The next day. After a night of cultivation, Tang Yin opened his eyes. He spread his arms, and two spheres of green soul power appeared in his palms. "Even though I haven't broken through to level 11, I feel much stronger than yesterday. Indeed, accumulating soul power is the right approach."
In this world, most soul masters rush to absorb soul rings and break through to the next level once they reach level 10. This is a common phenomenon. However, some powerful and experienced soul masters know the importance of accumulating soul power, solidifying their realm, and nurturing their bodies to become stronger before absorbing soul rings.
This way, they can endure the age of the soul rings for a longer time. Take Tang Hao, for example. His strength has several reasons, and this is one of them.
"Xiao Yin, we should go now." At that moment, Tang Hao, looking disheveled, walked out of the room. He wore a cloak to cover himself and held a bundle in his hand. He approached Tang Yin and tossed the bundle to him. Tang Yin caught it and pretended to be puzzled, asking, "Adoptive father, are we leaving just like this? What about Third Brother?"
Tang Yin was slightly older than Tang San, so he was used to calling him Third Brother. Now that he needed to disguise himself and rely on Tang Hao to grow stronger, he had to ensure that Tang Hao did not notice any flaws. As for the title of "adoptive father," it was just a formality; it wouldn't cost him anything, and it was well-known that those who took on the role of adoptive father often had unfortunate endings.
Hearing this, Tang Hao glanced in the direction of Nuoding Academy and said in a deep voice, "He will be taken care of; there's no need to worry. First, we will hunt for your first soul ring, and then we will check on him before we set off."
"Yes, adoptive father. I understand," Tang Yin replied respectfully. He put on the bundle and followed Tang Hao, leaving the Holy Soul Village where he had lived for six years.
On the way, although Tang Hao walked ahead with his back to his adoptive son, Tang Yin's every move did not escape his perception. After taking a sip of wine, Tang Hao's voice became a bit hoarse as he said, "Xiao Yin, aren't you going to ask what I plan to do and why I brought you instead of Xiao San?"
Tang Yin shook his head, "My life was saved by you, adoptive father. No matter what you want to do, I will follow you without hesitation. Just like I know that your training these days is for my own good, to help me become stronger in the future. You won't harm me, right?"
Upon hearing Tang Yin's last words, "You won't harm me, right?" Tang Hao's body suddenly stiffened. He thought of his adoptive son, who had always been so sensible since childhood, and the cruel "training" he had subjected him to these days. Coldly, he replied, "Keep up."
At this moment, he had no softness left in his heart. To resurrect Ah Yin, he could become a villain.
Tang Yin, upon hearing this, looked at Tang Hao and couldn't help but smirk inwardly. One day, he would make his adoptive father understand that a man living between heaven and earth cannot remain beneath others for long. Who uses whom is still uncertain.
Moreover, with the Green Light System at his disposal, a mere Tang Hao would only become a plaything for him; he was determined to have his adoptive mother, Ah Yin, and even Jesus couldn't stop him.
Then he saw Tang Hao's figure quickly disappear from view. He lifted his legs, gathered his strength, and ran forward.
At just six years old, he was not very tall. Fortunately, after enduring rigorous training these days, his physical strength had improved significantly. However, after running quickly behind Tang Hao for an hour, he was panting heavily.
If it weren't for the nourishment of soul power, he wouldn't have been able to run that far. But Tang Hao clearly had no intention of stopping. He had to grit his teeth and persist, continuing to follow Tang Hao. No matter how tired he was, he could only bear it because he knew that if he stopped, he would face another round of "harsh training" from Tang Hao.
This was how he had spent the past few days—either running around the Holy Soul Village with stones on his back or being thrown into areas with soul beasts to fight them, where he had nearly been killed by soul beasts several times.
He was grateful to Tang Hao because such brutal training allowed him to become stronger. But now, he felt no affection for his adoptive father. If he ever had the chance in the future, he would not hesitate to take action against him.
By dusk, Tang Yin found himself following Tang Hao into a forest. Tang Hao stood in front and, seeing his adoptive son panting heavily, stepped forward and said, "This is a soul beast forest, home to many hundred-year soul beasts, and even thousand-year soul beasts deeper inside. I want you to kill at least one hundred-year soul beast here. If you can't meet my requirements, then you'll have to fend for yourself."
"Also, I will observe you from the shadows. I will only intervene if you encounter a soul beast over a hundred years old; for the rest, you'll have to figure it out on your own. This is your weapon." After saying this, Tang Hao tossed a dagger to Tang Yin.
Tang Yin caught the dagger, noting that it was quite sharp. Without hesitation, he clasped his fists and said, "Rest assured, adoptive father; I will not disappoint you."
"Mm." Tang Hao nodded in satisfaction. He knew his adoptive son's character; he always acted decisively and never dragged things out with unnecessary words. "Stay alive." He patted Tang Yin's shoulder and left that one sentence filled with a hint of concern before disappearing from Tang Yin's sight.
