Missing Person Returns? Ye Lingling's Initiative, and the First Soul Ring's First Cry!

The Monday morning air at Heaven Dou Junior Spirit Master Academy was exceptionally crisp.

But for the students of the Elite Class, the atmosphere today was somewhat unusual. That was because the "troublemaker" Yu Tianyu, who had caused a massive stir upon enrollment last week and then mysteriously vanished for two days, had returned.

When Yu Tianyu walked into the classroom, the previously noisy class fell silent for a fleeting moment.

Many sharp-eyed students noticed that this already handsome youth seemed to have undergone some subtle changes. His skin had become more crystalline and dense, faintly revealing a luster like jade, and when his eyes opened and closed, a heart-stopping glint would occasionally flash through them.

That feeling was like a peerless sword that, after being tempered by fire and ice, had finally been unsheathed.

"Brother Yu! You finally returned!"

Pang Hu was the first to rush over, his eyes brimming with tears as he tried to give him a bear hug. "You were gone for two whole days! Everyone was saying you were scared of Teacher Sun's devilish training and had packed your bags to run away!"

Yu Tianyu extended a finger, pressing it against Pang Hu's fleshy chest, and easily pushed him away. "Run away? I just went to restock."

"Restock?" Pang Hu looked completely bewildered.

Before he could ask what exactly he had restocked, a commotion suddenly erupted at the classroom door.

A black-clad silhouette appeared at the entrance. She did not walk into the classroom but stood there quietly, her gaze sweeping across the room before finally settling on Yu Tianyu.

It was Ye Lingling.

She was still wearing that veil, revealing only a pair of eyes as cold and deep as a dark pool. Usually, this successor of the Nine Heart Begonia never interacted with anyone outside of class, let alone took the initiative to seek someone out.

The gossip-loving souls of the entire class instantly ignited.

Could the rumors be true? Had this Blue Lightning young master, abandoned by his family, really hooked up with the Ye family miss who possessed the number one support Martial Soul?

Amidst a flurry of complex gazes, Ye Lingling walked straight up to Yu Tianyu.

"You're back." Her voice was very soft, devoid of much emotion, but the fact that she had taken the initiative to speak was a miracle in itself.

"Mm, I'm back." Yu Tianyu sat in his chair, looking at her with leisurely composure. "I heard you were looking for me these past two days? What, did you miss me?"

A collective gasp echoed around them. This kid, was teasing Dugu Yan not enough? Did he dare to tease Ye Lingling too?

Ye Lingling's eyes flickered slightly. She wasn't angry, but instead, she scrutinized him earnestly. "The aura on you... has changed. It's more dangerous than before."

As a Support Spirit Master, her perception far exceeded that of ordinary people. If the Yu Tianyu of the past was a raging fire, then the current him was like a bottomless volcano, suppressing destructive power beneath a calm surface.

"Danger is for my enemies."

Yu Tianyu leaned forward, a smile playing on his lips. "To friends, especially beautiful ones, I have always been very gentle."

Ye Lingling was silent for a moment, then suddenly pulled an exquisite little porcelain bottle from her robes and placed it on Yu Tianyu's desk.

"This is a Spirit Calming Pill specially made by the Ye family. Since you're fine, that's for the best. Teacher Sun said there is a combat assessment this afternoon that counts toward your credits. You were absent for two days, and many people are waiting to see you make a fool of yourself."

After saying this, she turned and left without the slightest hesitation.

It wasn't until her silhouette disappeared that the class exploded.

"Damn! The goddess gave him medicine?! What kind of treatment is this?" "Why?! Isn't he just an abandoned son who only knows how to play with fire?"

Pang Hu was even more dumbfounded, picking up the porcelain bottle and sniffing it. "Brother Yu, you're a legend! This is good stuff you can't even buy with money! Goddess Ye must be interested in you!"

Yu Tianyu toyed with the porcelain bottle, a playful glint flashing in his eyes.

This little girl, cold on the outside but warm on the inside, was quite interesting.

In the afternoon, at the Martial Arts Arena.

Just as Ye Lingling had said, today's combat assessment was exceptionally lively. Sun Buyu stood on the high platform, holding a roll call sheet, his expression as stern as ever.

"Yu Tianyu!"

"Here."

Yu Tianyu walked out of the ranks nonchalantly.

"In view of your unexcused absence for two days immediately after enrollment, according to academy regulations, you must undergo a 'special assessment'."

Sun Buyu pushed up his glasses, a sharp light flashing in his eyes. "As long as you win this duel, not only will I let bygones be bygones, but I will give you a perfect score for this semester's combat credits. But if you lose... you will have all your credits deducted and be sent to report to the Ordinary Class."

"Oh?" Yu Tianyu raised an eyebrow. "Sounds fair. Who is my opponent?"

"Me!"

A sharp shout rang out.

A tall, muscular boy with bulging muscles strode out. He was wearing an upper-grade uniform, his arms wrapped in thick bandages, his eyes fierce as if he held a blood feud against Yu Tianyu.

"Third Grade, Wang Jingang. Martial Soul: Great Strength Gorilla. Level 23 Assault System Soul Grand Master!"

A gasp erupted from the crowd.

"It's Wang Jingang! That notorious violent maniac!" "Level 23 fighting Level 11? Is Teacher Sun intentionally trying to fix Yu Tianyu?" "This is going to be a good show. The Great Strength Gorilla is a top-tier power-type Martial Soul, thick-skinned and sturdy; it's the perfect counter for a glass cannon who only knows how to throw fire."

