Lightning Gale Bird

"I never expected you to actually obtain this soul skill!"

Hearing Tang Sanmei's reply, Tang Yin finally felt a genuine, heartfelt surprise.

For other support-type soul masters, this would be the worst possible draw, a sign of extreme bad luck. But for Tang Sanmei, it was the best possible outcome. Tang Yin couldn't even tell if Tang Sanmei was lucky or unlucky due to her protagonist's fate.

"Hmph! I said long ago that we shouldn't have let Sanmei absorb a Jade Evergreen Vine, a soul beast that has historically only ever provided support-type soul skills to soul masters."

Just as the siblings were getting excited over the soul skill, Yu Xiaogang walked out of the tent.

Because he had been injured during the day, Yu Xiaogang had been sleeping until just now, when he was woken up by the siblings' voices.

"I am familiar with the Spring Sows a Grain of Millet soul skill. Looking at its effects alone, it is indeed quite good." Yu Xiaogang walked over to Tang Yin with his hands behind his back, looking at Sanmei as if he were observing a fine porcelain vase that had been scribbled on.

"But for a support-type soul master, this is a useless soul skill. For a battle-type soul master, it is equivalent to sacrificing an offensive soul skill. Perhaps it has some utility in the later stages, but soul master cultivation requires taking things one step at a time. Without the early stages, how can there be a later stage?"

The more Yu Xiaogang spoke, the angrier he became. The primary reason was that the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had age restrictions, meaning most participants were between level thirty and forty. Even in rare cases, a level fifty Soul King was as scarce as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.

Therefore, with most battle-type soul masters only possessing three or four soul skills, Tang Sanmei lacking an offensive soul skill was a massive disadvantage.

Furthermore, team competitions like the Elite Tournament usually included support-type soul masters, meaning the effects of Spring Sows a Grain of Millet could easily be provided by them.

"Grandmaster is wise; my sister and I are already regretting it deeply!" Tang Yin and Tang Sanmei exchanged a look and shared a knowing smile.

Seeing the siblings' sincere attitude, Yu Xiaogang's expression improved. After all, it was a done deal, and he couldn't truly abandon Tang Sanmei, whom he had already earmarked as his future disciple.

At least it was only the first soul skill, and Sanmei still had a second martial soul.

Yu Xiaogang quickly adjusted his mindset. In his view, Tang Sanmei should now realize how important the guidance of a theoretical master was. If she had known the relevant knowledge about various soul beasts, such a blunder—a battle-type soul master absorbing a Jade Evergreen Vine—would never have happened.

He felt she was one step closer to becoming his true disciple, so he offered some comfort: "Of course, Sanmei, you don't need to be too discouraged. Although your first soul skill is somewhat lackluster, at least absorbing a five-hundred-year soul ring has boosted your level directly to thirteen."

"The level a soul master reaches before the age of twenty determines their future ceiling. If you can reach level thirteen at six years old, barring any accidents, you have a high probability of breaking through level twenty and becoming a Soul Grand Master before you are ten."

"A ten-year-old Soul Grand Master..." Yu Xiaogang had intended to comfort someone else, but saying this made him feel depressed himself.

He was still only a level twenty-nine Soul Grand Master; comparing people only leads to frustration.

"Alright, let's start looking for a suitable soul beast for Tang Yin. I will repeat what I said: the soul ring your Sharp-Tailed Swift absorbs must provide a soul skill that can disrupt the enemy."

Yu Xiaogang could already imagine the role a contestant who could fly while constantly disrupting enemies would play on the stage of the Soul Master Elite Tournament, where flight was generally impossible.

"Grandmaster, I think..."

"I don't care what you think, I care about what I think! Who is the Grandmaster here, you or me?"

Tang Yin was interrupted before he could finish. He had originally thought Tang Yin was an obedient, quiet, and studious student, but after this trip to the Soul Hunting Forest, Yu Xiaogang felt a strange sensation he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Even though Tang Yin's explanations during the day were perfectly reasonable, he just felt something was off.

