Xiao Wu Was Afraid of This

Tang San stood there in a daze.

Things had developed far too quickly.

Before Tang San could respond as to whether he agreed to share a bed with Xiao Wu, she had already reached an agreement with Lin Hao in the blink of an eye.

"A silk quilt?" Tang San had lived two lives. He might not recognize Soul Beasts or Spirit Rings, but he could identify silk.

After examining it, he confirmed that Lin Hao's bedding was genuine silk. And it was high-quality silk at that.

Whew!

Was it normal for a work-study student to own a silk quilt?

Tang San asked, "Lin Hao, where did you buy this silk quilt?"

As far as Tang San knew, Lin Hao was an orphan adopted by Old Jack from the village.

As the village chief, Old Jack had no children of his own and often helped others financially. As a result, despite being the village chief, Old Jack was not well-off and actually lived rather frugally.

Lin Hao paused for a moment, then smiled and asked in return, "Didn't I tell you? I took someone as my master. What I have is related to my master!"

"Master? Who is it?" Tang San pressed.

"You wouldn't know him even if I told you." Lin Hao answered casually.

Tang San frowned slightly as he pondered.

It was not just the silk quilt, but also Lin Hao's clothes.

Ever since Lin Hao returned after disappearing some time ago, Tang San had realized that he could no longer understand him.

Lin Hao had begun to grow wealthier. He had transformed from a country boy into someone who seemed like a young noble.

And there were also those combat techniques Lin Hao had used to defeat Tang San.

Tang San pondered to himself, Could he really have found himself a good master?

After lunch, Wang Sheng declared that he would take Lin Hao out to have a look around Nuoding City.

They played around until evening before returning to the dormitory.

Tired from walking all day, they bathed after entering the dormitory and immediately went to bed.

In his sleep, Lin Hao was shoved hard by someone.

"Lin Hao!"

"What is it, Xiao Wu?"

"You crossed the line!"

"I was asleep. I really didn't do it on purpose."

"I think you did it on purpose."

"Fine, I did it on purpose."

"Y-you... you really did it on purpose?" Xiao Wu glared at Lin Hao.

"I already explained that it wasn't on purpose. You insisted on believing it was deliberate, so what would be the point of me saying it wasn't?" Lin Hao countered, then turned over and went back to sleep.

Xiao Wu was speechless. Looking at Lin Hao lying there, she said unhappily, "Lin Hao, what do you mean by that?"

"I mean I'm sleeping. What else could I mean? I've already moved back to my own side."

"We haven't even cleared this up yet. You're being really unreasonable!" Xiao Wu pouted.

Boom!

Suddenly, a clap of thunder exploded outside. Startled, Xiao Wu reflexively wrapped her arms around Lin Hao's back.

Feeling the softness against his back, Lin Hao froze. His drowsiness vanished completely, and he opened his eyes to ask, "Xiao Wu, what do you mean by this?"

"I... I..." Acting on impulse, Xiao Wu quickly pulled away from Lin Hao.

Boom!

At that very moment, another clap of thunder sounded outside the window.

Xiao Wu could not help but hug Lin Hao again.

Lin Hao paused, then slowly turned around. Facing the curled-up Xiao Wu, he asked, "Are you afraid of thunder?"

Xiao Wu nodded slightly.

Lin Hao reached out and pulled Xiao Wu into his arms. "Don't be afraid. I'm here, so don't be afraid!"

Xiao Wu froze for a moment. She felt that she and Lin Hao were getting far too close.

Previously, she had not paid much attention to it because of Lin Hao's age.

But things were different now. The two of them were hugging each other.

Just as Xiao Wu felt it was improper and wanted to push Lin Hao away, another clap of thunder frightened her so badly that she did not dare leave his embrace.

The inside of Dorm Seven was dim. From time to time, flashes of lightning shone in through the window. Some unused beds piled together looked rather menacing at that moment, like ghostly shadows.

Lin Hao might not have known that Xiao Wu's mother had died on a stormy night filled with thunder and rain.

