"A dignified Soul King, and he only had this much money."
After dealing with the Fire Leopard Soul Master, Lin Mu quickly searched the body. Apart from a money pouch containing a few hundred gold soul coins, there was only an identity token left.
For a Soul King-level expert from the Fire Leopard Sect, to not even have a storage soul tool was rather shabby.
Just as Lin Mu was "licking the loot," Ye Miaoyun, pulling Ye Lingling, walked over.
"Thank you, benefactor, for saving us."
As she drew closer, Ye Miaoyun realized the benefactor was surprisingly young, not looking at least in his twenties as she had imagined.
He had deep brown short hair, neat and stylish, with his forehead bangs naturally swept to one side, appearing clean, spirited, and without any messiness.
His facial features were well-defined, with a high nose bridge and eyes as bright as torches, sometimes gentle, sometimes sharp.
He looked to be eighteen or nineteen at most.
To be a Soul Ancestor at this age and to have killed a Soul King-level expert while being at a lower level—his talent was undoubtedly top-tier.
After storing the spoils in his storage soul tool, Lin Mu turned to look at Ye Miaoyun.
She wore white palatial attire, with stunningly beautiful features. Her temperament was gentle, refined, and ethereal, like a fairy stepping out of a painting, making one unable to resist taking a few more glances.
Being stared at so directly by a member of the opposite sex over ten years her junior, a hint of shyness flashed in Ye Miaoyun's eyes.
A moment later, Lin Mu withdrew his gaze and chuckled lightly, "No need for verbal thanks. Something more practical would be better."
"Benefactor, this is all the gold soul coins I have on me. Please don't think it's too little."
Ye Miaoyun took a money pouch from her storage soul tool and pressed it into Lin Mu's hand. Its weight was clearly twice that of the Fire Leopard Soul Master's pouch.
"This is a bit embarrassing."
Although he said this, his hand movements showed no hesitation as he promptly stored it in his own storage soul tool.
Lin Mu's storage soul tool was a wrist guard with a storage space of less than five cubic meters, but it was already the most valuable item on his person.
Witnessing this seamless series of actions, both Ye Miaoyun and Ye Lingling couldn't help but be taken aback.
Ye Miaoyun stepped forward and inquired, "Benefactor, you seem to be under twenty, yet you're already a Soul Ancestor. Are you from some great family?"
Not only did his talent far surpass ordinary people, but he could also defeat a Soul King while at a lower level. He didn't seem like a civilian soul master at all.
Although his martial soul was a bit strange and didn't resemble the hereditary martial soul of any known great family, the possibility of it being a mutated martial soul couldn't be ruled out.
Even if an ordinary martial soul mutated, it was difficult for it to become so powerful.
Judging solely from his performance in the previous battle, this mutated martial soul was absolutely top-tier, in no way inferior to the Clear Sky Hammer or the Seven Kill Sword.
Another crucial point: knowing full well that the opponent was from a major sect like the Fire Leopard Sect, he still dared to intervene. Clearly, he had some confidence backing him.
"I'm just an ordinary soul master, not from any family," Lin Mu said with a calm expression.
Hearing this, a flash of astonishment passed through Ye Miaoyun's eyes; this completely exceeded her expectations.
Ye Lingling suddenly peeked out from behind her mother, her face shy. "Benefactor brother, you're so amazing. How could you possibly be an ordinary soul master?"
Lin Mu was momentarily stunned. His gaze shifted to Ye Lingling. She was about 1.5 meters tall, with youthful, delicate features. Although only around ten years old, she already had the appearance of a young girl.
This wasn't strange. Soul masters developed quickly. Ma Hongjun had long been a regular at brothels.
"My name is Lin Mu. You don't need to keep calling me 'benefactor.' It sounds a bit awkward."
"Brother Lin Mu~"
Ye Lingling called out sweetly, her voice soft and clear.
Hearing this address, Lin Mu inexplicably felt a twinge of guilt, especially since he had just extorted a large sum of money.
"Benefactor, I am Ye Miaoyun, head of the Ye family of the Nine-Heart Begonia. This is my daughter, Ye Lingling."
Ye Miaoyun still didn't change her form of address. Calling the benefactor by his name seemed somewhat inappropriate, and she couldn't call him "brother" like her daughter.
Hearing this, a flicker of understanding passed through Lin Mu's eyes. This aligned almost perfectly with his speculation.
"You must be here to hunt for a soul ring, right?"
At this point, Lin Mu suddenly remembered something—his disciple was still hanging in the tree.
Without waiting for Ye Miaoyun and Ye Lingling to respond, Lin Mu jumped back up to the previous treetop and brought down the Tang San who was there.
"Master, I thought you'd forgotten about me."
"How could I? This was all to train you, to let you see how your master deals with enemies," Lin Mu said with a straight face.
Although this explanation was a bit perfunctory, Tang San didn't mind. From the previous battle, he truly had sensed his master's prowess.
Most importantly, his master showed absolutely no mercy towards enemies, which aligned perfectly with his own views.
"Is this your disciple?"
Hearing their conversation, Ye Miaoyun asked incredulously.
For someone Lin Mu's age to already have a disciple was practically unheard of. While his strength might be sufficient, he was too young himself, still in the golden period of cultivation. Where would he find the energy to teach a disciple?
If not for the , Lin Mu definitely wouldn't be doing this.
With his current cultivation speed, he could roughly increase three soul power levels a year, but it would likely slow down later.
Continuing to cultivate at this rate, in six years he could at most reach the Soul Emperor level.
Although this speed was already considered extremely outrageous in the eyes of ordinary people, for Lin Mu, it still fell a bit short.
To reach the Soul Sage level within six years, he could only rely on the system.
Unless a deity's inheritance fell right into his lap. Although the deities of this world seemed a bit lacking, the rewarded soul power was real—one level of soul power could save months or even years of cultivation.
The known deity inheritances were the Sea God and the Angel God.
The Sea God inheritance was far away, thousands of miles distant. Not to mention the dangers of the journey and the difficulty of the trials, just looking at his martial soul attributes, it was impossible for him to gain the Sea God's approval. At most, he might receive a Red-level trial.
To put it nicely, it would be the successor to the High Priestess of Sea God Island; in reality, it would just be a puppet.
The Angel God's inheritance was even more out of the question. That inheritance could be said to be single-lineage, only the Six-Winged Angel could accept it.
"That's right. This is my disciple, Tang San. I specifically brought him to hunt for his first soul ring."
Hearing this, a strange light flashed in Ye Miaoyun's eyes. This child seemed to have awakened only a few months ago, with at least level eight innate soul power.
With proper nurturing, he could at least become a Soul Douluo-level expert in the future.
"A few days ago, Lingling broke through to level twenty. To hunt for a soul ring, not only did we bring several family servants, but we also specially hired a Soul King-level expert. Who would have thought it would nearly bring disaster upon us?"
As she spoke, Ye Miaoyun's eyes dimmed.
Other support-type soul masters had at least some self-preservation abilities, but Nine-Heart Begonia soul masters could only heal. No matter how high their cultivation, they needed someone for close protection.
Hearing this, Lin Mu suddenly understood. No wonder that Fire Leopard Soul Master had quite a bit of bloodstains on him.