Tang Wulin was surprised to find that the atmosphere at home was strange today. His parents, who were eating, kept looking up at him from time to time, only to quickly look away. Even Na'er, who usually ate as much as he did, seemed distracted, and the food in front of her had barely been touched.
"Dad, Mom, what's wrong? And Na'er, you don't seem to have much of an appetite today. Are you feeling unwell?" Tang Wulin finally couldn't hold back any longer and gently set down his chopsticks.
"N-no, nothing. Maybe your father and I have caught a bit of a cold." Lang Yue stammered, then quickly changed the subject. "Hurry up and get to school. You don't want to be late."
Tang Wulin didn't press the matter. Maybe they really were feeling unwell, after all, neither his parents nor Na'er were Soul Masters.
After breakfast, Tang Wulin went straight to school.
As they heard the front door gently close, Lang Yue finally couldn't hold back any longer.
"Dear, do we really have to keep this from Wulin? Isn't that too cruel?"
Early that morning, before dawn, Na'er had woken Lang Yue and told her, "I think my family has found me. They said they can help me recover my lost memories."
Lang Yue had been shocked. After discussing it with Tang Ziran, they had decided to keep it from Tang Wulin and not tell him just yet.
Tang Ziran sighed. "As if I want to keep it from him. But you know how attached that child gets. If he finds out Na'er is leaving, who knows how long he'll be down in the dumps? It's better to keep it from him. That's better than having him go through the pain of saying goodbye, isn't it?"
"Ah, you're right." Lang Yue looked at Na'er, tears spilling from her eyes as she pulled her into her arms.
Tang Wulin couldn't bear to part with Na'er, but how could she bear to see Na'er leave? Over the past three years, she had long since come to think of Na'er as her own daughter.
"Is your family coming to get you today?"
"Mm..." Na'er nodded, wrapping her arms around Lang Yue in turn.
She couldn't bear to leave this family either. But now that her memories had awakened, she knew that if she didn't leave, she would only bring them more harm.
At ten in the morning, a knock came from outside.
"Knock, knock, knock—"
"Coming!"
Tang Ziran opened the door a crack and cautiously sized up the visitor.
He was a young man with a somewhat gloomy air and dark circles under his eyes. He didn't look like a good person.
He forced a rather terrifying smile. "Hello. I'm here to pick up the Mi—Miss."
His voice was soft, yet it sent a chill down the spine.
Only then did Tang Ziran open the door and invite him inside.
The moment he saw Na'er, the young man grew excited.
"Miss, I've finally found you!"
Na'er merely nodded in acknowledgment, then continued chatting with Lang Yue.
The young man wasn't offended. He simply stood there quietly.
Tang Ziran hesitated as he watched the scene. He wanted to ask the man to sit down and wait, but the man's intimidating presence made him reluctant to speak.
At last, Na'er finished chatting. After hugging Tang Ziran and Lang Yue goodbye, she stood up. "Let's go."
"Goodbye, Na'er," Tang Ziran and Lang Yue said softly.
Na'er managed a faint smile. "Mm. See you again."
Once they had left the house, Na'er's expression immediately turned cold.
"What should I call you?"
"My lord, you may call me Yao Ling!" The young man hurriedly bowed.
That's right, this gloomy young man was none other than Yao Ling, once ranked tenth among the Ferocious Beasts of the Star Dou Forest.
Yao Ling excelled at spatial power and transformation arts. At the same time, he was one of the least conspicuous among the Soul Beasts, and even the Spirit Pagoda and human society at large knew very little about him. So Di Tian had sent him into human society to bring Na'er back.
With Di Tian's approval, he had also developed a few contacts, just in case.
"Mm. Let's go back."
"Yes!"
With Yao Ling leading the way, the two got into a Soul Guidance Car. Next, they would take a Soul Guidance Train to a city near the Star Dou Forest, then enter the forest directly through spatial teleportation.
Meanwhile, the moment Tang Wulin returned to the classroom, he caused quite a stir.
Tang Wulin's progress was nothing short of a miracle. Despite having only three levels of Innate Soul Power and Blue Silver Grass as his Martial Soul, he had reached level ten in just two years, absorbed a Soul Ring, and become a true Soul Master.
And now, according to the teachers, he had already reached level thirteen.
Tang Wulin had become the textbook example of "someone else's child." During every class, teachers in the latest two Soul Master Class cohorts would say things like, "Look at Tang Wulin in third grade. That's what hard work looks like! 'There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters.' You really are the worst class I've ever taught!"
"Boss, do you know?" Wan Yunchao saw Tang Wulin arrive and immediately hurried over to whisper to him.
Wan Yunchao was Tang Wulin's deskmate, an amusing little chubby boy whose Martial Soul was a blade and who had five levels of Innate Soul Power. He had originally looked down on Tang Wulin, but after seeing how rapidly Tang Wulin improved, he'd willingly started calling him Boss.
Tang Wulin didn't object to being called that. He asked, "What have you heard?"
"Zhou Shaolong recently broke through to level ten too. He's gone to get a Soul Spirit now. His family's loaded, and I heard they're going to buy him a yellow Soul Spirit."
Tang Wulin didn't even blink. "Oh."
What did any of that have to do with him? A year ago, he might have been surprised by a yellow Soul Spirit, but a year spent forging had made him as silent as metal.
Soon, the bell rang, and Lin Ximeng walked in carrying a thick stack of forms and several bags.
"Good. As of today, six students in our class have reached level ten. I'll hand out your records now, along with the academy's recommendation letters. If your family has another plan, come see me after class at noon. Be sure to keep your records safe once you've received them. You'll need them to enroll in an intermediate academy. You don't need to come to class after this, either, so get some good rest."
"Of course, those who haven't reached level ten don't need to panic. As long as you break through before the intermediate academies begin their new term, you can come to the academy for a recommendation letter."
The morning classes ended quickly. Tang Wulin received his record folder, feeling much more at ease.
"Next, I'll keep learning forging from the teacher, then head to Eastsea City a little early so I can find the spiritual item I need."
On the way home, Tang Wulin walked along, making plans.
"Mom! I'm back!"
Tang Wulin pushed open the door, but Lang Yue was the only one at home.
"Huh? Where did Na'er go? Isn't she home?"
Lang Yue's heart tightened. She handed Tang Wulin a note. "Wulin, Na'er left. Her family came to get her."
The words rang through Tang Wulin's mind like a thunderclap, leaving him rooted to the spot.