The White Tiger Left Arm Soul Bone

When the assessment ended, a trace of regret flashed through Qian Duoduo's eyes. "Old Yan, I'll send you the fifty Soul Cannon shells, but don't forget the condition you agreed to. Otherwise, whose student Jiang Hai ends up being is still up in the air!"

Still, Huo Yuhao's performance had given him more than enough reason to be pleasantly surprised.

Yan Shaozhe smiled. "Don't worry. I'm not like you-I keep my word. But if Jiang Hai asks to study Soul Tools, whatever methods you use, you must make him realize the difficulties and back off. If you dare set your sights on him, don't blame me for turning against you!"

"I know, I know. I'm leaving!" Qian Duoduo waved irritably and walked away, his enthusiasm gone. A genius who had single-handedly suppressed two great Martial Soul Fusion Skills-he wanted him too, but he knew it was impossible.

Only after they left did Qian Duoduo say glumly, "Fan Yu, I don't care what methods you use, but you absolutely cannot let Huo Yuhao become a Core Disciple. As for Jiang Hai, if he really comes to you for help, find a way to make him realize the difficulties and back off!"

"Oh, understood!" Fan Yu was rather frustrated too, but he knew perfectly well that Jiang Hai would never be allowed to join the Soul Tool Department.

At some point, Ma Xiaotao had jumped down from the Viewing Stand as well. She threw an arm around Jiang Hai's shoulders and grinned. "Not bad, Little Hai! You didn't embarrass your boss after all. But is your body holding up? If not, we can wait a few days before hunting Soul Beasts."

"No need. I'm fine! Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong's Martial Soul Fusion Skill can temporarily strip away martial soul abilities, but it didn't break through the Golden Coffin's defenses. I'll be fine after a night's rest!" Jiang Hai said.

Ever since he had absorbed his first Soul Ring, his martial soul had become a two-layered coffin. Those two layers were much like twin martial souls: independent of each other, yet able to coexist. Withering Amid Splendor, Golden Road had stripped away the Bronze Coffin's power, but it had not broken through the Golden Coffin.

Under the treatment of the Soul Master with the Tree of Life martial soul, his physical injuries had almost completely healed.

"All right, then. I won't come looking for you tonight. Get some rest. Once tomorrow's freshman class assignment assessment is over, I'll take you to hunt a Soul Beast for your second Soul Ring!" Ma Xiaotao said.

A figure in a white dress appeared on the Viewing Stand. Watching Ma Xiaotao laughing and chatting with Jiang Hai and the others, a trace of envy entered her eyes. After a while, the white dress disappeared.

The Freshman Assessment was over, and soon every Outer Court student on campus knew that a monster had appeared among this year's freshmen-someone who had defeated two Martial Soul Fusion Skills single-handedly.

The older students who had once engaged in "friendly sparring" with Jiang Hai, Xu Sanshi included, all felt a touch of relief. But when Xu Sanshi remembered his three Mystic Water Pills, he could not help wincing at the loss.

Tang Ya, meanwhile, was filled with regret. This genius could once have joined the Tang Sect! Zhang Lexuan had brought Jiang Hai to them; how could she not have understood what Zhang Lexuan had intended? All she could say was that timing and fate had decreed otherwise.

Still, Huo Yuhao was good too. He had led his team into the finals and lost narrowly by a single move. Moreover, under his influence, Wang Dong and Xiao Xiao had also joined the Tang Sect.

The Tang Sect, which had only had two members, now had five.

That night, beside Sea God Lake, Zhang Lexuan's mouth twitched as she watched Jiang Hai and the others grilling fish over a bonfire on the shore. Naturally, the fish came from Sea God Lake. With sunflower seeds, peanuts, and beer bought from the cafeteria, they were holding a lakeside bonfire barbecue.

Ma Xiaotao was there too, of course, along with Liu Gang, Wang Cheng, and the others.

"Sister Xuan, what brings you here? Come try my grilled fish!" Jiang Hai was a little surprised to see Zhang Lexuan in her white dress. He wiped his hands, grimy from the cooking fumes, and offered her a grilled fish.

Zhang Lexuan nodded and accepted it. Her pearly teeth nibbled at the fish as she ate in small bites. Her table manners were far better than Ma Xiaotao's.

Everyone was delighted to have won the Freshman Assessment competition. After calling Zhang Lexuan over to join them, they ate, drank, laughed, and chatted in an atmosphere of indescribable harmony.

Only when the gathering was nearly over did Zhang Lexuan call Jiang Hai aside. "Jiang Hai, come with me for a moment. I have something to tell you!"

"Sure!" Jiang Hai nodded and followed Zhang Lexuan to a secluded spot. Curious, he asked, "Sister Xuan, what is it?"

Zhang Lexuan stopped and turned her beautiful eyes toward him. She possessed an indescribable air, like an immortal maiden. With a gentle smile, she said, "Congratulations on taking first place in the Freshman Assessment!"

"Thank you!" Jiang Hai said with a smile. Without Zhang Lexuan, it was hard to say whether he could even have become a Soul Master. Though he still harbored a trace of resentment toward Shrek Academy, he felt nothing but gratitude toward her.

Zhang Lexuan nodded and smiled as well. "Seeing you now, I imagine your father's spirit in heaven would be happy too!"

Jiang Hai nodded quietly without speaking. Zhang Lexuan took out a sandalwood box and continued, "The main reason I came to see you today was to deliver something. This is the White Tiger Left Arm Soul Bone the Dai Family promised you. I've checked it for you, and there's nothing wrong with it. It came from a mutated tiger-type Soul Beast over forty thousand years old. Your soul power has already reached the limit of level 20, but fortunately, you haven't absorbed your second Soul Ring yet. If you absorb this Soul Bone first, you'll be able to absorb an older second Soul Ring."

