Evergreen Body

The six-hundred-year Soul Ring floated silently above the charred remains, its yellow light rippling outward in circles and casting a flickering glow over the clearing blackened by flames.

Its light was warm and gentle, without a trace of aggression, yet it contained immeasurable vitality.

Without hesitation, Tang San hurried to the remains of the Evergreen Vine and sat down cross-legged. He took a deep breath and used his mind to draw the Soul Ring toward him, beginning to absorb his first Soul Ring.

As though sensing something, the Soul Ring trembled slightly, then slowly drifted over. It descended from above Tang San's head and settled around him like a halo.

The instant it touched him, a surge of energy, warm and smooth as jade yet powerful enough to topple mountains and overturn seas, rushed into Tang San's body.

Unlike the violent poison of the Mandala Snake, it was a gentle, all-embracing, yet unstoppable force. Like spring rain, it silently seeped into every inch of Tang San's muscles, every bone, and every meridian.

Then came the pain. It was not a sharp sting, but a swelling ache that expanded from within.

Tang San felt as though his body were a balloon being inflated. Every inch of skin stretched, every muscle tore, then healed, reformed, and grew stronger at an even faster rate.

Surge after surge of warm energy washed through his meridians, like streams rushing through his body and widening the once-narrow channels bit by bit.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Tang San's forehead and slid down his cheeks. He knew the Soul Ring was transforming his body.

Every measure of pain meant his body was growing stronger.

But a moment later, the swelling pain slowly receded like the tide, leaving him feeling more comfortable than ever before. The warm energy was no longer turbulent. It had grown docile and gentle, flowing slowly through his meridians and becoming one with his body.

An hour later, the Soul Ring's dazzling yellow light grew subdued and finally settled quietly, becoming a bright yellow ring that hovered at Tang San's feet, pulsing slowly.

The Soul Ring's absorption was complete.

Tang San opened his eyes and stood up. Looking down at the yellow ring slowly revolving around his feet, he felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

At that moment, Tang San felt the bottleneck in his cultivation break. His Soul Power Level was no longer restricted by the Soul Ring.

Tang San could clearly feel that his Soul Power had risen by a large margin. It surged through his meridians, several times more abundant than before.

But Tang San still could not inspect his own Soul Power Level internally.

Generally, a Soul Master had to reach the Soul Elder level before gradually mastering the ability to inspect their own Soul Power Level accurately. Before then, they could only roughly sense its range.

Tang San sensed that his Soul Power was around level thirteen, but he would have to wait until he returned and used a Soul Power testing crystal ball to learn his exact Soul Power Level.

After absorbing the Soul Ring, Tang San examined the changes to his body. His basic vitality had increased by nearly fifty percent, and he felt as though he had inexhaustible strength throughout his body. Most obviously, his stamina was terrific.

Tang San took out his shortsword and made a small cut on his finger. Amazingly, the wound healed rapidly before his eyes, and would probably scab over in just a quarter of an hour.

His self-healing ability had improved at least threefold. That was only in his basic state; Tang San felt that if he used Soul Power, he could heal even faster.

Besides his self-healing ability, Tang San sensed another improvement: poison resistance.

The Evergreen Vine possessed an innate resistance to toxins, which had significantly increased the poison resistance of Tang San's body by nearly fifty percent.

But without testing it, Tang San did not know what level of poison he could withstand now. There was one thing he was sure of, though: ordinary, common poisons would probably have a hard time hurting him.

Things like knockout drugs would probably be no different from plain water to Tang San.

Of course, a deadly poison on the level of the Mandala Snake's would still poison him, though it would take effect more slowly and the symptoms would be milder. To become truly immune to all poisons, he still needed to accumulate more.

Tang San closed his eyes and sank into the depths of his consciousness to sense the Soul Skill he had gained.

First Soul Skill, Evergreen Body.

