Chapter 22

Although Ye Lan's Blue Silver Grass's first Soul Ring only had a passive effect and no Active Soul Skill, as one of the Tool Martial Souls, Blue Silver Grass could be summoned and used directly. That was a characteristic of Tool Martial Souls.

Therefore, even without an Active Soul Skill, Ye Lan could directly summon and use Blue Silver Grass, ultimately testing the capabilities of the not-yet-fully-evolved Blue Silver Grass—Radiant Being Form.

Since Blue Silver Grass could be used directly for binding, Tang San's First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Bind, seemed rather awkward, as though he had wasted a skill slot for nothing.

Of course, Tang San's Blue Silver Bind was not without its advantages. It could be released directly beneath a target's feet, and its casting speed and binding force were stronger.

Ye Lan could only make Blue Silver Bind emerge from his own body; he could not release it directly beneath an opponent's feet.

As for binding force?

Ye Lan's newly evolved Blue Silver Grass was a full two times thicker than Tang San's Blue Silver Grass!

Even when Tang San used a Soul Skill, its binding force could not compare to Ye Lan's directly summoned Blue Silver Grass.

Returning to the present, before Xiao Wu could get close to Ye Lan, golden light had already burst from his body.

Several stalks of Golden Blue Silver Grass rapidly sprouted from Ye Lan's palms and body.

No, they could no longer be called grass. They should be called "Blue Silver Vines."

Six Blue Silver Grass stalks, each ten centimeters thick, spiraled toward Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu was also startled by the many Golden Blue Silver Grass stalks before her. She had no idea what kind of Martial Soul this was—it was actually twice as thick as Tang San's Blue Silver Grass.

Xiao Wu's eyes widened, and she did not dare lock Ye Lan's neck with her legs. That would only turn her into a live target for the Blue Silver Grass to bind.

But Xiao Wu was still in midair, with nowhere to borrow force from.

She could only steel herself and, before the Blue Silver Grass completely surrounded her, forcefully tap her toes against the top of Ye Lan's head.

Ye Lan had never practiced the Iron Head Skill, so he immediately raised both arms to block Xiao Wu's stomp.

Xiao Wu was delighted. She stepped on Ye Lan's raised arms and used the force to flip backward.

With a beautiful backflip, Xiao Wu landed steadily on the ground.

But before Xiao Wu could rejoice for long, she raised her head toward Ye Lan.

Several "Blue Silver Vines" were closing in on her.

Xiao Wu immediately took off running around Ye Lan. Just as she celebrated escaping Ye Lan's Blue Silver Grass encirclement, the Blue Silver Grass abruptly turned and continued chasing after her.

"What kind of freak Martial Soul is that!?" Xiao Wu was shocked by the Martial Soul of the blond youth behind her. It looked dangerous enough already, yet it was also this agile.

However, as an Agile Attack Soul Master, Xiao Wu's speed was among the best at her level.

As long as she changed direction and brought her speed into play, she could shake off the Blue Silver Grass's pursuit.

Before long, Xiao Wu had run more than ten meters away from Ye Lan.

At that moment, Xiao Wu noticed that the "Blue Silver Vines" were like taut ropes stretched to their limit.

So these "vines" could only be controlled by the blond youth within ten meters.

Xiao Wu immediately stuck out her tongue mischievously, pulled down one lower eyelid with a finger, and made a face. With a giggle, she said, "Hehehe, your Martial Soul looks impressive but is useless! Come on, bind me!"

Ye Lan held his forehead and said, "Don't tell me you think I'm a wooden dummy who can only stand still? Let me remind you—my speed isn't any slower than yours!"

Upon hearing Ye Lan's words, Xiao Wu immediately panicked and turned to flee.

"Don't worry, this won't take long!"

Ye Lan retracted the extended Blue Silver Grass, leaving it floating only within two meters of himself.

Soul Power surged into his legs at one hundred percent!

He stepped forward.

