Thousand Jun Ant

Shi Yi watched and nodded slightly. Setting aside the issue of combat style, turning Blue Silver Grass into hidden weapons was indeed a good choice. At the very least, ten versions of his current self still would not be able to hold a candle to Tang San.

"Junior Disciple Brother's technique has the potential to become a Self-Created Soul Skill. Firing your Martial Soul through this technique has given me a new idea. When choosing Soul Rings, Junior Disciple Brother does not need to limit himself to Sharpness. Like Soul Masters with bow Martial Souls, you could choose traits and Soul Skills beneficial to projectiles, such as locking on, tracking, corrosion, poison, and explosions," Shi Yi said with a smile.

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San carefully considered Shi Yi's words, and their eyes grew brighter. Yu Xiaogang said softly, "But can Xiao San really achieve effects comparable to an archer Soul Master through technique alone?"

Shi Yi chuckled. "That depends on whether Junior Disciple Brother has the confidence to develop his techniques into a Self-Created Soul Skill."

"A Self-Created Soul Skill? What is that?" Tang San asked, somewhat puzzled.

Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San on the shoulder and said softly, "As the name suggests, a Self-Created Soul Skill is a Soul Skill created by a Soul Master. It is not merely a simple technique; one must integrate Soul Power into one's techniques and moves. It is still a little early for you to consider that now, but Xiao Yi is right. Your techniques do have the potential to become Self-Created Soul Skills, so you should develop them properly."

"Soul Power? The more advanced hidden weapon techniques of the Tang Sect all consume a great deal of Internal Cultivation. Isn't that exactly the Self-Created Soul Skill Teacher mentioned?" Delight filled Tang San's youthful eyes.

Tang San looked at Shi Yi, who stood nearby, and thought to himself, It seems Senior Disciple Brother has truly attained great accomplishments in theory. He even seems somewhat better than Teacher. Just from watching me demonstrate the simple Throwing Hand Arrow, he saw through the potential behind it at a glance and even provided more diverse directions for developing my Martial Soul's traits.

With that thought, Tang San's gaze toward Shi Yi became increasingly respectful.

"Using Blue Silver Grass this way also makes up for, to a certain extent..."

Shi Yi was about to say the words "Clear Sky Hammer," but when he saw the Dean, he forcibly stopped himself and quickly changed his words. "The attack range of a plant Martial Soul."

Yu Xiaogang nodded as he looked at Shi Yi. Naturally, he understood what Shi Yi had wanted to say. Compared with his father, Tang Hao, Tang San's Twin Martial Souls were more suited to the path of extreme strength. This would clearly give him an exceptionally high ceiling, but the sole drawback was his attack range and attack frequency. If the opponent refused to clash with him head-on, Blue Silver Grass would become an excellent supplementary means of attack.

In Shi Yi's eyes, the Clear Sky Hammer still had considerable limitations. Tang Hao's extreme-strength cultivation plan was actually far inferior to the balanced path of Tang Xiao, the Sect Master.

That was the significance of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. The various exertion techniques were, in essence, making up for the Clear Sky Hammer's shortcomings.

Analyzing Tang Hao's most outstanding battles, none were more notable than his fights against Qian Xunji and Golden Crocodile. Yet both of them had made the same mistake: relying on their superior cultivation and attempting to defeat their opponent head-on. Although Shi Yi had to admit that such a method was indeed exhilarating, it also demonstrated a lack of combat wisdom.

That was also why Tang San could defeat the Seventh Elder in the Clear Sky Sect's wagered duel through all manner of kiting and control techniques. Clearly, the Clear Sky Hammer had difficulty displaying its advantages against an exceptionally agile Soul Master like Tang San. Of course, Tang San's combat wisdom also meant he was not suited to become a user of the Clear Sky Hammer.

The Clear Sky Hammer was one of Tang San's methods, not all of Tang San. Many better ways of winning, in Tang San's eyes, would continually limit his use and comprehension of the Clear Sky Hammer. People often grew through failure.

Cultivation was not merely for increasing one's cultivation. In Shi Yi's understanding, cultivation meant that Soul Masters constantly made up for their own shortcomings. Tang Chen's creation of techniques such as the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Heart Separation Control were both, in truth, meant to compensate for the deficiencies of their Martial Souls.

Tang San's choice today to add a Soul Ring with the Sharpness trait to Blue Silver Grass was also, to some extent, making up for the shortcomings of hidden weapons.

"Alright, now all that is left is your Soul Ring. Let's eat first. Later, you can summon Little Ant to search. Little Ant is much more sensitive than San Pao to the aura of its own kind. Thousand Jun Ants are numerous, so we should find one quickly," Yu Xiaogang said softly to Shi Yi.

Shi Yi nodded slightly.

