First Soul Skill: Lone Bamboo Pole Vault
Nuoding City was far larger than Holy Soul Village.
Lin Qing stood at the city gate, staring up at the walls, which were a full thirty feet high. He was a little stunned.
Even the ancient city walls he had seen on television in his previous life had not been this high. Blue-gray stone bricks were stacked one atop another, with dark green moss growing in the gaps. They looked as though they had grown out of the ground.
"Enough staring. Let's go," Old Jack called from ahead.
Lin Qing came to his senses and hurried a few steps to catch up. Tang San walked beside him, carrying a small cloth bundle containing a few changes of clothes and two black steamed buns.
Of the dozens of children tested, only the two of them had qualified to enter Nuoding Academy, thanks to their Innate Full Soul Power.
Lin Qing had barely spoken on the way, simply walking along in silence and occasionally looking up at the road signs.
He knew what Nuoding Academy meant. It was the first junior Soul Master Academy Tang San attended in the original story, and it was there that Tang San met Yu Xiaogang.
Tang San would become his disciple.
He also knew that he would be accepted as a disciple too. His seemingly mutated Martial Soul happened to provide Yu Xiaogang with excellent material on which to put his theories into practice.
For Lone Bamboo had said that he had Innate Full Soul Power.
Yu Xiaogang's core theory held that Innate Soul Power depended on the quality of one's Martial Soul, so he would surely accept this Lone Bamboo Martial Soul that had mutated for the better.
Nuoding Academy was in the north of the city and occupied a large tract of land. Two stone pillars stood at the entrance, bearing the four characters for "Nuoding Academy." A gatekeeper stood at the entrance.
Old Jack went up to him with an apologetic smile. "Hello, we're from Holy Soul Village. We've brought the children to enroll."
The gatekeeper looked them up and down, his gaze lingering briefly on Old Jack's cotton-padded jacket, faded white from washing. "Where's the letter of recommendation?"
"Right here, right here." Old Jack pulled a letter from inside his clothes and handed it over with both hands.
The gatekeeper took a look at it, then glanced at Tang San and Lin Qing. "Both of them?"
"Both, both."
The gatekeeper returned the letter and pointed inside.
Old Jack thanked him repeatedly, and they parted at the gate. Lin Qing and Tang San then headed to Nuoding Academy's registration office.
As Lin Qing passed the gatekeeper, he heard him mutter, "Another two country bumpkins, huh..."
Lin Qing ignored him.
"Innate Full Soul Power?"
Lin Qing nodded.
The middle-aged man fell silent. He looked at Tang San, then at Lin Qing.
"Wait here." He pushed the door open and went out.
After a while, the door opened.
The man who entered was short and very thin, dressed in a black-gray robe.
"This is... Yu Xiaogang."
He looked at Tang San, then at Lin Qing, his gaze lingering on the two of them for a long time.
"Innate Full Soul Power?" he asked. His voice was quiet, but clear.
Tang San nodded. Lin Qing nodded too.
Yu Xiaogang was silent for a moment. "Release your Martial Souls?"
Tang San held out his hand, and Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm.
Yu Xiaogang stared at the Blue Silver Grass for a long time, then nodded.
"Blue Silver Grass. A Trash Martial Soul. But Innate Full Soul Power." He paused. "Interesting."
"Innate Soul Power is closely tied to the quality of one's Martial Soul. As far as I know, Blue Silver Grass has never mutated to this extent."
"My guess is, you have Twin Martial Souls."
Then he looked at Lin Qing.
Lin Qing held out his hand, and a green bamboo stalk emerged from his palm.
Yu Xiaogang narrowed his eyes and leaned a little closer.
He stared at the base of the green bamboo, where a small section was a slightly darker color, almost imperceptibly so.
"Lone Bamboo," he said. "Another Plant-type Martial Soul, and another with Innate Full Soul Power.
"It appears to be a beneficially Mutated Martial Soul." He straightened and looked at Tang San, then at Lin Qing.
"There are no trash Martial Souls, only trash Soul Masters. You two, would you be willing to take me as your master?"
Tang San was taken aback. Lin Qing was taken aback too. He insulted himself twice in one sentence. As expected of the Grandmaster.
Yu Xiaogang glanced at him. "My name is Yu Xiaogang. Others call me Grandmaster."
Both Lin Qing and Tang San called him Master. Yu Xiaogang looked at them and nodded slightly.
