Before Hunting for Soul Rings!

The forty-eight gemstones at his waist had already merged into his body; he couldn't feel a thing, yet he knew they were there, quietly accompanying him on his journey.

There was no need to deliberately control them, no need to stay on guard, and not even a need to think about them.

This was the state he had been striving for.

When he returned to Dormitory Seven, Tang San was still fiddling with his belt.

He had already tested each of the twenty-four sapphires one by one, placing various items inside every single stone.

Hidden weapon components, medicinal herbs, and a few books borrowed from the library.

"You're done washing?" Tang San looked up and glanced at him.

"Yeah." Huang Fei walked over to his own bed and sat down, tossing the towel draped over his shoulder to the side.

He didn't mention that he also possessed a belt of his own.

Tang San didn't ask, either.

The rules of this world were simple.

If someone doesn't volunteer information, don't ask.

Tang San had known this principle since he was a child, and Huang Fei had known it just as long.

Yet, Tang San couldn't help but take another look at Huang Fei.

He didn't know why, but he felt that after Huang Fei had gone to take a bath and returned, the man seemed... more relaxed?

It wasn't the kind of relaxation that comes from just waking up, but rather the relaxation of someone who had just accomplished a major task.

Like a cat that had stolen a fish, contentedly licking its paws.

"Did something good happen to you?" Tang San asked.

Huang Fei curled up into his quilt, leaving only his eyes visible.

"No."

"Then what are you smiling about?"

"Was I smiling?"

"You've been smiling the whole time."

Huang Fei pulled the quilt up to his chin, his eyes curving into two crescent moons.

"That must be... because I had a good dream."

Tang San opened his mouth, wanting to ask, "Didn't you go to take a bath? What kind of dream could you have had?" but he swallowed the words before they could leave his lips.

Forget it; trying to use logic with Huang Fei was, in itself, an illogical endeavor.

He lowered his head and continued to fiddle with his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

Huang Fei huddled in his quilt and closed his eyes.

The forty-eight gemstones at his waist rested quietly within his body, like forty-eight sleeping stars.

The corners of his mouth refused to be suppressed.

Early the next morning, Tang San dragged Huang Fei out from under his covers.

"Huang Fei! Huang Fei! Get up, quickly!"

Huang Fei had been dreaming that he was lying on a cloud eating grapes when a ruthless hand dragged him from the clouds back onto the hard wooden bed frame.

He groggily opened one eye to see Tang San's face inches from his own, his eyes filled with an excited glow.

"Grandmaster agreed to take you with us!"

"What?" Huang Fei's brain hadn't booted up yet.

"The first spirit ring! Grandmaster said he's taking me to hunt for my first spirit ring today. I told him I had to bring you along to help you hunt for one too, and he agreed!"

Tang San said it all in one breath, his smile impossible to contain.

Huang Fei froze for a moment, then slowly sat up.

Tang San's request was a bit unexpected.

But upon second thought, it made perfect sense.

Tang San had been in the habit of looking after him since they were children; he would never keep a good thing to himself.

Now that he finally had someone to take him to hunt for a spirit ring, the first thing he thought of was to bring Huang Fei along.

"What did he say?" Huang Fei rubbed his eyes and asked.

"Grandmaster wasn't very willing at first. He said that taking one person is one thing, but taking two is another, and an extra person just means extra trouble."

Tang San recounted truthfully, "But I told him that if you didn't go, I wouldn't go either, and he... hesitated for a moment, then agreed."

Huang Fei couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Gangzi, oh Gangzi, you really are capable of enduring humiliation for the sake of this experimental subject.

After being confronted so bluntly by him yesterday, he was actually still able to tolerate him enough to go hunt for a soul ring together today.

This kind of forbearance for the sake of the "greater plan" was truly worthy of being written into a textbook.

"Fine, I'll go." Huang Fei jumped off the bed and began putting on his shoes.

Tang San was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Huang Fei to agree so readily.

He had originally thought that given Huang Fei's personality, he would say something like "You guys go ahead, I'm not going, it's too tiring," and then roll over to continue sleeping.

"You're not sleeping anymore?" Tang San asked tentatively.

"Not anymore." Huang Fei tied his shoelaces, stood up, and brushed off his pants. "How could I miss out on something like hunting for a soul ring?"

The real reason he didn't say out loud was this:

If he didn't go and Tang San fell for Yu Xiaogang's poison-control route and soul-bewitching nonsense, absorbing a beast-type soul ring like a Mandala Snake for his first soul ring, would his system follow suit and grant him the same soul ring, perhaps just with a higher age?

If the Blue Silver Grass ended up on a poison-control path, the foundation would be skewed, and no amount of remedial work later would be enough to fix it.

He had to go and keep an eye on things.

He had to ensure Tang San's first soul ring was of the life-force attribute.

As for himself—

Huang Fei thought while washing his face, if Tang San successfully absorbed a life-force attribute soul ring, would the system directly grant him the same one as his tethered partner?

Or would he need to go hunt a soul beast himself?

The system's rule was "always ten levels higher than Tang San," but it hadn't explicitly stated how soul rings were obtained.

Judging from the previous awakening, the system seemed to synchronize an upgraded result for Huang Fei after Tang San "completed" a certain event.

Tang San awakened Blue Silver Grass, and he awakened Blue Silver Saint Emperor.

Although the bloodline hadn't awakened yet, the quality already suppressed it.

Tang San awakened with Innate Full Soul Power at level ten, and he was directly at level twenty.

Tang San obtained Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, and he obtained Forty-Eight Moons Embracing the Stars.

Following this logic, if Tang San obtained a certain soul ring, he should directly obtain a better one.

But the problem was that there was a limit to stacking soul rings.

Under normal circumstances, every soul master could only stack one layer of soul ring per level.

He was already at Soul Power Level twenty, but without a first soul ring, strictly speaking, he was currently in a "defective state" of having soul power but no soul ring.

If the system directly gave him an "upgraded" first soul ring after Tang San obtained his, he should be able to absorb it normally, as his soul power level far exceeded the absorption threshold.

Everything would only be known once there was a result on Tang San's end.

Huang Fei washed his face, changed into clean clothes, and followed Tang San out of Dormitory Seven.

Yu Xiaogang was standing at the academy gate, his expression looking rather unpleasant.

He was wearing a dark-colored martial outfit with a leather pouch at his waist and boots on his feet, truly looking a bit like a seasoned hunter.

But the expression on his face visibly darkened the moment he saw Huang Fei walking over.

"Good morning, Grandmaster." Tang San greeted him politely.

"Morning."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, his gaze passing over Tang San to land on Huang Fei behind him. His mouth twitched slightly, and he finally managed to squeeze out, "You're coming too."

"Good morning, Grandmaster."

Huang Fei greeted him with a chuckle, his tone as natural as if nothing had ever happened.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Grandmaster, taking the two of us to hunt for soul rings."

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath.

He told himself that this was an investment.

Tang San was the target; Huang Fei was merely an incidental condition.

There was no need to bicker with this annoying brat.

There was no need to lower himself to the level of a six-year-old child.