I'm Venom!

He kept thinking about his Martial Soul.

Ye Qiu put off his dinner invitation until that evening.

Watching Old Jack and Tang San leave, Ye Qiu happily headed home.

All the way there, Ye Qiu studied his Martial Soul.

He looked at the little tadpole on his fingertip.

It really was tiny.

It was hard to imagine what it could do. No wonder Su Yuntao had judged it to be a Trash Martial Soul.

As soon as he got home,

Ye Qiu tried Martial Soul Possession beside the water jar by his door.

Under Ye Qiu's gaze,

the tadpole stuck to his fingertip.

Like black fibers or yarn, it quickly spread across Ye Qiu's body.

Ye Qiu could feel strength surging through him.

He looked at the water jar.

Then came a sharp, hoarse cry of shock.

"Holy crap—!"

Ye Qiu stared in disbelief at the "monster" reflected in the water jar.

Its body was mostly black, streaked with wisps of white fibers.

Its most distinctive feature was the two white patches over its eyes.

When he spoke,

Ye Qiu could even see rows of sharp teeth in his mouth, along with a long tongue!

"You've got to be kidding me."

Ye Qiu staggered back two steps.

He touched his face, then looked at his now-muscular arms.

Of course he recognized the thing covering his body.

His heart pounded wildly.

"My Martial Soul is Venom?"

His hoarse voice carried a hint of uncertainty.

Ye Qiu took a deep breath. The smooth blackness on his head receded like a tide.

The rest of him looked as if he were wearing a tight leather suit.

He slowly walked toward the water jar.

"Holy crap! Holy crap, my—where's my head?! What the hell?!"

Ye Qiu stared at his headless reflection in the water jar.

He was utterly panicked.

He grabbed wildly at his neck with both hands, trying to pull his head out.

If a villager had passed by,

they would have been scared to death, even in broad daylight.

Fortunately, disaster was averted.

Ye Qiu's head grew back, blackness weaving itself into its shape.

His face was a little pale. He'd gotten quite a fright.

But then—

Ye Qiu's pale face broke into a bright smile.

A bold theory had occurred to him!

Ye Qiu hugged the water jar.

Half his face began to boil and roil from within, transforming into Venom.

His voice, hoarse yet tinged with childishness, rang out.

"I get it now."

"I'm Venom, right?"

As soon as he spoke,

Ye Qiu noticed a strand of Spider Silk dangling in front of him, with a little spider hanging from it.

The white patches around Venom's eyes narrowed.

Ye Qiu slowly raised his hand and gently poked the spider with one finger.

"Want to give it a try?"

Gurgle!

Ye Qiu's body began to pulse, flowing toward the spider like a liquid.

"Holy crap! I'm stuck! I'm stuck!"

"..."

"Great! It worked!"

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Ye Qiu's body had grown considerably stronger.

After Martial Soul Possession, he could not only scale walls and leap across rooftops, but had even woven himself a hammock.

Every now and then, he liked to entertain himself.

He'd go all out, showing off his bare-handed brick smashing and his iron head cracking bricks. He'd even work up the nerve

to test his crotch against a brick!

After all that testing,

Ye Qiu was now filled with confidence and anticipation for the future.

His weaknesses were obvious,

but no one knew about them. He just had to find a way to shore them up before then.

High temperatures and the like were no big deal.

The sun was shining brightly.

Ye Qiu packed up his things.

With his wine gourd still hanging from his waist, he followed Old Jack to Tang San's home.

People with Soul Power were as rare as phoenix feathers in the village.

Getting a work-study spot another village couldn't use was a piece of cake.

"Tang Hao, I've come to take Tang San, as agreed."

Old Jack called out.

He led Ye Qiu into the blacksmith's shop. A wave of heat and the stench of alcohol hit them.

Piles of scrap metal crowded the corner, along with bottles and jars that had once held liquor.

"Hey, morning! Little San, and Uncle Haozi!"

Ye Qiu greeted Tang Hao and his son with a smile, then pulled out some candy and offered it to Tang San.

"Little San, want some candy?"

"No, thanks."

Tang San shook his head. His tone was kinder than usual.

Ye Qiu shrugged helplessly.

Tang Hao sat at the table, drinking soup with his scruffy beard hanging down. He ignored everyone.

He merely lifted his eyelids and glanced at Ye Qiu. His cloudy eyes revealed nothing.

But Ye Qiu wasn't about to let him off the hook.

He grinned and opened the wine gourd hanging from his waist.

"Uncle Haozi, want a drink?"

"Pour me some!"

Tang Hao's hoarse, unpleasant voice rang out. He casually poured out the rice soup in his hand,

then set the empty bowl on the table.

"Sure thing!"

Ye Qiu immediately filled Tang Hao's bowl.

The liquor was a clear green, with a few bits of Blue Silver Grass mixed in.

No one bought his liquor.

Only Tang Hao liked it, and even that was by chance.

Smack!

Tang Hao stuck his blackened, reeking hand into the bowl and stirred the liquor before pouring it straight out.

Then he slapped the "cleaned" bowl back down on the table.

Ye Qiu didn't mind in the least.

He filled Tang Hao's bowl again with his own secret brew.

"Uncle Haozi, want some more candy?"

Tang Hao took a sip of the liquor and savored it, as if he were tasting tea.

He glanced at the colorful candy Ye Qiu held out to him.

Tang Hao gave him a look.

He nodded slightly, then scooped up all the candy in Ye Qiu's hand with one big grab.

Ye Qiu's smile grew even brighter.

He rubbed his hands together and blinked his big black eyes, his expression turning a little shrewd.

"Uncle Haozi, I'm going off to school. You see—"

Before Ye Qiu could finish,

Tang Hao waved him off, sounding impatient.

"Don't waste your breath. I don't have any money."

"Haha. It's fine. Little San's so capable, he'll have money of his own one day."

Ye Qiu wasn't annoyed.

The liquor Tang Hao owed him was barely a drop in the bucket to a Soul Master.

At that,

Tang San said nothing. Instead, he looked at his scruffy old dad.

"Little San, you don't have to pay him for the liquor."

Tang Hao gave the order casually, popped a few candies into his mouth, and didn't even glance at Ye Qiu.

"Got it, Dad."

Tang San nodded seriously.

"What?!"

Ye Qiu's expression changed.

Sure, the liquor was just wash water from cleaning bottles, with some Blue Silver Grass he'd picked thrown in.

But he'd never forced anyone to buy it.

It was the fruit of his labor!

"Uncle Haozi, how can you do this? Aren't you just bullying an honest man?!"

Old Jack, who was helping Tang San pack his things, had noticed the commotion.

He immediately chimed in:

"Tang Hao, don't push it! You're even trying to take a child's things by force!"

"What are you yelling about? I only owed him a bit for the liquor and took a handful of candy. My mouth's so bland I could grow a bird in it!"

Tang Hao didn't even turn around.

He crunched a few grass-flavored candies, chewing them with the special grass liquor he'd been given.

His face was full of bliss,

as if his wife were in there.