An Uninvited Guest

"Ah? Seriously? That guy's way too lucky, isn't he?"

Amid the flurry of discussion, voices rose from the crowd, and after only a few sentences, the topic began to veer wildly off course.

Clearly, an ordinary truth could never compete with a controversial rumor in terms of appeal.

Listening as the crowd's gossip grew increasingly outrageous, Lin Yue scratched his head and simply focused his attention on the two fighters in the arena.

"I have to say, Xiao Wu's battle strategy itself is correct. As an agility-attack-type Soul Master, all she needs to do is get as close as possible to a control-type Soul Master."

A commentary voice came from beside him. Lin Yue glanced over and found that Yu Xiaogang had appeared from who knew where, notebook in hand as he observed the battle between the two girls.

"No, why did you come over here again?"

"Hmph. Can't I come take a look at my future students?"

Yu Xiaogang's face reddened, yet he still spoke stubbornly.

He had already found where his value lay. While he could not offer guidance regarding Spirit Rings or Soul Master knowledge, having seen countless geniuses and having been born into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he could provide Xiao San with support in combat techniques!

In short, as long as Xiao San recognized his expertise and was willing to accept him as his teacher, whether it was the Twin Martial Souls genius destined to become a Titled Douluo, methods for absorbing high-level Spirit Rings ahead of time, or even the key to Martial Souls evolving after absorbing Spirit Rings, he could get his hands on all of it!

"If you ask me, you'd better behave yourself. Ah Yin really will hit you."

He muttered softly. Whether Yu Xiaogang heard him or not, Lin Yue turned his gaze back to the arena.

"Hey!"

The lightning-fast Xiao Wu moved her legs. With a standard backbend, she planted both hands on the ground while kicking her legs up, accurately clamping them around Ah Yin's waist.

In the next instant, her long, powerful legs exerted force, about to hurl 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 threw Tang Yin into the air with all her strength.

But when she steadied herself, she saw Tang Yin leisurely twist in midair before landing smoothly on her feet.

"Huh?"

Instinctively sensing that something was very wrong, Xiao Wu's eyes shifted slightly. A trace of seriousness appeared on her somewhat adorable face.

She had fought Tang Yin many times. Especially in the past, she had been extremely familiar with Tang Yin's offensive methods and combat habits.

But after this trip out, whether it was Tang Yin's appearance, her body that seemed to have suddenly matured somewhat, or her surging Soul Power, all of it had undergone an utterly terrifying transformation.

With Xiao San's formerly half-malnourished little body, a throw like that would have been enough to leave him hurting badly. Yet the girl before her could actually adjust herself under such tremendous force and land steadily.

"Hmph, not bad. Looks like Big Sister Xiao Wu has to get serious now. If you don't surrender, don't cry little pearls when getting thrown starts to hurt!"

Rolling up her sleeves and exposing a fair arm, Xiao Wu sensed her opponent growing stronger. Rather than being intimidated, she became even more eager to fight, and her eyes shone brighter.

"Sure. I'm ready to go all out too."

Tang Yin smiled faintly. A mischievous, almost wicked smile crossed the face of the gentle beauty.

She opened her hand, and the phantom of Blue Silver Grass swiftly solidified, growing wildly across the soil of the back mountain.

"This is bad."

The instant she saw the Blue Silver Grass, Xiao Wu's pupils contracted.

No one understood better than her just how weak Blue Silver Grass had been before.

To put it simply, in the past, noble Big Sister Xiao Wu would not even have bothered eating it. It was too rough even for wiping her butt. It had been utterly useless.

But now, as someone who ate a great deal of grass, Xiao Wu discovered that the vitality contained within this Blue Silver Grass was worlds apart from before!

"No, I absolutely can't let her keep this up!"

If she allowed this control-type Soul Master to continue 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 surged. In several leaps, she forcibly dodged the probing vines of Blue Silver Grass and slipped through gaps in the woven net of grass.

Xiao Wu, now clearly serious, performed a flip, and her legs wrapped 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 pushed 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 had gripped an incomparably heavy, hard boulder.

No matter how hard she exerted herself, she could not move Tang Yin's body in the slightest!

Xiao Wu turned her head, and her expression changed instantly.

Tang Yin's body had long since been covered in Blue Silver Grass. Under the accumulated force of layer upon layer of grass, Xiao Wu could no longer shake it at all!!

"My turn now~"

The Blue Silver Grass covering the ground swayed gently. Tang Yin gave a dangerous smile, and with nothing more than a snap of her fingers, countless blades of Blue Silver Grass transformed into straps, binding the rabbit girl with nowhere to run tightly in place.

"Let me go!"

