Youthful Arrogance

On the horizon, a streak of morning light broke the silence of the night.

Yang Ming opened his eyes and wanted to move slightly, only to find that his right arm was completely numb.

Turning his head, he saw that Xiao Wu had used his arm as a pillow while sleeping. Who knew what kind of sweet dream she was having, but a drop of crystal-clear saliva had slipped from the corner of her mouth, making her look a bit more adorably silly.

A bitter smile appeared on the corner of Yang Ming's mouth. If he had known, he wouldn't have told her Dream of the Red Chamber last night. He had originally thought it would persuade her to go back to her own bed, but instead, it had the opposite effect. The more Xiao Wu listened, the more excited she became, pestering him to finish the rest of the story until Yang Ming finally couldn't stand the drowsiness anymore, and Xiao Wu gave up.

Sigh, what a tormenting little fairy!

Under the premise of avoiding waking Xiao Wu, Yang Ming gently moved his arm away, pinched his stiff, completely unresponsive right arm, and felt like crying without tears.

After much rubbing, until a burning sensation came from his right arm and the blocked blood flowed smoothly once again, Yang Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Tang San, just like Yang Ming, was long used to waking up early. He wore a I-understand expression, winking and making faces at Yang Ming, which earned him a roll of Yang Ming's eyes.

Tang San took a bath early in the morning to get rid of the smell of wine on his body, changed into a clean set of clothes, put his arm around Yang Ming's neck, and said in a low voice:

"Yang Ming, my teacher wants to take me to hunt a Soul Beast. Are you coming? My teacher said that if you come, he doesn't mind bringing one more person."

Yang Ming's gaze shifted. To be honest, he didn't really need to hunt Soul Beasts; as long as he obtained the system-compatible reward items, he could get the corresponding Soul Ring.

Because, for ordinary people, at most they only hunted a Century Soul Beast or Millennium Soul Beast. Without special methods, at the Soul Scholar stage, an individual could only bear the Soul Ring of a Four-Hundred-Twenty-Three-Year Soul Beast at the absolute limit.

For Yang Ming, he was no exception.

However, if it was a system-reward item, that might not be the case. He might even be able to obtain a Soul Ring far surpassing a Millennium-Year Level Soul Beast.

Just like the Green Lotus Core Flame martial soul that Yang Ming had acquired.

A Green Lotus Core Flame martial soul above the Millennium-Year Level far surpassed ordinary martial souls right from the starting line.

Correspondingly, however, it was quite difficult for the Green Lotus Core Flame martial soul to acquire a suitable Soul Ring. In comparison, the Mysterious Sword was somewhat simpler.

To get back to the point.

Although Yang Ming disdained killing Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings in the beginning, he still needed to go out to hunt Soul Beasts.

Not for anything else, but simply to keep up appearances; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to explain to others how he would obtain his Soul Ring when the time came.

Yang Ming nodded and agreed to Tang San's invitation.

Tang San was secretly overjoyed. When his teacher asked him to invite Yang Ming last night, he had been afraid that Yang Ming would refuse. He hadn't expected Yang Ming to be so easy to talk to this time.

Yang Ming and Tang San left the dormitory together and saw that Grandmaster was already waiting at the entrance of the dormitory building.

"Good morning, Grandmaster."

Yang Ming bowed slightly, looking courteous and well-mannered. It was utterly impossible to tell that the person who had spouted wild words yesterday was the same person.

Grandmaster smiled slightly, nodded in greeting, pulled two steamed buns out of a bag, handed them respectively to Yang Ming and Tang San, and said:

"You two eat these first to line your stomachs. Later we won't rush to leave; we need to go into the city to purchase supplies."

The two of them were newcomers, so naturally they had no objections.

Yang Ming grabbed a steamed bun. The crust wasn't too hot, just lukewarm, and it looked like Grandmaster had bought them quite a while ago. It was truly a wonder that he got up early in the morning to buy breakfast for two kids, and without any airs of an elder at all, he had just stood downstairs waiting for the two of them.

Thinking about things in his mind, Yang Ming took a bite of the fluffy and soft bun.

