Returning to the Clan, Preparing to Hunt the Second Soul Ring

A year was neither long nor short.

Soul beast encyclopedias, herbal compendiums, comprehensive histories of the continent, maps of the various sects' territorial distributions—these things were dull theoretical knowledge to other students, but to me, they were the instruction manual for this world.

Over the past year, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang had both been sensible enough not to come looking for me again.

I ran into Tang San a few times in the corridors. His Soul Power had risen from level eleven to level fourteen, still putting him at the top among his peers. But compared to me, the gap had not narrowed—it had only grown wider.

As for Yu Xiaogang, every time he saw me, he lowered his head and hurried away.

Xiao Wu came looking for me often. Sometimes she wanted to spar, and sometimes she dragged me to the cafeteria to save seats. Whenever Tang San saw her running my way, his expression became rather subtle, but he merely shook his head and said nothing.

I did not dislike that rabbit girl. A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, her mind was as pure as blank paper. On a continent filled with schemes and calculations, that made her something rare.

What surprised me most was Yu Xiaolou. This little fatty had followed me around for a year and trained harder than anyone. Every morning, he climbed out of bed before dawn to practice circulating Soul Power, and even after lights-out, he muttered cultivation formulas beneath his blankets. I taught him several cultivation chants from the immortal cultivation world. They were nowhere near the level of the Visualization Method, but they had a low barrier to entry and suited him well.

After a year, his Soul Power had been forcibly raised from level three to level twelve, and he had also acquired his first soul ring. It came from a three-hundred-year Thunder Tooth Wolf. Its soul skill was Thunder Tooth Thrust, a single-target attack with a paralysis effect.

The day he returned to the dormitory, he was so excited that he could not sleep all night. He pulled me into a conversation until dawn, saying that he had never imagined he could become a Soul Master, much less obtain a three-hundred-year first soul ring.

My Soul Power had naturally risen to level twenty as well.

Notting Academy was now completely beneath my notice. I had read every book in the library, no one in practical combat class could take more than three of my moves, and even when Tie Shan personally sparred with me, he could only fight me to a draw without using soul skills.

There was nothing left for this academy to teach me.

When I went to see the headmaster, the old man was drinking tea in his office. His name was Mo Tianyun. He was a high-level Soul Ancestor whose martial soul was an eagle. He had served as Notting Academy's headmaster for twenty years, and he was nearly bald. When he saw me enter, he set down his teacup and sighed, wearing an expression as though he had long known this day would come.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Of course. I've seen everything you've done at the academy this past year. Level twenty Soul Power, nearly ten levels gained in a single year, without any external assistance, entirely through your own cultivation. Since Notting Academy was founded, you are the first." He paused. "Your maid, Qing Luo, sent a letter last month asking when you would return. I've been keeping it here for you. I didn't open it. Read it yourself."

He took an unsealed envelope from a drawer and placed it on the desk. I picked it up and gave it a squeeze. There was only one sheet of paper inside, but it had been folded with great care. I did not open it on the spot and instead tucked the envelope into my clothes.

Mo Tianyun watched me finish, tapped the teacup twice with his fingers, then nodded. "I approve. You are the finest student our school has produced. I hope that after you become strong, you will give something back to your alma mater."

"Don't worry, Headmaster."

"There's one more thing." Mo Tianyun stood and walked to the window. "After this semester ends, I'll be transferred to another city. Notting Academy has produced a few decent talents after you, but none of them can compare to you. That child Tang San is not bad either, but his teacher... Forget it. It has nothing to do with you. Go on."

When I left the headmaster's office, Yu Xiaolou was already waiting in the corridor, his luggage slung over his shoulder.

"Brother Tian Lin, are we really leaving?"

"You can't bear to?"

"That's not what I mean." He grinned, then glanced back toward the dormitory building.

"I just think this past year at Notting Academy was pretty interesting. Back in the clan, those direct-line descendants never gave me a second glance. But after coming here, you were the top student, and I was your brother. Everywhere we went, people treated us with respect."

I smiled and patted the back of his head. When the carriage left Nuoding City, I opened Qing Luo's letter inside the carriage.

There were only a few lines in it.

