Yao Zi and Jiang Yan froze.
Wood chips still fluttered around the broken end of the trunk. Once Jin Yang had steadied himself, he casually waved his hand, as though what he had broken was not a solid tree trunk but a crisp biscuit.
"So badass... so amazing!"
Jiang Yan cried out in astonishment.
Yao Zi nodded too.
This was her first time encountering a Soul Master like this. Without manifesting his Martial Soul or using a Soul Skill, he had achieved such a feat through physical strength alone, despite being only a Soul Elder.
He's incredible!
No wonder he's a disciple acknowledged by Lord Qian Daoliu.
Yao Zi looked at Jin Yang with admiration.
She had thought he was a junior who needed her guidance.
To her surprise, he was actually an expert in the Senior Realm.
Yao Zi clapped her hands in applause and smiled. "You certainly live up to being Great Enshrined Qian Daoliu's disciple. Still, your senior has another question."
"Please ask, Senior."
"Are you really a support-type Soul Master? When Jiang Yan said you were one, you didn't seem to object."
Yao Zi was confident that she had not detected the slightest doubt from Jin Yang.
"That's right, Senior Yao Zi. Although my fighting style is a little different, I really am a support-type Soul Master."
With a beckoning motion from Jin Yang, his Sunflower Martial Soul emerged from her palm, its back facing Yao Zi.
Unlike its usual full manifestation, this time Sunflower rose only from his hand. The entire plant stood less than a foot tall, swaying constantly in his palm.
Three Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath Sunflower, slowly ascending to encircle his flower head.
Purple, purple, purple.
Three Thousand-Year Soul Rings appeared before Yao Zi.
"This?!"
Jin Yang picked up where she had left off. "That's right. This is why Great Enshrined Qian Daoliu took me as his disciple."
"That's just too outrageous!"
Yao Zi lightly covered her mouth, staring at the Sunflower Martial Soul in disbelief.
"Yeah, yeah! You're this!" Jiang Yan raised his fist with his thumb pointing up.
"I can't believe you fooled me. I actually thought you were an ordinary support-type Soul Master. I even said I'd protect you. Thinking about it now, I'm a little embarrassed. Judging by our strength, who knows who would be protecting whom?"
Jin Yang wanted to say something, but before he could open his mouth,
a cheerful shout came from the distance.
"Hahaha! Senior Yao Zi, Jiang Yan! Sorry for the wait! We're here."
The newcomer was Fang Qiong, with several girls following behind him. Jin Yang counted them; including Yao Zi, there were exactly seven.
Jin Yang guessed that they were probably the core members of the team representing Plant Academy in the competition.
Before long, girls were hanging all over Senior Yao Zi.
That made Jin Yang a little envious.
Of course, he was not envious of Senior Yao Zi getting to be so physically close to the girls.
Rather, he envied how freely they could fool around with her.
The last time he had gone out to have fun with his buddies had been in his previous life.
Sadly, he would never be able to have fun with those buddies again.
If he could return to his previous life, he would cherish those days, without fail.
He wondered whether he might someday return to his original world.
If that were possible, he would probably have to reach a realm beyond a First-Level God at the very least.
There was no point thinking about it anytime soon.
"Is this the famous prospective Saint Son of Spirit Hall?" Fang Qiong looked curiously at Jin Yang.
"Huh? What prospective Saint Son? Why haven't I heard about this?" Jin Yang asked in confusion.
"Looks like it's false, then. Even the person himself doesn't know whether he's about to be named Spirit Hall's next Saint Son. Who's spreading this stuff, anyway?"
Fang Qiong withdrew his gaze and waved a hand.
Who was spreading this nonsense? How pointless. Weren't they afraid of Spirit Hall coming knocking?
Jin Yang understood. This was probably information Qian Daoliu had deliberately leaked.
Still, he was puzzled. Was being a disciple not enough?
Jin Yang was undoubtedly a little surprised.
After all, there was no affection between them. Their relationship was more a tangle of shared interests.
Why go so far as to spread rumors that he was a prospective Saint Son?
Unable to fathom Qian Daoliu's intentions, Jin Yang simply stopped thinking about it.
He turned his attention back to Fang Qiong and the others. The senior girls before him were all tall and attractive.
Out in the wider world, every one of them would have been considered a pretty girl.
Some were shy, some confident, some enthusiastic, and some radiant.
They were a colorful array, each with her own charm.
But Jin Yang merely admired them.
His body in this life had yet to begin developing, so naturally, beautiful women stirred no particular thoughts in him.
For now, Jin Yang could only sigh at their beauty.
During the training that followed, Jin Yang did his best to keep Sunflower hidden, avoiding letting his face turn toward the others.
Aside from Jiang Yan, who knew what his Martial Soul looked like, nobody else had seen it yet.
It would be bad if he frightened everyone so much that they couldn't sleep after going home.
Unfortunately, despite his consideration for them,
they were all determined to find out what his Martial Soul looked like.
In the end, unable to resist their insistence, Jin Yang slowly turned Sunflower in his hand. The next instant, everyone's smiles froze, and the scene fell so silent that not even a crow or sparrow could be heard.
A moment later, someone finally spoke.
"Jin Yang, you can turn your Martial Soul back around now."
At those words, Jin Yang immediately turned his Martial Soul's flower head toward himself, leaving the other side facing everyone.
"I never imagined a Martial Soul could look like that."
"Exactly. A perfectly good plant, yet it has a mouth and eyes. It's just too bizarre."
"If the Martial Soul is powerful, it's not necessarily a bad thing, right?"
"Do any of you have any taste? Do you really think it's ugly? Why do I think it looks handsome?"
Where some felt fear, others naturally felt delight.
Jin Yang had never expected the first person to appreciate his Martial Soul to be Yao Zi.
Yao Zi's Martial Soul was the crimson flame thorn, which was fairly unremarkable in appearance even among plant Martial Souls.
Flames burned upon its blood-red brambles, and danger radiated from every part of it. Even from a distance, the sharp spikes along the brambles could send waves of fear through anyone who saw them.
It was not a particularly appealing appearance.
But it was highly intimidating.
One glance was enough to tell that it was not to be trifled with.
Yet that was precisely the sort of formidable appearance Yao Zi loved.
When she saw the true face of Jin Yang's Martial Soul, Yao Zi's eyes lit up, and she could not help taking a few more looks.
Although Jin Yang's Sunflower now looked even wilder, with his seed-made mouth growing larger and his teeth packed ever more densely, his eyes had become structures of pure light element, greatly reducing the uncanny valley effect. At the very least, people no longer felt that Sunflower was staring at them without pause.
"Senior Yao Zi, do you really think he looks good?" Even Jin Yang, the Martial Soul's owner, sometimes found him uncomfortable to look at for too long.
Naturally, he had never thought anyone would particularly like a Martial Soul in this style.
"Of course. Do you think I'm just trying to comfort you?" Yao Zi gave a playful smile, and the other girls laughed along with her.
For a moment, Jin Yang felt like an emperor surrounded by girls, as though he were the moon with a host of stars gathered around him.
Yao Zi gave a light cough. "All right, quiet down, everyone. We're starting training now."
Before you continue