"No, no, no!"
"I give up! I give up! Sister Xiao Wu, from now on, you're the boss of Notting Academy!"
Xiao Chenyu waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of terror.
He didn't want to experience that Soft Technique again!
"Quick! Get over here and call her that!"
Xiao Chenyu shouted.
"Sister Xiao Wu!"
At his words, Xiao Chenyu's many lackeys all rushed over, bowed to Xiao Wu, and shouted in unison.
"That's more like it!"
"Hmph!"
Xiao Wu smugly wiped the tip of her nose, then continued, "Now I'm giving you a task. Go clean up all the areas the Work-Study Students are supposed to clean!"
"Yes!" everyone shouted together.
Xiao Wu's lips curled up. She turned, grabbed Tang Yin, and left the back hill.
"How was that? Wasn't I amazing?" Xiao Wu looked at Tang Yin with a smug expression. She was clearly showing off, but to Tang Yin, she looked adorable.
"Not bad. You're still a little behind me." Tang Yin kept his eyes ahead and replied with a grin.
"A little behind you? I'm a Battle Soul Master, and you're a Support Soul Master!" Xiao Wu said, then glanced at the Storage Soul Tool Bracelet on Tang Yin's hand. "But you looked pretty impressive when you used that hammer. Let's spar sometime."
"No, I don't want to spar with you. What if I hurt you? It would break my heart." Tang Yin grinned.
Xiao Wu's pretty face flushed red. She mumbled, "You wouldn't be able to hurt me!"
"We don't have to clean this afternoon, so let's go tell Wang Sheng and the others. Then we can go to Spirit Hall to collect our Soul Master subsidies. Soul Masters with Soul Rings can receive a fixed subsidy from Spirit Hall every month. One-Ring Soul Masters get one Gold Soul Coin, two-ring Soul Masters get ten, and three-ring Soul Masters get a hundred."
The more Xiao Wu listened, the brighter her eyes grew. She picked up where Tang Yin left off and asked, "Then do four-ring Soul Masters get a thousand Gold Soul Coins?"
Tang Yin smiled. "You can't collect it once you reach four rings."
"Huh!?" Xiao Wu was instantly dumbfounded.
Seeing her reaction, Tang Yin couldn't help laughing.
The school year came to an end, and before they knew it, the holiday had arrived.
Throughout the year, Tang Yin had continued working at the Blacksmith Shop every afternoon.
Thanks to Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, he had established himself at the Blacksmith Shop, and business there had improved considerably.
His wages had risen from one Silver Soul Coin a month at first to one Gold Soul Coin a month.
Whenever he worked the forge, Tang Yin used his Soul Power until it was completely exhausted.
That counted as a form of cultivation, too.
Then, every night, he meditated and cultivated, and his Soul Power steadily increased.
By now, Tang Yin's Soul Power Level had reached seventeen.
His progress had been remarkably fast.
That was inseparable from the highly effective training methods he used.
Moreover,
Tang Yin had specially forged a hammer identical to his Mutated Clear Sky Hammer.
He had made it entirely of Refined Iron.
He did this solely to give himself a little more combat strength and to mislead others.
Xiao Wu hadn't cultivated as hard as Tang Yin during the school year, but her Soul Power Level hadn't fallen far behind. She had already reached level sixteen!
In Dorm Seven,
Tang Yin had changed into an ordinary sky-blue cloth shirt. He saw Xiao Wu sitting on the edge of her bed, staring at him in a daze, and stepped over to wave a hand in front of her.
"Xiao Wu, what are you thinking about? You're completely lost in thought!"
Xiao Wu came back to herself, glanced up at Tang Yin, then quickly looked away, her cheeks slightly red.
"School's out. Aren't you going home?" Tang Yin asked, though he already knew the answer.
Xiao Wu shook her head without saying a word.
Tang Yin smiled and invited her, "Then do you want to come with me to Holy Soul Village?"
"Hm? Sure!" Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.
"Then pack your things. We might need to stay the night in Holy Soul Village," Tang Yin said.
"Okay!" Xiao Wu hurried to pack, full of energy.
Only the two of them remained in the dormitory.
