One Hundred Thousand Gold Soul Coins—Enough?!

Deathly silence.

The entire VIP hall had fallen into complete, grave-like silence.

Every instructor and senior official had their pupils dilated, the shock on their faces nearly frozen in place.

They had spent their entire lives rooted in the world of Soul Masters. What kind of students had they not seen?

Yet they had truly never seen a student like this.

One had to know that the absorption limit for a second Soul Ring was eight hundred years. Forcibly absorbing one beyond that limit would only lead to one's body exploding in death.

Yet the purple ring floating beneath Lin Mo's feet was clearly a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Shen Lin stood utterly frozen, his mind blank and his heart shaken beyond measure. He could no longer utter a single word.

The Dean of Thunder Academy, who had been so arrogant moments ago, now wore a frozen expression.

His towering rage had been replaced by bone-deep chill, and the oppressive fluctuations of Soul Power around him instantly vanished.

He finally understood.

Four Two-Ring students had been crushed, and a Thousand-Year Golden Thunder Feather Falcon had been soloed.

Every unreasonable detail pointed to one answer—Lin Mo!

The young man before him was no ordinary Soul Master!

Lin Mo remained calm, ignoring the shock and horror of everyone present.

"Is there a problem?" Lin Mo asked in return.

"If your academy believes the price you paid exceeded expectations, then I can offer some compensation."

"Would one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins be enough?" Lin Mo pinched a Diamond Black Card between his fingers and casually tossed it onto the floor, his presence utterly overwhelming.

The entire hall fell silent enough for a pin to drop.

The Dean's Adam's apple bobbed sharply as he instinctively swallowed.

A second Soul Ring that was a thousand years old—if it was real, then this was a serious matter.

If they offended such a peerless genius over one Thousand-Year Soul Beast... His throat moved as he prepared to say something to salvage the situation.

Just then, the reception hall doors were abruptly pushed open.

A clear, proud teenage voice rang out from the entrance.

"I heard you've already broken through to Two-Ring, Lin Mo. Dare to spar with me?!"

Yu Tianxin strode into the hall beneath the golden sunlight. Faint lightning flickered across his body, his sharp aura imposing and his fighting spirit blazing.

But the moment he entered, he keenly sensed the strange atmosphere in the hall.

Everyone's eyes turned toward him in unison. Their expressions were complicated, and amid their speechless looks was a trace of... pity?

Pity, my ass!

Yu Tianxin swept his gaze around and immediately spotted the white-clad youth in the center of the hall.

Lin Mo had noticed his intrusion as well and turned to look back at him. Dark Purple Vines curled behind him, while one yellow and one purple Soul Ring appeared around his body.

That purple ring was far too eye-catching.

Yu Tianxin was dumbfounded.

He rubbed his eyes repeatedly, wondering whether he had seen wrong.

Whose Thousand-Year Soul Ring had gotten mixed up here? Had he mistaken it for someone else's?!

A Two-Ring Soul Master with a Thousand-Year Soul Ring?!

That shouldn't be possible!

No!

It was wrong in every possible way.

Taking advantage of the crowd's stunned silence, the Dean snapped back to his senses and hurriedly tried to make amends.

"A misunderstanding! It was all a misunderstanding!"

"Little friend Lin Mo, this old man failed to recognize your talent earlier and spoke too harshly. I wrongly accused you, and I apologize for that."

"The Golden Thunder Feather Falcon is a standard hunting target in the Soul Hunting Forest. There was absolutely no breach of agreement. This old man was simply too anxious earlier and thought that Thousand-Year Soul Ring had gone to waste!"

"It didn't go to waste. That's good, that's good." The Dean hurriedly forced a smile.

Only then did Lin Mo retract his Martial Soul and Soul Rings.

"If your academy has no other objections, then it is about time for us to return."

As he spoke, Lin Mo's gaze swept over the four students standing there like lackeys.

The Dean immediately understood. "No, no. We can keep in touch later."

