Swapped Soul Rings

Tang San was no stranger to this.

He sat cross-legged where he was and opened his right hand. A pale blue glow shimmered in his palm, and in an instant, a small, vivid blue plant appeared.

Along with the Blue Silver Grass came a Soul Ring: a white Ten-Year Soul Ring quietly floated around Tang San.

Blindingly white, startlingly white.

At the sight, the dean of Notting Academy instinctively glanced at Yu Xiaogang.

A Ten-Year First Soul Ring was very common at Notting Academy. Children from ordinary families didn't have many choices, so a Ten-Year First Soul Ring was practically the norm—or rather, the standard.

By that measure, it seemed perfectly normal for Tang San's First Soul Ring to be a Ten-Year one.

But then again, Yu Xiaogang himself had a Hundred-Year Soul Ring as his First Soul Ring, yet he'd found his disciple a Ten-Year Soul Ring.

That was just absurd!

Perhaps Xiaogang didn't value this disciple of his all that much after all, the dean of Notting Academy thought.

Feeling his friend's gaze, Yu Xiaogang's face twitched.

Even after all this time, he still couldn't come to terms with it.

Seeing that white Ten-Year Soul Ring still stung his eyes.

Tang San, however, had no time to think about any of that. With a thought, the white Ten-Year Soul Ring floated above his head and slowly descended.

Tang San closed his eyes, calmed his mind, and began absorbing the second Soul Ring of his life.

He felt a warm current slowly flow through his limbs and bones, warming every part of his body.

The power of the Soul Ring was gentle and warm.

It felt completely different from the last time he'd absorbed a Soul Ring. If that time had been like being thrown into boiling lava,

this time was like soaking in a hot spring—comfortable and warm.

A faint smile appeared on Tang San's face. Come on, my Second Soul Ring. I'm sure you won't disappoint me.

At the sight, Yu Xiaogang felt a swell of pride and nodded with satisfaction.

As far as he was concerned, today was the day Tang San had truly embarked on the path of a Soul Master.

That piece-of-junk Ten-Year Soul Ring from before didn't deserve Xiaosan.

He'd wanted nothing more than to rip off that eyesore of a Soul Ring and throw it away.

Unfortunately, he couldn't. Once a Soul Ring had been successfully fused, it couldn't be replaced.

Fortunately, his disciple Tang San had Twin Martial Souls. Wasting one Soul Ring slot was a pity, but still within acceptable limits.

Lin Ye was the happiest person there.

This time, he didn't control Tang San's body like he had last time. Instead, he'd pulled off a clever trick.

He'd used Nightmare Soul Skill to create an illusion and switch out the Soul Beast Tang San was supposed to use for his Soul Ring, making Tang San absorb that piece-of-junk Soul Ring himself.

In Tang San's field of vision, the Soul Beast he'd hunted was a six-hundred-year-old Gui Teng, and the Soul Ring it produced was a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

In reality, though, that Gui Teng was only ten years old, and its Soul Ring was blindingly white.

Looking at the two white Soul Rings hanging around Tang San, Lin Ye was in high spirits and happily hummed a tune.

"I'm laughing with delight, laughing with delight..."

His voice wasn't quiet, but the three people lost in the illusion didn't notice a thing.

The illusion created by Nightmare could affect hearing, too.

While Tang San continued fusing with the Soul Ring, Lin Ye began cleaning up the scene.

First, he stored the ten-year-old Gui Teng's corpse in the Dragon Pattern Jade Pendant.

Then he took out a knife and, with a few swift cuts, chopped the six-hundred-year-old Gui Teng into several pieces.

Yellow specks of light floated out of the Gui Teng's corpse and gathered together, forming a yellow Soul Ring.

Lin Ye paid it no mind. He simply placed the Gui Teng's severed pieces where the ten-year-old Gui Teng had been and arranged them neatly.

And with that, the scene was perfectly staged.

Heh heh heh. Little Scumbag, get ready. Your surprise is coming!

In less than half an hour, Tang San successfully fused with the Gui Teng's Soul Ring.

One white and one yellow Soul Ring revolved around him, gently pulsing.

Seeing Tang San successfully fuse with the Soul Ring without anything going wrong, Yu Xiaogang was very pleased. As expected of his disciple.

But alongside his satisfaction came a hint of disappointment. Did this mean his theory really was wrong?

Could a Plant-type Martial Soul truly absorb a Soul Ring from an animal-type Soul Beast?

Yu Xiaogang shook his head, pushing aside those muddled thoughts, then looked at Tang San. "Xiaosan, take a look at your Blue Silver Grass."

Tang San looked down. The appearance of his Blue Silver Grass had changed.

It had been grass blades before, but now it looked like a vine, more like the Gui Teng. Only its color and patterns remained the same.

The corner of Tang San's mouth lifted slightly. The Blue Silver Grass had become tougher, and it had gained the Gui Teng's poison, which could paralyze the nervous system.

Even its scent, once released into the air, could have an effect.

"Right, Xiaosan, what's your Soul Skill? What does it do?" Yu Xiaogang asked impatiently.

Tang San said, "Parasite. My Second Soul Skill is Parasite. As long as the Blue Silver Grass touches an opponent, it leaves a Parasitic Seed on them.

"Then, when I use the Parasite Soul Skill, those seeds instantly grow into Blue Silver Grass, catching my opponent off guard."

"Excellent, excellent!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed, praising it three times.

"This is a fine Soul Skill. Used well, it could even decide a fight in one strike."

The dean of Notting Academy had been about to offer a few words of congratulations, but he suddenly noticed that Tang San's Soul Ring seemed a little paler.

Thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, he rubbed them and looked again. The Soul Ring had faded even more.

"Tang San, look at your Soul Ring!"

At his words, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang looked closely and quickly noticed that something was wrong.

"What... what's going on?" Yu Xiaogang's voice trembled. His heart sank with a sense of foreboding.

Tang San was even more panicked. Seeing that the Soul Ring had turned pale yellow, he hurriedly sought Yu Xiaogang's help. "Teacher, how could this happen? Hurry and find a way to stop it!"

Yu Xiaogang was at a loss. He'd never even heard of such a thing, so how could he know what to do?

Master and disciple fretted like ants on a hot pan.

Gradually, the yellow Soul Ring faded to pale yellow, then turned white.

It was exactly the same color as his First Soul Ring.

Blindingly white, teeth-grittingly white.

"Teacher, what on earth is happening? Why did it turn out like this?" Tang San's face crumpled as if he'd just lost everything.

"This..." Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.

How could he know the reason? He'd never heard of anyone's Soul Ring losing years.

If what happened last time could be blamed on a Plant-type Martial Soul being unable to absorb an animal Soul Ring, then there was truly no way to explain this.

Silence fell over the scene, deathly still, not even a pin dropping.

After things remained that way for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Yu Xiaogang's sigh broke the silence.

"Let's go home."