Holy Soul Village.
"I'd been in this world for nearly half a month now. As a baby, I couldn't do anything. I really wanted to grow up." Tang San lay in his swaddling clothes, thinking hazily.
He was deeply grateful to his father, Tang Hao. He had never experienced the feeling of having family in his previous life. This time, even if Tang Hao did not know how to care for him, he had no complaints.
Inside Nan Xuan's home.
"Half a year, and I went from Level 72 to Level 80. It seemed there really was strength in numbers." Nan Xuan cultivated through the Soul Power paid by current netizens, along with a faint thread of faith power. The feeling was practically like taking off, yet his Soul Power Level showed no signs of instability at all.
"It's time to prepare to obtain my eighth soul ring." Nan Xuan stood and walked outside.
Lying in his reclining chair, he habitually pulled out a black Network Card and entered the Network World.
As for why he used a black Network Card to enter, it was naturally to mislead Tang Hao.
"Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul? Yu Xiaogang?" The moment Nan Xuan entered the Network World, he discovered something remarkable. It had even been published today.
"I really didn't expect this. You still managed to get it. I originally thought that, at this point in the timeline, there would hardly be any major developments involving Yu Xiaogang. This was rather unexpected." Nan Xuan shook his head and smiled. He could only say that the world's consciousness would not allow this story to stray too far from its original course.
After learning about the Grandmaster's situation, Nan Xuan had no intention of stopping him. In any case, he had already restricted the man's visibility in the Network World, so almost no one would see it. In the real world, if Yu Xiaogang had the ability to be this Grandmaster, then he could go ahead. That would make the story more interesting.
After casually handling Yu Xiaogang's matter, nothing else noteworthy happened, so Nan Xuan exited the Network World.
He stood up, packed a few things, slung a small bundle over his back, and headed out of the village.
"Hey, Nan Xuan, where are you planning to go?" Tang Hao happened to meet Nan Xuan halfway after delivering some ironware and asked with a smile.
"Me? I'm going out for a few days. Living alone is too boring, and too difficult. I'll see if I can bring back a mistress of the house this time." Nan Xuan sighed with the distinctive tone of a lonely bachelor.
"Sounds good. You're not young anymore. It's time to get married." Tang Hao exchanged a few polite words with Nan Xuan before striding away.
Watching Tang Hao leave in such a hurry, Nan Xuan sneered.
"That brat actually poked at my wound. But I can't blame him. He doesn't know my situation. Ah Yin, I miss you." As Tang Hao walked home, he thought of his wife and felt deeply miserable. He decided that he would go back to that little mountain cave later to see his wife again.
Tang San: "Abba abba."
After leaving the village, Nan Xuan rented a carriage in a nearby small city.
On the way to the city near the Star Dou Great Forest, Nan Xuan noticed that the carriage driver frequently used his Network Card to speak with his wife. Curious, Nan Xuan asked about it.
"Brother, are you talking with your wife?" Nan Xuan asked with a smile.
The carriage driver was initially somewhat wary upon hearing Nan Xuan's question, but Nan Xuan's smile looked so innocent that he began chatting.
"Yeah, she's about to give birth. Once I finish this job with you, I'm going back to be with her. She's worried and keeps asking about me, and I'm worried about her too, so we use this to keep in touch often." The carriage driver held the Network Card in his hand and spoke happily.
"Then congratulations in advance, Brother. I think the God of the Network truly is a god. He can even make something like this happen. It's made things much more convenient for us." Nan Xuan first congratulated him, then steered the topic toward the God of the Network.
He wanted to hear how these people evaluated him in the real world.
"Isn't that the truth? He's much better than those great sects and nobles. At least when it comes to some things, he considers us more." While discussing this, the carriage driver first glanced at Nan Xuan's clothing from the corner of his eye. Only after confirming that Nan Xuan was not from a sect or noble family did he dare say it.
"And he made this Network Library. Some high-end books cost money, sure, but basic educational knowledge is all free. No one knows how great a blessing that has been for common folk like us."
"..."
