Meanwhile.
Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming returned to the inner court and submitted their inspection mission report.
On the way back to the dormitories, Han Ruoruo finally failed to contain herself and voiced her doubts.
"Ming'er, what exactly did that boy do to you? Why have you been so distracted ever since he came into contact with you? They haven't got something to hold over you, have they? If you've suffered any injustice, tell me. I-no, the academy too-will definitely stand up for you!"
The usually energetic blonde girl gave a listless sigh.
"Ruoruo, you know me. I've always dared to love and hate, never fussed and fretted like this. The main problem is that the age gap between us is too big. If he were ten years older-no, even five would do-I'd have tied him up and brought him back before returning to the inner court just now."
Han Ruoruo was stunned. Her eyes widened, and she reached out to feel Wu Ming's forehead.
"Ming'er, have you gone mad? Do you know what you're saying?"
"Ruoruo, I haven't gone mad. In fact, I'm perfectly clearheaded. Let me tell you why: that boy and I might have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. You should know what that means."
Understanding dawned on Han Ruoruo's face.
When a Martial Soul Fusion Skill appeared between a male and female Soul Master, they were either siblings or lovers who ultimately became husband and wife.
If they remained merely close friends, it would hurt both of them, as well as the people around them.
She could not help asking again to make sure. "Ming'er, could you have imagined it?"
The blonde girl shook her head. "Our soul power felt compatible. Although we failed in the end, it was definitely a sign of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. I have some ties to his family, so there is a sliver of theoretical basis for our two martial souls developing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill."
Han Ruoruo caught the scent of juicy gossip and fixed her best friend with a gaze burning with curiosity.
Wu Ming shrugged and casually recounted the grudges between their fathers, placing particular emphasis on the connection between the Golden Crow and the Golden Feather Crow.
Han Ruoruo asked in surprise, "So that boy's martial soul is a Golden Feather Crow? With innate rank-nine soul power, and possibly even innate full soul power?"
"I don't know. Surely a fireball can't have a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with me?"
Han Ruoruo nodded and suggested, "In any case, your soul power compatibility is very low right now. As long as you don't get close to him and deliberately cultivate it, once he adds a few soul rings in the future and his martial soul changes, perhaps the two of you will have no connection at all."
"Ugh, this is so annoying! I want a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, but I don't want the other person to be that young."
Wu Ming ruffled her smooth blonde hair, thoroughly agitated. Many inner court students took one look at her from afar and detoured around her, afraid they might accidentally run into bad luck, get dragged to the training grounds, and be scorched into a soot-covered mess by Golden Crow true fire.
"Ruoruo, look at them. A bunch of cowards. I'll probably never get to experience a sweet romance."
Han Ruoruo furrowed her brows and sighed.
With Ming'er's temperament... rather than finding someone to make do with, she really would be better off choosing a Martial Soul Fusion Skill for practical reasons.
And me? Heh, how much better am I than Ming'er? I'll probably just find someone to settle for when I'm old enough.
Shrek Academy still cared about saving face.
The most valuable thing they had demanded was merely a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone. To a major power, that really amounted to very little.
Thus, Jiang Dongjun was not worried that his father's life would be in danger on this trip.
As for the Light Attribute arm bone he had specifically requested, he was actually hoping a blind cat might stumble upon a dead mouse—that he might get his hands on the Golden Radiance Left Arm Bone from the original story.
Not for his own use, but for research.
A soul bone that caught the eye of the Clear Sky Sect's little princess was certainly no ordinary treasure. The description of its "Golden Radiance" soul bone skill in the original story was also exceptionally impressive.
I'll have to hide these five Immortal Spirit Fungi well and make sure Dad, Mom, and I each get one, lest Yan Shaozhe hear about them and come demanding the finished products for Ma Xiaotao.
In the workshop, Jiang Dongjun thought this as he looked at the five black lumps lined up on the workbench.
"Never mind. Let's see what I gained from this trip first."
As he spoke, a wisp of clear light emerged from between Jiang Dongjun's brows. It twisted through the air like a little snake and swam toward the mouth of the small metal bottle held in his right hand.
Drip, drip, drip...
As the soul liquid dripped down, Jiang Dongjun's eyes gradually widened, until they were almost red.
A bumper harvest!
"The fortune gained from killing that Evil Soul King was actually worth a full 100 drops of soul liquid! That's equivalent to a ten-thousand-year Spirit Object!"
An evil thought even rose in Jiang Dongjun's mind.
-Would killing an ordinary Soul King give me this much too?
That was rather like a player's way of thinking.
However, Jiang Dongjun extinguished that evil thought a moment later.
It had to be because Evil Soul Masters were special that killing one yielded so much. An ordinary Soul King would not provide this much soul liquid.
Every Evil Soul Master had a martial soul mutation, bizarre methods, and outstanding combat strength. Supposedly, they even had a special mission bestowed by the plane will, serving as punishment for humanity's destruction of the ecological chain. Their fortune might indeed be special, making them particularly "fat and juicy" to harvest.
"Only seven drops of soul liquid condensed from merit? As a Soul King, the sins he committed were actually less than those of the Soul Elder Li Qing?"
"That makes sense. Li Qing slaughtered indiscriminately. No matter how weak an individual was, he could extract their blood energy and devour it to increase his strength; the 'Bandage Monster,' on the other hand, sought powerful bodies as materials for corpse puppets. He probably killed fewer people than Li Qing."
"Besides that, becoming an official Soul Master increased my fortune and condensed one drop of soul liquid. Since my soul ring was an unprecedented Golden Soul Ring, my fortune fluctuated again, actually condensing 100 drops in one go."
"A total of 271 drops of soul liquid."
It was roughly just under twenty milliliters of soul liquid. Although it had not filled the little metal bottle, Jiang Dongjun was already somewhat dissatisfied and was considering making a Storage Soul Tool specifically for holding soul liquid.
After taking stock of his bumper harvest, he activated Light of Time and Space, shining it onto the five pitch-black Mushroom Clusters on the workbench.
Soon, a message arrived, explaining information about the Immortal Spirit Fungus.
The most important part truly delighted Jiang Dongjun.
All five Immortal Spirit Fungi had lost some of their medicinal potency through exposure to wind and sun.
Of the three singled out earlier, one had almost become worthless.
Light of Time and Space actually provided a way to restore them, returning their medicinal potency to what it had been when they first matured. The method was not even difficult to carry out; it only required consuming soul liquid.
"Five drops! Twelve drops! Twenty-seven drops! Fifty-four drops! Eighty-eight drops!"
"By spending 186 drops of soul liquid, I can get five finished Immortal Spirit Fungi in perfect condition... but the thought of draining over half my stock makes my heart bleed. It just doesn't feel worth it."
"Better to spend forty-four drops first and take care of my own family. That gives the best value."
After making up his mind, Jiang Dongjun did not act immediately. He summoned his golden-orange fireball and shone Light of Time and Space onto it.
After absorbing the Sun Soul Ring, his martial soul had undergone a transformation. He wanted to see just how far it had transformed.
Soon, a string of information fed back into Jiang Dongjun's mind, and he organized it.
Fireball martial soul Classification: elemental type Physical aspect: -Density: 27.34 kg/m³ (0/11) Elemental aspect: -Fire element control: advanced (623/1000) -Light element control: intermediate (30/100)
Before you continue