"Teacher, Lin Mo..."
Tang San was still a little dazed, as if he had just woken from a dream, but his voice brimmed with delight.
After absorbing the Soul Ring just now, he had confirmed a question that had puzzled him for a long time.
The inner energy he cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill was indeed Soul Power in this world.
And with the help of the Azure Vine Soul Ring's power, his Mysterious Heaven Skill had finally broken through the bottleneck of the first level and reached the second.
The inner energy flowed noticeably faster through his meridians, and every movement filled him with a sense of ease unlike anything he had felt before.
This discovery delighted Tang San immensely. It meant there was a good chance he could make the Tang Sect flourish in this world.
Since the Mysterious Heaven Skill could break through with the aid of a Soul Ring, that meant he could also cultivate the Tang Sect Secret Arts he had learned in his previous life to profound levels in this world.
It was just that he needed to use Soul Rings as a medium.
"Xiao San, what Soul Skill did you obtain?" Yu Xiaogang asked with concern.
Very few people who possessed the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul awakened Soul Power, and even fewer managed to reach level ten and become Soul Masters.
In his entire life, Yu Xiaogang had only ever seen one person like Tang San, who had not only awakened Soul Power but was also a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power.
Yu Xiaogang couldn't be sure what changes would occur in Tang San's Blue Silver Grass after he absorbed the Soul Ring of an Azure Vine Soul Beast, another Plant-type Soul Beast adept at life.
All he could guarantee was that absorbing a Soul Ring produced by this Plant-type Soul Beast would benefit Tang San and do him no harm.
"Lin Mo woke up a moment before you. After absorbing the Vajra Ape's Soul Ring, he obtained an excellent Soul Skill."
Yu Xiaogang pointed at Lin Mo.
Lin Mo nodded. "It's a defensive Soul Skill. It greatly improves my ability to survive."
Tang San sensed his Soul Power for a moment. Just like before, a yellow Soul Ring appeared beneath his feet, and soon, deep-blue Blue Silver Grass poured out from his palm.
The Soul Ring's radiance and the Blue Silver Grass's color complemented each other, leaving a faint blue trail in the air.
But unlike before, when it had been frail and slender, the Blue Silver Grass was now nearly five fingers wide, up from less than half a finger.
It was no longer so brittle that it would snap at the slightest bend. It had the distinctive suppleness of a vine.
Tang San looked down at the Blue Silver Grass surging from his palm, delight flashing in his eyes.
Under Tang San's control, the Blue Silver Grass shot out in every direction and coiled around several small trees as thick as arms.
It flew incredibly fast, wrapping around the trunks almost in the blink of an eye.
As Tang San exerted force with his right arm, the small trees bent beneath the pull, their trunks creaking.
Yet the Blue Silver Grass held fast around them, showing no sign of breaking.
"Excellent, excellent! It seems having you absorb a Plant Soul Ring really was the right choice!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up, and his voice grew even more excited.
"What about your Soul Skill? What Soul Skill did this Azure Vine give you?"
Tang San answered without hesitation. "Binding."
As soon as Tang San spoke, the Blue Silver Grass seemed to come alive. It tightened on its own, binding the small trees securely.
Lin Mo watched the scene with interest. Compared with the Blue Silver Grass in his memories, Tang San's had indeed changed quite a bit.
It was much stronger than before.
And now, after being enhanced by the Azure Vine Soul Ring, its toughness was already quite impressive.
It could bind small trees as thick as a person's arm. It would only be more effective when wrapped around a person.
Tang San's First Soul Skill, Binding, bore some resemblance to the way the Azure Vine had bound the Vajra Ape earlier.
The Azure Vine had looked much the same when it coiled around the Vajra Ape. If a strength-type Soul Beast was caught in its vines, it would take quite a bit of effort to break free.
This Binding Soul Skill seemed much stronger than Bind. It had more force behind it.
The only thing Lin Mo couldn't help grumbling about was that, though Binding seemed a little stronger than Bind, at its core, it was still the same old trick!
Tang San was naturally very pleased with his First Soul Skill. With this Soul Skill, he could use his Hidden Weapons to hit stationary targets.
As long as his opponent was bound by the Blue Silver Grass, his Hidden Weapons would hit without fail. He wouldn't even need to account for dodging or predict where they would move.
After finishing their Soul Hunting in the Star Dou Great Forest, Lin Mo and the others didn't linger. They left the Soul Hunting Forest and returned to Notting Academy.
Yu Xiaogang walked at the front to lead the way, while Lin Mo and Tang San followed behind. The three of them retraced the route they had taken to get there.
Thanks to the Storage Soul Tool Tang San now carried, the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, they had plenty of storage space.
The belt had twenty-four jade stones, each with its own separate storage space.
Though the capacity of each one wasn't particularly large, together they amounted to quite a lot.
They brought back all the spoils they had collected in the Soul Hunting Forest.
The corpses of the Azure Vine and the Vajra Ape could be sold for some Gold Soul Coins, while Yu Xiaogang asked to take the Datura Snake's corpse and gallbladder.
Its gallbladder was a precious ingredient for making antidotes, and its skin could also be made into soft armor.
And for Yu Xiaogang, a rare Soul Beast like the Datura Snake was an especially valuable specimen for research.
Lin Mo was more than happy to sell the items directly to Yu Xiaogang. That saved him an extra trip.
Yu Xiaogang offered a fair price, even a little higher than the market rate.
By the time Lin Mo took Tang San to the Spirit Hall Branch to register as Soul Masters and collect this month's Soul Master stipend, then returned to the dormitory, it was already dark.
Incidentally, while collecting their stipend, Lin Mo and Tang San had also checked their current Soul Power Levels.
As expected, Lin Mo's Soul Power Level was twelve, while Tang San's was thirteen.
Lin Mo wasn't surprised by the one-level difference between them.
After all, Tang San had already been at the level-ten bottleneck for some time before the Martial Soul Awakening began.
And after his Martial Soul Awakening, he had cultivated for some additional time.
Given the circumstances, it was only natural that Tang San's Soul Power Level was slightly higher after they absorbed Soul Rings of roughly equal quality.
Dorm Seven.
Xiao Wu was standing at the dormitory entrance, her cheeks puffed out as she glared at Lin Mo, eyes brimming with fighting spirit.
Her hands were on her hips, and her long scorpion braid hung down her back. She looked as though she had been waiting for a long time.
"Lin Mo, I'm a One-Ring Soul Master now too. I want to spar with you again!"
"I'll prove that I'm the undisputed big sister of Dorm Seven!"