Depart, Soul Hunting Forest

"Say, Brother, Sanmei, are spirit rings really that important to a spirit master?"

The three of them had already reached the vicinity of the dormitory building. Xiao Wu, who had been silent the entire way, suddenly asked this while watching the two in front of her chatting animatedly.

"Sister Xiao Wu, what do you mean by that? Didn't the teacher explain the importance of spirit rings in our very first class at the academy?" Tang Sanmei, who was hugging Tang Yin's arm, turned back in surprise.

Only then did she notice that Xiao Wu, who usually couldn't keep her mouth shut, had been unusually quiet throughout their walk.

Xiao Wu also realized her question sounded strange, so she could only feign anger, puffing out her cheeks as she glared at Tang Yin.

"I just feel that since Brother is leaving in three days and we don't know when he'll be back, what will happen to his work-study job? Do you expect me to take his place?"

"Didn't you guys beat Boss Xiao and the upperclassmen into submission today? Just make them do it," Tang Yin waved his hand dismissively, though he cast a deep, meaningful look at Xiao Wu.

He had naturally noticed Xiao Wu's strange behavior earlier, and he knew the reason well—it was simply the sorrow of one's own kind.

But he didn't know how to comfort her regarding this matter. He couldn't very well be like the Tang San in the original story, hypocritically claiming that he would only kill spirit beasts that attacked him first or were inherently evil!

A person needs face, and a tree needs bark!

In the end, she had to come to terms with this herself. After all, from the moment she chose to transform, she had parted ways with the spirit beast clan. Aside from Daming and Erming, other spirit beasts would never view her as one of their own.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

At dawn, as the sky began to brighten, the siblings packed their belongings and arrived at the academy gate. Last night, Yu Xiaogang had said he would arrange a carriage and told them to arrive early to wait.

"Brother, when did you buy a short blade?"

Tang Sanmei asked in confusion, looking at the two-foot-long blade Tang Yin was toying with, its surface covered in pale blue, transparent patterns that resembled a spiderweb.

She was almost inseparable from Tang Yin; had her brother secretly gone shopping outside the academy behind her back?

Thinking of this, Tang Sanmei puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"You mean this?" Tang Yin smiled slightly at the sight. He glanced around, and seeing no one else nearby, he tossed the short blade into the air.

"Brother?" Tang Sanmei was full of confusion at first, but then her eyes suddenly widened.

She watched as the short blade, shortly after being tossed into the air, gradually turned transparent like a phantom, finally dissipating into countless pale blue particles.

"Brother, how did you do that?" Tang Sanmei grabbed Tang Yin's arm, her eyes full of curiosity.

"Hehe!" Tang Yin smiled with a touch of pride, then raised his right palm and gripped the empty air.

"Projection."

Following Tang Yin's soft command, transparent sky-blue patterns flashed across his entire arm. Then, these patterns began to spread outward from his empty grip. Immediately after, these lines gradually outlined the shape of a short blade like silk threads.

Finally, as if muscles were growing over bone, these patterns began to be covered by a metallic substance. In the time it took Tang Sanmei to blink, it had transformed back into the short blade that had just vanished.

"Brother, could it be that you are also..." Tang Sanmei covered her mouth in disbelief, looking uncertain.

"It is exactly as you think!" Tang Yin had never intended to hide it. Since Tang Sanmei had asked, he simply admitted it.

This was the ability of his innate spirit, Divine Machine Refinement: he could project any weapon he had seen using spirit power circuits, and as long as he could maintain the output of spirit power, the weapon would not disappear.

Seeing her brother admit it, Tang Sanmei was happy at first, but then she puffed out her cheeks again, feeling that her brother had actually been keeping secrets even from her.

"Brother, why didn't you tell me sooner? It's one thing to hide it from Dad, but you even hid it from me!"

"You never asked!" Tang Yin gave a helpless smile. Back in Holy Soul Village, Tang Sanmei was either following Tang Hao to forge iron or tinkering with her small crafts from her past life in the warehouse. He naturally didn't have the inclination to specifically find her and say, "Sister, let Brother show you a big treasure!"

"Hmph~" Tang Sanmei turned her back to Tang Yin, though she didn't let go of his arm.

"Remember to keep it a secret," Tang Yin pressed a finger to his lips and smiled mysteriously. "This is a secret only we know."

Yu Xiaogang's focus was currently entirely on Tang Sanmei. As for him and Xiao Wu, aside from giving pointers when necessary, he left them to their own devices.

This was exactly what Tang Yin wanted. During this time, he had benefited greatly from the books in Yu Xiaogang's collection, and he even had a rough idea of the types of spirit beasts he and Sanmei should hunt for their first spirit rings.

The Sharp-Tailed Swift spirit ultimately had too many limitations; his future focus would remain on his innate spirit, Divine Machine Refinement.

Therefore, regarding the Sharp-Tailed Swift, he ultimately decided to follow the path of the Speed Clan, adopting a functional model that prioritized extreme speed.

Clatter, clatter~

Just as the two were talking, Yu Xiaogang arrived in a rented carriage.

"Get in quickly. Our destination is the Soul Hunting Forest, four hundred miles northeast of Nuoding City. It will take about two days. If we set off now and nothing goes wrong, we can reach a market over two hundred miles away to spend the night."

"Understood, Grandmaster." The siblings exchanged a look and boarded the carriage. As Yu Xiaogang cracked the whip, the carriage slowly headed out of the city.

The uneven road made riding in the carriage a grueling experience. Fortunately, both were people of firm character. Amidst Yu Xiaogang's endless chatter about the Soul Hunting Forest, the two gradually entered a state of meditation.

In the evening, Yu Xiaogang first bought a large basket of radishes at the market, then found an inn.

Seeing the price of the rooms, Yu Xiaogang had intended to book a large communal room, but Tang Yin sternly refused and paid out of his own pocket for two superior rooms.

He and Sanmei would share one, and Yu Xiaogang would have one to himself. On this point, Tang Yin felt there was no need to embarrass Yu Xiaogang by making him sleep in a communal room.

"I'll let it slide this time, but you must remember: when you are away from home, especially children like you, you must remain low-key. You should know that one should not flaunt their wealth."

After leaving these words, Yu Xiaogang walked into the room next door with his hands behind his back.

Tang Yin didn't pay much mind to it; Yu Xiaogang was just that kind of person.

In the original story, when Tang San distributed the immortal herbs to the students, he had said something similar about how herbs shouldn't be used to forcibly raise levels due to instability. Yet, after he digested an immortal herb and broke through to the level 30 he had longed for, he changed his tune, lamenting that such miraculous things existed in the world.

That night, on the bed at the inn, Tang Sanmei hugged Tang Yin, her eyes heavy with sleep, whispering secrets into his ear.

"Brother, that belt around Grandmaster's waist is so magical; it can actually store things."

"That is something called a Soul Tool. They have a wide variety of functions and are incredibly strange. That belt of Grandmaster's should be a storage-type Soul Tool."

Reminded by Tang Sanmei, he finally recalled the matter. In the original work, Yu Xiaogang had gifted this belt to Tang San as soon as he achieved something.

However, it was only natural; after all, they were not master and disciple, so it was perfectly normal for the man not to give it to him.

"How does Brother know everything?"

"It's nothing, I've just read a few more books."

"But Sanmei hasn't read any less~ ah~" As she said the last word, Tang Sanmei let out a huge yawn, and soon her breathing grew steady and rhythmic.

Because that is a book you will never be able to see! Tang Yin whispered in his heart, looking at Tang Sanmei's face just inches away.