Absorbing the First Soul Ring

The door opened from inside.

Yu Xiaogang wore a coat and held a notebook he had read halfway through. He glanced at Tang San and stepped aside.

"Come in. Have a seat."

Tang San entered and sat on a stool by the table. Several manuscripts lay open across it, covered in dense handwriting.

"Sorry to disturb you, Teacher."

Yu Xiaogang closed his notebook, poured a cup of cold tea, and pushed it toward him.

"Go on. What is it?"

Tang San picked up the cup but did not drink. "It's about Lin Xuan."

Yu Xiaogang paused.

Lin Xuan had turned him down flat that afternoon and left without another word. The child with Twin Martial Souls had left a deep impression on him.

"What about him?"

Tang San recounted everything that had happened that afternoon.

Lin Xuan had fought Wang Sheng and Xiao Wu in the open space.

Before the fight, he had taken out a sheet of Talisman Paper. When he activated it, it turned into green light and sank between his brows.

After using it, his reaction speed and judgment had improved dramatically. He could defeat children his age without a Soul Ring.

"Teacher, he called that paper a Clear Mind Talisman. He said he spent over two months figuring it out. He draws patterns on his Martial Soul with Soul Power, then activates them once they're complete."

Yu Xiaogang set down his teacup and leaned forward.

"Are you certain? Tenth-rank Soul Power, no Soul Ring, and a Self-Created Soul Skill?"

"I watched him draw one myself."

Tang San sounded certain.

"He even drew two more right there, one for me and one for Xiao Wu. The effect was obvious. It calmed the mind and sharpened spiritual perception. After I used it, I could even sense the air moving around me."

Yu Xiaogang stood and paced across the room.

"A Self-Created Soul Skill..." He repeated the words, his brow furrowed. "No. Strictly speaking, it isn't a Self-Created Soul Skill."

Tang San looked up.

"What do you mean, Teacher?"

"Soul Skills are abilities granted by Soul Rings. Lin Xuan has no Soul Ring, so this isn't a Soul Skill."

Yu Xiaogang stopped pacing.

"It's more like a special way of using his Martial Soul. His Martial Soul is paper. Paper can carry patterns, and those patterns can produce effects. He's developed an inherent property of his Martial Soul."

The more Yu Xiaogang thought about it, the more astonishing it seemed.

"Little San, think about it. A six-year-old child, with no one to guide him, explored on his own and unlocked this much of his Martial Soul's potential. What does that tell you?"

Tang San shook his head and waited for his teacher's answer.

"That his Spiritual Power far exceeds that of his peers."

Yu Xiaogang spoke each word deliberately.

"Drawing Talismans requires exceptional control over Spiritual Power. A child with tenth-rank Soul Power has very little Soul Power to begin with. For him to draw Talismans under those conditions, his Spiritual Power must be at least three to five times that of other children his age."

Tang San remembered how Lin Xuan had drawn the talisman that afternoon.

His finger had moved across the Talisman Paper, every stroke steady, without hesitation or pause.

He had looked far too practiced for someone who had spent only two months learning.

He just had not drawn particularly fast.

"Teacher, do you really think he has only one Martial Soul?"

Yu Xiaogang fell silent for a few seconds, then slowly sat back down.

"That... I'm no longer sure."

He had been convinced Lin Xuan had Twin Martial Souls.

But after hearing Tang San describe his ability with Talismans, another possibility had occurred to him.

"If his Paper Martial Soul has this special property, it might indeed account for his Innate Full Soul Power."

Yu Xiaogang rubbed his temples. "Whatever the case, one thing is certain."

"What?"

"He'll most likely become a support-type Soul Master."

Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San.

"And an exceedingly rare kind. Other people can use his Clear Mind Talismans. That's the defining trait of a support ability."

"Little San."

Yu Xiaogang's voice grew firmer.

"A support-type Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power who can devise his own ways to use his Martial Soul... Once he obtains Soul Rings, his Soul Skills will be far stronger than those of ordinary people. You must find a way to get along with him."

Tang San nodded. "I understand."

That had been his plan all along.

Yu Xiaogang added, "I won't approach him for now. That child is stubborn. Push too hard and it'll backfire. You share a dormitory. Given enough time, he'll see how you change. When that happens, we won't have to draw him in. He'll come to us."

Tang San felt much more at ease. His teacher had thought it through more carefully than he had.

"All right, Teacher. I'll head back, then."

"Go on. You start learning the Meditation Method tomorrow, so get some rest tonight."

Tang San rose, said goodbye, and stepped out into the night.

The next morning, Lin Xuan woke because he could barely breathe.

More precisely, because something was pressing down on him.

He tried to roll over but could not move.

Something heavy rested on his left shoulder, and a faint floral scent drifted into his nose.

