Why Are You So Easily Impressed?

Flender clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "All right, we've got the Spirit Rings and taken care of everything we came to do. Pack up. We're heading back."

He glanced at Ye Lin, then swept his gaze over the others.

"No dawdling. We'll travel through the night and get some proper rest once we're out of the Star Dou Forest."

Ye Lin answered and retied his pack, but kept his eyes on Flender.

"Dean, what about my teacher? He said he'd be right back, but it's been two days."

Flender pushed up his glasses.

"Xiaogang never does anything without preparing."

"If he said he'd be right back, he knew what he was doing."

"We'll wait for him in the town outside the forest. He'll find us there."

He paused, then added,

"I've known him for decades. I know him."

Ye Lin nodded and asked no more.

The group retraced their route toward the edge of the Star Dou Forest, moving much faster than they had on the way in.

Over the next two days, they crossed streams, climbed low slopes, and skirted thickets and clearings they had already passed once before.

By dusk on the third day, the outline of the town finally came into view.

As they reached its entrance, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief at once.

Emerging from the depths of the Star Dou Forest felt like shrugging off a weight that had pressed on their shoulders for far too long.

Ma Hongjun stretched. "Finally, we're out."

Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu walked side by side, their steps much lighter than they had been in the forest.

"Come on. Let's go back to the hotel where we stayed before and wait for Grandmaster there."

But just as they reached the hotel,

Flender's gaze suddenly stopped.

Someone was sitting on a chair outside the hotel.

His hands rested on his knees and his back was straight. It was Yu Xiaogang.

A half-finished cup of tea sat before him as he looked unhurriedly toward the entrance to town.

Flender slowed for a step. Then the corners of his mouth lifted, and he tipped his chin in that direction.

Yu Xiaogang spotted him too. Their gazes met across half the town entrance. One pushed up his glasses; the other gave a slight nod.

Ye Lin followed Flender's gaze and dashed out from the middle of the group.

He reached the old wooden table in a few quick strides and stopped in front of Yu Xiaogang.

"Teacher! Are you all right?"

Yu Xiaogang set down his teacup. "I'm perfectly fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"So, did you absorb your third Spirit Ring successfully?"

"What kind of Spirit Ring was it? How old?"

Ye Lin nodded. "A Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear. Six thousand three hundred years."

Yu Xiaogang lifted his cup and took another sip. "A little on the young side, but it'll do. So-so, I suppose. The spirit beast type is excellent, at least."

Flender folded his arms and watched Yu Xiaogang's carefully restrained expression, a smirk tugging at his mouth.

"Oh, stop pretending you're not delighted. A six-thousand-three-hundred-year third Spirit Ring is older than most people's fourth. Some don't reach that level until their fifth."

"And Ye Lin got more than just a Spirit Ring this time."

Flender clicked his tongue. "More than a Spirit Ring?"

"What else could there be?"

He paused, then silently mouthed the words:

Spirit Bone.

Yu Xiaogang watched his lips for two seconds, then slammed his teacup onto the table with a sharp clack.

He sprang from his chair, seized Ye Lin by the wrist, and headed straight through the hotel doors.

"You lot go get rooms and rest up."

"Ye Lin can stay with me."

"We'll have a good dinner tonight, then head back first thing tomorrow."

Dragged along by him, Ye Lin stumbled before catching up.

Flender watched Yu Xiaogang haul Ye Lin into the hotel. His shoulders shook twice before he finally burst out laughing.

"Xiaogang, what's the rush to get back?"

"We could rest here for a couple of days. It's not like we can't afford it."

Yu Xiaogang did not turn around. Only his voice drifted back.

"We should go back. It's safer there. We're never really safe out here."

Flender answered without hesitation. "Fine, we'll do it your way. We'll head back tomorrow."

He waved to the others behind him.

"All right, go get your rooms."

"We'll have a good meal together tonight, get some sleep, and set off early tomorrow morning."

Yu Xiaogang pulled Ye Lin into the room, shut the door behind them, drew the curtains, and checked the lock once more. Only then did he turn around and lower his voice.

"Ye Lin, Flender said you got a Spirit Bone too? Take it out and let me see."

Standing in the middle of the room, Ye Lin scratched the back of his head. "Teacher, I've already absorbed it."

Yu Xiaogang's expression froze for an instant. Then he rolled his eyes.

That look held the helpless frustration of someone watching a promising student make a foolish mistake.

He sighed, sat down at the table, and tapped it twice with his fingers.

"Wait, you just absorbed it? You already have a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Why are you acting like you've never seen a Spirit Bone before? You just went ahead and absorbed it."

He shook his head, as if trying to take it in.

"What if I find you a Spirit Bone with a higher age later? Wouldn't this be a waste? Don't absorb one straightaway next time, do you hear me?"

Ye Lin nodded, not daring to say a word.

Yu Xiaogang sighed again, his thoughts churning.

He might not have been strong enough to hunt spirit beasts and obtain Spirit Bones himself,

but he had plenty of other ways to get them. He had long been making plans for Ye Lin, and the bones he had in mind were at least ten thousand years old.

Yet this boy had been so eager that he had absorbed a mere six-thousand-year Spirit Bone on the spot.

His disciple really was far too easily impressed.

At that thought, Yu Xiaogang found himself a little ridiculous too.

After all, Ye Lin had come from Holy Soul Village, not some great clan. Where would he have seen such things?

"Which part of the body was it for? Please tell me it wasn't a torso or head bone. Those are the most important."

Ye Lin shook his head. "Neither. It was an External Soul Bone."

Yu Xiaogang went still.

"An External Soul Bone!"

Sitting at the table, he froze for two seconds. Then a grin slowly spread across his face, and no matter how he tried, he could not hold it back.

He chuckled under his breath, then chuckled again. Finally, he gave up trying to contain himself and broke into a gleeful laugh.

He looked up at Ye Lin, his eyes shining.

"My disciple's luck is unbelievable."

"Another External Soul Bone! Who would have thought?"

"Quick, show me."

Ye Lin nodded and raised his right hand.

He clenched his fist, and five long, dark-golden claws sprang from between his knuckles. In the faint light filtering through the curtains, they gleamed with a cold, dark-golden sheen, like five elongated short blades.