The sun rose from the east, its orange-red light streaming through the window into Lin Xiao's dormitory, falling directly on his face.
The changing light in the room seemed to cause him some discomfort. His eyelids twitched slightly before he opened his eyes.
Glancing down at himself, he found he was still sitting cross-legged at the head of his bed. Yet, he felt more refreshed than if he had slept comfortably lying down. The exhaustion in his body had vanished completely. With a long stretch, a series of cracking sounds came from his joints.
Lin Xiao leaped to the floor, clenching his fists and swinging them a few times. He immediately noticed his body felt noticeably lighter. Without needing to test it, he knew his physical strength had increased significantly.
And—
Lin Xiao crossed his fists and threw a few quick punches, then raised his left arm to examine it.
It wasn't an illusion. While his entire body had improved, the changes in his left arm were more pronounced.
As if realizing something, he focused his mind, channeling soul power toward his left arm. A glow emanated from within, radiating outward.
Lin Xiao's expression shifted slightly. The glow from his left arm bone was no longer the simple silver-gray it had been. Now, it was dotted with specks of light, and the metallic sheen was even more striking.
Upon closer inspection, it had an almost mesmerizing quality, like… mithril.
The mention of mithril instantly brought to mind the Star Vein Grass he had consumed the previous night. Silver Wolves favored mithril, able to absorb its power for their own use. The Star Vein Grass's discovery by the Silver Wolf King was precisely because it grew alongside mithril.
The changes in his left arm bone were likely tied to the mithril absorbed by the Star Vein Grass.
Consuming both substances last night had boosted his physical strength, as he had expected, but he hadn't anticipated that his soul bone would also be affected.
It was common knowledge in the soul master world that only external soul bones could grow alongside a soul master. He had never heard of a soul master's soul bone continuing to evolve after absorbing a left arm bone.
Could it be that a Gold-Devouring Beast's soul bone, like the beast itself, could improve by absorbing metals?
His mind raced, recalling everything he knew about Gold-Devouring Beasts, but he couldn't remember any soul master with a Gold-Devouring Beast soul bone experiencing such a phenomenon.
Or perhaps it had happened, but such changes weren't shared with others. Unlike soul rings, soul bones could be taken by others. A soul bone capable of growth would certainly spark greed in others.
Lin Xiao pulled back his thoughts, his gaze settling on his left arm again.
Regardless, this was a good thing. If his guess was correct, he'd need to pay more attention to rare metals to "feed" it in the future.
After tidying up the room and sweeping the soil off his bed, Lin Xiao opened the door as usual, only to stop in his tracks.
A figure stood rigidly in front of his dormitory, like a sharp blade embedded in the ground. The moment the door opened, a piercing aura hit him head-on.
Ji Juechen.
Lin Xiao let out a chuckle as he looked at the figure outside. Ever since defeating Ji Juechen in the arena, he had expected this moment.
It seemed Ji Juechen had come looking for him more than once, but since Lin Xiao hadn't been at the academy much recently, Ji Juechen had come straight to his dormitory to intercept him.
"Long time no see."
"Mm."
Lin Xiao greeted him with a smile, while Ji Juechen remained as impassive as ever.
Lin Xiao wasn't surprised. The man before him was someone whose eyes saw nothing but the sword—a true "martial maniac." Lin Xiao didn't dislike this personality; in fact, he was eager to spar with him.
Since Ji Juechen had helped him break through a barrier last time, Lin Xiao had gained some understanding of the concept of "intent." He needed someone to help him verify his insights.
"Do you have time now? I'd like to fight you again," Ji Juechen said, a rare long sentence for him.
"Of course, no problem," Lin Xiao nodded. "But I don't want to go to the soul tool testing arena. Let's find a secluded spot."
"Fine," Ji Juechen agreed without asking further.
As the premier soul mentor academy in the Sun Moon Empire, the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Academy covered a vast area, but finding a secluded spot was no easy task. Along the way, they inadvertently disturbed several couples.
After much effort, they finally found an open space.
Seeing Ji Juechen take his stance across from him, Lin Xiao first glanced at a hidden spot unnoticed by others before focusing on Ji Juechen.
At the spot Lin Xiao had glanced at, a guard froze slightly.
He noticed me?
The academy housed many noble students, so safety was a priority. Teachers oversaw safety during sparring in the soul tool testing area, while guards patrolled more secluded spots.
Lin Xiao and Ji Juechen's unusual behavior had caught the guard's attention. Curious, he followed them as they avoided others.
But now… were they about to spar or fight? If it was a spar, why not go to the arena?
As the guard debated whether to intervene, the next moment left him stunned.
Five black ten-thousand-year soul rings appeared, and he suddenly understood why Lin Xiao and Ji Juechen had avoided others.
Then, he saw the two charge at each other. In the next instant, a chill ran through him. Ji Juechen was already sitting cross-legged, seemingly meditating, while Lin Xiao stood to the side, doing something unclear.
It's over?
Yes, it was over.
If Lin Xiao could hear the guard's confusion, he would have answered as such.
The clash of intents happened in that single moment, but what seemed like an instant to the guard felt like a long time to Lin Xiao and Ji Juechen.
Upon seeing Lin Xiao's soul rings, Ji Juechen had been briefly stunned but quickly regained his composure. He never cared about his opponent's strength—his eyes were solely on his sword.
Lin Xiao, too, didn't want to overpower Ji Juechen with his ten-thousand-year soul skills. Sparring with Ji Juechen was about honing the "intent" he had roughly grasped.
Unlike Ji Juechen, Lin Xiao's mindset wasn't as pure. Neither his past life's memories nor the Holy Spirit Sect's environment allowed him to focus solely on one thing like Ji Juechen.
Thus, Lin Xiao didn't know what his "intent" should be.
But while he didn't understand himself, he understood his martial soul well. Though he wasn't sure what "intent" to infuse into his attacks, he knew how to channel his martial soul's power into them.