Chapter 6: Return

"Did you absorb a Soul Ring?"

When Bai Qing first saw Tie Li, he sensed the soul power fluctuations on his body.

As for that, Tie Li had already prepared a set of excuses.

"During my escape, I came across a gravely wounded Soul Beast. To increase my chances of survival, I decided to kill it and make it my Soul Ring; perhaps because its injuries were severe, it offered little resistance before I killed it."

Speaking that, Tie Li released his Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

"What, a Hundred-Year Soul Ring?"

"Your luck is unbelievably good!"

Lu Baichuan and He Dadan stared in disbelief at the yellow Soul Ring, its aura unmistakably that of a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

Bai Qing's gaze shifted slightly; he sensed a familiar aura in this Soul Ring.

"Your luck is good," Bai Qing said, giving Tie Li a meaning‑laden look before saying nothing more.

With such a huge incident this time, he needs to return and report to the dean.

The most critical point is that the leader of the Hunting Soul Group escaped.

Only after leaving the Hunting Soul Forest did the three of them finally sigh in relief.

Having never faced great trials, the three now most needed to go back and rest properly.

After bringing them back to the academy gate, Bai Qing hurried to find the dean.

The three split at the academy gate, each returning home.

Once home, Tie Li set his bundle aside, shed his outer coat and inner armor, and flopped straight into his bed.

He slept until the next morning, then slowly awoke.

"Brother's awake, brother's awake."

Tie Wen and Tie Wu, who had been watching by the bedside, shouted toward the doorway as soon as Tie Li woke.

Tie Niu and his wife hurriedly set aside what they were doing and came to Tie Li's bedside.

Facing his family's concern, Tie Li gave a light‑hearted account of the incident.

He also specifically mentioned that the bundle contained a Wolf King hide, which could fetch a decent price.

Seeing that Tie Li was unharmed, the family proceeded with a normal morning meal.

After gulping down his food, Tie Li left for the martial soul branch hall in Manuo City.

"To become a Soul Master at ten years old, and have a First Soul Ring that is a Hundred-Year Soul Ring."

The middle‑aged steward in charge of reception gave Tie Li a slightly surprised look.

An extra line appeared on Tie Li's Soul Master Handbook.

Level‑10 Soul Master, registration date: Douluo Year 263. Registered at the Manuo City martial soul branch hall.

When he received a Gold Soul Coin, Tie Li realized he had hopelessly fallen in love with the little fellow.

The unique fragrance on the Gold Soul Coin was intoxicating.

Although he is now a Soul Master, the curriculum must still continue.

Tie Li returned to the academy to resume today's lessons; these are what he needs to study.

In class, Tie Li listened to the teacher discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the martial soul, and couldn't help pondering his future development path.

The Thunder Python Soul Ring endows the martial soul with greater power and lightning elements; the Soul Rings he seeks next should primarily possess these two attributes.

The Forge Hammer Martial Soul itself is not a powerful martial soul; it has zero margin for error;

If the Second Soul Ring were to absorb a Soul Ring with the agility attribute, it would not only waste the Second Soul Ring, but the resulting soul skill would be largely useless and clash with his combat style.

Only a Soul Beast of premium bloodline might transform into a Soul Ring that yields a decent soul skill.

Acquiring Soul Rings with strength and lightning as primary attributes, even if the martial soul is average, the stacking of Soul Rings can still provide a good boost.

His First Soul Ring is a Hundred-Year Soul Ring, giving him a solid foundation.

He originally thought his life's end would be the Four Ring Soul Ancestor, but now he adjusts his goal to become a Five Ring Soul King.

He doesn't demand to be a Soul King with a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring; at minimum he wants two Thousand-Year Soul Rings, and when he returns to Manuo City, he'll be the top contender.

Establishing a Soul Master clan will surely make it the strongest family in Manuo City.

However, a richly grounded Soul Master family requires a hereditary martial soul, corresponding attribute meditation methods, Soul Ring pairings, and so on.

The task is heavy and the road long!

For now he can't contemplate that far ahead, but he does have a vague idea in mind.

Only when class ended did a few work‑study students block his path.

He has no interactions with work‑study students; normally his conflicts are only with aristocratic students.

Judging by their stance, they don't intend to let him pass.

"Maliciously provoking in the academy and inciting fights will get you ordered to expel;

What? You don't want to stay in the academy, so you deliberately came to trouble me."

Startled by Tie Li, their faces indeed showed worry.

Usually when they go after aristocratic students, they don't pull this stunt.

Tie Li, too lazy to waste words, stepped over them and headed toward the cafeteria.

If they were aristocratic students, who would enforce the academy's rules!

This time he ordered two extra meat dishes at the cafeteria, plus three steamed buns.

His Soul Power Level rose, his appetite grew, mainly because the Gold Soul Coin gave him great confidence.

However, he can't waste too much; his two younger brothers might not become Soul Masters yet, and if they are born with innate soul power, sending them to the primary Soul Master academy would be a considerable expense.

After all, with his precedent, their chances of being born with innate soul power are somewhat higher than ordinary people.

After eating and drinking his fill, when he emerged from the cafeteria he ran into those work‑study students again.

A boy leading the group appeared, and Tie Li recognized him at a glance.

Li Li!

Generally, a Soul Master's innate soul power is linked to the quality of their martial soul; the stronger the martial soul, the greater the innate soul power.

But there are always exceptions.

Li Li is such an exception.

His martial soul is merely an ordinary sickle, yet his innate soul power has reached Level 7.

Li Li, now in the sixth grade, has a Soul Power Level of Level 17, and a mid‑rank Soul Master academy has begun contacting him, offering to waive all tuition and miscellaneous fees and even provide a supplemental stipend.

Most crucially, his First Soul Ring is also a Hundred‑Year Soul Ring, unlike other students' ten‑year Soul Rings.

The academy's rumor is that they were wandering the outskirts of the Soul‑hunting Forest when they happened upon a Soul Beast that had broken the hundred‑year mark; coincidentally, the three students accompanying them each obtained a Soul Ring, and that Hundred‑Year Soul Ring happened to become cheap for him.

"Why are you here again?"

"I think you might have misunderstood; I'm not here to cause trouble, I want to discuss something with you," Li Li said.

He originally didn't want to be the leader of the part‑time workers, but they forced him into that role.

It was only meant to have someone arrange a meeting with Tie Li, but it reached their ears and turned into a challenge.

As a result, he took an awkward loss, and Li Li had to come to explain.

"Did you come to see me about something?" Tie Li asked.

He had no relationship with Li Li, so it couldn't be anything good.

"Let's talk somewhere else."

"Fine."

Although he didn't know his motive, he still wanted to know why he was being sought.

The two went to the back hill, saw no one around, and Li Li finally spoke.

"I want to cooperate with you."

"Hm?"

"I know a place where Mystic Spirit Grass grows;

You should know that Mystic Spirit Grass can temper martial souls, especially ones of our quality, and the effect is excellent."

(End of chapter)