Mimicry

Before meditating, Ye Lan glanced at Zhu Zhuqing, who seemed to have drifted into a dreamland.

Ye Lan realized that Zhu Zhuqing no longer looked as cold as she had when they first met. Instead, she seemed adorably dazed, like a sleeping kitten.

With difficulty, Ye Lan tore his gaze away and silently recited, See no evil.

Although humans on the Douluo Continent developed quickly and were mostly grown by the age of twelve, Ye Lan still retained the mindset of his previous life. He did not dare harbor any improper thoughts toward Zhu Zhuqing, who had only just turned twelve.

In this regard, Ye Lan looked down on Tang San. Although Xiao Wu had been a Hundred Thousand Year rabbit who cultivated into human form, Tang San had not known she was a soul beast at first. He had already developed feelings for six-year-old Xiao Wu at first sight, and the two had slept in the same bed since childhood. One had to remember that Tang San's mental age was that of an adult.

Someone like Tang San would undoubtedly have been considered a pedophile on Blue Star in Ye Lan's previous life. It was only because the two had not sparked anything in their dormitory, and Tang San had not done anything related to pedophilia. Moreover, given that Xiao Wu possessed a Hundred Thousand Year soul, Ye Lan could not be bothered with that bizarre pair's nonsense.

After summoning Xiong Er and Da Ju over, Ye Lan instructed the two beasts to catch some fish.

Ye Lan then sat cross-legged beside Zhu Zhuqing and began meditating. This was his first Mimicry Cultivation session since his Blue Silver Grass absorbed its second Soul Ring.

Star Dou was unlike human settlements. The vegetation here was dense, and Blue Silver Grass grew in abundance.

Not long after Ye Lan immersed his consciousness, he sensed countless Blue Silver Consciousnesses within the Star Dou Great Forest.

Like fireflies, these Blue Silver Consciousnesses gathered around Ye Lan. The Blue Silver Grass seemed to be worshipping an emperor, constantly offering up its loyalty.

The quality of Ye Lan's Blue Silver Grass now surpassed that of the Blue Silver Emperor, though Ye Lan had no idea by how much.

However, Ye Lan knew that the quality of his Blue Silver Grass was not far from a God-tier Martial Soul—a true god.

Countless blue fireflies rushed toward a sun. The "sun" was Ye Lan's true body within his consciousness world.

The blue fireflies continuously drew closer to Ye Lan, flickering as though they were cheering joyfully.

Perhaps the cheers of the Blue Silver Consciousnesses attracted the attention of other plants. More and more fireflies of different colors appeared within Ye Lan's consciousness.

There were green, gold, red, purple, and more. Ye Lan did not know what they were.

Outside the consciousness world, all kinds of plants—flowers, grass, vines, leaves, fruits, and more—leaned toward Ye Lan's body. Restricted by their inability to move, they seemed as though they had been drawn in by a massive "Wood Magnet."

Only the nearby Blue Silver Grass and wild grass pressed themselves against Ye Lan's body. The Blue Silver Grass bloomed with blue light, awaiting the awakening of their emperor.

When Ye Lan awoke, his mind was clearer than ever before.

Estimating the Soul Power in his body, Ye Lan discovered that Mimicry Cultivation no longer increased his cultivation speed.

The Soul Skill "I Want to Grow Up" had already raised Ye Lan's cultivation speed to its limit, and it could not rise any further. Perhaps his cultivation speed would only improve again once the Blue Silver Grass evolved once more.

However, Ye Lan found that Mimicry Cultivation still held a pleasant surprise. First, it could now increase his Spiritual Power, and the increase was astonishing.

Ye Lan believed that if he persisted every day, his Spiritual Power would soon crush that of Soul Masters at the same rank.

When Ye Lan opened his eyes and looked around, grass had bent down for him, trees had tilted toward him, and fruits had fallen to the ground and rolled to his side.

Ye Lan seemed to have become the center of all plants. He knew this was because Blue Silver Grass—Radiant Being—was of too high a grade. They were welcoming their emperor.

While Ye Lan cultivated, these plants grew three times faster.

The second surprise of Mimicry Cultivation was that these plants conveyed information about their "Self" to Ye Lan.

By drawing the points of light from these plants within his consciousness world, Ye Lan could learn their names, attributes, and other information.

It was a pity that Ye Lan did not know alchemy. Otherwise, he could definitely have become a genius Alchemist.

As Ye Lan awoke, the plants all stopped their instinctive movements toward him.

They returned to normal, or so they seemed. Yet Ye Lan knew that with a single thought from him, these plants would begin "cheering" again.

He did not yet know what use this had, but sooner or later, he would find out.

Setting aside his thoughts about the plants' strange behavior, Ye Lan looked toward Xiong Er. Xiong Er was sleeping soundly, snoring as he slept. Although Da Ju had its eyes tightly shut, its upright round ears and constantly swishing tiger tail showed that it was wide awake.

"You lazy slob!" Ye Lan scolded with a laugh.

Seeing the dozen or so Big Green Fish beside Xiong Er, Ye Lan knew that Xiong Er had put some effort into catching them, so he did not disturb his sleep.

Ye Lan grabbed a Big Green Fish from the ground. It weighed over twenty jin and was nearly a meter long.

He left the remaining Big Green Fish, weighing dozens or even over a hundred jin in total, for Xiong Er and Da Ju to eat raw. Ye Lan did not know whether soul beasts could eat cooked food, and he could not be bothered to wait on the two of them.

Ye Lan had not completely immersed himself in his consciousness while cultivating. Instead, he had left his Blue Silver Grass alert to movements around him.

After noticing that neither Xiong Er nor Da Ju had made any moves against him, Ye Lan came to trust the two beasts completely.

Leaving Zhu Zhuqing in Da Ju's care, Ye Lan carried the Big Green Fish to a nearby river to clean it.

He drained its blood, removed the innards, scraped off the scales, cleared away the black membrane and gills, and completed the initial deodorizing process.

Next, Ye Lan immersed his consciousness and searched for wild grass that could remove the fishy smell, as well as fruits with a spicy taste.

Ye Lan did not recognize many plants on the Douluo Continent, but now that he possessed plant knowledge, he would never lack seasonings in the future.

As for the most important seasoning, salt, he had a bag of it in his backpack.

He had not brought any other seasonings. If he brought everything, his backpack would not be able to hold it all.

The Nth day of missing Soul Tools...

Zhu Zhuqing slowly awakened from her hazy consciousness. Her body and mind had never felt so relaxed, but Zhu Zhuqing suddenly became alert.

"Where am I? Why was I sleeping out in the wilderness?" Zhu Zhuqing, as if she had blacked out, saw the familiar blond face before a campfire.

In an instant, countless memories flooded Zhu Zhuqing's mind, and she remembered the scene of being saved by the Blond Youth.

The Blond Youth clearly possessed the bearing of a King, yet his approachable, gentle smile made people want to draw near.

Thinking of the moment Ye Lan had saved her, Zhu Zhuqing's mind was somewhat muddled, and she did not know what she was thinking.

Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing noticed that her body felt more relaxed than ever before.

Looking down, she saw the curved swell.

"Ah!!!!!"

Hearing Zhu Zhuqing's cry, Ye Lan set aside the grilled fish and quickly came to her side.

"What's wrong, Zhu Zhuqing?" Ye Lan saw that Zhu Zhuqing's face was flushed red.

"You... you, you, you! You're asking even though you know!" Zhu Zhuqing stared at her chest, at a loss. Her bandeau was actually gone—could it have been the person in front of her?!