A Thief Steals What Another Thief Stole

At the center of The Academy was a small lake. Amon sat on a bluestone by the shore, leisurely watching the water.

A gentle breeze blew, ripples stirred across the surface, and several plump ducks paddled about playfully.

"Amon, give it back!" Yan Jin stormed over to his side, her little face full of frost.

"Hm? You mean this?" Amon tossed the money pouch in his hand and smiled at her. "Why do I remember this being my money pouch?"

The Gold Soul Coins clinked together, producing a pleasant jingling sound.

He had lifted it off her during their combat lesson earlier.

"Only part of it is yours. There's also some that I worked very hard to steal... earn. Give it back already," Yan Jin said fiercely.

"That won't do. I earned it with my own skill, so why should I return it?"

"Bastard, what exactly do you want?"

"Stealing is a bad habit." Amon shook his head as he lectured her.

You're even more skilled at it than I am!

Yan Jin opened her mouth and retorted silently.

Rather than trying to settle things with words any longer, a vicious glint flashed through her eyes. She said in a low voice, "Then we'll settle this with our fists."

Yan Jin suddenly attacked. A red glow surged forth, and a ball of scorching magma appeared in her palm.

Even without a Spirit Ring, and even though she could not control it freely herself, merely bringing it forth was enough. Relying solely on its inherent properties, this Martial Soul displayed tremendous destructive power.

"Magma..." Amon raised his hand to meet it, his expression turning slightly grave. He activated his Spirit Bone ability, turning his soul power into a protective film that covered his hand.

To withstand the heat, he poured a large amount of soul power into it. As a result, the solidified soul power that should have been transparent now carried a faint gray tint.

"Are you crazy?" Yan Jin had only wanted to scare him and had no intention of hurting him.

She had originally planned to withdraw her Martial Soul at the last moment, but Amon had raised his hand to meet it. Caught off guard, she had no time to avoid him, and the two came into contact.

To her astonishment, that fair hand gripped her Martial Soul as though it were an ordinary stone.

"What? You can actually ignore magma's heat? How did you do that?" Yan Jin's pupils contracted as she spoke in disbelief.

Amon did not answer, keeping a smile on his face.

In truth, it was not easy for him. Solidifying soul power did not consume much by itself, but the magma constantly wore away at his soul power, forcing him to continuously supply more in order to keep the protective film from burning through.

Yan Jin withdrew her Martial Soul, her gaze gradually turning solemn. Then she suddenly slid to her knees and hugged Amon's calf. "Teacher, please take me as your disciple."

Amon froze. He had intended to teach her a lesson, but not to go too far. She was only a child, after all, and he had merely wanted to tease her a little. Her reaction had truly exceeded his expectations.

"You want me to take you as my disciple. Don't tell me you want me to teach you..."

"Mhm, that's right. Please teach me how to put other people's wealth into my own pocket without leaving a trace." She pressed her hands together, her expression extremely earnest.

"I'm a teacher at The Academy, not some pickpocket on the street. Do you think I'd teach you that?"

"I'm a student at The Academy. Why can't I learn my teacher's skills?"

"Tell me about yourself."

"My name is Yan Jin. I'm seven years old, a Level 9 Soul Warrior, and my Martial Soul is magma. My Innate Soul Power is Level 8. I have eight lackeys under me, and everyone on the streets calls me 'Little Commander.'" She patted her chest proudly, seemingly very pleased with that nickname.

"Commander" was an honorific used by the city's hired-worker groups for those with considerable prestige within their organizations. It roughly meant leader or boss. Some criminal gangs also called their leaders "Commander."

Amon figured that she was probably the head of some small theft ring.

"Why do this kind of work? The Academy has work-study programs too, doesn't it? With your talent, you should be able to cultivate to the Soul Master realm very soon. By then, you can collect a subsidy of one Gold Soul Coin from Spirit Hall every month. You may not be able to feast on fish and meat, but it would be more than enough for your daily needs." He asked suspiciously.

"Well... about that... I think things are fine as they are now." Yan Jin's gaze drifted away.

"With your talent, hasn't anyone wanted to take you as a disciple?"

"An old man from Spirit Hall did ask me once, but there are always all kinds of unavoidable difficulties in life. For certain reasons, I refused... I have a reason why I must stay in Frostleaf City."

"Do as you like. You choose your own path, as long as you won't regret it in the future." Amon took his own share from the money pouch and tossed the rest to her.

"Thank you, Teacher." Yan Jin accepted it in delight. She had thought she would never get it back.

"As for taking you as my disciple, let me verify a few things first." Amon adjusted his Monocle.

After leaving, Amon found Lu Wencong and asked him about Yan Jin.

"Director Lu, with talent like Yan Jin's, she should be highly sought after, right? Has no one considered training her?"

Lu Wencong shook his head and replied, "A Magma Martial Soul and Level 8 Innate Soul Power—she truly is a genius one only sees once in a decade. But she once rejected an important figure from Spirit Hall and apparently angered that person as well. So for some time afterward, no one mentioned taking her as a disciple again."

"The headmaster had originally considered it. He wanted to ask her again after a year or two, once Spirit Hall's people had forgotten the matter. But that child kept associating with street thugs and troublemakers, and she did many unlawful things. We turned a blind eye to some of her behavior, but no one thought highly of her anymore."

There was a trace of regret in his tone.

"I see." Amon nodded in understanding. "Could you tell me about Spirit Hall? I'm quite curious about the greatest Soul Master organization on the continent."

"Spirit Hall..." A complicated look appeared on Lu Wencong's face. "They are indeed the hope of commoner Soul Masters, and they have made many contributions to the development of Soul Masters across the continent. But as their power has gradually expanded, they have slowly become a major destabilizing factor within The Empire."

As he spoke, he suddenly stopped. He realized that he had misspoken; some thoughts could not be expressed too openly.

Amon seemed not to notice and sighed. "The Pope must be an incredibly powerful Soul Master..."

"Of course. The weak have no right to lead Spirit Hall."

"Who is the current Pope again? I heard my father mention it, but I can't remember clearly. It seemed to be Qian Xunji?"

"That was six years ago. The current Pope is Bibi Dong, Qian Xunji's disciple."

"Six years ago?"

"That's right. The position of Pope changed hands six years ago. I heard quite a few major events happened at the time." Lu Wencong suddenly smiled. "What? Are you interested in that little troublemaker Yan Jin? If you want to ask me which person in Spirit Hall she offended, all I can say is that I don't know."

Amon smiled and shook his head.

Six years... Tang San would be about six years old too. The story has only just begun, so there's still plenty of time, he thought.