The others had either gone home or graduated and moved on to a higher-level academy, like Wang Sheng.
After obtaining a white Soul Ring, he had now graduated and successfully enrolled in an intermediate Soul Master Academy.
Before long,
Xiao Wu stuffed her spare clothes and the bedding from her bed into Tang Yin's Storage Soul Tool. She patted his shoulder with a grin. "All done! Let's go!"
Tang Yin smiled and nodded.
Holy Soul Village.
The breeze from the fields carried a touch of warmth as Tang Yin and Xiao Wu walked side by side along the dirt road.
They drew the attention of quite a few villagers along the way.
Xiao Wu looked around in every direction, as if she were curious about everything.
Outside Old Jack's house,
"Grandpa Jack!"
"Are you home?"
"It's me, Tang Yin!"
Tang Yin knocked on the door and called out.
"Little Tang is back!" Old Jack hurriedly opened the door. When he saw that Xiao Wu was there with Tang Yin, his smile grew even wider.
"Grandpa Jack, this is my classmate, Xiao Wu," Tang Yin introduced her.
"Hello, Grandpa," Xiao Wu said sweetly.
"Hello, hello! Come in, come in!" Old Jack rubbed Tang Yin's blue hair with his rough hands, his eyes full of affection. "Little Tang, how did you grow so tall in just one year? You've changed so much, Grandpa almost didn't recognize you!"
"Grandpa Jack, I've become a Soul Master! This is my Soul Ring!" Tang Yin said with a smile, releasing his Soul Ring.
Old Jack had always held one wish: for Holy Soul Village to produce another Soul Master.
Seeing this, Old Jack grew even happier. "Wonderful, wonderful!"
Old Jack instinctively compared Tang Yin to Tang Hao. At the thought of Tang Hao, he couldn't help sighing. "Little Tang, there's something I have to tell you."
"After you left for school, your father, Tang Hao, left too. I don't know where he went. He only left behind a letter."
Tang Yin remained calm, completely unmoved. He had expected this.
Old Jack reached into his clothes, pulled out a neatly folded letter that had been carefully kept, and handed it to Tang Yin.
Tang Yin took the letter and casually put it away. Then he began taking things out of his Storage Soul Tool. "Grandpa Jack, these are the gifts I bought for you."
"You silly child, why'd you buy an old man like me gifts? You don't have much money, and you've got a long life ahead of you. You shouldn't spend it so carelessly!" Old Jack was very happy, but he still couldn't help lecturing Tang Yin.
"It's fine. I've been earning money by working at the Blacksmith Shop while I'm in school," Tang Yin said with a smile.
Old Jack's eyes widened slightly. "You've still been working at the Blacksmith Shop?"
Tang Yin smiled and nodded, then said, "Grandpa Jack, I'm going home to take a look. I'll be off."
Old Jack nodded blankly. When he came to, he called after him, "Come to Grandpa's house for dinner later!"
"Okay!" Tang Yin nodded.
The Blacksmith Shop no longer looked as it had before. It had been cleaned until it was spotless.
Looking at it, Tang Yin held the letter in his hand, his heart utterly calm.
"You can sleep in my room tonight. We'll head back tomorrow," Tang Yin said, turning to Xiao Wu.
"Okay." Xiao Wu lightly bit her lip, thought for a moment, then comforted him. "Tang Yin, don't be too sad."
Tang Yin froze for a moment, helpless inside.
He really wasn't sad at all, but he couldn't just tell Xiao Wu that.
Otherwise,
Xiao Wu might think he was cold and heartless.
"I lost my father and mother when I was little, too. I can understand how you feel right now."
Xiao Wu sighed. Then an idea suddenly occurred to her, and her eyes lit up. "Tang Yin, why don't you become my little brother? Then we'd both have family again."
Tang Yin's mouth twitched. "Not interested."
"If you become my little brother, I'll protect you from now on," Xiao Wu said with a grin.
"It's not clear yet who'll be protecting whom." Tang Yin rolled his eyes.
He hadn't even asked Xiao Wu to be his little sister, and she was already asking to make him her little brother.
When did the script change?