That night, Bibi Dong had killed Xiao Wu's mother. From then on, Xiao Wu had been left with a lingering fear—she was afraid of thunder.

One day later, Soul Hunting Forest.

One adult and one child explored the forest.

The older man wore luxurious clothes and looked to be in his forties. Four Spirit Rings hovered beneath his feet, colored yellow, yellow, purple, and purple.

He held a red saber in his hand, while a black-haired, black-eyed boy followed behind him.

"Lin Hao, are you getting impatient?"

"Headmaster, I'm not impatient. A Spirit Master only gets one chance to obtain a Spirit Ring at each stage. I'm willing to wait."

After the opening ceremony, Lin Hao had requested that the academy help him hunt a Soul Beast and obtain a Spirit Ring.

Because Lin Hao possessed Innate Full Soul Power and exceptional talent, he was highly likely to become the academy's living advertisement in the future.

Thus, the academy attached great importance to the matter.

After deliberation, the academy decided that the headmaster himself would enter Soul Hunting Forest to help Lin Hao hunt a Soul Beast.

Since entering the forest, they had already spent half a day searching.

During that half day, they had encountered several Soul Beasts, but their cultivation periods had been too low to meet Lin Hao and the headmaster's requirements.

The sky gradually darkened, and the headmaster had no choice but to light a bonfire in the forest.

Lin Hao asked doubtfully, "Firelight can easily attract Soul Beasts. Isn't it bad for us to light a bonfire?"

"Your analysis makes sense. But what if I did it deliberately?"

"You did it deliberately?"

"Firelight can attract Soul Beasts and bring us danger. But it can also save us the trouble of searching for them. Remember, if you are not confident in your own strength, do not imitate me."

The Soul Beasts in Soul Hunting Forest were not particularly old. Soul Beasts with a thousand years of cultivation were already extremely rare.

The headmaster was a four-ring Soul Ancestor. He was confident that if they encountered a hundred-year Soul Beast, he could lead Lin Hao away unharmed.

Moo!

The cry of a rhinoceros came from over ten meters away.

The headmaster stood up and said excitedly, "Speak of the devil, Lin Hao. A Soul Beast suitable for you has arrived!"

Lin Hao looked toward the sound.

With a wave of his hand, the headmaster used Soul Power to stir up dirt and extinguish the bonfire. Then the fourth Spirit Ring beneath his feet lit up, and he swung his sword as he charged at the rhinoceros ahead.

The rhinoceros refused to back down and charged toward the headmaster. Every step it took made the ground tremble slightly, carrying the heavy, fierce aura of an earth-born beast.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After more than a dozen exchanges, the rhinoceros that had been drawn over by the firelight was badly injured and knocked to the ground by the headmaster.

Lin Hao walked to the headmaster's side.

The headmaster said, "This is an Earth Vein Giant Rhino. It is a typical earth-element heavy-armored Soul Beast. Its body resembles that of a giant rhinoceros, but it is even more solid and massive. Once it reaches a hundred years of cultivation, it grows over three zhang in length and nearly two zhang at the shoulder, with limbs as thick as palace pillars. For every additional hundred years of cultivation, another pattern appears on its horn. Look, the fourth earth-element pattern is nearly formed. Its cultivation is close to four hundred years. It is suitable to become your Spirit Ring."

As he spoke, the headmaster flipped his empty hand over and took out a dagger from his storage Soul Tool, handing it to Lin Hao.

"Lin Hao, kill it. When a Spirit Master absorbs a Spirit Ring, personally ending the Soul Beast's life is beneficial to absorbing the Spirit Ring."

Lin Hao reached out and took the dagger from the headmaster. After hesitating for a while, he plunged the blade into the Earth Vein Giant Rhino's throat. Blood instantly gushed out, splattering across Lin Hao's face.

The Earth Vein Giant Rhino convulsed for a while before lying motionless from excessive blood loss. Immediately afterward, a yellow Spirit Ring bearing four engraved patterns floated up from its corpse.

The fourth engraved pattern was nearly perfect. This showed that its cultivation was close to four hundred years.