You think I'm scamming you?

Over the past year, Tang San had rarely seen Brother Feng use his Martial Spirit. Even when he occasionally sparred with them, he could hold his own through sheer physical prowess. "I'm really looking forward to it," Wang Feng said with a smile.

The three of them set off along the road toward Holy Soul Village, chatting as they went.

Wang Feng nodded and glanced at Xiao Wu. She was still wearing her Notting Academy uniform, but, like Tang San, she had grown taller.

Old Jack said indignantly, "He handed me the letter and left right away. He didn't even consider Tang San's feelings..."

"I'll go give the letter to Tang San." With that thought, Wang Feng walked inside. Seeing Tang San looking dejected, he said, "Honestly, you kids. It's such a long way!"

He ran his hand over the familiar trees, each one marked with the traces of old traps, and stepped over branches and weeds that crunched beneath his feet.

Wang Feng gazed at the little village in the distance, smoke curling above it, and his eyes grew distant.

Wang Feng smiled. "So you don't need to feel sad. Uncle Hao cares about you very much. Maybe something's keeping him from seeing you."

Wait, why did this scene seem so familiar?

Xiao Wu bounced over, looking around as she asked questions.

Wang Feng suddenly said,

"Brother Feng, your Soul Power hasn't decreased, has it?"

Just then, several voices suddenly rang out in the distance:

There weren't many students at the junior academy. After Xiao Chenyu left, hardly anyone could spar with Xiao Wu.

Holy Soul Village.

Wang Feng stared at the little green bird, astonished:

Tang San was clearly still thinking about Brother Feng's Thousand-Year Soul Ring. Back then, Brother Feng had said it wouldn't have any effect on him.

Xiao Wu had found out about the Thousand-Year Soul Ring later, too. But among the students, only the two of them knew about it.

"Sure."

This really was where the dream had begun.

"That Tang Hao... He really is irresponsible..."

Though it had only been a little over a year, Wang Feng felt as if he'd awoken from a dream spanning a lifetime.

"Brother Feng, Xiao Wu is coming back with me, too."

At Wang Feng's words, his mind suddenly went blank.

"Really. I saw him by chance. He came several times, always sneaking a look at you. Sometimes when you were working, sometimes when you were in class..."

Before long, Wang Feng stopped. His gaze settled on something ahead...

Old Jack glared at Wang Feng. "Still, I'm glad you're back."

This little grove held so many of the tears he had shed back then.

"I understand. Thank you, Brother Feng."

An old, familiar figure called out from the distance. It was Old Jack.

The rough, familiar cry made Wang Feng feel as if he'd traveled through time.

Xiao Wu giggled and lifted her chin. "We haven't fought in months. Xiao San should be at level sixteen now, and I'm almost level seventeen!"

Chirp, chirp...

Xiao Wu pouted. "Good thing I still have Xiao San to play with. Brother Feng is too strong. I can't beat him, and I don't want to make a fool of myself trying."

Outside Notting City.

"Xiao San, Uncle Hao probably came to Notting City to see you."

"I'll head back first. You and Xiao Wu can get settled in your home."

"Holy crap, could you be... the little bird I saved over a year ago? Why are you all beat up again? Are you trying to scam me?"

"What's that stone pillar in the middle? And why are there two handprints on it?"

Wang Feng snapped off a stalk of Blue Silver Grass, stuck it between his lips, chewed a couple of times, and sighed.

As he spoke, Old Jack suddenly looked at Xiao San. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then said, "Xiao San, your father..."

Wang Feng went over and helped Old Jack up.

Wang Feng walked through the village, stopping by most of the houses to leave small gifts. Once he'd finished, he went to the familiar little grove he'd missed so much.

"Yeah, Xiao San told me about his teacher's analysis, too. Xiao San and I have both made huge gains in Soul Power, Brother Feng~"

Every so often, a few mischievous children followed along, chattering noisily.

But even if their progress was this slow... wasn't it still faster than that of most people?

Still, the two of them were a head shorter than him.

Wang Feng waved a hand and said,

As he spoke, he went inside and handed the letter to Tang San.

At that, Tang San froze.

Xiao Wu shook her fist. "Next time, Xiao San and I will definitely beat you!"

At that, Wang Feng couldn't help glancing at Tang San.

Over the past six months, Tang San and Xiao Wu had both grown quite a bit. Tang San looked sturdier, probably from all the blacksmithing. His face was set with determination.

"Hey, Xiao San, your village looks pretty nice..."

But... hearing that put Tang San at ease.

Besides, Wang Feng spent most of his time either in the Soul Beast Forest or studying ways to meditate and cultivate.

Beside Tang San, Xiao Wu looked around curiously, apparently wondering where the Holy Soul Village he'd mentioned was.

"Hey, Xiao Chenyu's already gone to the intermediate academy. The next few years are going to be so boring..."

Now and then, villagers came back through the gate, carrying cooking utensils and returning from their work.

"Hehe, then we've surpassed you, Brother Feng. You're still at level fifteen, right?"

"Xiao San, Xiao Feng, what are you doing back?"

A year seemed to have brought little change to the village. The water in the fountain at the base of the central stone pillar by the village gate was still crystal clear.

Old Jack nodded and answered without thinking. "Yeah, he left... Xiao Feng, how did you know?"

"My Soul Power hasn't decreased..." Wang Feng shook his head.

On the ground in the distance lay a little green bird, twitching and covered in blood.

As he spoke, Wang Feng helped Old Jack outside.

"Yeah, he left... How did you know?"

Tang San walked over, smiling as he explained.

After a year apart, Wang Feng noticed a few more wrinkles on Grandpa Jack's face. Time spared no one.

"It's winter break. We came back early."

Tang San suddenly asked, "You've sparred with us a few times this year. I feel like your strength hasn't decreased at all. But has your Soul Power dropped?"

Wang Feng thought Uncle Hao must have come to see Xiao San.

Xiao Chenyu knew Wang Feng had a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, but he wasn't capable of coming up with the analysis Grandmaster had made.

"It's Brother Feng's handiwork... A few years ago, our Holy Soul Village was still very poor. It wasn't like this, with clean stone roads and a lovely fountain garden..."

Tang San said excitedly, then led Xiao Wu toward the blacksmith's shop.

"It's about time I went back to see Grandpa Jack."

But with Uncle Hao's personality, he probably wouldn't go up to Xiao San directly. He'd most likely watch him secretly from some corner.

For the past six months, Wang Feng had been immersed in combat training and various experiments. He hadn't paid attention to how much their Soul Power had increased.

He couldn't help lamenting how slowly he'd advanced because he was compressing his Soul Power.

"...Uncle Hao must have left, right?"

Hearing that, Tang San's eyes stung.

He vaguely remembered that, in the original story, Xiao San's father had left that year, and Xiao San and Xiao Wu had officially become siblings.

Xiao Wu had wanted to hear more about the story on the stone pillar, but seeing how unusually excited Tang San was, she followed him over.

By afternoon, the three of them finally reached the entrance to Holy Soul Village.

Only Tang San regularly practiced with her.

Wang Feng rarely sparred with them, since he had to hold back enormously to match their strength.

It was good that his Soul Power hadn't dropped. That meant the side effects of the Thousand-Year Soul Ring might really be nowhere near as serious for Brother Feng as Grandmaster had imagined.

"Grandpa Jack, I'm going back to see my father."

Wang Feng didn't answer. He simply helped Grandpa Jack to the blacksmith's shop, where Tang San stood staring into space inside.