Tang San's Second Soul Ring

[The previous chapter was reviewed and blocked. I can't figure out what went wrong.]

Whatever. Even if Tang Hao came back, what could he do? He still couldn't stop Lin Ye's righteous act of screwing over Xiao Biesan.

Thinking about messing with San again, Lin Ye's mood turned bright. He bent down, continuing the work in his hands while humming a cheerful tune.

"I laugh with pride, laugh with pride..."

In front of Lin Ye was a wooden basin filled with warm water.

And right now, Lin Qiu'er was lying in the basin, taking a bath.

Her chin rested on the edge of the basin, a pile of soap foam on her head, her eyes squinted into slits—she looked utterly comfortable.

"Come on, stand up."

Lin Ye told Lin Qiu'er to stand, then grabbed a bar of soap and helped scrub her belly...

Lin Qiu'er stood obediently, letting the human kid wash her, with none of the dignity of an Emperor Auspicious Beast left.

The next day, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang met at the entrance of Notting Academy.

With Yu Xiaogang was a middle-aged man around his age.

The man wore a long robe, his features slightly more handsome than Yu Xiaogang's, with a slightly protruding chin and a gentle smile on his face.

Tang San recognized this man—he was the headmaster of Notting Academy.

The headmaster was a four-ring Soul Ancestor, also the strongest in Notting Academy.

"Greetings, Headmaster." Tang San politely said hello.

The headmaster nodded with a smile. "You're Tang San, right? Already a Soul Grand Master at such a young age—your future is boundless."

Tang San quickly humbled himself. "The headmaster flatters me."

The headmaster laughed heartily. "Not arrogant, not impatient—a good seedling. I'll go with you this time. Whatever spirit ring you want, just tell me."

Tang San's heart leaped with joy.

He had been worried about where his spirit ring would come from. His teacher was too useless, offering very limited help.

His original plan was to hire other spirit masters to hunt a spirit ring for him.

But now, with the headmaster stepping in, it couldn't be better.

Just then, Yu Xiaogang spoke up. "Alright, no more wasting time. Let's go buy some supplies first."

With that, he took the lead and walked off.

Tang San's eyelids twitched. Yu Xiaogang's actions reminded him of last time—and that Mutated Martial Soul that only farted.

Sure enough, the supplies Yu Xiaogang bought next were exactly what Tang San had expected.

White Radish. White radish that could induce farts.

In the afternoon, a carriage slowly rolled out of Notting City.

Inside the carriage, Lin Ye helplessly rubbed Lin Qiu'er's head.

"Look at you. Wouldn't it be better to stay home? Why did you have to come along?"

Lin Qiu'er snorted coldly. "No way. I have to see Xiao Biesan get screwed over with my own eyes."

"Fine, whatever makes you happy." Lin Ye smiled and reached out to ruffle her head again.

Maybe she didn't want to be ruffled anymore, Lin Qiu'er broke free from Lin Ye's Evil Claw and dove straight into Xue Di's arms.

She pushed too hard, squeezing Xue Di's impressive assets out of shape.

Xue Di said nothing, but her eyes were full of indulgence.

Seeing this, Lin Ye was secretly envious. I want to taste Xue Nu's Facial Cleanser too.

He couldn't help but sigh—an Auspicious Beast really had it good. Everywhere it went, it was the group's darling. Why didn't he get that treatment?

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Because of last time's lesson, Yu Xiaogang no longer dared to let Tang San absorb an animal spirit ring.

Though he had suspected that maybe it wasn't his theory that was wrong, but some other factor causing Tang San's spirit ring to have a lower age after absorption.

But he had no proof, and he didn't dare experiment on Tang San again.

If another accident happened this time, Tang Hao really wouldn't let him off.

The group arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest again. Just like last time, the guards checked their token and let them through without hesitation.

But finding a spirit ring this time wasn't as smooth as expected.

For several days in a row, they found nothing. The spirit beasts they encountered were either unsuitable or had ages that were too high or too low.

And Yu Xiaogang's standards weren't low either. He wanted to find a decent spirit ring to make up for the impact of the previous ten-year spirit ring as much as possible.

That made finding a suitable spirit ring even harder.

The group camped out in the open, had to guard against spirit beast attacks at night, and couldn't sleep well either.

This went on for several days, leaving the trio's mental state increasingly worse.

It wasn't until the sixth day that they finally encountered a soul beast that satisfied both Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.

"Xiao San, come quickly, your soul ring has been found." Yu Xiaogang's surprised voice rang through the forest.

Hearing his call, Tang San hurried forward to take a look.

There, a vine as thick as a thumb coiled tightly around a tree trunk like a natural green rope.

It looked very ordinary; if not for deliberate observation, it would be easy to overlook its existence.

Yu Xiaogang smiled confidently—it was time for this Master to take the stage again.

"Xiao San, this is the Ghost Vine I told you about, an extremely rare plant-type soul beast. It possesses a powerful neurotoxin; once its thorns pierce you, the poison spreads immediately until you dissolve into pus, becoming fertilizer for the Ghost Vine.

Moreover, what soul masters fear most is the Ghost Vine's parasitic ability. When it attacks, it releases countless tiny seeds that directly parasitize the enemy's body. As long as the Ghost Vine provides enough energy, or these seeds absorb sufficient nutrients, they will grow on the host. Once the neurotoxin spreads, the effect will be the same.

According to my years of research, the maximum absorption age for a soul master's Second Soul Ring is 764 years. This Ghost Vine is 600 years old—perfect as your Second Soul Ring."

As Yu Xiaogang spoke, he used both hands and feet, explaining vividly with full emotion.

It was clear he was quite excited.

Tang San was equally excited. "Teacher, I'll follow your instructions."

Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction, then turned his gaze to the Notting Academy Headmaster beside him.

The Headmaster smiled and nodded. "Stand back, watch me."

Then, four soul rings flashed into existence.

Boom boom boom...

After a barrage of attacks, the Ghost Vine was on its last legs.

The Notting Headmaster finally stopped, leaving the finishing blow to Tang San.

Neither Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, nor the Notting Headmaster noticed that someone else had arrived on the scene.

That person was Lin Ye.

Three soul rings pulsed gently beneath Lin Ye's feet, his Second Soul Ring radiating a brilliant purple glow, already in an active state.

It was precisely by using the Nightmare Soul Skill to create an illusion that Yu Xiaogang and the others failed to detect Lin Ye's arrival.

In their field of vision, there was no Lin Ye at all.

In Lin Ye's hand, there was also a Ghost Vine, but this one had a pathetic age of only 10 years.

Seeing that Tang San was about to act, Lin Ye stepped forward, pulled the 600-year Ghost Vine off the tree, and then placed the 10-year one in its spot.

After doing all this, he stepped back to the side and began to watch the show.

Thus, right under Tang San's nose, Lin Ye openly swapped Tang San's soul ring.

Of all this, Yu Xiaogang and the others remained completely unaware.

In their sight, the Ghost Vine was still that same Ghost Vine—how could they have imagined it had already been swapped?

"Xiao San, hurry up and act." Yu Xiaogang urged.

Tang San immediately stepped forward, his hand brushing over his belt as a small knife fell into his palm.

Shlash!

With a swift cut, the Ghost Vine snapped in two, writhing weakly like a snake.

Tang San raised his hand again, slashing several times in quick succession.

The Ghost Vine was severed into several pieces, completely losing its life force.

After a moment, yellow specks of light appeared, gathering together to form a yellow soul ring.