The Douluo Version of a Spirit-Gathering Array, Tang Hao Appeared

The days that followed seemed no different from before, except that Tang San felt Dai Mubai had been asking him to train together a little less often. Maybe it was his imagination?

One day, after finishing his daily task of forging, he looked at Xiang Yang, who was rocking back and forth in a recliner outside the door, and asked curiously, "What brings you here? If you need something, just say it."

As he recalled, apart from the time he had come frequently to work on steam engines and firearms, Xiang Yang only came when he needed Tang San for something important. Tang San could understand that.

After all, this was a place for forging, stuffy and hot. Even Xiao Wu rarely came of her own accord. Only Dai Mubai could stand it, but lately he had hardly been coming either.

"Mm-hmm-hmm." With a look that said, You finally asked, Xiang Yang rocked the recliner more vigorously, the corners of his mouth rising slightly.

"What is it?"

Unfortunately, even after six years together, Tang San still didn't understand how he felt at that moment. Otherwise, he would have known better than to ask again.

Looking at Tang San, Xiang Yang stood up and slowly raised his head. With an air of profound mystery, he said, "That experiment succeeded."

That one? Which one? Tang San had just been about to put down his tools, and the words puzzled him at first. But he immediately thought of the project that had begun over a year ago and made no progress ever since.

He turned to Xiang Yang, carried away with excitement. "Could it be?"

Xiang Yang folded his arms and nodded with a smile. "That's right!"

Ten minutes later, the two of them were in a... place in Shrek Academy that no one could find (not really). Tang San looked at the dozen or so small pits ahead, each a few meters from the next and glittering with golden light. Each was a miniature version of Xiang Yang's Second Soul Skill, Solar Corona Prism Guard.

It had almost entirely abandoned defense, focusing instead on absorbing sunlight, converting it, and giving it to the person inside... or, in this case, the beast.

That's right. Didn't it look familiar? From the very beginning, Xiang Yang had wanted to increase the age of plants or Plant-type Soul Beasts by giving them Sunlight Energy.

If it worked, wouldn't that be... a little green bottle! Although it was an extremely weakened version that required the recipient to refine it, it was much easier than searching for Soul Beasts himself.

After all, in the same area, Plant-type Soul Beasts were usually much younger than animal-type Soul Beasts in cultivation. In other words, anyone seeking an older Soul Ring would have to spend more time searching and might not even find the one they wanted.

It was possible in theory. Soul Beasts absorbed the primordial Qi of heaven and earth, and unlike humans, they weren't so picky about it. Solar power made up a substantial portion of natural energy, to say nothing of Soul Beasts that were plants to begin with.

But...

The idea had been excellent, but the results were less than impressive. Back then, Xiang Yang couldn't even move Sunlight Energy out of his Martial Soul without passing it through his body. As for the results, perhaps because his limited money and resources meant he had used only plants or seeds with no age, they had all been burned to ash by the highly concentrated solar power. (Setting: the quality of his Sunlight Energy was already at the Soul Elder level when he awakened.)

Things improved slightly after he obtained his First Soul Ring, but it was still difficult to accomplish. The turning point came with Xiang Yang's Second Soul Ring. The reason he had taken an interest in the Soul Beast known as the Sun-Prism Calyx was that it could actively gather the sun's radiance and use it to strengthen itself.

Unlike the Radiant Vine, which absorbed it passively and refined it immediately, this Soul Beast could actively absorb it by opening its petals, do so more efficiently, and store it in its pistil for later use.

It was practically identical to Xiang Yang's Martial Soul ability, except that it couldn't refine it.

Combined with the greater control over Sunlight Energy he gained after becoming a Soul Grandmaster, and after tens of thousands of adjustments, he had finally reproduced the effect of the spirit-gathering arrays found in cultivation novels: the Sun-Gathering Shield.

As long as enough power was reserved to maintain the shield, the solar power it absorbed could be used to increase the cultivation age of the plants inside.

Because it couldn't be moved and was limited by Compatibility with solar power, it could currently only be used on plant Soul Beasts (that term felt a little strange). As for its size, Xiang Yang still had to adjust it himself as the Soul Beast grew; it couldn't grow along with the Soul Beast.

He estimated that only after the Soul Beast inside gained a higher degree of intelligence would it be able to actively maintain the shield and form a "commensal" relationship with it—or rather, a "symbiotic" one.

Tang San looked at the white Soul Ring that had nearly dissipated, then at the enlarged Blue Silver Grass, and fell silent.

Twelve years of living on the Douluo Continent and six years as a Soul Master had made him fully aware of what the success of this technique meant.

Although it was still immature, compared with it, the things Xiang Yang had previously had Grandmaster publish were mere child's play.

After a moment, Tang San looked at Xiang Yang. "This..." He paused, then continued, "Are you going to publish this too? You have to understand..."

Soul Beasts had always been bred, both in public Soul Hunting Forests and in privately owned ones, but increasing their age was another matter entirely. If people learned that Xiang Yang had this ability, they would stop at nothing. What he feared most was that someone would decide that if they couldn't have it, they would destroy it... because he would do the same in their place!

Xiang Yang had been standing with his hands behind his back, but when he heard that, he hurriedly waved his right hand and cut him off. "Of course I know what this means. I've always been enthusiastic about this, but don't think I don't know the first thing about protecting myself."

Apart from not using his real name, every article had been published under both Yu Xiaogang's name and his own. Some passages even included Tang San, as Third Young Master. Moreover, no one knew Grandmaster was here, apart from Ning Fengzhi, who had found out after running into Flender on his trip to Heaven Dou City.

And he still had a backup plan...

In a large tree a li from the edge of Shrek Academy stood the Clear Sky Douluo, renowned throughout the continent. His expression was complicated, rigid yet unable to conceal his agitation, excitement, confusion, and some strange, indescribable emotion.

With his strength as a Titled Douluo, he could see the two of them with perfect clarity from two or three li away, with no buildings blocking his view.

Although he didn't understand how the boy had done it, it was enough to know that his Ah Yin had hope of coming back to life. Heaven knew how happy he had been to see that seed back then, when he was so heartbroken and desperate over his beloved's sacrifice, but afterward...

"It seems the time has come." Having made up his mind, Tang Hao leaped up...

"...So for now, with my cultivation, the most I can support is a Soul Beast rapidly growing to a thousand years. Anything beyond that can't be done in a short time." Xiang Yang was telling Tang San the results of his experiment.

"I see." It wasn't just because of his concerns; there were also flaws in the current technique that hadn't been resolved. Even so, it was enough to drive people mad.

After all, its yield wasn't limited to plant Soul Beasts and their Soul Rings. Leaving aside the fact that some plant Soul Beasts were useful to people in their own right, it could also increase the age of medicinal plants. Many herbs only became effective once they reached a certain age. Apart from the few that needed to be a specific age, most herbs would grow more potent if allowed to continue growing.

Just as Tang San was considering how to plan things out, a voice that was both strange and familiar came from behind him:

"Xiao San."

This was?!

He froze for a moment, then hurriedly turned around.

"Dad!"

Standing before him was the person he had longed for day and night, the person he had seen no trace of for six years.

"Yes, it's me," Tang Hao replied. Looking at his son, who had grown up, he couldn't help marveling at the power of time, even though he came to see him from time to time.

Tang San looked at his father as well, choking up. His father seemed little changed from six years ago, except that he looked somewhat as though he had been sleeping under the stars and braving the elements.

Watching the father and son reunite, Xiang Yang couldn't help touching his nose as it prickled, and slowly backed away...