Ah Yin Disappears, Tang Hao Collapses!

Ah Yin was gone!

Tang Hao felt as if his world were collapsing; after all, that Blue Silver Grass with golden veins, grown from the seed left behind after Ah Yin's sacrifice, held every ounce of his longing for her.

Tang Hao searched every corner of the stone chamber, even prying into the cracks in the stone, but there was nothing—absolutely nothing.

"What about the spirit bone? That right leg bone of Ah Yin's!"

"That spirit bone was something that fell directly from Ah Yin's body!"

Tang Hao rushed toward the spot where he had kept the spirit bone, but the result—

Still nothing!

Even the black lead box that held the spirit bone was gone!

"Who? Who on earth did this!"

"If I find out, I will never spare you!"

Tang Hao let out another roar of impotent rage. In his fury, he summoned his Clear Sky Hammer and began smashing the stone chamber wildly.

The entire mountain trembled.

Debris sprayed continuously from the cave entrance.

Yet, none of it could extinguish even a fraction of Tang Hao's rage.

After leaving Holy Soul Village, Lin Hui hid the black lead box containing the Blue Silver Emperor spirit bone in a valley about fifty kilometers from Nuoding City.

"With my current strength, absorbing this hundred-thousand-year spirit bone is too risky. It could even invite a fatal disaster, and it isn't safe to carry around. I'll just hide it here for now."

"Once my strength is sufficient, I will absorb it."

"According to the original story, this spirit bone grants a spirit master two abilities: one is flight, and the other is the healing divine skill, 'Wildfire cannot destroy it; the spring breeze brings it back to life.' Its power is absolutely at the pinnacle of this continent!"

For a civilian spirit master like Lin Hui with no background, possessing a hundred-thousand-year spirit bone at level twelve was nothing short of a miracle on this continent.

Naturally, Lin Hui was quite pleased.

"Still, I've captured the Blue Silver Emperor herself. She is the protagonist Tang San's mother and Tang Hao's wife, after all. Compared to Ah Yin, that spirit bone is more like a bonus prize."

Heh heh heh.

After hiding the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg spirit bone, Lin Hui returned to Notting Academy.

On the way back, Lin Hui occasionally scanned his spirit world with his spirit power, watching the nearly naked Ah Yin as she slept.

The vast expanses of snow-white skin, those towering peaks, and the way she looked in the deep forest, both resisting and yielding.

As he watched, Lin Hui's blood began to boil.

"She truly is a beautiful woman."

"It's just a pity she is still in a deep slumber."

Meanwhile, during the journey, Lin Hui also tried to summon the captured Blue Silver Grass, though the golden veins of the grass were hidden.

Because Ah Yin was asleep, the summoned Blue Silver Grass lacked her consciousness, yet it still obeyed Lin Hui's commands.

Although her leaves were more delicate than those of ordinary Blue Silver Grass, she looked just like any common plant.

"I never expected my Ultra Ball spirit could even isolate the aura of the Blue Silver Emperor."

"Though, if I summon the Blue Silver Emperor for battle, there is a small chance her aura might leak out. Even so, it would be difficult for a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse to detect it unless they were focusing intently."

"Therefore, as long as I don't act too ostentatiously, Tang Hao won't discover it."

"After a dozen years or so, Ah Yin might have even given birth to a third child. By then, even if Tang Hao finds out, what could he do?"

"Ah Yin will protect me, right!"

Having figured this out, Lin Hui commanded the Blue Silver Grass to spar a few times; skills like Binding were almost innate to the Blue Silver Emperor.

"I never expected that Tang San fellow would waste a spirit ring slot on such a common, trash-tier plant spirit beast. He really was cheated quite badly."

Lin Hui performed a simple test. Even though the Blue Silver Emperor he summoned looked identical to ordinary Blue Silver Grass, her strength far exceeded it.

Among spirit beasts of the same rank, she was invincible!

Furthermore, as Ah Yin's spirit power recovered, the strength of the Blue Silver Emperor he summoned would increase accordingly.

The limit of this strength was equivalent to a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast!

In other words, the first pet Lin Hui captured was essentially a divine pet that could evolve from an eight-hundred-year-old beast all the way to a hundred-thousand-year-old one.

"This is simply too strong!"

Even the usually composed Lin Hui couldn't help but marvel.

"The only remaining problem is, once I return to the academy, how am I going to explain to everyone that I've obtained a spirit ring and can summon a spirit beast to fight?"

"That really is a bit of a headache!"

Notting Academy.

After returning to the academy, Lin Hui informed Teacher Li Chun that he had already obtained his soul ring.

"What? How on earth did you manage that! When you tried to absorb a soul ring earlier, didn't it dissipate the moment it touched you?" Li Chun was quite astonished.

"Well, I used some secret techniques from my family. Although I am a commoner soul master, my ancestors were a soul master clan on this continent three hundred years ago. Even though the family declined later, some things related to martial souls were passed down."

Lin Hui spoke with a straight face; this way, he could also conveniently explain his unique insights into martial soul theory.

Hearing this, Li Chun did not press for further details.

This continent indeed possessed many reclusive clans, and there were far too many incidents of various martial soul mutations to count.

"Very well, as long as you have your first soul ring, that is what matters. To be honest, I have looked through a lot of materials over the past few days and truly could not find a solution, but since you can continue to cultivate, I am very happy for you."

"There is one more thing I must tell you. In one month, the academy's annual grand competition will be held, and all first-year students are required to participate. As one of the few students in the entire school with innate full soul power, many people are paying extra attention to you, including Tang San."

"The academy will also provide generous rewards for the top three finishers in the competition."

"Therefore, use this month to adjust yourself and strive to achieve a good ranking."

Lin Hui agreed.

"Understood, Teacher. I will work hard on my cultivation."

Lin Hui knew in his heart that this competition would not be so simple.

It involved both his previous dispute with Yu Xiaogang over soul master theory.

And it also concerned the wager he had made with Tang San later on.

In this world, strength was paramount; who was right and who was wrong was not determined by who had the more logical argument, but by the eventual outcome and the soul master's own strength.

Therefore, Lin Hui anticipated that for the sake of his reputation and to prove his soul master theories correct, Yu Xiaogang would surely go to great lengths to have Tang San deal with him.

Although he did not fear trouble, he did not want to attract unnecessary attention and simply wanted to continue his cultivation in a low-profile manner.

"This is truly a bit troublesome..." Lin Hui strode out, walking leisurely.

Two days later, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San also returned to the academy from the Soul Hunting Forest.

In the teachers' office.

Yu Xiaogang, brimming with pride, was preparing to show off the results of his and Tang San's trip to the other teachers when he heard a piece of news that shocked him.

"Lin Hui actually obtained his first soul ring too!" Yu Xiaogang was very surprised.

He had originally intended to bring Tang San to show off in front of Lin Hui, but now that both of them had obtained their first soul rings, there was nothing left to boast about.

Another opportunity to vent his frustration had vanished!