Xiao Wu slowly lowered her head, twirling the index fingers of both hands in circles.
"Ye Lin, can we talk about something?"
Ye Lin smiled knowingly at Xiao Wu, already guessing what she wanted. "What is it?"
Xiao Wu looked a little embarrassed. "Your bedding is so big. Could we share it?"
"We can, sure."
"Wow, Ye Lin, you're the best!"
"But..."
"But what?"
"Call me Sister Lin."
"Ah, well..."
"If you won't, then forget it. This bed's pretty hard, anyway."
"Fine, I'll call you," Xiao Wu muttered, pouting. "Sister Lin..."
"Hahaha, you looked like you were about to cry! All right, all right, we can share."
Once the beds were made, it was already mealtime. Wang Sheng said, "Boss, Xiao Wu, Ye Lin, let's go eat."
But after asking the three of them a few questions, Wang Sheng quickly realized they were all short on money.
He said generously, "I'll treat you today. You can pay me back next time."
Tang San hesitated briefly, then agreed. Xiao Wu was about to happily accept, but Ye Lin tugged at her sleeve, and Xiao Wu immediately fell silent.
Ye Lin smiled and turned down Wang Sheng's offer.
"You guys go ahead. We're not hungry. We're trying to lose weight."
"All right."
Wang Sheng looked a little helpless as he led the other Work-Study Students, along with Tang San, toward the cafeteria.
"Sister Lin, why aren't we going?"
Xiao Wu asked in confusion. Her stomach was already growling; it wasn't as if she weren't hungry.
"I'm actually a little hungry. It's been ages since I ate."
"Don't worry. I'll take you to get something to eat in a bit."
Ye Lin figured things at the cafeteria had settled down, and only then led Xiao Wu toward it.
At this hour, the cafeteria was nearly empty. On the other hand, there wasn't much food left, but that didn't matter.
Ye Lin headed straight for the second floor and casually slapped a Gold Soul Coin down on the serving counter.
"Get us some of the good stuff."
The people inside were overjoyed. Looking at the Gold Soul Coin, they seemed almost unable to believe their eyes. "Please wait a moment, ladies. We'll prepare something right away and bring it over."
A big question mark seemed to appear over Xiao Wu's little head. "Sister Lin, why didn't we go earlier? You're so rich, so why were you sneaking around?"
"Silly girl, ever heard of keeping a low profile?"
"Oh," Xiao Wu said, nodding as if she understood.
When the two returned to the dormitory, Wang Sheng and Tang San looked at them in confusion. "Ye Lin, Xiao Wu, where did you go?"
Ye Lin replied casually,
"I suddenly felt hungry, so I went to grab something to eat."
"Mm," Tang San continued. "My adoptive father told me he's taking me to get my First Soul Ring tomorrow. He insisted that I bring you along."
"Then thank him for me," Ye Lin said with a smile, readily accepting.
This was perfect. She needed a Spirit Ring anyway. If she bought one from the Points Shop, she'd still have to save up quite a few points. Besides, following Tang San and Yu Xiaogang would let her keep completing her daily missions. Why not?
That evening, Ye Lin reminded Xiao Wu that, near the end of mealtime, she could go straight to the serving counter on the second floor to get food.
At daybreak the next morning, one tall figure and two small ones slowly left the gates of Notting Academy.
After shopping in Nuoding City, Yu Xiaogang hired a carriage and took them toward the Soul Hunting Forest.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San chatted nonstop along the way. Yu Xiaogang kept explaining Spirit Rings, the colors of Soul Beasts, and their different types. Tang San admired him immensely, and Yu Xiaogang was thoroughly enjoying himself.
Ye Lin, however, was different. She simply focused on cultivating in silence.
Seeing Ye Lin like this, Yu Xiaogang felt a little puzzled. Was she really not interested in his unparalleled theories?
She was the complete opposite of Tang San.
How was he supposed to get her to become his disciple?
He absolutely couldn't give up on such a good test subject.
Or was she just like this by nature?
Acting uninterested on the surface while secretly yearning for it?
Yu Xiaogang indulged in his own fantasy. She must be exactly that kind of person!
Then he'd show her something practical. Let's see if she could keep pretending after that.
He pulled out a rather beautiful belt from who knew where. Twenty-four milky-white gems were set into it.
"This is a Storage Soul Tool. It's been gathering dust in my possession."
"All you need to do is channel Soul Power into it. Each gem can provide one cubic meter of storage space."
Tang San accepted the belt at once.
"Thank you, adoptive father!"
He was overjoyed. This was the perfect place to store Hidden Weapons in the future.
As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang glanced at Ye Lin. The belt had indeed caught her interest, but why did she seem to look down on it?
Was that a look of disdain?
Yu Xiaogang wasn't mistaken. It was disdain.
If someone else had looked down on him, he wouldn't have cared at all. But when someone he cared about showed disdain, it stirred up a storm inside him.
Ye Lin thought, A Na Ring can provide ten thousand cubic meters of storage space. I didn't say anything about it.
No, she had to take Yu Xiaogang down a peg.
[Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San a belt set with twenty-four jade stones. Each stone could provide one cubic meter of storage space...]
Changing one word in the system didn't just mean replacing a word. It also included adding and deleting words.
Ye Lin tried adding a single word. Just one word would be enough to make Yu Xiaogang lose it.
"Xiao San, try channeling Soul Power into the Soul Tool and putting one of the radishes we bought inside."
Yu Xiaogang spoke to his adoptive son, Tang San. The unspoken half of his message was that Tang San should show her just how miraculous a Storage Soul Tool was.
"Mm." Tang San nodded excitedly. He was very curious about this unfamiliar object.
He slowly channeled a wisp of Soul Power into it, then locked onto a white radish and tried to put it inside.
But the white radish showed no reaction at all.
"What's going on?" Yu Xiaogang frowned. "This Soul Tool is very simple to use."
Tang San looked a little embarrassed. "Adoptive father, I feel like I can't put this radish inside. There isn't enough space."
"Not enough?"
"I think... each gem can hold at most a single drop of water."
"That's impossible!" Yu Xiaogang cried. He snatched the belt from Tang San's hands.
"Even if it doesn't hold a full cubic meter, it can't be so small that it only holds one drop of water."
"You must be using it wrong."
"Watch closely. I'll show you."
He held the belt in his hand and gave it a shake, then slowly channeled a wisp of Soul Power into it.
"Hm?!"
The expression on Yu Xiaogang's face froze. He must have been using it wrong.
Channel Soul Power!
Withdraw Soul Power!
Channel it!
Withdraw it!
Again and again, but the space still only held a single drop of water.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Yu Xiaogang kept thinking it over, wondering which step had gone wrong...
Before you continue