As the boring morning classes came to an end, Xiao Lin was called to the homeroom teacher's office for a scolding, just as he had expected. However, after Xiao Lin revealed his yellow Soul Ring, Lin Quan fell silent.
A hundred-year Soul Ring as a first ring? Lin Quan felt he wasn't even qualified to teach Xiao Lin.
More notably, Xiao Lin's first Soul Ring was actually brighter than Lin Quan's second one.
After that, Lin Quan told Xiao Lin that if he wasn't interested in the lessons, he didn't have to come; he could simply slip out the back door. The only condition was that he must not disturb the other students or distract them.
Stepping out of the homeroom teacher's office, he found Tang San and Xiao Wu waiting nearby.
Tang San frowned slightly.
"Brother Lin, is everything alright?"
"It's fine. Teacher Lin just said that if I'm not interested in the classes, I can go cultivate on my own," Xiao Lin said, waving his hand with a smug grin.
"That's it?"
Tang San fell silent.
He had realized that much of the basic knowledge Lin Quan taught was useless to him as well, so he was starting to crave the same treatment Xiao Lin received.
"Why? Xiao Lin, do you already know everything?" Xiao Wu looked at him, her eyes filled with curiosity.
To her, this human knowledge actually seemed quite useful.
"Xiao Wu, Xiao Lin has been self-studying since he was a child. He only comes to class when there's something specific he hasn't encountered before," Tang San explained for him.
Afterward, Tang San also walked into the office to speak with Lin Quan.
"No way. If Little San doesn't go to class, I'm not going either!" Xiao Wu realized what was happening and immediately followed Tang San into the office.
Outside, Xiao Lin curled his lip and shook his head with a sigh.
The Rogue Rabbit is already hitting it off with Little San? Is it the natural attraction between Blue Silver Grass and rabbits, or are the gears of fate simply locking into place?
A moment later, when Tang San and Xiao Wu emerged from the office, both were wearing smiles.
"Brother Lin, we'll be sitting next to you from now on, and then doing the same as you," Tang San said with a slight smile, clearly satisfied with the result of his negotiation.
"Exactly, exactly!" Xiao Wu didn't know what else to say, but if Little San said it, it was right.
"Come on, let's go eat at the cafeteria." Xiao Lin let out a yawn and invited the two to join him.
On the way, Xiao Lin talked about the content of his books, mainly for Tang San's benefit. Through Xiao Lin's words, Tang San grew curious about these unique geographical locations and places with extraordinary weather.
"By the way, Little San, before you obtain your second Soul Ring, your physical fitness must reach a level capable of absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring," Xiao Lin whispered to Tang San as they walked.
"Understood."
"What? Thousand-year? Xiao Lin, are you crazy?!"
Xiao Wu's exclamation rang out suddenly.
Even though Xiao Lin had whispered to Tang San, Xiao Wu was a rabbit spirit, after all—her hearing was sharp enough to catch every word.
"What do you mean 'crazy'? What's there to be surprised about?" Xiao Lin gave Xiao Wu an annoyed look, thinking she was making a fuss over nothing.
Beside them, Tang San quietly explained the situation to Xiao Wu, telling her not to overreact and reminding her that this was their secret.
It was hard to believe that after only one night of sleep, Tang San's attitude toward Xiao Wu had changed so drastically. If they stayed together for six years, would Tang San be completely led away by her? Xiao Lin couldn't help but wonder.
Seeing Xiao Wu nod conspiratorially, Xiao Lin continued his explanation.
"Little San, you know that our next Soul Rings are meant to be thousand-year ones, so our physical condition must be built up."
"From now until you reach Rank 20, besides continuing your blacksmithing to train your body, you also need to communicate with the Blue Silver Grass in the academy to help your cultivation and enhance your vitality."
Xiao Lin laid out his plan directly.
"Then, I need to find a way to publish a research paper on 'Soul Masters Over-limit Soul Ring Absorption' before we hit Rank 20."
Xiao Lin was doing this purely so that their future Soul Rings wouldn't be so shockingly unexpected.
A thousand-year second Soul Ring in this era was essentially a monster that far surpassed any genius. If Xiao Lin didn't publish a theory to justify it, they might be suspected or even face mortal danger.
While such a paper might potentially help his enemies, Xiao Lin had no choice. He couldn't just settle for a hundred-year Soul Ring just to hide his strength. At worst, he just wouldn't use his second Soul Ring during their six years at the academy.
Once six years had passed and there were successful examples of over-limit absorption, their second thousand-year rings wouldn't seem so outrageous. Furthermore, as the saying goes: as the virtue rises one foot, the devil rises ten.
Xiao Lin had insights far beyond this era, and Tang San had luck far beyond anyone else. Xiao Lin didn't believe that as the founders of this theory, they could lose to anyone else. If necessary, he could hold one more secret back in the paper.
He wouldn't mention Mental Power; he would only focus on physical strength. Plus, he still remembered the secret of Whale Glue.
How could others possibly compare to them?
After saying a few more words on the road, Xiao Lin stopped talking. Tang San would likely come to find him personally in the afternoon. After a quick lunch, Xiao Lin prepared to head back for a nap.
Tang San, meanwhile, planned to find a suitable patch of grass in the academy to plant Blue Silver Grass and set up a simulated cultivation environment.
Xiao Wu stayed by Tang San's side, enthusiastically asking about everything she was curious about.
...
In a grassy area of Notting Academy.
Seeing that no one was around, Tang San took out a bag of Blue Silver Grass seeds from his storage Soul Tool (though on the surface, it looked like he took them from his pocket).
After scattering the seeds, Tang San summoned his Blue Silver Grass and used his vitality to stimulate their growth.
"Little San, what are you doing?"
"Setting up a place for simulated environment cultivation."
"Little San, what did Xiao Lin mean earlier by a 'second thousand-year Soul Ring'?"
"It means absorbing a thousand-year Soul Ring. Brother Lin believes that the limits for Soul Ring absorption published by Yu Xiaogang are incorrect, so he wants me to work hard on physical strength, and then..."
Tang San kept almost nothing from Xiao Wu, except for the secrets that belonged strictly to him and Xiao Lin.
The Soul Ring issue was fine.
Since Xiao Lin planned to publish a paper anyway, telling Xiao Wu didn't hurt.
Xiao Wu lowered her head, deep in thought.
She hadn't expected that even after transforming from a One Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beast into a human for the sake of revenge, she still couldn't beat an ordinary six-year-old human child.
More importantly, she hadn't expected this six-year-old child to have such profound research into Martial Souls alongside his unparalleled combat power. Perhaps her hope for revenge would have to rely on Xiao Lin's theories.
In that moment, Xiao Wu made a decision.
She was going to take Xiao Lin and Tang San as her two subordinates.
Well, Little San was already hers, so she just needed to win over Xiao Lin. Then, she would take her two subordinates, along with Da Ming and Er Ming, to find that woman and seek revenge.
"Little San, just tell me—how do you do that over-limit absorption?"
Looking at Xiao Wu's delicate face as she acted cute toward him, Tang San—who had been single for a very long time—felt his heart begin to sink into her charms.
"Alright, I'll tell you. But you're not allowed to tell anyone else."
"Mhm, mhm!"