The salty and savory meat filling and the fluffy, thick outer crust stimulated his taste buds to multiply rapidly, making one very appetizing. Eating just one was far from enough to fill his stomach.

Regrettably, Grandmaster clearly hadn't anticipated that Yang Ming would come as well at first, and had only bought two steamed buns, leaving Yang Ming with a bit of small regret.

In the early morning of Notting City, a cool breeze swept past, and a thin morning light fell upon the city walls, their outlines sparkling as though plated with a layer of gold.

There weren't many pedestrians on the road, but shopkeepers who set up early street stalls for the breakfast business opened up early to do trade. The alluring aroma of food drifted from the pushcart racks, and the shouting of vendors rose and fell, bringing a touch of lively bustle to this cool morning.

The preparations Grandmaster spoke of were not complicated. He bought three leather pouches specially used for holding drinking water, each capable of holding a full five liters of fresh water, and also bought some cured meat, flatbreads, and fruit—food that could be eaten in the wild—making a full three large bags.

In addition, Grandmaster bought a full twenty catties of white radishes.

Seeing these white radishes, Yang Ming thought of Grandmaster's martial soul that fought by farting, and a trace of a smile played at the corner of his mouth.

After finishing his purchases, Grandmaster hired a carriage in the city and gave the driver five Silver Soul Coins.

1 Gold Soul Coin = 10 Silver Soul Coins = 100 Copper Soul Coins.

A single gold soul coin was already enough for an ordinary family of three to live on for several months of normal expenses, and it was also equivalent to the earnings of Yang Ming and Tang San working at Notting Academy for three years.

The reason why the profession of a Spirit Master was said to be the most noble on the continent was largely due to income. Even if one merely advanced from a Soul Scholar to a Spirit Master, they could still enjoy a subsidy of one gold soul coin every month, which was precisely why Wang Sheng had said back then that his dream was to become a Spirit Master.

And when a Spirit Master cultivated to a higher level, surpassing a Soul Grandmaster to reach the realm of a Soul Elder, as long as they registered with Spirit Hall, they could directly receive a peerage conferment from the state, becoming a baron, the lowest rank of nobility. The higher the strength, the higher the noble title, and income would rise accordingly.

Thinking of this, Grandmaster's face twitched slightly at the memory of last night when Yang Ming tossed out twenty-five gold coins just to vent his anger and treated so many people to a meal on the second floor of the academy cafeteria.

Even for Grandmaster, twenty-five gold coins could not be considered a small sum.

The three of them sat in the carriage. Having nothing to do and feeling bored, Grandmaster made small talk, saying:

"Yang Ming, I have something to say. I don't know if I should say it or not."

Yang Ming raised an eyebrow, chuckled softly, and said:

"Grandmaster, please speak your mind."

Grandmaster nodded slightly and slowly explained:

"Originally, I shouldn't say anything, but you are a good friend and good brother of my disciple Tang San. I feel that as an elder, I still need to remind you."

"What you said on the second floor of the cafeteria last night, although very inspiring for students from commoner backgrounds, also offended those wealthy scions. If you graduate from school in the future and want to develop your career in Notting City, I'm afraid you will encounter obstruction from the families behind these wealthy scions, which will be very unfavorable for your development."

Yang Ming had thought Grandmaster was going to say something else; it turned out to be worrying about this.

Yang Ming didn't want to have frequent contact with a clever person like Grandmaster.

Fearing that his previous efforts would go down the drain, Yang Ming couldn't help chuckling softly. Incurring an incomparable confidence between his brows, he declaimed loudly:

"Once the fledgling hawk has grown, it shall dance across the empty sky. Youthful arrogance defines a true youth!"

(Ahem, my phrasing in the previous chapter was still very tactful. I only said I was temporarily writing about family and friendship, ahem. How the plot develops in the future depends on everyone's opinions. Please voice your opinions in the comment section so I know how to write it.)

(Also, recommendations are here! Starting today, it will be a minimum of three chapters guaranteed every day, and I'll add extra chapters for previous tips.)

(During the recommendation period, the update times will be 0:00, 6:00, 12:00, and 20:00, one chapter each.)

(Tonight at 10 PM and midnight, there will be more updates.)