Lin Ye Was in Action

Tang San: "..."

Damn it, if I hadn't reacted fast just now, we'd both be dead as doornails.

Tang San realized he'd completely misjudged Yu Xiaogang's abilities. Was this what a Soul Grandmaster was like? What a useless piece of trash.

What kind of teacher had he even taken on?

The Mandala Snake had suffered a fatal wound. It struggled on the ground for a while before finally drawing its last breath, unwilling to accept its fate.

Yellow specks of light drifted up from the snake's corpse and gathered together, forming a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

"Xiao San, come over here! Your Soul Ring is right there!" Yu Xiaogang cried out in delighted excitement.

"Teacher, you mean this snake?" Tang San asked.

Yu Xiaogang nodded and said earnestly, "That's right. According to my research, a Soul Master's First Soul Ring can come from a Soul Beast under 423 years old. This Mandala Snake is just shy of four hundred years, so it's perfect for your Soul Ring."

"Huh? Teacher, but my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is a plant. Can a plant Martial Soul absorb a Soul Ring from an animal?"

The fact Tang San could ask this question spoke volumes about his intelligence. By his logic, his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul would never find a Soul Ring, since there were no hammer Soul Beasts!

Yu Xiaogang smiled confidently. It was time for this Master to show what he could do.

So Yu Xiaogang went on to explain to Tang San the theories he'd plagiarized—no, the ones he'd painstakingly developed—such as the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul and the Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, along with all sorts of other nonsense.

Tang San was once again impressed by Yu Xiaogang's knowledge.

Yu Xiaogang looked eagerly at his disciple and said, "Everyone treats my Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul like a joke, and no one is willing to absorb a Soul Ring from a different species.

"Xiao San, are you willing to give it a try?"

Hope shone in Yu Xiaogang's eyes. He looked like a lone flame flickering in the darkness.

Tang San couldn't bear to extinguish that one precious flame. "Teacher, I'm willing. Your theory must be right. Let me help you put it into practice."

Yu Xiaogang's face filled with relief. Seeing the Hundred-Year Soul Ring floating above the Mandala Snake's corpse, he could hardly wait. "Xiao San, begin."

Tang San did as instructed. He sat cross-legged on the ground, released his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and began absorbing the first Soul Ring of his life.

"Mm..." A low groan escaped Tang San's lips. His face was already contorted in pain.

The Soul Ring's energy was even more domineering than he'd imagined. Tang San felt as if scorching magma were surging into him. In an instant, his insides seemed to be on fire, and his body began to tremble violently.

"Stay conscious. Focus your mind on your Martial Soul," Yu Xiaogang reminded him, staring fixedly at Tang San with his heart in his throat.

A theory was just a theory. Without being put into practice, it was no better than empty talk.

Tang San—his disciple—was the first person to test his theory. How could Yu Xiaogang not be nervous?

Most importantly, Tang San's background was far from ordinary. Nothing could be allowed to go wrong.

Yu Xiaogang wasn't the only one watching Tang San. Tang Hao was watching from the shadows, too.

His son had gone to the Soul Hunting Forest to find a Soul Ring, and the teacher he'd chosen was a useless Soul Grandmaster who couldn't be relied on. How could Tang Hao not worry?

As it turned out, Yu Xiaogang really was useless—completely unreliable.

Fortunately, Tang San had managed to resolve the crisis himself, and everything had ended without disaster.

"Hmm?"

Tang Hao abruptly turned his head, his expression full of suspicion. For some reason, he sensed a powerful presence coming from the central area of the Soul Hunting Forest. It was the aura of a Soul Beast.

What? How could there be such a powerful Soul Beast in the Soul Hunting Forest? Tang Hao couldn't make sense of it. If he wasn't mistaken, the Soul Beast's aura seemed to be nearing the hundred-thousand-year mark.

But how could such a powerful Soul Beast have ended up in a place like the Soul Hunting Forest?

Tang Hao couldn't figure it out.

And he had no time to think about it.

This was bad. That Soul Beast was coming this way. Tang Hao's expression darkened. Could his earlier probing have alerted it?

No. He couldn't let it get any closer. Xiao San was still absorbing his Soul Ring; he absolutely couldn't be disturbed.

With that thought, Tang Hao hurried toward the direction he'd sensed, intending to intercept the unwelcome guest.

Only Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and the dead Big Snake remained at the scene.

Tang San's condition had stabilized. What delighted him was that, while he was fusing with the Soul Ring, the Mysterious Heaven Skill—which had been stuck for a long time—had finally broken through.

In an instant, Tang San felt as if he'd risen into the clouds, floating in bliss, as though he'd reached the very peak of ecstasy.

By contrast, Yu Xiaogang was in a bad way.

Yu Xiaogang rolled up the sleeve on his right arm. It had swollen to more than three times its normal size, and the stretched skin had turned a bright purple.

This was because Luo Sanpao had been bitten by the Mandala Snake earlier.

A Beast Martial Soul was one with its host. If Luo Sanpao was bitten, it was the same as Yu Xiaogang being bitten.

The Mandala Snake was highly venomous, and now its poison had taken effect in Yu Xiaogang's body.

He took a strip of cloth and tied it around his upper arm, near the shoulder, then pulled it tight to stop the venom from spreading through his bloodstream to the rest of his body.

But he seemed to have noticed too late. Streaks of black Qi crawled across his face. His body grew weaker and weaker, his consciousness began to fade, and his eyelids grew heavier.

Before long, Yu Xiaogang could hold on no longer. He collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Just then, several figures approached from nearby at an unhurried pace: three people and a cat. They were Lin Ye, Xiao Wu, Ice Empress, and Lin Qiu'er.

Snow Empress wasn't with them because she'd gone to lure Tang Hao away.

Lin Ye didn't want Tang Hao to discover that he was behind this. It wasn't because he was afraid; he was worried Tang Hao would take Tang San and run off, leaving them to hide from place to place. That would be a real nuisance.

Besides, wasn't it nice to leave the father and son confused and living in constant terror? Heh heh heh...

Lin Ye was holding a half-dead little snake. It was ten centimeters long, dark green all over, with a triangular head and dull, scarlet eyes.

A closer look revealed that it looked exactly like the Mandala Snake Tang San had killed—more precisely, like a miniature version of it.

That's right. It was a young Mandala Snake.

Before a Mandala Snake reached a thousand years of cultivation, its body grew one centimeter for every year it lived. This little snake was only ten centimeters long, which meant it was a Soul Beast with a mere ten years of cultivation.

By then, Tang San had already made it through the most difficult stage of absorbing his Soul Ring.

In fact, thanks to his breakthrough in the Mysterious Heaven Skill, his face even showed an expression of joy and pleasure.

Lin Ye didn't know any of that. All he could see of Tang San was his back.

Lin Ye wasn't one for words. He went straight over and kicked Tang San in the back.

The kick was powerful. Tang San's body pitched forward with the force of it, and he slammed face-first into the ground, eating dirt.

And that wasn't all. The sudden attack interrupted his Soul Ring absorption. The Soul Ring's energy rampaged through his body, severely damaging Tang San's meridians.