Yu Xiaogang's White-Eyed Wolf Cultivation Journal

Director Su first glanced at Gu Ling, then shifted his gaze to the distant tree pierced through by bone spikes. His brows furrowed slightly as he asked,

"Is this the uncanny attack ability you wanted?"

"Mm." Gu Ling nodded and said seriously, "My Bone Dragon Martial Soul can already detach bones from my body to attack. What I truly lacked was never offensive methods, but how to make those attacks harder to guard against."

At this point, the corners of Gu Ling's lips lifted slightly.

"Under normal circumstances, if bone spikes are fired head-on, an enemy can dodge or block them as long as they react quickly enough."

"But things are different now. As long as the opponent thinks they have figured out the bone spikes' trajectory, I can make them slip into space at the last moment, and then..."

Gu Ling raised a hand and pointed behind Director Su.

"They will suddenly appear behind him."

Director Su subconsciously glanced in the direction Gu Ling indicated, and the image formed in his mind as well.

The enemy had clearly seen the bone spikes shooting toward them from the front and had even prepared their defense.

Yet the bone spikes suddenly vanished.

When they appeared again, they were already attacking from an entirely different direction.

Just imagining it made his scalp tingle.

"It really is uncanny enough."

Director Su could not help but sigh at that.

Gu Ling continued,

"And this is only for now. Once my soul power grows stronger in the future, and my control over space becomes more proficient, allowing me to control more and more bones at once..."

"Then the enemy will not merely be facing a few bone spikes."

At that thought, Gu Ling's path of cultivation for the future became increasingly clear in his mind.

Ultimate Uncanny Offense did not mean he had to crush enemies head-on with brute force like other assault-type soul masters. It meant uncanny surprise attacks!

At the same time, Gu Ling discovered that after absorbing this Soul Ring that was nearly six hundred years old, the improvements he had gained were far more than just a soul skill.

"Director Su."

"Hmm?"

"The Sky-Splitting Bone Leopard seems to have improved me even more than I expected."

Director Su immediately grew serious upon hearing that.

"Other than the soul skill, what else has changed?"

Gu Ling lightly clenched his fist.

Crack!

A layer of pale bone armor immediately covered his fist. After carefully sensing it for a moment, he said,

"My bones have become much stronger."

"After my Martial Soul possession, the bone armor is also harder than before."

"Besides that..."

Whoosh!

Gu Ling lightly spread his five fingers, and sharp bone claws instantly sprang out. He casually swung them at a nearby rock.

Screech!

Five distinct claw marks appeared directly on the rock's surface.

Director Su's gaze sharpened slightly at the sight.

Gu Ling nodded in satisfaction and said seriously,

"My offensive power has also increased considerably. In particular, my bone claws, bone spikes, and bone blades are much sharper than they were before I had a Soul Ring."

That was not difficult to understand. The Sky-Splitting Bone Leopard itself was a soul beast with exceptional offensive and defensive abilities. Its entire body was covered in bone armor, and its claws were extremely sharp.

After Gu Ling absorbed its Soul Ring, aside from gaining the most important spatial ability, his own bones and offensive capabilities naturally received a certain degree of enhancement as well.

In other words, this Soul Ring had strengthened Gu Ling's offense, defense, and most importantly, his spatial attribute all at once. It could be said that not even a fraction of the Soul Ring's power had gone to waste.

After hearing Gu Ling's words, Director Su fell silent for a moment before a smile appeared on his face.

"Looks like you really are a lucky brat."

"A Sky-Splitting Bone Leopard that was nearly six hundred years old was already highly compatible with your Bone Dragon Martial Soul. The absorption process was somewhat dangerous, but it seems you really won this gamble."

As he spoke, Director Su looked at the yellow Soul Ring beneath Gu Ling's feet, its color noticeably deeper than an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Ring, and could not help sighing again.

"A six-hundred-year first Soul Ring, with a spatial attribute."

"Bone Dragon Martial Soul, Innate Full Soul Power..."

"Your starting point has already far surpassed that of most soul masters."

