Tang San Likes Rabbit Butt, the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family

"Thank you, Master."

Tang San accepted the large rabbit leg, perfectly roasted in color, aroma, and taste, his face full of gratitude.

Though he felt a faint, inexplicable strangeness inside, the scent of the grilled meat still made him take a big bite of the rabbit leg.

Seeing this, Lin Mu began feasting as well.

Before long, the roasted rabbit, as large as a basketball, had been completely devoured by the two of them.

Having traveled abroad for years, Lin Mu's cooking might not have reached perfection, but it was at least worthy of a top chef.

One rabbit leg was not enough for Tang San. He even gnawed clean the rabbit butt Lin Mu had left behind.

This showed that Tang San truly had lived a hard life. Compared with thin porridge, rabbit butt was clearly far more delicious.

"Tang San, let me see your Blue Silver Grass now."

After eating and drinking his fill, Lin Mu spoke to Tang San.

Tang San nodded slightly and immediately summoned his Blue Silver Grass. After this incident, he trusted his master even more.

As a faint blue glow emerged, Blue Silver Grass sprouted from Tang San's palm. At first glance, it seemed unchanged, but upon closer inspection, its surface was covered in a layer of white cuticle.

Clearly, this white cuticle was the Ice Crystal Cuticle of the Ice Crystal Grass.

"Try infusing Soul Power into the Blue Silver Grass and see whether you can control its growth."

Under Lin Mu's guidance, Tang San slowly infused Soul Power into the Blue Silver Grass bit by bit. Sure enough, it began growing rapidly.

"Keep going. Try controlling it to bind me."

Tang San increased his Soul Power output. The Blue Silver Grass grew much faster and wrapped around Lin Mu like a venomous snake.

This was all within Lin Mu's expectations. Even without awakening the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, Blue Silver Grass was still a plant. As long as it possessed enough Life Force, binding was merely its most basic ability.

Although its binding strength was weak for now, as the Blue Silver Grass continued to grow stronger, its binding power would rise as well.

"Try your first soul skill."

At that, a trace of hesitation appeared on Tang San's face. "Master, wouldn't that be too dangerous?"

"Go ahead."

After receiving an affirmative answer, Tang San hesitated no longer. A yellow Soul Ring suddenly lit up beneath his feet.

"First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Crystal!"

In an instant, the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Lin Mu rapidly condensed into a layer of ice crystal, identical to the Ice Crystal Grass.

Before absorbing his first Soul Ring, the Blue Silver Grass had been extremely weak, nearly snapping with a single pull.

Yet after absorbing the Ice Crystal Grass Soul Ring, the Blue Silver Grass's strength had increased severalfold. Its restraining effect remained weak, but after using the first soul skill, its strength rose dramatically.

"Not a bad soul skill."

The moment he finished speaking, powerful Soul Power erupted from Lin Mu's body, forcibly shattering the crystallized Blue Silver Grass.

As a level forty-seven Battle Soul Ancestor, even without using his Martial Soul, Lin Mu could unleash strength comparable to a Soul Elder with a Beast Martial Soul.

"If your opponent were a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, it would be difficult for them to break free from your first soul skill in a short time. More importantly, this soul skill can be used for both offense and defense. It's extremely practical."

"This is all thanks to you, Master." Tang San spoke with heartfelt gratitude.

Hearing that, Lin Mu gently patted his shoulder, though his attention had fallen upon the panel before him.

[Main Quest: Take Tang San as a disciple and cultivate an entirely new Tang San. The greater the contrast, the richer the reward. Completion: 7.9%.]

"It only went up this much."

Lin Mu felt somewhat helpless and turned to ask Tang San, "Tang San, what level are you now?"

"Level thirteen."

Lin Mu's expression remained calm. The Ice Crystal Grass had a cultivation of over three hundred years, and combined with the Soul Power Tang San had already accumulated, breaking through to level thirteen in one go was perfectly normal.

Helping Tang San obtain a Soul Ring was only the surface reason. The main purpose was to gradually alter his way of thinking.

Only with a higher completion rate could Lin Mu receive more rewards.

With the Flame of Nawa armor alone, Lin Mu was confident he could deal with experts at the Soul King level. If he obtained another set of armor, even facing a Soul Emperor would not be a problem.

"Let's go. We should leave before night falls."

Lin Mu brushed the fragments of Blue Silver Grass from his clothes. Just as he was about to leave with Tang San, the sounds of fighting suddenly came from the distance.

Moreover, the sounds grew clearer and clearer. Someone was obviously approaching this place.

Without hesitation, Lin Mu grabbed Tang San by the back of his collar and lifted him like a chick. Then, after several rapid leaps, he landed atop a large tree.

Although being carried like that by his master was somewhat humiliating, Tang San did not feel any resentment.

As the saying went, a teacher for a day was a father for life. Moreover, Lin Mu treated him even better than his father had, so in Tang San's heart, Lin Mu was no different from his father.

A moment later, a white-clad woman in Palace Attire rushed to the lakeside while pulling along a short-haired girl. Her skirts danced in the wind, making her seem like a fairy who had descended into the mortal world.

"Heh heh heh—"

"Ye Family Head, why put yourself through this?"

Following the eerie laughter, a middle-aged man in black martial attire stepped forward. There were numerous bloodstains on his body, still not fully dried. He had clearly killed someone not long ago.

A sinister smile spread across the middle-aged man's face as he pressed forward step by step, like a venomous snake ready to strike at any moment.

The woman surnamed Ye looked panicked and hurriedly shielded the short-haired girl behind her.

In truth, this was completely useless, because she had no ability to fight this enemy.

"Your Ye Family has long since declined. Joining our Fire Leopard Sect would benefit both you and us."

"Wishful thinking!"

"Don't refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. Even if you won't think about yourself, you should think about your daughter, shouldn't you?"

Seeing that she refused to appreciate his goodwill, the middle-aged man directly summoned his Fire Leopard Martial Soul, and his aura instantly surged several levels.

At the same time, five Soul Rings rose around his feet: two yellow and three purple. Although this Soul Ring configuration was not top-tier, it was still quite decent.

"Fire Leopard Sect."

Standing atop the tree, Lin Mu looked at the Fire Leopard Soul Master below, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.

As one of the Lower Four Sects, the Fire Leopard Sect might not possess the foundation of the Upper Three Sects, but it was still one of the leading sects on the continent. Yet it was threatening a woman like this.

"Ye surname."

Lin Mu's pupils suddenly contracted. The most famous family with the surname Ye on the continent was the Nine Heart Begonia Ye Family.

It seemed the Fire Leopard Sect wanted to annex the Ye Family and strengthen its own foundation. That explained things.

The Nine Heart Begonia had always been passed down through a single bloodline. At any given time, only two Nine Heart Begonia Soul Masters could exist. Only after one of them died could the next generation awaken the Nine Heart Begonia.

As a top-tier support-type Martial Soul, the Nine Heart Begonia might not possess the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda's formidable enhancement abilities, but it had an unparalleled healing ability.

In battle, a powerful healer was crucial.

Its only flaw was that its soul skills were overly singular and offered no means of self-defense, so its users required close protection.

Lin Mu looked at the white-clad woman and the short-haired girl below. If nothing unexpected happened, these two should be the only two inheritors of the Nine Heart Begonia.