Lin Feng sifted through the defensive gear for a long while. Then his gaze shifted to the Tyrant Buff at the very top, and he felt a faint stir of temptation.
"The Tyrant Buff can be called an absolute God Rank buff for the early stages."
"When normal attacks and soul skills hit an enemy, they can trigger Chain Lightning. It's like having an Electric Blade built in, sparks and lightning all the way. Whether for clearing the field or adding damage, it's top-tier—simply the favorite of any main damage dealer."
"Its only flaw is that it's absurdly expensive. A full ten thousand gold coins. Buying it would send me right back to square one and turn me into a pauper."
Lin Feng irritably picked up the cup on the table and gulped down a mouthful of cold water to calm himself. He forced himself to settle down and began weighing the pros and cons.
"If I buy defensive Godly Gear, ten thousand gold coins could get me at least three pieces. But with my current authorization, I can only apply two pieces of Godly Gear to my teammates at the same time. Any more would be useless."
"But buffs are different. There's no limit to how many buffs I can apply, and this Tyrant Buff is basically a weakened Electric Blade. Whether I use it to protect myself or boost Teacher, Uncle Zhao, and the others, its value for money is far greater than defensive gear..."
An hour later,
he finally gritted his teeth and bought the Tyrant Buff.
"Ding!"
The ten thousand Mall Gold Coins he had just received instantly dropped to zero. The [Tyrant Buff] suddenly lit up, golden patterns spreading across it as it was fully unlocked.
Lin Feng carefully read through the buff's detailed description.
"Arrival of the Monarch! That name is badass!"
"Normal attacks and soul skills that hit a target can trigger Chain Lightning magic damage, dealing 10% + 10% × the Soul Master's level in damage to Soul Masters, and 30% + 30% × the Soul Master's level in damage to non-Soul Master targets. It can also bounce to multiple targets at once! Three-second cooldown."
He sucked in a sharp breath.
"Damn! The effect of Arrival of the Monarch is practically a dimensional strike against soul beasts! As expected of the Tyrant. With all that damage stacking up, soul beasts would have to call it daddy when they saw it."
When he read further and saw the cooldown rules, they were exactly as he had expected.
"Each use lasts fifteen minutes, with a twelve-hour cooldown. Exactly the same as Wrath of the Dominator."
"These one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins were well spent!"
But before he could finish celebrating, a line of tiny gray text at the bottom of the details page instantly felt like a bucket of icy water dumped over his head.
[Primal Bond: After Arrival of the Monarch and Wrath of the Dominator are used simultaneously, both cooldown periods are doubled.]
Lin Feng stared expressionlessly at the words, then raised his middle finger at the Small Money Bag floating in his palm.
"Just my luck. I knew it would be like this. I didn't get to take advantage of it back then, and now it won't even let me take the slightest advantage."
He could not be bothered to get angry with the stingy martial soul. As his gaze shifted, he suddenly noticed two enormous dark-purple creatures looming above the Tyrant Buff.
"Roar!"
A violent dragon roar exploded in his mind, making the space of his sea of consciousness tremble slightly.
The Shadow Tyrant slowly emerged.
It looked ninety percent similar to an ordinary Tyrant. The most eye-catching feature was the pure, extreme darkness churning around its body. Dark mist coiled around its qilin-like dragon body, while its scales gleamed with a cold dark-purple light.
He then looked toward the Shadow Overlord beside it.
Its enormous body was likewise enveloped in dense dark energy. Its thick dragon scales shone with a distinct dark-purple luster, and its terrifying dragon's might was more than a hundred times stronger than that of an ordinary Overlord.
Lin Feng was instantly tempted. His eyes fixed on the price listed below, but after just one glance, he flew into a rage and cursed.
"What the hell? One... one hundred thousand? One hundred thousand Mall Gold Coins!"
"That means a full million Gold Soul Coins! You lousy martial soul, why don't you just rob me? One million Gold Soul Coins—tell me, are you letting the Shadow Tyrant out so I can ride it for a day?"
What did one million Gold Soul Coins mean?
