Impulsive Ma Xiaotao (Please keep reading~ Please vote~)

Tang Wulin rose to his feet, bowed to Mu En, and answered with a smile, "Thank you, Master." Then he turned and left the Sea God Pavilion.

The moment the wooden door gently closed behind him, morning light streamed through the gaps in the Golden Ancient Tree's branches and leaves, scattering flecks of gold across his shoulders.

Tang Wulin returned to his room and resumed his intense cultivation.

No matter how many calculations or plans one made, they all came down to one unyielding truth: only strength gave one the right to speak of anything else.

Soul power was the foundation. Without a sufficiently solid base, even if he had a hundred strategies in his head, one punch from the enemy would still leave nothing behind.

Fortunately, his path had been fairly smooth. Counting the days, it was about time for him to have his own battle armor.

When that hundred-thousand-year soul beast had sacrificed itself, he had vaguely sensed something slowly taking shape deep within his body. It was like a seed buried beneath the soil, already having cracked its shell and waiting only for the chance to break through the earth.

That metallic resonance had always been hidden within his bloodline, faint yet ever-present. Whenever he calmed himself and circulated his soul power, he could vaguely catch that tiny trace of cool, hard resonance.

Tang Wulin sat cross-legged on his bed, his eyes half-closed and his breathing long and steady.

His soul power flowed slowly through his meridians like a fine current of water, probing again and again at that region within his body that carried a faint metallic sensation.

It simply had not been fully activated yet. He needed to use his own strength to knock open that door.

Time slipped by bit by bit. Outside the window, the sun's shadow shifted from east to west. The light in the room faded from bright to dim, then from dim to bright again.

Tang Wulin never opened his eyes. A fine layer of sweat gradually formed on his forehead, but the rhythm of his breathing remained completely undisturbed. It was as though he had been nailed to the bed, immovable even in a storm.

Who knew how much time had passed when a dark-golden pattern suddenly appeared on the back of his right hand, followed by his left. A flash of light flickered across his palms.

Two dark-golden armor plates, heavy in texture and covered in intricate patterns, slowly emerged from beneath his skin. As though they had grown from his bones, they quietly and snugly covered the backs of his hands and his knuckles.

The two pieces of armor were cool to the touch, their edges polished with extreme precision. Every groove and pattern seemed naturally formed, fitting perfectly along the contours of his bones.

Tang Wulin gently flexed his fingers. The armor plates shifted slightly with the movement of his knuckles, not affecting his dexterity in the slightest. Instead, they seemed to have wrapped his hands in an extremely thin yet exceptionally tough shell.

He clenched his fists and felt the warm, abundant amplifying power surging up from within the armor.

The feeling was difficult to describe. It was like someone who could originally lift only a hundred pounds suddenly being granted several hundred more pounds of strength. His entire body felt lighter, and even the circulation of his soul power had clearly quickened by half a beat.

As expected of a martial soul amplifier!

Tang Wulin slowly opened his eyes and looked down at the layer of dark-golden armor on his hands, a satisfied gleam flashing through his eyes.

He now had the confidence to say that even against a Titled Douluo, he was not without the capital to contend with one.

However, he quickly suppressed that eager urge to test himself.

His task now was to steadily build up his cultivation, sort through the cards in his hand one by one, and wait until the time came to act before bringing out every ounce of his strength.

He was lowering his head to inspect the patterns on the armor plates in his palms when suddenly—

A scorching aura of flames surged violently in from outside the door, carrying a searing wave of heat that slightly distorted even the air.

Immediately afterward, a streak of silver moonlight appeared out of nowhere before the door and collided head-on with the flames, producing a muffled bang.

"Ma Xiaotao! What are you doing?!" Zhang Lexuan's voice came from the doorway, carrying obvious anger.

"Zhang Lexuan, why are you stopping me?!" Another female voice snapped back without yielding, her tone filled with fiery impatience. "I heard my little brother was back, so I came over to see him!"

Tang Wulin looked up. Through the window, he could see a young woman standing outside in a crimson inner-court uniform. She was graceful and tall, her blood-red hair coiled into two buns. A pair of phoenix wings spread behind her, not yet retracted, their fiery-red feathers still dancing with tiny sparks. The glow of six soul rings beneath her feet had yet to fully fade, flickering with her rapid breaths.

Zhang Lexuan stood in front of her. Her black hair fell to her waist, and her white robes were immaculate. Seven soul rings silently revolved beneath her feet, the vivid red one at the bottom especially eye-catching, like a blood moon set into the night.

Her expression had already turned cold, and her tone was much harsher than usual. "Ma Xiaotao, Tang Wulin is cultivating. Can't you think of others for once?"

Ma Xiaotao was momentarily stunned by the rebuke. The impatience on her face had not yet fully faded as she stubbornly snorted. "Wasn't I just worried? Besides, it's not like he could be in deep meditation. What would interrupting him for a moment do?"

"Ma Xiaotao!" Zhang Lexuan's voice abruptly rose several degrees. Her eyes, usually so gentle and warm, now gleamed with icy sharpness. "Show others some respect, or you will not even have the right to stand by his side!"

Ma Xiaotao choked on her words from the shout. Her mouth hung half-open as the anger on her face flickered several times. In the end, she could not force out a reply.

She then withdrew her martial soul and turned to leave.

Only then did Zhang Lexuan's expression soften. She glanced back into the room, and seeing no movement, stepped back two paces and stood guard outside the door with a straight posture.

Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze and lowered his head again, gently stroking the dark-golden armor plate on his arm.

Tang Wulin took out his timetable from his pocket and froze for a moment before blurting out, "Oh no! I forgot the time!"

"Little Wulin!" Hearing his voice, Zhang Lexuan immediately rushed over, her eyes full of concern.

"Big Sis! The time!" Tang Wulin's eyes were full of panic.

"It's fine, it's fine. School doesn't start until tomorrow. If you really can't make it, just go back tonight. As for your classmates, don't worry. Old Mu has already told them," Zhang Lexuan reassured him.

Hearing that, Tang Wulin instantly breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good. Oh, right, did Ma Xiaotao come by just now?"

It was not until that evening that Tang Wulin returned to his dormitory. When he reached the door, he even smiled and greeted Old Mu.

The moment he entered the room, Wang Dong cried out, "Tang Wulin! Do you know how worried you made me? I thought Shrek Academy had expelled you!"

Tang Wulin rubbed his forehead. Did this girl's imagination really have to be so wild?

"Let's sleep early today. Class starts at eight tomorrow, and we'll be seeing that old witch," Tang Wulin said with a yawn.