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"Did you absorb a Soul Ring?"

The moment Bai Qing saw Tie Li, he sensed the fluctuations of Soul Power around him.

Tie Li had long prepared an explanation for this.

"While I was running for my life, I encountered a heavily injured Soul Beast. To improve my chances of surviving, I planned to kill it and make it my Soul Ring. Perhaps its injuries were too severe; it barely resisted before I killed it."

As he spoke, Tie Li released his Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

"What? A Hundred-Year Soul Ring?"

"How could you be so lucky?!"

Lu Baichuan and He Dadan stared at the yellow Soul Ring in disbelief. They could not possibly mistake the aura belonging to a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

Bai Qing's gaze shifted slightly. He sensed a trace of familiar energy within that Soul Ring.

"Your luck is pretty good." Bai Qing gave Tie Li a meaningful look and said nothing more.

Such a major incident had occurred this time, and he needed to report it to the headmaster.

Most importantly, the captain of that Soul Hunting Group had escaped.

Only after leaving the Soul Hunting Forest did the three of them finally let out long sighs of relief.

Having never experienced such turmoil before, the three of them needed nothing more than to return and rest properly.

After bringing them back to the academy gates, Bai Qing hurried off to find the headmaster.

The three parted ways at the academy entrance and returned home.

The moment Tie Li got home, he tossed his bundle aside, took off his outer clothes and inner armor, and plunged headfirst into bed.

He slept until the following morning before slowly waking up.

"Big Brother is awake! Big Brother is awake!"

Tie Wen and Tie Wu, who had been watching beside the bed, shouted toward the door the instant they saw Tie Li wake up.

Tie Niu and his wife quickly put down what they were doing and came to Tie Li's bedside.

Faced with his family's concern, Tie Li told them about what had happened, glossing over the dangerous parts.

He also specifically told them that the bundle contained the Wolf King's hide, which could be sold for a good price.

Seeing that Tie Li was fine, the family ate their usual breakfast.

After wolfing down his food, Tie Li left for the Spirit Branch Hall in Manno City.

"Becoming a Soul Master at ten years old, and with a Hundred-Year Soul Ring as your First Soul Ring..."

The middle-aged Deacon responsible for receiving him gave Tie Li a surprised look.

A new line was added to Tie Li's Soul Master handbook.

Level-Ten Soul Master. Registration date: Douluo Calendar, year 2631. Registered at the Manno City Spirit Branch Hall.

When he received a Gold Soul Coin, Tie Li realized he had hopelessly fallen in love with the little thing.

The unique scent of a Gold Soul Coin was intoxicating.

Although he had become a Soul Master, his classes still had to continue.

Tie Li returned to the academy and continued with the day's lessons. These were all things he needed to learn.

As Tie Li listened to the teacher explain the strengths and weaknesses of Martial Souls in class, he could not help considering the direction of his future development.

The Thunder Python Soul Ring had given his Martial Soul greater strength and lightning-element power. The Soul Rings he sought next would be best suited to those two attributes.

The Forging Hammer Martial Soul was not a powerful Martial Soul to begin with; it left no room for error.

If his Second Soul Ring absorbed a Soul Ring with an agility attribute, not only would it waste the Second Soul Ring, but the Soul Skill it granted would most likely be useless and clash with his own fighting style.

Unless it came from a Soul Beast with an exceptional bloodline, the Soul Ring it formed might produce a decent Soul Skill.

If he acquired Soul Rings centered on strength and lightning attributes, then even if his Martial Soul's quality was average, the stacked Soul Rings could still provide considerable enhancements.

His First Soul Ring was already a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, giving him a solid foundation.

He had originally thought the endpoint of his life would be becoming a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor. Now, he needed to revise that goal slightly; a Five-Ring Soul King would be his target.

He did not need to become a Soul King with a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Ring. At the very least, he needed two Thousand-Year Soul Rings. When that time came, he would be the strongest person in Manno City.

If he established a Soul Master clan, it would surely become Manno City's most powerful clan.

But a Soul Master clan with deep foundations required an inherited Martial Soul, a matching Meditation Method, suitable Soul Ring combinations, and much more.

The road ahead was long and arduous!

For now, it was too early to think that far ahead. He merely had a rough idea in mind.

However, when class ended, several work-study students blocked his path.

He had never had any dealings with work-study students. Conflicts usually occurred between them and the noble students.

Judging by their stance, they did not intend to let him pass.

"Maliciously provoking others and starting a fight at the academy will get you expelled.

What? You don't want to stay at the academy anymore, so you deliberately came to cause trouble for me?"

Frightened by Tie Li's words, worried expressions immediately appeared on their faces.

They did not usually pull this sort of thing when dealing with noble students.

Tie Li could not be bothered wasting words on them. He walked past them and headed for the cafeteria.

If they had been noble students, when would they ever have cared about academy rules?

This time, he ordered two extra meat dishes and three steamed buns in the cafeteria.

His Soul Power Level had risen, and so had his appetite. More importantly, the Gold Soul Coin had given him much greater confidence.

Still, he could not waste too much. He did not know whether his two younger brothers could become Soul Masters. If they awakened Innate Soul Power and entered a Junior Soul Master Academy, it would be no small expense.

After all, with him as an example, their chances of awakening Innate Soul Power should be somewhat higher than those of ordinary people.

After eating his fill and leaving the cafeteria, he ran into that group of work-study students again.

There was an additional youth leading them, and Tie Li recognized him at once.

Li Li!

Generally speaking, a Soul Master's Innate Soul Power was related to the quality of their Martial Soul. The stronger the Martial Soul, the stronger the Innate Soul Power that accompanied it.

But exceptions always existed.

Li Li was one such exception.

His Martial Soul was merely an ordinary sickle, yet his Innate Soul Power had reached Level Seven.

Li Li, a sixth-year student, had already reached Soul Power Level Seventeen. Intermediate Soul Master Academies had begun contacting him, offering to waive all tuition and miscellaneous fees, along with subsidies.

Most importantly, his First Soul Ring was also a Hundred-Year Soul Ring rather than the Ten-Year Soul Rings possessed by other students.

The story circulating around the academy was that while they had been wandering around the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest, they happened to encounter a Soul Beast that had just broken through to the hundred-year level. Since the three students traveling with him had all obtained Soul Rings, that Hundred-Year Soul Ring had conveniently gone to him.

"Why are you here again?"

"I think you may have misunderstood. I'm not here to cause trouble. I want to discuss something with you," Li Li said.

He had never wanted to become the leader of the work-study students, but they had insisted on pushing him into that position.

He had only asked someone to arrange a meeting with Tie Li, but by the time it reached their ears, it had turned into a challenge.

They had even suffered a silent loss because of it, so Li Li had no choice but to bring them here and explain.

"You came to find me. What is it?" Tie Li asked.

He had no friendship with Li Li whatsoever, so it was definitely not anything good.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

"Fine."

Although he did not know Li Li's purpose, he still wanted to find out why he had come looking for him.

The two went to the back mountain. Only after confirming that no one was nearby did Li Li speak.

"I want to cooperate with you."

"Hm?"

"I know a place where Mystic Spirit Grass grows.

"You should know about Mystic Spirit Grass. It can temper Tool Martial Souls, and it is especially effective for Martial Souls of our quality."