Sister Si Si, a faint smile appeared on Su Yuntao's face.

"You're not young anymore. I hope that by the time I return, you'll already be married to Sister Si Si!" Ye Lan teased.

"Hahaha, I'll do my best!"

After dealing with the Striped Tiger's remains, the uncle-and-nephew pair finally returned to Nuoding City.

Ye Lan bid Su Yuntao farewell. "Uncle Tao, I'll go pack first. I'll come find you later to get my Soul Master certificate."

Su Yuntao, meanwhile, carried a huge bundle of leftover tiger hide on his back, shouting that Si Si had to quickly make the tiger-hide clothes before Ye Lan left.

Ye Lan was not in a hurry. "There's no need to rush. Vast Sea City is so hot that even if it's finished, I'll have to leave it at Grandpa Tom's house."

After saying goodbye to Su Yuntao, Ye Lan returned to the Seventh Dormitory of Nuoding Academy.

Only Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Ye Lan remained in the Seventh Dormitory now. Wang Sheng and the others had long since graduated.

When Ye Lan arrived at the dormitory, he found it completely empty. He guessed that Tang San and Xiao Wu had gone into the city to have fun.

Otherwise, if Tang San saw Ye Lan now, he would definitely be shocked by the identity of this Blond Youth before him.

After packing the luggage he needed to take, Ye Lan left the remaining belongings for the dorm caretaker to deal with and headed to Nuoding Academy's academic affairs office to complete his graduation procedures.

Nothing unexpected happened, and Ye Lan completed the procedures smoothly. Only Director Su, who knew Ye Lan well, was astonished by Ye Lan's cultivation speed and change in appearance.

He even tried to introduce his unmarried granddaughter in her twenties to Ye Lan. Ye Lan was so frightened that he grabbed his backpack and fled, saying only that he was far too young to enjoy such a blessing.

As Ye Lan fled the academic affairs office in disarray, he accidentally bumped into a girl who was a head shorter than him.

"Ow! Are you blind? You actually ran into me!" Xiao Wu rubbed her hands, which were braced against the ground.

Ye Lan was surprised that he had actually bumped into Xiao Wu. He had not expected such a minor incident right before leaving the academy.

"Sorry, sorry! I didn't notice you just now." Ye Lan lowered his head and saw that the girl one and a half heads shorter than him was Xiao Wu, but Tang San was nowhere to be seen beside her.

The two were usually inseparable, so he did not know why they were not together today.

Xiao Wu looked up at the light blond-haired young man. She felt like she had seen him before, yet also like she had not. "Who are you? Don't you know me, Sister Xiao Wu?"

"Of course I know you. I came to complete my graduation procedures at Nuoding Academy today," Ye Lan replied coolly.

Xiao Wu immediately began acting spoiled. "Since you know Sister Xiao Wu, why aren't you helping me up already?"

Ye Lan found Xiao Wu somewhat troublesome, and he thought of Tang San. "No. I don't want Tang San to misunderstand."

If Tang San saw this and misunderstood, the trouble would only get worse. He might end up on the list of people walking the path to death.

When Xiao Wu heard Ye Lan mention Tang San, her little face reddened. "Y-you-you! My brother wouldn't misunderstand!"

Xiao Wu flipped forward and closed in on Ye Lan, ready to teach him a lesson.

Seeing Xiao Wu rush close, Ye Lan immediately became wary.

He stomped his foot, leaving a faint shoeprint where he stood, and in an instant widened the distance between himself and Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu was surprised by Ye Lan's retreating speed. This was the first time she had encountered a Soul Master at Nuoding Academy who was nearly as fast as she was.

Sensing that the Golden-Haired Man before her was no weakling, Xiao Wu decisively activated Martial Soul Possession.

Pink light enveloped Xiao Wu's entire body, and a pair of fluffy rabbit ears sprang from her head.

The little rabbit leaped with all her strength. After Martial Soul Possession, Xiao Wu's speed increased dramatically, and she instantly jumped above Ye Lan's head.

Watching Xiao Wu spin through the air, Ye Lan realized that she truly intended to teach him a lesson.

Ye Lan did not back down either. He happened to want to test his newly evolved Blue Silver Grass and gauge the strength of the not-yet-fully-evolved Radiant Life Grass.