Soul Beast: Great White Carp

"Brother Qing, tell me, is the legend of the Spirit Rhyme Turtle real or fake?"

As Tang San helped Zhou Qing scrub his back, he asked curiously, "Why was the Spirit Rhyme Turtle that Spirit Hall caught in the end found with its shell intact?"

"There are two likely possibilities."

Zhou Qing said, "First, the Spirit Rhyme Turtle's shell was extremely hard. Neither Spirit Hall nor the people of Nuoding City believed the villagers could have smashed it apart with hoes."

"Three days and three nights was probably an exaggeration."

"Besides, the environment around Holy Soul Village and the nearby villages was unlikely to nurture two Soul Beasts."

"Second, the story was fake. In the past, a child fell into a deeper stretch of the stream and drowned. That made the villagers more cautious, so they made up this story to keep children from playing in the stream."

Tang San nodded, feeling that the second possibility was more likely.

In his previous life, the peasant women in the villages near the Tang Sect had also told their children strange tales of ghosts and spirits to scare them, warning them not to play with water, fire, or other things that could lead to an early death.

Splash!

All of a sudden, ripples spread through the water near Zhou Qing and Tang San, as though something had fallen from above the small Waterfall.

If it had merely been a small stone or fish, it would not have drawn their attention. The rushing sound of the small Waterfall alone would have been enough to cover it up.

Yet the two of them had clearly heard that splash, and a large disturbance had risen in the water below the Waterfall.

"What was that?"

Zhou Qing frowned. "I remember moving away all the larger rocks up there."

After all, Zhou Qing intended to use the small Waterfall to temper his body. Every so often, he would climb the nearby slope and clear away the larger rocks and thicker branches. Otherwise, if one landed on his head, he might lose his life.

A child's body was fragile, after all!

He did not have Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill protecting his body!

"It's a fish!"

A flash of purple light flickered through Tang San's eyes as he made out what had fallen into the water. It was a Great White Carp about forty centimeters long. Even beneath the pool's surface, its silvery-white scales reflected the sunlight and glimmered with silver radiance.

However—

It looked as though some creature had taken a bite from the fish's back, leaving a notch there. It swam slowly through the pool for a while before floating to the surface, its fish lips opening and closing as though it were about to die.

"A fresh big fish!"

Zhou Qing's eyes lit up. He swam over to the fish, grabbed the Great White Carp in his arms, and thrust his fingers into its gills on both sides.

At once, the Great White Carp began thrashing violently, dragging Zhou Qing around the pool.

Tang San hurriedly swam over as well. Together with Zhou Qing, he held onto the Great White Carp and inserted his fingers into its gills. He circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill and used the Mysterious Jade Hand to lightly tap the inside of its cheek.

For a moment, the Great White Carp's already rather vacant fish eyes became even duller.

Seeing the carp's movements weaken, Zhou Qing knew Tang San had secretly helped him. The two of them then carried the Great White Carp onto the shore.

"Looking at it closely, this fish is rather cute." Tang San studied the silver Great White Carp, its scales shimmering beneath the sunlight, and spoke with feeling.

"Mm, cute as hell."

Zhou Qing put on his pants, picked up a stone from beside the pool, and smashed it hard into the Great White Carp's head—

A necessary step when killing a fish.

Tang San: "..."

"San, go to my house and bring the flint and seasonings. Let's have grilled fish!" Zhou Qing said, only to see Tang San staring with his mouth wide open.

"Don't be so surprised. It's just killing a fish, isn't it? I learned it from the villagers. Later, you can take half to Uncle Tang. The two of us can't eat that mu—"

Before Zhou Qing could say "much," he noticed something extra beside the Great White Carp.

It was a pale white ring.

This was—

"A Soul Ring!"

Zhou Qing was startled. He stared in disbelief at the Great White Carp still pinned down by one of his hands, while the stone in his other hand fell to the ground. "This is a Soul Beast!"

After the lingering fear came delight. Zhou Qing hurriedly urged Tang San to go to his house for the flint and seasonings. "We're in luck! The books say Soul Beast meat is incredibly delicious! And if you eat it regularly over a long period, it can improve a Soul Master's physical constitution!"

"This Great White Carp must be incredibly nourishing!"

"What are you standing around for? Hurry up!"

Only then did Tang San snap out of it. He even used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track as he ran toward Zhou Qing's house. Before long, he returned with flint, seasonings, a pair of scissors, and dry firewood for daily use.

Zhou Qing took the scissors and began scaling and gutting the Great White Carp, while Tang San built the fire. However, his gaze kept drifting toward the white Soul Ring.

So this was a Soul Ring?

How miraculous!

Through his understanding of the Spirit Hall Elementary Meditation Technique, Tang San had already gained a rough impression of this world's Soul Master cultivation methods.

Though they focused on martial souls, the circulation of Soul Power basically still followed the path of circulating through the heavenly cycle.

In other words—

Internal Energy could be considered equivalent to Soul Power. Tang San believed they were merely different names for the same thing in different worlds.

Soul Masters in this world had to possess a Soul Ring before they could cultivate to the next stage. Once he reached the First Layer of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, if he had not awakened a martial soul or obtained a Soul Ring, could he continue cultivating?

Though he had yet to awaken a martial soul, Tang San already had an answer: no.

"Done."

After preparing the Great White Carp, Zhou Qing ran a stick through it from head to tail, propped it over a crude forked branch, and began grilling it, brushing on a layer of seasoning sauce from time to time.

Five minutes later, threads of fragrance began wafting from the Great White Carp.

"Can we really eat it?"

The aroma of the fish pulled Tang San's thoughts back to reality, and he could not help swallowing.

Zhou Qing tore off a large piece, placed it on a washed flat stone, and handed it to Tang San. He then tore off a piece for himself and tossed it straight into his mouth.

"Whew, hot! Delicious!"

Though it was scorching hot, Zhou Qing still swallowed it in large mouthfuls, feeling his entire body warm up.

After Tang San swallowed a piece of fish, he too felt warmth spread throughout his body. Even his Internal Energy became more active!

So he stopped worrying about appearances and began wolfing down the fish as well.

The entire Great White Carp, nearly forty centimeters long, was actually eaten by Zhou Qing and Tang San, two four-year-olds!

The two lay by the shore with swollen bellies, burping as they rested with their eyes closed.

When the fish in his stomach had mostly been digested, Tang San was surprised to discover that his physical constitution had improved by the tiniest trace.

It was extremely slight, so slight that he would not have noticed it without careful sensing, but it had truly improved.

More importantly, the Internal Energy of his Mysterious Heaven Skill had also advanced by a trace, roughly on the same level as the improvement in his body.

Soul Beast meat actually had such an effect!

Tang San realized that the Soul Masters of this world might be even more powerful than he had previously imagined. The Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons... the strongest few might have decent effects against high-level Soul Masters, but they took too much time and effort to forge. As for ordinary Hidden Weapons, perhaps they could only be used effectively when catching an opponent off guard.

Tang Sect Hidden Weapons... I want to carry the Tang Sect forward in this world, so I must create even stronger Hidden Weapons—ones that surpass the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus, the Torrential Rain Pear Blossom Needle, and the Peacock Plume!

Otherwise, even if I can catch this world's Soul Masters off guard at first, what will happen once they adapt in the future, given the harsh requirements for crafting the Tang Sect's top-tier Hidden Weapons?

I must surpass the Tang Sect!

But where should I begin with Hidden Weapons? The weapons of this world... hm? Zhou Qing seems to have books about Soul Tools. Perhaps I can learn from those...