Tang San Reaches Level 20! Huang Fei Reaches Level 30! Preparations for the Second Spirit Ring!

Winter turned to spring, and the snow in Nuoding City melted and fell, melted and fell, repeating the cycle several times before finally receding for good.

Ginkgo trees sprouted new buds, the grass on the playground shifted from withered yellow to tender green, and the cafeteria menu added several seasonal wild vegetables—life passed day by day in these subtle changes.

Three months after the winter break ended, Tang San's soul power broke through to level twenty.

That morning, he was meditating on the playground as usual. After the Mysterious Heaven Skill had completed thirty-six cycles through his meridians, he suddenly felt something deep within his body go "click," as if a door had been unlocked.

Soul power surged from his dantian, more than double what it had been before, rushing and flowing through his body until every acupuncture point felt stretched to capacity.

He opened his eyes and looked down at his hands.

Level twenty.

From the level ten he possessed when he awakened at six, to breaking through to level twenty at seven-plus, he had spent over a year.

This speed was not the fastest on the continent—the genius disciples of top sects had resources piled upon them, allowing them to break through even faster.

But as a work-study student with no background, relying entirely on his own cultivation, going from level ten to level twenty in a year was enough to shock the teachers at Notting Academy.

Tang San stood up, brushed the grass clippings off his pants, and headed toward the teaching building.

Yu Xiaogang's office was at the very end of the first floor.

When Tang San knocked, Yu Xiaogang was writing something. He looked up at the sound, and upon seeing Tang San, a smile appeared on his face.

For the past year or so, the relationship between Yu Xiaogang and Tang San had been maintained quite well.

Although Tang San had never formally taken him as a master, the "cooperation" between them continued—Tang San assisted Yu Xiaogang with his Martial Soul research, while Yu Xiaogang provided him with theoretical guidance, cultivation resources, and networking support.

The Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges had already been given to him, and Yu Xiaogang had been the one to take him to hunt his first soul ring.

Tang San kept this favor in his heart, maintaining politeness and respect toward Yu Xiaogang, yet he always kept a certain distance, unlike the unreserved trust seen in the original story.

"Grandmaster, I've broken through to level twenty."

Tang San said.

The pen in Yu Xiaogang's hand paused, then he set it down, his eyes lighting up.

He looked Tang San up and down, as if confirming the truth of this information.

Then he smiled, more genuinely than usual.

"Good. Faster than I expected. I will arrange the matter of your second soul ring."

Tang San nodded, and just as he was about to say something, Yu Xiaogang had already pulled a thick notebook from his drawer and flipped to a page densely packed with writing.

"The optimal absorption limit for a second soul ring is seven hundred and sixty-four years. Your physical constitution is significantly higher than that of an average soul master, so you can consider anything between eight hundred and nine hundred years."

Yu Xiaogang said while flipping through his notes.

"As for the attributes, since you insist on following the Life Flow path, the second soul ring should still focus primarily on life-force attributes. I know a few hunters near the Soul Hunting Forest who specialize in soul beast trade; I will have them keep an eye out and notify us when they find a suitable target."

"Grandmaster, Huang Fei..."

Tang San began.

Yu Xiaogang's hand, which was flipping through the notebook, paused.

Tang San gathered his courage and finished the second half of his sentence: "His first soul ring was too low in age, and his soul power growth has been very slow. When we go to hunt for my second soul ring, could we bring him along? His first soul skill is Entangle; although the age isn't high, he can help control the target when we hunt soul beasts. Plus, letting him come along to see and learn would be good for him."

Yu Xiaogang fell silent.

He did not want to bring Huang Fei.

Last time in the Soul Hunting Forest, Huang Fei had spent the entire time with an expression that said, "You guys do your thing, I'll just watch," neither helping, nor causing trouble, nor saying a word, yet he was just plain unlikable.

Moreover, that kid had such a sharp tongue that every time Yu Xiaogang spoke to him, he felt like he was being interrogated.

But what Tang San said made sense.

Huang Fei's first soul skill was, after all, a control-type skill; having an extra form of control when fighting soul beasts was always a good thing.

Hunting soul beasts wasn't like a brawl; soul beasts wouldn't reason with you, and once they started running, you couldn't even catch them. Having a vine-type control soul skill would indeed save a lot of trouble.

Besides, he had to give Tang San face.

For over a year, Tang San had cooperated with his Martial Soul research, providing a massive amount of data on Twin Martial Souls—though, of course, Tang San had never admitted to being a Twin Martial Soul himself, only assisting with routine Martial Soul tests and records.

But this data had already been enough for Yu Xiaogang's theoretical research to make significant progress.

He could not refuse Tang San at a time like this.

"Fine."

Yu Xiaogang closed his notebook, his tone sounding somewhat reluctant, but he agreed nonetheless.

"Tell him to prepare. I will come to Dormitory Seven to find you both before we depart."

A smile appeared on Tang San's face.

"Thank you, Grandmaster."

When the news reached Dormitory Seven, Huang Fei was eating lunch.

Tang San sat down beside him and lowered his voice: "Grandmaster agreed to take you along to hunt for my second soul ring."

Huang Fei's hand, holding his chopsticks, paused.

"Did he agree?"

"He agreed."

Tang San nodded.

"I told him your first soul skill could help control targets and that you needed to see the world, so he agreed."

Huang Fei thought for a moment and roughly understood why Yu Xiaogang had agreed.

It wasn't because his first soul skill was actually that useful, but because the request had come from Tang San's mouth.

Gangzi was the type of person who would agree to any condition just to maintain his relationship with Tang San.

"Fine. Then I'll prepare as well."

Huang Fei lowered his head to continue eating, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

What was his Soul Power Level now?

Level thirty.

On the day Tang San reached level twenty, the system's notification sound rang out right on time—"Ding—Target Tang San's soul power has increased to level 20, host's soul power has synchronized to level 30."

So, in terms of Soul Power Level, he was fully qualified to absorb a second soul ring.

One could even say his soul power far exceeded the threshold for absorbing a second soul ring.

But the problem was, regarding his first soul ring, he possessed an 860-year Vine of Life soul ring, yet he had claimed it was a 120-year Green Vine.

He didn't know how long he could maintain this disguise, but at least in the short term, he wouldn't be exposed—as long as he didn't unleash his full power in front of others, no one would notice the anomaly in his soul ring's age.

Therefore, regarding the second soul ring, he planned to adopt the same strategy: on the surface, he would not absorb any soul ring, letting Tang San and Yu Xiaogang believe he was just a six-year-old child tagging along to watch the excitement, not even level twenty yet.

Once back at the academy, he would claim the system-rewarded second soul ring in a secluded spot—doubling the age, doubling the effect.

As for Tang San, he had to keep an eye on him.

He had finally steered Tang San onto the path of the Life Flow; he couldn't let him be led astray again by Yu Xiaogang's theory that "the second soul ring can appropriately balance control."

Life Flow is Life Flow; from beginning to end, it needs no poison, no control, just mindlessly stacking vitality.

Stack it to the end, and the Blue Silver Grass itself will show you what it means to be "endless life."