Chapter 52

Upon waking again, Tang Wulin felt something was off.

He seemed to be holding a large pillow, and it felt very comfortable to the touch.

Huh?

But it's strange, there's no pillow in his room.

Tang Wulin opened his eyes in doubt, and what came into view was Huo Yutong's peaceful sleeping face.

?

Tang Wulin's body stiffened.

What's going on, how did he end up sleeping together with Huo Yutong? As he thought back a little, previous memories surged into his mind.

He seemed to have fainted while attempting a martial soul fusion with Huo Yutong.

Was it a success or a failure? Tang Wulin was full of doubt, he pondered for a moment, then loosened his arms around Huo Yutong.

As he let go, he subconsciously felt a pang of reluctance; Huo Yutong's body was soft and fragrant, and holding her while sleeping was practically a pleasure.

Tang Wulin got up, gently covered Huo Yutong with the blanket, and moved his body a little.

He felt his condition was exceptionally good, his body light, filled with an indescribable sense of power, also very refreshing, his thoughts never so sharp.

He had a feeling that if he faced Dai Huabin again now, even without Huo Yutong's assistance he could beat him like kicking a ball.

Such an improvement obviously couldn't be explained by just being in good condition; something must have happened to him.

With that thought, Tang Wulin picked up an iron ball from the table and poured his soul power into it.

This ball is standard equipment for every Shrek Academy student, a soul power detector that measures soul power below rank thirty; of course, Soul Elders like Dai Huabin and Ning Tian use more advanced ones.

Just a slight infusion of soul power caused the ball to emit a yellow glow, and a number appeared on its surface, continuously climbing upward.

The more soul power Tang Wulin poured in, the larger the number became; finally, when the number reached twenty, it stopped changing.

Tang Wulin stared blankly.

Rank twenty? He had only slept, yet he was already at rank twenty? Tang Wulin was greatly shocked, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass martial soul to check the situation.

But what shocked him was still to come.

As soon as he summoned his martial soul, he was astonished by its vibrant life force.

His Blue Silver Grass now glowed with a blue-gold light, refreshing and delightful, faintly exuding a robust aura—nothing like before, making him hardly believe this was still the feeble Blue Silver Grass he once had.

Mm…

Apparently affected by the Blue Silver Grass's aura, Huo Yutong made a small sound and woke up, rubbing her eyes as she sat up on the bed.

"Wulin, what are you doing?"

Tang Wulin glanced at her and replied nonchalantly:

"I'm observing the condition of my martial soul; I feel it's different from before."

While saying that, he secretly let out a sigh of relief in his heart.

Fortunately he got up early enough; Huo Yutong didn't know they had slept holding each other all night, otherwise he really wouldn't know how to face her.

Oh.

Huo Yutong stretched lazily.

This was the most comfortable sleep she'd ever had in her life; the quality of the 'Tang Wulin' pillow left her very satisfied.

It would be great if she could have such a pillow every time she slept.

She yawned, gave Tang Wulin a slightly dazed smile, and said, "I also feel different from before; it looks like our martial soul fusion succeeded."

"Very likely."

Tang Wulin expressed agreement.

Something must have happened between him and Huo Yutong; otherwise he couldn't explain the changes in his body, nor the inexplicable attraction Huo Yutong now felt toward him.

Since waking, Tang Wulin has felt a faint attraction from Huo Yutong, making him want to close the distance between them.

Compared to before, they now share a strange connection.

Huo Yutong opened her hands.

"Come on, let's try again; if our martial soul fusion really succeeded, then testing our soul power once more should produce a reaction."

"Mm."

Tang Wulin lightly nodded and, following Huo Yutong's motion, embraced her.

First time awkward, second time familiar; this time holding each other again, Tang Wulin wasn't as flustered as before.

More importantly, he could feel the energy inside his body become active the moment it contacted Huo Yutong.

It wasn't just soul power that became active; his blood essence also boiled simultaneously, quickly merging with Huo Yutong's spiritual power.

After the first two combined, a green-gold energy began to surge from within him, intertwining with a gray current that had somehow emerged from Huo Yutong's body.

Tang Wulin widened his eyes in surprise.

Soul power and blood essence aside, what is this green-gold energy? He had never seen such energy before.

Tang Wulin subconsciously focused his attention on that green-gold light, and the next second a green-gold soul ring rose from beside him, radiating splendid light.

In an instant, Tang Wulin felt that the world through his eyes had changed.

His eyes suddenly could perceive the flow of life force; the entire Sea God's Pavilion glowed with a hazy green, giving an overwhelming sense of warmth.

Moreover, he could connect with nearby plants, and that 'nearby' range turned out to be the whole Academy.

In the depths of his mind, a wonderful intuition told him this was his third martial soul, named Natural Son.

But why does he have this martial soul? Blue Silver Grass is innate, the Golden Dragon King's power came from absorbing a seal, so where did Natural Son come from? His doubts went beyond that.

Perhaps stirred by the aura of his Natural Son, a gray soul ring also rose beside Huo Yutong, and after that gray soul ring appeared, Tang Wulin could no longer sense any life force in her—even the life force emanating from the wood used to build the Sea God's Pavilion exceeded hers.

What on earth is going on with her?

Sensing Tang Wulin's doubtful gaze, Huo Yutong whispered an explanation:

"The name of my martial soul is Necromancer; it feels very special, but I also don't know how this martial soul came to be."

"……"

"Is she also like that?"

"Tang Wulin frowned, thought for a moment, then said:"

"Let's go ask Old Mu."

"During this time studying under Mu En, his rich knowledge left a deep impression on Tang Wulin."

"This even caused Tang Wulin to develop a habit: when he encounters something he doesn't understand, he first goes to Wang Yan; if Wang Yan also doesn't know, he goes to Mu En."

"Generally, after completing these two steps, most problems concerning soul master cultivation can be readily resolved."

"Now they are in the Sea God Pavilion, and moreover this strange phenomenon is not something Wang Yan could understand, so Tang Wulin decided to go directly ask Mu En."

"(End of chapter)"