Returning to Nuoding Academy, Martial Soul Appraisal

"You want to pinky swear too?"

Lin Ming smiled and touched Little Lei Yi's finger with his pinky.

Then he lowered his head to look at the ring on his index finger.

He recalled Shui Bing'er's adorable expression when she said, "This is from me."

He thought of the slight frown on her brow as she searched for a suitable reason.

He remembered her perfectly straight pinky finger when they made the promise.

Little Lei Yi let out a soft "Yi."

Lin Ming glanced one last time at the end of the road before turning around.

"Let's go back to Nuoding Academy."

The young man began his journey home.

The ring rested quietly on his index finger, its cold band already warmed by his body heat.

And the promise made with a pinky swear took root in both their hearts like a seed.

Nuoding Academy.

The door to Dorm Seven was ajar.

Lin Ming pushed it open, the room seeming emptier than when he'd left.

Wang Sheng and the others hadn't returned yet. Only one person lay on the bed by the window.

Hearing the movement, Xiao Wu poked her head out from under the covers.

She blinked sleepily at Lin Ming for a few seconds before suddenly sitting up.

"Where did you go?"

"Xiao San said you were training at the academy, and you weren't here when we got back."

Lin Ming set down the cloth bag on his shoulder, which contained everyday necessities, and said calmly.

"I went out."

"Where to?"

"To hunt for a Soul Ring."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment. She blinked and looked Lin Ming up and down.

"Oh, did you get one?"

"Mm."

"How many years old?"

Lin Ming was silent for a moment, but that brief pause made Xiao Wu feel like she understood.

"It's okay, ten years is better than nothing. Wang Sheng and the others are also ten years."

She offered a casual consolation, yawned, and snuggled back into her covers, turning her back to him.

Lin Ming said nothing and offered no explanation.

He placed the cloth bag by the bed and began to unpack.

Meanwhile, in a single teacher's dormitory.

Yu Xiaogang stood before a desk, a yellowed notebook spread open in front of him.

Tang San stood beside him, watching quietly.

Yu Xiaogang looked up and glanced at him, suddenly speaking.

"Hasn't Lin Ming returned yet?"

Tang San trembled all over, his fist hidden in his sleeve clenched tightly.

Lin Ming.

It was Lin Ming again.

Who exactly is your disciple?

He took a deep breath, swallowed the surging emotions, and said calmly.

"Not yet. I heard someone say he left on the first day of the holiday."

"Left?" Yu Xiaogang closed the notebook, a rare hint of lightness in his tone.

"Alone?"

"Probably."

Yu Xiaogang leaned back in his chair, a stiff smile forming on his face.

"Going alone to hunt for a Soul Ring."

He shook his head, finding Lin Ming's actions laughable.

"Who does he think he is?"

He picked up his teacup and leisurely took a sip.

"For my first Soul Ring, my clan spent a great deal of effort to find it. He's just a work-study student with nothing, what makes him think he can do it?"

Tang San remained silent, but the clenched fist in his sleeve loosened.

He felt his teacher was right.

The fate of many people was decided from the very beginning.

His first Soul Ring, 423 years, was something he killed himself.

It was obtained through Mysterious Heaven Skill, hidden weapons, and the full foundation of his two lives.

And Lin Ming?

A work-study student with Innate Level 1 going out alone to hunt for a Soul Ring, what kind of Soul Beast could he kill?

Whether it was ten years or twenty years.

It was still a ten-year Soul Beast in the end.

Compared to his 437-year Mandala Snake Soul Ring, it was nothing.

Tang San lowered his eyelids, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

He had the world's number one theoretical teacher, Yu Xiaogang.

What did Lin Ming have?

A bunch of ordinary teachers at Nuoding Academy?

Or those books in the academy library that anyone could read?

The more he thought about it, the more Tang San's lingering dissatisfaction dissipated.

It was replaced by a hidden sense of superiority.

"Teacher is right."

Tang San softly agreed.

Yu Xiaogang nodded with satisfaction.

"If he had been willing to become my disciple back then, I could have helped him plan things out, but unfortunately..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Tang San understood.

It was a pity he didn't know what was good for him.

It was a pity his life would amount to nothing.

Nuoding City Martial Soul Hall.

Lin Ming walked into the hall.

Level 15, hundred-year Soul Ring.

When he came out again, his Soul Tool contained one more Gold Soul Coin and an updated Martial Soul Hall credential.

In a corner of the hall, a pair of eyes stared intently at his departing back.

Tang San clutched the Gold Soul Coin he had just received, watched Master Ma Xiunuo coming down from the second floor, and walked up to him.

"Master Ma Xiunuo."

Master Ma Xiunuo was looking regretfully at Lin Ming's retreating back after refusing him, when he was suddenly stopped. He looked at Tang San's familiar face and thought for a long time.

"You are..."

"Tang San."

Ma Xiunuo gave an "Oh" and nodded.

He remembered this child had been here last time, Innate Full Soul Power.

He had even sighed then, regretting such talent.

"Is something wrong?"

Ma Xiunuo inquired.

Tang San paused.

He wanted to ask about Lin Ming, but the words got stuck in his throat, and he didn't know how to start.

It would make him seem like a rat in a gutter, staring intently at Lin Ming's every move.

This didn't fit his pure and untainted persona.

Ma Xiunuo looked at his expression and suddenly smiled.

"Are you asking about that child from just now?"

Tang San fell silent, not answering.

Ma Xiunuo clasped his hands behind his back and looked in the direction of the main entrance, which was already empty.

"Seven years old, Innate Soul Power level one."

Ma Xiunuo's tone was somewhat complex.

"During the test just now, his Soul Power reached level fifteen, and his first Soul Ring was a hundred-year one."

Tang San didn't speak, only clenched the hand hanging by his side.

Ma Xiunuo didn't notice his abnormality and continued speaking to himself.

"And the quality of that Soul Ring, it looked unusual. I estimate it's four hundred years or more."

He sighed, shook his head regretfully, and walked past Tang San, slowly heading upstairs.

Tang San stood in place for a long time without moving.

Four hundred years or more.

He thought of his own Mandala Snake Soul Ring.

Four hundred and thirty-seven years.

He had killed it with his own hands.

Yu Xiaogang had almost died.

What about Lin Ming?

What right did he have?

Tang San lowered his gaze, clutching the Gold Soul Coin so tightly his palm ached.

After Lin Ming left the Martial Soul Hall, he went to a place where he could mail letters and reported his safety to Shui Bing'er, who was far away at Skywater Academy.

Only then did he return to Nuoding Academy.

By the time Tang San pushed open Yu Xiaogang's dorm room door, it was already dark.

Yu Xiaogang was still sitting at his desk, with the notebook spread out in front of him.

He looked up and saw Tang San's expression, frowning slightly.

"What's wrong?"

Tang San walked up to him and stopped, saying, "Teacher, Lin Ming is back."

Yu Xiaogang leaned back in his chair and picked up his teacup.

"Did he hunt for a Soul Ring?"

He took a sip of tea, smiling nonchalantly.

"Ten years? Or twenty?"

Tang San looked at him and said, word for word, "A hundred years."

Yu Xiaogang's hand froze, the teacup suspended in mid-air, the tea sloshing slightly.

"What did you say?"