"Ah? Really? That guy is way too lucky, isn't he?"
Amid the chatter, voices rose from the crowd, and after only a few sentences, the discussion started veering off course.
Clearly, an ordinary truth could never be as appealing as a scandal full of controversy.
Listening as the crowd's discussion grew increasingly outrageous, Lin Yue scratched his head and simply focused his attention on the two girls fighting in the field.
"I have to say, Xiao Wu's fighting strategy is correct. As an Agility Attack Type Soul Master, what she needs to do is get as close as possible to a control-type Soul Master's body."
A commentary voice came from beside him. Lin Yue glanced over and saw that Yu Xiaogang had somehow appeared again, holding a notebook as he observed the battle between the two little girls.
"No, why did you come over here again?"
"Hmph, can't I come take a look at my future student?"
Yu Xiaogang's face reddened, but he still spoke stubbornly.
He had already found where his value lay. Although he could not offer guidance regarding Spirit Rings or Soul Master knowledge, having seen countless geniuses and been born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he could support Xiao San in terms of combat techniques!
In short, as long as Xiao San acknowledged his expertise and was willing to take him as her master, then whether it was the Twin Martial Souls genius destined to become a Titled Douluo, methods for absorbing high-age Spirit Rings early, or even the key to Martial Souls evolving through absorbing Spirit Rings, he could get his hands on all of it!
"If you ask me, you should behave yourself. Ah Yin really will beat you up."
He muttered softly. Whether Yu Xiaogang heard him or not, Lin Yue turned his gaze back to the field.
"Hey!"
The extremely fast Xiao Wu had already moved. With a standard backbend, she planted both hands on the ground as her legs sprang upward and precisely clamped around Ah Yin's waist.
The next instant, her long and powerful legs exerted force, about to fling the girl away—
And that was exactly what Xiao Wu did!
"I win!"
Her legs tensed, excitement flashing across Xiao Wu's face as she hurled Tang Yin's body into the air.
But when she steadied herself, she saw Tang Yin leisurely twist in midair before landing smoothly on the ground.
"Huh?"
Instinctively sensing that something was wrong, Xiao Wu's eyes shifted slightly. A trace of gravity appeared on her somewhat innocent little face.
She had fought Tang Yin many times. Especially in the past, she had been intimately familiar with Tang Yin's attack methods and combat habits.
But after this trip, whether it was Tang Yin's appearance, her body that seemed to have suddenly matured somewhat, or her immense Soul Power, all of it had undergone an extremely terrifying qualitative change.
With Xiao San's formerly half-malnourished little body, even a fall like that would have hurt badly. Yet the girl before her could actually adjust her posture under such immense force and land steadily.
"Hmph, not bad. Looks like Sister Xiao Wu will have to get serious. If you don't surrender, don't cry little pearls when it hurts later!"
Rolling up her sleeves and revealing a stretch of fair arm, Xiao Wu sensed her opponent growing stronger and became even more eager to fight. Her eyes shone brighter and brighter.
"Sure. I'm ready to go all out too."
Tang Yin smiled slightly. A mischievous, almost wicked grin crossed the face of the gentle beauty.
She opened her palm, and the phantom of Blue Silver Grass rapidly solidified, growing wildly across the earth of the back mountain.
"Oh no."
The instant Xiao Wu saw that Blue Silver Grass, her pupils contracted.
No one knew better than her just how weak Blue Silver Grass had been before.
To put it bluntly, in the past, the noble Sister Xiao Wu would not even have deigned to eat it. It was too hard even to wipe her butt with. It was utterly useless.
But now, as a major grass-eater, Xiao Wu discovered that the life force contained within that Blue Silver Grass was worlds apart from before!
"No, I absolutely can't let her continue like this!"
If she allowed this control-type Soul Master to keep setting up the field, then once the ground was covered in Blue Silver Grass, she would completely lose any chance of defeating her opponent.
With that thought, Xiao Wu's speed suddenly soared. In a few leaps, she forcibly evaded the probing vines of Blue Silver Grass and darted through a gap in its woven net.
Xiao Wu, now clearly serious, flipped through the air, and her legs landed around Tang Yin's waist. Immediately afterward, the Spirit Ring behind her lit up fiercely!
"First Soul Skill—Waist Bow!"
The enhancement to her powerful waist strength instantly raised Xiao Wu's explosive force to its peak.
Her legs clamped around Tang Yin's waist. At what should have been the decisive moment, Xiao Wu instead felt as though her legs were gripping an unimaginably heavy, hard boulder.
No matter how hard she tried, she could not move Tang Yin's body in the slightest!
Xiao Wu turned her head, and her expression immediately changed.
Tang Yin's body had long since been covered in Blue Silver Grass. Under the immense force accumulated layer upon layer, she could no longer shake the Blue Silver Grass at all!!
"My turn now~"
The Blue Silver Grass covering the ground swayed gently. Tang Yin smiled dangerously, and with just a snap of her fingers, countless strands of Blue Silver Grass turned into bindings, tying up the little rabbit with nowhere to run.
"Let me go!"
Her little face scrunched up as Xiao Wu exerted force with her legs. The Spirit Ring behind her flashed again as she tried to kick away the seemingly delicate Blue Silver Grass with all her strength.