"May the friendship between our two academies endure forever. Your academy is welcome to come for deeper exchanges and cooperation at any time!"

Having received that answer, Lin Mo nodded.

Only then did Shen Lin barely recover from his shock. His feelings were complicated as he led Lin Mo away from this troublesome place.

"Hey, wait."

Yu Tianxin finally recovered from his extreme shock and immediately called out to stop them.

The midday sunlight poured in through the doors, illuminating the teenager's tall, straight figure.

Lin Mo paused slightly and turned to look back, calmly regarding this genius youth who seemed to be missing a screw.

"Would you like to come to our academy and join my team?" Yu Tianxin asked.

Shen Lin was genuinely speechless upon hearing that.

Was this how one poached someone in person?

"We'll see in the future." Lin Mo did not refuse directly.

It was not that he had any interest in Thunder Academy. In public, he still had to leave the other party some dignity.

But Yu Tianxin did not catch the meaning behind his words.

"Alright, I'll wait for your answer. Next time we meet, let's trade a few moves!" Yu Tianxin said.

Lin Mo gave no response and simply turned to leave with Instructor Shen Lin.

The two headed toward the academy gates, and hurried footsteps soon sounded behind them.

An instructor from Thunder Academy quickly caught up, respectfully holding the Diamond Black Card that had been tossed to the floor in both hands as he returned it.

"Little friend Lin Mo, please accept this black card back. The Director said that our academy was discourteous first, so please be magnanimous."

"Also, this is a token Director Zhou asked me to pass on to you. With it, you may hunt Thousand-Year Soul Rings in the Soul Hunting Forest we maintain. Consider it compensation for our earlier rudeness. Please be sure to accept it."

"May our two academies remain on good terms. We hope there will still be opportunities for cooperation in the future." The instructor's attitude was extremely respectful.

Lin Mo casually accepted the Diamond Black Card and put it away, then turned to Instructor Shen Lin as though asking his opinion about the token.

Shen Lin nodded, thinking that this little fellow was quite considerate after all. He even knew to give him some face.

Only after Instructor Shen Lin nodded did Lin Mo accept the token and say, "Thank you."

The instructor breathed a sigh of relief and watched the two leave.

Plant Academy's carriage swayed as it slowly departed Thunder Academy.

Inside the carriage.

Shen Lin stared at Lin Mo, who sat opposite him. The silence between them was strangely delicate.

Lin Mo looked out the window and did not meet his eyes.

No matter how many questions Shen Lin had in his heart, he could only suppress them for now.

A few words would not be enough to clear things up. They could discuss it after returning to the academy; there was no need to rush.

"Instructor Shen, is there nothing you want to ask?" Lin Mo took the initiative to speak.

"A few words won't be enough to explain it. Let's return to the academy first." Shen Lin smiled.

"But you really had guts today."

"They questioned and pressured you to your face, yet you did not panic at all. You tossed out one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins without a second thought." Shen Lin could not help laughing bitterly at the thought.

One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins—he did not even possess a fraction of that amount in his entire savings.

"Just some spare money. I treated it as spending money to avert disaster. I couldn't be bothered wasting words arguing with them." Lin Mo replied calmly.

Shen Lin: ...

Young master, your student records say you have no father or mother and came from an orphan background.

And now you were spending money like this? That did not seem very appropriate.

Forget it. He did not want to talk anymore.

The return journey went smoothly.

Plant Academy, before the main gates.

"You should return to your dormitory and rest first. I'll report to the academy leadership." Shen Lin looked somewhat weary.

"Alright. Thank you for today, Instructor." Lin Mo said.

"Thank me?" Shen Lin hesitated.

Seeing how earnest Lin Mo was, Shen Lin finally remembered that Lin Mo meant he had blocked the pressure from the other party's Soul Power.

"They were all trivial matters. As your instructor, I should take responsibility for you." Shen Lin said.

"Mm." Lin Mo gave him a respectful bow before returning to his dormitory.

Shen Lin watched his departing figure, and an involuntary smile appeared on his lips.

This child...