Making money, making money!

"How strange. I've never seen a Soul Ring like this-or perhaps it isn't a Soul Ring at all."

"Sister Tian Meng, what do you mean?"

Having lived her entire life in the Duke's Mansion without receiving any education, Huo Yuyao couldn't understand what he meant.

"Normally, Soul Beasts only trigger a Heavenly Tribulation every hundred thousand years. I've never heard of humans facing one every ten levels. Are you a Soul Beast or a human? No, that can't be right. You could only be human."

"I don't know either. My Martial Soul only told me about it after I reached level ten."

Hearing this, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm said no more. He simply retreated a couple of steps, then raised a hand to signal Lin Mo to release his Soul Skill.

Lin Mo tightened his grip on the sword hilt, and the white Soul Ring around him instantly shone with dazzling light.

First Soul Skill: [Extreme Yang]

[Extreme Yang]: Activated the power of yang within the sword. While this Soul Skill was active, the user's attack and defense increased by 30%.

At the same time, it could create a physical puppet clone possessing 50% of the user's strength to fight.

Furthermore, after activating this Soul Skill, attacks against undead-, darkness-, and evil-type Martial Souls and Soul Skills had double the effect.

Only after he gave a rough demonstration and explanation did the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm seem satisfied.

"Well, Sister Tian Meng? Did you figure anything out?"

"Absolutely nothing. I still can't make sense of it."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm floated in midair with his hands on his hips, looking troubled.

Seeing that even the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't know, Lin Mo stopped asking and turned to another matter-the single most important thing for the two of them right now.

"Sister Tian Meng, on your way here, did you happen to..."

Half an hour later.

"You really came through, Sister Tian Meng! We actually found some treasures."

Lin Mo spoke excitedly as he examined the Soul Tool ring in his hand.

"Not bad, not bad. There are over a hundred Silver Soul Coins in here."

"Brother Xiao Mo, Brother Xiao Mo! This one, this one! This Soul Tool ring has over fifty Silver Soul Coins in it too!"

This was what Lin Mo considered most important right now: money.

"You two were asking me just for something like this?!"

"Ah, Sister Tian Meng, you don't understand. In the human world, money isn't everything, but without it, you can't do anything. You should be able to sense it too, right? Our bodies are pretty much as weak as they could possibly be."

Lin Mo spoke while counting their spoils, and upon hearing this, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm couldn't help grumbling.

"Exactly! Both of you actually had level-one Innate Soul Power. Although that method of yours, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and converting it into Soul Power, can raise your Innate Soul Power, three years have passed, and you've only raised it to levels five and three."

He was referring to the cultivation method Lin Mo had sensed one night three years ago.

Over those three years, Lin Mo had not only refined this cultivation method, but also discovered that the sun's essence could be used for cultivation. Thus, he began absorbing the vital essence of the sun and moon to continually nourish his body and increase his Soul Power, though the effects came slowly.

A large part of the reason was that, for those three years, he had needed to work from morning until night every day, leaving only a little of his sleeping time at night for cultivation.

"So we definitely need lots and lots of money. Only then can we buy expensive supplements and pay our travel expenses."

Once he had more or less finished counting, Lin Mo called Huo Yuyao back over.

"What is it, Brother Xiao Mo?"

The girl seemed brimming with excitement, having never seen so much money or such wondrous technology.

"Stop playing. Since we've taken their belongings, we should at least send them on their way. I'll dig the graves. Help me in a bit."

His so-called spoils were, naturally, the belongings left behind by Soul Masters who had met unexpected deaths while seeking Soul Rings.

In his previous life, he would never have done something like this. After all, some of the older generation had always said it was terribly unlucky.

But in this world, he had spent three whole years clawing his way through life, suffering and toiling alongside the protagonist. Some things simply had to be cast aside.

"Feudal superstitions have got to go."

Before long, the two graves were dug.

"Good thing they had shovels in their Storage Soul Tools."

