Obtaining Soul Rings

Three days later, at Nuoding Academy.

Tang Xuan and Tang San were heading toward the academy gates. Grandmaster had told them to meet him there, as the friend he had invited had already arrived. They could go hunting for soul rings today.

When Tang Xuan and Tang San reached the gates, Grandmaster was talking with a middle-aged man wearing glasses. More accurately, the man with glasses was talking while Grandmaster listened. The bespectacled man looked quite agitated.

"Xiaogang! You haven't contacted me in twenty years, have you? If it weren't for those two children, were you planning to hide from us for the rest of your life? After all our years of brotherhood, what could you possibly..."

"Teacher," Tang Xuan and Tang San called out, interrupting the conversation as the man grew increasingly agitated.

Grandmaster and the man turned to look at them. "These are the two disciples you just took in?" the man asked, turning back to Grandmaster.

"Yes, these are Little Xuan and Little San," Grandmaster replied flatly. He seemed to be suppressing some emotion. Reuniting with his old friend did not appear to have brightened his mood.

"Hello, you two. My name is Flender, a rank seventy-six Agility Attack Battle Soul Saint. I'm an old brother of your teacher's, and he asked me to help you hunt for soul rings." Flender introduced himself with a broad smile. He had already heard about them from Grandmaster. The talent of innate full soul power held tremendous potential, and he wanted to see whether he could sweet-talk these two children into joining Shrek Academy. Another shrewd little scheme promptly took shape in his mind.

Tang Xuan looked at Flender standing before him. It really is him! From the moment he first saw him, Tang Xuan had suspected that he was Flender. He had never expected Grandmaster to invite him. In the original story, if not for Tang San, Grandmaster probably would never have met Flender and Liu Erlong again. Does this count as changing the plot? Their reunion in the original story is still six years away! Still, this should just be a little butterfly effect caused by my arrival, Tang Xuan reassured himself.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the four sped toward the Star Dou Great Forest. Why go there? Because Grandmaster's calculations and predictions indicated that Tang Xuan and Tang San could absorb soul rings at least around eight hundred years old. The Soul Hunting Forest could not provide soul rings that met those requirements.

With an agility attack Soul Saint leading them, the four reached the Star Dou Great Forest in half a day. After resting, they began searching for suitable soul beasts.

Around noon, Tang Xuan's group encountered a Medusa roughly nine hundred years old, leaving everyone overjoyed. The quality and bloodline of this kind of soul beast were exceptionally rare and powerful. Grandmaster had already chosen snakes as the type of soul beast for Tang San, and this Medusa was the ideal choice.

After Flender subdued it, Tang San killed it. Once he absorbed its soul ring, Tang San obtained the standard skill of a control-type Soul Master-Entanglement. This soul skill was several times stronger than its counterpart in the original story and had tremendous versatility. It had perfectly inherited the Medusa's venom and toughness; the rest depended on how Tang San used it. With Tang San's soul ring settled, it was time to find a soul beast for Tang Xuan.

But the god of luck seemed to have forgotten them. For the entire afternoon, they did not encounter another soul beast, let alone a suitable one. As evening approached, Flender said, "It's nearly dark. Let's set up camp first." Then he reassured Tang Xuan, "Little Xuan, don't worry. We'll find one eventually. Finding a soul ring is very difficult for a Soul Master. Some people search for ten days or half a month without finding one. Put your mind at ease." The Star Dou Great Forest had plenty of soul beasts, but finding one that suited a particular person was still difficult. Besides, few people had luck as rotten as theirs.

"It's all right, Dean Flender. I'm in no hurry." Despite his words, Tang Xuan was deeply anxious. This was his first soul ring, after all. Heavens, I'm not asking for the same treatment as the protagonist, but if you're holding a bowl of water, you ought to tilt a little my way instead of pouring it all toward him! Ugh! Some drown in floods while others die of drought, Tang Xuan grumbled inwardly.

In the middle of the night, Flender suddenly called for the three of them to hurry outside. Thinking something unexpected had happened, they immediately ran out of their tents. Once outside, they saw a half-dead soul beast lying in front of the camp. It was nearly two meters long, its body covered in brown feathers that resembled tiny daggers.

"That's a Sword-Tenon Eagle!" Grandmaster exclaimed the moment he saw the soul beast. He stepped forward and examined it closely, then said regretfully, "This soul beast's quality and abilities are exceptionally well suited to Little Xuan. It's the ideal choice. But twelve silver feathers have already grown among its wing feathers, which means it's reached twelve hundred years of age. That exceeds the soul ring age I planned for Little Xuan." Grandmaster kept shaking his head and sighing. Such an excellent soul beast, yet it was too old.

"Teacher, I want this soul beast," Tang Xuan declared firmly from beside him.

"Be careful. Don't act on impulse," Flender cautioned. Tang San's absorption of a nine-hundred-year soul ring had already shocked him. But a thousand-year soul ring was nothing like a hundred-year soul ring, even if the difference was only one or two hundred years.

"Teacher, Dean Flender, please trust my brother. His physique is several times stronger than mine. If I could absorb a nine-hundred-year soul ring, he should have no problem absorbing a thousand-year one," Tang San told Grandmaster and Flender. He trusted Tang Xuan immensely and believed in every decision he made. But this was not blind trust-it came from knowing Tang Xuan thoroughly.

After listening to their exchange, Grandmaster told Tang Xuan, "Little Xuan, I believe in you too. But you must stay within your limits. The moment you can't hold on, give up immediately. I'll have Flender interrupt your absorption." He did not try to dissuade him, choosing instead to trust that Tang Xuan could absorb this soul ring.

"Yes, Teacher. I understand." Tang Xuan was deeply grateful that Grandmaster trusted him.

Beside them, Flender said indignantly, "Fine, fine. I can't out-stubborn you lot. You and your disciples are all lunatics." Both the teacher and his disciples had gone mad.

Holding the Godslayer Sword, Tang Xuan thrust it into the Sword-Tenon Eagle's vital spot. A purple soul ring rose from its body as its life came to an end. Tang Xuan hurriedly sat cross-legged on the ground, took a deep breath, and steadied his breathing.

Come, my first soul ring, Tang Xuan silently called.

The Godslayer Sword hovered before Tang Xuan. With his mind, he drew the soul ring toward him until it floated around his body.