Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring? Lin Xiao Was Favored by the Heavens

"What's wrong? Worried about safety?"

"Don't worry. I'm leading the team myself, so your safety's guaranteed!"

"With Innate Soul Power at level twenty, you should get a Soul Ring as soon as possible. It'll definitely help your future growth!"

Zhao Wuji stopped walking.

Lin Xiao had only just awakened his Martial Soul. He surely had no experience fighting Soul Beasts.

It was only natural to be afraid.

But Soul Rings were vital to Soul Masters.

If fear kept him from hunting for a Soul Ring, how could he grow stronger?

Lin Xiao shook his head. "Teacher Zhao, my situation seems a little unusual. I feel like a Soul Ring is about to appear."

"What?"

Lin Xiao's words left Zhao Wuji dumbfounded.

Tang San and the others were just as baffled.

What did he mean, a Soul Ring was about to appear?

Why did everything this guy said sound so mysterious?

Lin Xiao chuckled to himself. With the system at his disposal, he never had to worry about Soul Rings.

Besides, he needed to reveal some of what made him different now.

Otherwise, things might get even more troublesome later.

[Ding! Public Display of Power mission complete. Rewards: Heaven-Gifted First Soul Ring and Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation Domain!]

The system notification rang out. His rewards were already stored in the system space, ready to be claimed at any time.

"Teacher Zhao, my situation is a little unusual. I don't think I need to hunt Soul Beasts."

"You don't need to hunt Soul Beasts?"

Zhao Wuji's brows drew together. What kind of nonsense was that?

Tang San laughed. "Soul Masters have to hunt Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings. That's only natural. It's common knowledge."

"Lin Xiao, you've never been to school, so it's understandable that you wouldn't know this."

There seemed to be nothing wrong with his words, yet they left a sour taste.

Zhao Wuji shot him a glance.

A Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul at level twenty-nine was monstrous indeed.

But this boy had a rotten streak.

Zhao Wuji hadn't been blind during the fight just now.

That gap in the Blue Silver Grass vines' blockade had been deliberate.

He had spent years in the Soul Master World and had plenty of combat experience.

He could see through such petty tricks at a glance.

This little monster has a dark streak. Hopefully we can set him straight.

Otherwise, once he grew stronger, he might become a tyrant who terrorized the region.

That would run completely counter to Shrek Academy's founding principles.

Lin Xiao heard the mockery in Tang San's words but ignored it.

The system notification had sounded again.

[Ding! Xiao Wu's favorability toward her destined partner, Tang San, has dropped by 3. Current favorability: 70!]

Well, would you look at that. Down three points at once.

On Douluo Continent, no bond ran deeper than theirs.

Yet since yesterday, Xiao Wu's favorability toward Tang San had fallen by five points.

That was no small number.

Favorability toward a destined partner was usually stable and extremely hard to lower.

Yet Xiao Wu's had dropped five points since yesterday.

That was harder than raising favorability by fifty points.

"Teacher Zhao, I'm not entirely sure what's happening, but I really do feel a Soul Ring coming."

With that, he silently called for the reward to be claimed.

In an instant, divine light flashed across the sky. A golden beam pierced the clouds and enveloped Lin Xiao.

"Watch out!"

Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically, and he rushed forward at once.

But the moment he touched the golden light, it threw him back.

"Pfft—"

Zhao Wuji spat blood as he flew backward, then quickly steadied himself in midair and landed.

"Lin Xiao, are you all right—"

Xiao Wu started toward him too.

"Stay back, all of you!" Zhao Wuji shouted. "Let's see what's happening first."

Xiao Wu stopped, but the worry on her face did not fade.

Zhao Wuji walked back and stared at the golden beam.

Then everyone saw it clearly: high within the beam, a purple Soul Ring slowly descended and settled around Lin Xiao.

"Is that... a Soul Ring?"

Everyone stared, stunned.

Weren't Soul Rings supposed to appear only after a Soul Beast was killed?

But now one was falling from the sky?

"This boy... he's hiding something," Zhao Wuji muttered, beginning to understand what Lin Xiao had meant.

That Soul Ring was absolutely heaven-defying.

Purple meant a thousand-year ring.

Could Lin Xiao's First Soul Ring really be a thousand-year one?

Inside the beam, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged and rapidly absorbed the Soul Ring.

The system's reward was easy to absorb. He finished in just one minute.

Only after he had absorbed the Soul Ring did the golden beam fade.

The moment he opened his eyes, he found everyone gathering around him.

"Boy, what was that Soul Ring all about?"

Zhao Wuji looked him up and down, clicking his tongue in wonder.

Lin Xiao shook his head slightly. "I'm not entirely sure, but it seems I obtain Soul Rings differently from everyone else."

"It's a Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring. I won't need to hunt Soul Beasts for my future rings either. When I reach the right level, a Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring will descend on its own."

A Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring?

It sounded mystical. At the very least, none of them had ever heard the term before.

Seeing their bewildered faces, Lin Xiao explained further.

"Maybe I'm just lucky enough to receive Heaven-Bestowed Soul Rings."

"And they ignore the limits of what my body can withstand. I can absorb them perfectly without worrying that I can't bear their energy."

Zhao Wuji nearly spat.

"Holy shit! That's possible?"

"A Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring... a gift from the heavens?"

Judging by the name, that seemed to be exactly what it was.

"Yes. A gift from the heavens."

Lin Xiao went along with him.

The system called it a Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring anyway, so he might as well make that the explanation.

Besides, he was telling the truth: he had faced no difficulty absorbing it.

Maybe transmigrators are demons from beyond this realm, and that's why things work differently for me?

Zhao Wuji fell into thought.

"Looks like the heavens favor you. Sigh, I don't understand it either. We'll see what the headmaster says when he gets back."

"Boy, you'd better not tell anyone outside about this. It could put you in danger."

Zhao Wuji's expression turned grave as he spoke.

No one had ever seen a Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring before.

If Soul Masters with ulterior motives learned that Lin Xiao could absorb Soul Rings perfectly regardless of his body's limits, it would bring him serious trouble.

"And none of you are to tell anyone what happened today. Break that rule, and you'll be severely punished!"

Zhao Wuji fixed his gaze on the others.

The Heaven-Bestowed Soul Ring had to remain a secret!

"Understood!"

Xiao Wu and the others nodded repeatedly.

Naturally, they couldn't go around telling people about something so extraordinary.

It would bring Lin Xiao trouble.

Lin Xiao, however, knew how underhanded Tang San could be.

Tang San might well spread the news someday.

Lin Xiao would have to watch out for him.

"Lin Xiao, you really don't know why you can receive Heaven-Bestowed Soul Rings?"

Ning Rongrong took his arm and asked curiously.

Lin Xiao shrugged. "Maybe I'm a good person, so I get Heaven-Bestowed Soul Rings?"

"That's true. You are a good person!"

Ning Rongrong nodded as though it were perfectly obvious.

Lin Xiao had led the team to victory and possessed level-twenty Innate Soul Power. Both were proof that he was a good person!

Someone with poor character surely wouldn't have been treated so well.