"Huh? What's this thing?"
When Tang Wulin wiped away his tears, he discovered that Jiang Mingyuan, who had been standing before him, had vanished. Only after looking around did he find Jiang Mingyuan in a corner of the exhibition hall, studying an exhibit intently.
Curious, Tang Wulin walked over. As he drew closer, he finally saw what was on the display stand.
"An egg?"
Indeed, Jiang Mingyuan was staring at an egg covered in magnificent patterns. It clearly was no ordinary object.
The description on the display stand was extremely brief.
[A dead egg, presumed to belong to a species of avian soul beast that went extinct in ancient times.]
Tang Wulin really could not make anything of it, and the egg gave off no soul power fluctuations. It probably was just as the description said: a dead egg.
Jiang Mingyuan's expression remained normal, but inside, he was already bursting with excitement.
Heavens above! Earth below! As a novel's protagonist, I've finally stumbled upon a genuine hidden treasure!
His soul spirit, the Emerald Swan, did not count. That one had plainly been delivered right into his hands.
Although Jiang Mingyuan could not detect any soul power fluctuations from the egg either, an inexplicable feeling told him that it was not dead. The life inside had merely entered a special state, quietly waiting for the right moment to break out of its shell.
Jiang Mingyuan looked at the exhibit's price on the display stand.
520,000 Federation Coins.
Not expensive. I'll take the gamble!
Jiang Mingyuan wanted to see just what would hatch from this thing.
Over the next hour, the two explored both remaining floors of exhibition halls. There really were no more hidden treasures worth picking up. After all, these items had all come out of auctions.
Tang Wulin did spend a long time carefully studying a piece of metal. Jiang Mingyuan knew nothing about such things and intended to simply buy it for him.
This time, however, Tang Wulin repeatedly stopped him, saying they absolutely could not buy anything else. Besides, he could not forge this material yet. He had only heard Mang Tian mention it before.
The two went to the checkout counter to pay, and Wu Changkong took out his bank card. The three spiritual treasures came to a total of 3.11 million Federation Coins.
By the time Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin returned to Eastsea Academy, it was already noon. After finishing his meal, Xie Xie had been wandering along the academy's paths.
As he walked, Xie Xie glanced ahead and spotted two people approaching side by side. Who else could they be but Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin?
"Hey! You two are back!" Xie Xie waved and ran happily toward them.
Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin also thought it was quite a coincidence. They had entered from the academy's west side, nowhere near the dormitories, cafeteria, or teaching buildings.
"I thought you wouldn't be back all day. Did you find what you needed?"
That morning, Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin had happened to run into Xie Xie in the dormitory.
Xie Xie had been puzzled.
When had Jiang Mingyuan ever gotten up this early?
As an Agility-Attack Soul Master, Xie Xie normally got up early for a morning run. Tang Wulin also cultivated diligently and occasionally joined him. Jiang Mingyuan alone always slept until half an hour before class.
In response to Xie Xie's questions, the two had briefly explained that they needed to go out to take care of something and had already requested a day's leave from Wu Changkong through their Communication Soul Tool.
Jiang Mingyuan raised a finger to his lips and shushed him.
"Keep your voice down. We climbed over the wall to get in, so the gatekeeper doesn't know either. We can't let the remaining half day of leave go to waste. We're heading back to the dorm. Don't tattle to Wu Changkong this afternoon."
At that, Xie Xie immediately lost interest. He waved them off.
"Go on, get out of here. You pair of slackers."
Ah, there weren't many people as hardworking and diligent as him anymore.
Still worried that it was not safe enough, Jiang Mingyuan caught Xie Xie by the arm.
"No tattling. Whoever tattles is a puppy."
Xie Xie looked annoyed. "I wouldn't do anything that low."
Jiang Mingyuan and Tang Wulin quietly made their way behind the dormitory building. Looking up, they saw that their room's window was wide open.
That morning, Jiang Mingyuan had opened it under the pretext of airing out the room.
After making sure again that no one was passing nearby, Jiang Mingyuan activated Martial Soul Possession and flew inside with Tang Wulin with a whoosh!
Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi were not in the room. Perfect. That saved them from having to explain themselves again.
The instant Tang Wulin landed, he let go of Jiang Mingyuan's hand, ran to the dorm room's door, and shut and locked it.
He turned around and leaned back against the door, his heart still thumping.
This was the first time in his life he had skipped class. No, wait. This didn't count as skipping class. Their leave wasn't over yet.
By then, Jiang Mingyuan had already climbed into his bed, taken off his shoes and socks, and pulled up the covers to enjoy a blissful sleep.
Tang Wulin pulled out a chair, sat down, and took the two spiritual treasures out of his Storage Soul Tool.
Holding the little bottle between two fingers at its top and bottom, he gently shook it, making the deep red liquid sway inside.
Tomorrow, if all went well, they would get the hundred-year Ice Spirit Fruit. With all three spiritual treasures helping him break the seal, he might truly grow stronger. Then he would be able to stand proudly at Brother Mingyuan's side.
Tang Wulin's emotions slowly settled.
Although he was not attending class, he could not waste this time. It was inconvenient to do anything noisy in the dormitory, so he would cultivate instead.
Just as Tang Wulin was about to climb into bed, he noticed Jiang Mingyuan.
Jiang Mingyuan was sleeping soundly, his small mouth slightly open, a faint, soft nasal sound accompanying his breathing.
Hoo... shh...
The sound was exceedingly quiet, like a kitten murmuring in its sleep.
Tang Wulin thought that Brother Mingyuan might really be tired. Last night, he had first been woken because of Tang Wulin and had then stayed awake for much of the night. This morning, he had gotten up early again to accompany him.
Tang Wulin moved as quietly as possible, trying not to make any noise that might wake Jiang Mingyuan.
He folded his legs, sat cross-legged on his bed, and began meditating in silence.
Within the strange space inside Jiang Mingyuan's body.
A great sun shone in the sky. On closer inspection, it was actually a female phoenix and a male phoenix beating their wings as they slowly circled a shattered core.
One by one, the entries became golden orbs of light, floating above the spiritual space like a scattering of stars.
On the ground, the Emerald Swan soul spirit had folded her wings and fallen still, entering dreamland just like her master.
Meanwhile, in an utterly dark and icy corner, a skull emitting a faint green glow silently watched the dazzling "sun" in the sky.
More precisely, it was watching the shattered core.
Unfortunately, martial souls could not speak. Otherwise, the skull would certainly have unleashed a torrent of curses.
"*******!"
It had clearly arrived first. It was clearly the martial soul!
Unfortunately, martial souls could not speak, nor did they possess consciousness. It merely followed its instincts, hiding in the shadows and remaining wary of that "sun."
Like the soul masters throughout history who had awakened it, it lay quietly in wait for the right moment.