As he left, Yu Xiaogang didn't forget to take Gui Teng's corpse with him.
He did this because he suspected there might be something wrong with Gui Teng—perhaps it was a mutated Soul Beast or something.
Of course, more importantly, it was evidence. If Tang Hao came looking for him later, he could explain himself.
This time, he hadn't experimented on Tang San, and he'd chosen a normal Plant-type Soul Beast.
He hadn't done anything. If Tang Hao still refused to let him off the hook, then there was nothing else he could do.
Only after Tang San and the others had disappeared from view did Lin Ye dispel the illusion.
To Lin Ye's surprise, the operation had gone unusually smoothly. That old Tang Hao hadn't come back at all.
He really had to hand it to the old man—he was incredibly careless!
But then again, even if he had come back, it wouldn't have made a difference. Lin Ye would have set him up just the same.
If the three of them had returned at that moment, they would have found a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring floating there, unclaimed.
Unfortunately, they would never find out.
Lin Ye plopped down on the ground. After using the Nightmare Soul Skill continuously for half an hour, he had only about a fifth of his Soul Power and Mental Power left.
"Are you all right?" Snow Empress appeared silently at his side.
Lin Ye shook his head. "I'm fine. I've just used up a lot of Mental Power and Soul Power. I'll be fine after I recover."
Lin Qiu'er popped out just then. "You could've taken control of his body directly. Why go to so much trouble?"
Lin Ye smiled, looking delighted.
"Don't you think it's more fun to mess with Little Scumbag this way? You should've seen his reaction just now. He was practically questioning his whole existence. Heh heh heh..."
"Now that you mention it, you're right."
Thinking of Tang San's expression as it shifted from confusion to despair, Lin Qiu'er grinned from ear to ear and joined in with a mischievous chuckle.
Meanwhile.
On the way back, Tang San was in extremely low spirits, as if his father had just died.
The next afternoon, the carriage carrying the three of them stopped outside Notting Academy.
Looking at Tang San's listless expression, Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh. At that moment, he didn't know how to comfort Tang San.
"Xiao San, don't forget to register at the Notting City Spirit Hall Branch. You're a Soul Grandmaster now. Once you register, you'll be able to collect a monthly allowance of 10 Gold Soul Coins from Spirit Hall.
"That'll be enough to cover your living expenses.
"From now on, you should quit your job at the Blacksmith Shop, too. Set aside the time to focus on your cultivation."
Tang San still had that same miserable look, as if his father had died. Faced with Yu Xiaogang's concern, he only shook his head without saying a word.
He entered Notting Academy in a daze, his steps slow and heavy.
Why? Why...
Tang San cried out inwardly.
He had lived two lives, possessed the Tang Sect's techniques, mastered Hidden Weapons, and had Twin Martial Souls...
With such a huge advantage, he should have risen smoothly through the ranks and reached the pinnacle of the continent.
So why? Why had things turned out like this?
Why had the Hundred-Year Soul Ring he absorbed lost its years? Why had this happened?
At that moment, Tang San wanted to shout, "Heavens, did you bring me to this world just to toy with me?"
There was no keeping a secret forever. Before long, everyone knew about Tang San's situation. Like his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, he became a laughingstock.
The first floor of Notting Academy's teaching building housed the Academic Affairs Office.
At that moment, noisy voices could be heard coming from inside.
"Master really is a good teacher. He has two Hundred-Year Soul Rings himself, but he found two ten-year Soul Rings for his disciple. That's hilarious."
"Ah, that boy's future is ruined. I really don't understand what Master was thinking. Did he have some kind of grudge against the boy?"
"Tell me about it. I've met that boy. He's sensible and polite, but he had the misfortune of meeting the wrong person... What a pity."
"..."
Listening to the mocking and sympathetic remarks, Yu Xiaogang passed by the doorway with bitterness in his heart, his old face scrunched up like a chrysanthemum.
Ever since returning, he'd been living on tenterhooks, afraid Tang Hao would come after him.
A week passed, and Tang Hao still hadn't come. But Yu Xiaogang didn't relax—in fact, he became even more anxious. He could neither eat nor sleep, and he'd grown much more haggard.
The constant taunts and jeers grated on Yu Xiaogang's nerves, and he hurriedly fled the area.
What he didn't know was that Tang Hao, the man he'd been dreading, had already arrived at Notting Academy.
As usual, Tang Hao had come to check on Tang San, though he only ever watched from the shadows.
When he found Tang San, the boy was leading a group of Work-Study Students in a fight against some noble students.
That wasn't the important part. The important thing was that Tang Hao saw Tang San's Second Soul Ring—and it was white, a ten-year Soul Ring.
He was instantly struck as if by lightning.
Once he came to his senses, Tang Hao went looking for Yu Xiaogang, consumed by boundless fury.
As soon as Yu Xiaogang returned to his room, his vision went black. First came a foul stench—that of someone who hadn't bathed in a long time.
When he looked up, he saw Tang Hao, broad-shouldered and muscular, with murder in his eyes.
Realizing it was Tang Hao, the man who'd been haunting his thoughts, Yu Xiaogang began to tremble and stammer.
"C-Clear Sky Crown, y-you..."
Before he could finish, Tang Hao raised a hand as big as a fan and slapped him.
"Smack!"
The blow sent Yu Xiaogang spinning around once before he staggered and fell to the ground.
His face first went numb, then burned with pain.
Tang Hao had no intention of letting him off. Grabbing Yu Xiaogang by the collar with one hand, he hoisted him up and slapped him back and forth across the face with the other, delivering more than a dozen vicious smacks.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes rolled with stars.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack...
By the time Tang Hao stopped, Yu Xiaogang's face had swollen into a pig's head. The pain brought tears streaming from his eyes, mixing with his snot.
Tang Hao didn't care how disgusting it was. Still gripping Yu Xiaogang like a little chick, he roared, "You useless fool! I asked you to look after Xiao San, and this is how you did it?"
"C-Clear... Sky... Crown... l-listen... let me... expla..."
Yu Xiaogang's face was swollen like a pig's, and he could barely speak.
"Talk. Tell me exactly what happened." Tang Hao glared at Yu Xiaogang with bloodshot eyes, looking as if he wanted to chop him into a thousand pieces.
But before killing Yu Xiaogang, he needed to understand what had happened.
"C-Clear Sky... Crown..."
Facing Tang Hao's fury, Yu Xiaogang didn't dare hide anything. He immediately recounted the whole matter in detail.
After finishing, he even showed Tang Hao the corpse of Gui Teng that he'd brought back.
After examining Gui Teng's corpse, Tang Hao's fury eased somewhat.
Then he, too, couldn't make sense of what had happened.
There was no doubt that nothing was wrong with Gui Teng.
But if nothing was wrong, why had the Soul Ring lost its years?
It had been a Hundred-Year Soul Ring right after the absorption, but then it had started losing years, until it eventually became a ten-year Soul Ring.
Why had this happened? How could something so bizarre have occurred?
Before you continue