Move Like Thunder

The plan went unexpectedly smoothly.

Among a stand of trees, Tang Yin dismissed Martial Soul Possession the instant he landed. The transparent wings on his back vanished with it.

As expected of a flying Soul Beast renowned for its speed. Even with both vital spots struck, the Lightning Gale Bird would have ended up as prey for another Soul Beast if Tang Yin, who could fly, hadn't been chasing it.

Thanks to his ability to fly, Tang Yin had arrived here ahead of the other two. Now, he stared in amazement at the Lightning Gale Bird, its eye and neck pierced by steel needles.

"We have to kill it ourselves while it still has a breath left!"

With that thought, Tang Yin didn't hesitate. He gripped Mo Ye and strode toward the Lightning Gale Bird.

Crackle—

The dying bird saw the human who had chased it all this way. Resentment flashed in its eyes, and its body trembled. Then arcs of electricity crackled around the tuft of feathers on its head. The instant Tang Yin drew near, it unleashed its only skill: Paralysis Lightning.

"Damn, I let my guard down—I didn't dodge!"

Worried the Lightning Gale Bird might die too soon, Tang Yin had gotten overconfident. By the time he reacted, the bolt of electricity was already striking down at him.

A prickling numbness spread through him. Tang Yin was charred black from head to toe, trembling uncontrollably on the spot.

Fortunately, the Lightning Gale Bird had little offensive power to begin with, and it was only a little over three hundred years old. Aside from superficial burns, it hadn't caused any serious harm.

For a Soul Master, this kind of damage was child's play. Any low-ranked support Soul Master could heal it with ease.

But although the damage wasn't severe, the humiliation was.

Not only had his entire body gone numb for several seconds, the shoulder-length hair he'd been growing over the past few months had also stood on end, wisps of smoke rising from every strand.

Still, the incident had taught Tang Yin a lesson: he had to stay on guard against his opponent in every situation from then on.

"Hmph. You've brought this on yourself!"

Tang Yin snorted, twisted his still-numb body, and ended the Lightning Gale Bird's life with a single slash, ignoring the resentment in its eyes.

As it died, a Soul Ring slowly rose from its body, its color slightly paler than the Yellow Soul Ring Tang Sanmei had absorbed earlier.

"Brother!"

At the same time, Tang Sanmei arrived. Seeing Tang Yin's unusual appearance, she froze for a moment, then hurried over to check on him.

"It's nothing, just superficial burns. I let my guard down and got caught by its sneak attack."

Tang Yin could barely keep a straight face. He quickly changed the subject. "I'm going to absorb the Soul Ring now. Stand guard for me."

"Okay, Brother!"

Seeing that Tang Yin really was all right, Tang Sanmei breathed a sigh of relief. But she couldn't help wanting to laugh. Afraid of disturbing him while he absorbed the Soul Ring, she could only cover her mouth and leap onto a boulder a few meters away, keeping watch over their surroundings.

"Third Sister, how is he?"

A few minutes later, Yu Xiaogang finally caught up, panting. He was just about to ask when Tang Sanmei's look stopped him. Glancing at Tang Yin in the distance, he saw that he was clearly at a crucial point. Yu Xiaogang quietly sat down against a tree and took a radish from his Soul Tool to feed Luo Sanpao.

After all, this was only a three-hundred-year Soul Beast. Tang Yin's absorption of its Soul Ring didn't encounter many complications.

A little less than half a day later, Tang Yin, who had been sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes. They held neither joy nor sorrow.

Absorbing a three-hundred-year Soul Ring from a bird Soul Beast that suited him extremely well had raised his level by two, bringing him to level twelve.

Tang Yin had considered absorbing a Soul Ring beyond his limit, but then decided there was little point.

Perhaps for an ordinary Soul Master, the higher the years of each Soul Ring, the stronger they would be at the same rank.

But Tang Yin knew the story. Later on, the God Trial could increase Soul Rings by tens of thousands of years at a time. Under those circumstances, a few extra decades on the first or second Soul Ring would be almost negligible.