Lin Mo placed the two corpses in the graves, covered them with earth, and called Huo Yuyao over. She bowed three times toward the "gravestones," then they left and headed out of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"By the way, where are you planning to go next? At your age, you should need to enter a Soul Master Academy to cultivate, shouldn't you?"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked as he flew above their heads.

"Yes, that's what I'm planning too. Although different schools have different enrollment periods, most recruit in spring or autumn. There's still a month or two before academy registration opens."

"Little Yuyao, make sure you cultivate diligently. Once you break through to level twenty, I'll have a surprise for you."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke with deliberate mystery, though Lin Mo found it rather amusing. After all, he was the "all-knowing one."

Huo Yuyao, however, knew nothing about it. Hearing the word "surprise," she happily thanked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm overhead.

"Thank you, Sister Tian Meng!"

"Ah, what a polite, good child."

"Have you decided which academy to attend? Good academies have pretty demanding admission requirements these days. Bad ones might not ask for much, but honestly, attending one is no different from not attending at all."

As the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm asked this, he naturally looked toward Lin Mo. He could tell that the boy before him was quite mature in his thinking, unlike the adorably muddleheaded little girl beneath him.

"Yes, I've already decided. If we go to that academy, we won't need to worry about Innate Soul Power. Besides, it's the one academy on the continent best suited to Little Yao."

"Oh? Really?"

"Best suited to me?"

Both looked at Lin Mo with puzzled expressions.

"The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

"Hmm, I've never heard of it."

Huo Yuyao tilted her little head thoughtfully.

"Sun Moon? You mean the one on that new continent that collided with the Douluo Continent several thousand years ago?"

Sure enough, compared to Huo Yuyao, whose upbringing had been almost entirely cut off from the world, Tian Meng knew much more. He was, at least, a Soul Beast who had spent a few years out and about.

"Soul Tools? I don't approve. Let me be honest with you, Lin Mo. Since you're Little Yao's brother, I won't be able to keep much from you in the future anyway."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm spoke loudly, but he wasn't worried about anyone nearby overhearing. He had emerged as a spiritual body, after all, so his words were naturally transmitted to the two through spiritual power.

He flew in front of them and spoke with a solemn expression.

"The reason I want her to reach level twenty so quickly is to obtain a Second Martial Soul for her. After I successfully became her Wisdom Soul Ring, the power of the ice element remained within her body and Martial Soul. I've already decided on her Second Martial Soul too. I'll take her to the Far North to meet the Ice Empress, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, ranked seventh among the ten great Ferocious Beasts and second among the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North."

He poured everything out in one breath, even guaranteeing a hundred percent chance of success. Lin Mo was only mildly surprised; he already knew all this. He had also expected Tian Meng to object and try to stop him when he mentioned a Soul Tool academy.

He had already prepared his response.

"I know you look down on Soul Tools, Sister Tian Meng, but do you know how far human Soul Tools have advanced? The strongest human Soul Tool today is called a Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell. It's a genuine national-level strategic weapon. Do you know how powerful it is?"

Even after hearing this, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm remained dismissive. He had heard of them thousands of years ago, but back then they had been little more than awkward, barely useful tools, and he hadn't taken them seriously.

"How powerful could they be? If you ask me, Soul Masters still need to rely on themselves."

"A Level 9 Fixed Soul Guidance Shell is as powerful as a Limit Douluo's all-out strike."

As those words fell, both of his listeners looked astonished. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm naturally understood a Limit Douluo's strength. To think that the Soul Tools he had just dismissed had developed into something so formidable in only a few thousand years left him deeply shocked, and even a little wary.

Although he had now chosen to attach himself to a human, he was still a Soul Beast at heart. Upon hearing that humans had developed such terrifying Soul Tools, his first thought was of the Soul Beasts' plight.

"Lin Mo, you aren't joking, are you?"

"I'm sorry, Sister Tian Meng, but I wouldn't joke about something like this. We can find out about it just by asking around in any town."

"But what does that have to do with Little Yao?"

"Little Yao's Martial Soul is Spirit Eyes, and it has the rare Mental Attribute. Either of those gives her a tremendous advantage in making Soul Tools. Add the two first Soul Skills you gave her, and she'll be excellent at both making them herself and assisting others."

