Douluo Continent: Snow Lotus, Ice Dragon, Ice Phoenix, My Three Lifetimes Martial Soul

With the Dragon God and Snake Goddess gone, the crisis was temporarily averted. Tang San dared not delay and immediately began absorbing the purple soul ring from the two-thousand-year-old Human-Faced Demon Spider.

The process was obviously much more dangerous than Oscar absorbing the Phoenix Tail Crested Serpent. Tang San's body convulsed violently from time to time, as if there were foreign objects wriggling under his skin, and his face alternated between pain and determination.

Lin Yi, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing stood by nervously protecting him, especially Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, whose hearts were in their throats.

They were well aware of the dangers of absorbing a spirit ring from a higher level, let alone from an extremely evil and domineering spirit beast like the Human-Faced Demon Orb.

Time passed slowly, and just as the eight spider spears on Tang San's back completely solidified and perfectly fused with his spine, and the energy of his spirit rings stabilized, the absorption was about to be successful.

"Third Brother—!"

A clear, anxious female voice, tinged with sobs, approached from afar. Xiao Wu's figure burst forth from the woods like a whirlwind. Her hair was slightly disheveled, and her clothes were dusty, but she seemed unharmed. Her large, red eyes rushed directly to Tang San, who had just opened his eyes and was still somewhat dazed.

"Xiao Wu! Are you alright?" Tang San was overjoyed to see Xiao Wu return safely, and the fatigue from absorbing the spirit ring just now instantly overwhelmed him. He grabbed her shoulders tightly and looked her up and down.

"I...I'm fine..." Xiao Wu's eyes flickered as she quickly explained, "After that gorilla grabbed me, for some reason, it ran off somewhere and dumped me there, and then it left. I...I was worried about you, so I rushed to find you..."

Her explanation sounded full of holes. A 100,000-year-old soul beast, the Titan Giant Ape, would go to such lengths to abduct someone just to dump them somewhere? And the aura emanating from her…

Lin Yi stood to the side, his gaze calmly sweeping over Xiao Wu. In his perception, Xiao Wu's soul power fluctuations had clearly broken through level thirty!

Moreover, his aura was stable, not at all like someone who had just broken through; it was more like... he had already obtained his third spirit ring? He understood that this clumsy excuse could only fool Tang San, who was confused by his concern, and Dai Mubai and the others who were unaware of the truth.

However, he naturally wouldn't point it out, only adding casually, "It's good that you're back. The most important thing is that you're safe and sound."

Xiao Wu then noticed Lin Yi, Dai Mubai, and Zhu Zhuqing beside her. Especially when she saw Lin Yi's deep and calm gaze, she felt a sudden tightness in her heart, as if her secret had been seen through. She quickly lowered her head and changed the subject by pretending to be concerned about the "spider legs" on Tang San's back.

Although everyone found Xiao Wu's experience strange, they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw her return safely, and they all gathered around to examine Tang San's peculiar external soul bone, the "Eight Spider Lances".

Dai Mubai couldn't help but pat Lin Yi on the shoulder and sincerely said, "Brother Lin Yi, we owe you a lot this time! If you hadn't invoked the name of Senior Sword Douluo, the Dragon Duke and Snake Lady probably wouldn't have let it go."

Zhu Zhuqing also cast a grateful glance at Lin Yi.

Tang San sheathed his Eight Spider Lances and solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lin Yi: "Brother Lin, I am deeply grateful. If there is anything I can do to help you in the future, I will do my best."

Lin Yi waved his hand, his tone still calm: "It's our duty, no need to worry about it. We shouldn't stay here any longer, let's go back and meet up with Teacher Zhao and the others."

After this incident, the Shrek Academy members' attitude towards Lin Yi changed significantly.

Previously, they might have just regarded him as a fairly capable guard, but now that they know he is the personal disciple of Sword Douluo Chen Xin, a sense of awe and a desire to befriend him arise spontaneously.

Even Ning Rongrong's gaze towards Lin Yi lost some of the casualness she showed towards ordinary guards, and became more complex and unfathomable.

The group successfully reunited with Zhao Wuji, Ning Rongrong, and others. Zhao Wuji was relieved to see that Xiao Wu had returned safely and that Tang San had successfully absorbed the spirit ring.

With the continuous healing light from Lin Yi, his injuries stabilized considerably.

No one dared to linger any longer and immediately set off back to Shrek Academy.

Not long after returning to the academy, a theoretical master—Yu Xiaogang, who was also Tang San's teacher—came to Shrek Academy and officially took over the teaching of the Shrek Seven Devils.

The master's teaching methods were completely different from Flanders'; they were more systematic, rigorous, and could even be described as devilish training.

From physical fitness to soul power control, from theoretical knowledge to teamwork, he pushed everyone's potential to the limit. Ning Rongrong complained incessantly, but seeing that even Tang San completed the task meticulously, she could only grit her teeth and persevere.

After learning that Lin Yi was actually a disciple of Sword Douluo Chen Xin, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang found him.

