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After class, Yuwen Tuo returned to his room and packed his luggage.
Yesterday, Yan Shaozhe had already arranged for the items promised to him to be delivered in advance.
Three Soul Ascension Pills, plus a high-grade Soul Bone.
It was a left arm bone. When it was given to him, like the previous Void Demon Leopard leg bone, it came with a relevant introduction.
Fifty thousand years, Destruction Impact Left Arm Bone, originating from an Amber Mammoth. Strength-type, granting an extremely powerful heavy punch skill.
Amber Mammoths are similar to Diamond Mammoths, both being top-tier soul beasts integrating offense and defense. The difference is, Diamond Mammoths excel more in defense than offense, while Amber Mammoths excel more in offense than defense; each has its own strengths.
This was actually a Soul Bone quite suitable for Yuwen Tuo. He was a typical Power Attack type Battle Soul Master. If the age year were slightly higher, he might have absorbed it directly.
For now, he could only store it first, see if there was a chance to exchange it for a better one later. If not, he could also give it to Xiao Xiao and the others.
After packing, he went out and saw Xiao Xiao and Cao Jinxuan already waiting there.
Lian Yue wasn't in the same class as them anymore. The holiday for the auxiliary class started a few days earlier; she had already gone home several days ago.
"Tuo Tuo, this time you're going home to sweep the graves. You must come back soon! I'll be waiting for you at the academy," Xiao Xiao looked at Yuwen Tuo reluctantly.
Having spent an entire semester at Shrek Academy, she had been almost inseparable from Yuwen Tuo nearly every day. Now, suddenly having to part for a month, how could she bear it?
"Don't worry, perhaps I'll return early, maybe even before a month is up. I hope when I see you next time, you'll already be a Soul Grandmaster," Yuwen Tuo patted Xiao Xiao's head and smiled. Then he looked towards Cao Jinxuan. "You too. Don't just focus on playing when you get home. Cultivate well the martial arts and inner cultivation methods I taught you."
"Master, rest assured, I won't slack off," Cao Jinxuan said.
Yuwen Tuo nodded and took out three small bottles from his bosom. "These are the Soul Ascension Pills the academy gave me. One for each of us."
Although a Soul Ascension Pill could allow a Soul Master around Rank 30 to directly increase their Soul Power by one rank, a person could only consume one in their lifetime. Therefore, Yuwen Tuo didn't think of keeping them for himself.
"Wow, so this is a Soul Ascension Pill! It's my first time seeing one! Thank you, Master!" Cao Jinxuan excitedly accepted the Soul Ascension Pill. With this, he too could raise his Soul Power to the Soul Grandmaster level before the next academic year.
"Tuo Tuo, I'll work hard, and I'll think of you every day!" Xiao Xiao stepped forward and rested her head against Yuwen Tuo's chest. She originally wanted to rest on his shoulder, but alas, she wasn't tall enough.
This semester, she had grown quite a bit taller, but compared to Yuwen Tuo, there was still a long way to go.
However, resting against his chest seemed a bit more intimate. For the first time, Xiao Xiao felt that being short perhaps wasn't such a bad thing.
Yuwen Tuo comforted Xiao Xiao thoroughly before finally leaving the academy under her lingering gaze.
At the school gate, Ling Luochen came forward to meet him. "Little Tuo, all set?"
Yuwen Tuo nodded. "Mm, Sister Luochen, you're probably ready too, right? Then let's go. My hometown is just a small mountain village on the edge of the Heavenly Soul Empire."
Ling Luochen paused. "Are you really going to sweep the graves for your family?"
She had always thought it was just an excuse.
Yuwen Tuo smiled. "Of course. I truly haven't been home in six years. I really miss my grandparents, uncles, and aunts."
This time he came out, it was true he had his own objectives, but the desire to pay respects to his family was also genuine.
"Then let's go. I imagine your family must miss you very much too!" Ling Luochen said.
The two immediately left the academy, heading southwest towards the Heavenly Soul Empire.
At this moment, behind the two, three black shadows flashed past.
Ling Luochen's gaze flickered slightly, but she didn't show any change in expression. Although she was only a Soul King, her strength was formidable, not inferior to a Soul Emperor. A Soul Sage, unless they used their Martial Soul Avatar, would find it difficult to easily win against her extremely potent ice attribute—which, though not quite Ultimate, was very close—in a short time.
She had already discovered someone following them and guessed they must have been sent by the academy.
Partly to protect them, but also to monitor.
Since she could detect these people, their strength couldn't be at the Soul Douluo level or above; Soul Sage at the highest.
Experts at the Soul Douluo level and above held positions at least equivalent to department heads in the academy. Asking them to skip spending the New Year with their families and instead secretly follow a kid back to his hometown to pay respects to ancestors—even Yan Shaozhe wouldn't do something like that.
Given Yuwen Tuo and Ling Luochen's capabilities, Soul Sages and Soul Emperors were sufficient.
Both were Soul Masters, so their pace was fast. After walking for less than two days, they arrived at their destination.
A small village burned almost entirely to ashes by fire.
"Little Tuo, is this... your hometown?" Ling Luochen looked at Yuwen Tuo's expression, feeling somewhat pained. Home turning into this – anyone would feel awful, right?
"Yes. It's called a small village, but actually, it was just seven families living together. It didn't even have a village name. Later, a grandpa in the village found me abandoned at the village entrance by my parents and picked me up," Yuwen Tuo recalled. "The elders in the village all doted on me. My childhood, actually, wasn't bitter at all."
Yuwen Tuo led Ling Luochen into the village, introducing as they walked. "That family, housed an old childless couple with the surname Zhang. I called them Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Zhang. They cultivated a large vegetable plot. Those vegetables provided a lot of nutrition for me growing up."
"And that house belonged to a bachelor. I called him Uncle Li. He was the only hunter in our village. When I craved meat, I could go to his place for a treat."
"The Village Chief grandpa's house is over there. He was a clever man, knew how to brew wine. But I was young, he didn't let me touch it. After I grew a bit older, I learned to fish. My skills weren't bad; I could always return with a full load."
"Back then, whenever there was a happy occasion in the village, we would bring out Grandpa Zhang's vegetables, Uncle Li's meat, the Village Chief's wine, and the fish I caught for a banquet. They said, 'Green vegetables bring refreshment, life gets better and better; grilled fish tastes fresh, life gets fresher and fresher; roasted meat with wine, life gets more and more abundant.'"
"The Village Chief also said the reason the village became so good was because they picked me up, this little lucky star. Thus, the village finally got a name. He named it Shiwa Village (Pick-up Baby Village)."
Ling Luochen listened quietly. She could tell that Yuwen Tuo's childhood was truly happy because he encountered a group of very good elders.
As they spoke, the two had already arrived at a burial ground. These were precisely the graves Yuwen Tuo had personally dug for his family members.
He knelt before the graves, choking back sobs. "But actually, I'm not a lucky star at all. The disaster that befell the village was entirely brought by me."
Ling Luochen knelt beside Yuwen Tuo, comforting him. "Don't say that, Little Tuo. When the village met disaster, you were only four years old, weren't you? What could that possibly have to do with you?"
Yuwen Tuo gave a self-mocking smile. "When Sister Luochen entered the village, didn't you notice anything amiss?"