Lin Xuan looked down.

Xiao Wu was curled into a ball, her head nestled against his shoulder. One arm lay across his chest, and one leg was draped over his. Her long braid had somehow come loose, spreading across half his pillow.

Lin Xuan was speechless.

The little rabbit's sleeping habits were absurd.

They had gone to sleep on their own sides the night before, with plenty of space between them.

Yet he had woken to find her pressed against him, clinging like an octopus.

Lin Xuan tried to pull his arm free.

Xiao Wu murmured, tightened her hold, and burrowed deeper into his shoulder.

She showed no sign of waking.

Lin Xuan took a deep breath and resigned himself to it.

Just then, a bed across the room creaked.

Wang Sheng sat up and rubbed his eyes. His gaze swept over them, and he froze for two seconds.

Then his expression grew remarkably complicated.

The other Work-Study Students woke one after another. Some put on their shoes, others yawned. Then they saw Lin Xuan.

Dorm Seven fell silent for quite a while.

Wang Sheng gritted his teeth and muttered, "Six years old... He's only six, and he's already got a girl cuddling up to him in bed. Boss really is something. I'm jealous."

Another Work-Study Student shook his head and sighed repeatedly as he put on his shoes.

Tang San got out of bed, glanced at Lin Xuan's predicament, and nodded at him. Then he went to wash up as though nothing had happened.

Lin Xuan had a feeling that nod meant good luck.

Just then, Wang Sheng closed the door a little too loudly.

Xiao Wu's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes groggily.

At first, she stared blankly. Then her gaze dropped to the arm she had laid across Lin Xuan's chest and the leg pinning down his.

Xiao Wu flushed from the base of her neck upward.

"You! You! You!" She sprang up and pointed at Lin Xuan. "Lin Xuan! Why are you in my bed?"

Lin Xuan rolled his eyes and gave Xiao Wu a light chop on the head. It was more a gesture than a blow.

"Little rabbit, take a good look. Whose bed is this?"

Xiao Wu looked around. It was indeed Lin Xuan's bed and Lin Xuan's pillow. She had rolled over from her own side.

Xiao Wu's face turned even redder.

"S-sorry!"

Before she had even finished speaking, Xiao Wu jumped off the bed, grabbed her coat, and rushed out.

At the doorway, she tripped over the threshold and nearly fell.

Wang Sheng poked his head out from the washroom. "Slow down, Xiao Wu!"

Without looking back, Xiao Wu ran even faster.

Lin Xuan sat on the bed, staring at the doorway where she had disappeared, and shook his head helplessly.

If this happened every day, how was he supposed to sleep?

The first day of classes at Notting Academy was uneventful.

The morning lesson covered basic Martial Soul theory. The teacher simply read from a book all morning.

The afternoon was reserved for independent cultivation. After all, Soul Masters could increase their Soul Power only through meditation.

That was also why Tang San had time to work as an apprentice at the Blacksmith Shop in the original story.

For Lin Xuan, the only thing of value was the basic Meditation Method handed out that evening.

It was a thin booklet with rough pages and scrawled writing.

Its contents were simple: a basic route for circulating Soul Power, paired with a breathing rhythm to speed up its recovery and growth.

Lin Xuan read it twice and memorized the route.

The basic Meditation Method was not complicated, but it was useful to him. Until then, he had simply waited for his Soul Power to recover. With the method, he could recover at least thirty percent faster.

On the way back to the dormitory, Lin Xuan kept turning one thing over in his mind.

Yu Xiaogang had not appeared all day.

He had not come looking for Lin Xuan, sent Tang San with a message, or even watched from a distance.

Had he given up?

I hope so, Lin Xuan thought.

He had no desire to be Yu Xiaogang's test subject, hounded every day with questions about his second Martial Soul.

The days passed.

Lin Xuan attended classes during the day, did his Work-Study Student chores in the afternoon, and practiced the Meditation Method at night. He drew Clear Mind Talismans whenever he had time. His life was regular and full.

Every morning, Xiao Wu rolled over to his side. Lin Xuan had gone from being angry about it to being used to it.

Tang San visited Yu Xiaogang every evening and trained for another two hours after returning. His progress was plain to see.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Xuan continued to cultivate, draw talismans, and do his Work-Study Student chores each day.

That day, Tang San obtained his first Soul Ring.

On the sixth day, Xiao Wu returned too.

As soon as she came through the door, she bounced up to Lin Xuan, planted her hands on her hips, and raised her chin high.

"Lin Xuan! I have a Soul Ring too!"

Lin Xuan was drawing a talisman at the table. He did not even look up. "Mm. Congratulations."

"That's all?" Xiao Wu leaned closer. "Aren't you curious where I hunted the Soul Beast?"