Zhang Lexuan paused. "However, this Soul Bone is an ancestral heirloom of the White Tiger Family, one of their inherited Soul Bones. The dean secured it for you, but the White Tiger Family may not let the matter rest. If you absorb it, you may also have to face pressure from them."

"The White Tiger Family is the largest family in the Star Luo Empire after the imperial family. They were once the empire's imperial family themselves. Even though they've lost the throne, they remain a great tree with deep roots and formidable reserves. The current White Tiger Duke is also the supreme commander of the Star Luo Empire's armies and a powerful Titled Douluo. Naturally, Shrek Academy has no fear of him, but you must think this through. You can't stay at Shrek Academy forever..."

The White Tiger Soul Bone was an inherited Soul Bone of the White Tiger Family. Under pressure from Shrek Academy, they had no choice but to send it over. Yet Soul Bones could be taken away. Absorbing this Soul Bone meant taking on the entanglements that came with the White Tiger Family.

"Thank you, Sister Xuan!" Jiang Hai smiled and accepted the sandalwood box from Zhang Lexuan. Inside lay a translucent white arm bone, and a savage aura rushed toward him.

This was a Soul Bone from a forty-thousand-year-old Soul Beast. There were no age restrictions on the Soul Bones a Soul Master could absorb. In theory, even a One-Ring Soul Master could absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone without issue. A Soul Bone not only provided a Soul Skill, but also greatly strengthened a Soul Master's physique. Strictly speaking, its value far exceeded that of a Soul Ring.

A human body could generally absorb only six Soul Bones, but a forty-thousand-year-old White Tiger Left Arm Soul Bone was a supreme treasure to any Power Attack System Soul Master. Even a Titled Douluo would be tempted.

Calling it worth a city would be no exaggeration.

The Bronze Coffin appeared, and Jiang Hai placed the Soul Bone inside his martial soul, with no intention of refining it immediately. He was about to absorb his second Soul Ring, and he still vividly remembered the faint golden Soul Bone he had seen when absorbing the Diamond Tiger's Soul Ring last time.

He did not know whether his eyes had deceived him, but a layer of the Golden Coffin could never have been formed from a Soul Ring alone. If his guess was right, then he truly could not absorb this Soul Bone right away.

Powerful though a Soul Bone was, Jiang Hai did not believe the boost it gave his strength would exceed that of another coffin layer.

Zhang Lexuan had brought him a priceless Soul Bone. It would have been impossible for Jiang Hai not to be moved.

Zhang Lexuan glanced at his Bronze Coffin and nodded. "You've always had a mind of your own, so I won't ask too many questions. Tomorrow is the class assignment ceremony, and the Freshman Assessment rewards should be presented then as well. If I'm not mistaken, this year's reward is also a Soul Bone, and given your performance, it should be a good one. Besides that, each of you should receive a Core Disciple spot. I won't go into all the benefits of being a Core Disciple. After tomorrow's class assignments, I'll take you and Xiaotao to hunt Soul Beasts early the following morning!"

At this point, Zhang Lexuan's gaze grew a little distant. Much had happened since she had last helped Jiang Hai hunt for a Soul Ring, but thinking back carefully, that had only been three months ago!

Three months to go from a One-Ring Soul Master to a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster-she hardly knew what to say about Jiang Hai's talent. His original aptitude had been a mere half-level of innate soul power.

Reaching level ten after three years of cultivation had already surprised her enough. Yet he had taken only three months to go from level ten to level 20. Even if he had taken three Mystic Water Pills and one Soul Ascension Pill, that speed was still frighteningly fast.

Zhang Lexuan could only attribute it to the unusual nature of Jiang Hai's martial soul. After he absorbed the Soul Ring of an eight-hundred-year-old king Diamond Tiger, his martial soul had evolved, and the second coffin-the Golden Coffin-must have improved his aptitude enormously.

In truth, the Golden Coffin was indeed powerful, but its greater benefit to Jiang Hai had been an increase in intelligence. The reason his soul power had advanced so rapidly was Ma Xiaotao.

Ma Xiaotao was a level 70 Quasi-Soul Saint. Even drawing a negligible sliver of her soul power made his own grow at a terrifying rate. Coupled with the improvement the Mystic Water Pills had made to his physical aptitude and their medicinal power, his rapid progress was understandable.

As for the Soul Ascension Pill, which could directly raise a Soul Master below level 30 by one level, Jiang Hai had not used it.

His soul power was already growing fast enough. Since that was the case, he might as well wait until he reached level twenty-nine before taking the Soul Ascension Pill and breaking through to level 30.

"All right, understood!" Jiang Hai nodded.

By the time the two returned, the bonfire celebration was almost over.

Everyone went their separate ways. Jiang Hai sighed, tidied up, summoned the Bronze Coffin, and sank it to the lakebed before beginning to cultivate.

Without accumulating half-steps, one could never travel a thousand miles.

Cultivating soul power was, by its very nature, a matter of accumulating it bit by bit. Level twenty-three might seem fast, but compared with geniuses like Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao, he still fell far short.

And his enemies were Evil Soul Masters. Their martial souls did not necessarily cultivate any more slowly than his. The enemies looming over his head were countless Soul Douluos and Titled Douluos-and a Limit Douluo as well.

He stilled his breathing and focused his mind, his soul power slowly increasing.