Ah Yin was gone!
Tang Hao felt as if the sky had fallen. After all, the golden-patterned Blue Silver Grass that had grown from the seed left behind after Ah Yin's sacrifice held all his longing for her.
Tang Hao even searched every corner of the stone chamber, prying at the cracks between the stones, but there was nothing. Nothing at all.
"Where's the Soul Bone? Ah Yin's right leg bone!"
"That Soul Bone fell right out of Ah Yin's body!"
Tang Hao frantically searched the spot where he had kept the Soul Bone, but—
There was still nothing!
Even the black lead box that had held it was gone!
"Who did this? Who?!"
"If I find out, I'll never forgive you!"
Tang Hao let out another helpless roar of rage. Furious, he even summoned the Clear Sky Hammer and began smashing everything in the stone chamber.
The whole mountain shook.
Rubble kept spraying out of the cave entrance.
But nothing could extinguish even a fraction of Tang Hao's fury.
After leaving Holy Soul Village, Lin Hui hid the black lead box containing the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone in a valley about fifty kilometers from Nuoding City.
"With my current strength, absorbing this Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone would be far too risky. It could even get me killed, and carrying it around isn't safe either. I'd better leave it here for now."
"Once I'm stronger, I'll absorb it."
"Going by the original story, this Soul Bone will grant a Soul Master two skills: the ability to fly, and a healing divine skill—the kind that says, 'Though wildfires never consume it, the spring breeze brings it back to life.' Its power will definitely be among the very best on this continent!"
For a commoner Soul Master like Lin Hui, possessing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone at the age of twelve was nothing short of a miracle on this continent.
So Lin Hui was quite pleased.
"But I've captured the Blue Silver Emperor herself. She's the protagonist Tang San's mother and Tang Hao's wife. Compared to Ah Yin, that Soul Bone feels more like a bonus prize."
Heh heh heh.
After stashing the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg Soul Bone, Lin Hui returned to Notting Academy.
On the way back, he would occasionally sweep his Martial Soul world with Soul Power, watching Ah Yin sleep, nearly naked.
Expanses of snowy white, those lofty peaks, and the alluring, coy look in the depths of the forest.
The longer Lin Hui looked, the more his blood began to surge.
"She really is a beautiful mature woman."
"It's just a shame she's still asleep."
During the journey, Lin Hui also tried summoning the captured Blue Silver Grass. Its golden patterns had been concealed.
Because Ah Yin was asleep, the Blue Silver Grass he summoned had no consciousness of her own, but she still obeyed Lin Hui's commands.
Her leaves were finer than those of ordinary Blue Silver Grass, but otherwise she looked just like any other Blue Silver Grass.
"I never expected my Ultra Ball Martial Soul could even conceal the Blue Silver Emperor's aura."
"Still, if I summon the Blue Silver Emperor to fight, there's a small chance her aura might leak out. Even so, unless a Titled Douluo focuses closely on it, it'll be hard to detect."
"So as long as I don't draw too much attention, Tang Hao won't find out."
"If I keep it secret for another ten years or so, Ah Yin might have had three children by then. Even if Tang Hao finds out at that point, what can he do?"
"Ah Yin will protect me, right?"
Once he had thought it through, Lin Hui had the Blue Silver Grass fight a few simple battles. The Bind skill seemed to come naturally to the Blue Silver Emperor.
"This common plant Soul Beast trait is so worthless, yet Tang San wasted a Soul Ring slot on it. He really got cheated badly."
Lin Hui ran a few simple tests. Though the Blue Silver Emperor he summoned looked much like ordinary Blue Silver Grass, her strength far surpassed theirs.
Among Soul Beasts of the same rank, she was practically invincible!
What was more, as Ah Yin's Soul Power recovered, the Blue Silver Emperor Lin Hui summoned would grow stronger as well.
And her strength could eventually reach the level of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!
In other words, Lin Hui's first captured pet was a divine beast that could keep evolving from an eight-hundred-year Soul Beast all the way to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
"That's incredible!"
Even Lin Hui, usually so composed, couldn't help exclaiming.
"The remaining problem is how to explain to everyone, once I'm back at the academy, that I've obtained a Soul Ring and can summon Soul Beasts to fight."
"This is giving me a headache!"
Notting Academy.
After returning to the academy, Lin Hui told Teacher Li Chun that he had obtained a Soul Ring.
"What? How did you manage that? When you tried absorbing a Soul Ring before, it disappeared the moment it touched you!" Li Chun was astonished.
"Well, I used some family techniques. I may be a commoner Soul Master, but three hundred years ago, my ancestors belonged to a Soul Master clan on this continent. The clan later fell into decline, but some knowledge related to Martial Souls was passed down."
Lin Hui delivered his explanation with a straight face. That way, he could also account for his unusual insights into Martial Soul Theory.
Hearing this, Li Chun didn't press him.
There really were quite a few reclusive families on this continent, and cases of Martial Soul Mutation were indeed all too common.
"Fine. The important thing is that you've obtained your First Soul Ring. To be honest, I've looked through a lot of materials these past few days, but I couldn't find a way to solve your problem. Still, I'm very happy that you can keep cultivating."
"There's something else I need to tell you. The academy's annual tournament is a month away, and all first-year students will have to compete. You're one of the few students in the school with Innate Full Soul Power, so plenty of people are paying special attention to you, including Tang San."
"The academy will also give generous rewards to the top three."
"So use this month to get yourself ready. Do your best to place well."
Lin Hui agreed.
"All right, Teacher. I'll work hard at cultivating."
Lin Hui knew the tournament wouldn't be so simple.
It concerned his earlier dispute with Yu Xiaogang over Soul Master Theory.
It also concerned his later bet with Tang San.
This world valued strength above all. Right and wrong weren't decided by who made the better argument, but by the results and the Soul Master's own power.
So Lin Hui expected Yu Xiaogang to do everything he could to make Tang San deal with him, all to save face and prove his Soul Master Theory was right.
Lin Hui wasn't afraid of trouble, but he didn't want to attract too much attention either. He just wanted to keep cultivating quietly.
"This really is a bit of a headache..." Lin Hui strode out at an easy pace.
Two days later, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San also returned to the academy from Soul Hunting Forest.
Teachers' office.
Yu Xiaogang was feeling rather pleased with himself and was about to brag to the teachers about what he and Tang San had gained from their trip when he heard some shocking news.
"Lin Hui has obtained his First Soul Ring too?!" Yu Xiaogang was stunned.
He'd been planning to take Tang San over to Lin Hui and show off. But now that both of them had obtained their First Soul Rings, there was nothing left to brag about.
There went another chance to vent his pent-up anger!