Inside the Teacher’s Cafeteria on the second floor of the Pine Soul Soul Martial dining hall.

Rong Taotao sat at a small table with his brother and sister-in-law. While he devoured his food like there was no tomorrow, his brother and sister-in-law simply held cups of hot tea, quietly watching him. They hadn’t even picked up chopsticks from the holder.

"Slow down, slow down," Yang Chunxi said, gently grabbing the hand Rong Taotao was holding his chopsticks with. "Chew your food," she added softly.

"Mmmph, mmmph!" Rong Taotao mumbled, clutching a bowl of rice as he mercilessly attacked the four plates of food. At his sister-in-law’s urging, he finally paused for a moment.

What’s that? You’re saying he just had lunch, and that it’s only time for the first class of the afternoon?

Heh, not a chance.

For Rong Taotao, hunger had already become a constant in his life.

The only difference was whether it was a tolerable hunger or the kind that made his vision go black and his head spin.

Si Huan Nian had been very understanding about one thing. Although they were supposed to be quiet after lights out, Rong Taotao had been miserably hungry last night and gotten up to sneak some snacks. Si Huan Nian was clearly disturbed by the noise, but she hadn’t said a word, simply letting Rong Taotao be.

As expected, kindred hungry souls understood each other best.

When Rong Taotao tore open his second cream puff wrapper, Si Huan Nian, who had already brushed her teeth and gone to bed, couldn’t resist getting up as well...

Rong Yang watched the ravenous Rong Taotao and said, "You need to keep that Soul Pearl safe. It’s very difficult to find a Spiritual Soul Pearl that’s suitable for your level, especially since your Soul Technique level is still quite low."

"Mhm," Rong Taotao nodded repeatedly, giving Yang Chunxi a pitiful look.

Yang Chunxi’s heart softened, and she let go of his hand. Rong Taotao’s chopsticks immediately plunged into a piece of sweet and sour pork...

Spiritual Soul Pearls are inherently precious. The creatures capable of possessing such special Soul Skills are mostly intelligent species that don’t readily put themselves in harm’s way and go to great lengths to protect their young. That was why Xu Taiping, appearing before the Snow Burning Army in its cub form, was so incredibly valuable.

A cub meant a lower-level Soul Skill, which in turn meant that even a low-ranked Soul Martial warrior like Rong Taotao could use it.

In fact, Rong Yang had already made a decision. Once Rong Taotao was able to embed this Soul Pearl, he would detonate the original Spiritual Soul Pearl in his own head and embed the same type of pearl as his brother.

There were many kinds of Spiritual Soul Skills. The two brothers were connected by blood, and under the rules of the world, they could communicate without any barriers. However, for that to happen, the Soul Pearls embedded in their foreheads had to be of the same type.

The Soul Pearl Rong Yang gave Rong Taotao was called the Snow Jade Soul Pearl.

It was a beautiful name, and it came from an incomparably beautiful Snow Realm Soul Beast: the Snow Jade.

It was less a Soul Beast and more an object, because the Snow Jade was neither animal nor plant. It was like a piece of snow-white jade.

They hid deep beneath the surface of the Snow Realm. Though low in strength, they were exceptionally rare. After all... they were naturally formed and had no means of self-defense. If discovered by any Snow Realm Soul Beast, their only fate was to be chewed to pieces.

This also meant it was nearly impossible for a Soul Beast like the Snow Jade to appear on Earth.

But this time, the absolute darkness and the blizzard, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in decades, had truly blown countless incredible Soul Beasts to Earth.

For this reason, this month-long maelstrom of wind and snow was a great ordeal for humanity and a great opportunity for the Soul Beast Army. But for the Poachers... it was a massive, wild festival!

Rong Taotao couldn’t possibly imagine how difficult it had been for his brother, Rong Yang, to appear before him at this moment.

Rong Yang watched the ravenous Rong Taotao, looking as if he wanted to say something but holding himself back. He raised his wrist to check his watch, then glanced at Yang Chunxi.

Yang Chunxi sighed softly, leaned over, and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Go on, don’t worry. I’ll work twice as hard to protect him."

"You’re already doing a great job," Rong Yang said quickly. He then noticed that Rong Taotao had suddenly stopped eating, his dark, glistening eyes watching them.

"I have to go," Rong Yang said helplessly.

Rong Taotao nodded. "Be careful out there. The moon is dark, the wind is high, the sky is dark, the roads are slick..."

A peculiar smile touched Rong Yang’s lips as he listened to his younger brother’s muttering, but he could only get up from his seat with a sigh.

"You should go see him off. I’ll be eating for a while longer. Don’t worry about me," Rong Taotao said to Yang Chunxi, blinking his eyes.

Yang Chunxi hesitated for a moment before standing up as well...

Ten minutes later, Yang Chunxi returned, bringing a chill with her. After she sat with Rong Taotao while he finished his meal, she suggested, "Let’s go to the burger joint over there and get some food for Si Huan Nian."

"Oh, okay." Rong Taotao didn’t think much of it. Yang Chunxi was always more considerate when it came to social niceties. Si Huan Nian was now Rong Taotao’s roommate, supervising teacher, Lotus mentor, and dorm mom, all rolled into one.

