"Adoptive father! I've reached level thirty!"
After leaving the Martial Soul Academy, Tang Yin went straight to Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's residence.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was tending to his flowers and plants. When he saw Tang San approach and heard what he said, his eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of wariness passing through them.
"A thirty-level Soul Elder at ten years old!"
"With talent like this, in the Spirit Hall's hundreds of years of history, only Bibi Dong, besides the owner of the Angel Martial Soul, could compare!"
"Tang Hao's son has truly astonishing cultivation talent!"
"If he really turns against me someday, won't I end up just as Bibi Dong said, with all my efforts coming to nothing and becoming a target for settling accounts?"
"Although having him cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul directly, instead of the Blue Silver Grass, has limited the Clear Sky Hammer's potential, even so, its power is still not to be underestimated!"
"No, I need to prepare a few more contingencies!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo's thoughts churned. He stopped himself from dwelling on them, then smiled warmly, his face—as bewitchingly beautiful as a woman's—softening as he reached over and ruffled Tang San's hair.
"Xiao Chuan, you haven't let your father down~"
Yue Xiaochuan was Tang San's current real name.
However,
he still preferred his previous life's name from the Tang Sect: Tang San.
"Adoptive father, when are we going to the Star Dou Forest to get a Soul Ring?" Tang San asked.
"We'll go right now~" Chrysanthemum Douluo giggled. He set down what he was holding, picked Tang San up, and flew toward the horizon.
Spirit City stood right beside the Star Dou Forest.
It was one of the human cities closest to the Star Dou Forest on the entire continent.
Deep in the Star Dou Forest,
Chrysanthemum Douluo searched with Tang San for half a day before they finally found a fifteen-hundred-year-old Diamond Ape.
He quickly knocked it down.
"Xiao Chuan, you can do it now~"
Chrysanthemum Douluo stepped aside with an enchanting sway, a wicked smile appearing on his face.
"Yes!"
Tang San held out his left hand. A large hammer appeared, and two yellow Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet.
"First Soul Skill, Sky-Piercing Strike!"
Clutching the hammer, Tang San leapt high into the air and slammed it down on the Diamond Ape's head.
Boom!
The ground trembled. As the Diamond Ape died, a purple Soul Ring slowly formed.
"Xiao Chuan, start absorbing the Soul Ring~"
"I'll protect you from the side~"
Chrysanthemum Douluo folded his arms, his gaze sweeping over their surroundings from time to time. He looked quite serious.
"All right, thank you, adoptive father!"
Tang San took a deep breath, put away his hammer, and began absorbing the Diamond Ape's Soul Ring.
At that moment, the two of them truly looked like a loving father and a filial son.
In less than an hour, Tang San finished absorbing the Diamond Ape's Soul Ring.
The three Soul Rings—two yellow and one purple—lined up in order, and the aura of a thirty-first-level Soul Elder was unmistakable.
Seeing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo nodded with satisfaction. "Xiao Chuan, release your third Soul Skill and let your adoptive father see how powerful your Heaven-Shaking Hammer is~"
Now that Tang Hao's son had been adopted as his own, the Clear Sky Hammer could no longer keep that name.
Besides, he hated the words "Clear Sky Hammer."
So he had simply given the Martial Soul a new name.
"Adoptive father, my third Soul Skill is called Diamond Earth-Shaking Hammer." As Tang San spoke, he released his Martial Soul. Once the hammer was in his hand, he immediately activated his third Soul Ring.
In the next moment, he sprang into the air and slammed the hammer into the ground.
In an instant,
a huge crater appeared, cracks spreading rapidly like a spiderweb.
Dust billowed everywhere.
Chrysanthemum Douluo took out a handkerchief and waved it in front of himself.
"Xiao Chuan, when you fight people from now on, you need to be more graceful. Don't act like those rough men who only know how to use brute force~"
Hearing this, Tang Yin's mouth twitched.
Sometimes he really couldn't understand why the person who adopted him had to be Chrysanthemum Douluo, that sissy, instead of Ghost Douluo Gui Mei.
Chrysanthemum Douluo was clearly a man, yet he always dressed and acted more like a woman than any woman.