But when she fully circulated her Soul Power, her expression abruptly changed.
Because she could clearly sense that not only were her legs unable to break the exceptionally tough strands of Blue Silver Grass, even the Soul Power within her body was being madly absorbed by them as it circulated.
"You... how did you do this?"
Unable to comprehend where such terrifying Absorption power came from, Xiao Wu kicked her legs about. Yet like a little rabbit tied up by a hunter, she could not break free no matter how she struggled.
Seeing this, Tang Yin flashed a toothy smile. At last, she had completely settled the score between herself and this little rabbit and vented her frustration properly.
"My god, is this the strength of a control-type Soul Master?"
"Is that Blue Silver Grass really Blue Silver Grass? Why is it so strong? Even a Soul Master of the same rank can't kick through it."
"That's terrifying. If I fought her, I probably wouldn't even last a second before getting tied up."
"Why have I never seen such a powerful Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul before? It's simply too strong!"
The countless spectators' astonished cries seemed to turn into blushes of embarrassment upon Xiao Wu's face.
"You, hurry up and let me go!"
Hung upside down by Blue Silver Grass in such a humiliating manner, even the Rogue Rabbit's cheeks flushed red as she twisted her body in embarrassment.
"Now you know who's stronger, right?"
With a smile on her face, Tang Yin even had the leisure to reach out and pinch her opponent's cheek. She had clearly gained complete control of the battle.
Ever since that Spirit Bone brimming with life force had fused into her body, Tang Yin had realized that both her Martial Soul and her body had undergone earth-shaking changes.
What surprised her most was the characteristic her First Spirit Ring had brought to her Martial Soul: Absorption.
This characteristic, extremely similar to a Spirit Bone skill, seemed to have created a powerful resonance between her Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, strengthening the originally weak absorption power of her Blue Silver Grass several times over.
Now, the Blue Silver Grass she summoned could not in turn replenish her Soul Power out of thin air, but it consumed almost nothing. It could autonomously absorb Soul Power from the air to sustain its own existence.
And once the Blue Silver Grass controlled an enemy, the pure Soul Power directly absorbed from them could provide her with tremendous replenishment.
These were all changes brought by that Spirit Bone. And they were also... changes Brother Lin had brought her.
"Brother Lin, I'll give this rabbit to you..."
Controlling the Blue Silver Grass to present the upside-down little rabbit before Lin Yue, Tang Yin's eyes were filled with tenderness.
"Hey, Sister Xiao Wu isn't an object! You can't just give me away like that!"
Her face flushed red with humiliation, Xiao Wu tried to struggle and resist, but all her efforts were futile.
"All right, all right. Put her down."
Watching Ah Yin carry Xiao Wu over to him with Blue Silver Grass, Lin Yue smiled helplessly and spoke to everyone.
"Everyone, disperse. Go back to your training and studies."
Now that the First Spirit Ring had been obtained and the academy's matters had been dealt with, Lin Yue's points were empty. He wanted to return to the clinic early, take commissions, and earn points.
Only by saving enough points sooner could he try to strengthen the Mysterious Heaven Skill sooner...
After dismissing everyone with a smile, Lin Yue turned around and found that Sister Xiao Wu, sulking, had her chin raised high. Looking like an aggrieved little girl, she stood far away from Ah Yin, making it clear she still had some complaints.
Seeing this, Lin Yue laughed inwardly but said aloud:
"Oh, right. After obtaining your Spirit Rings, did you go register at Spirit Hall? Spirit Hall gives Soul Masters a monthly allowance. A One-Ring Soul Master seems to get one Gold Soul Coin for free each month..."
"What?"
The two little money-grubbers immediately lit up upon hearing there were free Gold Soul Coins to claim. They instantly forgot their tiny quarrel and rushed out of the academy together, seemingly afraid of being even a second slower than the other.
Seeing the two little ones make up in an instant, Lin Yue smiled and turned to leave the academy and return to the clinic.
Before breaking through to Soul Grandmaster, he wanted to try reaching Level Three Alchemist and save up more points.
"I have to find out whether the Mysterious Heaven Skill can be strengthened and enhanced."
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month passed.
During this time, the Seven Treasure merchant whose poison had been cured by Lin Yue loudly spread the word throughout Nuoding City. As a result, Lin Yue's reputation for superb medical skill and miraculous healing grew ever more prominent. The wealthy merchant praised his detoxification abilities to the heavens, claiming that he could suppress even the most powerful poisons.
For a time, the small clinic where Lin Yue worked was packed with visitors. Quite a few Soul Masters even showed up, frightening Lin Yue into repeatedly apologizing and explaining that his potions were ineffective on Soul Masters.
Whenever he encountered someone stubborn enough to insist on buying two bottles to try, he would mix up a bottle of red fruit juice and hand it over to pass it off as medicine. With his storage Soul Tool helping him cheat, they could not distinguish the potion, and when they found that drinking it had no effect whatsoever, they gradually stopped coming.
Amid his peaceful life, Lin Yue had thought the disturbance would soon pass. Yet he never expected...
Two uninvited guests, wrapped from head to toe in cloth robes, would eventually arrive at the clinic...