Shao Wanqing simply could not believe it. This youth, who looked so young—perhaps even younger than Shui Bing'er—was actually a Soul King–level powerhouse.
Did this even conform to common sense in the soul master world?
"So what?"
"It's just a Soul King."
Xiao Lin's expression was calm, and he clearly didn't take Shao Wanqing's words to heart.
Very soon, under Xiao Lin's ultimate ice, the interior of the Medusa Snake's stomach rapidly froze solid.
Some members of the Tianshui Team were gradually revealed as well, one ice sculpture after another appearing before Xiao Lin.
"I knew it."
Seeing that these ice sculptures were completely intact, Xiao Lin nodded in satisfaction and rescued them all.
"After being petrified by the Medusa Snake, it actually became a form of protection for you, so your students weren't corroded."
Xiao Lin explained the reason, while Shao Wanqing shakily stood up.
"You should have encountered that thing head-on, right? So you were petrified immediately. The Medusa Snake didn't even actively use a mental shock to turn you into idiots."
Xiao Lin patiently explained as he spoke, while golden flames ignited on the Coiling Dragon Staff in his hand.
This time it was ultimate fire. Using ultimate fire, he slowly melted the ice encasing the students—only this way could he ensure that they wouldn't be injured.
"Ultimate fire? You also have ultimate fire?"
This time, Shao Wanqing was even more shocked.
If one person possessing ultimate ice was already astonishing, then having ultimate fire as well was downright terrifying.
If the ice and fire attributes hadn't reached a perfect balance, then even if Xiao Lin had twin martial souls, cultivation would still be absolutely impossible.
Not to mention that Xiao Lin possessed extreme ice and extreme fire—yet only had a single martial soul.
Then there was only one possibility: Xiao Lin's martial soul quality was far above even ultimate attributes.
Three ultimates!
A monster—an absolute monster!
That Shao Wanqing could become a teacher of the Tianshui Team at Tianshui Academy was no accident.
With just a bit of deduction, she had already fully grasped the terrifying potential hidden within Xiao Lin's body.
But exactly which faction had cultivated such a terrifying existence?
Shao Wanqing's gaze flickered. At this point, she no longer believed that Xiao Lin had sacrificed his foundation just to quickly raise his soul power level.
"Hey, you woman—aren't you going to take care of your own students?"
Just then, Xiao Lin's rather irritated voice rang out, causing Shao Wanqing to freeze.
"You wouldn't think saving you was my obligation, would you? There's payment involved."
Xiao Lin snorted coldly as he removed the ultimate ice from the last female student.
"There are seven students in total. Each of them is a genius of Tianshui Academy. Charging two million gold soul coins per person isn't excessive, right? And adding you in as well…"
"Two times seven is fourteen. Altogether, you owe me twenty million gold soul coins in payment—or resources of equivalent value will also do."
Xiao Lin spoke confidently in front of Shao Wanqing, so much so that for a moment she even forgot to refuse.
Could this guy really be thinking of getting out alive?
Shao Wanqing wasn't foolish. She knew exactly what kind of existence the Medusa Snake that had swallowed them was.
That was something even a Soul Douluo might not be able to defeat.
So she frowned slightly and said helplessly,
"If you can get us out safely and let us live, then what's twenty million gold soul coins?"
She didn't refuse, but in her heart she still felt it was impossible.
She remained listless, and her words carried a perfunctory tone.
"Keeping you alive won't be a problem, but I can't guarantee that all of you will survive."
Xiao Lin said calmly.
If he alone had been swallowed, he could have imitated the Great Sage—bursting out of its stomach.
Then he could fight the Medusa Snake for three hundred rounds, and afterward painstakingly persuade it to listen to him.
He might even make the Medusa Snake his first pet mount.
Later, he could even take the Medusa Snake to the God Realm for a stroll.
But now there were too many people watching. If Xiao Lin did that in front of them, he might end up being branded a traitor to humanity.
It would be simpler to just kill the Medusa Snake, Xiao Lin thought to himself.
Preventing the Medusa Snake from indiscriminately slaughtering humans was not meaningless soul-beast hunting.
Even Xiao Wu would have nothing to say about it.
"Alright. Bring your mental power close to their foreheads and activate their spiritual awareness. Once they realize they were petrified, they'll recover quickly."
As Xiao Lin finished speaking, he tapped one of the girls on the forehead.
His mental power was like a drill, boring through the petrification and making contact with the girl's spirit.
"Smack! Smack!"
"Hey, open your eyes."
Xiao Lin slapped the girl's face twice. The strong stimulation made the already half-awake girl feel humiliated.
Her mental power was instantly activated.
Slowly, the petrification on her body began to lift.
First was the forehead, where her mental power had been activated, then her upper body, and finally her lower body.
"What… is going on?"
Shen Liuyu looked around in confusion. Although the petrification on her body was gradually disappearing, the "petrification" of her mind had not yet fully lifted.
She was more like she was in a numb state, unable to fully control her body.
But soon, Shen Liuyu's mental power began to "boil."
"Ah!"
She cried out—being observed so closely by a young man was simply too embarrassing.
"Looks like she's fine."
After carefully observing her, Xiao Lin replied calmly.
He didn't know that the girls of Tianshui Academy had basically never interacted much with men, let alone been this close to an unfamiliar boy.
"See? That's how you save them."
Seeing that Shao Wanqing still hadn't moved, Xiao Lin raised his voice slightly.
Couldn't she even handle something this simple?
"Um…"
Shao Wanqing looked troubled. She pushed up her glasses and lowered her head, muttering softly.
"I don't know how to use mental power."
Only then did Xiao Lin suddenly realize.
Right—most soul masters on Douluo Continent never cultivated mental power at all.
It was only at the Soul Douluo level that they slowly began to train it.
What a hassle.
The overall average level of Douluo Continent really was a bit low.
It seemed that in the future, he could publish a paper about the benefits of cultivating mental power early.
After all, he was already a Soul King now. Ordinary Soul Saints were just small fry to him.
Xiao Lin wasn't afraid at all.
If the overall level of the soul master world rose a bit more, wouldn't his faith power skyrocket?
Though Xiao Lin only thought about it casually.
Faith from raising soul master standards definitely couldn't compare to faith from universal cultivation.
Shaking off the random thoughts in his head, Xiao Lin raised both hands high and faced the remaining six students.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
At incredible speed, vast amounts of mental power—combined with soul power—entered the minds of the girls, activating their weak mental strength.
And to prevent them from being petrified again after escaping, Xiao Lin left a trace of mental power on each of their foreheads.
That mental power formed a circle. As long as the girls focused their attention, it would stand out clearly—like a black dot on white paper.
This would help them concentrate more, giving them a way to break petrification on their own.
Of course, in front of a seventy-thousand-year Medusa Snake, their speed at breaking petrification wouldn't be fast.
Just as Xiao Lin finished his work, suddenly, the entire flesh tunnel contracted violently.
Before everyone's incredulous eyes, the tunnel of flesh began to compress at an astonishing speed.
If Xiao Lin and the others couldn't escape from here, they would either be crushed to death by the Medusa Snake's muscles—or corroded by the gastric fluids in its belly.
(End of Chapter)