In the blink of an eye.
Six years flew by.
At Nuoding Academy, the children who had entered as first-year students back then had reached graduation day.
Six years was enough for a naive child to grow toward maturity!
Lin En had grown taller and straighter. Standing at 1.6 meters, with broad shoulders and a powerful waist, he exuded a sharp, dangerous presence. Simply standing still, he exerted a powerful sense of intimidation.
Over six years of cultivation, he had relied on the Basic Meditation Method to advance from Level Thirteen soul power to Level Thirty-Seven.
He had hunted down and absorbed both his second and third soul rings entirely on his own, without anyone's help.
After absorbing his first soul ring, he had begun strengthening his physique regularly, consuming a considerable amount of hundred-year whale rubber along the way.
Thousand-year whale rubber was expensive and rare. Even with the Gold Soul Coins he earned working part-time for mercenary corps during his vacations, he had only been able to afford one piece in six years.
But effort brought rewards.
For his second soul ring, he had pushed his body to its limit, absorbing a two-thousand-year soul ring in the Advanced Soul Hunting Forest.
As before, Sageross had absorbed it first. Only after most of the energy had been drawn away did Lin En absorb what remained.
The benefits of absorbing soul rings beyond the usual age limit were substantial. Not only did it greatly improve his physical strength, but the enormous energy he gained also helped Sageross strengthen his core energy and advance faster.
Lin En had obtained his third soul ring while soul hunting in the Star Dou Great Forest. It was five thousand years old.
It was also at this point that Sageross's size had changed noticeably. Originally only reaching Lin En's thigh, he had shot up to match his height.
His presence had also become increasingly formidable.
As Sageross grew stronger, more and more of his skills had been unlocked.
Besides the soul skills provided by the soul rings, he had also comprehended many skills of his own, all of which could produce unexpected effects in actual combat.
However, Lin En had never once displayed his soul rings, nor had he revealed his soul power level to anyone.
The tree that rose above the forest was sure to be battered by the wind.
Lin En had no desire to draw anyone's attention this early.
Tang San, on the other hand...
Although Lin En had not interacted with him much, he could sense that Tang San's soul power level was far from low. He was only a step away from rank thirty.
With the help of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, even though he had spent most of his time crafting hidden weapons, forging iron to earn money, and putting Gangzi's thunderous theories into practice...
He had still managed to approach rank thirty soul power by graduation day.
That slacker Xiao Wu possessed the core essence of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, yet her cultivation had only improved as much as Tang San's over those six years. It was an utter squandering of heaven's gifts.
If Sageross had been given that, who knew how many ranks of soul power he could have provided Lin En?
On graduation day.
Tang San and Xiao Wu stood outside the academy gates.
"Lin En, aren't you and San from neighboring villages? How about we go back together?"
Xiao Wu looked at Lin En with a radiant smile as she spoke.
"Go back yourselves. I have something else to do. I'm leaving!"
His expression cold, Lin En paid the two no heed. He gathered his belongings and left Nuoding Academy, heading straight for the main road.
"That guy is always so cold and aloof."
Seeing his expression, Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips in anger. After all, they had lived together for six years.
Yet he would not even give her that much face.
"All right, Xiao Wu. Lin En has been like this ever since I met him. Let's go!"
Watching Lin En leave, Tang San instead breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yeah, let's go. Forget that guy."
Xiao Wu gave a soft huff and turned to leave.
After leaving Nuoding Academy, Lin En boarded a carriage and headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest.
He needed to return to his old line of work, joining a mercenary corps to save up tuition before heading to an academy to study in two months.
The Star Dou Great Forest had the most mercenary corps. As the saying went, the greater the wind and waves, the higher the price.
As the continent's deadly soul beast forest, the Star Dou Great Forest was extremely dangerous. Almost every day, wealthy patrons sought mercenary corps to accompany them into the forest to hunt soul beasts.
Whenever that happened, it was Lin En's chance to rake in money.
There were also mercenary corps that tried to rob their fellow outlaws. Lin En wasted no words on them, sending them straight into the ground to grow people.
Several miles later, the Star Dou Great Forest.
After several days of jolting travel, Lin En finally arrived at this largest gathering place of soul beasts.
The town outside the Star Dou Great Forest was packed. Mercenary corps were recruiting everywhere, searching for powerful soul masters to join them.
Soul hunting was a high-risk profession. After all, the ferocious beasts in the forest were no kittens. They really did eat people.
On any soul-hunting trip, the lucky ones generally came back with a few wounds. For the unlucky, even a total wipeout was commonplace.
Lin En put on a traveler's coat, continually scanning for a suitable target out of the corner of his eye.
Before long, he found a Mercenary Corps that suited him.
Lin En strode quickly toward them.
"Excuse me, are you still looking for people?"
Lin En stopped in front of a four-person team. From the looks of them, they were probably one person short.
"Where'd this little brat come from? Shoo, shoo! Don't get in the way of our recruiting."
The scar-faced man in the lead cursed impatiently at Lin En, his vicious glare thoroughly intimidating.
Lin En showed no fear whatsoever. He looked at him with a smile.
"How about we have a fight? If I beat you, you let me join the team."
"Fuck me, you little brat! You really don't know how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is. Fine! Beat me, and I'll let you join!"
The Scar-faced Big Man laughed heartily. As his words fell, the surrounding crowd instantly scattered, clearing space for the two of them.
An innocent smile appeared on Lin En's face. "Sageross, come out!"
"Saa-"
A streak of green light shot out of his body. Sharp blades sliced across the rainbow-lit sky, revealing Sageross's form.
His body now looked as though it were clad in emerald battle armor, fierce and iron-blooded, his scarlet eyes striking terror into the soul.
His arms had evolved into two enormous golden scythes. Their blades shaded into emerald green, their edges gleaming with a sharp, cold light.
"Sageross, Instant Thought Strike!"
Lin En's expression instantly turned impassive as he spoke in an icy voice.
"Saa-"
Sageross's figure suddenly became light and ethereal. As though the thought had only just stirred, his body had already darted ahead.
Dark purple energy condensed into a fine, dark purple line at the blade's tip, silently slicing through the air.
In that instant, he seemed to race ahead of time itself. The Scar-faced Big Man had only just released his martial soul when the blade sent him flying.
After that single strike, Lin En ordered Sageross to stop.
"Cough, cough..."
"Good lad, you're strong. Welcome to our team."
The Scar-faced Big Man laughed heartily and patted his chest, seemingly not minding at all.
Lin En narrowed his eyes slightly, the corners of his mouth curling into an almost imperceptible, dangerous arc.
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