Time passed in a trickle—half a year went by quietly.
Lin Yang's soul power had climbed from level 13 to level 17.
His pace had slowed a bit, but compared to other students, his cultivation speed was still astonishing.
Naturally, much of the credit went to the Great Sun Meditation Technique.
It ran constantly. Even if its efficiency was low, the sheer accumulation added up.
And as his level rose, it was normal for cultivation to slow down.
By then, his first year at Nuoding Primary Spirit Master Academy had officially ended, and a two-month-long vacation was beginning.
No student disliked vacations, and Lin Yang was no exception.
He'd been away from home for quite a while; he wondered how Granny Su Xi was doing.
With that in mind, he quickly packed his belongings, stuffed various gifts into his storage soul tool, hired a carriage, and headed back to Red Maple Village.
The carriage was fast. In just a little over an hour, he reached the village entrance.
Seeing the familiar stone, with "Red Maple Village" painted on it in red, a strange emotion surged in his heart.
He really wanted to shout, "I'm back!"
He might have memories from his previous life, but these six years in this world were very real.
Soon, Lin Yang steadied himself, adjusted his pack, and started home.
Just as he entered the village, he saw Village Chief Jack Talon riding a donkey cart slowly toward the gate.
"Xiao Yang?"
Jack was stunned when he saw Lin Yang—he'd been about to head to Nuoding City to pick someone up.
"Village Chief Grandpa," Lin Yang greeted with a smile.
"I'm back."
"Good, good." Jack nodded, then seemed to recall something and hurriedly said,
"Right, just in time. Go home quickly and prepare yourself mentally. Your grandma is old now, and some time ago she…"
Bang!
Before Jack could finish, a strong gust seemed to howl past him, almost blowing away the few hairs left on his head.
By the time he recovered, Lin Yang was gone.
All that remained were two shallow pits where he'd been standing.
Jack stared at the pits for a while, then muttered,
"What's gotten into this child? So impatient… He didn't even let me finish…"
On the other side, Lin Yang ran home as fast as he could.
Once he reached his door, though, he didn't dare push it open and face what he feared.
Inside, he could faintly hear voices.
He froze, then without thinking much more, pushed the door open and headed straight for the bedroom.
"Grandma!"
He called out, and lifted the curtain.
Inside, one person was lying, and one was standing.
Granny Su Xi lay in bed, one foot wrapped in thick bandages, slightly elevated on a pile of blankets. A pair of crutches leaned against the bed.
Hearing his voice, Granny Su Xi grew excited and tried to sit up.
"Xiao Yang, it's really you… You're back."
"It's me, Grandma."
Lin Yang rushed to her side, supporting her arm, letting her calloused hands stroke his face.
"You're back. Good, good… You've grown taller… and stronger."
Her voice was a little choked, but her eyes shone with light.
"Grandma, what happened to your leg?"
Lin Yang frowned at the heavily wrapped foot.
"Sigh… I was walking near the village some time ago and missed my step, fell down," Granny Su Xi said helplessly.
"If Xiao Wu hadn't happened to be passing by and brought me home, this old bag of bones wouldn't know what to do."
Then she gently pushed the girl standing beside the bed forward.
"Just in time, let me introduce you. This is the good child who helped me—Xiao Wu."
The moment he heard the name "Xiao Wu," Lin Yang's pupils shrank to pinpoints.
When he saw that iconic scorpion braid, he was certain.
This was the rabbit, Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu flashed him a slight smile.
"Hello. You must be Granny Su Xi's grandson. My name is Xiao Wu—'dance' as in dancing."
Snapping back to himself, Lin Yang lowered his gaze and said evenly, "Mm. Hello. Thank you for saving my grandma."
"It was nothing."
A flicker of puzzlement flashed through Xiao Wu's eyes, but she still answered.
"Granny Su Xi is very kind. She gives me food and lets me stay here."
Lin Yang's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help glancing at Granny Su Xi, as if to say: Grandma, have you gotten addicted to picking up strays?
But Granny Su Xi misunderstood his look and smiled fondly.
"Xiao Yang, Xiao Wu is also a pitiful child. She lost her family at a young age and had nowhere to go. So I let her stay in your room for now and help me out a little."
Lin Yang laughed bitterly to himself. Grandma Su Xi, you've really given me a problem this time.
If she'd been an ordinary orphan, he'd have accepted her without a second thought.
But Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast—and a very weak one right now.
In the eyes of a Titled Douluo, she was a walking hundred-thousand-year soul ring and soul bone.
And this rabbit too—of all the cities and all the primary academies on the Douluo Continent, she had to pick Nuoding City, where a Titled Douluo sometimes appeared.
What was this supposed to be?
Waiting by the tree for a rabbit?
After chatting with Granny Su Xi for a while and noticing she was getting tired, Lin Yang quietly left the room.
"You, come with me."
He spoke softly, his back to Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu hesitated, then obediently followed him out.
They left the village and walked along the path between the fields. Xiao Wu couldn't help blurting out,
"Hey, why did you ask me to come out?"
Lin Yang stopped, flipped his wrist, and a black nichirin blade appeared in his hand.
Xiao Wu stiffened, stepping back a couple of paces, her eyes filling with wariness.
"What are you trying to do?"
Lin Yang didn't answer. Instead, he said in a calm, distant tone, "As a soul master, the proper thing for me to do right now is to kill you, and take your soul ring and soul bone."
Boom.
His words struck Xiao Wu like a bolt from the blue. Her rosy cheeks went pale in an instant.
A bone-chilling cold shot up from the base of her spine; even her heart skipped a beat.
"Y-You… You know?"
"Of course."
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Wu's figure blurred into a streak of crimson as she charged him.
"Spirit, Possession!"
At almost the same instant, a red glow flared around her.
Her eyes turned scarlet, a pair of furry rabbit ears popped up, and her body grew a bit taller.
Most of all, her long legs became supple and powerful.
As her soul power surged, a yellow soul ring rose at her feet.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Swish!
Red light flashed in Xiao Wu's eyes as her scorpion braid whipped around like a living thing, lashing for Lin Yang's neck.
Lin Yang snorted coldly, Hizama's blade flashing with icy light as he swung it in a perfect arc.
A lock of hair flew free, drifting down.
Her scorpion braid, now shorn, fell limp and scattered.
But Xiao Wu didn't stop there. Her eyes only grew sharper.
Her hands, soft and boneless as snakes, snaked toward Lin Yang's wrists, trying to coil around them.
Grappling art.
If she got a solid grip, even Lin Yang would be annoyed.
But there was no way he'd let this rabbit get that chance. He stepped back and slashed, his blade narrowly missing her—but still carving a one-inch gash in her arm, blood spilling out.
Xiao Wu ignored the wound completely. She flipped and spun, her long legs whipping out like a lash as the soul ring around her feet flared.
First Soul Skill: Waist Bow!