"Young friend Lin Yi," Yu Xiaogang pushed up his glasses, his tone carrying a scholarly rigor, "I observe that your foundation is solid, and your application and understanding of soul skills far surpass those of your peers. Moreover, you are a worthy disciple of Sword Douluo. I am currently training Rongrong and the others. I wonder if you would be willing to condescend to assist me in training them? Especially in terms of combat skills and the application of soul power, I believe you can bring them great improvement."

Yu Xiaogang's idea is excellent. If they could receive guidance from the disciples of Sword Douluo, it would undoubtedly be of great benefit to Dai Mubai, Tang San, and others.

However, Lin Yi shook his head without hesitation, his tone distant and clear: "I appreciate your kindness, Master. But my duty is to protect Miss Ning Rongrong's safety, not to be a tutor at Shrek Academy."

Training students is the duty of the masters and teachers; I am not in a position to interfere, nor do I have such an obligation.

I believe you can understand; I also need to cultivate and don't have time.

His refusal was decisive and left no room for negotiation.

Yu Xiaogang was stunned for a moment, feeling a little embarrassed. He had thought that by bringing up the righteous cause of training, the other party would give him some face, especially since Ning Rongrong was also involved.

But when he thought that the person behind him was Sword Douluo Chen Xin, the God of Slaughter who dared to break into the Papal Palace, he didn't dare to say anything more. He could only smile awkwardly and turn to leave.

Lin Yi watched Yu Xiaogang's departing figure with an indifferent gaze.

He wasn't targeting anyone intentionally; he was simply fulfilling his duty. He was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's sharpest weapon, Ning Rongrong's shield, not a free coach for Shrek Academy. Too much involvement would only bring unnecessary trouble.

Training continued. One day, Fatty Ma Hongjun went out to deal with the problem of evil fire, but returned looking disheveled and bruised, clearly having suffered a loss. It turned out that he had encountered a lewd Soul Master named "Bu Le" in Soto City who was harassing girls. Ma Hongjun couldn't stand it and wanted to "play the hero," but instead, he was severely beaten by the other party, who had a Soul Master cultivation of over forty levels.

The Shrek Seven Devils were naturally outraged that their comrade had been attacked. Tang San, Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and Ma Hongjun immediately set out to seek revenge.

Ning Rongrong and Oscar originally wanted to go too, but Lin Yi stopped them on the grounds of "safety." Zhu Zhuqing, as always, remained aloof and did not participate.

Lin Yi didn't want to get involved in this petty squabble, but considering that Bu Le was a Soul Master of over level 40, while Tang San and the others were only around level 30 at most, he followed along to ensure Ning Rongrong's safety.

The events unfolded almost exactly as he remembered the "plot".

Using her charm skills and waist bow, Xiao Wu, in conjunction with Tang San's Crane Control Dragon Capture, staged a classic "Eight-Stage Throw," leaving Bu Le, a Soul Master, utterly powerless and paralyzed on the ground in a miserable state.

Seeing Bu Le lying on the ground groaning and filled with fear, Tang San's eyes flashed with a cold glint. He proposed a punishment method of "fighting fire with fire"—cutting off Bu Le's "tool" for committing the crime.

Just as Dai Mubai felt it was a bit too ruthless, Ma Hongjun felt it was very satisfying, Xiao Wu hesitated, and Tang San was about to take action.

A cold, gleaming light, like lightning in the dark night, swept past silently.

puff!

A faint sound of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out.

Bu Le, who had been groaning and begging for mercy, suddenly stiffened, and a thin line of blood appeared at the back of his throat. His eyes widened, filled with disbelief and terror, then the light in his eyes quickly dimmed, his head lolled to the side, and he stopped breathing instantly.

Tang San froze in mid-air, while Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Xiao Wu were all stunned, staring in astonishment at Lin Yi, who had suddenly appeared beside Bu Le's corpse.

A thin, crystalline ice blade, as thin as a cicada's wing, had appeared in Lin Yi's hand and was now slowly dissipating. He expressionlessly wiped his fingers, which were not stained with blood, as if he had merely swatted a fly.

"Brother Lin Yi...you..." Tang San was caught off guard. Although he wanted to punish Bu Le, he did not intend to take his life directly.

Lin Yi raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the four shocked people before finally settling on Bu Le's corpse. His tone was flat and emotionless, yet carried a chilling resolve:

"Anything that could threaten the safety of the girls, or any potential danger, is unnecessary to exist."

He paused, looked at Tang San, his eyes deep:

"To be merciful to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself. If you spare his life today, but he harbors resentment and secretly harms Rongrong or any of you in the future, who will bear the consequences?"

"Since we've formed an enmity, let's settle it once and for all. That way, it'll be over."

Having said that, he didn't glance at the corpse again, turned around, and walked towards Shrek Academy, his cold voice carried on the wind:

"Remember to clean it up thoroughly, leaving no trace."

Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the other three watched Lin Yi's departing figure, then looked at the lifeless Bu Le on the ground, and a chill quietly rose from the bottom of their hearts.

For the first time, they realized so clearly that this usually taciturn and seemingly dutiful guard actually harbored such a decisive and ruthless side.

Sword Douluo's disciple... is indeed extraordinary.

Lin Yi, however, felt utterly indifferent.

He was not a bloodthirsty person, but in this dog-eat-dog world, eliminating potential threats was the most direct and effective way.

As for Soul Masters, he killed one when he was nine years old...