Just as Tianlin was about to leave, Skydream Ice Silkworm suddenly said, "Wait, Xiao Tian, my million-year soul bone seems to be resonating with this Tang San."
"Resonating?" Tianlin asked in confusion. He focused inwardly and, to his surprise, the skull bone was warning him again.
This was all because of a soul skill: Future Sight. Even without actively using it, Tianlin's perception of danger became much more acute.
"Could it be related to Tang San?" Tianlin walked back to Tang San's side. "Soul bone skill, Future Sight!"
A strong light enveloped Tang San, and a strange scene flashed into Tianlin's mind.
After a while, Tianlin came back to his senses, his heart trembling. "What exactly was that scene just now? It was so strange. Damn, the time was too short, I didn't see much."
Tianlin sat cross-legged, deep in thought. The scene he just saw hadn't appeared in the original story at all. He wasn't in it; there was only Tang San and something else. But since the skull bone was warning him, it must be related to him as well.
"Xiao Tian, calm down. I don't know what you just saw, but whatever it was, since you know about it, just prepare in advance," Skydream Ice Silkworm sent telepathically.
Tianlin took a deep breath and calmed himself. "You're right, thank you for reminding me, Brother Skydream. But if that's real, Tang San, I'll help you one more time, and also help myself."
Then, Skydream used the second function of Future Sight, pre-setting two of his soul skills into Tang San's body, to be released when the time came.
"Tang San, I have to use you once more. But if what I saw happens, then this isn't harming you," Tianlin said, then turned and left. From the scene he just witnessed, something huge would happen in the future, and he needed to think carefully.
As expected of the protagonist, Tang San's luck was extraordinary. Using Future Sight on him caused a cooldown of three years. Now, even if Tianlin wanted to use the skill to look for other clues, he couldn't.
...
Three hours later, Tang San gradually woke up. He had completely forgotten everything that happened in the illusion, only remembering that Shi Nian suddenly attacked him, and then he blacked out.
He quickly got up to check himself, and to his surprise, Tang San found that not only was his spiritual power completely unharmed, but it was stronger than before. Also, Shi Nian had disappeared. The only thing missing was the Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moonlit Night he carried.
"Could it be that Shi Nian let me go, and his only goal was the skull bone inside my Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moonlit Night? But from what the dean said, he's not the type to show mercy," Tang San wondered. But he also knew that this place was no longer safe; if Shi Nian returned, he'd be in real trouble.
Tang San activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and, knowing nothing about what had happened, hurried back to Shrek Academy.
Before even reaching the academy gates, Tang San saw Xiao Wu waiting anxiously.
"Third Brother—" Seeing Tang San, tears welled up in Xiao Wu's eyes and she rushed over.
Because he'd been missing for so long, the people closest to him at the academy—Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai—had both been worried.
The others weren't entirely unconcerned, since they were classmates, but none were as panicked as Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, don't worry. I'm completely fine. I just had a chat with Brother Jun and took a walk in the woods," Tang San said, comforting her as he patted her head. He didn't mention the incident with Shi Nian, to avoid worrying her.
"Where's the Master? I need to find him."
"The Grandmaster was very worried about you too. He's in the office right now. He told us to send you to him as soon as you got back," Dai Mubai said.
Tang San nodded and said to Xiao Wu, "You go rest first, Xiao Wu. I'll be back soon."
"Mm!" Although Xiao Wu was reluctant, she knew if Tang San was this anxious to find the Grandmaster, it had to be important. She didn't insist on going along.
Tang San arrived at the Grandmaster's office. The door was slightly ajar; he pushed it open and went in. "Master, I'm here."
"It's good you're back!" The Grandmaster stood up, questioning him sternly, "Xiao San, what exactly happened? You were just going to chat with Sword Prince, how did you wind up missing for hours?"
"I was attacked. It was Shi Nian from Blue Sunshine Academy." With the Grandmaster, Tang San hid nothing.
The Grandmaster's expression changed instantly. "You mean the Brutal Dream Shi Nian? Did he do anything to you?"
Shi Nian was infamous among soul masters for being ruthless, vindictive, and unscrupulous in achieving his goals. Anyone who became his enemy rarely ended well.
If you were lucky, you died quickly. If not, you'd wish for death but couldn't get it, only to break down in despair and end up brain dead.
Tang San shook his head, "He didn't do anything to me. I blacked out as soon as I saw him, and then he took my Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moonlit Night."
"You fainted immediately? Shi Nian is a spiritual-type Soul Sage, so his spiritual power is incredibly strong. He probably stunned you," the Grandmaster analyzed. "But why did he change? In the past, he never just stole treasures without killing people."
Unable to figure it out, the Grandmaster gave up thinking about it. "Forget it, as long as you're okay. So you lost a Twenty-Four Bridge Bright Moonlit Night. The items stored inside were all your hidden weapons, right? You can always make more later, especially since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan gave you a million gold soul coins."
"I'm not worried about the basic hidden weapons; even if Shi Nian has them, he can't reproduce them without the blueprints. But there was also a soul bone inside, and it was a plant-type, poison-attributed skull bone—the one Sword Prince from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan gave me, as compensation for the hidden weapon blueprints," Tang San said, frowning. Such a precious treasure got snatched the moment he got it; how could he be happy?
"What did you say?" The Grandmaster was shocked. In his plans for Tang San, there were only two types of soul bones to choose from.
The first choice was a power-type soul bone, to increase his physical strength and prepare for adding soul rings to his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.
The second was a plant-type soul bone, to strengthen the toughness of Blue Silver Grass, preferably with poison, to enhance its power.
"Damn that Shi Nian!" At this moment, the Grandmaster lost all composure. Soul bones are incredibly sensitive items in the soul master world.
Especially skull and torso bones—having such precious treasures stolen, the Grandmaster could curse Shinian for three days and nights.
...
On the other side, Tianlin had also returned to his dorm room, flopping onto his bed, his emotions in turmoil.
Staring up at the ceiling, Tianlin muttered to himself, "Is this the butterfly effect? Or something else?"
Even though the vision was incomplete and unclear, Tianlin was determined to get to the bottom of the truth.