We walked back along the path towards the exit of the Soul Hunting Forest when the crisp sound of branches breaking suddenly came from deep within the woods.
Ling Yun turned to look at his father, "It sounds like there's someone in the forest."
"Let's go, we'll check it out."
We crossed a patch of woods and saw a Datura Snake, almost 4 meters long, attacking a child's head. Its scales shimmered with a dark green luster, and the venom that splattered from its flicking tongue corroded the ground, leaving sizzling black pits.
"Watch out for its paralyzing venom!" Ling Yun raised his hand and threw the Qingping Sword. The sword's body cut through the air with sword qi, accurately embedding itself into the gap between the scales just below the Datura Snake's vital spot. The Qingping Sword now vibrated, erupting with a green light, and blood splattered from the Datura Snake's vital spot.
Tang San took the opportunity to roll away, his Purple Demon Eye shining like a cold star in the twilight. Ling Yun tapped his toes and leaped above the snake's head, the Qingping Sword spinning into a sword blossom as it slashed towards the snake's neck, but then he heard Tang San urgently shout, "Hold your sword!" Before his words even finished.
The short sword in his hand had already pierced the snake's head with a whooshing sound. The Datura Snake fell to the ground with a thud, letting out a series of hisses. Its body thrashed wildly, sending shattered rocks and broken branches flying everywhere. In a short while, the entire snake's body made a dull thud and went limp on the ground.
Streams of yellow light emerged from the snake's body, rising above its head and slowly converging into a spirit ring, which was gently rotating.
"Thank you, brother, for your help!" Tang San said gratefully, quickly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. However, when his gaze fell upon Ling Yun's face, he suddenly paused slightly.
Just then, a hurried sound of footsteps came from outside the forest, growing from distant to near, and soon arrived.
His father, leading Bing'er, walked quickly. His expression was somewhat solemn, and his gaze fell on the spirit ring on the ground and the unconscious Yu Xiaogang not far away, his brows instantly furrowing tightly.
"Yu Xiaogang? Is he from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" His father's voice revealed a hint of surprise.
Ling Yun nodded and explained, "Yes, Father, he is Yu Xiaogang."
His father was silent for a moment, then pulled out a small celadon bottle from the bottom of his storage spirit tool. He carefully pried open Yu Xiaogang's jaw and slowly poured the amber liquid from the bottle into his mouth.
Time passed by, minute by minute. In just a short while, Yu Xiaogang's throat suddenly let out a light cough. Immediately after, his previously cloudy pupils gradually began to clear.
When Yu Xiaogang fully regained consciousness and saw the spirit ring on the Datura Snake's corpse and the medicine bottle in his father's hand, he showed gratitude, quickly saying, "Thank you, Senior, for saving my life!"
His father waved his hand and said lightly, "No need to be polite, it was just a small effort." After speaking, he put away the medicine bottle, his gaze casually sweeping over Tang San and the spirit ring in mid-air, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes.
"This child has extraordinary talent. At such a young age, he has already reached level 10, similar to Ling Yun. With such aptitude, his future prospects are limitless." His father's evaluation of Tang San was quite high.
Tang San was thrilled to hear his father's words, knowing it was an acknowledgment of his strength.
His father turned to Tang San and said, "You should first meditate and recover your spirit power, then absorb this spirit ring."
"Thank you, Senior."
Tang San sat cross-legged, silently circulating his Mysterious Heaven Skill to slowly recover his spirit power. After a while, Tang San summoned his Blue Silver Grass, and then saw the spirit ring from the Datura Snake's corpse slowly drift towards him.
Tang San had practiced Mysterious Heaven Skill since childhood, making his physical constitution much stronger than ordinary Spirit Masters of the same level. Absorbing this spirit ring was not a problem for him.
Half an hour later, Tang San finished absorbing the spirit ring and put away his Blue Silver Grass Spirit. Then he and his teacher walked over to us.
