"Ah, King Ying, that Soul Fragment... could you spare me just one?"
Mu Rong rubbed his hands together.
"Considering your strength as a forty-seven-year Soul Sect, I'm sure you can manage it, right?"
"Huh? Isn't it just a Soul Fragment from a hundred-year-old beast? You little brat, you're really something."
"Then I'll take that as a yes."
Mu Rong moved a little closer.
"It's a Soul Fragment from the Frozen Forest. It's called the Ice Crystal Dragon. King Ying, could you...?"
"Pfft!"
King Ying took a deep breath. The hand holding his pipe paused, and his eyebrows shot up.
"You little brat, how dare you ask for a Soul Fragment like that!"
Earlier, Mu Rong had planned to collect three Soul Fragments and use them as his second soul ring.
But after the chaos of the Great Soul Arena and the fight against the Great Soul Beast, he'd naturally gained a few prizes—or perhaps some hundred-year Soul Fragments.
And the Ice Crystal Dragon Soul Fragment was one of the ones mentioned above. It was the one best suited to becoming his second soul ring.
But finding a Soul Beast like that and hunting it down was no easy task. Even King Ying, a Soul Sect, would have to make a serious effort.
"Kid, if you want that Ice Crystal Dragon Soul Fragment, you'll have to get this old man to help you. It won't be easy."
King Ying explained patiently.
"It's a pack-dwelling Soul Beast, and there's a whole group of them. There's bound to be one that's lived for a thousand years."
"That's one thing, but the Ice Crystal Dragon is a Soul Beast that's resistant to ice attacks. The whole group is likely to breathe out powerful ice blasts, freezing everything in a radius of a hundred meters. The area would be so cold that no living thing could survive."
"Unless a Soul King steps in, there's no way to catch one alive while it's surrounded by the rest."
And King Ying would have to step in himself.
"Then you'd be underestimating those pack-dwelling Soul Beasts."
If Mu Rong used the Soul Fragment he'd obtained from the Great Soul Arena to ask for help, the matter of absorbing a nine-hundred-year Soul Fragment would surely come to light. Damn, that would put him in a tough spot.
"Then how much would the academy need to pay for an elder to step in?"
Mu Rong asked.
"Kid, you've just figured it out."
King Ying shook his head.
"Even if that old fossil Gu Chen refuses to help, with your usual teacher Zhou and me working together, I'm still seventy percent sure we can handle it."
King Ying chuckled.
"If you want to get your ring, you'll need at least a thousand gold Soul Coins. Otherwise, Old Zhou won't lift a finger."
Well, that was the price. After all these years working at the Great Soul Arena, he'd earned nearly twenty thousand gold Soul Coins. He'd spent some, but still had tens of thousands put away.
"Come on, King Ying. Give me a break."
Mu Rong put on a pitiful expression.
"I'll give the academy two roots of the Netherworld Vine. As long as Old Zhou can help, what do you say?"
As he spoke, he pulled out a gold Soul Coin card and put it on the table.
"Come on, kid. You've got plenty of money."
King Ying picked up the card and glanced at the number on it, then shook his head.
"Fine. If Old Zhou agrees to help, we'll meet at the academy entrance early tomorrow morning."
"Then I owe you one, King Ying."
"Alright, kid. You should head back and get some rest, too."
"Okay, I'll leave first, then."
Mu Rong stood up and walked out of the room.
As soon as he returned to the dormitory, Oscar and Suo Ling were waiting for him.
"How did it go, Boss? Did Director King agree?"
"That was only to be expected!"
Mu Rong gave a knowing smile.
"Even if going to get that Soul Beast might be a little dangerous, Old Zhou will be with us the whole way."
"Ah?"
Oscar was startled.
"Boss, what Soul Beast are you going after? You're even asking the elders of the academy to help?"
"It's a secret."
Mu Rong smiled.
"When we get back, you'll find out."
"Boss, hurry up and tell us! Otherwise, you're not getting out of this room today!"
As he spoke, Suo Ling and Oscar stood one on either side of Mu Rong, blocking the doorway and grinning mischievously.
"Oh?"
Mu Rong rolled his wrists. His bones crackled sharply.
"Perfect. I've been wanting to see how far you've come since you got your third soul ring."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three of them started fighting!
Without martial souls, it was a competition of physical strength and technique.
Oscar attacked first. He charged forward with a powerful punch, aiming for Mu Rong's face, his fist whistling through the air.
Mu Rong had fought many experts before and knew that against a strong opponent, he couldn't afford to hold back.
Suo Ling moved with surprising agility, slipping around Mu Rong's side. His figure flickered as he raised a sharp kick toward Mu Rong's lower body.
With the two working together, their attacks were certainly more than the sum of their parts.
Faced with their coordinated assault, Mu Rong merely leaned back slightly. He brought his left hand down in a casual parry, then caught Oscar's wrist and gave it a light tug.
Oscar needed only a brief moment to catch his balance. His initially fierce punch veered off course, and he stumbled forward three steps, unable to stop himself.
At the same time, Mu Rong's right leg rose like a ghost, striking Suo Ling's ankle at an impossible angle.
"Crack!"
A sharp sound rang out. Suo Ling felt a wave of pain shoot through his ankle, and his face went pale. The strength in his body seemed to dissolve in an instant, and he sucked in a breath.
With a single move, their coordinated attack was broken apart.
"Not bad. You two have good teamwork."
Mu Rong let go and spoke mildly. "But your strength is too scattered, and you're too slow."
"Again!"
Oscar shouted, spurred on by frustration.
He stopped holding back and displayed all the fighting skills he'd honed in the Great Soul Arena.
His fists, elbows, and knees came one after another, each move carrying a fierce, relentless force.
Suo Ling also gritted his teeth through the pain and straightened up. Instead of continuing to attack head-on, he used his agility to search for an opening in Mu Rong's defenses, striking now and then with quick, precise attacks.
For a while, fists and legs clashed in the small dormitory, and the air roared around them.
Mu Rong stood in place, rooted to the floor. He let the two of them attack like a violent storm, unmoving as a boulder.
His movements were small, and each time he dodged or parried, his timing was perfect. A little more and he'd waste effort; a little less and he'd be hit.
Oscar's heavy punches glanced off him like a gentle breeze, occasionally brushing the hem of his clothes.
Suo Ling's kicks came at him, but Mu Rong didn't even need to use his hands. He only shifted his waist and stomach, bending his body in an extraordinary arc and letting the attacks pass through empty air.
Was this really a fight? It looked more like a lesson!
After dozens of exchanges, Oscar and Suo Ling were both panting, drenched in sweat.
Mu Rong, on the other hand, was still calm and collected, breathing evenly.
That was the difference!
The strength of his bones had improved in every way.
Four pieces of thousand-year-old bone and three pieces of hundred-year-old bone had already pushed his physical abilities to a level beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
His bone strength was now even somewhat better than that of the soul bones possessed by some ordinary Soul Exalts.
Besides, he had spiritual power. That meant he had an advantage in battle that ordinary people couldn't match. Even though he only had spiritual power at the third level, it was already more than enough for now.
"I see now."
Before you continue