Chapter 12: Xuan Tian Gong Acquired, Tang San Hunts Souls

Master Dormitory.

Xiao Xian slowly opened his eyes, his features calm.

But.

The surging soul power within his body, the wildly rotating soul power… indicate that his mood is not as calm as his expression.

"The closer the distance, the better… perception is so clear."

"Xuan Tian Gong First Layer, finally obtained it all…!"

"No wonder it's Xuan Tian Gong; just after switching cultivation, soul power broke through another level, reaching the Thirteenth Level."

The dormitory had no lights; outside the window the moon and stars were sparse, and the interior was barely visible.

Xiao Xian restrained his excitement and glanced at Tang San.

He was sitting cross‑legged on a mat not far away, the soul power fluctuations on his body obvious but steadily weakening, clearly about to finish his cultivation.

A moment later.

Tang San opened his eyes.

"How is it, any problems?" Xiao Xian asked softly almost immediately.

"No, the teacher's notes are very detailed, with many annotations and illustrations, very easy to understand," Tang San said, shaking his head.

"That's good, that's good."

"Looks like junior brother, you are also a genius…"

Xiao Xian praised him a few times, then gave a few reminders, and saw Tang San off so he could return to rest earlier.

Tomorrow he still has to rush to the Soul Hunting Forest, which is far away.

If he doesn't rest well, combined with travel fatigue, he might get cold in the Soul Hunting Forest…

Then he might have to graduate from Nording Academy and run away, heading to Suotuo City early to join Soul Saint Fulangde.

Since the Master was not in the dormitory, Xiao Xian ignored the bright Sunlight Spore he sensed, acting as if he didn't know where the Master was.

He lit a lamp, tidied up a bit, half‑closed the door, and Xiao Xian went straight downstairs back to Er She.

He lay on the bed and almost fell asleep immediately.

Xiao Xian did not intend to continue cultivating.

Xiao Jue was also taken back by him.

Fully sensing the operation of the Sunlight Spore inside Tang San's body still consumed a fair amount of mental energy.

Even for him, it was a bit overwhelming.

"…"

The next day, before dawn.

A middle‑aged man pushed open the door of the Seventh Dormitory and carefully woke a skinny little child.

"Little San, it's time to go."

Tang San, still half‑asleep, was pulled up, still a bit dazed.

There is still more than an hour before sunrise.

He was very excited when he returned last night.

He spent a long time recalling knowledge about Soul Masters in his mind and went to sleep very late. During that time, even when Xiao Wu asked him to go out for a spar, he didn't accept and was scorned, being told he was scared.

"…"

A tall and a short figure walked out of the academy gate in the darkness.

The Master changed into a sturdy outfit, looking much neater, but his stiff face was still somewhat glaring.

He explained to the drowsy Tang San: "If we wait a bit longer, your senior brother will get up. He didn't say it, but it's highly likely he'll want to go soul hunting with us."

"Your target soul ring is a Sugarcane-type Soul Beast, not hard to hunt down."

"His time is precious; we shouldn't waste it."

Tang San, though puzzled, still nodded.

"…"

After more than an hour, Xiao Xian finally opened his eyes, got up, and washed up.

The Sunlight Spore in the neighboring Seventh Dormitory had indeed vanished.

The one on the sixth floor of the dormitory building was the same.

"Looks like they have already gone to the Soul Hunting Forest."

If yesterday Xiao Xian hadn't obtained Xuan Tian Gong First Layer.

Whatever the case, he would have followed along.

Then he would devise ways to coax Tang San into cultivating on the carriage.

But since he had already successfully obtained Xuan Tian Gong First Layer, there was no need to waste that time.

Although compared to the original, the Master and Tang San set out a day later, who knows if they'd encounter the four‑hundred‑year-old Mandala Snake.

This terrifying Soul Beast has rough skin, thick flesh, and carries deadly poison.

Now he and Xiao Jue would find it hard to kill it head‑on.

"…"

After washing up, Xiao Xian bought a breakfast at the Shi Tang, returned to the sixth floor of the dormitory building, took out the key, and entered the Master's dormitory.

When the Master is absent, this place serves as his study room and cultivation chamber.

Quiet, with no one to disturb.

After Xiao Xian and Xiao Jue finished breakfast together.

He patted the big purple‑furred dog in front of him, making it lie down properly.

Start researching how to let it also switch cultivation to the Profound Heaven Technique.

Xiao Jue already knew how to meditate; this was familiar work, not difficult, just needing a bit of time.

……

Time passed day by day.

Until ten days later.

Only then did Tang San drag the stiff Master back to the Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

Xiao Xian was in class, at the side of the classroom window in the teaching building, catching a glimpse of a small figure carrying a middle-aged man, trudging up the dormitory building.

"Mr. Mo, my teacher Soul Hunter has returned, seems something happened, I'm leaving first!"

In the astonished gazes of Xiao Xian's classmates, he burst out the door.

"Okay, slow, slow, be careful not to fall!" On the podium, the teacher named Mo Hen readily agreed.

Xiao Xian, Xiao Chenyu, and others were among the few students at the Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy who could enjoy privileges.

……

Master Dormitory

Xiao Xian, somewhat out of breath, knocked on the door, then pushed it open and entered.

"Teacher, Tang San, you've finally returned! How did the Soul Hunter go?"

"Eh?! Teacher, what's this...?" Xiao Xian looked at Master, face full of shock.

Master was weakly lying on the bed, his complexion ashen.

Tang San also sat wearily on the chair, quite fatigued, but his complexion was much better than before, his body seemed to have grown a size, slightly taller than before.

"Xiao Xian..." Master lay on the bed, a bitter smile appearing on his ashen, stiff face.

"Senior Brother." Tang San stood up, gave a greeting, then looked at Master and respectfully said: "Teacher, let me speak; you rest well."

Xiao Xian saw that the relationship between Master and Tang San seemed much closer.

Naturally he guessed what had happened.

It seems that snake…… they probably didn't manage to dodge it.

Tang San recounted his experiences in the Soul Hunting Forest in full detail.

"Teacher first bought a Plant Distribution Map..."

"Originally we could have just rushed straight to the hundred-year sugarcane..."

"……midway, the teacher's martial soul discovered many Youmeng Wolf corpses, the corpses black and poisonous. To be safe, we took many detours…… but in the end we were still blocked midway by a four-hundred-year Mandala Snake…… those Youmeng Wolves were also its prey."

"Our speed wasn't enough; we were quickly caught up…… the teacher's martial soul, in trying to block it, was bitten several times and directly dissipated……"

"Finally, in the panic, I accidentally stabbed the Mandala Snake's venomous fangs with a dagger, killing it……"

"The teacher was severely poisoned; his hands, feet, and abdomen all swelled…… it looked like he wouldn't make it……"

"I barely used my father's taught method to remove some poison, but it was still not enough……"

"But luckily, the hundred-year sugarcane was not far away; I absorbed its soul ring, obtained the First Soul Technique, the effect was decent, barely managed to save the teacher……"

Saying this, Tang San's tone was somewhat relieved.

……