When Lin Yue and Tang Yin walked out of the hotel, a middle-aged man in fitted clothes was already waiting at the entrance.
He looked to be nearly forty. His gaze was sharp, yet he wore a faint smile that made him seem quite approachable. He was Su Yan, the teacher from the Junior Soul Master Academy assigned to lead the two children on this spirit-hunting trip.
As the academy's head instructor, he was also a level-thirty-seven Battle Soul Elder with an ape Martial Soul. Even in the Soul Hunting Forest, he counted as a rather formidable combatant.
As agreed, the principal had assigned him to help Lin Yue and Tang Yin obtain their First Spirit Rings.
However, this trip to the Soul Hunting Forest had unexpectedly gained an uninvited participant.
Beside Su Yan stood Yu Xiaogang, the short-haired master, smiling as he nodded at Lin Yue and Tang Yin, as though everything had gone exactly as he expected.
"Director Su, why did you bring him along?"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang again, Lin Yue rubbed his forehead, immediately feeling a headache coming on.
"I ran into him on the way here. Master Yu Xiaogang heard that I was helping students hunt Spirit Rings, so he volunteered to help us identify the Soul Beasts."
Su Yan smiled faintly, believing he had found a fairly capable partner. Yet when he turned around, he saw complicated expressions on both students' faces. Their eyes seemed rather distrustful of Yu Xiaogang.
"Ahem, you two needn't be like this. Though the master's Martial Soul has a slight flaw, he is still a Soul Grandmaster, and his theoretical knowledge is quite extensive. He should be able to help."
Was that so? Hard to say...
Thinking back to Yu Xiaogang's terrible performance when helping Tang San obtain his First Spirit Ring in the original story, Lin Yue could not help shaking his head.
This Soul Grandmaster who only had level-twenty-nine Soul Power probably had less real combat ability than an ordinary Soul Master.
Noticing the strange atmosphere, Su Yan quickly tried to smooth things over and changed the subject.
"By the way, weren't you two already at Innate Full Soul Power? Why are you only getting your Spirit Rings now?"
"Well, we had to make some basic preparations. Otherwise, we wouldn't even know what to hunt for."
Lin Yue already had a rough plan for this Spirit Ring hunt and knew exactly what he wanted. He only hoped Yu Xiaogang would not cause trouble.
"That makes sense. Then tell me, you two little ones, what do you think?"
As they entered the Soul Hunting Forest, Su Yan smiled, holding the two children in high regard.
Though they were both poor work-study students, they were exceptionally hardworking and highly gifted. If nothing unexpected happened, they might truly possess the potential to become Titled Douluo in the future.
Based on their performance at the academy, not a single student dared refuse to acknowledge them.
After thinking for a moment, Tang Yin took the initiative to speak, her beautiful eyes carrying a trace of earnestness.
"I want a Spirit Ring that can increase the strength of Blue Silver Grass."
Tang Yin had spent quite a bit of time in the library lately. In truth, she had already formed many ideas of her own.
During the half month since entering the Soul Master Academy, she had often sparred with Xiao Wu, largely because she had been unwilling to accept her defeat in their first battle.
Yet reality proved that even in an open area, unless she truly used hidden weapons, she could not gain any advantage over Xiao Wu. Even if she merely threw ordinary pebbles, she still could not do much against her.
The most crucial factor was still the disparity between their Martial Souls.
Even without using soul skills, Xiao Wu's nimble movements after possessing her Martial Soul were enough to erase the enhancements brought by techniques such as the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Tang Yin was left miserable and helpless.
Blue Silver Grass without a Spirit Ring was not even as useful as a small dagger. It shattered at the slightest touch.
If she had not trusted Brother Lin's previous judgment, she herself would have started wondering whether Blue Silver Grass truly was a worthless Martial Soul.
"Something to increase its strength? Then what do you think of this Ten-Year Lone Bamboo?"
Having been looked down on by the two young geniuses all the way here, Yu Xiaogang finally could not hold back after entering the Soul Hunting Forest. He pointed at a Soul Beast nearby and spoke.
"If we are talking about which plant-type Soul Beast has the strongest vitality while also possessing great toughness, then it would naturally be bamboo."
Yu Xiaogang pointed at several pale-green plants. They seemed somewhat greener than ordinary bamboo, straight from top to bottom but utterly unremarkable. Without being told, it would have been difficult to recognize them as Soul Beasts.
