Hearing Sun Meng's footsteps fade into the distance, Gao Shang deactivated his Soul Skill early and quietly returned to his bedroom.
After swallowing whale rubber and then absorbing a Soul Ring, all that exertion had left him wanting nothing but a good rest.
As for the fossil in the courtyard...
That could wait until he woke up.
He had already punched it into two pieces anyway, leaving it considerably shorter than before. Unless someone outside climbed onto the wall, there was no way they could spot it. A little longer would make no difference.
Gao Shang slept especially well.
With his improved physique, he recovered quickly too. It was only noon when he opened his eyes, fully refreshed.
"Ugh, I'm starving..."
Hunger spread from his belly, and Gao Shang even had the illusion that he could swallow a whole cow raw.
He briskly got out of bed, pulled on his clothes, and prepared to head out for a meal.
But after just two steps, he suddenly stopped.
Gao Shang turned toward the mirror beside his bed. For a split second just now, he thought he had seen Sasuke.
"Am I so hungry I'm hallucinating?"
He stepped back in front of the mirror.
The next second, Gao Shang sucked in a sharp breath, even activating his Sharingan instinctively.
His reflection was a little taller, with firmer muscle definition. Those changes were nothing too outrageous; it was normal for his body to change after absorbing a Soul Ring.
But what was going on with his face?
His originally delicate little face now had well-defined contours. His features were clearly still the same, yet together, they looked pleasing from every angle.
Especially with his Sharingan activated, his scarlet eyes lent his still-childish face an added touch of coldness and eerie beauty.
"Holy crap, that's me? I'm that handsome?"
Gao Shang stared into the mirror, turning his head from side to side. Once he confirmed that the person inside really was him, he nearly burst into wild laughter again.
Absorbing a Soul Ring had upgraded his face as a bonus?
No wonder there were hardly any ugly people in the Uchiha Clan. Those genes were just too powerful.
Looks might not equal strength, but being strong was a temporary matter. Being handsome was a lifelong affair.
Gao Shang made his decision on the spot.
"I'm going out! I have to!"
"If I don't go out and show off a little, I won't be able to sleep tonight."
Of course, he still had to eat first.
After eating, he would go to Spirit Hall and have Brother Tao help him test his current strength.
At noon, the streets of Nuoding City bustled with activity.
Gao Shang wasted little time, grabbing something to eat along the way before heading straight to Spirit Hall with a full belly.
His strength had increased so much all at once that he, too, wanted to know exactly what level he could reach now.
Su Yuntao, who was on good terms with him, was undoubtedly the most suitable sparring partner.
Before long, following the guard's directions, Gao Shang arrived at Su Yuntao's lounge.
"Brother Tao, taking it easy today?"
Hearing the door open, Su Yuntao was about to get up, but once he recognized Gao Shang's voice, he immediately started lying back down.
"You brat, why are you..."
Halfway through his sentence, he got a clear look at Gao Shang's face and froze.
"Good heavens! What happened to you? It's only been a few days. How did you end up looking like this?"
Gao Shang struggled to suppress the upward curve of his lips, putting on an indifferent look.
"I don't know either. I went home and slept, my Martial Soul mutated, and my face ended up like this."
Gao Shang's words practically begged for a beating, making Su Yuntao's mouth twitch. What did he mean, he had slept and become handsome?
If Su Yuntao had been a little more handsome, why would he have needed to pursue Sisi for so long before succeeding?
And a Martial Soul muta...
Huh? Martial Soul Mutation?
Su Yuntao sat bolt upright.
"What did you just say? Martial Soul Mutation?"
"Yeah. After I went home that day, my eyes kept hurting. I slept, and when I got up the next morning, I found that my eyes were different. Even my Soul Power had reached the level-ten bottleneck."
Gao Shang continued:
"Now I'm already a One-Ring Soul Master. I came specifically to see you today, Brother Tao, to ask for some pointers."
"A One-Ring Soul Master?"
Su Yuntao stared at him, his voice rising further.
"You've even absorbed a Soul Ring?"
"Yeah, I got lucky. I went for a stroll outside the city and ran into a badly injured Soul Beast."
As if to prove his words, Gao Shang activated his Sharingan as soon as he finished speaking.
His eyes turned blood-red, the black tomoe beside his pupils slowly rotating.
At the same time, a pale purple Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.
Su Yuntao was just about to speak when his gaze landed on that purple ring, and the words caught in his throat.
"A th-thousand-year Soul Ring?"
A Martial Soul Mutation that raised his Soul Power from level one to level ten was already outrageous enough.
Still, while mutated Martial Souls were rare, it was not as though he had never encountered one in all his years awakening Martial Souls in the surrounding villages.
He could just barely understand that.
But what the hell was a thousand-year first ring?
Spirit Hall had specialized theoretical books and relevant records on the age of Soul Rings a Soul Master could withstand.
At least among the records Su Yuntao knew, he had never seen an example of anyone successfully absorbing even a five-hundred-year first ring, let alone a thousand-year one.
Yet now, a purple Soul Ring was revolving right in front of him.
Only after taking quite a while to recover did Su Yuntao look up at Gao Shang, his tone suddenly turning eager.
"Little Gao, why don't you just join Spirit Hall?"
"If we report your situation, the higher-ups will definitely take it seriously. Then you won't have to worry about finding resources for your cultivation yourself!"
Gao Shang immediately shook his head.
"No, Brother Tao, you know me. I can't stand all those rules and restrictions in major organizations. I'd rather be free."
Before Su Yuntao could persuade him further, he added another sentence.
"Besides, my Soul Ring isn't actually a thousand-year one. It's a hundred-year one. Look, if you don't believe me."
As he spoke, the tomoe in Gao Shang's eyes began spinning faster.
Taking advantage of their meeting gazes, a faint mental fluctuation silently invaded Su Yuntao's mind.
In Su Yuntao's eyes, the pale purple Soul Ring actually faded slowly from purple to pale yellow.
"This..."
Su Yuntao looked at the Soul Ring, then back at Gao Shang.
"Little Gao, is this your Soul Skill?"
"Yeah, it's called Simulation. What do you think? Interesting, right?"
Su Yuntao was somewhat speechless. So that thousand-year Soul Ring had just been something this brat simulated to fool people?
He took another look at the pale yellow Soul Ring.
It certainly was frightening. Hadn't it just given him a fright?
But if all it did was change a Soul Ring's color, what use did it have besides bluffing?
Even if Gao Shang's innate Soul Power had mutated into innate full Soul Power, this first Soul Ring, as tasteless as chicken ribs, was a major mark against him.
What was more, body Martial Souls such as eyes were widely acknowledged as trash Martial Souls.
Judging solely by what he had shown so far, even if he joined Spirit Hall, he would probably struggle to receive prioritized training.
Besides, the brat clearly did not want to join.
With that thought, Su Yuntao could only set aside his intention to recruit him and stand up.
"All right. If you don't want to join, I won't force you."
"Didn't you want some pointers? Come on, let's go to the training grounds out back."
"Thanks, Brother Tao."
Gao Shang nodded with a beaming smile, using it to conceal the exhaustion in his eyes.
In that instant when their gazes had met, he had unleashed the innate skill that came with his Sharingan-Genjutsu!
The so-called Simulation was merely an excuse to fob Su Yuntao off.
The Soul Ring had not changed at all. What had changed was the color Su Yuntao saw.