"You want to pinky-promise too?"
Lin Ming smiled and reached out to touch Little Lei Yi's finger with his pinky.
Then he lowered his head and looked at the ring on his index finger.
He remembered the cute expression Shui Bing'er had worn when she said, "This is a gift from me."
He thought of the slight furrow between the girl's brows as she searched for a suitable excuse.
He remembered the way her pinky had stuck straight up when they made their promise.
Little Lei Yi gave a soft "Yi."
Lin Ming took one last look at the end of the road, then turned around.
"Come on. Let's go back to Nuoding Academy."
The boy set off for home.
The ring sat quietly on his index finger, its cold band warmed by his body heat.
And a promise sealed with a pinky, like a seed, quietly took root in both their hearts.
Nuoding Academy.
The door to Dorm Seven stood ajar.
Lin Ming pushed it open. The room was emptier than when he had left.
Wang Sheng and the others hadn't returned to school yet; only someone on the bed by the window was there.
Hearing the noise, Xiao Wu poked her head out from under the covers.
She stared at Lin Ming sleepily for a few seconds, then abruptly sat up.
"What were you doing?"
"Xiao San said you were cultivating at the academy, but you weren't here when we got back."
Lin Ming set down the cloth bundle on his shoulder. It was filled with everyday necessities. He answered calmly.
"I went out for a while."
"Where?"
"To hunt for a Soul Ring."
Xiao Wu froze. She blinked and looked Lin Ming up and down.
"Oh. Did you get one?"
"Yeah."
"How many years?"
Lin Ming fell silent for a moment, but that brief pause made Xiao Wu think she understood.
"It's okay. Ten years is still better than nothing. Wang Sheng and the others all have ten-year ones too."
She offered a casual word of comfort, yawned, and burrowed back under the covers, turning her back to him.
Lin Ming said nothing and didn't explain.
He put the bundle beside his bed and began sorting through his things.
Meanwhile, inside a single-occupancy teachers' dormitory.
Yu Xiaogang stood before the desk, an old, yellowed notebook open in front of him.
Tang San stood quietly to one side, watching.
Yu Xiaogang looked up at him, then suddenly spoke.
"Has Lin Ming still not come back?"
Tang San's whole body shuddered. His fist, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tightly.
Lin Ming.
Lin Ming again.
Which one of us is your disciple, anyway?
He took a deep breath, swallowed down the churning emotions, and replied calmly.
"Not yet. I heard he left on the first day of the break."
"Left?" Yu Xiaogang closed the notebook, his tone unusually light.
"By himself?"
"Probably."
Yu Xiaogang leaned back in his chair, his rigid face twisting into an almost-smile.
"He went to hunt for a Soul Ring by himself."
He shook his head, amused by Lin Ming's foolishness.
"Who does he think he is?"
He picked up his teacup and took a leisurely sip.
"My clan went to great lengths to find my First Soul Ring back then. He's just a Work-Study Student with nothing. What does he have to his name?"
Tang San said nothing, but the fist clenched inside his sleeve relaxed.
He felt that his teacher was right.
For many people, their fate was decided from the very beginning.
His First Soul Ring had been four hundred and twenty-three years old, and he had killed the beast himself.
He had done it with the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Hidden Weapons, and everything he had gained across two lifetimes.
And Lin Ming?
A Work-Study Student with only one rank of Innate Soul Power had gone out alone to hunt a Soul Ring. What Soul Beast could he possibly kill?
Whether it was ten years or twenty years old,
it would still be a Ten-Year Soul Beast in the end.
Compared to his four-hundred-and-thirty-seven-year-old Mandala Snake Soul Ring, it was nothing.
Tang San lowered his eyes, but the corner of his mouth lifted in a pleased smile.
He had Yu Xiaogang, the greatest theoretical master in the world, as his teacher.
What did Lin Ming have?
The countless ordinary teachers at Nuoding Academy?
Or the books in the academy library, available for anyone to read?
The more Tang San thought about it, the more his resentment faded.
In its place grew a secret sense of superiority.
"Teacher, you're right,"
Tang San quietly agreed.
Yu Xiaogang nodded with satisfaction.
"If he'd been willing to take me as his teacher back then, I could have helped him plan things out. What a pity..."
He didn't finish, but Tang San understood.
A pity that he hadn't known his place.
A pity that this was all he'd ever amount to.
Nuoding City Spirit Hall.
Lin Ming walked into the hall.
Rank fifteen, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
When he came back out, there was an extra Gold Soul Coin and an updated Spirit Hall credential in his Soul Tool.
In one corner of the hall, a pair of eyes stared fixedly at his departing figure.
Tang San gripped the Gold Soul Coin he had just received. When he saw Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo coming down from the second floor, he went over to him.
"Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo."
Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo had been looking regretfully after Lin Ming's retreating figure when someone suddenly blocked his path. He stared at Tang San's familiar face for a long moment.
"You are..."
"Tang San."
Ma Xiunuo gave an "Oh" and nodded.
He remembered now. The boy had come before and had Innate Full Soul Power.
He had lamented the waste of such talent at the time.
"Is something the matter?"
Ma Xiunuo asked.
Tang San hesitated.
He wanted to ask about Lin Ming, but when the words reached his lips, he didn't know how to say them.
It would make him seem like a rat in a gutter, keeping a close watch on Lin Ming's every move.
That didn't fit his pure and unsullied image.
Seeing his expression, Ma Xiunuo suddenly smiled.
"Do you want to ask about that boy just now?"
Tang San fell silent and didn't answer.
Ma Xiunuo clasped his hands behind his back and looked toward the entrance, where no one remained.
"Seven years old, one rank of Innate Soul Power."
Ma Xiunuo's tone was complicated.
"His test just now showed rank fifteen Soul Power and a Hundred-Year Soul Ring as his First Soul Ring."
Tang San said nothing. His hand hanging by his side quietly clenched.
Ma Xiunuo didn't notice anything amiss and continued speaking to himself.
"And the quality of that Soul Ring didn't seem ordinary to me. I'd estimate it was over four hundred years old."
He sighed and shook his head regretfully, then walked past Tang San and slowly went upstairs.
Tang San stood rooted to the spot for a long time.
Over four hundred years old.
He thought of his own Mandala Snake Soul Ring.
Four hundred and thirty-seven years.
He had killed it himself.
Yu Xiaogang had nearly died, too.
And Lin Ming?
What gave him the right?
Tang San lowered his eyes and gripped the Gold Soul Coin until its edge hurt his palm.
After leaving Spirit Hall, Lin Ming went to a place that handled mail and sent Shui Bing'er, far away at Skywater Academy, a letter to let her know he was safe.
Only then did he return to Nuoding Academy.
By the time Tang San pushed open the door to Yu Xiaogang's dormitory, it was already dark.
Yu Xiaogang was still sitting at his desk, the notebook open in front of him.
He looked up at Tang San's expression and furrowed his brows.
"What's wrong?"
Tang San walked up and stopped in front of him.
"Teacher, Lin Ming's back."
Yu Xiaogang leaned back in his chair and picked up his teacup.
"Did he get a Soul Ring?"
He took a sip of tea and smiled carelessly.
"Ten years? Or twenty?"
Tang San looked at him and spoke one word at a time.
"Hundred years."
Yu Xiaogang's hand froze. The teacup hung in midair, the tea trembling slightly.
"What did you say?"
Before you continue