Yu Xiaogang's appearance was like biting into a fragrant loaf of bread and finding half a fly inside—utterly nauseating.
It ruined what had been an excellent day for Lin Yang.
After wolfing down dinner in the cafeteria, he prepared to return to the dormitory to cultivate.
But before he'd even reached the dorm entrance, he spotted Zhao Bufan pacing back and forth in the distance, clearly waiting for someone.
Lin Yang didn't think too much of it and started walking toward the dorms. After just a few steps, Zhao Bufan took the initiative to come over.
"Boss, can we talk?"
Lin Yang was a bit surprised. Though they lived in the same Seventh Dorm, they'd only ever had an average relationship.
Still, he nodded. "Alright."
They found a quiet spot near the dorm and came to a stop.
Zhao Bufan was a sixth-year student, twelve years old this year, over a head taller than Lin Yang.
Yet in front of Lin Yang, he acted like a nervous elementary schooler, visibly ill at ease.
Lin Yang went straight to the point. "You need something from me?"
Zhao Bufan hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice.
"Boss, are you planning to go hunt a soul ring on your own?"
"That's right." Lin Yang nodded.
The school allowed students to hunt for their own soul rings, but if something went wrong, the academy assumed no responsibility.
After all, the academy was small, and there were occasionally some students with backing and influence; their soul rings weren't the school's concern.
"I knew it." Zhao Bufan nodded, unsurprised.
"Boss, I also want to hunt my soul ring myself. I'd like to cooperate with you."
Lin Yang was a bit taken aback. "How do you plan to cooperate?"
"I can find a way to get a hunting token, but I need a soul ring of at least two hundred years." Zhao Bufan didn't bother to hide his ambition.
"Hunting token…" Lin Yang murmured under his breath.
In Nuoding City, if one wanted to obtain a soul beast, they could only go to the Hunting Soul Forest outside the eastern city walls.
The Hunting Soul Forest was a place fenced off by the Spirit Hall specifically for rearing soul beasts. To enter, one needed a hunting token.
This token required the guarantee of at least three nobles. Ordinary people had no way of obtaining it—especially work-study students.
Up until now, Lin Yang had been troubled over how to get one. Just as he was worrying, someone brought him a pillow to go with his drowsiness; the timing couldn't have been better.
"Alright. I agree."
His straightforward answer left Zhao Bufan a bit stunned. The persuasive lines he'd prepared in advance were instantly rendered useless.
He stammered for a moment, then exhaled and laughed.
"Great, Boss. Then it's settled."
"I need to take three days' leave to get the token. Three days from now, we'll meet at the Hunting Soul Forest."
"Alright."
The two of them then returned to the dorm. Both tacitly kept their soul-hunting plans from the others.
The next day, Zhao Bufan requested leave from the academy, while Lin Yang continued attending classes and cultivating as usual.
Behind Nuoding Academy's grounds lay a back mountain.
It was remote and seldom visited by students, and thus had become Lin Yang's usual training ground for his sword techniques.
On a patch of flat ground, the Blue Silver Grass swayed in the wind. At the center of the clearing, Lin Yang stood quietly, Hizama at his side.
Suddenly, the air changed.
Centered on Lin Yang, the surrounding air began to flow and spin, kicking up dust and grass.
Hiss—
A long, deep breath sounded from Lin Yang's mouth.
Along with that breath, the cool breeze around him carried a faint trace of heat.
At this moment, Lin Yang had silently opened his Transparent World.
The world in his eyes instantly changed.
He could "see" every muscle fiber in his body quivering, as though they could erupt with terrifying strength at any time.
He could "see" that with each breath, he was inhaling not just air. His soul power, too, was resonating with that breathing in a special rhythm.
Soul power flowed through his meridians, into his limbs and bones, providing energy for his entire body.
Compared to using oxygen alone to stimulate muscles and bones, using soul power to "breathe" amplified his physical improvement even more.
If his old breathing method had been about raising the upper limit of basic physical ability—
Then coupling it with soul power to form Sun Breathing enhanced his lower limit and allowed him to more fully draw out his physical potential.
Soul power, in this world, was already filled with limitless possibilities.
All at once, Lin Yang moved.
His movement wasn't fast. Hizama, the one-meter blade in his hand, drew a graceful, simple arc through the air.
Sun Breathing: First Form – Dance.
Boom!
Where the blade passed, the air itself was split. Tangible flames surged forward, carving a three-to-four-meter arc of blazing heat.
And it didn't end there.
His movements shifted. Hizama gleamed sharply.
Second Form – Clear Blue Sky.
Third Form – Raging Sun.
Fourth Form – Fake Rainbow.
…
Every form was executed to absolute standard, yet held a distinctive personal flair.
Waves of fire danced. Each strike carried lethal intent, yet also a sense of upright grandeur.
Like the sun in the sky: capable not only of destruction, but also of bestowing hope.
When all twelve sword forms were complete, Lin Yang slowly exhaled a turbid breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
As the primordial breathing method, Sun Breathing was notoriously difficult.
Integrating it with soul power multiplied that difficulty.
Not only did breathing rhythm have to be maintained, soul power also had to synchronize with that breathing.
It was like making one hand circle forward while the other circled backward at the same time.
The slightest error could cause irreversible damage to the body.
That Lin Yang could do this was due to his extremely high compatibility with Sun Breathing—and the Demon Blood Spirit's powerful regeneration.
Fortunately, he had succeeded. Sun Breathing and soul power now fit together perfectly.
Every sword form, when combined with soul power, became incredibly powerful—on par with soul skills.
In other words, these were self-created soul techniques, akin to the Haotian Sect's Nine Absolutes of the Clear Sky Hammer…
The downside was that the consumption of stamina and mental energy had also multiplied.
Even with his current physique, performing the full set of twelve forms was a tremendous drain.