The carriage driver kept praising the appearance of the God of the Network as a blessing for ordinary people like them.
Nan Xuan was actually curious too. In this world, only Soul Masters could attend school, and it seemed that only those who awakened Soul Power could study. Did that mean ordinary people who failed to awaken Soul Power would remain illiterate for their entire lives, relying only on oral teachings passed down by their elders?
The two praised the God of the Network all the way until Nan Xuan reached his destination. Nan Xuan even gave the driver a few extra Network Gold Coins.
Nan Xuan had not informed Bibi Dong about his hunt for his eighth soul ring this time. He knew she had many matters to handle, so he did not disturb her. In any case, he could manage it himself. Two months ago, he had told her the exact location of the hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor. During that time, Chrysanthemum Douluo had performed well, so Nan Xuan had Bibi Dong send someone to retrieve the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and give it to him.
When Chrysanthemum Douluo saw the Immortal Herb that matched his Martial Soul, he was ecstatic.
Nan Xuan's target this time was an eighty-thousand-year Green Willow Heart Wood. Before it reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation, this soul beast could not move, but its willow branches possessed considerable offensive power.
Nan Xuan activated all his soul skills and sneaked through the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest. Two days later, he finally found his target.
A massive willow tree that blotted out the sky grew beside a lake. Its trunk, roughly fifteen meters in circumference, sprawled across the ground, while its eighty-meter main trunk spread into countless drooping willow branches that hung into the lake.
"It really is spectacular." Nan Xuan could not help but sigh as he looked at the enormous creature before him.
Nan Xuan activated his domain skill. He would not refrain from hunting it just because it looked beautiful.
Hiding his tracks, he slowly moved toward the tree's core.
Just as Nan Xuan approached, roots beneath the ground attacked him.
"Damn it, can't my domain skill cover underground? Or is my domain skill ineffective against it?" Nan Xuan desperately dodged the roots' attacks. Then, realizing that speed was not his strong point, he activated his Digitization.
The eighty-thousand-year Green Willow Heart Wood watched as its roots passed directly through Nan Xuan's body, yet he suffered no harm whatsoever.
The Green Willow Heart Wood raised one of its willow roots in a very human-like manner and looked at it. Then it unleashed countless drooping willow branches, forming innumerable swords and spears that stabbed toward him.
Eighty-thousand-year Green Willow Heart Wood: "I report him for cheating."
When the Green Willow Heart Wood realized its attacks could not hurt him at all, it formed a cage from its willow branches and trapped Nan Xuan inside.
Seeing that it had finally trapped Nan Xuan, the Green Willow Heart Wood felt somewhat relieved and regained some confidence in its own strength.
Looking at the emerald-green cage, Nan Xuan took out his Soul Tool dagger and struck it several times, but failed to leave even the slightest mark.
"It's quite sturdy. And this soul beast is rather intelligent too." Remembering the human-like behavior the Green Willow Heart Wood had displayed earlier, Nan Xuan stroked his chin in thought.
Unable to reach any conclusion, Nan Xuan opened the Network Library and searched.
"Green Willow Heart Wood: Each growth ring represents ten thousand years of cultivation. Its willow heart possesses the effects of connecting the mind, awakening intelligence, and Heart Separation Control. Ten thousand years is equivalent to the intelligence of a two-year-old human. Its roots are buried deep underground and can sense the movement paths of living creatures. Its willow branches are as sharp as swords. It remains by an unnamed lake deep within the Star Dou Great Forest year-round."
"It is said to dislike conflict and keep to itself. It cannot move before reaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation, thus it lives alone in seclusion. Its growth requirements are extremely demanding, so high-year specimens are exceedingly rare."
Nan Xuan was somewhat surprised as he read the Green Willow Heart Wood's introduction. He had only known that this thing suited his soul ring selection and that it could not move, making it easy to attack from a distance. He had not looked into it further. He had not expected it to be this intelligent.
After pondering for a moment, Nan Xuan decided to talk with this soul beast that possessed the intelligence of a sixteen-year-old and see whether he could fool—cough—persuade her into sacrificing herself.
