Ten-Year Lonely Bamboo, Tang San's First Soul Ring

"Lonely Bamboo?"

Tang San repeated the name under his breath, deep in thought.

"Teacher, do you mean that plant-type Soul Beast called Lonely Bamboo?"

On their first day in the Soul Hunting Forest, they had encountered a ten-year Lonely Bamboo.

"Yes."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. His weakened body made his voice sound feeble. "Lonely Bamboo is a plant-type Soul Beast. Though it isn't very aggressive, its defenses are fairly good. It is quite suitable for your Blue Silver Grass martial soul."

"Teacher, your condition..."

Tang San had been pleasantly surprised, but when he looked at Yu Xiaogang again, the latter was clearly in poor condition.

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

Yu Xiaogang waved a hand and continued, "Plant-type Soul Beasts generally have low attack power, especially when their cultivation is low."

"The attack power of a ten-year Lonely Bamboo can practically be ignored. You can kill it yourself."

Yu Xiaogang was actually extremely upset inside, even deeply frustrated.

A large part of the reason was naturally that he had lost an arm on this trip.

But since he had survived, the joy of escaping death made his arm seem less important.

Another reason was that so many of the theories he had researched over the years had failed to be tested on Tang San.

In the end, he could only choose a ten-year Lonely Bamboo as Tang San's Soul Ring.

"Sigh..."

Yu Xiaogang sighed inwardly, then slowly closed his eyes.

He could only wait for another opportunity in the future to verify his theories.

Since their food and water supplies were about to run out, the three of them rested for only another half day before preparing to leave the Soul Hunting Forest.

Of course, before leaving, they still had to help Tang San obtain his First Soul Ring.

Yu Xiaogang had not recovered enough to move at all. He was still at the point where even speaking a few words left him gasping for breath.

So Tang San had to carry him the entire way.

But Tang San's own injuries were not light either. By the time he carried Yu Xiaogang to the Lonely Bamboo they had found earlier, he was already drenched in sweat.

That was even with the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

As for Huo Feng, who had been following alongside them, he seemed utterly blind to Tang San, who had nearly thrown out his back.

Huo Feng had always adhered to one principle: if it had nothing to do with him, he would stay out of it! You're the one who wanted to take him as your teacher, not me. What the fuck does that have to do with me? Besides, Huo Feng did not seem to be in much better condition than Tang San.

Although Tang San had indeed considered asking him for help, after thinking it over again and again, he ultimately did not have the nerve to ask.

After resting for a moment, Tang San raised his head to look at the Lonely Bamboo hidden among the trees.

The Lonely Bamboo was only around five or six meters tall, which meant its cultivation was in the fifty-to-sixty-year range.

"Teacher, how am I supposed to kill this Lonely Bamboo?"

Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang, unsure of where to begin.

Under Yu Xiaogang's instructions, he took a sword from Twenty-Four Bridges Under the Moonlit Night.

Then he aimed at the Lonely Bamboo's roots and slashed down with his sword.

"Crash—!"

The Lonely Bamboo was cut down and fell heavily, colliding with the surrounding trees and startling birds and beasts into fleeing.

After waiting for a short while, white specks of light appeared all over the Lonely Bamboo's body before finally gathering together.

A somewhat faint white ring quietly floated above the Lonely Bamboo.

It also looked extremely blurry.

It seemed as though a slightly stronger gust of wind could blow the Soul Ring apart.

Tang San silently watched the Lonely Bamboo's Soul Ring without immediately touching it.

Standing nearby, he seemed able to sense the faint energy contained within it.

"Little San, begin absorbing the Soul Ring."

Yu Xiaogang, lying some distance away, spoke calmly.

There was no danger whatsoever in a Soul Ring of this level, especially one produced by a Lonely Bamboo.

Tang San nodded, raised his right hand, and gathered the Soul Power within his body into his palm.

A pale blue glow lit up, and Blue Silver Grass grew from his palm.

"Come on, my First Soul Ring!"

Tang San was still somewhat excited inside.

This trip into the Soul Hunting Forest had not only allowed him to escape death, but also find a Soul Ring suitable for himself.

Survive a great disaster, and good fortune is sure to follow! Drawn by the pale blue light, the White Soul Ring slowly flew toward Tang San.

"Sit cross-legged and focus your mind on your martial soul."

Watching the approaching Soul Ring, Yu Xiaogang reminded him in a deep voice.

His tone was exceptionally solemn and serious.

Seeing this, Huo Feng was instantly speechless.

What the fuck, it's just a ten-year Soul Ring. He's making it sound like a Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Yu Xiaogang himself is practically half dead, yet he's still here brainwashing Tang San? To his surprise, Tang San was exceptionally obedient. He immediately sat cross-legged where he stood and focused all his attention on the Blue Silver Grass in his right hand.

Soon, the White Soul Ring arrived above Tang San's head. Then it suddenly contracted and directly slipped around his Blue Silver Grass martial soul in his right hand.

The White Soul Ring, now several times smaller, also appeared much more solid.

Tang San, who had made his preparations and was waiting intently, felt only a warm current enter his body through his right palm.

After circling through his body once, it vanished.

The next instant, Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm.

Along with the White Soul Ring around it, it floated above Tang San's head once more.

Under the glow of the White Soul Ring, Blue Silver Grass began to undergo faint changes.

Its blades widened slightly, though the effect was minimal and difficult to notice without close inspection.

The color change, however, was more obvious.

From its original pale blue, it gradually turned a lush green.

Only a few blue veins remained on the blades.

Tang San nodded thoughtfully at the sight.

Lonely Bamboo was green, so the change in Blue Silver Grass's color was likely due to that.

At this point, calling it Green Silver Grass seemed more fitting than Blue Silver Grass.

With that, Tang San had completely absorbed and fused with the Lonely Bamboo's Soul Ring.

"Does the Mysterious Heaven Skill still have no reaction?"

Tang San discovered that the Mysterious Heaven Skill within his body was still stuck at the bottleneck of its first level.

It had not broken through after he absorbed his First Soul Ring.

This made him feel somewhat dejected.

Tang San stood up and took deep breaths of the fresh air around him.

Absorbing his first Soul Ring made him feel as though his body had recovered considerably, at least to around seventy or eighty percent.

"Little San, did you succeed?"

Seeing Tang San stand up, Yu Xiaogang spoke from behind him.

"Teacher, I succeeded. Don't worry."

Tang San grinned. Although he was somewhat disappointed by the effects of his First Soul Ring, he still acted very happy so that his teacher would not worry.

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, and a faint green light appeared.

Lush green Blue Silver Grass grew from his palm. The Blue Silver Grass, which had originally possessed only one blade, now had two.

A clear white ring rose from beneath Tang San's feet and spiraled up and down around his body.

It was Tang San's First Soul Ring!

Seeing this, a stiff smile appeared on Yu Xiaogang's face.

"Little San, what is your first Soul Skill?"