"A Hundred-Year Soul Ring." Ma Xiunuo exclaimed in shock, the gentle smile on his face abruptly freezing. He looked at Lan Si again, his eyes filled with admiration.
"Grandmaster, is this enough?" Cyan-white flames curled up in Lan Si's eyes. Whenever he moved, two fiery serpents seemed to rise through the air. This was the unique effect of using the Cyan Lotus Martial Soul together with the Supreme Universe Art.
"Y-yes, that's enough." Ma Xiunuo let out a long breath, trying to calm his excitement. Then he picked up a yellow crystal ball from a nearby table and walked over to Lan Si. "Pour your Soul Power into it and see what level you've reached."
Lan Si nodded, put away the Cyan Lotus Martial Soul, and lightly touched the crystal ball. As he poured in his Soul Power, the ball instantly lit up with a brilliant yellow glow.
The glow wasn't intense, but it was exceptionally clear.
Soul Power: Level 11.
Lan Si showed no surprise. Unlike Tang San in the original story, whose cultivation art and Soul Power had both reached a bottleneck during the first three months after Martial Soul Awakening, Lan Si had spent another three months cultivating before the school year began and he obtained a Soul Ring. That gave him half a year to cultivate his Soul Power.
As a result, after absorbing a Soul Ring, his Soul Power had reached level 13.
After all, Lan Si had only broken through to level 10 three or four days ago. Even with the boost from absorbing a Soul Ring, no matter how powerful the Supreme Universe Art and Five Thunders Heart Art were, they couldn't raise his Soul Power by another level in just three or four days.
After measuring his Soul Power Level, Ma Xiunuo invited Lan Si to join Spirit Hall.
Lan Si declined. He had too many secrets, and even if he did join, now wasn't the time. Besides, rather than be bound by rules, he preferred to go it alone.
Ma Xiunuo smiled approvingly. "Congratulations on becoming an outstanding Soul Master. I'll issue you a Soul Master Badge and this month's allowance shortly. Soul Masters receive one Gold Soul Coin each month, Soul Grandmasters receive ten, and Soul Elders receive a hundred. The next time you come to Spirit Hall, you can collect your allowance with your Soul Master Badge."
"Thank you, Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo."
By the time Lan Si left Spirit Hall, his Heart of the Sea Blue held a Soul Master Badge and a Gold Soul Coin.
Standing at the entrance to Spirit Hall, Lan Si looked up at the sun, now high in the sky. It was nearly noon, and his stomach gave a loud growl.
Come to think of it, he hadn't even had breakfast because he'd been in a hurry.
He quickly headed back to Nuoding Academy.
He entered the academy and was almost at the cafeteria when he heard the sounds of a fight from the practice field.
Looking over, he saw the senior students, led by Xiao Chenyu, fighting the work-study students, led by Xiao Wu.
By now, the senior students had already been defeated.
Even Xiao Chenyu had been bound like a dumpling by Tang San's Blue Silver Grass First Soul Skill. He lay on the ground, eyes filled with fear, afraid Tang San would hit him with the Black Mamba Snake's venom.
"Well? Do you give in?"
Xiao Wu stood on a small mound by the practice field, looking down at Xiao Chenyu. A red glow shone around her. Beneath its faint light, her eyes turned red and her ears slowly lengthened into a pair of rabbit ears. She grew a little taller, too.
A yellow Soul Ring rose beneath her feet, circling up and down around her body.
"I give in! I give in!" Xiao Chenyu begged repeatedly.
"Then hurry up and call me Sister Xiao Wu." Xiao Wu still wouldn't let up.
"Sister Xiao Wu! Come on, everyone, call her Sister Xiao Wu! From now on, Sister Xiao Wu is the top dog at Nuoding Academy!"
A Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul with a Hundred-Year Soul Ring was already this formidable. Xiao Wu had a beast-type Martial Soul and a Hundred-Year Soul Ring too. Xiao Chenyu didn't think he stood a chance against her.
"All right, Tang San, let Xiao Chenyu go." Seeing the senior students bow to her, Xiao Wu put away her Martial Soul and planted her hands proudly on her hips. Her gaze swept over Tang San, then landed on Lan Si, who was passing nearby. Her brows immediately furrowed.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
Lan Si ignored her and continued toward the cafeteria.
"Hey, I said stop! Didn't you hear me?" When Lan Si didn't answer, Xiao Wu jumped off the mound and ran toward him in exasperation, blocking his path.
"Is something the matter?" Lan Si asked coolly.
Xiao Wu looked him up and down. "Tang San told me you got your First Soul Ring too, right? According to our agreement last time, we're having another match."
"All right."
Before Xiao Wu could react, Lan Si slightly bent his right palm and used the Supreme Universe Art's Grappling Hand, pressing it against her forehead.
Lan Si's sudden attack startled Xiao Wu and made her a little angry. Catching an opponent off guard had always been her own tactic, and now her opponent had used it against her.
A short distance away, Tang San's eyes turned grave. He thought Xiao Wu was probably going to be in trouble.
As the saying went, laymen watched for excitement while experts watched the technique. Lan Si's seemingly ordinary attack was actually an exquisite grappling technique Tang San had never seen before.
Facing a technique like that, even he would have found it difficult to respond the first time, with their Soul Power nearly equal.
Could this world have advanced martial techniques similar to the Tang Sect Secret Arts?
While Tang San was pondering, Xiao Wu instinctively tried to dodge to the side, then whipped her scorpion braid around, aiming to wrap it around Lan Si's neck.
Lan Si was ready. He made a feint and dodged Xiao Wu's scorpion braid, then seized her left arm with his right hand and gave it a light twist. Xiao Wu cried out in pain, instantly lost her balance, and fell face-first to the ground.
At the sight of this, every student present gaped. Were freshmen really this fierce now?
Lan Si pressed one knee against Xiao Wu's back, pinning her firmly down. "You lost," he said slowly.
"I refuse to accept it! I refuse! You launched a sneak attack! That was dishonorable! I hadn't even said 'Begin' yet!" Pinned beneath Lan Si, Xiao Wu felt a little pain. Luckily, this was the practice field. Anywhere else, she would have hit the ground hard enough to eat dirt.
"When you attacked me last time, did you give me any warning?" Lan Si released Xiao Wu and slowly stood up, asking in return.
At that, Xiao Wu's face flushed red. But would Sister Xiao Wu really back down to a little kid barely over six years old?
As if! How could that possibly happen?
"I don't care! Today, I'm going to beat you as a Soul Master. If you lose, you'll call me Sister Xiao Wu from now on, just like Xiao Chenyu and the others." Xiao Wu stood up, rubbed her aching shoulder, and pointed at Lan Si.
"And what if you lose?" Lan Si's lips curled slightly as he asked in return.
"Me, lose? How could I, Sister Xiao Wu, ever lose?" Xiao Wu looked incredulous.
"Never mind." Lan Si rubbed his chin, thinking, If you lose, you can be my Soul Ring and Soul Bone someday.
"Make your move."
"Hmph. Xiao Wu, first-year work-study student. Martial Soul: Rabbit. Level 12, one-ring Battle Soul Master. Please instruct me."
Xiao Wu gave a soft snort and released her Martial Soul.
A faint red glow enveloped her. She transformed into a humanoid rabbit, and a yellow Soul Ring rose beneath her feet—the defining mark of a Soul Master.
"Lan Si. Martial Soul: Cyan Lotus. Level 11, one-ring Battle Soul Master. Please instruct me."
Cyan-white flames curled up in Lan Si's eyes. A pale glow shone from his body as he summoned the Cyan Lotus Martial Soul. A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose beneath his feet as well.
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