Once Tang Hao left, Tang Yin understood that what Tang Hao had just said was mere formality. He was now Tang Hao's only hope for resurrecting Ah Yin. Tang Hao would not let anything happen to him. However, he had no doubt that Tang Hao would be watching him closely. Now that he was in this wild soul beast forest, he could take advantage of Tang Hao's protection to push himself hard and grow stronger.
Focusing his mind, Tang Yin did not rush in blindly. He looked around and noticed many Blue Silver Grasses nearby. He summoned his Green Light Martial Soul and released nurturing green light onto the Blue Silver Grass. Under the effect of the nurturing green light, a thumb-sized Blue Silver Grass quickly grew to the thickness of an arm, now possessing ten years of cultivation. This was the ability of the Green Light Martial Soul.
After nurturing several Blue Silver Grasses, he stopped. These Blue Silver Grasses could be controlled by him and serve as his eyes. At just six years old, killing a hundred-year soul beast was very difficult—almost impossible. If it were an ordinary six-year-old child, even a ten-year soul beast could easily tear them apart.
But he did not give up.
Opportunities are created through effort. Moreover, after these days of brutal training by Tang Hao, he had gained a new understanding of his own strength and had killed several soul beasts. He was confident.
Next, he began preparing traps for hunting soul beasts in the forest and nurturing some poisonous plants and vines to use as assistants against ten-year soul beasts. After completing all this, he tightly gripped the dagger and officially entered the forest.
Not long after he entered, Tang Yin encountered a few weak soul beasts. Holding the dagger, he leaped behind one of the weak soul beasts and, before it could react, swiftly stabbed it in the neck, killing it cleanly. He then dragged the slain soul beast to the trap he had set earlier, spilling its blood around and covering the corpse with the liquid from the poisonous vines to attract other soul beasts.
To be safe, he also found several poisonous vines nearby and released green light to nurture and control them, turning them into ten-year soul beasts to ambush others. After finishing everything, he quickly hid and waited.
Howl~
Not long after, the sound of wolves howling came from a nearby hillside. Hidden in the grass, Tang Yin relied on the previously nurtured Blue Silver Grass and some vines to clearly sense seven wolves gathering just a few dozen meters away on the hillside. These wolves were all ten-year soul beasts, clearly attracted by the smell of blood.
If it were one or two acting alone, he was confident he could quickly kill them without getting hurt. But with seven or eight, it would be difficult. Moreover, the leader, based on its size, fur color, and the aura it emitted, was clearly a hundred-year soul beast.
The soul skills of a hundred-year soul beast posed a significant threat to a six-year-old child, enough to kill him in one hit. But he felt no fear. As he watched the wolves approach the corpse of the soul beast, he concealed his presence and slowly moved closer to the few wolves feeding.
At this moment, Tang Hao, who was secretly observing Tang Yin, frowned upon seeing his adoptive son attempt to take on seven by himself. The soul beasts he had previously captured were only twenty or thirty years old, which Tang Yin could easily kill with his skills and soul power. But a hundred-year soul beast was not so simple.
As Tang Yin thought, Tang Hao would not let him die. After all, he was Tang Hao's only hope for resurrecting Ah Yin. "Let's watch for now," Tang Hao decided, continuing to observe.
After all, his purpose was to test his adoptive son.
At this point, Tang Yin had already crept within ten meters of the pack of wolves. Hidden behind a tree, he was cloaked in green light, which concealed his presence, making him undetectable to the wolves. Then, he released his Green Light Martial Soul and commanded the poisonous vines to attack the pack of wolves.
The pack of wolves, busy tearing into the flesh, clearly did not notice the vines suddenly attacking them from the ground. In an instant, there were several cracking sounds as the poisonous vines ensnared a few wolves, releasing toxins that rendered them unable to move.
At that moment, as the poisonous vines attacked the wolves, Tang Yin dashed out. The ten-meter distance was neither too far nor too close. While the pack of wolves struggled to break free, he reached them and channeled all his soul power into his dagger, launching a flurry of stabs at the ensnared wolves.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!!
The dagger entered and exited cleanly. Each thrust brought forth a significant amount of blood. In no time, he had killed several wolves. However, the hundred-year wolf king showed resistance to the poison and was clearly not so easily killed.
"Howl~ Howl~"
It let out a furious roar, and suddenly a ball of energy the size of a soccer ball was released from its mouth. The energy attack was fast. Tang Yin instinctively rolled to the side. With a loud explosion, a small pit was created where he had been standing.
"A hundred-year soul beast is indeed not comparable to a ten-year one," Tang Yin realized as he recognized the gap between himself and the wolf king. At present, he was no match for the wolf king. However...
"Get up!" Just as the wolf king was about to unleash another energy attack, the remaining poisonous vines under Tang Yin's control shot up like tentacles, ensnaring the wolf king's legs. In that instant, Tang Yin charged at the wolf king without hesitation.
With his dagger in hand, he stabbed fiercely.
Puchi! Puchi!
The wolf king's body was already poisoned, and now it was hit with even more toxins. The poison erupted, causing it to momentarily freeze. In that moment, Tang Yin had already stabbed it multiple times.
The hundred-year soul beast wolf king fell.