"Hey, brother, Third Sister, are Soul Rings really that important to Soul Masters?"
The three of them had reached the dormitory building. Watching the two chatting animatedly up ahead, Xiao Wu, who had been silent all this while, suddenly asked.
"Second Sister Wu, what do you mean? Didn't the teacher explain how important Soul Rings were in our very first lesson?" Tang Sanmei asked in surprise, turning her head. She was holding Tang Yin's arm.
Only then did she realize that Xiao Wu, who usually couldn't keep quiet, had been unusually silent throughout their walk.
Xiao Wu realized her question had sounded strange, too. She could only pretend to be angry, puffing out her cheeks as she looked at Tang Yin.
"I just think that once brother leaves in three days, who knows when he'll come back. What'll happen to his work-study job? Am I supposed to take over?"
"Didn't you make Boss Xiao and the other older students submit today? Just let them do it." Tang Yin waved a hand dismissively, though he gave Xiao Wu a long, meaningful look.
He had naturally noticed Xiao Wu's strange behavior. He knew the reason, too: she was grieving for those who shared her kind.
But he didn't know how to comfort her. He couldn't say something as hypocritical as the Tang San in the original story, promising that he'd only kill Soul Beasts that attacked first or were evil!
People needed pride, just as trees needed bark!
In the end, she could only come to terms with it herself. After all, from the moment she chose to take human form, she had gone her separate way from the Soul Beast Clan. Aside from Daming and Erming, the other Soul Beasts wouldn't consider her one of their own.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
At dawn, the siblings packed their things and headed to the academy gates. Yu Xiaogang had said the night before that he would arrange a carriage and told them to wait at the entrance early.
"Brother, when did you buy that dagger?"
Looking at the dagger in Tang Yin's hand, about two feet long and covered in transparent, pale-blue patterns like a spiderweb, Tang Sanmei asked curiously.
She was practically inseparable from Tang Yin. Had he secretly gone shopping outside the academy without her?
At the thought, Tang Sanmei puffed out her cheeks, a little annoyed.
"You mean this?" Tang Yin smiled. After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, he tossed the dagger into the air.
"Brother?" Tang Sanmei looked puzzled at first, then her eyes suddenly widened.
The dagger had barely been tossed into the air before it began to fade like an illusion, eventually vanishing into countless pale-blue particles.
"Brother, how did you do that?" Tang Sanmei grabbed Tang Yin's arm, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"Heh!" Tang Yin smiled with a touch of pride, then raised his right hand and clenched it around empty air.
"Projection."
At Tang Yin's soft command, the transparent, sky-blue patterns on his entire arm flashed and vanished. Then they began to spread outward from his clenched palm. Like threads, they gradually sketched out the shape of a dagger.
Finally, as though muscle were growing over bone, metallic material enveloped the patterns. In the time it took Tang Sanmei to blink, the dagger that had just disappeared had reappeared.
"Brother, could it be that you're also..." Tang Sanmei covered her mouth in disbelief, still unsure.
"Exactly what you're thinking." Tang Yin had never planned to hide it. Since Tang Sanmei had asked, he admitted it outright.
This was the ability of his Body Martial Soul, Divine Machine Refinement. It could use Soul Power circuits to project any weapon he had seen, and as long as he kept supplying Soul Power, the weapon wouldn't disappear.
Tang Sanmei was delighted when he confirmed it, but then puffed out her cheeks again, feeling that even his own little sister hadn't been trusted.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner, brother? Fine if you kept it from Dad, but you even kept it from me!"
"You never asked!" Tang Yin smiled helplessly. Back in Holy Soul Village, Tang Sanmei was either helping Tang Hao with the blacksmithing or tinkering with the little crafts from her past life in the storeroom. He'd hardly been inclined to track her down just to say, "Little sister, your brother has something amazing to show you!"
"Hmph." Tang Sanmei turned her back on him, but she didn't let go of his arm.
"Remember to keep it a secret." Tang Yin put a finger to his lips and smiled mysteriously. "This is a secret only we know."
Yu Xiaogang had his attention fixed on Tang Sanmei. As for him and Xiao Wu, he only gave them the occasional pointer when necessary and otherwise left them to their own devices.
Tang Yin was happy with that arrangement. He had benefited greatly from Yu Xiaogang's collection of books over the past few days, and he already had a general idea of what kinds of Soul Beasts he and Third Sister should hunt for their First Soul Rings.
The Sharp-Tailed Swift Martial Soul had too many limitations. His focus in the future would still be on Divine Machine Refinement, his Body Martial Soul.
So for the Sharp-Tailed Swift, he had ultimately decided to follow the same path as the Speed Clan: specializing in extreme speed as a utility-focused route.
Clip-clop, clip-clop...
While the two were talking, Yu Xiaogang drove the rented carriage over to them.
"Get in quickly. Our destination is the Soul Hunting Forest, four hundred li northeast of Nuoding City. The journey should take about two days. If nothing unexpected happens, we can reach a market more than two hundred li away and spend the night there."
"Okay, Grandmaster." The siblings exchanged a glance and climbed into the carriage. Yu Xiaogang flicked the reins, and it rolled slowly out of the city.
The bumpy road made riding in the carriage a miserable ordeal. Fortunately, both siblings were strong-willed. As Yu Xiaogang chattered on outside about the Soul Hunting Forest, they gradually slipped into meditation.
At dusk, Yu Xiaogang first bought a large basket of radishes at the market, then found an inn.
When Yu Xiaogang saw the price of the rooms, he initially planned to stay in a shared dormitory. But Tang Yin firmly refused and paid out of his own pocket for two private rooms.
He shared one with Third Sister, while Yu Xiaogang had one to himself. Tang Yin didn't think there was any need to put Yu Xiaogang in an awkward position by making him sleep in a shared dormitory.
"I'll let it go this time, but remember: when you're away from home, especially when you're children like you, keep a low profile. Remember, wealth shouldn't be flaunted."
With that, Yu Xiaogang walked into the room next door, his hands clasped behind his back.
Tang Yin didn't take it to heart. That was just the sort of person Yu Xiaogang was.
In the original story, when Tang San gave the students Immortal Herbs, Yu Xiaogang had said things like how forcibly raising one's rank with herbs made one's foundation unstable. But after absorbing an Immortal Herb and breaking through to the level 30 he'd long yearned for, he'd changed his tune and marveled that anything so wondrous could exist in the world.
That night, in the inn bed, Tang Sanmei nestled against Tang Yin, drowsy, whispering to him.
"Brother, the belt around Grandmaster's waist is amazing. It can even store things."
"That's a Soul Tool. They come in all sorts of strange varieties and have all kinds of functions. Grandmaster's belt should be a Storage Soul Tool."
Third Sister's reminder brought the matter back to him. In the original story, Yu Xiaogang had given that belt to Tang San as a gift after he accomplished something.
But it made sense. They weren't master and disciple, so it was only natural that he wouldn't give it to him.
"How does brother know everything?"
"Nothing special. I've just read a few more books."
"Then Third Sister's read quite a few, too—ah..." On the last word, Tang Sanmei let out a huge yawn, and her breathing soon grew steady.
Because you'll never be able to read that book! Looking at Tang Sanmei's face so close to his, Tang Yin murmured silently to himself.
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