Everyone sat around together and ate some simple dry rations. After packing up their things, Shi Yi summoned Little Ant and began searching through the Soul Hunting Forest once more.

Everyone quietly followed Little Ant. What surprised Tang San was that they did not encounter any Soul Beasts along the way.

Yu Xiaogang saw through Tang San's thoughts and smiled. "Although your Senior Disciple Brother's Martial Soul is merely an ordinary ant, in a forest, the weaker a Soul Beast is, the more sensitive it tends to be to danger. Even San Pao is far inferior to Little Ant in this regard. As long as you follow ants through the forest, you generally will not encounter danger."

Little Ant led everyone through continuous changes in direction. They did not encounter so much as a hair along the way. Just as the Dean was beginning to grow impatient, everyone spotted a Thousand Jun Ant not far ahead.

Compared to Little Ant, that Thousand Jun Ant appeared rather enormous. At the sight of it, Little Ant displayed human-like fear and delight.

Its fear came from bloodline instinct, while its delight came from its clear sense that the Thousand Jun Ant possessed something it desperately desired.

Yu Xiaogang looked at the Thousand Jun Ant in the distance with surprise. He silently estimated its size and immediately realized that its age was about the same as that Gold Devouring Leopard's.

Yu Xiaogang's gaze fell upon Little Ant. Clearly, Little Ant not only possessed the ability to seek benefits and avoid harm, but it had also developed a certain ability to assess things. The reference it had used to seek its target was yesterday's Gold Devouring Leopard. Yu Xiaogang could not possibly believe that this Thousand Jun Ant had been found through Shi Yi's luck. Clearly, Little Ant had led them through the forest in constantly changing directions because it had locked onto this Thousand Jun Ant.

A trace of surprise flashed through Tang San's youthful eyes as he looked at Little Ant.

An ant's perception is actually this powerful in such a complex environment as a forest? It can even sense the strength of a Soul Beast's energy. Senior Disciple Brother truly is a rare talent, Tang San thought to himself.

"Then I'll have to rely on you to act next," Shi Yi said, giving the Dean a slight bow.

The Dean nodded and slowly stepped forward. A long saber appeared in his hand, while Soul Rings shimmered around him.

The Thousand Jun Ant had already sensed the danger, yet it discovered that no matter how it changed direction, that immense threat followed it like a shadow.

The Thousand Jun Ant had assumed a combat stance. Its two Sword Teeth were especially prominent, and it had two thick forelimbs that resembled a scorpion's great pincers.

The Dean's face showed disdain. If the earlier Gold Devouring Leopard could at least serve as a warm-up, then this Thousand Jun Ant did not even count as an appetizer. A hundred-year Thousand Jun Ant was only six inches long. Size was an important measure of many Soul Beasts' combat strength. Moreover, with so many students at the academy, killing Thousand Jun Ants was routine for him.

Work-Study Students made up only an exceedingly small portion of Nuoding Academy. Most of those able to attend a Soul Master Academy were children of Nobles. Every year, quite a few parents hired him to help their children hunt hundred-year Soul Rings.

The Dean's Soul Rings lit up, and Soul Power erupted in an instant. Although the Thousand Jun Ant was powerful, it was extremely slow. Before it could even react, the Dean's long saber had accurately pierced through a gap in its exoskeleton. Its two Sword Teeth and thick forelimbs could only clamp down tightly on the saber.

One should not underestimate the Thousand Jun Ant's Sword Teeth and forelimbs. Even as a Soul Ancestor, if his arm were caught in their grip, he would have no choice but to sever it. However, crushing a Soul Ancestor's Martial Soul was not so easy.

"Hisss..."

The Thousand Jun Ant let out a shriek, but there was nothing it could do. This was also its greatest weakness. It had no Soul Skills at all, only brute strength and slow speed. Once restrained like this, it had no way to respond.

Soon, as its wounds became increasingly severe, the Thousand Jun Ant's two Sword Teeth and forelimbs began to loosen. The instant they did, the Dean swiftly pulled out the deeply embedded saber, skillfully chopped off its two forelimbs, and said to Shi Yi, "Take the short sword. Insert it through the gap in the exoskeleton at the back of its head, and you can finish it."

Yu Xiaogang promptly handed Shi Yi a short sword as well. Shi Yi took it, walked behind the dying Thousand Jun Ant, and drove the sword in.

As on the previous day, the sharp blade pierced its head. Faint yellow motes of light began gathering above the Thousand Jun Ant's body, and a yellow Soul Ring appeared before everyone.

Shi Yi said nothing more and sat cross-legged. Little Ant was now perched upon his thigh. Drawn by Shi Yi's pale blue Soul Power, the hundred-year Thousand Jun Ant Soul Ring slowly flew toward Shi Yi.

More precisely, it flew toward Little Ant.