Ye Lingling stood at the edge of the crowd, her brows slightly furrowed, her fingers subconsciously clenching the corner of her clothes.

Wang Jingang walked to the center of the arena and cracked his neck, the joints popping loudly.

"Kid, I heard you're very arrogant? You beat up my younger brother the moment you arrived?"

Younger brother?

Yu Tianyu thought for a moment before remembering that the Wind Wolf Soul Grand Master he had sent flying with a single punch in the cafeteria also seemed to have the surname Wang.

"Sorry, I don't remember beating up any random nobodies." Yu Tianyu picked at his ear. "Are you here to avenge him? Or are you here to hand over your academic credits?"

"You're courting death!"

Wang Jingang roared, and two yellow Spirit Rings instantly rose from beneath his feet.

"Great Strength Gorilla, Martial Soul Possession!"

As his Martial Soul possessed him, his body swelled another size, black fur covered his entire frame, and his arms became as thick as thighs, making him look like an upright giant beast.

"First Spirit Skill: Diamond Fist!"

Without any probing, Wang Jingang went all out from the start. He stomped his foot, shattering the ground, and charged toward Yu Tianyu like a heavy war chariot, his fist whistling through the air.

Facing this heavy and powerful strike, Yu Tianyu stood his ground, not moving an inch.

"Dodge it!" Pang Hu shouted anxiously from off the stage.

However, Yu Tianyu only slightly raised his head, a flash of disdain crossing his Heterochromatic Pupils.

"A power-type? Perfect, let me test my new move on you."

Just as that massive fist was about to smash into his face.

Yu Tianyu moved.

"Hum—"

A deep yellow halo rose from beneath his feet without any warning!

The color of the halo was so profound that it even faintly hinted at a trace of purple, completely transcending the category of a standard Century Spirit Ring.

Immediately following, a nauseating, fishy-sweet aura erupted—it was the pressure belonging to a top-tier predator!

"Is that... a Spirit Ring?!"

"He obtained his First Spirit Ring? But the color is all wrong!"

The entire arena was shocked.

Wang Jingang's pupils constricted violently; he felt a sense of intense crisis. But with the arrow already on the string, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and swing down.

"Die for me!!"

A cruel arc curled at the corner of Yu Tianyu's mouth.

He didn't meet the blow with his own fist; instead, he leaned back sharply, his right leg tensing like a spring!

Purple-black poison mist instantly enveloped his right leg, and within that mist, one could faintly see the phantom of a ferocious dragon claw attached to it.

The energy of the Poison Dragon Factor was compressed to the absolute limit at this moment!

"First Spirit Skill..."

"Poison Dragon's—Spiral Jaw!!!"

Yu Tianyu exerted force from his waist and abdomen, his body carving a bizarre arc through the air. That right leg, carrying terrifying poison and power, struck Wang Jingang's chest with a speed that arrived after being launched last!

"Bang!!!"

A dull, teeth-grinding sound of impact echoed throughout the Martial Arts Arena.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The next second.

The massive Wang Jingang, as if struck by a high-speed Spirit Guidance Train, folded into the shape of a shrimp, his eyes bulging as he sprayed a mouthful of blood!

"Boom!"

He flew backward a full twenty meters, slamming hard into the protective wall of the arena and embedding himself directly into it, kicking up a cloud of dust.

The entire arena fell into dead silence.

Everyone had their mouths agape, staring at the young man in the center of the arena who was slowly retracting his leg.

One move?

A level twenty-three Soul Grand Master, a Great Strength Gorilla known for defense and power, was actually kicked away in a single blow?

And what's more...

"Ah—!!"

From the ruins, Wang Jingang suddenly let out a shrill, miserable scream.

When the crowd looked, they saw that the clothes on his chest had been completely corroded, and the exposed skin had turned a terrifying purple-black—the sign of a lethal poison entering the body!

"Such overbearing poison!" Sun Buyu's expression changed drastically, and he rushed over to check the injuries.

Yu Tianyu brushed some non-existent dust off his pant leg, his gaze indifferent. "Don't worry, he won't die. He just broke a few bones and got to experience the thrill of being poisoned."

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over the group of students who were already stunned into silence, finally landing on Ye Lingling.

"How about it, classmate Ye?"

Yu Tianyu winked at her, his devil-may-care demeanor making it seem as if the ruthless person from a moment ago wasn't him. "Looks like you don't need to deliver medicine anymore, but if you're willing to give me a post-battle massage, I'd be more than happy to accept."

Ye Lingling looked at him, the corners of her lips beneath her veil curving into an almost imperceptible arc.

She did not speak, simply walking forward in silence as a Nine Heart Begonia coalesced in her palm.

"Go."

The white petals drifted toward the unconscious Wang Jingang.

Having finished this, she turned to look at Yu Tianyu, her voice remaining cold, yet her eyes softening significantly:

"Forget about the massage. But... congratulations on becoming a true Spirit Master."

Yu Tianyu smiled.

He knew that this flower on the high cliff had already begun to loosen.

And this was merely the beginning.

With this First Spirit Ring and this Dragon Body, who else besides him, Yu Tianyu, had the qualifications to sit in the seat of "Chief" at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy?