Move Like Thunder

The plan went unexpectedly smoothly.

In the middle of a forest, Tang Yin retracted his Martial Soul Possession the moment he landed, and the translucent wings on his back dissipated along with it.

It truly lived up to its reputation as a speed-type flying Spirit Beast; had it not been for Tang Yin, who could fly, following it, this Lightning Gale Bird would likely have ended up as a meal for some other Spirit Beast after being struck in two vital spots.

Because of his flight ability, Tang Yin had arrived at the scene faster than the other two. He clicked his tongue in wonder as he looked at the Lightning Gale Bird, its eyes and neck pierced through by steel needles.

"I must finish it off personally while it still has a breath left!"

Thinking this, Tang Yin did not hesitate, gripping Mo Ye as he strode toward the Lightning Gale Bird.

Zzzzt—

The dying Lightning Gale Bird saw the human who had chased it the entire way, a flash of resentment in its eyes. Its body shuddered, and then, arcs of electricity began to coil around the tuft of feathers on its head. Taking advantage of the moment Tang Yin drew near, it unleashed its only skill: Paralysis Lightning.

"Damn, I got careless! I didn't dodge!"

Because he was worried the Lightning Gale Bird might die prematurely, Tang Yin had been a bit arrogant. By the time he reacted, the bolt of electricity had already struck him.

With a tingling, numb sensation, Tang Yin's entire body turned charred black, and he began to tremble uncontrollably on the spot.

Fortunately, this Lightning Gale Bird didn't have much attack power to begin with, and at only three hundred years of age, it didn't cause any serious damage beyond superficial burns.

This level of injury was trivial for a Spirit Master; any low-level support Spirit Master could heal it easily.

However, while the damage was low, the insult was extreme.

Not only was his entire body paralyzed for several seconds, but his shoulder-length hair, which he had been growing out, stood straight up and began to smoke.

Still, this incident served as a lesson for Tang Yin: in the future, he must remain vigilant against his opponents under any circumstances.

"Hmph, seeking your own death!"

Tang Yin snorted coldly, twisted his numb body, and ended the Lightning Gale Bird's life with a single strike of his blade, ignoring its unwilling gaze.

As it died, a Spirit Ring, slightly paler in color than the yellow one Tang Sanmei had absorbed earlier, rose slowly from its corpse.

"Brother!"

At the same time, Tang Sanmei arrived on the scene. Seeing Tang Yin's peculiar appearance, she paused for a moment before rushing over to ask what happened.

"It's nothing, just a superficial wound. I got careless and let it ambush me."

Tang Yin couldn't keep a straight face, so he quickly changed the subject: "I am going to start absorbing the Spirit Ring now. You stand guard for me."

"Understood, Brother!"

Seeing that Tang Yin was indeed fine, Tang Sanmei breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help but want to laugh, but fearing she might disturb her brother's absorption, she covered her mouth and leaped onto a giant rock a few meters away to keep watch over the surroundings.

"Sanmei, how is it?"

A few minutes later, Yu Xiaogang finally tracked them down. Panting, he was just about to ask when Tang Sanmei gestured for him to be quiet. Seeing Tang Yin in the distance, clearly at a critical moment, he sat down quietly against a tree and took a radish out of his Soul Tool to feed Luo Sanpao.

Since it was only a three-hundred-year-old Spirit Beast, Tang Yin's process of absorbing the Spirit Ring did not encounter many setbacks.

After about half a day, Tang Yin, who had been sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes, though there was neither sorrow nor joy in his gaze.

Absorbing a three-hundred-year Spirit Ring, and one from a highly compatible bird-type Spirit Beast, had boosted his level by two, reaching level twelve.

Tang Yin had actually considered absorbing a Spirit Ring beyond his limit, but he later decided there was no real need.

Perhaps for ordinary Spirit Masters, the higher the age of each Spirit Ring, the higher their strength at the same level.

But Tang Yin, who knew the plot, understood that in the later stages—with God Trials that could increase Spirit Ring ages by thousands of years—the few decades gained on the first or second ring would be negligible.

