Night fell.
This time, Li Jin did not go back to sleep.
Xiao Wu wanted to play their usual game of fighting over the blanket, but Li Jin remained unmoved and let her have the whole thing.
Xiao Wu's head was full of question marks.
"Li Jin, why aren't you sleeping yet?"
Looking at Xiao Wu's little head poking out from under the blanket, Li Jin reached out and rubbed it.
"Xiao Wu, your fight with Tang San really spurred me on. Tang San has a whole repertoire of Self-Created Soul Skills. Even without using his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, he has formidable combat strength and can fight you to a standstill."
"If he can do it, so can I."
"Tang San's fighting gave me a lot of inspiration. I want to create my own Soul Skills too."
"You go to sleep first. Once I've created my Soul Skills, I'm willing to share them with you so you can defeat Tang San easily."
Xiao Wu's eyes sparkled. Hearing that Li Jin was willing to share the Soul Skills he created with her deeply touched her.
"Li Jin, don't worry."
"Even if you can't create any Soul Skills, Sister Xiao Wu will still have your back."
"I'm really happy you're willing to share your Self-Created Soul Skills with me. Don't stay busy too late, though. I'll warm the bed for you, so come to sleep soon."
Li Jin broke into a smile.
"I know, Xiao Wu."
"Trust me. I'll definitely succeed."
On a battered bed in the corner, Tang San had yet to recover. His eyes were red and swollen, narrowed to slits, and his nose was plugged with rags, though blood still seeped out drop by drop.
The corners of his mouth twitched in pain from time to time as he listened to Li Jin and Xiao Wu's conversation, filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
Xiao Wu was as vicious toward him as she could possibly be.
Toward Li Jin, she was as gentle as she could possibly be.
What hateful double standards!
Tang San thought mockingly:
My entire repertoire of Self-Created Soul Skills comes from the Tang Sect's countless years of accumulated knowledge, crystallizing the wisdom of numerous predecessors.
Li Jin, you want to create Soul Skills comparable to the Tang Sect Secret Arts all by yourself? That's nothing but a fool's dream.
When you've accomplished nothing and delayed your own cultivation to boot, just watch how mercilessly I ridicule you.
With that thought, Tang San circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill to recover his Soul Power. But his body itched unbearably, preventing him from calming his mind, and his Soul Power recovered poorly.
Damn it! Why has my body been getting itchier and itchier ever since I absorbed the Mangy Snake Soul Ring...
Meanwhile, back with Li Jin!
Li Jin sat cross-legged and sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness.
"Sky Dream Ice Silkworm!"
"Here!"
At Li Jin's command, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm curled up in a corner of the Sea of Consciousness immediately darted out.
"Take human form right now!"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was somewhat puzzled, but obediently took the form of a young man. Beneath another's eaves, one had no choice but to bow one's head. Since he lived in Li Jin's Sea of Consciousness, he had no choice but to obey.
Li Jin intended to put this waste to use. The Soul Power circulation he had learned from Tang San was like a pile of untested code. Unless he worked through it from beginning to end, it could not count as a cultivation method he could actually practice.
He could hardly use his own body as a test subject. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was the most suitable one.
"I'll teach you some methods of circulating Soul Power. Simulate them inside your body as instructed. I'll be checking with Spiritual Detection at all times, so don't try any tricks."
The little schemes that had just stirred in the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mind immediately died under Li Jin's warning. Looking sheepish, he dared not entertain any more thoughts.
"Little brother, rest assured. Whatever you say, I'll do. My motto in my silkworm life is that a wise man recognizes the tides of the times."
Li Jin nodded and explained the circulation route of Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm knew how to behave and simulated it according to Li Jin's instructions.
Through Spiritual Detection, Li Jin clearly observed the Soul Power circulation route simulated inside the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and compared it against what he had memorized of Tang San circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Where it started, which meridians it passed through, where it returned-if there was the slightest discrepancy in how the Soul Power connected, he scrapped it and started over.
Bit by bit, he checked for gaps and filled them, striving to ensure that every detail was completely foolproof.
This put the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm through quite an ordeal, one that lasted late into the night.
Li Jin felt that his gains so far were quite good.
He was a little tired too. He let the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rest, withdrew from his Sea of Consciousness, and slipped beneath the blanket Xiao Wu had warmed until it was nice and toasty.
Drowsy with sleep, Xiao Wu caught a familiar scent and burrowed into Li Jin's arms.
Li Jin slept with complete peace of mind. The power within the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's shed husk was still steadily increasing his Soul Power.
Early the next morning!
After getting up, washing, and eating breakfast, Li Jin, Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng, and the others each went to their classrooms for lessons.
Only Tang San stayed away. He had utterly humiliated himself in class yesterday and could not face going back.
The redness and swelling around his eyes had subsided somewhat, but he could not use the Purple Demon Eye for the time being. A large patch around his nose remained bruised purple from accumulated blood.
"I can't go to class anymore. Just going into that classroom now will remind me of yesterday's nightmare. I'll go find Teacher. His theoretical knowledge is unrivaled, far better than those trash teachers at the academy. I can study under him."
Carrying breakfast he had bought from the cafeteria, Tang San headed to his teacher Yu Xiaogang's residence.
"Little San, who beat you up like this?"
Yu Xiaogang was both shocked and furious.
Tang San touched his nose and gave a full account of everything that had happened yesterday. After a long, rattling explanation, he finally lowered his head and said:
"Teacher, that's what happened."
"Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges ended up in Li Jin's hands. I fought Xiao Wu, and Li Jin interfered too. He's just a useless piece of trash with no combat strength, but he probably has a detection Soul Skill."
Yu Xiaogang's face was full of pained regret. That belt-shaped Storage Soul Tool was one of his most treasured possessions.
How could he be so unlucky?!
"Forget it. As long as the Soul Tool is still in Li Jin's hands, we'll have a chance to get it back sooner or later."
"This Li Jin does have a little petty cleverness. He actually knew to find a support path for his useless Koi Martial Soul."
"But the gap between him and me is like a firefly's glow trying to rival the radiant moon. A control Soul Master is the soul of a team, its strongest link."
"Your defeat to Xiao Wu this time was entirely an accident. Don't take it to heart. Once I've devised targeted tactics, I'll definitely enable you to deal with Li Jin and Xiao Wu..."
Yu Xiaogang spoke smugly, then frowned when he saw Tang San constantly scratching his back.
"Little San, are you listening carefully to what I'm saying?"
At these words, Tang San wore a miserable expression, his hands still scratching his back incessantly.
"Teacher, I want to concentrate on your lesson too, but my back is just too itchy."
"Please take a look for me..."
As he spoke, Tang San removed his clothes and stood with his back to Yu Xiaogang.
At the sight of Tang San's back, Yu Xiaogang sucked in a breath of cold air. A poisonous sore had already grown in the middle of his back, red and swollen, with bloody scratch marks all over it from Tang San's scratching.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes went vacant as he muttered to himself:
"That's impossible. Blue Silver Grass is a plant Martial Soul, not a Beast Martial Soul. It doesn't need to possess the body, so why would it inherit the Mangy Snake's poisonous sore too?"
Tang San's hearing was excellent. Hearing this, he shrieked:
"Teacher, what did you say?"
"A poisonous sore? A poisonous sore has grown on my back!"
"Teacher, you said the Mangy Snake's Soul Ring suited me best. Could there be something wrong with your theory?"
At this, Yu Xiaogang immediately stamped his feet in agitation.
"Impossible! There is absolutely nothing wrong with my theory!"