Re-entering the Soul Hunting Forest!

He shoveled the last mouthful of rice into his mouth, set down his bowl and chopsticks, and stood up to walk out of Dormitory Seven.

Tang San called out to him, "Where are you going?"

"For a walk, to digest."

Huang Fei waved a hand without looking back and walked out of the cafeteria.

He did go for a walk, but not to digest his food.

He needed to confirm one thing.

The second spirit ring reward given to him by the system would be linked to the second spirit ring Tang San chose.

Whatever attribute spirit beast Tang San chose, he would receive an upgraded version of that same attribute.

The age would be doubled, and the effects would be doubled.

But the problem was, what if Tang San made the wrong choice?

Although the first spirit ring had already been set to Life Flow, laying a very solid foundation for Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, he knew Yu Xiaogang's old habits all too well—the greatest trait of this Gangzi was that he always believed he was right.

He had reluctantly accepted Life Flow for the first spirit ring only because Tang San's attitude was firm, and he didn't want to fall out with his "experimental subject" at such a critical juncture.

But for the second spirit ring, he would certainly find some high-sounding excuse to try and mix in something related to "control" or "poison."

What Huang Fei needed to do was to steady Tang San before he could be swayed.

How to steady him?

No long-winded speeches or citing of classics were needed.

Tang San was a smart man; he only needed to be reminded at the critical moment, "Do you remember what I told you about the essence of Blue Silver Grass?" and Tang San would figure it out himself.

One such reminder would be enough.

If two weren't enough, it would mean Tang San himself was wavering—and that would make Huang Fei's intervention even more necessary.

He had to ensure that Tang San did not go astray in his choice of a second spirit ring.

If he went astray, the foundation of Tang San's Blue Silver Saint Emperor would be unstable.

If the foundation was unstable, his own Blue Silver Saint Emperor would be affected as well.

That was not a result he wanted to see.

Huang Fei stood by the edge of the playground, looking at the ginkgo trees in the distance that were beginning to turn green, while another matter crossed his mind—Tang San and Grandmaster would not see the process of him absorbing his own second spirit ring.

Just like last time, he would "not absorb" it in front of them, claiming he hadn't reached level twenty yet, or saying, "No rush, we'll talk about it when we get back."

They wouldn't be suspicious because, in their eyes, he hadn't reached level twenty, and his first spirit ring was only a 120-year Green Vine; he needed to increase his spirit power first rather than rushing for a second spirit ring.

Once back at the academy, in the dead of night, he would go to the public bathhouse to claim the second spirit ring rewarded by the system.

The age doubled.

The effect doubled.

Another perfect alibi.

Returning to Dormitory Seven, Tang San was packing his things.

Inside the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges were dry rations, a water skin, a change of clothes, several daggers, and a few coils of rope.

He was always meticulous; he would prepare everything he might need before setting off, never leaving things to the last minute.

"Grandmaster said we leave the day after tomorrow morning. To the Soul Hunting Forest, targeting a life-type plant spirit beast of about eight hundred years."

Tang San went over the item list one more time to ensure nothing was missing before tying the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges back around his waist.

Huang Fei leaned against his bed and nodded.

"Huang Fei, are you really not in a hurry?"

Tang San asked suddenly.

Huang Fei looked at him.

"I mean your spirit power."

Tang San's voice was very soft, as if he were afraid of being overheard.

"Your first spirit ring isn't very old, and your spirit power growth hasn't been fast. Over this past year, your spirit power has only gone from level eleven to level thirteen?"

Tang San was still a bit embarrassed to say it out loud; after all, he also had a first spirit ring, yet his spirit power had risen from level thirteen to level twenty—a seven-level increase—while Huang Fei had only gained two levels. It was truly quite low.

Tang San felt that Huang Fei might have been dragged down by that 120-year spirit ring.

Huang Fei was silent for a moment.

"No rush."

Tang San opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but eventually closed it.

He always felt that Huang Fei was hiding something from him, but this feeling was groundless, and he didn't feel comfortable pressing him for answers.

Huang Fei turned over, pulled the quilt up to his chin, and closed his eyes.

No rush.

He was in no hurry.

What did he have to be anxious about? If Tang San was level twenty, he was level thirty.

Tang San was about to hunt for his second spirit ring, and he was just waiting to collect his system rewards.

The one who truly needed to be anxious was Yu Xiaogang.

And that eight-hundred-year-old life-type plant spirit beast that was about to become Tang San's second spirit ring.

Huang Fei chuckled silently under his covers.

The day after tomorrow, Soul Hunting Forest.

Another good show.

The day they set off, the weather was surprisingly good.

Yu Xiaogang stood at the academy gate, carrying a small pack, the copper token of the Martial Soul Hall tucked into his belt, and wearing a pair of worn leather boots.

His expression was as serious as ever, his chin slightly raised, his gaze sweeping from Tang San to Huang Fei, then back from Huang Fei to Tang San.

"Let's go."

He said, turning around and striding toward the north gate.

Tang San followed half a step behind him, his pace steady.

Huang Fei walked at the very back, hands tucked into his sleeves, his steps unhurried, exuding an air of "I'm just here for an outing."

Once they left the north gate, the main road was flanked by continuous wheat fields.

The wheat sprouts had just poked through the soil, a tender green, like a thin carpet spread over the black earth.

In the distance lay a range of rolling low hills covered in deep green vegetation—the Soul Hunting Forest was just behind those hills.

"Grandmaster, is our target an eight-hundred-year-old life-type plant spirit beast?"

Tang San walked beside Yu Xiaogang, steering the conversation toward business.

"Yes."

Yu Xiaogang nodded, pulling out the frayed notebook from his breast pocket and flipping to a page.

"I had hunters keep an eye out in the forest for half a month, and they locked onto three potential targets. An eight-hundred-and-twenty-year-old Life Ancient Vine, an eight-hundred-and-fifty-year-old Healing Flower King, and a seven-hundred-and-ninety-year-old Life-Giving Grass. The first two are purely life-attribute, while the third has a slight auxiliary attribute, but it's within an acceptable range."

He handed the notebook to Tang San, which was densely packed with the physical characteristics, habitats, attack patterns, and weaknesses of the three spirit beasts.

Tang San took it and read it carefully.

He read quickly, memorizing eighty or ninety percent of a page with a single glance, but he would pause to read over key information several times.

Huang Fei craned his neck to look from behind—the dense text made his eyes ache.

"Did you read it?"

When Tang San returned the notebook to Yu Xiaogang, he turned to ask Huang Fei.

"I read it."

Huang Fei said.

"Did you memorize it all?"

"Memorized. Three types of spirit beasts, one eight-hundred-and-twenty, one eight-hundred-and-fifty, one seven-hundred-and-ninety. Memorized."

Tang San glanced at him, feeling that there was a sense of "I'm just going through the motions to humor you" in Huang Fei's tone, but he didn't press the matter.

With a person like Huang Fei, if you took him too seriously, he would just give you that "Why are you so serious?" look, and then you would never be able to reason with him again.