By comparison, choosing a ring that was suitable for oneself was what truly mattered.

This brought him to the Spirit Skill he had gained.

Move Like Thunder—this was the skill Tang Yin had obtained.

By activating this skill, his flight speed would increase by forty-five percent for three minutes.

"What is your first Spirit Skill?"

As soon as Tang Yin stood up, Yu Xiaogang rushed over before Tang Sanmei could. He was very much looking forward to Tang Yin gaining the bird's paralysis ability.

"I'm afraid I must disappoint you, Grandmaster. My first Spirit Skill is called Move Like Thunder, and it is a boost to flight speed."

"This..." Yu Xiaogang's mouth hung open. He hadn't expected that after bringing the two of them out so enthusiastically, none of his expectations would be met. He fell into a brief state of self-isolation.

"Brother, the name Move Like Thunder sounds quite extraordinary. What are its specific effects?"

Tang Sanmei didn't care about that; she habitually grabbed Tang Yin's arm as soon as she approached, asking about the skill's specifics.

"It's quite good. After activating this skill, my flight speed increases by forty-five percent for three minutes."

To be able to provide such a skill, the Lightning Gale Bird was truly a standout in terms of speed.

"It has such a high bonus?" Even Yu Xiaogang, who had been sulking, felt a flicker of surprise in his eyes upon hearing the effect.

A Spirit Master's first and second Spirit Rings were generally between ten and one hundred years old, and their skills usually provided a boost between ten and fifty percent.

For Move Like Thunder to provide such a boost as a first Spirit Skill was nearly at the limit of a second Spirit Ring. If it weren't for the fact that it only boosted flight speed, it would be considered heaven-defying.

"This is not bad, then." Yu Xiaogang's expression improved slightly. He had originally suggested that Tang Yin follow a speed-control path; with such a high speed boost from the first skill, if the second skill provided a control effect, it would cause great disruption to enemies in the arena.

"Brother, now you are a higher level than me again."

Afterward, the three of them rested for a short while, hastily ate some dry rations, and set off on the journey back.

After another two days of travel, it was morning by the time the three of them, dusty and exhausted, returned to Nuoding Academy.

Since all three were extremely fatigued and had no desire for conversation, they parted ways at the main gate. Tang Yin, not even bothering to bathe, immediately sought out the academy's infirmary to treat the external wounds on his skin.

He was a proper yellow-skinned man, after all, and had no desire to turn into a nigger.

It was nothing serious, so the treatment didn't take much effort, and he headed to the dormitory afterward.

At this time, everyone else in the dormitory was in class, and Xiao Wu was off God knows where, letting herself run wild; the siblings' return didn't disturb anyone.

After sternly rejecting Tang Sanmei's explosive declaration that they should bathe together, Tang Yin washed up alone in the school's public bathhouse and returned to the dormitory to collapse into sleep.

He slept straight until evening, only waking when a burst of noise stirred him. The moment he opened his eyes, he happened to encounter Wang Sheng and his group returning from class.

"You're finally awake. We were startled when we saw you back at noon."

The moment Tang Yin opened his eyes, Wang Sheng greeted him, and the others chimed in one after another, each of them looking somewhat reserved.

Tang Yin had been away for nearly a month this time. Since they had been informed beforehand, Wang Sheng and the others naturally knew that Tang Yin and Tang Sanmei had returned as noble Spirit Masters, so they could no longer treat them as they usually did.

"Right, where has Xiao Wu wandered off to again?" Tang Yin patted Tang Sanmei, who had crawled onto the bed at some point and was feigning sleep. Seeing that the usually boisterous Xiao Wu was absent, he couldn't help but ask.

"Xiao Wu-jie applied for leave from the school just a few days after you left, saying she needed to return home to obtain her spirit ring with the help of her elders now that she's reached level ten."

Even though these three had only just enrolled, they were already on the verge of becoming true Spirit Masters. This couldn't help but make Wang Sheng and the others lament that the gap between people was even greater than the gap between a person and a banana.