First Soul Ring

Lu Shiyuan took Xiao Wu by the hand and found the registration desk.

The teacher in charge of registration knew him as well. After all, the academy's teachers were all Soul Masters, and minor injuries and illnesses were inevitable, so they had often sought Chen Yun's treatment.

"Xiao Yuan, you've finally come to register."

"Yeah, you have no idea how Dean Chen has been going on about you these past few days, terrified you'd go to another academy."

"Haha, now that Xiao Yuan is here, life will be easier for us this year. If the dean is happy, maybe he'll even give us bonuses."

"Forget about bonuses, but at least we won't have to look at the dean's sour face anymore."

"Ahem, Dean, that wasn't me!"

Dean Chen stood behind the registration desk, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

He had only come to see when Lu Shiyuan would arrive to register, never expecting to overhear so many complaints.

Had he really made it that obvious?

Thinking about it, though, it was hardly strange. Innate Full Soul Power was an extraordinary talent that might not appear even among ten thousand people. It was understandable that he feared someone might poach him.

The teachers who had just been joking around now trembled nervously, afraid of getting dragged into it.

Lu Shiyuan's smile remained unchanged. "Uncle, I'm here to register."

Dean Chen of Nuoding Academy and Lu Shiyuan's mother, Chen Yun, were cousins from the same clan.

Though they were not blood siblings, their relationship was not distant.

Their grandfathers had been biological brothers, meaning they were still within five degrees of kinship.

After the Lu couple met with misfortune, he had once considered bringing Lu Shiyuan home and raising him.

Unfortunately, for certain reasons, he had been forced to abandon that idea.

All he could do was secretly keep an eye on Lu Shiyuan and offer help from time to time.

Upon hearing his voice, Dean Chen's charcoal-black face immediately blossomed into a smile like a dog-tail flower. "It's good that you're here, good that you're here. Xiao Yuan, if you run into any problems at school, come find your uncle. I'll stand up for you."

"Hehe, Uncle, I happen to have something to trouble you with." Lu Shiyuan smiled brightly and led Xiao Wu two steps forward. "Uncle, this is Xiao Wu, my younger sister. She's the same age as me. Can she enroll with me?"

On the way back to Notting City, Xiao Feiyu had stopped by a nearby Spirit Hall branch and obtained identification papers for Xiao Wu.

With the necklace concealing her, Xiao Wu no longer had to worry about exposing her identity.

Dean Chen accepted the identification papers Lu Shiyuan handed over. After one glance, his eyes widened as round as bronze bells.

"Another Innate Full Soul Power?!

When did Innate Full Soul Power become as common as cabbages?"

"Yes, and Xiao Wu has already obtained her first Soul Ring. She's now an eleventh-rank Soul Master." Lu Shiyuan added another weight to the scale.

"Good, good, good! She's already rank eleven before even enrolling. How could we possibly turn away such a genius?" The wrinkles on Dean Chen's face spread with his smile, but then he suddenly recalled something. "Since when did you have a younger sister?"

As Lu Shiyuan's uncle, how could he not know the Lu Family's circumstances?

Could it be that Lu Hao had gotten involved with some woman outside, and now she had come knocking?

Lu Shiyuan immediately saw that Dean Chen had misunderstood and quickly explained with a smile, "Uncle, don't overthink it. My father has always been utterly devoted to my mother. Xiao Wu and I aren't related by blood. She was brought here by one of my distant older sisters."

Dean Chen also knew that Lu Shiyuan had been taken away for three months.

So after that simple explanation, he immediately understood that he had misunderstood.

"All right, Xiao Yuan, take your sister and register. No need to pay the tuition. Your uncle will pay it later."

Neither Lu Shiyuan nor Dean Chen cared about the tuition fees of a mere junior Soul Master Academy.

"Thank you, Uncle. Then I'll go register first." Lu Shiyuan waved and quickly completed the registration process.

