Feeling the heartfelt concern and earnest reminders from Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, warmth instantly flowed through Su Ming's heart, gentle and reassuring. He quickly waved his hands and smiled to put them at ease. "All right, all right, I know what I'm doing. How could I possibly neglect my own cultivation? Forging and refining metal is meant to make it suitable for more powerful Soul Tools. The finer the materials and the more polished the forging process, the greater the power of the Soul Tools produced."
He paused, confidence in his eyes, then asked them, "Haven't you noticed? The quality and power of the Soul Tools I forge myself are far beyond those made by the regular students in Shrek Academy's Soul Tool Department."
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi were both taken aback. After thinking it over, they suddenly understood.
It was true. The Soul Tools Su Ming made were far stronger than others of the same level.
Su Ming was only a Level 3 Soul Engineer, yet the destructive power, stability, and sustained output of the Level 3 Soul Tools he forged himself actually crushed those of the Level 5 Soul Tools made by ordinary students at Shrek Academy.
What was more, his mind was always brimming with novel, wildly imaginative ideas. The Soul Tools he designed had strange forms and unusual functions, all original designs no one else had ever heard of or seen.
Recently, he had shut himself away to study new Soul Tool structures, acting all mysterious. No matter how the two of them tried to pry, coax, or pressure him, he wouldn't let a single detail slip.
In the end, Su Ming had relented and promised that as soon as his new Soul Tool was finished, he would bring it out for them to see and test. Only then did Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi let the matter drop and stop asking.
After finishing the subject, Su Ming walked straight to his bed, casually set his luggage aside, and flopped down without a care for appearances. He sprawled across the bed, limbs spread wide, completely relaxed and free of even a trace of the image of a young idol.
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi exchanged helpless smiles, then each returned to his own bed and lay down.
In the quiet, Su Ming suddenly remembered the bustling scene he had seen outside earlier and asked offhandedly, "By the way, it's especially noisy outside today, with people coming and going nonstop. What's the occasion?"
Bei Bei explained slowly, "The next batch of new students will be arriving to register soon, so of course the academy is bustling. You really are out of the loop—you don't know anything. I also heard there are several genius Soul Elders with three Soul Rings among this year's new students. Once registration opens, want to go take a look?"
Xu Sanshi immediately waved him off, his tone full of smug affection. "No time, no time. I have to keep Jiang Nannan company."
Then he changed tack and looked at Bei Bei with a crafty glint. "By the way, aren't Tang Ya and Nannan best friends? Get Tang Ya to talk her into joining the Tang Sect. I'll formally join too, and then I can stay by Nannan's side with every excuse in the book. Heh heh."
Seeing Xu Sanshi's calculating expression as he treated the Tang Sect like an accomplice in chasing after a girl, Bei Bei was both exasperated and amused. He gave him a light punch, gentle enough to do no harm, and teased, "Get lost. The Tang Sect is an inherited sect, not a place for you to flirt and chase girls. Besides, you've been pursuing Nannan for so long without making any progress. You haven't done something behind her back that you're ashamed of, have you?"
Xu Sanshi hurriedly dodged to the side and muttered in protest, "What do you mean, something to be ashamed of? Fine, don't help me, then. I'm going to find Nannan. I'll head out first!"
Watching Xu Sanshi flee in a somewhat flustered hurry, Su Ming and Bei Bei exchanged amused smiles and shook their heads helplessly.
The young man's smile had barely faded when something vitally important suddenly flashed through Su Ming's mind. His expression tightened slightly, and he quickly turned to Bei Bei and asked, "By the way, has Senior Tang Ya gone to hunt for her third Soul Ring yet?"
Bei Bei paused, then gave Su Ming a puzzled look. "She's my girlfriend. How come you're more worried and eager than I am? Not yet. We haven't found the right opportunity. Why are you suddenly asking?"
Hearing this, Su Ming secretly let out a long breath of relief, glad in his heart.
Thank goodness. Luckily, she hadn't hunted for her third Soul Ring yet.
He had nearly forgotten about Electrolux, the world's earliest pioneer of Soul Spirits.
The unique method for passing down Soul Spirits had to remain firmly in his hands, no matter what.
Bei Bei glanced at Su Ming and smiled as he patted his shoulder. "What's up? There's something off about that look in your eyes. Don't tell me you want to come with us?"
Su Ming had been seen through, but he didn't admit it outright. He merely waved a hand, brushing it off with a vague excuse. "Oh, I'm just curious. I'll go have a look. By the way, there's something I need to stress to you again. Same as before—when you pick a Soul Beast for Tang Ya, make sure to avoid anything sinister or violent, or with dark attributes. Her Martial Soul is already unusual. If she absorbs an evil Soul Ring, it could easily affect her mind, and then there might be no bringing her back."
Others might not have noticed, but Su Ming understood it perfectly.
He knew that Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul concealed the potential for darkness for two reasons. First, he knew the original course of events and where this Martial Soul would eventually lead. Second, there was the Snow Mastiff Armor Martial Soul within him.
The Snow Mastiff Armor was an armor of justice, naturally sensitive to darkness, evil, and violent auras.
When he had first met Tang Ya, he had already sensed a faint, hidden danger of darkness in what seemed to be her ordinary Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. That was why he had specifically reminded Bei Bei early on to hold the line when it came to Tang Ya's Soul Rings and never let her be corrupted by evil forces and ultimately fall down the path of an Evil Soul Master.
Su Ming himself also had an unshakable code of conduct.
He wasn't some inflexible defender of morality. He believed in settling grudges and repaying wrongs, and he never meddled in other people's business. Even if someone was ruthless and cold-hearted, as long as they settled their debts fairly and didn't involve the innocent, he could turn a blind eye.
But if anyone took up the butcher's knife against ordinary people for revenge, power, or selfish desire, wantonly trampling the lives of the innocent, then they had crossed Su Ming's one unforgivable line.
When that happened, he would become the executioner without hesitation, personally hunting down those madmen one by one.
Though Tang Ya's Dark Blue Silver Grass had a somewhat cold, shadowy aura and looked a little dangerous, Su Ming saw things clearly: her heart remained pure. She had never slaughtered the innocent or done anything monstrous, outrageous, or beyond the pale.
A Martial Soul with dark attributes didn't mean its owner was dark.
As far as Su Ming was concerned, a person should never be judged by whether their Martial Soul was good or evil.
So from beginning to end, he had held no prejudice against her at all. He simply regarded Tang Ya as an ordinary friend, a companion who needed protection.