However, when the two of them arrived at the second-floor burger joint, Rong Taotao noticed something startling.

In the coffee shop right next to the burger joint, sitting quietly in that same familiar window seat, was a familiar figure.

Gao Lingwei?

Rong Taotao froze. Instead of following his sister-in-law into the burger joint, he took a few steps forward, his brow furrowed.

The familiar figure in the familiar seat. She held a paper cup with both hands, one leg crossed over the other, her gaze somewhat vacant as if she were lost in thought.

Across the small table from her, where another figure should have been, the seat was empty.

’Where’s her best friend, Gan Lin? The girl who loved petting dogs?’

Rong Taotao’s heart sank. The scene before him, especially Gao Lingwei’s blank stare at the empty seat, immediately made him think of the night Pine Soul Soul Martial University was invaded by Soul Beasts...

A terrible premonition bloomed in Rong Taotao’s mind.

He hesitated for a long moment, watching the motionless, statue-like Gao Lingwei... Finally, Rong Taotao stepped inside.

He was inside now. Standing in front of the small table, Rong Taotao naturally drew Gao Lingwei’s attention. The problem was, he had no idea how to comfort her.

This girl, who had once been so dazzlingly confident and full of spirit, now appeared somewhat lonely and forlorn in Rong Taotao’s eyes.

Gao Lingwei watched him silently, and Rong Taotao, with a heavy heart, didn’t know what to say.

The atmosphere between them was heavy.

Rong Taotao: "You..."

"Well, well~ If it isn’t Little Watcher Tao~" a light voice called out from beside him.

Rong Taotao’s expression froze. He whipped his head around and saw a beautiful, long-legged young woman!

Gan Lin!?

Rong Taotao’s frozen expression instantly broke into one of pure joy!

’An unexpected surprise!?’

To be honest, Rong Taotao and Gan Lin had only met a handful of times. They weren’t even casual friends, more like nodding acquaintances. In other words, Rong Taotao had no personal emotional attachment to Gan Lin.

But just moments ago, Rong Taotao had imagined Gan Lin dying during the Soul Beast invasion. And now, here she was, standing right in front of him, alive and well, holding a tray with snacks and coffee. Of course he was pleasantly surprised!

Gao Lingwei was very perceptive, and very smart.

Recalling Rong Taotao’s earlier hesitant, somber expression, and now seeing his look of overwhelming surprise, Gao Lingwei instantly understood what had been going through his mind.

In that instant, a smile spread across Gao Lingwei’s face—a truly genuine one.

"We meet again. Here for another autograph?" Gan Lin giggled. Instead of returning to her own seat, she put down her tray, casually pulled over a chair, and sat down next to Gao Lingwei. "Go on, sit."

Rong Taotao thought for a moment, then sat down. He looked at Gan Lin, puzzled. "Don’t you two have class this afternoon? You seem pretty relaxed."

It wasn’t lunchtime; it was already past two in the afternoon.

Gan Lin replied, "We just finished training. I’m too exhausted to eat a proper meal, but fries are still good. By the way, are you all healed up?"

Rong Taotao: "Huh? How did you know?"

Gan Lin giggled, picked up a french fry, and dipped it in ketchup. "A little while ago, the school selected the Hundred Outstanding Students of the Year. From your Junior Class, only two people made the list. One was you, and the other was a girl named Fan Lihua."

Rong Taotao: "Hundred Outstanding Students?"

"Yep!" Gan Lin nodded enthusiastically. "It’s for the hundred students who performed best during the Battle of the Three Cities a month ago, within our Pine Soul Soul Martial University’s combat zone."

The once-in-16-years Snow Realm Soul Beast invasion, a battle of such a massive scale, had been given its own name: the Battle of the Three Cities.

One city was Three-Wall City, one was Pine and Cypress Town, and the last was Songjiang Soul City.

And within Songjiang Soul City, the primary battleground had been Pine Soul Soul Martial University itself.

At this, Gan Lin’s expression grew somber. "Pine Soul Soul Martial suffered heavy casualties, and the atmosphere was incredibly depressing. The school commended the hundred students and held a rally to comfort and encourage everyone."

"That assembly was really... I don’t know. The atmosphere was so heavy. It felt less like an awards ceremony and more like a memorial service."

Gao Lingwei suddenly spoke up. "It’s a shame you couldn’t attend. An experience like that is very helpful for one’s personal growth."

"Hey, Da Wei, is that any way to talk to our hero~? You sound just like a teacher," Gan Lin said with mock indignation, nudging Gao Lingwei’s arm with her elbow. She then turned back to Rong Taotao. "You really didn’t know about this?"

Rong Taotao scratched his head. "I only regained consciousness yesterday. I was just discharged from the hospital..."

"Aww, you poor thing." Gan Lin looked at Rong Taotao with pity, but then abruptly changed the subject. "Anyway, let me see your doggy. I miss him."

Rong Taotao: "..."

’Didn’t you just call me a hero? A hero who was just discharged from the hospital yesterday, and you’re asking to see my dog?’