Her little face flushed as she exerted strength through her legs. The Spirit Ring behind Xiao Wu flickered once more as she tried to kick away the seemingly delicate Blue Silver Grass with all her might.

But when she fully circulated her Soul Power, her expression suddenly changed.

Because she could clearly feel that not only were her legs unable to kick through the unusually tough Blue Silver Grass, but even the Soul Power inside her was being frantically absorbed by the grass as it circulated.

"You... how did you do this?"

She simply could not understand where such terrifying Absorption power came from. Xiao Wu kicked her legs wildly, but like a little rabbit tied up by a hunter, she could not break free no matter how she struggled.

Seeing this, Tang Yin grinned. At last, she had completely settled her previous grievances with this little rabbit and vented her frustration properly.

"Oh my god, is this how powerful a control-type Soul Master is?"

"Is that really Blue Silver Grass? Why is it so strong? A Soul Master of the same level can't even kick it apart."

"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? This is incredible!"

The astonished cries of countless spectators seemed to turn into streaks of embarrassed red across Xiao Wu's face.

"You, let me go already!"

Hung upside down in such a humiliating way by Blue Silver Grass, even the Rogue Rabbit's cheeks turned red as she twisted her body in embarrassment.

"Now you know who's stronger, right?"

Smiling brightly, Tang Yin even had the leisure to reach out and pinch her opponent's cheek. She had clearly seized complete control of the battle.

Ever since that Spirit Bone brimming with vitality had fused into her body, Tang Yin had realized that both her Martial Soul and her body had undergone earthshaking changes.

What surprised her most was the trait her First Spirit Ring had granted her Martial Soul: Absorption.

This trait, which was extremely similar to a Spirit Bone skill, seemed to have produced a powerful resonance between her Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, making the originally weak Absorption power of her Blue Silver Grass many times stronger.

Now, the Blue Silver Grass she summoned could not replenish her Soul Power out of thin air, but its consumption was nearly zero. It could automatically absorb Soul Power from the air to sustain its own existence.

And once the Blue Silver Grass restrained an enemy, the pure Soul Power directly absorbed from that enemy could provide her with a tremendous replenishment.

These were all changes brought by that Spirit Bone. They were also... changes Brother Lin had brought her.

"Brother Lin, I'll give this rabbit to you..."

Controlling the Blue Silver Grass to carry the upside-down rabbit girl over to Lin Yue, Tang Yin's eyes were filled with tenderness.

"Hey, Big Sister Xiao Wu isn't an item! You can't just give me away like that!"

Her face red with humiliation, Xiao Wu tried to struggle and resist, but everything she did was futile.

"Alright, alright. 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 cultivation and studies."

Now that the First Spirit Ring had been acquired and matters at the academy had been handled, Lin Yue was out of points. He wanted to return to the clinic early to accept commissions and earn more points.

Only by saving up enough points sooner could he try strengthening the Mysterious Heaven Skill sooner...

After dismissing everyone with a smile, Lin Yue turned around and discovered that the sulking Big Sister Xiao Wu had her chin raised high. Looking like she had been wronged, she stood far away from Ah Yin, clearly still harboring some minor resentment.

Seeing this, Lin Yue smiled inwardly but said aloud,

"By the way, after obtaining your Spirit Rings, have you gone to Spirit Hall to register? Spirit Hall provides monthly subsidies for Soul Masters. A One-Ring Soul Master can apparently receive one Gold Soul Coin for free every month..."

"What?"

The two little money-lovers immediately brightened at the mention of free Gold Soul Coins. They instantly forgot their small conflict and rushed out of the academy together, seemingly afraid that the other would be even a moment faster.

Seeing the two little ones reconcile in an instant, Lin Yue smiled and turned to leave the academy, heading back to the clinic.

Before breaking through to Soul Grandmaster, he intended 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 amplified."

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had 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 greater. That wealthy merchant even praised his detoxification ability to the heavens, claiming that he could suppress any powerful poison.

For a time, the small clinic where Lin Yue worked was packed with visitors, and quite a few Soul Masters even appeared. Lin Yue was so frightened that he could only repeatedly apologize and explain that his potions were ineffective on Soul Masters.

Whenever he encountered particularly stubborn people who insisted on buying two bottles to try, he would pass them a bottle of red fruit juice to fool them. With his storage Soul Tool helping him cheat, they could not distinguish the potion from the juice, and once they found no effect after drinking it, they gradually stopped coming.

In the peaceful routine of life, Lin Yue had thought the storm was about to pass. Yet he had never expected...

Two uninvited guests, wrapped from head to toe in cloth robes, would ultimately arrive at the clinic...