The Village Chief's Son, Soul Grandmaster Yu Qingfeng

At Old Man Yu's home, Yu Yan met the greatest pride of the old man's life: his son, Yu Qingfeng, who had become a Soul Master.

Yu Qingfeng was burly, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a close-cropped haircut and an ordinary face that would be hard to pick out in a crowd.

"This is my son, Yu Qingfeng. I imagine Yu Yan and Xiao Wu have both heard about him, so I won't waste time introducing him further."

Old Man Yu briefly introduced his son, then began introducing Yu Yan and Xiao Wu to Yu Qingfeng.

"Qingfeng, these are the two children from Fish Village I mentioned in my letter, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu. They both have Innate Soul Power of rank seven and a half. They're far better than you were back then."

"Not just better than me—they're way better than me. My Innate Soul Power was only rank two. I can't compare with these two little geniuses."

Yu Qingfeng emphasized this without hesitation. As he spoke, he walked up to Yu Yan and Xiao Wu and looked them over.

"Hello. I'm Yu Qingfeng, a rank 27 power-attack-type Soul Grandmaster. My father has already told me about you. Whenever you need to obtain Soul Rings, just come find me."

"Thank you, Brother Feng. I'll have to trouble you when the time comes."

Yu Yan was sincerely grateful to this good man who was willing to help him obtain Soul Rings for free.

"Thank you."

Xiao Wu expressed her thanks as well, though she did not seem very enthusiastic.

As a Soul Beast who had taken human form, Xiao Wu simply could not be happy when she heard about hunting Soul Beasts for Soul Rings.

"Don't be so formal. For these next two years, I'll be looking after you. In another two years, maybe you'll be the ones looking after me. Just like my old man said, we're all from the same village. It's only right that we help each other."

Yu Qingfeng understood how important Innate Soul Power was, and he deeply felt that his father's decision had been incredibly wise.

One side wanted to befriend them and invest in their future.

The other was grateful and took the initiative to show goodwill.

With deliberate effort from both sides, they quickly grew familiar, like old friends reunited after a long time apart.

Through their conversation, Yu Yan learned that Yu Qingfeng's Martial Soul was the Big-Headed Black Fish, also the result of a Martial Soul Mutation.

As its name suggested, the Big-Headed Black Fish was a black fish with a relatively large head. The defining traits of this Martial Soul were its large, hard head.

Therefore, Yu Qingfeng had developed his Martial Soul around that hard head.

While chatting with Yu Qingfeng, Yu Yan also curiously asked what he thought of Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, the founder of the Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls.

When that subject came up, Yu Qingfeng was extremely dismissive. He told Yu Yan that people called Yu Xiaogang "Grandmaster" not out of respect, but as mockery.

If a rank 29 Soul Grandmaster could be called a Grandmaster just for writing some unverified theories, then Yu Qingfeng could write something himself and become a Grandmaster too.

After mocking him, Yu Qingfeng also told Yu Yan that some of what Yu Xiaogang had published was still useful. It could be read critically, but should not be dismissed outright.

Having already gotten to know Yu Yan, Xiao Wu immediately saw through the insincere smile on his face. Just like when they had first met, it was polite—and fake.

Xiao Wu had questions in her heart, but she did not voice them right away. She planned to ask him after they returned that night.

Three Soul Masters with Soul Power worked several times faster than ordinary people.

The simplest example was the fishing nets. Nets that took several people to retrieve could be easily hauled in by Yu Qingfeng alone.

When pulling in the nets, Yu Qingfeng did not even use Martial Soul Possession. He relied purely on his physical strength.

That enormous strength made him seem like a superhuman.

After witnessing it firsthand, Yu Yan's understanding of a Soul Master's power deepened further, and his desire to possess that power grew even stronger.

"Hahaha, Little Yan, don't be too envious. Your Innate Soul Power is high. You'll soon have strength like mine too."

After dragging the fishing net ashore, Yu Qingfeng immediately saw the envy in Yu Yan's eyes. He had worn the same expression before when watching other Soul Masters compete at the Soul Fighting Arena.

"Mm."

Yu Yan did not try to deny it. He nodded seriously and openly admitted his desire for such power.

With one Soul Grandmaster and two Soul Scholars working together, all the fish from the four fishponds were harvested in a single day.

Before leaving, Yu Yan was forced to take two Great Green Fish. Old Man Yu had firmly stuffed them into his hands, giving him no chance to refuse.

After repeatedly refusing to no avail, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu each carried a Great Green Fish and headed home.

"Xiao Wu, you didn't seem very happy today. Is there a reason?"

On the way home, Yu Yan took the initiative to chat with Xiao Wu, hoping to cheer her up a little.

Happiness could be contagious, and so could sadness.

Xiao Wu silently considered how to explain what was making her unhappy. She did not even know whether she should say such things to Yu Yan.

Yu Yan did not urge Xiao Wu. He waited for her either to speak on her own or keep silent. There was no use rushing such matters.

They remained silent all the way. After returning home and closing the courtyard gate, Xiao Wu suddenly raised her head to look at Yu Yan. "Yu Yan, do Soul Masters have to kill Soul Beasts in order to break through?"

"Mm... that question is open to debate, but for now, that's the only known method."

That was a lie. Besides obtaining Soul Rings through normal means, Yu Yan knew several other ways to acquire them, but none of those methods could be revealed directly.

For someone who had grown up in Fish Village, speaking of those methods would be unreasonable.

Hearing Yu Yan say that, Xiao Wu's mood visibly sank further. After placing the Green Fish on the table, she sat in a chair and stared at the night sky, seemingly lost in thought.

Yu Yan put the Great Green Fish from the table into the ice bucket beside it for safekeeping, then sat down next to Xiao Wu and got straight to the point. "Do you pity those Soul Beasts?"

Yu Yan truly had many thoughts he wanted to discuss with Xiao Wu about this, and he wanted to know what she thought.

"Mm. It just feels a little cruel."

Since Yu Yan had guessed it, Xiao Wu simply nodded and admitted that this was indeed why she was unhappy.

"What I'm about to say may be a little cruel and somewhat cold-hearted. Do you want to hear it?"

Before continuing the discussion, Yu Yan asked Xiao Wu whether she wanted to keep listening.

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at Yu Yan. "You've already started talking, and you deliberately asked to stir up my curiosity. Are you planning to stop here?"

"I was just worried you were too young to handle what I'm about to say." After a brief explanation, Yu Yan asked his first question. "What do you think about Soul Beasts eating other Soul Beasts?"