"So?"

"Let me ask you this: would an ordinary Soul Master Academy accept someone with a Spirit Eyes Martial Soul and only level-three Innate Soul Power?"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm wanted very much to say yes, but he knew that was merely his own perspective as a Soul Beast. Viewed from a Soul Master Academy's standpoint, things were different.

With Huo Yuyao's Spirit Eyes Martial Soul and level-three Innate Soul Power, even a reasonably good academy would turn up its nose at her, let alone Shrek Academy. Her Martial Soul might be rare, but that innate level three was right there. It set the ceiling on her potential.

As for lesser Soul Master Academies, even if they overlooked Huo Yuyao's level-three Innate Soul Power and accepted her, what about obtaining her future Soul Rings? As a mental-type Soul Beast himself, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew how scarce mental-type Soul Beasts were on this continent. Where would they find the ten-thousand-year mental-type Soul Beasts she would need once she grew stronger?

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell silent, no longer speaking, because he didn't know how to respond.

"That's the situation. But the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is different. As long as you meet its admission standards, you can enroll. No matter how mediocre your Innate Soul Power is, they'll still accept you."

Seeing the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm float back above their heads, Lin Mo took Huo Yuyao's hand and explained as they walked.

"Making Soul Tools requires more than Soul Power. The demands on spiritual power become particularly high in the middle and later stages. It also requires exceptional concentration and visual ability, so Little Yao is very well suited to it."

At this point, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finally understood why Lin Mo had gone through such a winding explanation.

"So you mean that academy will value her and give her preferential access to resources?"

"Exactly. And I believe Little Yao definitely has a talent for making Soul Tools."

Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm understood his point, he still felt somewhat resistant. He was just about to speak when Lin Mo beat him to it.

"Besides, if you ask around outside, you'll find that some of the wealthiest people in the world are Soul Tool makers. Once she learns to make Soul Tools, Little Yao won't lack cultivation resources. With those resources, she'll be able to strengthen her body faster."

"But why the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy?"

"Simple. If you ask which academy on this continent ranks first in Martial Soul research, it's definitely Shrek Academy. You must have heard of it. But if you ask which academy understands Soul Tools best, that's the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy."

After that brief explanation, they drew increasingly close to the forest's outskirts. With the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual body present, they weren't worried about Soul Beasts suddenly springing out around them.

But just as they thought their trip to Star Dou was about to end, a panicked cry rang out nearby.

"Xiao Xiao!"

Hearing that voice, Lin Mo summoned his Martial Soul without the slightest hesitation.

"Little Yao, activate your Martial Soul and support me with your Soul Skill."

Xiao Xiao? Could she really be the Xiao Xiao I'm thinking of?

As he thought this, the Spiritual Detection Sharing link connected to his mind. A moment later, everything within a fifty-meter radius centered on Huo Yuyao came into view. About forty-five meters away, a petite, dark-green figure was running toward them-and in the blink of an eye, a wolf's claw appeared behind her.

No way, it really is Xiao Xiao. She looks a lot smaller than she did in the comic, though. A little cuter too, I suppose.

Her long, dark-green hair and signature ponytail let him recognize the girl at a glance, though there were several injuries on her arms and legs.

"Little Yao, hide somewhere safe."

"Eh? B-Brother Xiao Mo, are you going over there? It's dangerous."

"Lin Mo, that's a two-thousand-year Demon Wind Wolf. With your strength as a one-ring Soul Master, you can't possibly beat it."

"I never said I was going to fight it."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm gave him a long look, then spoke.

"Demon Wind Wolves are cunning, but they're also afraid of dying. Until they suffer their first injury, they'll do their best to avoid any attack that might hurt them."

The corners of Lin Mo's mouth lifted slightly, and he charged toward Xiao Xiao.

"Thanks, Sister Tian Meng."

She's one of the main cast! If I become her lifesaver now, I might be able to bring a pretty good ally to Little Yao's side.

As he ran, a silvery-white Soul Ring gradually rose beneath his feet.

"Extreme Yang!"