Before Lin Yue could even cast him a contemptuous look, Su Yan nodded in praise.
"Bamboo-type Soul Beasts can grow several centimeters in a single day. I've heard that some people can even hear bamboo growing."
"So Lone Bamboo is quite good as the first Spirit Ring for a plant-type Martial Soul. Its only drawback is that its cultivation is rather low. There are basically no Lone Bamboos over a hundred years old."
Seeing both teachers praise Lone Bamboo so highly, Tang Yin's little face showed a trace of astonishment as she looked strangely at Lin Yue.
Lin Yue forced a smile and lowered his voice as he spoke to her.
"Bamboo is indeed not bad, but ten years definitely won't be enough."
"That's right! A mere Ten-Year Lone Bamboo is only worthy of ordinary people. Xiao San, you're a genius. You absolutely cannot let such a low-level Spirit Ring limit your horizons. This is merely our last-resort backup choice!"
Growing more excited as he spoke, Yu Xiaogang became increasingly animated, his face no longer showing any of his earlier reservations.
"According to the theory I derived from compiling information on geniuses from various factions, a Soul Master's theoretical limit for the first Spirit Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years. We should get as close to that age as possible!"
His previous judgment having been validated, Yu Xiaogang once again wore that irritatingly smug demeanor. Carrying himself with the arrogance of a master, he advised them.
"Blue Silver Grass's attack power is also too weak. We should add a Spirit Ring with poison and toughness attributes. In my opinion, a serpent-type Martial Soul with potent venom might be more suitable."
Heh.
Listening to Yu Xiaogang's lengthy speech, Lin Yue's lips twitched, his face showing an expression of disgust as though this was exactly what he had expected.
Noticing Lin Yue's disdain, Tang Yin's slight interest in a poison-attribute Spirit Ring instantly vanished. Her little face took on the same hostile look.
Still, although she habitually stood on Brother Lin's side, the curious girl lowered her voice and softly asked,
"Brother Lin, are poison-attribute Spirit Rings bad?"
As someone from the Tang Sect, Tang Yin had a natural affinity for poison. If her Martial Soul could carry poison, it would greatly improve her early combat strength.
Moreover, poison and toughness truly sounded like they could compensate for Blue Silver Grass's most urgent shortcomings in the early stages. It seemed rather good.
"Ah Yin, don't listen to him. He's talking complete nonsense."
Watching Yu Xiaogang grow more and more carried away, as if he no longer knew his place in the world, Lin Yue repeatedly shook his head.
A serpent-type Spirit Ring, my ass! Poison, my ass! A Martial Soul centered on life, and he wanted to forcibly add poison to it? That was like ruining an entire pot of soup with a single rat dropping!
Even a terrifying Martial Soul like the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor suffered backlash because it absorbed poison attributes that were too powerful. A Martial Soul centered on life playing with poison—wasn't that simply destroying its own foundation?
If she truly chose a Mandala Snake as her First Spirit Ring, it would be utterly shortsighted, caring only about immediate gains with no regard for future growth.
It was no wonder the original Tang San had practically ignored his own Blue Silver Emperor in the later stages. Yu Xiaogang had long since ruined it by treating it as an experiment. What use could it possibly have had?
In that master's eyes, Blue Silver Grass had probably been trash from beginning to end. Attaching Spirit Rings to it was merely for the sake of breaking through realms and making it easier to improve the Clear Sky Hammer later. That was why he could say something as outrageous as a Ten-Year Lone Bamboo being usable.
"As for that so-called four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year Spirit Ring limit, just listen to it and leave it at that. After being strengthened by Whale Rubber, your physical strength far surpasses that of ordinary Soul Masters. Absorbing a five- or six-hundred-year Spirit Ring definitely won't be a problem."
"Mhm, mhm. I believe Brother Lin."
Her face overflowing with sweetness, Tang Yin tightly hugged Lin Yue's arm, happier and more delighted than she had ever been.
Ever since that night, when she had decided to accept Tang Yin as her new name, she had unexpectedly discovered that the invisible barrier that had always existed between her and Brother Lin seemed to have completely shattered.
He no longer avoided her slightly as he had before. Instead, he seemed to have accepted her feelings and love. His movements no longer carried that faint stiffness and distance...
Though they had not yet taken that final step, Tang Yin believed that one day, Brother Lin would completely belong to her...
Thinking of this, the little girl's face was filled with happiness...