"Young Master, my martial soul has completed its final mutation. My Soul Power has also reached level fourteen. I have not yet hunted my first soul ring because I wanted to wait for Young Master to return so we could do it together. The flowers in the courtyard have bloomed, and I water them every day. When will Young Master return?"

There was no signature, only a tiny vine drawn at the bottom, with a crooked little flower at its tip.

I folded the letter and returned it to its envelope. Outside the carriage window, the scenery changed from city gates to farmland, then from farmland to wilderness. Three days later, the carriage wheels rolled over the stone road at the entrance to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's grounds, producing a dull rumble.

Qing Luo stood at the gate, still holding that old oil lamp. Carrying a lamp in broad daylight, she had probably waited so long that she had forgotten the time. When the carriage stopped, she ran over, only to abruptly stop two steps away from me and say, "Young Master, you're back."

"Yes, I'm back."

Qing Luo put down the oil lamp and led me into the courtyard. As we walked, she reported every change in the residence in detail—which tree had borne fruit, which room had lost several roof tiles to the wind, and everything else.

My gaze swept over her. After her martial soul's complete mutation, her entire temperament had changed. Before, she had been a maid who kept her head lowered and dared not look at anyone. Now, she dared to meet my eyes when she spoke.

At dusk, I went to the back mountain to find Yu Yuanzhen. I had not contacted the clan leader during the past year, so the first thing I naturally had to do upon returning was report my cultivation progress. But at the entrance to the Thunder Pool on the back mountain, the one standing guard was not Yu Yuanzhen, but an elderly man in a dark purple robe.

Yu Luomian. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's second most important figure, Thunder Douluo's younger brother. His Soul Power Level was around eighty-five, making him the clan's strongest expert after Yu Yuanzhen. I had only met him once, on the day of my martial soul awakening. Back then, he had stood among the crowd and watched me awaken the Azure Dragon martial soul without saying a single word.

"The clan leader is in seclusion, attempting to break through to level ninety-six. No one may disturb him, including you."

Yu Yuanzhen had entered seclusion. His Soul Power had been stuck at level ninety-five for nearly ten years, and this seclusion was clearly meant to achieve a breakthrough in one go. Levels ninety-five and ninety-six appeared to differ by only one level, but at the level of a Title Douluo, that single level was an insurmountable chasm.

I nodded to show my understanding, then briefly reported my cultivation over the past year. No unnecessary embellishments—level twenty Soul Power, graduated from Notting Academy, and needing to hunt my second soul ring.

Yu Luomian remained silent for a moment after hearing this before speaking.

"Before entering seclusion, my elder brother instructed that if you reached a bottleneck before he emerged, I was to take you to hunt a soul ring. We leave tomorrow morning for the depths of Sunset Forest. This time, you state your own requirements, and I will judge them based on what your body can withstand."

After saying that, he turned and left. There was no small talk, no unnecessary concern. He departed cleanly and decisively.

I watched his back disappear into the night, forming an initial judgment of this Second Elder. He and Yu Yuanzhen were biological brothers, yet their personalities were completely different.

Yu Yuanzhen appeared stern on the surface but was fiercely protective at heart. Especially when it came to safeguarding my talent, he had never been stingy with resources. Yu Luomian, however, was the kind of person who handled matters strictly by the book. He would neither give you more nor give you less. He was taking me to hunt a soul ring only because his elder brother had instructed him to do so. Nothing more.

When I returned to my courtyard, Qing Luo had already prepared dinner. Three dishes and a soup, not much in quantity, but every dish was exquisite. Her cooking had improved considerably over the past year. She had added three herbs I did not recognize to the soup, giving it a faint sweetness.

After dinner, while Qing Luo was clearing the dishes, I took a bag of Gold Soul Coins from my luggage and placed it on the table. I had earned those Gold Soul Coins through my own efforts during my year at Notting Academy. They were a teaching subsidy Headmaster Mo Tianyun had privately given me for helping train other students during practical combat class.

"This is for you."

Qing Luo stared at the bag of Gold Soul Coins in a daze. "Young Master, this is too much. I can't accept it."

"It's not a reward. It's your wages. From now on, you are no longer my maid. Starting today, you are a partner I acknowledge."

Qing Luo's eyes immediately reddened. She accepted the Gold Soul Coins, her lips moving several times, but in the end, she could not say anything. She simply bowed deeply to me.