An ordinary Soul Master only received one Gold Soul Coin in monthly subsidies, while a Soul Grandmaster only received ten. One million Gold Soul Coins was enough to pay a hundred thousand Soul Grandmasters their monthly allowance.
Even in a major city like Suotuo City, one million Gold Soul Coins could buy several commercial streets, or even build an entirely new small town from scratch.
This lousy martial soul really had the nerve to demand such an outrageous price!
Lin Feng collapsed helplessly onto the bed. His thoughts were a mess, and as he tossed and turned, only two words remained in his mind.
"Make money."
"I can't rely entirely on my bargain-bin teacher. She might be able to get one or two million Gold Soul Coins, but if the amount is too large, it'll be difficult even for her."
Qian Renxue was not as wealthy as he had imagined. She was too proud and held fast to Angel justice in her heart. She would never earn filthy money through unjust means.
Besides, the position of Pope in Spirit Hall was now in Bibi Dong's hands. She was secretly building Soul Master legions as well. Trying to get money from that madwoman obsessed with power was nothing but wishful thinking.
There was no need to even consider several million. It would already be pretty good if she could scrape together one or two million Gold Soul Coins for him in a year.
One month later,
early morning.
"Teacher, come downstairs for breakfast."
Lin Feng brought the freshly cooked porridge and side dishes to the table, then called up toward the second floor twice. There was no response at all.
Half an hour passed.
The breakfast on the table gradually turned cold. He went upstairs and gently pushed at the bedroom door. It was unlocked and opened at once.
Lin Feng entered the room and saw that the quilt on the bed had been folded into a neat square. The things in the room were exactly as they had been when she moved in—orderly and spotless.
Only a trace of her uniquely cool, faint fragrance still lingered in the air, proving that someone had once lived here.
"Did she leave?"
He walked to the desk, picked up the letter weighted down on top of it, and opened it to read.
More than half of the letter contained detailed guidance addressing the problems he had while practicing swordsmanship. Every instruction had been clearly marked stroke by stroke. At the end, she had also written that if there was anything he did not understand, he could write to ask her at any time.
At the very end of the letter, there was only one short sentence.
"Sorry, something urgent came up, and I couldn't say goodbye to you in person. The next time I come to see you, I'll bring you more Gold Soul Coins. Don't worry about me."
Lin Feng put away the letter and walked onto the small balcony where she often lay watching the sunset. Looking at the distant horizon, he smiled and shook his head.
"You left without even saying goodbye, so I made breakfast for nothing. If you don't bring more Gold Soul Coins next time, I won't make you anything delicious."
He did not touch a single thing in the room. He gently closed the door, locked it, and left.
A hundred meters in the air,
Qian Renxue hovered in the sky, her phoenix eyes quietly watching Lin Feng's retreating figure. A tender smile curved her lips.
She cast one last lingering glance at the small but cozy wooden house filled with the warmth of everyday life. The memories of the past month surfaced uncontrollably in her mind.
"Next time, I'll definitely say goodbye to you."
The next second,
all tenderness vanished from her breathtaking face. She returned to her cold, distant demeanor that kept everyone at arm's length, turned around, unfurled her gilded wings, and streaked toward Heaven Dou City as a beam of golden light.
This past month, she had come to Suotuo City under the identity of Xue Qinghe, Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, using an inspection as an excuse. She could not stay away from the imperial capital for too long. If she delayed any further, Xue Ye would surely grow suspicious.
The dean's office,
Ma Hongjun's chubby face had turned bright red, and his clothes were soaked through with sweat. With a sobbing tone, he shouted at Flender:
"Dean, I feel awful... It feels like my whole body is on fire!"
He clenched his fists tightly, his entire body trembling uncontrollably as he desperately suppressed the Evil Fire surging within him.
Lin Feng, who had just finished training, pushed open the door. Seeing that something was wrong with Ma Hongjun, he immediately frowned and looked at Flender in confusion.
"Dean, what's wrong with Ma Hongjun?"
Was the Evil Fire really this fierce? That wasn't right! He was so young and his cultivation was so low. There was no reason for it to be this violent...
Before you continue