Just as Tang San returned to Dorm Seven, he immediately noticed that the beds which used to belong to Qi Lin and Xiao Wu were now empty. His brows furrowed instinctively.
"Wang Sheng, where are Xiao Wu and Qi Lin?" Tang San asked.
"They're not working students like us. A couple of days ago, once the new dorms were finished, they moved in," Wang Sheng replied.
Tang San's frown deepened.
Then, with a bit of envy, Wang Sheng asked, "Did you go soul hunting recently?"
"Yeah." Tang San gave a short response, clearly in a bad mood, and began unpacking his bag.
He wasn't sure why, but after hearing that Xiao Wu had moved out, his mood suddenly took a nosedive.
After briefly chatting with Wang Sheng and the others, he walked out of Dorm Seven.
As he left, someone inside the dorm muttered quietly, "Such a show-off…"
---
Meanwhile!
In a newly furnished and spacious dorm.
Xiao Wu had just returned from a walk outside and saw Qi Lin tinkering with a soul tool, disassembling and reassembling it with focus. She couldn't help but ask out of curiosity:
"Brother Qi Lin, don't you get bored playing with these soul tools every day?"
"Hmm?" Qi Lin looked up. "Not at all. I actually think it's really fun."
"You won't believe it—I can already make some simple ones by myself now. It's a great sense of accomplishment!"
Xiao Wu tilted her head. "Well, I don't get what's fun about it. It all looks way too complicated."
"Just looking at those tiny parts already makes my head spin."
Qi Lin laughed and pinched her soft cheek. "Give me a little time. Once I finish building a game console, you won't think it's boring anymore."
"Game console?" Xiao Wu looked puzzled.
Qi Lin didn't bother explaining. Even if he did, she wouldn't understand. Why waste the breath?
There weren't many kids in this dorm—only eight, including Qi Lin and Xiao Wu—fewer than Dorm Seven.
At this time, the rest of the kids were out playing. After all, they were just six-year-olds—restless and full of energy.
But just then, the dorm door swung open, and two figures entered: Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang and Tang San!
Both carried their own intentions.
Tang San wanted to challenge Xiao Wu again and show her his true strength.
Yu Xiaogang, on the other hand, wanted to use Tang San to prove himself to Qi Lin—to let him see who truly understood the cultivation of Blue Silver Grass.
Though Qi Lin's martial soul was a variant of Blue Silver Grass, Yu Xiaogang believed that the fundamentals remained the same. Qi Lin could also enhance his spirit rings with control or poison attributes.
Even if one ring had already been "wasted," Yu Xiaogang believed there was still time to fix it—if Qi Lin followed his guidance from now on.
Seeing Tang San, Xiao Wu waved casually and said, "Oh hey, San! What, got your first spirit ring and now think you can beat me?"
Looking at her relaxed attitude, Tang San's mood lifted a little. He smiled, "Xiao Wu, I forgot to tell you—after absorbing the ring, I'm now at level thirteen."
"So if we fight again, I might not lose this time."
Xiao Wu's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.
There was no one else in the whole academy who could give her a proper fight. If Tang San wanted to be her punching bag, she was more than happy to play along.
"It's too cramped in here. Let's go somewhere with space!"
"Alright!"
Seeing that Tang San wanted a rematch, Qi Lin grabbed a bag of snacks and followed along.
Yu Xiaogang brought up the rear, eyes glinting with a sharp light and a sly smile curling on his lips as he stared at Qi Lin's back.
---
Soon, the four of them arrived at a grassy field behind the academy.
Xiao Wu and Tang San stood apart, putting a good ten meters between them.
Yu Xiaogang had already gone over the strategy with Tang San beforehand.
Xiao Wu's martial soul was a rabbit—a beast-type—and naturally, beasts had a physical advantage over plant spirits like Blue Silver Grass.
Tang San had to play to his strengths and keep a distance, using Blue Silver Grass to harass her from afar.
Not daring to be careless, he launched his first soul skill right away.
"Blue Silver Bind!"
More than ten vines shot out toward Xiao Wu under his control.
Yu Xiaogang, watching the match with confidence, walked up beside Qi Lin and started a conversation.
"I've heard about you from San. You're Qi Lin, right?"
Qi Lin looked at him, a bit puzzled, but nodded politely.
"That's me. Something wrong?"
Yu Xiaogang smiled, "I heard your martial soul is a mutated Blue Silver Grass?"
Qi Lin nodded again.
"And you have innate full soul power?"
"Yep."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up with a wise gleam as he began his usual spiel, the same one he gave Tang San.
Then he dropped a bomb:
"If I'm not mistaken, you must have twin martial souls!"
Seeing the confident gleam in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, with all his precise data and proud tone, Qi Lin couldn't help but stare at him strangely.
---
Meanwhile, in Qi Lin's mind sea...
A chubby silkworm baby spoke up.
"Xiao Qi Lin, how does this ugly weirdo say so much nonsense with such confidence?"
'Ugly weirdo?'
Qi Lin glanced at Yu Xiaogang again. Not really ugly, just… average.
Yu Xiaogang mistook Qi Lin's silence as confirmation and smiled smugly. "Judging by your look, I must be right."
Qi Lin twitched at the corner of his mouth and made a little bear-like shrug.
"Sorry to disappoint. I only have one martial soul—or at least, for now."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head with a chuckle, looking at Qi Lin with approval.
"You're cautious. That's good. But there's no need to be—I'm not here to hurt you."
"On the contrary, I want to guide you, teach you, be your mentor on your path as a soul master."
His voice was full of conviction.
"See him? That's my first disciple, Tang San!"
Yu Xiaogang pointed proudly.
"Look at him—his martial soul is also just Blue Silver Grass. But under my teaching, he absorbed a 400-year Mandrake Snake as his first ring."
"Thanks to that, his Blue Silver Grass gained not just binding ability, but poison as well. Its toughness is far beyond ordinary."
"That proves my theory: plant-type soul masters don't have to absorb plant-type soul beasts!"
---
As soon as he finished speaking, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice exploded in Qi Lin's mind.
"Xiao Qi Lin, don't let that ugly weirdo fool you."
"That Tang San's Blue Silver Grass is way tougher than normal because it's not normal Blue Silver Grass at all!"
"This guy is so dumb and bad. Making a life-based plant spirit absorb a poison beast? What nonsense!"
---
Tianmeng might not be strong…
But you could never say he lacked insight!