Once, Tang Yin had even nearly gotten aroused.
Tang San helplessly put away his Martial Soul and Soul Rings, then said, "Adoptive father, if I'm too graceful... won't that make me seem unserious? It might be fine if I were using the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, but I'm wielding a hammer!"
"You have to be serious and graceful! Look at how you released your Soul Skill just now. Why were your legs spread so wide? And why did you jump so high? To make yourself look imposing?" Chrysanthemum Douluo said irritably.
"Adoptive father, I'll remember!" Tang San nodded helplessly. If he kept making excuses, he'd only have to endure more of Chrysanthemum Douluo's mental torment.
"All right, let's head back~" Chrysanthemum Douluo picked Tang San up with one hand, then stored the Diamond Ape's corpse before returning to Spirit City.
Meanwhile,
with Lei Wuya leading the way, Tang Yin and Xiao Wu had already returned to Suotuo Intermediate Soul Master Academy. The dean, Broto, immediately called Tang Yin and Xiao Wu to his office, while vice dean Lei Wuya sat nearby drinking tea.
"Dean."
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu greeted him together.
"Have a seat."
Broto smiled and gestured with one hand.
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu sat down in the empty seats nearby, looking somewhat ill at ease.
"First, congratulations on reaching the Soul Elder rank, Tang Yin," Broto said with a smile.
"Thank you. But without the vice dean's help, I wouldn't have been able to get the Thunder Hell Vine's Soul Ring." Tang Yin looked gratefully at Lei Wuya.
Lei Wuya waved a hand dismissively.
Broto continued, "There's something else I wanted to ask you about."
Tang Yin was taken aback. "Please, go ahead, Dean."
Broto paused to think, then asked, "Do you know the dean of Shrek Academy, Flender, and someone named Yu Xiaogang?"
A look of surprise appeared in Tang Yin's eyes. "Dean, I do know them, especially Yu Xiaogang. You know that Xiao Wu and I came from Notting Junior Soul Master Academy. Yu Xiaogang was there."
"I see. Then have you had any conflicts with them?" Broto continued.
Tang Yin shook his head. "No."
Broto murmured, "A few days after you and Xiao Wu enrolled, Flender and Yu Xiaogang came to see me. They asked where you were and whether you were studying here."
Tang Yin blinked. "Dean, how did you answer them?"
"I simply told them you weren't studying here and sent them on their way." Broto waved a hand.
"Dean, before I enrolled, Yu Xiaogang recommended Shrek Academy to Xiao Wu and me. But we didn't sign up and came here instead. I guess Yu Xiaogang later went to Shrek Academy, realized we weren't there, and started asking around." Tang Yin explained as he speculated.
"So that's what happened? In that case, it's certainly possible it was as you said!" Broto looked as if he'd suddenly understood.
But then he asked, "Do the two of you still plan to enroll at Shrek Academy?"
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, then shook their heads together. Tang Yin smiled. "Dean, we have no plans to leave here and transfer to Shrek."
"That's good!" Broto breathed a sigh of relief, then said with a smile, "Don't worry, the two of you will receive the best training here!"
"When you graduate and want to attend an advanced Soul Master Academy, I can also recommend Barak Academy!"
"Barak Academy is in the royal capital, Bala City, and is personally managed by the king. I graduated from there myself!"
Tang Yin and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, then bowed together. "Thank you, Dean."
"Hehe~ There's no need to thank me. The better you do at Barak Academy, the more honor it brings me!" Broto beamed, then added, "You both look tired. Go back and get some rest."
"All right," they answered together.
In the dormitory,
Tang Yin idly toyed with the External Soul Bone—the Thunder God Whip—wondering how to make the most of it.
"Zzz! Wula wula!"
As Tang Yin poured Soul Power into the Thunder God Whip, purplish-gold arcs of electricity danced across its surface, spreading farther and farther.
If Tang Yin hadn't been controlling it, it could have destroyed everything in the dormitory in an instant.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu, in the girls' dormitory, thought about how Tang Yin had already reached the Soul Elder rank. She began to reflect on herself, resolved to work twice as hard, and started meditating.
"I can't fall too far behind."