Little Demoness

Tang Yin opened his eyes. The silver-gray wolf-head markings on his forehead flashed briefly, then vanished beneath his skin.

He could clearly sense the power, sharing the same origin as the Soul Bone, slowly circulating between his brows.

"This is an unexpected bonus!" Tang Yin's lips curled upward. This External Soul Bone had not only greatly increased his spiritual power, but also granted him a Soul Skill: Master of Shadows.

After using this Soul Skill, its user would enter Shadow Form and become invisible for thirty seconds. While in Shadow Form, their speed would also increase by thirty percent. The drawback was that they could not attack; the moment they did, Shadow Form would end.

No wonder the mutated Shadow Gale Wolf King had always been preceded by a shadow before each of its attacks.

After learning about the Soul Bone, Tang Yin turned his attention to the effects of the Thousand-Year Soul Ring he had absorbed. He nodded in satisfaction.

A thousand-year second ring really was powerful. It had raised his Soul Power by three whole levels, bringing it to level twenty-three. By comparison, the Soul Skill from this ring was somewhat disappointing.

Gale—Increases all speed by twenty percent for three minutes.

Although it was a thousand-year Soul Ring, it had only just crossed the thousand-year mark. Given that, this effect was already thanks to the mutation. Tang Yin quickly adjusted his expectations.

"Finished?" Tang Hao's voice came from nearby, emotionless.

"Mm." In response to Tang Hao's question, Tang Yin merely nodded. He said nothing about what he had gained on this trip.

Tang Hao looked at him deeply. His gaze was so complicated that Tang Yin felt a weight settle in his heart.

But in the end, Tang Hao said nothing more. He simply turned and said, "Now that you've obtained a Soul Ring, it's time for us to go our separate ways. I have some old matters to deal with. As for you—"

Tang Hao paused. "If you don't want to go to your granduncle's place, that's up to you. But when you have time, go visit your aunt in Heaven Dou City."

"Aunt?" Tang Yin paused, then realized Tang Hao meant Tang Yuehua. After all, he owed it to her that he had gotten into Nuoding Academy. If not for the ten thousand Gold Soul Coins Tang Yuehua had given him, he wouldn't have been able to obtain the thousand-year Whale Rubber, much less absorb a thousand-year Soul Ring.

He had to admit that without the confidence Whale Rubber had given him, he wouldn't have dared absorb a thousand-year ring as his second.

"Mm." Tang Yin nodded. He didn't mind visiting Heaven Dou City when he had time. His Martial Soul wasn't the Clear Sky Hammer, so even if he ran into a situation where he had to fight, he needn't worry about being recognized as a member of the Clear Sky Sect.

"Train hard. Only then will you be qualified to assist Third Sister in the future!"

With those words, the Clear Sky Douluo's figure disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Three days later, at the Sword City market.

"Stop!"

A clear young girl's voice rang out, full of unmistakable anger.

Tang Yin followed the voice and saw a delicate little girl, about eight or nine years old, holding up the hem of her skirt with one hand and pointing toward him with the other.

Tang Yin's eyelid twitched. He instinctively glanced around, only to find that the area within ten meters of him had cleared out.

"Me?" Tang Yin pointed at himself, unsure.

The little girl didn't answer. She only glanced at the ordinary-looking young woman beside her.

"Miss, it's him. According to that mercenary group, the wallet was handed to him by a disheveled man." The young woman's gaze turned nearly incendiary as she looked at Tang Yin.

"I've investigated everything by now. This child entered the city with that man back then. Since we can't find the man, we'll nab this little brat first."

When her mistress had first arrived in Sword City, she had ordered the maid to buy some things. But along the way, the maid discovered that the money her mistress had given her was missing. She had been getting an earful from her mistress ever since.

"Fine. If we can't catch the old thief, catching the little thief will do." Once her maid confirmed it, the little girl charged over on her short legs and grabbed Tang Yin by the hem of his clothes. Her jade-green eyes shone with the certainty of someone who'd just caught her prey.

Tang Yin: "Huh?"

After a brief moment of confusion, Tang Yin realized what the young woman had meant. His face darkened at once.

Tang Hao, you bastard. You never finish what you start, and you can't even clean up after yourself. Now you've walked away, leaving me to take the blame for you.

Tang Yin pieced together what had happened in an instant, then turned to look at the little girl beside him.

The little girl before him wore exquisite clothes and carried herself with a haughty air. At a glance, she was clearly no ordinary person. He didn't want trouble.

"Little miss, you've got the wrong person." Tang Yin tried to pull his clothes free. "I'm just passing by."

"Who are you calling 'little miss'?" The girl's eyes widened. "You think you can call me that?"

What a bratty little girl!

Tang Yin narrowed his eyes slightly, mentally labeling the girl a bratty little demon.

Bratty little demons needed a good lesson. He hadn't used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon in a while, and it was getting rusty. He might as well practice on this one.

"I'll have you know, I'm from the Seven—" The little girl was like a proud peacock, seemingly about to reveal her identity, but she stopped halfway through.

"Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!"

The little girl froze at those four words. Then the world spun around her, and by the time she realized what was happening, she had already been pinned to the ground. The feeling was strangely familiar.

"Ah! Miss Rongrong! You little thief, let go of my miss!" The maid was stunned when her mistress was subdued in an instant. She pointed at Tang Yin with a trembling finger. "You—my miss is from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!"

"Huh? The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?" Tang Yin was utterly dumbfounded. He stared in disbelief at the little girl whose arms he had pinned behind her back, and a foreboding feeling welled up inside him.

What were the odds?

"My miss is Ning Rongrong, daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master. Release her!" Seeing Tang Yin's distraction, the maid assumed that he'd been frightened by the name she had dropped. Her expression said, You're finished.

Just as he thought!

Tang Yin's expression was caught between laughter and tears. Most people had a triumphant moment after a breakthrough, showing off their strength and then turning the tables like a hidden master. But he'd gone and kicked a titanium-alloy plate the moment he acted.

"So you're from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. My apologies, my apologies. I've heard so much about you!" Now that he knew the little girl's identity, Tang Yin could only feel helpless. This was probably going to be trouble.

Ning Rongrong was not only Ning Fengzhi's precious darling; worse still, the two Douluo, Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, indulged her in everything. Tang Yin wasn't foolish enough to think that the maid was the only one accompanying Ning Rongrong.

And Ning Rongrong knew perfectly well that she had people secretly protecting her. That was why she dared to come catch the thief with only a maid by her side.

"Hmph. It's too late to sweet-talk me now. You dared to steal from me, so I'm taking you back. If we can't lure out that old thief, you little thief can pay for his crime instead!"

As Ning Rongrong spoke, she sized up Tang Yin's appearance from the corner of her eye. She was in a sorry state, but a devilish smile appeared at the corner of her mouth. "You look like a Soul Master, and you're so handsome. The noblewomen in the capital love boys like you."

"Miss Ning, you're quite the jokester." Tang Yin's face darkened again. The Little Demoness truly lived up to her name. Even at this age, her wicked personality was already beginning to show.

With that thought, Tang Yin secretly circulated his Soul Power, planning to escape. But just as he released Ning Rongrong and got up to run, a wave of Soul Power pressure crashed down on him, instantly rendering him unable to move.

"Trying to run?" Ning Rongrong got up and rubbed her slightly sore wrists, her eyes narrowing. Clearly, she knew that the person secretly protecting her had stepped in.