Back to Nott City

Over the next week, Chu Heng and Su Xianling stayed in the Soul Hunting Forest. Following Su Xianling's plan, Chu Heng spent most of his time getting used to his first spirit skill.

It had three forms: pistol, rifle, and grenade launcher. After several days of testing, Chu Heng had a fairly clear idea of how much power each form produced at different levels of Soul Power.

In pistol form, there was no need to pour in thirty points of Soul Power at once, as he had the first time, just to deal with a ten-year Soul Beast. Around ten points was enough to do serious damage.

The rifle form demanded more control from Chu Heng. Fortunately, he was in good shape, and Su Xianling kept correcting his movements. After a few days, he could just about keep most of his shots within a relatively tight area.

He used the grenade launcher the least because it consumed so much Soul Power. Su Xianling would not let him casually test it at full power, either.

This was the Soul Hunting Forest, after all. One blast could startle a Soul Beast nearby that they had no business provoking, and then they would have trouble on their hands. So Chu Heng put no more than twenty or thirty points of Soul Power into those tests. Even so, he was satisfied with the damage the explosions caused.

The only form he had yet to show was the last one: the sniper rifle.

Chu Heng planned to keep it hidden for now and come up with an excuse once he had more Spirit Rings.

Besides testing his first spirit skill, Su Xianling did not let up on his other training.

As an Agility Attack Soul Master who attacked from a distance, staying alive mattered just as much as dealing damage. Chu Heng badly wanted Tang San's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but the system had yet to offer a new task, so all he could do was want it.

Fortunately, Su Xianling had a plan of her own. She used the most brutal methods to train his footwork, reflexes, judgment of distance, ability to find cover, and allocation of Soul Power in battle.

All Chu Heng could say about it was:

"I'm exhausted!"

But after each session, he had to admit it worked.

Now that he could attack from a distance, he could rethink many of his old methods, which had required him to get close to a Soul Beast. By the end of the week, he had begun to see the rough outline of how he wanted to fight in the future.

A week later, at the edge of the Soul Hunting Forest, Chu Heng looked back at the dense woods behind him.

It had only been a little over a month, yet as he left, looking at the forest gave him the strange feeling that a lifetime had passed.

"Going to miss it?"

Su Xianling stood beside him, smiling as she asked.

"No way."

Chu Heng shook his head at once.

"I just think..."

He gave it some thought.

"If I get the chance, I could come back."

The Soul Hunting Forest was dangerous, but there was no denying it was an excellent place for combat training.

Su Xianling smiled.

"Don't worry. You'll have plenty of chances."

By her plan, Chu Heng would look for his second Spirit Ring here, and his later training would bring him back as well.

Chu Heng fell silent.

That did not sound like something to look forward to.

After leaving the Soul Hunting Forest, they soon found a carriage headed for Nott City. Compared with the journey there on foot, the return trip was far easier. The moment Chu Heng sat down inside, he felt a long-forgotten sense of bliss.

He leaned against the carriage wall and soon fell asleep. When he woke again, it was completely dark, so he went right back to sleep.

"Stop sleeping! Start cultivating with your meditation technique!"

Su Xianling grabbed Chu Heng by the ear and made him get to work.

The following afternoon.

The carriage rolled slowly into Nott City, and familiar streets came back into view. As Chu Heng watched pedestrians pass the shops and stalls along the road, he felt an unexpected sense of affection.

Only after living in a wilderness for so long did he truly appreciate civilization.

Back at the Spirit Hall Branch, Su Xianling took Chu Heng to briefly register the details of their hunt. Once that was more or less done, she turned to him.

"All right. The rest of today is yours, and I'll give you tomorrow off too."

Chu Heng blinked.

"You're being that nice?"

"What?"

Su Xianling raised an eyebrow.

"Don't want a break? Fine, then. We'll keep training tomorrow morning."

"No, no, no!"

Chu Heng shook his head at once.

"I think your plan is perfect!"

Su Xianling could not help laughing. She was not giving Chu Heng time off simply to let him laze around. He had spent more than a month in a high-pressure environment; a little relaxation now would do him good.

Keeping a bowstring drawn too tight was never wise.

"Go on."

Su Xianling waved him off.

"The day after tomorrow, you start training with me in earnest."

"Okay!"

Chu Heng agreed.

That evening, Chu Heng went to see Su Yuntao. As the person who had set him on this path, Su Yuntao had earned his gratitude.

Now that he had successfully obtained his first Spirit Ring, it was only natural to visit him after returning.

"Uncle Yuntao!"

Chu Heng had a badge now, so he no longer needed anyone to let him into the deacons' dormitory area. He went straight to Su Yuntao's room, following the route he remembered from last time.

He knocked, and a voice answered from inside.

"It's unlocked. Come in!"

Chu Heng pushed the door open. Su Yuntao was sitting at his desk, sorting through some things.

Hearing the door, he looked up.

"Chu Heng?"

Su Yuntao paused when he saw him. Then his gaze settled on Chu Heng, and he sensed his Soul Power.

Surprise steadily spread across his face.

"You've become a Soul Master?"

"Mm!"

Chu Heng grinned.

"I only just got back."

Su Yuntao immediately put down what he was holding.

"Come on, let me see."

Chu Heng did not hide it. He circulated his Soul Power, and a yellow Spirit Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.

At the sight of it, Su Yuntao's expression changed.

A hundred-year Spirit Ring—and judging by the aura it gave off, it was not a young one, either.

"Not bad."

The surprise in Su Yuntao's eyes soon turned to admiration.

"Lord Xianling really does think highly of you."

Chu Heng chuckled.

"Of course she does."

He went on to tell Su Yuntao a few things that had happened in the Soul Hunting Forest.

There were, of course, some things he would not say, so he left those out.

As for his first spirit skill, he only said it let him attack from a distance. He did not describe what its different forms could do.

Even so, Su Yuntao was quiet for quite a while after hearing him out.

A six-year-old boy had entered the Soul Hunting Forest without a Spirit Ring. Just over a month later, he could survive there alone and fight a Soul Beast close to a hundred years old head-on.

That rate of growth was frightening.

"Chu Heng."

Su Yuntao looked at him with a new seriousness.

"If you ever run into trouble at Spirit Hall, come straight to me. If it's something I can help with, just ask."

Chu Heng paused, then smiled and nodded.

"Then thank you in advance, Uncle Yuntao."

He knew Su Yuntao was extending an olive branch, but he saw nothing wrong with that.

Relationships changed as people's value to one another changed.

Su Yuntao had looked after him before because he saw a child with potential. Now that Chu Heng had begun to prove himself, Su Yuntao naturally wanted to be closer to him.

That was normal.

Besides, Su Yuntao had always treated him well. Chu Heng was happy to accept the goodwill.

They talked a while longer before Chu Heng got up to leave.

Back in his room, he lay down on his soft bed for the first time in ages. His whole body relaxed almost at once.

"Now that's comfortable..."

That night.

Chu Heng slept soundly.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window, and Chu Heng slept in for once.

But after he ate, he suddenly had no idea what to do.

Lately, his days had been filled with either training or fighting. Now that he had free time, he felt oddly out of place.

Chu Heng sat by the window and thought for a while.

It was Sunday, so Nott Junior Soul Master Academy had no regular classes.

In that case...

"I'll go see Tang San."

It had been some time since they parted in the Soul Hunting Forest. Tang San had obtained his first Spirit Ring, and Chu Heng was now a true Soul Master too.

The last time they met, they had not even had a chance for a proper sparring match.

Most importantly, Chu Heng wanted to see if he could trigger a new task.

Time to go!