Today's task was simply registration and collecting textbooks. Actual classes would not begin until tomorrow.

The instant Lu Shiyuan received his textbooks, the system, which had played dead for more than three months, suddenly spoke.

[Mission completed. Host, please retrieve the Soul Ring and absorb it yourself.]

As concise and efficient as ever, without a single unnecessary word.

Naturally, Lu Shiyuan could not absorb a Soul Ring at the academy. At present, only he and Xiao Feiyu knew the system's secret.

He looked at Xiao Wu beside him and asked softly, "Xiao Wu, do you have anything else to do?"

Xiao Wu shook her head, then nodded. "Brother, I want to buy some things."

Though she was only a soul beast, when she had gone to Spirit Hall for certification a few days ago, she had already received her first subsidy.

Lu Shiyuan slapped his forehead.

Right. Xiao Wu had only just arrived, and there was not even a change of clothes at home. She was still sleeping in his pajamas. She really did need some daily necessities.

"I overlooked that. Brother will buy you some daily necessities first, then we'll see what else you need. Brother's paying!"

Xiao Wu revealed a brilliant smile and happily agreed.

While the two chatted happily here, Tang San had already entered the academy with Yu Xiaogang.

With Yu Xiaogang leading him, Tang San did not need to personally go through the cumbersome registration process. Yu Xiaogang had not noticed Lu Shiyuan and Xiao Wu, but Tang San's gaze was once again involuntarily drawn to Xiao Wu.

Seeing Xiao Wu smile at Lu Shiyuan with such attachment again, Tang San felt as though a piece were missing from his heart.

Ever since he had first seen Xiao Wu, that strange feeling had lingered in his heart. He always felt as though he had lost something precious.

"Xiao San, do you know them?" Yu Xiaogang noticed his disciple's mood and could not help asking.

Tang San snapped out of it and repeatedly shook his head. "No. At the academy gate, that boy helped me once."

Though Tang San said that Lu Shiyuan had helped him, there was not the slightest hint of gratitude in his tone.

After all, in his view, that gatekeeper had already earned a death sentence, and he could have handled it himself.

He believed Lu Shiyuan had stepped in mostly to attract that girl's attention.

Yu Xiaogang said nothing further. All his attention was on Tang San.

After waiting so many years, he had finally found someone with Twin Martial Souls who could verify his theory.

His long-awaited goal was about to be achieved. What could be more important than that?

Lu Shiyuan also saw the master and disciple, and his grip on Xiao Wu's hand subconsciously tightened.

Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then smiled even more happily and took Lu Shiyuan's hand in return, not sparing Tang San so much as a glance.

Lu Shiyuan could not help turning to look at Xiao Wu.

What was this silly girl so happy about?

After leaving the academy, the two spent most of the day wandering through the market. Not only did they prepare a full set of daily necessities for Xiao Wu, but they also bought plenty of new clothes.

Xiao Wu liked pink, and Lu Shiyuan was not short on money, so everything they bought was a high-quality pink dress.

Xiao Wu's features had already been delicate, but after being carefully dressed up, she looked even cuter.

Having spent the entire afternoon shopping, Xiao Wu was in a wonderful mood. Only when it was nearly dark did she finally suggest going home.

Lu Shiyuan had long been unable to wait any longer. If he had not wanted to spoil Xiao Wu's enjoyment, he would have gone home to absorb the Soul Ring much earlier.

After returning home, he gave Xiao Wu a few instructions before darting into his bedroom.

Before leaving, Xiao Feiyu had told him that there was no need to deliberately hide the Soul Ring absorption from Xiao Wu. Otherwise, he would not have been so open about it.

After closing the door, he took the rewarded Soul Ring out of the system space.

A faint golden radiance instantly illuminated the dim room, while a vast power swirled around the Soul Ring.

A voice in Lu Shiyuan's heart was screaming wildly.

It was his desire for the Soul Ring.