Digging a Pit for Yu Xiaogang

At this moment, Fu Shiyan swept his calm gaze over Long Gong and She Po's still-shaken faces and slowly spoke in a cool voice:

"I think you have misunderstood something."

He paused, deliberately drawing out his tone.

"I have no relationship with this boy."

As soon as he said this, Long Gong and She Po were stunned for a moment, then inexplicably felt a wave of relief—thank goodness!

Thank goodness this fiend had not been Tang San's friend or relative. Otherwise, today's matter would have been impossible to settle peacefully!

However, Fu Shiyan's tone shifted at once, carrying an unquestionable authority:

"However!" His gaze turned to Tang San, who looked disheveled but was stubbornly holding himself upright. "I am rather interested in his Martial Soul."

He looked back at Long Gong and She Po, his tone carrying a faint note of reprimand:

"I had no intention of meddling in your grievances.

But to strike with lethal intent against a twelve-year-old boy of remarkable potential over nothing more than the ownership of a Soul Beast... that is not the conduct of the strong."

Long Gong and She Po instantly broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly bowed.

"Your instruction is correct, Senior! We were rash! Thank you for your great magnanimity, Senior!"

At that moment, they wanted nothing more than to leave this troublesome place as quickly as possible.

Fu Shiyan seemed to have no intention of tangling with them further and casually waved a hand.

As if granted a pardon, Long Gong and She Po did not dare say another word. They hurriedly cupped their hands in salute, then fled toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest without looking back, taking Meng Yiran—whose face was still filled with lingering fear—with them at nearly the speed of their movement techniques.

After such a scare, how could they still have any interest in hunting Soul Beasts? The forest now seemed fraught with danger, and they only wanted to leave as soon as possible.

As for Meng Yiran's third Spirit Ring, they could only make other plans later.

Only after Long Gong and She Po vanished into the depths of the forest did Fu Shiyan slowly turn around. His gaze fell upon Tang San, and a faint, ambiguous smile curved his lips.

"Had your fill of watching, kid?"

Tang San shuddered and snapped out of his immense shock and tangled thoughts.

Enduring the severe pain in his body and the weakness from exhausting his Soul Power, he struggled to stand straight. Then he gave Fu Shiyan a deep bow, his tone utterly sincere.

"Thank you for saving my life, Senior! Tang San will remember this kindness for the rest of my life! Should Senior ever require my service, this junior will not refuse!"

Fu Shiyan merely chuckled, sounding somewhat dismissive.

"What could I possibly need a level-thirty kid like you for?"

His tone shifted, and his gaze settled on Tang San's right hand. "However... if I am not mistaken, your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, correct?"

"In reply to Senior, this junior's Martial Soul is indeed Blue Silver Grass."

Tang San did not dare delay. With a thought, blue light flickered from his right hand, and the Blue Silver Grass that had become distinctly different after absorbing the Spirit Rings of the Datura Snake and Ghost Vine quietly emerged.

The Blue Silver Grass now had tiny barbs along the edges of its leaves and gave off a dim blue sheen. Its blades were broader and tougher, while a poisonous glimmer faintly flowed through its veins. Its overall form now resembled an aggressive vine, utterly unlike ordinary weak and delicate Blue Silver Grass.

Fu Shiyan carefully examined the Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's hand. A trace of inquiry first appeared in his eyes, but it soon turned into a soft sigh as he shook his head.

Tang San's heart skipped a beat, and he could not help asking:

"Senior, is there... something wrong with my Martial Soul?"

Fu Shiyan did not conceal it and stated it directly:

"If I am not mistaken, your Martial Soul has gained a poison attribute. You have even absorbed Spirit Rings from animal-type Soul Beasts, haven't you?"

Tang San was startled. The other party had seen through the origins and characteristics of his Spirit Rings at a glance!

But on second thought, considering the strength this man had displayed and his understanding of Blue Silver Grass, it was hardly strange that he could tell.

