Before leaving Holy Spirit Village, Su Ming quietly pulled Grandpa Jack aside.
Grandpa Jack asked in confusion, "Su Ming, why did you pull me aside like this?"
Su Ming took out a pouch from his soul device, which contained about ten gold soul coins.
"Grandpa Jack, please take this. Now that I'm a soul master, I receive a stipend every month. This money is for you," Su Ming said.
Grandpa Jack, unable to refuse, accepted the pouch with a smile.
In truth, the money wasn't a big deal to him. As the village chief, he had some savings, but it was Su Ming's heartfelt gesture that mattered.
Seeing that Grandpa Jack accepted the money, Su Ming nodded in satisfaction.
Initially, he had planned to give more, but it would have been hard to explain where the extra money came from. Anyway, he could always give more each time he visited the village.
Through his year of writing in the diary, Su Ming had amassed quite a few gold soul coins—he hadn't counted exactly how many, but it was at least in the tens of thousands.
Su Ming also took out a few protective talismans, including space and defense talismans, which were rewards from the system. He handed one of each to Grandpa Jack.
He sternly said, "Grandpa Jack, these talismans are important. This paper explains what each one does and how to use it. If you're ever in danger, you must use them!"
"As for where I got these things, please don't ask."
Grandpa Jack understood that Su Ming was just worried about his safety, but he thought to himself, I rarely leave the village—what danger could I possibly face?
Nonetheless, these "talismans" Su Ming had given him were precious treasures, and Su Ming must have had his reasons for not explaining further. As an elder, it was his place to simply accept them with gratitude.
Five years passed in the blink of an eye.
Su Ming's soul power had long since reached level 40, but he hadn't rushed to absorb the system's god-bestowed spirit ring. That ring was an ordinary god-bestowed ring, not tailored for his specific needs. It was a second option.
His first option was to make Ah Yin his spirit soul and let her provide him with his fourth spirit ring.
That's right—over the past five years, Su Ming had mastered the method to turn Ah Yin into his spirit soul, courtesy of the system. He had always known that as long as he needed something, the reward would eventually come!
However, Su Ming speculated that Ah Yin's cultivation was only at a thousand-year level for now. After all, stuck in that cave, her cultivation couldn't possibly grow quickly.
Even if her cultivation was relatively low, Su Ming wasn't worried. After all, spirit rings could grow in strength as one's own power increased!
The Blue Silver Emperor's spirit rings were mainly focused on life and recovery, attributes that perfectly aligned with Su Ming's wood element, as they were both plant-based.
While Su Ming was lost in thought, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Xiao Wu.
Over the past five years, Xiao Wu had grown from a little girl into a young woman. Though her figure wasn't fully developed yet, her legs were already taking shape. In another five or six years, she would undoubtedly be stunning!
During these five years of cultivation, what surprised Su Ming most was that Xiao Wu's soul power had reached level 39—far beyond the level of 29 she had in the original story.
Upon reflection, Su Ming realized that with Xiao Wu being his sister, and him pushing himself so hard in training, it was only natural that Xiao Wu wouldn't take it easy, as she had in the original tale.
After all, despite being a transformed hundred-thousand-year soul beast, Xiao Wu had the foundation to cultivate even faster than normal. Her innate talent was extraordinary!
What Su Ming didn't know was that while Xiao Wu had been working hard, the system had also played a significant role. Every so often, the system would quietly increase the female leads' soul power bit by bit. The individual boosts were small, but over time, they added up significantly!
Additionally, Xiao Wu had been cultivating the body-strengthening technique Su Ming had given her. Her second spirit ring was already at about three thousand years, her third at six thousand, and her fourth would surely be at the ten-thousand-year level!
Of course, the sudden jump in the second spirit ring's age was a bit conspicuous. Fortunately, Su Ming had received a disguise talisman from the system, which could change the color of spirit rings. He was thrilled when he received it!
The day after receiving the talisman, Su Ming used it on Xiao Wu, allowing her to freely change the color of her spirit rings, with each effect lasting for one year.
Su Ming gave all the disguise talismans to Xiao Wu, along with a few other defensive talismans, for her safety.
However, when Su Ming had used the disguise talisman on Xiao Wu, she had looked at him with a strange expression. Su Ming thought she was curious about the talisman, but he didn't explain, as the existence of the system was something he couldn't share.