By comparison, a Soul Ring with fewer years that suited him was what truly mattered most.

That brought him to the Soul Skill he had received.

Move Like Thunder. That was the Soul Skill Tang Yin had obtained.

When he used it, his flying speed increased by forty-five percent for three minutes.

"What is your First Spirit Skill?"

The moment Tang Yin stood up, Yu Xiaogang rushed over ahead of Tang Sanmei. He had been eagerly hoping that, after absorbing the Lightning Gale Bird, Tang Yin would gain its skill that could paralyze enemies.

"I'm afraid I'll disappoint you, Grandmaster. My First Spirit Skill is called Move Like Thunder. It boosts flying speed."

"This..." Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth. He hadn't expected to eagerly bring the two of them out, only for not one of his original goals to be achieved. He couldn't help falling into a brief spell of despair.

"Brother, Move Like Thunder sounds extraordinary just from the name. What does it do exactly?"

Tang Sanmei didn't care about that. As soon as she came over, she habitually clung to Tang Yin's arm and asked about the Soul Skill's effects.

"It's very good. After I use it, my flying speed increases by forty-five percent for three minutes."

The Lightning Gale Bird really was among the best when it came to speed. There was no denying that.

"Such a huge boost?" Even Yu Xiaogang, who had been feeling dejected, showed a flash of surprise in his eyes.

A Soul Master's first and second Soul Rings were generally between ten and a hundred years old. Their Soul Skills usually boosted the Soul Master's abilities by between ten and fifty percent.

As a First Spirit Skill, Move Like Thunder gave its user a boost that nearly reached the upper limit of a Second Spirit Skill. If it weren't limited to flying speed, it would be practically heaven-defying.

"That's still quite good." Yu Xiaogang's expression eased a little. He had always recommended that Tang Yin follow a speed-and-control path. With such a huge boost to his speed from his First Spirit Skill, if his Second Spirit Skill was a control skill, he would be able to cause the enemy great trouble in the arena.

"Brother, now you're even a level higher than Third Sister."

The three rested for a little while longer, hastily ate some dry rations, then set out on the return journey.

After another two days on the road, the three returned to Nuoding Academy in a cloud of dust, arriving in the morning.

All three were exhausted and had no desire to talk, so they parted ways at the gate. Tang Yin couldn't even be bothered to take a bath. He went straight to the academy's infirmary to have the burns on his skin treated.

He was a proper East Asian, after all. He didn't want to turn into a black guy.

The wounds were nothing serious, so treatment didn't take long. Afterward, he headed to the dormitory.

The other students were in class, and Xiao Wu was off doing who knew what. The siblings' return didn't attract much attention.

Tang Yin firmly rejected Tang Sanmei's outrageous suggestion that they bathe together. He showered alone in the school's public bathhouse, returned to the dormitory, and collapsed into bed.

He slept until evening. A burst of noise woke him, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Wang Sheng and the others returning from class.

"You're finally awake. We came back at noon and saw you two. You scared us half to death."

The moment Tang Yin opened his eyes, Wang Sheng greeted him. The others chimed in, all looking a little ill at ease.

Tang Yin had been away for nearly a month. Since he'd told them beforehand, Wang Sheng and the others knew that he and Tang Sanmei had now returned as exalted Soul Masters. Naturally, they couldn't treat them the way they usually did.

"By the way, where did Xiao Wu wander off to?" Tang Yin patted Tang Sanmei, who had climbed onto the bed at some point and was pretending to sleep. Seeing that the usually boisterous Xiao Wu wasn't there, he couldn't help asking.

"Not long after you left, Sister Xiao Wu applied to the school for leave. She said she'd reached level ten in her cultivation and needed to go home to get a Soul Ring with help from her elders."

They had only just enrolled, yet the three were already about to become true Soul Masters. Wang Sheng and the others couldn't help feeling that the gap between people was even greater than the gap between people and bananas.