It consumed a small amount of Soul Power, around five percent. Once activated, it granted the following boosts for thirty minutes:

Vitality recovery speed increased fivefold. In practical terms, his self-healing speed increased fivefold: moderate injuries could heal within thirty minutes, and broken bones could knit back together within an hour. This meant that in battle, as long as he was not killed on the spot, Tang San could recover his fighting strength at an astonishing speed.

Poison resistance increased by one hundred percent. It could also suppress deadly poisons to a certain extent, while ordinary toxins were practically ineffective.

Soul Power and vitality consumption decreased by fifty percent. In practical terms, he would tire less easily and last extraordinarily long—absurdly long. In battle, this meant Tang San could sustain high-intensity combat at a lower cost.

Vitality consumption referred to the combined expenditure of stamina, mental energy, recovery ability, and the like. A fifty percent reduction meant that performing the same action consumed only half as much stamina as it did without the Soul Skill active.

The direct effect of reducing these two kinds of energy consumption was that he could summon Blue Silver Grass in vast quantities.

An image appeared in Tang San's mind: on a battlefield, Blue Silver Grass blotted out the sky and covered the earth, wave after wave, impossible to cut down or kill off. In the end, the enemy was swallowed by the endless Blue Silver Grass.

Blue Silver Grass's toughness increased by one hundred percent.

This was the most direct enhancement the Evergreen Vine had given Blue Silver Grass. The tough vines provided Tang San with his most reliable means of control, and could even serve as weapons.

With a thought, Tang San summoned his Blue Silver Grass.

Blue Silver Grass emerged from his right palm, no longer as frail and feeble as before. Its stalks were nearly twice as thick, and their ordinary grass-green color had deepened to emerald. The leaves were broader and thicker, their edges no longer drooping limply but standing slightly upright, as though they had gained sinew and bone.

Tang San pinched a stalk of Blue Silver Grass between his fingers. It felt hard yet elastic, like a thin steel cable wrapped in rubber. Its toughness really had improved considerably.

With a thought, he infused it with Soul Power. A vine shot out of his palm and quickly wrapped around a sapling as thick as an arm, five meters away.

Tang San did not activate Evergreen Body, using only the most basic Blue Silver Grass to test its current strength.

He gripped the vine and pulled hard.

"Crack!"

With a crisp snap, the sapling broke.

Tang San withdrew the vine, looked at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, and nodded in satisfaction.

Even without using a Soul Skill, Blue Silver Grass's strength had already reached this level. Ordinary sharp blades would probably have difficulty cutting through it, and even if they could, it would take some effort.

Once caught by Blue Silver Grass, someone relying on physical strength alone would probably need strength approaching that of a Soul Grandmaster to break free.

If he activated Evergreen Body and doubled its toughness again...

Even a Soul Grandmaster would probably have to exert considerable effort to break it.

And when an enemy finally managed to snap one vine, they would find themselves facing an endless supply of equally tough Blue Silver Grass vines.

Endless, ceaselessly renewing itself.

That was the effect Tang San wanted. As long as he kept stacking vitality Soul Rings, Blue Silver Grass's toughness and his own recovery ability would keep increasing without limit.

Tang San smiled contentedly, then turned and followed the path back the way he had come.

Yu Xiaogang was still waiting in the clearing. Tang San had to go back and see whether that piece of trash was still alive.

Although the Mandala Snake's venom was potent, Yu Xiaogang was, after all, a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. His constitution was much stronger than an ordinary person's, so he probably would not be poisoned to death so quickly.

"But even if the poison hasn't killed him, I don't know how to cure it!" Tang San could not help muttering.

Of course, if the poison had already killed him...

Tang San thought it over and decided it would be better if he did not die. Shameless and useless as the man was, Tang San had accepted his belt, after all.

Tang San actually had another concern: Yu Xiaogang's entanglement with Bibi Dong might help him resolve some crises in the future.

Wouldn't it be too much of a waste if he died now?

If he dies because of me and Bibi Dong finds out, won't she come after me with a blade?