"As expected."
Looking at the extremely excited Yu Tianheng, Lin Mu's expression remained calm. He wasn't surprised by the result; it was unrealistic to expect a complete Martial Soul evolution with just that small amount of essence. Improving the Martial Soul's raw strength was already a significant limit to break.
However, the essence had most likely merged into Yu Tianheng's bloodline, meaning there was a genuine chance for a Holy Dragon of Light Martial Soul to appear in his lineage in the future.
After gathering his thoughts, Lin Mu stored the fire-attribute Soul Bone in his storage tool. On one hand, there was no suitable person in the current team for it; on the other hand, he had already given Yu Tianheng something of equal value, so the soul bone rightfully belonged to him. While it was useless to him personally, he intended to use it to exchange for other suitable Soul Bones later. After all, Soul Bones would be the foundation for establishing his sect in the future.
No one objected to Lin Mu's decision.
Next, Lin Mu took the remaining Soul Bone in his hand, his gaze falling on Yu Feng, Osler, and Zhu Zhuqing. He said, "This Wind Chasing Left Leg is most suitable for agility-type Soul Masters, and all three of you fit that category."
Before he even finished speaking, the eyes of all three began to gleam with excitement, even the usually aloof Zhu Zhuqing. No one could resist a ten-thousand-year Soul Bone that suited them perfectly.
Technically, this bone could also be given to Ye Lingling to improve her self-defense. But in Lin Mu's opinion, the quality of this specific Soul Bone was somewhat lacking for her. Since Ye Lingling already possessed an External Soul Bone, an ordinary ten-thousand-year bone might actually limit her future growth potential.
From an attribute perspective, the bone was undoubtedly best for Yu Feng, as his Martial Soul was wind-attribute. However, Yu Feng was ultimately a substitute and hadn't yet agreed to join the sect Lin Mu planned to create. Objectively speaking, his contributions hadn't been enough to earn a ten-thousand-year Soul Bone, and the same applied to Osler and Zhu Zhuqing.
In the matches they had played, the Royal Fighting Team had completely crushed their opponents; the three of them had contributed negligibly and hadn't even participated in the finals. Giving the bone to one of them would be unfair to the others.
After some thought, Lin Mu took out several bottles of cultivation pills and said firmly, "Now that the tournament is over and the team is disbanding, it would be unfair to give the Soul Bone to just one of you. Instead, each of you will receive a bottle of these top-tier pills as a reward."
"Thank you, Teacher Lin Mu!"
Everyone readily agreed. They had expected to receive nothing, so the pills were a pleasant surprise. Lin Mu smiled faintly. While a ten-thousand-year Soul Bone meant little to him, it was an invaluable treasure to ordinary Soul Masters. By choosing fairness over favoritism, he avoided any lingering resentment.
"Now, let's get down to business." Lin Mu's gaze swept over them. "I told you before that after the competition, I would take Little San on a training trip. You will return to Heaven Dou City with the other academies."
Yu Tianheng and the others were momentarily stunned. Xiao Wu was the first to recover, hurriedly hugging Tang San with sorrowful eyes. "Brother, I don't want to be separated from you."
"Xiao Wu, I don't want to be either, but I'm not yet strong enough to protect you properly." Tang San looked down at her, his eyes filled with reluctance and helplessness.
Seeing this, Lin Mu coughed irritably. "It's not like you'll never see each other again. If you want to reunite sooner, hurry up and cultivate to level sixty."
Hearing this, the two finally parted. Lin Mu then gave his final instructions. He directed Yu Tianheng and the others to return to Heaven Dou City with Xue Qinghe's group; with the protection of a Titled Douluo like Sword Douluo, they would be safe.
Because of her identity as a transformed Soul Beast, Xiao Wu would not return to the city. Although the Yearning Heartbroken Red concealed her aura, Lin Mu worried about her safety. He decided to send her back to the Star Dou Great Forest.
His main reason, however, was to hunt for his Ninth Soul Ring.
He had recently reached a new milestone in his quest, rewarding him with a level of Soul Power that allowed him to break through to level 90. He wasn't in a rush to hunt immediately; instead, he watched Tang San absorb the Spiritual Wisdom Skull first.
After a while, Tang San opened his eyes. His powerful spiritual energy now easily covered a radius of 100 meters, reaching the level of an ordinary Soul Douluo.
"Master, where do we go next?"
"I'll take you and Xiao Wu to a safe place first, then I'll go hunt for my Soul Ring."
Lin Mu was worried about leaving them in Spirit City. Knowing Bibi Dong, she would certainly cause trouble if he left them behind. But bringing them along for the hunt was out of the question; hunting for a ninth ring was too dangerous for a Soul King like Tang San.
Without further ado, Lin Mu used his Hurricane Armor to transform into a hurricane, carrying the two away from Spirit City. A few minutes later, they arrived at a small village several hundred miles away. Lin Mu then returned to Spirit City the same way.
For his ninth Soul Ring, he required a beast at least 400,000 years old. After the previous sudden attack by Xiong Jun, he had decided on the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear as his target. However, he knew it would be difficult to hunt such a ferocious beast alone; he needed Qian Daoliu's assistance.
Lin Mu arrived at the Worship Hall. As the tallest building in the city, it was easy to find. Qian Daoliu was sitting cross-legged before the angel statue when he sensed the commotion.
"Lin Mu, what are you doing here?" Qian Daoliu's voice transmitted outward.
"What? I'm practically your granddaughter's husband; aren't you going to come out and greet me?" Lin Mu stood outside, his tone mocking.
Qian Daoliu's face darkened. Not only had this boy taken advantage of his granddaughter, but he was demanding to be greeted? Outrageous, shouldn't he be the one to greet him as his Elder?
A moment later, Qian Daoliu appeared outside. "Speak. What do you want from this old man?"
"Nothing much," Lin Mu said casually. "I've just broken through to level ninety and wanted to ask you to help me hunt for a Soul Ring."
Qian Daoliu was stunned. He scrutinized Lin Mu, his Soul Power had indeed reached level ninety. How did he cultivate so quickly? He was barely older than Qian Renxue. Was he already undergoing a divine inheritance?
After a long silence, Qian Daoliu finally found his voice. "With your strength, hunting a 100,000-year Soul Beast shouldn't be difficult. Why do you need my help?"
"Because I plan to hunt that Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear I encountered before."