"My name is Tang San, my Spirit is Blue Silver Grass, an 11th-level Tool Spirit, a control system Spirit Master. Thank you for your help just now, brother. May I ask your name?"
"Hello, Brother Tang San, my name is Ling Yun, my Spirit is Qingping Sword, an 11th-level Tool Spirit, an attack system Spirit Master." Ling Yun falsely reported his spirit power level. If he told Tang San he was level 19, with Tang San's intelligence, he might connect many dots, so Ling Yun concealed his true information.
"My name is Yu Xiaogang. People in the Spirit Master's world all call me Grandmaster. Thank you, Senior, for saving my life just now. May I ask your name?" Yu Xiaogang also spoke up and asked his father.
"Grandmaster, I've heard of your great name. My name is Shui Yuntian, and I am the Director of Instruction at Heaven Dou City's Water Element Academy. Don't worry about what happened just now. After all, when you're out and about, the more friends you have, the more opportunities you'll find. May I ask what your relationship is with this young friend?"
"Little San is my disciple. We came out this time to help him hunt his first spirit ring. I just didn't expect to encounter such a strong Datura Snake. We owe you and this young brother a great deal for your help, otherwise, my disciple and I would have been in danger."
"You don't need to call me Senior, I'm about the same age as you. Also, if I may be so bold as to ask, where is Grandmaster currently employed?"
"You flatter me, Senior. I am currently a guest consultant at Nuoding City Junior Spirit Master Academy, and Tang San is a student there."
"Then, Grandmaster, are you willing to bring Tang San to study at our Water Element Academy?" His father asked Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang said with a puzzled expression, "Doesn't the Water Element Academy only accept students with water-attributed Spirits?"
"Haha, Grandmaster, you jest. I believe that with Tang San's talent, if he wants to go, no academy would ever refuse him. After all, rules are made for ordinary people."
Yu Xiaogang turned to look at Tang San, then looked up at his father and said, "Senior, you may not know, but his father has other arrangements for him, so I can only decline your kind offer."
His father did not press the invitation further, only saying to us, "Since that's the case, it's getting late. Let's leave the Soul Hunting Forest first."
The five of us quickly exited the Soul Hunting Forest along the path we came from. After leaving the Soul Hunting Forest.
His father invited Yu Xiaogang and Tang San to visit the Water Element Academy for exchange and study if they had time in the future. Then we found where we had left our carriage, paid, and drove off.
In the carriage, Bing'er suddenly spoke, "Ling Yun, don't you think it's strange? Blue Silver Grass is clearly a trash Spirit, and that Tang San is about our age. How did he reach level 10?"
Ling Yun turned to her and whispered, "That Tang San is not simple at all. When he was fiercely clashing with the Datura Snake earlier, I accidentally glimpsed that his eyes were glowing with a rich purple hue, a deep and eerie purple, definitely not ordinary. In my opinion, this is very likely due to a special cultivation technique specifically for the eyes. Not only that, but his movement technique was like Gui Mei, as fast as lightning, making him hard to pin down. With such a profound movement technique, the cultivation technique he practices must also be extraordinary. In summary, this Tang San is definitely not some ordinary character; he's most likely a talented disciple sent out for training by some major power."
Although Ling Yun knew Tang San's true identity and background like the back of his hand, in front of his father, he couldn't directly reveal it.
Therefore, Ling Yun could only use this subtle way to remind him, hoping he would grasp the deeper meaning.
His father nodded slightly in understanding, then said, "Hmm, what you said makes sense. As for that Yu Xiaogang, I know a little about him. He was indeed from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan before, but unfortunately, for some unknown reason, he was expelled from the clan. The reason I invited them just now was actually just a test. I wanted to take the opportunity to observe what kind of person that Tang San truly is. Now it seems that Tang San indeed has his outstanding qualities; he truly is unique. If you ever meet him again in the future, remember to be extra careful."
Along the way, we chatted and laughed, a completely different mood from when we arrived, feeling incredibly relaxed and happy.