In the dead of night.
As the Datura Snake slithered through the forest.
The enormous bulge in its belly could clearly be seen, still thrashing about.
Then, for some unknown reason, a thunderous boom rang out.
Suddenly, the Datura Snake's belly ballooned high, as if someone had blown it up like a balloon.
The snake collapsed to the ground in agony, hissing as it spat out a foul, green poisonous mist and began rolling around.
Then came two more booming blasts, one after the other.
The Datura Snake's belly stretched to its limit, and its stomach exploded.
Hissing in agony, the Datura Snake smashed into the surrounding trees. It spat out mouthfuls of blood and entrails before finally collapsing to the ground, silent and still.
Before long, the Datura Snake's rear end—
Or, to be precise, the place where it pooped—
Began to squirm.
Soon, a hand emerged.
Then another.
At last, both hands pushed outward, and a buzz-cut young man, smeared all over with foul-smelling green slime and reeking to high heaven, struggled his way out.
"I'm alive!"
"Haha! I, Yu Xiaogang, am still alive!"
After crawling out, Yu Xiaogang, overjoyed to have survived, threw his head back and laughed.
But he laughed so hard that clumps of the foul green slime on his face slid straight into his mouth. His face turned green, and he immediately gagged, hunching over on the ground to retch.
He didn't retch for long. Remembering that the Datura Snake's corpse was right beside him, and that other Soul Beasts would surely come sniffing around once they caught the scent of blood, Yu Xiaogang hurried away.
Unable to find Director Su, Tang Yin, or Tang San, Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to leave on his own.
But perhaps because he was the sort who'd narrowly escaped death in the shittiest way possible, he somehow made it all the way out of the Soul Hunting Forest without encountering any dangerous Soul Beasts.
Director Su, Tang Yin, and Tang San knew nothing about this.
After helping Tang Yin successfully acquire the Soul Ring of a four-hundred-year Pale Thunder Silver Wolf, their Soul Hunting trip came to a perfect end.
Tang Yin and Tang San followed Director Su out of the Soul Hunting Forest without incident. They boarded a carriage and headed back to Nuoding City.
When they arrived at Notting Academy,
the three of them climbed down from the carriage.
As they entered the academy and prepared to part ways,
Director Su seemed to remember something and reminded them,
"By the way! Since you two have advanced to Soul Masters, you can go to the Spirit Hall Branch and register."
"Once you register, you can collect a Gold Soul Coin in Soul Master subsidies every month!"
Hearing this, Tang San couldn't help feeling delighted.
Tang Yin, however, couldn't help feeling a headache coming on.
After absorbing the Pale Thunder Silver Wolf's Soul Ring, he hadn't merely advanced to become an eleven-, twelve-, or thirteen-level Soul Master.
He'd gone straight to level twenty, becoming a quasi-Soul Grandmaster.
There was no way he could explain that!
After saying goodbye to Director Su,
Tang Yin and Tang San headed back to Dorm Seven.
Tang Yin had thought that when he returned, he'd have to lead the work-study students into a fight against the noble students headed by Xiao Chenyu.
But when they got back to Dorm Seven,
they saw that Xiao Wu's bed had already been fitted with a luxurious quilt.
Two little girls, both clearly dressed quite well, were there—one massaging Xiao Wu's shoulders, the other rubbing her legs.
Nearby stood a handsome young man about Wang Sheng's age, wearing a far more expensive-looking academy uniform. He was fawning over Xiao Wu like a lackey, asking,
"Sister Xiao Wu, are they using the right amount of pressure?"
Tang Yin and Tang San both froze at the sight.
"Boss Tang Yin, Boss Tang San, you're back?"
Seeing the two of them, Wang Sheng immediately came over, looking delighted.
Tang Yin's handsome face was full of bewilderment. He pointed at the two girls massaging Xiao Wu and the young noble standing off to the side, then asked,
"What's going on here?"
When Xiao Wu noticed Tang Yin and Tang San had returned, she sprang to her feet, planted her hands on her hips, and grinned smugly.
"Tang Yin, Tang San, you're back!"
"From now on, call me the top dog of Notting!"
"While you were away hunting Soul Rings, I led the work-study students to beat those nobles. Now they've accepted me as their top dog!"
"From now on, I'm the big sister of Notting Academy!"
As she spoke, Xiao Wu lifted her chin proudly and puffed out her chest.
At that, Tang Yin understood.
He and his little brother Tang San had spent longer hunting Soul Rings in the Soul Hunting Forest.
In the meantime, Xiao Wu had already led Wang Sheng and the others to victory!
"By the way!"
"Boss Tang Yin, Boss Tang San, did you finish hunting your Soul Rings?"
"What kind of Soul Rings did you get?"
Wang Sheng asked curiously.
Tang Yin smiled and answered with an air of absolute confidence.
"Xiao San, summon your Martial Soul and show them your Soul Ring!"
"Yes, big brother!"
Tang Yin urged the Mysterious Jade Arm Martial Soul, while Tang San raised a hand and summoned the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
Two hundred-year Yellow Soul Rings rose beneath their feet.
"Hundred-year Soul Rings?!" the crowd exclaimed.
When everyone saw that Tang Yin and Tang San had hundred-year Soul Rings, the entire dorm, Xiao Wu aside, was stunned. Cries of surprise rang out one after another.
Beside them, Xiao Chenyu, who had already accepted Xiao Wu as his top dog, stared wide-eyed, utterly unable to believe it.
Another two hundred-year Soul Rings?
What was going on with this year's work-study students? Three monsters in a row?!
After Xiao Wu had beaten him into submission, Xiao Chenyu had discovered that she possessed a hundred-year Soul Ring. He'd imagined that she had powerful backers and had promptly acknowledged her as his leader.
When he heard that there were two leaders in Dorm Seven even stronger than Xiao Wu, Xiao Chenyu hadn't believed it at first. He'd been quite scornful, convinced it was impossible.
A work-study student with Innate Full Soul Power and a hundred-year First Soul Ring—someone like Sister Xiao Wu, who was almost certainly backed by a powerful family—was already unbelievable!
How could there possibly be two more?!
How many top-tier powers were there, all sending their geniuses to disguise themselves and attend Notting Academy? (That was just Xiao Chenyu's own imagination.)
But now that he'd seen Tang Yin and Tang San's hundred-year Soul Rings, Xiao Chenyu finally understood.
He'd simply been too narrow-minded!
Tang Yin had short, silver-blue hair and silver-blue eyes. His skin was even fairer than Xiao Chenyu's, and his bearing went without saying—he clearly hadn't been raised by an ordinary commoner family.
So Xiao Chenyu had no doubts about Tang Yin and Tang San's identities.
In an instant, Xiao Chenyu walked over to the two of them, his face full of reverence. He dropped to one knee, like a knight swearing allegiance, pressed one hand to his chest, and bowed.
"Xiao Chenyu pays his respects to Boss Tang Yin and Boss Tang San!"
"You're calling us your bosses?"
Tang Yin was taken aback that Xiao Chenyu had suddenly come over to call them his bosses.
"Of course!"
Xiao Chenyu replied with complete seriousness.
"Since the two of you are both above Sister Xiao Wu in Dorm Seven, and Sister Xiao Wu has become our big sister, then naturally Boss Tang Yin and Boss Tang San are our bosses too!"
"In my heart, Xiao Chenyu can make room for three suns at once!"
Hearing that, Tang Yin couldn't help laughing.
Room for three suns at once?
What, were you going to call it loyalty to oranges or gratitude to eggplants next?
"Not bad! You're a real talent!"
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