Gu Ling merely smiled and replied calmly,

"A high starting point is still only a starting point. How far a soul master can truly go still depends on the future."

Director Su was briefly stunned, then laughed and scolded him,

"If you could be this humble when speaking to the master, he probably would not get so angry with you."

Gu Ling shrugged and spread his hands like a little bear.

"That is different. If he did not interfere with how I cultivate my Martial Soul, I would naturally be too lazy to argue with him."

"Enough, enough." Director Su clearly did not want to mention Yu Xiaogang again. He waved a hand and said, "Now that you have obtained your Soul Ring, there is no need for us to remain in the Soul Hunting Forest. This is not the academy, after all. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can return to Notting City."

"Alright."

Gu Ling nodded slightly.

The two of them made some simple preparations, then headed toward the outer edge of the Soul Hunting Forest along the way they had come.

Before they had gone far, they encountered Tang San supporting Yu Xiaogang as they made their way out. The latter's face was greenish and he had already fallen unconscious. Director Su hurried forward to ask what had happened, and Tang San briefly explained how they had encountered a Mandra Snake, how he had absorbed its Soul Ring, and how Yu Xiaogang had accidentally been poisoned.

Director Su immediately took out the antidote he carried with him and used his soul power to force out some of the poison from Yu Xiaogang's body. After confirming that there was no major problem, the group left the Soul Hunting Forest together.

The carriage had not traveled for long.

"Cough, cough..."

Yu Xiaogang, who had remained unconscious, suddenly coughed twice and slowly opened his eyes.

"Teacher!"

Tang San was immediately delighted.

Yu Xiaogang looked weakly at Tang San. The first thing he asked was,

"Little San... did you successfully absorb the Mandra Snake's Soul Ring?"

"I did." Tang San nodded.

A trace of relief appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face when he heard that. He nodded slightly and said,

"That is good, that is good."

"It seems my judgment was correct. The Mandra Snake truly suits your Blue Silver Grass."

As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang leaned against the carriage wall and rested for a while before continuing,

"After we return to Notting City, go to Spirit Hall first and register your identity as a soul master. Once you become an official soul master, you can receive a subsidy from Spirit Hall every month."

Tang San was slightly stunned by this, his face filled with confusion. "There is a subsidy?"

"Of course."

Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"Soul masters can receive one Gold Soul Coin per month. Great Soul Masters receive ten, while Soul Elders receive one hundred. This subsidy stops being issued beyond that level."

A flicker of surprise immediately passed through Tang San's eyes.

For him right now, one Gold Soul Coin was no small sum.

"Then it seems Spirit Hall is not such a bad organization."

"Ordinary soul masters already need to spend quite a bit of money on cultivation. They are willing to provide subsidies to low-level soul masters, which can at least help many commoner soul masters."

But the moment his words fell, Yu Xiaogang's face darkened, and he said coldly,

"Not bad?"

"Little San, you think too highly of Spirit Hall!"

Tang San was stunned by those words, and the confusion on his face deepened.

Yu Xiaogang snorted coldly and continued on his own,

"They issue those subsidies only to win people over and recruit young soul masters across the continent. And that money is not even paid by Spirit Hall itself. The ones truly providing it are the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire."

"Spirit Hall merely uses its branch halls spread across the continent to distribute it for the two great empires."

At this point, Yu Xiaogang's tone carried noticeably more dissatisfaction.

"But over time, those commoner soul masters who receive the subsidies only remember Spirit Hall's kindness. After all, Spirit Hall is the one that awakens their Martial Souls, Spirit Hall is the one that registers their identities as soul masters, and on the surface, Spirit Hall is also the one handing them Gold Soul Coins each month."

"As for the two great empires that actually provide the money, few people remember them instead."

"This is how Spirit Hall wins people over. It spreads its influence throughout the continent, awakens Martial Souls for commoners free of charge, and then uses soul master subsidies to recruit young soul masters."

"On the surface, it is helping soul masters. In reality, every single thing it does continually expands Spirit Hall's influence over the entire soul master world."