Although he couldn't articulate it, one thing was certain: this kid, Tang Yin, was not honest.

"Uh~" Tang Yin's mouth twitched. He had wanted to try and express his own point of view; after all, he couldn't follow Yu Xiaogang's arrangements forever.

Tang Sanmei's "accident" was barely explained away, but if it happened to him too, it would look too deliberate.

Forget it, he would cross that bridge when he came to it. If he couldn't keep up the act, he would stop. In any case, Yu Xiaogang wouldn't give up on Tang Sanmei, his designated tool; at worst, he would give up on him as a student. At the very least, he could have Tang Sanmei bring out Yu Xiaogang's collection of books for him later.

Thinking of this, Tang Yin felt much more relaxed.

During the rest of the journey, although they encountered many soul beasts, none matched the targets Yu Xiaogang and Tang Yin had in mind. Occasionally, when an aggressive soul beast appeared, the three of them would quickly resolve it thanks to Tang Sanmei's greatly increased strength.

This left Yu Xiaogang feeling both surprised and as if he, the mentor, were somewhat redundant.

He was clearly the highest-level person among the three, yet when it came to actual combat, he had become a burden.

These two children are definitely not ordinary commoners! Yu Xiaogang concluded in his heart.

During the fight a short while ago, he had been entangled by vines and hadn't noticed Tang Sanmei using the Clear Sky Hammer.

Moreover, unlike the original story, Tang Sanmei had not revealed the existence of her second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, to him during this time, and Yu Xiaogang had wisely not asked, as they were not yet master and disciple.

Screech~

A bird-like cry suddenly came from afar, causing the three of them to perk up, their gazes following the source of the sound.

"It's a Lightning Gale Bird!"

Yu Xiaogang was truly a walking encyclopedia. While Tang Yin and Tang Sanmei were still pondering, Yu Xiaogang identified the flying soul beast with a single glance.

"Oh? Grandmaster, this bird sounds very powerful. I wonder what its abilities and age are? How would it fare as the target for my soul ring?" Tang Yin asked calmly.

Yu Xiaogang had many books in his collection. Even though Tang Yin had a powerful, photographic memory from his two lifetimes, he had only read a small fraction of them, and he really didn't know about the Lightning Gale Bird.

"Hmph!" Yu Xiaogang gave a smug little hum and habitually put his hands behind his back.

Tang Yin and Sanmei knew he was about to show off, so they stopped in their tracks to let him perform.

"The Lightning Gale Bird, as the name suggests, is a bird-type soul beast with astonishing speed. It is rumored that someone once saw a fifty-thousand-year-old Lightning Gale Bird in the Star Dou Great Forest; its movements were as fast as lightning, making it extremely difficult for ordinary soul masters to track with the naked eye. That is how it got its name."

"Furthermore, the Lightning Gale Bird is not only fast in flight, but most importantly, it possesses an electric soul skill. Although it doesn't deal much damage, it can paralyze the entire body for a short time, which is perfectly suited for the agility-control route I have mapped out for you."

"Judging by its size, this Lightning Gale Bird is around three hundred years old; the age is also appropriate." Yu Xiaogang's expression turned regretful as he said this.

"Unfortunately... we didn't prepare for this, so we cannot hunt such a flying soul beast."

A Lightning Gale Bird? Listening to Yu Xiaogang's introduction, Tang Yin's eyes flickered slightly. The appearance of this bird made him abandon his original plan, and for once, he was in agreement with Yu Xiaogang.

Of course, while they chose the same soul beast, their priorities were different. Yu Xiaogang cared about the electric soul skill, while he cared about its flight speed.

Even if he didn't obtain a soul skill related to flight speed, absorbing its soul ring would significantly enhance the flight speed of his Sharp-Tailed Swift.

"Grandmaster, I've decided. I want this one to be my first soul ring!"