As soon as he decided, he acted. Nan Xuan used Digitization to pass through the cage formed from the Green Willow Heart Wood's branches and walked straight up to the tree without obstruction.
The Green Willow Heart Wood was also rather helpless as she watched Nan Xuan walk right up to her. Why was this human being so shameless?
"Green Willow Heart Wood, hello. I'm a Level 80 Support-type Soul Master, and I'd like to discuss a few matters with you." Nan Xuan looked up toward the center of the willow tree.
The Green Willow Heart Wood unhappily shook her branches, indicating that she did not want to talk.
Nan Xuan was somewhat helpless at her reaction. He directly released a stream of mental power and forcibly dragged the Green Willow Heart Wood's consciousness into the Network World.
"Ah, no! No! Don't touch me!" The Green Willow Heart Wood appeared in Nan Xuan's personal room and screamed.
Nan Xuan's face darkened as he looked at the green-haired girl with the intelligence of a sixteen-year-old and called out.
"Hey, can you quiet down?"
The Green Willow Heart Wood, with her oval face, slowly opened her eyes and asked timidly, "Where is this?"
"A world I created," Nan Xuan said with a smile.
"Nonsense. How could you possibly create a world? No one in this world can create a world." The Green Willow Heart Wood looked at Nan Xuan with complete disbelief.
Nan Xuan did not care that she did not believe him. Smiling, he said, "Look at where you are now, and look at your current state."
The Green Willow Heart Wood instinctively lowered her head and looked. She had feet, and a human body.
"People say the Green Willow Heart Wood is highly intelligent, but you don't seem all that impressive to me." Nan Xuan lowered his gaze and smiled at the girl before him.
"That's not true. It's because I've had too little contact with humans and have no school or knowledge, so I don't understand these things," the Green Willow Heart Wood argued desperately.
"Enough of that. Let's discuss something serious." Nan Xuan did not intend to waste more time and spoke directly.
"You know your current situation. I could take you as my soul ring at any time, yet I haven't."
"As a soul beast with the intelligence of a sixteen-year-old human, you must want a pair of legs that can move. But to achieve that, you still need to wait until you have a hundred thousand years of cultivation."
"You might even want to take human form, enter the human world to learn, and experience human life, right?"
"No! None of what you said is true. If you want to kill me, then kill me. Why are you talking so much nonsense?" The Green Willow Heart Wood rejected Nan Xuan's words, speaking with some anger.
Nan Xuan smiled calmly and said slowly, "What if I said I could allow you to reach a hundred thousand years in a short period of time?"
"What if I guaranteed that you could live freely in the human world?"
"What would you choose?"
The two hypotheticals entered the Green Willow Heart Wood's ears, and she said angrily, "How could that be possible? You captured me but won't kill me just so you can fool me? Aren't you ashamed?"
"A choice? If it were true, of course I'd choose to become a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, then take human form and wander around."
"But can you stop being so ridiculous, human? You're a human, not a god."
Nan Xuan was not angered by the Green Willow Heart Wood's words. He smiled and said, "It's enough that you have a choice."
Then Nan Xuan brought the Green Willow Heart Wood back to the real world. A dark-blue stream of Soul Power appeared in his hand and poured directly into her body.
The Green Willow Heart Wood felt the Soul Power Nan Xuan sent over. She cautiously absorbed a little and discovered that her cultivation limit had loosened slightly. She then absorbed it all. Although she had only advanced by a few years, it truly confirmed what Nan Xuan had just said.
After seeing the Green Willow Heart Wood finish absorbing it, Nan Xuan pulled her back into the Network World.
"You really can rapidly increase my cultivation?" the Green Willow Heart Wood asked in disbelief.
"Didn't you just experience it? What you soul beasts call a hundred thousand years should be cultivation, not an actual hundred thousand years. As long as enough Soul Power is poured into you, you can also rapidly break through to the hundred-thousand-year level," Nan Xuan said calmly.
Before you continue