The next day, dawn had barely broken!
Tang San opened his eyes. Today, Yu Xiaogang would take him to obtain his first Soul Ring.
Once he became a Soul Master, everything would be different.
Tang San glanced at Li Jin and Xiao Wu's bed.
The daggers-drawn tension of their battle over the blanket last night was completely gone.
Xiao Wu was curled up in Li Jin's arms, and Li Jin was holding her too.
With them like this, the blanket had no trouble covering both of them.
Tang San watched with burning envy. It was far too enviable.
Having been single for over thirty years across his previous and current lives, Tang San wanted someone to like him too.
Li Jin, Xiao Wu, once I return from obtaining a Soul Ring in the Soul Hunting Forest with my teacher, you'll realize that not taking my teacher as your master was the greatest loss of your lives.
When that time comes, even if you beg to become my teacher's disciples, I'll urge him to weigh it carefully. Not just anyone is qualified to be my junior brother or sister.
Hmm... Xiao Wu can become my junior sister, but forget Li Jin.
With that thought, Tang San resolutely walked out of Dorm Seven.
After meeting up with Yu Xiaogang at the academy gates.
The two went to the vegetable market and bought a great many carrots.
Tang San looked puzzled. "Teacher, why are we buying so many carrots?"
Yu Xiaogang struggled to maintain his composure, too embarrassed to say it outright.
"You'll know when we reach the Soul Hunting Forest. Put these carrots away in the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges. We'll rent a carriage from the carriage rental shop."
A short while later, at the carriage rental shop.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened. "What did you say? A traveling merchant heading to the Star Luo Empire has booked every carriage here!"
The owner of the carriage rental shop replied with a beaming smile:
"Yes, sir."
"We have no spare carriages left, but we do still have a donkey cart. If you need something urgently, we can rent it to you."
Yu Xiaogang's expression shifted back and forth as he inwardly cursed his bad luck. Since yesterday, he had lost count of how many times he had cursed his bad luck.
A donkey cart it was!
They couldn't very well walk to the Soul Hunting Forest!
"Fine, a donkey cart it is. Bring it out."
Upon hearing this, the owner led the donkey cart out.
Yu Xiaogang nearly fainted at the sight. The donkey was pulling nothing but a flat board, without so much as a roof.
To think that he, the great Yu Xiaogang, whose theories were unrivaled on the Douluo Continent, would have to travel on a donkey-drawn flatbed today.
It was an utter humiliation.
After stewing in silent anger, Yu Xiaogang ultimately had no choice but to pay to rent the donkey-drawn flatbed.
The donkey cart was very bumpy, without any shock absorption at all.
Yu Xiaogang and Tang San climbed onto the donkey-drawn flatbed. Amid the jolting, a silver-white Storage Soul Tool Ring that Yu Xiaogang often used bounced off and fell to the ground while he wasn't paying attention.
It contained everything Yu Xiaogang owned: some ancient books he had collected over the years, changes of clothes, personal belongings, and, most importantly, five thousand Gold Soul Coins. These were all his accumulated possessions.
But lost was lost.
By now, it was fully light!
Dorm Seven!
Li Jin, Xiao Wu, Wang Sheng, and the others got up one after another.
They discovered that Tang San's collapsed bed had long been empty.
Wang Sheng's eyes widened. "Seriously? He only broke a wooden bed by sitting on it, and he actually ran away? He could pay the money back slowly. If he leaves Nuoding Academy, does Tang San not even want to become a Soul Master anymore?"
A look of understanding flashed through Li Jin's eyes.
"Tang San probably hasn't run away. Yesterday, he said he was going to the Soul Hunting Forest with his teacher to obtain a Soul Ring. They've probably set out by now."
"Speaking of which, I have innate full Soul Power. It's time I obtained my own first Soul Ring too."
The moment he said that!
Wang Sheng and the others were stunned.
"Tang San's going Soul Hunting? He has innate full Soul Power?"
"Brother Li Jin, you have innate full Soul Power too?"
Xiao Wu planted her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
"Is innate full Soul Power that rare? I have innate full Soul Power too!"
Wang Sheng and the others were dumbstruck.
What kind of heaven-defying development was this? All three new students this year actually had innate full Soul Power.
Li Jin put on his clothes and shoes, grabbed a money pouch, took out a Gold Soul Coin, and handed them to Xiao Wu.
"Wifey Xiao Wu, I'm going to obtain a Soul Ring too. This Gold Soul Coin is for your living expenses at Nuoding Academy. Don't skimp on food and drink."
At the sight of that glittering Gold Soul Coin, Xiao Wu's eyes shone. After yesterday's explanation, she already knew the importance of money in human society.
Of gold, silver, and Copper Soul Coins, Gold Soul Coins were the most valuable.
Xiao Wu accepted the Gold Soul Coin with delight, her eyes glued to Li Jin as she said happily:
"Thank you, hubby Li Jin. Heehee, you really do dote on your wife."
Wang Sheng and the others looked at the Gold Soul Coin, then at Li Jin, their eyes filled with envy.
If calling him hubby could earn them Gold Soul Coins.
It wasn't as though they couldn't say it too.
That was much easier than cleaning the campus.
After giving Xiao Wu a Gold Soul Coin for living expenses, Li Jin said goodbye to them and went to the academic affairs office alone.
To apply for leave to obtain a Soul Ring.
The academy's teachers were quite nice. Seeing how talented Li Jin was, they even asked whether he wanted an academy teacher to accompany him.
But Li Jin declined.
With his koi physique, once he reached the Star Dou Great Forest, a Soul Beast of a suitable age and type would have to run into a tree itself, battering itself half to death so he could kill it easily.
That was right!
Li Jin wasn't going to an ordinary Soul Hunting Forest. Ordinary Soul Hunting Forests didn't have any particularly good Soul Beasts.
If he was going anywhere, it would be the Star Dou Great Forest, with its many Soul Beasts and wide range of choices. As for danger... in any case, he couldn't possibly be in danger.
After leaving Nuoding Academy, Li Jin bought breakfast on the street and headed toward the carriage rental shop as he ate.
Standing outside the carriage rental shop, just as he was about to throw away the oiled paper that had held his steamed buns, he suddenly felt as though he had stepped on something. It pressed uncomfortably against his foot.
He moved his foot aside and picked up the thing that had pressed against it for a look.
Whoa!
This seemed to be a Storage Soul Tool.
Li Jin wasn't particularly surprised. He had long had a clear understanding of his koi physique.
In the past, he had always found money. Today, he had found a Storage Soul Tool.
He wiped the ring clean and injected a wisp of Soul Power, then "saw" a vast interior space of thirty cubic meters.
Apart from books and five thousand Gold Soul Coins, things that gave no clue to the owner's identity, there were also changes of clothes and personal belongings.
Li Jin recognized the owner as soon as he saw these.
"Yu Xiaogang? That unlucky bastard actually lost his Storage Soul Tool outside the carriage rental shop!"
"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"
Putting on the ring, Li Jin walked into the carriage rental shop.
"Boss, I'd like to rent a carriage to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Sorry, sir. This traveling merchant heading to the Star Luo Empire has booked all our carriages. Even our last donkey cart was rented this morning by two people, one adult and one child."
"Hahahaha, this young fellow wants to go to the Star Dou Great Forest. Are you going to hunt Soul Beasts? Why not travel with me? I'm going to the Star Luo Empire and will be passing the Star Dou Great Forest along the way, so I can give you a ride."