Tang San Kneels! His Kindness Is as Heavy as a Mountain!

Tang San took a deep breath, turned to Shui Bing'er, and cupped his fist in salute. "Senior Sister, please instruct me."

He was brimming with confidence.

Having absorbed a thousand-year soul ring, his First Soul Skill had undergone a qualitative transformation. He refused to believe he did not even have the strength to fight.

Shui Bing'er wasted no words. The two purple soul rings around her instantly lit up.

"Begin."

At Tang Yuan's command.

A sharp glint flashed through Tang San's eyes as he made the first move.

"First Soul Skill!"

Several thick, dark-green vines burst from the ground and swept toward Shui Bing'er like pythons.

They were more than twice as fast as his previous Blue Silver Grass.

Yet Shui Bing'er merely stood where she was without moving so much as a foot.

Just as the vines were about to touch the hem of her dress.

Her first soul ring lit up.

Ice Seal.

Crack!

An intense chill erupted in an instant.

The menacing dark-green vines froze into ice sculptures the moment they touched the cold air, suspended motionlessly in midair.

Tang San was startled. Before he could alter his move, he felt the cold spread along the vines toward him.

"Shatter."

Shui Bing'er's red lips parted as she uttered a single word.

Bang!

All the frozen vines instantly exploded into countless shards of ice.

Tang San felt a tightness in his chest as his Soul Power backlashed. He staggered several steps back, his face pale.

In just one exchange.

He had suffered a crushing defeat.

The joy Tang San had felt from obtaining a thousand-year soul ring was instantly doused with a bucket of cold water.

No matter how high the age of his soul ring, before absolute elemental suppression and combat experience, it still seemed somewhat feeble.

Shui Bing'er withdrew her Soul Power, her expression calm. She showed not the slightest pride at defeating Tang San.

Tang Yuan walked to Tang San's side, looked at the shattered ice on the ground, and said flatly, "Do you know where you lost?"

Tang San lowered his head in shame. "It was because my martial soul was restrained by Senior Sister's ice attribute."

"Wrong."

Tang Yuan cut him off without hesitation.

"Plants fear the cold. That is common sense, but it is not an absolute truth."

"What is Blue Silver Grass?"

"It is a weed. Wild grass."

"Wildfires cannot burn it all away; when the spring breeze blows, it grows again."

Tang Yuan casually picked up a fragment of frozen vine from the ground.

"You treated it as a rope, as a whip. All you thought of was using it to bind people and lash them."

"That is the stupidest possible use."

"The true strength of Blue Silver Grass lies in the word 'life.'"

Tang Yuan clenched his fingers slightly, and the icy fragment instantly crumbled into powder.

"You must learn to sense the life force within it, to make it endlessly renew itself, unceasing and inexhaustible."

"So what if it is frozen? So what if it is shattered?"

"As long as even a bit of root remains, as long as there is a trace of Soul Power left, it can regenerate in an instant, multiply madly, and even devour the enemy's cold as nourishment."

"This is Life's Profound Meaning—not that shallow, physical form of entanglement."

Tang San's body jolted.

Life's Profound Meaning... devouring... regeneration...

It was as though a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind, splitting apart the fog that had clouded it before.

The ever-renewing nature of the Mysterious Heaven Skill seemed to fit this concept perfectly.

Everything Yu Xiaogang had taught him before had been positioning and prediction for the Control System, treating him like a craftsman who could only throw ropes.

What Tang Yuan taught him was the essence of the Dao.

The confusion in Tang San's eyes vanished, replaced by fervent admiration.

This was a true master!

This was a true expert who understood martial souls!

Night fell.

The study was brightly lit.

Tang Yuan was leafing through an ancient book. The teacup at his side was empty.

Tang San immediately stepped forward, skillfully lifted the teapot, and refilled Tang Yuan's cup with hot tea. Then he retreated to one side and stood with his hands at his sides, like the most loyal of servants.

Over the past few days, aside from cultivation, he had voluntarily taken on the menial tasks of attending to Tang Yuan's daily needs.

To him, this was a disciple's duty—and also atonement.

Tang Yuan picked up the teacup and took a light sip, his gaze sweeping over Tang San's still-youthful yet resolute face.

"Tang San."

"Your disciple is here."

"If you hadn't met me, you would probably still be wandering around the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest."

Tang Yuan's tone was casual, as though they were merely chatting about everyday matters.

"According to Yu Xiaogang's plan, you would have absorbed that Ten-Year Lone Bamboo."

"Then, with a worthless white spirit ring, you would have returned to Nuoding Academy and continued listening to him boast about those incoherent theories. In the end, you would have faded into obscurity and become a Waste Soul Master who could do nothing but farm."

Tang San's body could not help but tremble at those words.

Just imagining such a scene made him feel suffocated with lingering fear.

The Ten-Year Lone Bamboo...

If he had truly absorbed that, his life would have been ruined.

Tang San could no longer suppress the turmoil in his heart.

With a thud.

He dropped heavily to his knees, pressing his forehead against the cold floor.

"I will never forget Master's grace in remaking my life!"

"Without Master, Tang San would have been a frog at the bottom of a well, able only to rot away in the mud."

"That Yu Xiaogang nearly ruined this disciple's life. From this day forth, I sever all ties with him. We will have nothing more to do with each other!"

"In this world, Tang San recognizes only you as his master!"

The youth's voice echoed through the study, filled with resolve and ruthlessness.

Tang Yuan looked at the kneeling Tang San, the corners of his lips lifting slightly.

That was more like it.

Only by completely severing his past could he become the sharpest blade in Tang Yuan's hand.

Time slowly passed.

Outside the gates of the King's Mansion.

The night wind was bleak.

A somewhat hunched figure hid within the shadow of a stone lion, shivering.

It was Yu Xiaogang.

After being humiliated by Tang Yuan in the Soul Hunting Forest, he had not given up.

Or rather, he was unwilling to give up.

Tang San was his only hope of proving his theories—the genius with Twin Martial Souls, his final straw for turning his life around.

He absolutely could not give up like this.

He firmly believed that Tang San had merely been temporarily blinded by the money and status of that so-called Blue Silver King.

Children had never seen the world, after all. Naturally, they would be tempted upon seeing wealth and glory.

As long as he appealed to Tang San's emotions and reason, then made a few more grand promises, he would surely be able to trick Tang San back... no, persuade him back.

For this goal, he had followed the Royal Knights all the way, suffering countless hardships before finally sneaking into Heaven Dou City.

He had kept watch outside the King's Mansion for an entire day, hungry to the point of dizziness, yet he never dared approach the gates.

The killing intent radiating from the Royal Knights standing there made his legs go weak, even as a level twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster.

"Grrr..."

His stomach let out a protesting growl.

Yu Xiaogang tightened the tattered robe around himself, a trace of venom flashing through his eyes.

"Tang Yuan... You stole my disciple and ruined my reputation. If I do not avenge this grudge, I, Yu Xiaogang, swear I am not human!"

Just then.

Creak—

The tightly shut side gate of the King's Mansion suddenly opened.

Yu Xiaogang perked up and hurriedly craned his neck to look.

A young man dressed in exquisite brocade robes stepped out.

An expensive jade pendant hung at his waist, and he carried a heavy bag in his hand as he prepared to leave.

It was Tang San!