After organizing his thoughts, he answered respectfully:

"In reply to Senior, you are correct. This junior's first Spirit Ring came from a Datura Snake over four hundred and twenty years old, while my second came from a Ghost Vine over six hundred years old."

Upon hearing this answer, the disappointment in Fu Shiyan's eyes became even more apparent, even faintly revealing a trace of... anger?

"If I am not mistaken,"

Fu Shiyan's voice turned colder, carrying certainty. "Your teacher is Yu Xiaogang, isn't he?"

"How did Senior know?!"

Tang San was suddenly alarmed, his heart instantly filled with vigilance and confusion.

Not only did the other party know his teacher's name, but he also knew of his master-disciple relationship with him?

This was far too much of a coincidence! Ever cautious by nature, Tang San could not help speculating about the man's intentions and background.

Fu Shiyan keenly caught the change in Tang San's emotions. His expression remained unchanged as he slowly explained the "reason":

"If I am not mistaken, you enrolled at Nuoding Academy six years ago, correct?"

Tang San was stunned again. "Could it be that Senior... knew me before?"

Only then did Fu Shiyan seem to sink into some distant memory as he began recounting the matter.

"Six years ago, while traveling through Nuoding City, I heard that Nuoding Academy had produced a Blue Silver Grass Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. I was quite curious and wanted to meet him."

His tone was calm, as if he were simply recounting an old matter.

"But when I arrived at the academy and stated that I wished to meet you, Yu Xiaogang stopped me."

A trace of faint mockery appeared at the corner of Fu Shiyan's lips. "At first, I did not take much notice of this Soul Grandmaster whose Soul Power had been forever stuck at level twenty-nine.

However, he produced a token marking him as an honorary elder of Spirit Hall. Out of regard for that status, I restrained my temper and spoke with him for a few moments."

"When he learned that my Martial Soul was also of the Blue Silver Grass lineage and that I had already reached the peak of Soul Emperor at the time, he seemed quite shocked."

Fu Shiyan's gaze deepened. "At the time... perhaps he thought I was also a Twin Martial Souls wielder.

He asked why I had come, and I did not hide it. I told him directly that I was interested in that Blue Silver Grass Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power. Perhaps we could exchange pointers, and if his character proved acceptable, I intended to take him as my disciple."

At this point, Fu Shiyan's tone abruptly turned cold, carrying a barely suppressed fury:

"But after I made my intentions clear, Yu Xiaogang's reaction was extreme!

His expression changed drastically, and he immediately refused in righteous indignation, declaring:

'The child you speak of has already become my disciple. I have my own plans for his path of cultivation, and outsiders need not concern themselves with it!'"

Fu Shiyan stared at Tang San and asked, word by word:

"Did he also tell you back then... that Blue Silver Grass should develop toward poison and the control system?

That a plant-type Martial Soul absorbing animal-type Spirit Rings was a manifestation of some kind of 'wisdom'?"

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted, and enormous waves surged through his heart!

The details Fu Shiyan described were virtually identical to the theories Yu Xiaogang had used to persuade him back then! This Senior had actually gone looking for him six years ago?

And... his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, had forcibly stopped him?

An indescribable sense of absurdity and faint unease began spreading through Tang San's heart.

He looked at this overwhelmingly powerful Senior whose Martial Soul shared the same origin as his, then thought of his teacher's theories, which seemed profound but repeatedly faltered in actual combat, as well as his teacher's determined efforts to prevent him from communicating with outsiders...

For the first time, his complete and unquestioning trust in Yu Xiaogang wavered violently.

Fu Shiyan took in all the shock, confusion, and struggle on Tang San's face, knowing that the crack had already formed.

He sneered inwardly, but wore an expression of heartfelt anguish as he sighed:

"Alas... what a pity!

Such a fine sapling should have had a broader future, yet someone used narrow-minded theories to lead it onto a path that seemed like a shortcut... but in truth severed its real potential!"

Those words struck Tang San's heart like a heavy hammer.