In reality, Xiao Wu had thought to herself, My dear Su Ming, I can already change the color and aura of my spirit rings just like you! But I can't let you know that just yet.
She found it amusing that Su Ming's system seemed to look out for him in every way, covering all bases without raising suspicion. The system really was sneaky!
Seeing Su Ming staring at her absentmindedly, Xiao Wu blushed slightly and huffed, "Su Ming, what are you looking at? Let's go. Weren't we supposed to visit Grandpa Jack in Holy Spirit Village to say goodbye?"
Su Ming snapped out of his thoughts. It was true—they were about to graduate from Notting Academy, and who knew when they'd return again? It was only right to bid farewell to Grandpa Jack.
As for where they would go next, it was obvious—they were headed to Shrek Academy! Su Ming was eager to meet Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong and see if they were as he had imagined. He was curious about their appearances and personalities.
Their trip to Shrek Academy had been arranged by Yu Xiaogang. He had invited both Su Ming and Xiao Wu, hoping they would join Tang San at Shrek Academy. Proudly, Yu Xiaogang had said, "Shrek only accepts monsters. There are more teachers than students, and since you two are geniuses, it's the perfect place for you."
Of course, Yu Xiaogang had his reasons for the invitation. Su Ming and Xiao Wu's rapid progress had surpassed his expectations. He didn't understand how they were cultivating so quickly—Xiao Wu's speed could be explained by her innate talent, but Su Ming's was something else entirely!
Because both of them were so strong, Yu Xiaogang wanted them to join Tang San at Shrek Academy, along with the other students. This year's intake would surely lead to Shrek's rise to prominence!
Since Yu Xiaogang was close to Flender, it made sense for him to help out his old friend.
Su Ming had agreed to go without hesitation.
Then Su Ming said, "Xiao Wu, let's get going!"
As for Tang San, he had chosen not to return to the village. His father was no longer there, so he didn't feel much attachment to the village. Plus, he wanted to spend more time training. Seeing how much stronger Su Ming and Xiao Wu had become made him feel uneasy.
Tang San had asked his teacher why he hadn't gone to hunt for his third spirit ring yet, despite reaching level 30. Yu Xiaogang explained that the best spirit beast for his third ring was the Man-Faced Demon Spider, a powerful and vicious creature. It was too dangerous to hunt one near Notting Academy.
Hunting a Man-Faced Demon Spider was incredibly risky!
When Tang San asked when he would be able to hunt one, Yu Xiaogang told him to wait until after graduation and then go to a place called Shrek Academy, just outside Soto City. Once there, someone would help him.
Tang San understood. He could continue cultivating without a spirit ring for now. But watching Su Ming and Xiao Wu's rapid progress made him anxious. Their growth was simply too fast!
He was also curious about who had helped them obtain their third spirit rings, but neither Su Ming nor Xiao Wu would say.
Su Ming didn't care. He knew that Tang San only cared about his father and regarded everyone else in the village, including Grandpa Jack, as mere passersby.
To save time, Su Ming and Xiao Wu found a secluded spot and used a space talisman to instantly teleport a great distance. They had plenty of talismans, so there was no need to be frugal!
In Holy Spirit Village, Su Ming informed Grandpa Jack that they might not be able to return frequently, as they would be studying elsewhere. He proudly mentioned that both he and Xiao Wu were now spirit masters at over level 30, hoping to make Grandpa Jack proud.
Su Ming didn't mention that he was already at level 40—that would be too shocking. Besides, he might surpass level 40 once he absorbed his fourth spirit ring.
After staying in the village for three days, Su Ming and Xiao Wu were ready to leave. Before departing, Su Ming gave Grandpa Jack a storage ring filled with gold soul coins and various talismans, telling him to open it after they had left.
Su Ming knew that if Grandpa Jack opened it immediately, he might refuse the gift. It was, after all, a token of Su Ming's appreciation.
After leaving Grandpa Jack's house, Su Ming turned to Xiao Wu and said, "I need to handle something in the mountains. It's a bit dangerous. Why don't you use a space talisman and leave ahead of me?"
Xiao Wu frowned, then hugged Su Ming's arm tightly. "No way! I want to stay with you, Su Ming. If there's danger, I can't let you face it alone!"