Xiao Wu's attempt to make Tang Yin her younger brother ended with Tang Yin refusing.
Tang Yin had no intention of accepting Xiao Wu as his younger sister, either, so the idea of swearing brotherhood and sisterhood was quietly dropped.
That night, Tang Yin tidied up his room for Xiao Wu and gave it to her. He went to the banyan tree in front of the house, closed his eyes, and began cultivating. With his Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline activated and his Blue Silver Domain at work, the Blue Silver Grass within a radius of five hundred meters was especially lively.
At noon the next day, Tang Yin said goodbye to Old Jack and set off with Xiao Wu on the journey back to Notting Academy.
After the brief vacation ended, the number of Work-Study Students who had originally lived in Dorm Seven had been cut in half, and no new students had come to replace them.
Dorm Seven had grown much quieter, too.
That meant Xiao Wu, who was already lively and restless, was constantly clinging to Tang Yin.
Aside from working at the Blacksmith Shop, Tang Yin spent nearly all his time with Xiao Wu.
Their relationship gradually shifted from classmates to good friends.
Nearly another year passed. Inside Dorm Seven, Tang Yin sat cross-legged, his eyes tightly shut as the Soul Power around him surged freely and steadily climbed.
Today, too, he had skipped class—a rare occurrence for him.
Xiao Wu returned to Dorm Seven with breakfast. Seeing Tang Yin still immersed in cultivation, she sat down on a nearby bed, set the food aside, and waited quietly.
After a while,
the Soul Power around Tang Yin suddenly surged. At last, he broke through the bottleneck between level nineteen and level twenty.
"You broke through!"
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up at the sight.
Tang Yin slowly opened his eyes. When he saw Xiao Wu there, he smiled. "Xiao Wu, I broke through the Soul Power bottleneck. I'm level twenty now!"
"Darn it! You beat me to it again!" Though Xiao Wu said this, she wore a smile as she picked up the breakfast and handed it to Tang Yin. "Hurry up and eat!"
"Because of you, I skipped class today, too. If the teacher punishes me, you'll have to take responsibility! And you have to take me out to have fun as compensation!"
"No problem." Tang Yin smiled, took the breakfast, and began eating. It was still hot.
Tang Yin thought for a moment, then said as he ate, "Xiao Wu, I've decided to go to Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow."
Xiao Wu didn't think it over for long before replying, "I'm coming with you."
Tang Yin furrowed his brow. "Xiao Wu, you'd better not come. I'm only going after plant-type Soul Beasts with relatively weak combat abilities, but there are still plenty of ferocious Soul Beasts in Soul Hunting Forest."
"Are you worried you can't protect me? I don't need your protection! I'm the boss of Notting Academy. Why would I be afraid of those Soul Beasts?" Xiao Wu gave a huff, sounding a little indignant.
Tang Yin sighed. "We don't have an entry permit for Soul Hunting Forest, so we can only try our luck and see if we can join a group. If something unexpected happens... sometimes, people are the most dangerous of all."
"In that case, I definitely have to go with you. The two of us can look after each other." Xiao Wu made up her mind at once. "That's settled. Don't try to talk me out of it."
Seeing how sincerely Xiao Wu cared for him, Tang Yin couldn't help but feel moved.
The last time he'd obtained a Soul Ring, Tang Hao had shown up of his own accord, since he knew Tang Yin's circumstances then.
Now, the only person who knew his Soul Power Level was Xiao Wu, who spent every day with him.
No one else knew.
After Tang Yin successfully obtained leave from the academy, he and Xiao Wu went into town to buy the supplies they needed for the trip. Then they hired a carriage and headed for Soul Hunting Forest, hundreds of miles away.
The carriage traveled for most of the day before Tang Yin and Xiao Wu finally reached a small town near Soul Hunting Forest.
"Tang Yin, what are you doing?"
Xiao Wu watched as Tang Yin kept taking the things they'd bought out of his Storage Soul Tool, then putting them into a pack and carrying it on his back. She couldn't help staring in surprise.
"Don't flaunt your wealth. If someone finds out I have a Storage Soul Tool and gets the idea to kill us and take it, we'll be in trouble."
After packing the necessary supplies, Tang Yin stepped out of the carriage.
Xiao Wu blinked.
Looking at Tang Yin, she suddenly felt that he was far, far more mature than she was.
How had she not thought of that?
"We have an entry permit! We're hunting a strength-type Soul Beast and need two more people!"
"Looking for an entry permit! We're hunting a flying-type Soul Beast and already have seven people!"
Cries rang out one after another throughout the town.
They said that people who lived by the mountains ate from the mountains, and those who lived by the water ate from the water.
The town was near Soul Hunting Forest, so most of its residents were Soul Masters. The goods sold here cost one or two times more than normal.
Tang Yin took Xiao Wu by the hand and headed toward a group that already had an entry permit but still needed two people. "Let's go take a look. If it works out, we'll join this Soul-Hunting team and enter Soul Hunting Forest."
"These people look pretty fierce. They don't look like good people at all," Xiao Wu muttered.
"In a place like this, good people are the ones who suffer," Tang Yin said with a soft sigh.
He'd lived two lives and knew all too well how people schemed against one another.
Besides, the world they lived in now was ruled by the dark forest law. Killing wasn't a crime.
"Hello, what are the requirements for joining your team?" Tang Yin went up to the group and looked at the stocky, middle-aged man leading them. There were eight people in the group altogether: five men and three women.
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu's arrival instantly drew the attention of all eight. The middle-aged man looked them over in surprise. "You two are Soul Masters?"
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, then released their Martial Souls and Soul Rings in perfect unison.
Tang Yin introduced himself. "My Martial Soul is Mutated Blue Silver Grass. I'm a Support Soul Master, and my Soul Skill is healing."
Xiao Wu followed up. "My Martial Soul is Rabbit. I'm a Power Attack System Battle Soul Master."
The middle-aged man and his companions behind him were all stunned.
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu looked far too young.
Even after years on the road, they had never seen Soul Masters this young.
"Two One-Ring Soul Masters, and one of them even has an incredibly rare healing type!"
"Since when can Blue Silver Grass do something like that?"
"And both of their First Soul Rings are hundred-year rings!"
The group whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with surprise.
The burly middle-aged man thought it over. "You can join us. The pay is ten Gold Soul Coins per person."
Tang Yin shook his head. "I don't want Gold Soul Coins. I'm missing a Soul Ring, and I hope you can help me hunt a plant-type Soul Beast with strong vitality, around seven hundred years old!"
"A seven-hundred-year-old plant Soul Beast?" The middle-aged man's pupils shrank slightly. He stared at Tang Yin in surprise. "You plan to absorb it?"
Tang Yin nodded. "Yes."
"A seven-hundred-year-old plant Soul Beast... all right!" The middle-aged man considered it for a moment before agreeing. Then he introduced himself. "My name is Chen Feng. My Soul Power is level thirty, and my Martial Soul is Saber-toothed Tiger!"
"Pack up. We're getting ready to leave!" Chen Feng said to the seven people behind him.