The First Lesson of the School Year

"..."

"..."

"..."

Bei Bei and the others stood frozen in place, their pupils constricting as they stared in utter astonishment at the Pale Yellow Dragon-type Soul Beast that had suddenly appeared:

Its two-meter-tall, slender frame was covered in amber scales, its deep brown vertical pupils etched with the textures of the earth, and its thick, powerful limbs were tipped with sharp, brown claws.

It held a pinkish-red Mandala Snake in its jaws, and several striking wounds on its abdomen and upper body were trickling blood; the snake's once agile and nimble body had completely lost its strength, half of it dragging along the ground and leaving a bloody trail behind.

The Rock Crystal Dragon gave a light flick, and the limp body of the Mandala Snake flew before the dazed Tang Ya.

She dodged to the side in fright, and only when she was close did she see that the Mandala Snake was not just wounded in the abdomen;

its spine had been bitten clean through, blood-stained scales falling off in patches to reveal raw flesh, and its blood-filled maw hung open weakly, gasping its final breaths.

What is this?!!

Tang Ya's mouth hung wide open, and she looked up at the Rock Crystal Dragon in disbelief, only to find that the Rock Crystal Dragon was nowhere to be seen;

that two-meter-tall figure

had already vanished into thin air.

"..."

"..."

Lu Ran withdrew his palm, and his Soul Ring dissipated instantly.

"Absorb it. It only has one breath left."

Tang Ya turned her head with a stiff neck and slowly extended a finger:

"You... you..."

She stammered, "That... that..."

Lu Ran explained, "It is a Soul Beast I summoned."

Since it would be exposed after entering the academy anyway, he might as well be direct; there was no need to hide it.

Huo Yuhao was shocked and hurriedly asked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, "Brother Sky Dream, what was that thing?!"

The lazy voice of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rang out:

"A Soul Beast, obviously. He already said he summoned it."

"There's such a Martial Soul?? Is that for real?!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm replied:

"Of course there is. Little Huo is just too young; it's normal that you haven't seen it before."

It had already sensed the Rock Crystal Dragon the moment Lu Ran summoned it.

In truth, it hadn't seen one either, but that didn't stop it from maintaining an image of vast knowledge in front of Huo Yuhao.

"Moreover, that Soul Beast is absolutely real, not in a soul state."

It sensed an aura from the Rock Crystal Dragon that far exceeded that of an ordinary thousand-year Soul Beast.

Huo Yuhao continued to press:

"Brother Sky Dream, what is his strength?"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm explained:

"Judging from the soul power fluctuations, he should be at the three-ring level, not far from the fourth ring."

Huo Yuhao found it hard to accept.

Lu Ran looked several years younger than Bei Bei! How could they be the same?!

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm continued:

"His soul power is quite dense, more than three times that of his peers. He crushes that Bei Bei and Tang Ya over there; he could easily win a two-on-one fight against them."

Huo Yuhao stood dazed in place.

Within a single day, his worldview had been reorganized three times.

The first was when he met the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and learned that million-year Soul Beasts existed in the world.

The second was when he saw Bei Bei battle the Mandala Snake and realized how Soul Masters fought.

Third time... it's now!

He felt a violent impact on his spirit, his legs weak, the ground beneath him soft as if he were about to fall.

"Work hard, young man."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm left these words, its voice disappearing.

Jiang Nannan had already known, but seeing the Rock Crystal Dragon again still surprised her.

As for Bei Bei and Tang Ya, Especially Tang Ya, it took her a while to understand, What "beast taming" meant.

"If you don't act, the Mandala Snake will die on its own,"

Lu Ran reminded her.

Tang Ya reacted and hurriedly took out her dagger to finish off the Mandala Snake.

A purple Soul Ring slowly condensed, floating above the three-meter-long snake's body.

She sat cross-legged, Released her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and absorbed the Soul Ring.

Bei Bei looked at Lu Ran with a meaningful gaze.

Living in the Inner Academy at this age, and instantly defeating Xu Sanshi, Was enough to show Lu Ran's terrifying power.

