Mu Bei straightened up from bowing deeply to Mu Rong, who stood before him, and the ache in his heart finally settled back into his chest. The whole ordeal had left him trembling with fear, his legs still weak.
"Thank you, Young Master. I've put you through a lot of trouble."
Mu Rong walked over to him, his expression grave. "You're welcome."
Seeing the little mound of earth that had appeared on the ground, Mu Rong's heart was already clear.
Old Mu was gone. Even so, he hadn't been able to save him.
He took out a thick stack of gold soul coins, at least three thousand, and handed it over.
"I'm not sure what else I can do. Please take these coins. They're for you and your family."
"Young Master, I can't accept these! Old Mu's family already gave you the money for the medicine."
Mu Bei hastily tried to return them.
"Young Master, please don't make this difficult. These are the coins you earned with your life. I can't take them!"
Mu Rong didn't argue. He simply pressed the coins firmly into Mu Bei's arms.
"Take them! You risked your life to earn them, so you must take them! Otherwise, I won't be able to rest easy for the rest of my life!"
His determination was resolute, not the least bit like the cold indifference of some young master from a wealthy family.
Mu Bei looked down at the golden soul coins in his hands, then at Mu Rong's earnest expression. In the end, he let out a breath.
"Fine. Since you insist, I'll keep them for his family. Thank you, Young Master."
The gloomy clouds hanging over the group finally lifted, and they fell silent.
The young man was only a few years older than them, yet he was wise and thoughtful. He was also deeply sentimental, with a clear sense of right and wrong.
The way Young Master Mu looked at people was truly impressive.
Mu Rong walked over to Old Mu's grave and silently bowed.
This was the first time since coming to this world that he had truly faced the cruelty of its weak preying on the strong.
And people in this world died so that they could help themselves obtain soul power.
The lives of ordinary people were truly the least valuable things in any world.
Mu Bei went to fetch some food and water. Mu Rong ate a little, then sat down to rest.
When dawn broke, the three of them set out on the journey back.
Their harvest had been considerable.
His first soul skill was the Ice Phoenix's poison mist.
The martial soul released the Ice Phoenix, which exhaled a pale blue poison mist that spread across a radius of fifty meters.
Anyone caught in the mist would suffer its effects, and their speed would drop by twenty percent.
Once the poison mist was inhaled, the victim's muscles and spirit would grow sluggish and numb, and the circulation of their soul power would likewise be suppressed by twenty percent.
It was a powerful soul skill that combined a wide area of effect, speed reduction, and suppression.
More importantly, after absorbing the Ice Phoenix's soul ring, he could clearly sense that the thin bloodline of the Ice Phoenix within his martial soul had been strengthened considerably.
Though he was still some distance from evolving into an Ice Phoenix, this was an excellent start.
Early the next morning, Mu Bei took out the monkey he had tamed, which was in much better shape. The three of them set off on the road back to Ju Yuan City.
Five days later, the exhausted trio finally returned to Ju Yuan City.
After bidding Mu Bei goodbye, Mu Rong had only a brief moment to return to the academy. He first went to register his new martial soul rank.
After all, he was now a White-Rank Soul Master. He shouldn't be careless.
Unfortunately, his affairs instructor wasn't there. Instead, he was greeted by another academy instructor named Chen.
Chen watched Mu Rong walk into the Soul Master Registration Hall. When he saw the "Level 12" displayed on the soul power crystal ball, he couldn't help asking, "Young man, what kind of soul ring did you absorb for your first soul skill?"
Mu Rong didn't hide it. He briefly explained that it was an Ice Phoenix soul ring, without mentioning its specific effects.
Learning that the soul ring was from a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast, Chen's eyes lit up. He again earnestly invited Mu Rong to join the martial soul division, offering terms even better than before.
Mu Rong still didn't refuse him outright. Instead, he used the excuse he had prepared long ago.
"Instructor, wait until I've made it to the Great Soul Master rank."
"I'm still young, and I've only just become a Soul Master. I want to learn a bit more about the world first."
He wasn't entirely refusing. He was just asking for some leeway, and the instructor seemed pleased to hear it.
After registering his martial soul rank, Mu Rong took a gold soul coin's worth of academy provisions each month and returned to the academy dormitory.
The moment he stepped inside, Suo Ling and Lin stood up, their faces filled with admiration and curiosity.
"Boss, you're finally back! How did it go? Did you succeed?"
Mu Rong said nothing. He simply released the dark golden Soul Seed beneath his feet.
"Whoa! Boss, that's amazing!"
"Boss, you're incredible!"
The two of them let out a chorus of astonished exclamations.
Mu Rong patted their shoulders and comforted them.
"Don't worry. You'll have your own one day soon."
Then he looked at Lin.
"Given your cultivation speed, you should reach Rank 10 in a month at most. I recommend absorbing a three-hundred-year-old horned fire wolf."
"Your horned fire wolf martial soul has more than just the most basic physical attacks. It has an elemental affinity."
"Absorbing a flame demon wolf or a horned fire wolf would be your best choice."
"Also, each soul ring you absorb should come from a soul beast with a fire attribute, such as a Flame Bat, a Fire Tiger, or a Flame Wolf."
"If you keep doing that, I believe your horned fire wolf martial soul will eventually undergo some unexpected changes."
Lin nodded repeatedly, his admiration for Mu Rong growing with every word.
"Got it, boss! I'll listen to you!"
He clenched his fists, full of confidence.
"I've been with you for two years, and I've grown a lot taller. If I absorb a three-hundred-year soul ring, what kind of skill do you think I'll get? Then I'll go with a fire attribute!"
Mu Rong turned to Suo Ling.
"Little Phoenix, your martial soul is the same as Lin's, so from now on, you should focus on absorbing soul rings with a fire element."
Suo Ling nodded earnestly. Although her innate talent was poor, Mu Rong had already paved a path for her, and that filled her with confidence about the future.
Mu Rong looked at his two bold and ambitious little brothers, thinking to himself.
It was a shame that Ju Yuan City had no Great Soul Arena. Otherwise, he could have taken them there to hone their skills and test the power of their new soul rings.
Forget it. There'd be time for that later.
As the secret room opened, the long shadow cast by the setting sun stretched across the floor.
He spread out a piece of paper that was as smooth as silk. The nib of his pen dipped into ink and didn't leave a single drop behind.
He drew three figures: Mu Rong, the black-haired boy, and the Ice Phoenix's massive body. The latter was emitting a poison mist and sitting with the eight-year-old child who had been so desperate for soul power.
The first Soul Seed: six hundred years.
That number seemed like a heavy hammer, pounding into him and forcing him to accept the reality that he was a Soul Master.
Even the core disciples of the seven great sects, those hailed as heaven's favored children, rarely dared to absorb a soul ring that exceeded four hundred years for their first one.
Mu Rong, just what kind of monster was he?
Lin took a deep breath, no longer daring to guess, and unfolded the letter.
In it, the letter described Mu Rong's entire soul-hunting journey, including the fierce struggle that ended with the little monkey's death, as well as Mu Rong's actions afterward, when he had buried it and left behind a gold soul coin.
Most importantly, it recorded again and again the details of his six-hundred-year Soul Seed.
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