"Since you're both already at level ten, I'll take you to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow."
The Soul Hunting Forest lay thirty li north of Nuoding City. It was a vast tract of forest fenced off by the Martial Souls, containing Soul Beasts specially raised there.
Low-level Soul Masters hunted for Soul Rings here, without encountering anything too dangerous.
Yu Xiaogang led them to the gate and took out an Elder Token. The gatekeeping Soul Master was utterly shocked and respectfully opened the gate for them, leading them inside.
Tang San walked beside him, his expression calm.
Yu Xiaogang walked at the front, leading a strange creature on a leash. It looked like a dog, but not quite; it was chubby, covered in purple fur, and waddled as it walked.
"This is my Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao," Yu Xiaogang said. "It mutated from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, yet it's a rare Martial Soul that can leave the body."
Lin Qing looked at the fat dog and found him a little funny. Luo Sanpao looked back at him, tilted his head, and sneezed.
So this is the Martial Soul of the genius Gangzi, who broke through to fifty years old at level thirty. He looks pretty cute.
He knew what would happen next, so he hurriedly asked Ah Zhu, "Does a Martial Soul of your caliber still need to hunt Soul Beasts to obtain Soul Rings?"
"I can give you Soul Rings according to your Soul Power Level, but you're too weak right now.
"That could easily make people suspect you're a Soul Beast Transformation. You can just find a Soul Beast with the same origin as me and absorb it. I'll help you convert it to conceal yourself."
They entered the forest. The light dimmed beneath the dense canopy overhead, and a thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground.
The air smelled damp and rotten, mingled with the fresh scent of grass and trees.
Yu Xiaogang walked very slowly, taking every step with care.
"Soul Beasts like to be active near sources of water," he said quietly. "Your first Soul Rings must be no more than 423 years old. That's the limit an ordinary Soul Scholar can withstand.
"If the age is too low, there's limited room for growth. If it's too high, you won't be able to absorb it."
Lin Qing nodded. He knew these theories-he had read them in the original story.
But they walked for a long time without encountering anything.
Occasionally, a few rabbits ran past, but Yu Xiaogang shook his head after a glance.
Ahead was a small bamboo grove, with over a hundred bamboo stalks crowded together. They rustled when the wind blew through them.
Yu Xiaogang pointed at a bamboo stalk unlike the others. "This is Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo. It's known for its toughness and is very compatible with both your Martial Souls, especially Lin Qing's."
Yu Xiaogang said, "Plant-type Soul Beasts are very rare. But its age is too low, only a few decades."
Tang San shook his head. Lin Qing knew he wouldn't want it-in the original story, Tang San's First Soul Ring came from a hundred-year-old Mandala Snake.
As expected of Gangzi. He can even recommend something of this quality, Lin Qing thought to himself.
Chaos Ah Zhu's voice sounded in his ear. "Just choose this Lone Bamboo."
"Master, I'll take this one. It has the same origin as my Martial Soul."
"In that case, we'll stand guard for you."
Lin Qing walked up to the bamboo stalk. It was ordinary, no different from the wild bamboo in the mountains.
When he reached out to touch it, the moment his fingertips brushed the stalk-
The stalk began to disintegrate. It did not shatter; it turned into countless specks of green light that merged into his skin bit by bit.
At his feet, a ring of green-gold light slowly emerged and circled his body.
Yu Xiaogang's voice was filled with shock. "A Ten-Year Soul Ring? Why is it this color?"
Yu Xiaogang pondered for a long time. "Strange. How could a Soul Ring be this color? Could it be another mutation?"
He stared at the ring of light for a long time, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he merely shook his head.
"How strange. In all my years, I've never seen a Soul Ring of this color."
As Tang San watched this bizarre scene, confusion and jealousy appeared on his face.
A rich life force radiated from Lin Qing.
Before Lin Qing had time to feel the power of his new Soul Ring, the ball of warm water in his chest suddenly grew hot.
Watch out. Lone Bamboo's voice rang out, faster and more forceful than usual.
Lin Qing jerked his head up.
Deep in the bamboo grove, a pair of green eyes lit up. They suddenly lunged at Lin Qing.
In that instant, Lin Qing moved.
He didn't run. He jumped-his green bamboo struck the ground, and the newly acquired green-gold ring at his feet flashed brightly, launching him into the air. "First Soul Skill: Lone Bamboo Pole Vault!"