Having personally fought the Mandala Snake, Bei Bei knew how troublesome it was.

Yet Lu Ran had dealt with it in mere tens of seconds.

Simply... terrifying!

Huo Yuhao, stimulated by this, intensified his cultivation of Soul Power, afraid of wasting even a second.

Bei Bei went to the Mandala Snake and carefully examined every wound.

Lu Ran and Jiang Nannan sat together, Waiting for Tang Ya to finish absorbing.

As for why Lu Ran didn't advise Tang Ya to absorb a more suitable Soul Ring, If it were ten thousand years ago, there might have been arguments about whether the Mandala Snake was suitable for Blue Silver Grass; some would say yes, others no.

But in today's world, ten thousand years later, Especially for Tang Ya, it was very suitable.

After a Soul Master absorbed a Soul Ring, their Martial Soul would be infused with the power of the Soul Ring, passed down to the next generation.

During the awakening process of the next generation, there was a very small chance of displaying certain attributes, Causing the Martial Soul to change.

This was the origin of mutated Martial Souls.

And for ten thousand years, All the Blue Silver Grass Soul Masters of the Tang Sect had closely followed Tang San's footsteps, Choosing the Mandala Snake, Ghost Vine, Man Faced Demon Spider...

After absorbing Soul Rings overloaded some Soul Masters, the Tang Sect settled for the next best option, choosing similar, relatively gentler snake and spider-type Soul Beasts.

Continuing to absorb, The first generation of Blue Silver Grass absorbed snake-type Soul Beasts, spider-type, vine-type...

The second generation of Blue Silver Grass continued to absorb snake-type Soul Beasts, spider-type, vine-type...

The third, fourth, fifth generation...

All were the same, Absorbing generation after generation, accumulating generation after generation, changing generation after generation, until Tang Ya's generation.

The appearance seemed unchanged, But its essence was completely different from the original Blue Silver Grass.

Having never absorbed Soul Rings of other attributes for ten thousand years, under this deliberate choice, Regardless of what Soul Rings the original Blue Silver Grass was suitable for, Absorbing the Mandala Snake now, Was indeed quite suitable.

Half an hour later, "Mmm~~~ah!"

Tang Ya stretched comfortably, her mood exceptionally bright.

"Bei Bei, look at my soul skill!"

She joyfully demonstrated her Binding soul skill, carpeting a patch of the forest with Blue Silver Grass.

She was one step closer to revitalizing the Tang Sect.

With all their objectives achieved, the group returned to Shrek Academy.

Compared to when they left, when Tang Ya and Bei Bei saw the east gate of Shrek City, they felt as if a lifetime had passed.

Although it had only been a short four or five days, it felt like an eternity.

Arriving at the east gate, the guarding students let them enter without any obstruction.

Once inside, they saw an elderly man with a white beard and a very graceful demeanor standing in the sunlight ahead, dressed in simple, well-fitting white robes.

His hands were clasped behind his back, and his smile was gentle and heartwarming.

Just standing there, he was a sight to behold.

The Dean?!

Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and the others were startled. Why would the Dean be here?!

The group put aside their playful moods and walked over respectfully, speaking in unison:

"Dean."

Huo Yuhao was bewildered, having never met Yan Shaozhe before, but he bowed along with them nonetheless.

They couldn't fathom why Yan Shaozhe would suddenly appear at the Outer Academy, let alone just inside the main gate.

Yan Shaozhe's voice was gentle, radiating the concern of an elder for the younger generation:

"I was worried you might run into trouble, so I waited here..."

The group was shocked once again. What did he mean? How did Dean Yan know they had gone to the Star Dou Great Forest?

The others didn't understand, but Lu Ran clearly caught the implication behind those words. It wasn't about worrying they would run into trouble; it was clearly about worrying that Lu Ran would run into trouble—specifically, that he would run away halfway.

Lu Ran had originally intended to return to register anyway, and since Yan Shaozhe had already come all this way, there was no need to deliberately delay.

"Dean Yan, we were just about to go handle the enrollment registration."

Yan Shaozhe's eyes lit up.