Ying Chengfeng looked at the four people across from him.
He tilted his head, his tone indifferent. "Skywater Junior... Soul Master Academy?"
The woman replied haughtily, "Skywater City Junior Soul Master Academy. I'm one of its teachers, a level 43 Soul Ancestor."
As she spoke, the woman displayed her Soul Rings.
Two yellow and two purple.
At the sight of them, Yu Feiyan, who had been about to kill the mysterious Soul Beast, stopped.
"Don't mind her. Kill the Soul Beast and absorb its Soul Ring," Ying Chengfeng told Yu Feiyan.
Then he looked at Qian Renxue, who was already preparing for battle.
Ying Chengfeng raised a hand and rubbed her head. "You don't need to reveal your Martial Soul. Leave this to me."
With that, Ying Chengfeng finally revealed his Soul Rings.
The two purple Soul Rings stood out against the snow.
Ying Chengfeng looked at the woman, his voice icy.
"Whether you're a junior academy teacher or even the dean of Skywater Advanced Academy, the result will be the same."
"I'll give you one chance. Leave now, or die!"
The woman's expression turned terribly grim.
She was a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, yet a Soul Grandmaster was threatening her?!
"Arrogant brat. Tell me who your elders are," the woman said, forcing herself to maintain her imposing air.
She was panicking now.
A Soul Grandmaster with two purple Soul Rings—what kind of peerless genius was that?
Could someone so gifted possibly have a simple background?
And besides, someone must have helped him obtain those two purple Soul Rings, right?
His elders might even be nearby.
The woman was in a real bind. She'd only meant to bluff him by invoking Skywater Academy's name.
But he didn't even take Skywater Advanced Soul Master Academy seriously.
This wasn't just kicking an iron plate. She'd kicked a steel one!
Behind her, a little girl who looked about nine tugged at an even smaller girl and said, "Xuewu, didn't our teacher say a Soul Master's first Soul Ring could only be a hundred-year yellow one?"
"Then what's going on with that kid over there?"
The girl called Xuewu shook her head. "I don't know. Don't ask me."
She stared intently at Ying Chengfeng, her eyes full of curiosity, as though she wanted to etch his image into her mind.
Ying Chengfeng noticed Xuewu's curious, searching gaze. He glanced at her, then turned his attention back to the woman.
"Well? Are you leaving or not? You're not qualified to know my elders' names."
The woman trembled with rage. Her ample chest quivered as she gritted her teeth. "I won't stoop to arguing with a child."
Then she called the three little girls and left.
The one called Xuewu looked back every few steps, until they were completely out of sight.
"Now no one will bother us." Ying Chengfeng turned his attention back to Yu Feiyan.
Yu Feiyan didn't waste any more time. She struck, and the Soul Beast fell.
A yellow Soul Ring appeared.
Ying Chengfeng instructed her from the side. "Release your Soul Power and use it to guide the Soul Ring, just like when you used your Soul Power to nourish the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower."
Yu Feiyan sat cross-legged and began drawing the Soul Ring toward herself.
An icy energy rampaged through her body.
But this level of cold was nothing compared to what she'd endured in the Herb Garden half a month ago.
Back then, Ying Chengfeng had used a weakened version of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well to reshape her meridians and transform her Martial Soul.
Now, the mysterious Soul Beast's Soul Ring didn't seem to put her under much pressure.
Suddenly, purple-red flames rose within her, reflecting the Soul Ring's icy energy.
A Small Yin-Yang Formation Diagram began to form inside her.
The two forces gradually merged, becoming a subtler, more wondrous Soul Power.
Yu Feiyan felt the change within herself and silently named this force the Yin-Yang Attribute.
It was neither ice nor fire, but Yin and Yang. It held neither the cold of ice nor the heat of fire.
Yet it carried the rhythm of life and the desolation of death.
Yin and Yang united, becoming a force of death that pulsed with rhythm.
At that moment, Ghost Fire fully awakened.
Yu Feiyan became one with her Martial Soul, Ghost Fire.
A faint mist appeared around her.
Pale purple-red, like smoke.
Pale purple-red smoke.
Just like her name: Feiyan, crimson smoke.
At that moment, Yu Feiyan's condition changed again.
Her fingernails grew much longer, more than four centimeters, and looked incredibly sharp.
Ying Chengfeng stared at her nails, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"As expected, an External Soul Bone!"
For a Soul Beast to possess overwhelming combat strength, an External Soul Bone was one of the best options.
But External Soul Bones were rarer than any other Soul Bone.
Even so, Ying Chengfeng had spotted the mysterious Soul Beast's secret at a glance.
As expected, the mysterious Soul Beast's claws might become an External Soul Bone.
However, Yu Feiyan hadn't obtained a complete External Soul Bone.
That wasn't a big problem, though. An External Soul Bone could grow along with its Soul Master.
What mattered most was whether an External Soul Bone suited its owner.
Her fingernails had turned pale red, dotted with little purple specks.
Another hour passed.
Only then did Yu Feiyan slowly open her eyes.
When she stood up, Ying Chengfeng asked, "How do you feel?"
Yu Feiyan took a moment to assess herself, then answered, "I feel more in tune with my Martial Soul. My fingers are stronger, and my nails are much sharper."
Ying Chengfeng nodded and asked, "Anything else?"
"Is there supposed to be something else?" Yu Feiyan asked, puzzled.
"Besides becoming more in tune with your Martial Soul and gaining an External Soul Bone, that's... it?" Ying Chengfeng asked in astonishment.
"Oh." Yu Feiyan remembered something. Her figure blurred, and a faint cloud of crimson smoke appeared where she'd been standing.
Then she appeared behind Ying Chengfeng.
Ying Chengfeng immediately turned around, and there she was.
"Teleportation?" Ying Chengfeng frowned slightly.
He hadn't activated his Wind Domain, and he couldn't figure out how Yu Feiyan had gotten behind him.
"It wasn't teleportation. My body passed through yours, and that's how I got behind you." Yu Feiyan lowered her head as she spoke.
"A Soul Skill?" Ying Chengfeng was stunned. He hadn't seen Yu Feiyan use a Soul Ring.
Then was it... a Self-Created Soul Skill?
That couldn't be, could it?
Yu Feiyan answered, "I don't know if it counts as a Soul Skill. I feel more in tune with my Martial Soul;
I can briefly enter a phantom state, then use my speed to pass through your body."
Ying Chengfeng considered this. "I see... Then from now on, just focus on improving your compatibility with your Martial Soul. Soul Skills aren't important."
"Mm-hmm!" Yu Feiyan gave him a sweet smile and nodded firmly.
But when Ying Chengfeng saw that smile, he had a feeling things weren't so simple.
A day later, they returned to the place where they'd built their house.
His mother, Ji Qingyi, had already returned.
When she saw the three of them, Ji Qingyi first breathed a sigh of relief, then glared angrily at Ying Chengfeng.
"What did I tell you before I left?" Ji Qingyi asked. Her voice was less gentle now and more stern.
Ying Chengfeng immediately lowered his head and eyes, completing the whole routine in a flash. Then he said,
"We ran into a Soul Beast."
At that, Ji Qingyi's face filled with concern. She rushed over, grabbed Ying Chengfeng by the arm, and carefully checked him over.
Only after confirming he wasn't injured did she ask, "If you ran into a Soul Beast, running away was the right thing to do."
"Mm-hmm," Ying Chengfeng said, nodding repeatedly.
Qian Renxue and Yu Feiyan were stunned.
They really had run into a Soul Beast, but only after they'd gone out.
At that moment, they understood the art of language.
Before you continue