"No."

Xiao Wu dropped onto the bed beside him in a huff, swinging her legs.

"Hmph. You're no fun."

But the more Lin Xuan acted like that, the more Xiao Wu wanted to stay by his side and drive him mad!

Then Lin Xuan put away the Talisman Paper in his hand and turned around. "All right, tell me. Where did you hunt it?"

Xiao Wu perked up at once. "I found a Hundred-Year Soft Bone Rabbit in a little grove outside the city!"

She stopped halfway through.

Lin Xuan waited two seconds. "And then?"

"A-and then I hunted it, obviously!" Xiao Wu sounded distinctly guilty, and her eyes slid away.

Lin Xuan did not press her. Xiao Wu had found an excuse to slip away and condensed a Soul Ring with her own cultivation.

But that had nothing to do with him.

What bothered Lin Xuan was something else: Tang San and Xiao Wu both had Soul Rings now, while he still did not.

Still, Lin Xuan was in no hurry.

He had Innate Full Soul Power, and Dean Reck had said he would take him to hunt a Soul Beast.

That day, Reck appeared at the dormitory door.

He looked to be in his fifties, with graying hair and a robe faded from many washings.

"Lin Xuan, are you ready?"

"I'm taking you to hunt a Soul Beast and obtain your first Soul Ring."

Lin Xuan brightened at the news.

"I'm ready, Dean!"

Reck walked ahead at a brisk pace.

"Your Martial Soul is paper, right?"

"Yes."

"Xiao Gang mentioned you." Reck's tone was casual. "He said you can draw on your Martial Soul and make the drawings produce effects."

Lin Xuan's heart skipped a beat.

So Yu Xiaogang had told Reck about him after all.

"Don't be nervous." Reck did not look back.

"I'm not interested in studying your Martial Soul. I'm taking you to hunt a Soul Beast simply because you have Innate Full Soul Power, and the academy has a duty to help you."

Lin Xuan relaxed a little.

Reck went on:

"Your Martial Soul has no clear attribute, so in theory, you could absorb a Soul Ring from any Soul Beast. But Xiao Gang suggested finding you one with a fire attribute."

"A fire attribute?"

"He said paper burns, and fire fuels it."

Reck shrugged.

"I didn't ask what he meant. Anyway, there's a Fire-Maned Lizard habitat in Notting City's Soul Hunting Forest, and their ages should suit you."

Lin Xuan did not argue.

A fire-attribute Soul Ring was exactly what he wanted.

Though he had only opened the first page of the Primal Beginning Talisman Scripture, Lin Xuan had a vague feeling that absorbing Soul Rings with attributes would unlock more Talismans.

Leaving Notting City, Reck led him east for about four hours before they entered a scrub-covered wasteland.

Black scorch marks dotted the ground, and a faint smell of sulfur hung in the air.

"The Fire-Maned Lizards are in that stretch of rocky ground ahead." Reck stopped. "I'll hold one down. You absorb its Soul Ring."

"Dean, what about its age...?"

"Don't worry. I've picked one out. Around three hundred and eighty years old. It won't exceed what you can handle."

With that, Reck blurred and vanished into the bushes.

Lin Xuan waited less than three minutes before a short beastly roar sounded ahead, followed by Reck's voice.

"Come on over."

Lin Xuan hurried toward him.

On the rocky ground lay a bright-red lizard. Some invisible force pinned down its limbs, leaving it unable to move.

A row of fiery-red scales stood along its spine, now drooping listlessly.

Reck pressed one hand against the lizard's head and beckoned Lin Xuan over with the other.

"Come on!"

Lin Xuan stepped forward and killed the Fire-Maned Lizard with a single slash.

A pale-yellow Soul Ring rose from the lizard's body and slowly ascended.

Lin Xuan summoned his Martial Soul.

Pale-yellow Talisman Paper floated above his palm, its edges curling slightly.

Drawn toward him, the Soul Ring drifted over.

The instant it touched him, a wave of searing power surged into his body.

Lin Xuan gritted his teeth.

He began absorbing his first Soul Ring!

Half an hour later, Lin Xuan opened his eyes.

A yellow Soul Ring circled steadily around him, glowing softly and giving off visible heat.

Three hundred and eighty years. A Fire-Maned Lizard Soul Ring.

Reck leaned against a rock, watching Lin Xuan finish absorbing it. His brow rose slightly.

"Faster than I expected."

Lin Xuan stood and stretched his arms and legs.

The Soul Power within him was at least three times more abundant than before. He had reached level eleven.

And with that fire-attribute power fused into his Soul Power, he could feel a faint warmth at his fingertips.

"Thank you, Dean." Lin Xuan bowed earnestly.

Reck waved a hand. "Let's go back."