In the blink of an eye, Ye Lan had closed several meters of distance between them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Step marks were left across Nuoding Academy's marble path.

Xiao Wu still tried to change directions repeatedly to shake off Ye Lan. The two were like an eagle chasing a rabbit.

"Got you!"

When Ye Lan had chased to within two body lengths of Xiao Wu, the Blue Silver Grass around him instantly wrapped around her.

The Blue Silver Grass crawled from Xiao Wu's back over her entire body, locking every joint in place.

Xiao Wu was hoisted into the air by several Blue Silver Grass stalks. Her legs continued kicking wildly as she tried to escape their control.

"Stop struggling. Be careful not to exhaust yourself to death," Ye Lan said mischievously.

Ye Lan had not expected the Blue Silver Grass to take down Xiao Wu so quickly, and he was equally surprised by its current strength.

No numbers—only control!

Ye Lan continuously controlled each Blue Silver Grass stalk, arranging Xiao Wu into all sorts of poses.

Having gradually figured out the properties of Blue Silver Grass, Ye Lan found that although he did not have the Blue Silver Bind skill, its innate binding ability still left Xiao Wu completely unable to break free.

When he had used Blue Silver Grass to chase Xiao Wu earlier, he had tested its current maximum control range to be around ten meters.

Ye Lan circulated the Soul Power within his body, and two more Blue Silver Grasses sprouted from the surface of his body.

Including the previous six, his current Soul Power could support a maximum of eight Blue Silver Grasses appearing at once.

He then issued different commands through his mind to control the different Blue Silver Grasses, but Ye Lan discovered that he could only make them perform one task and could not simultaneously give all eight Blue Silver Grasses eight different commands.

Controlling all eight Blue Silver Grasses to perform a single command was simple, such as binding.

If he wanted the eight Blue Silver Grasses to carry out different commands, he had to rely on his own will to control them.

Ye Lan had to control the Blue Silver Grasses separately, alternating between different commands like a single-threaded brain constantly switching between task processes.

Just as Ye Lan was continuously testing the Blue Silver Grasses with identical commands, Xiao Wu's cheeks flushed red as she shouted, "What are you trying to do?! Hurry up and put me down!"

"Ye Lan, I hate you!!!"

Xiao Wu's shout interrupted Ye Lan's thoughts. He came back to himself and asked, "How did you know I was Ye Lan?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I might not have recognized you at first, but your voice hasn't changed. And you're still as sharp-tongued as ever." Xiao Wu flailed about, trying to break free from the Blue Silver Grass binding her.

"What sharp-tongued? That depends on who I'm dealing with." Black lines appeared across Ye Lan's forehead.

"Why has your martial soul changed so much?! It looks way better than Third Brother's Blue Silver Grass. Hurry up and let me go! This is so uncomfortable!" Xiao Wu found the changes to Ye Lan's martial soul rather unbelievable.

"Well, I got pretty lucky and absorbed a Soul Ring suited to Blue Silver Grass," Ye Lan answered, stroking his chin.

"No matter how much it changes, it can't compare to my Third Brother! You cultivated for so many years just to obtain your first Soul Ring!" Xiao Wu taunted.

"Hey, hey, hey! Did you forget so quickly that I won my duel with Tang San?" Ye Lan shot back.

"Hmph, Third Brother said it himself—it was only because he was careless. Just wait until Third Brother becomes a Soul Grandmaster, then let's see how you'll win!" Xiao Wu did not believe Ye Lan could keep up with Tang San's cultivation speed. Third Brother cultivated even faster than she did; he was a true little monster.

"Tut, tut, tut. Once you lose to me, you'll be my defeated opponent for life."

"You should stay here for now. The moment I untie you, you'll definitely refuse to accept it and keep coming after me. I'm leaving first. These vines should disappear on their own in about a minute."

"Ye Lan, if you've got guts, don't run! Put me down! Let's duel again!" Xiao Wu shouted stubbornly.