As the hundred-year Thousand Jun Ant Soul Ring approached, Shi Yi felt an unprecedentedly powerful pressure. Even the bones throughout his body gave off faint cracking sounds beneath that pressure.

Soon, the yellow halo arrived above Little Ant's head. Without giving it any chance to react, the yellow halo abruptly contracted, becoming an incredibly solid golden ring no larger than a bracelet before dropping directly around Little Ant's body.

A powerful wave of Soul Power suddenly burst forth, and scorching energy frantically surged into Shi Yi's body. In an instant, Shi Yi felt as though his internal organs were burning. His body could not help but tremble violently.

Shi Yi hurriedly circulated the Twelve Meridians, using the rapid flow of Soul Power to digest the Soul Power pouring into him.

No, the Twelve Meridians are too slow. I need to shorten the circulation route and increase the number of Soul Power cycles.

With that thought, Shi Yi controlled his Soul Power and rapidly circulated it around his Dantian. After repeated experimentation, he had found this to be the most efficient circulation method, and he called it the advanced version of the Twelve Meridians.

After two years of cultivation, Shi Yi had also discovered that different people produced different results while cultivating the same Cultivation Method. The most obvious difference was that the blocked meridians within their bodies differed, as did the degree of blockage. Some people even had differences in the thickness and toughness of their meridians, and perhaps even in the locations of those meridians.

All these differences led to one result: the efficiency of the same Cultivation Method varied from person to person.

Shi Yi's circulation route could be said to belong exclusively to him. It was the result of countless experiments and records of the cultivation time required for every circulation. For him, this was the fastest circulation route.

As the speed of his Cultivation Method increased, Shi Yi could clearly feel that the energy infusion placed less pressure on his body.

Gradually, the fiery heat became a warm sensation, and a feeling of bloodline connection arose in Shi Yi's heart.

Although Shi Yi was still in the process of absorbing the Soul Ring, he could clearly sense that Little Ant was undergoing a transformation.

Outside, Yu Xiaogang looked at Little Ant on Shi Yi's thigh with a complicated expression. Little Ant had already undergone earthshaking changes compared to its previous appearance.

The most obvious change was not merely its size. Its mouthparts had grown into Sword Teeth like those of the Thousand Jun Ant just now, while its two forelimbs were changing at a visible speed. The only thing Yu Xiaogang could not understand was why Little Ant's exoskeleton appeared far glossier than that of an ordinary Thousand Jun Ant. Apart from that, Little Ant was no longer very different from a Thousand Jun Ant.

Tang San had been observing the changes in Shi Yi and Little Ant the entire time.

Senior Disciple Brother's breathing stabilized so quickly. Could it be... Impossible. Not even the Mysterious Heaven Skill has such high efficiency in digesting Internal Cultivation. Even I took nearly an hour, but Senior Disciple Brother only took a little over half an hour. How did he rapidly digest it under such a massive infusion of Internal Cultivation? Tang San thought to himself.

It was not as if Tang San had never seen the Twelve Meridians Shi Yi had created. It was decent, but it had only reached the level that outer sect disciples used to lay a foundation. Yet the level Shi Yi displayed while circulating his Cultivation Method today had actually surpassed the Mysterious Heaven Skill—at least when it came to digesting Internal Cultivation.

Tang San found this difficult to believe. The Mysterious Heaven Skill was the highest Internal Cultivation technique of the Tang Sect's inner sect in Bashu, refined continuously by countless Tang Sect predecessors.

There was no way he could believe that Shi Yi had created a Cultivation Method that surpassed the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Senior Disciple Brother must have used some special method. Thousand Jun Ant...

With that thought, Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang and asked, "Teacher, is this Thousand Jun Ant the Soul Beast most suited to Senior Disciple Brother?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly at his words. "Xiao Yi's Martial Soul is an ant. According to Beast Martial Soul theory, if one can find a Soul Beast with the same bloodline as one's Martial Soul, absorbing it can help promote the Martial Soul's evolution. You have seen Little Ant's changes for yourself. But bloodlines generally cannot be compatible downward. That is why the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, known as the number one Beast Martial Soul in the world, is prone to mutation, and most of those mutations are harmful. Its bloodline power is simply too strong, and mutations occur when it is affected by lower bloodlines."

"Then would a suitable Soul Beast be easier to absorb?" Tang San continued.

Yu Xiaogang nodded slightly. "Of course. If a Soul Ring is unsuitable, it can also produce a rejection reaction. For example, an ice-attribute Soul Master cannot absorb a Soul Ring produced by a fire-attribute Soul Beast."

Tang San's face showed understanding. Perhaps the reason he had taken longer was simply because he had not absorbed a plant-type Soul Beast, while the Soul Ring Shi Yi absorbed was exceptionally suitable for him. That was what had caused the difference in time.