"Gangzi, oh, Gangzi..." Chen Yumo smiled as he fiddled with his fingers, letting the Frost Illusion Butterfly Martial Soul flutter up and down between them.
"Now that I've taken the first step toward becoming the strongest, and even received a Grade A Mid-level certification in Brother System's Martial Soul potential assessment, you—the one who declared I could never become a Spirit Master—can only hide like a sewer rat, too scared even to leave your room..."
He still could not forget Yu Xiaogang's mockery that afternoon, in front of everyone.
To Chen Yumo, using Hook Literature to disgust Yu Xiaogang was merely a way to vent his anger.
If he truly wanted revenge, he had to become an absolute powerhouse. Only by crushing Yu Xiaogang like an ant with invincible strength could he completely settle this grudge.
Yu Xiaogang had declared him nothing more than a useless bug, so he would stand at the pinnacle, slap him hard across the face, and let him see who the real bug was!
After absorbing his first Spirit Ring, Chen Yumo did not remain in Holy Soul Village for long. After informing Old Jack, he returned to Nuoding Academy.
After all, he had left Nuoding Academy without asking for leave. A brief absence was fine and would not draw attention, but if he stayed away too long, someone would eventually notice that he was missing, no matter how little presence he had at the academy.
His first evolution had given him the potential to shed the label of trash, but it had not yet given him the strength to fear nothing.
What Chen Yumo needed to do was continue living peacefully at Nuoding Academy, slowly accumulating strength until he passed through this most vulnerable period.
"I'm in Nuoding, leveling up alone!"
Chen Yumo had only been away from the academy for two days. When he rejoined the group, no one noticed that he had silently vanished for a day and a night.
That was the benefit of lowering his own presence.
Other than occasionally showing his face around Xiao Lao Da to see whether the boss might assign him some hidden storyline, Chen Yumo rarely interacted much with anyone else.
Unfortunately, the hidden storyline he had been anticipating never appeared. Even the boss could only be squeezed dry for so long.
No one knew that Chen Yumo had quietly become a one-ring Spirit Master, and that his Martial Soul had completed a perfect evolution with the support of theory.
If his theories and practical process were compiled into a book and spread throughout the world, he would surely be praised as a true theoretical scholar and Martial Soul master, rather than a self-proclaimed master like Gangzi who relied on plagiarism.
Chen Yumo, who believed in keeping a low profile, would not push himself into the spotlight at a time like this.
After his Martial Soul evolved, Chen Yumo's life changed somewhat.
He had finished the Cold Mulberry Leaves he had bought earlier. For the time being, he did not purchase more. Instead, he needed to plan the direction of his next evolution, study the relevant knowledge, and buy the corresponding medicinal herbs.
As early as the great Louse Swarm battle two and a half years ago, Chen Yumo had already planned the direction of his second Martial Soul evolution.
As the owner of an External Beast Martial Soul, his own body was too weak, while a butterfly's defense was simply pathetic. Otherwise, that Ice Mist Cold Butterfly would not have been shot down by Chen Yumo's two arrows.
His second evolution had to strengthen his defensive capabilities so that he could better preserve his life.
"The second evolution... then it's decided. The Nine Transformations of the Divine Silkworm's second transformation—the Black Turtle-Snake Transformation!"
Black Turtle-Snakes existed on Douluo Continent as well. Xu Sanshi from the Peerless Tang Sect was a typical example of the Mysterious Underworld Shield evolving into a Black Turtle-Snake. The one who had helped him complete that evolution had been a hundred-thousand-year Golden Hawksbill Turtle.
If Chen Yumo wanted to fix his second transformation as the Black Turtle-Snake Transformation, he had to obtain a Golden Hawksbill Turtle Spirit Ring.
And as far as he knew, Golden Hawksbill Turtles only existed in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Not only were Golden Hawksbill Turtles rare, but medicinal herbs capable of giving an Ice Silkworm the origin of both water and earth attributes were also difficult to find. This evolution might not go as smoothly as the first one.
The Metamorphosis from a silkworm into a Black Turtle-Snake spanned far too great a distance.
By Chen Yumo's estimate, he would most likely only gain a portion of the Black Turtle-Snake bloodline at first. The second transformation would probably grant abilities somewhere between a Golden Transformation and a Hawksbill Turtle Transformation.
But that was fine. As long as the evolution succeeded, he could gradually make up for the bloodline's Metamorphosis.
The Bloodline Secret Technique was a cultivation method for developing bloodline abilities, and it naturally included methods for purifying one's bloodline. Therefore, strengthening his bloodline was not something he needed to worry about yet.
Medicinal herbs with both water and earth attributes...
There really were not many of those...
In the days that followed, Chen Yumo studied the knowledge within the Encyclopedia Advanced Edition during the day. Whenever he grew tired of studying, he practiced the Bloodline Secret Technique and developed the Frost Illusion Butterfly's abilities. At night, after cultivating for four hours, he lay down punctually at eleven-thirty, slept soundly for eight hours like a baby, opened his eyes punctually at seven-thirty the next morning, and repeated the previous day's training schedule.
Even his physical examination report said that he was in excellent health.
One day, Chen Yumo suddenly discovered that Gangzi had appeared on Nuoding Academy's campus again after more than a year. He was even strutting about openly, having completely shed his previous dejected appearance.
Chen Yumo: What did this mean?
Had the gloomy little rat finally crawled out of the sewer?
Then he saw Tang San, smiling broadly, leave together with Gangzi and Nuoding Academy's dean.
Ah, so Tang San had broken through level twenty and could obtain his second Spirit Ring to become a Soul Grandmaster. No wonder Gangzi was so happy.
Tang San was about the same age as Chen Yumo. Both were still several months away from turning nine. Breaking through now meant becoming a Soul Grandmaster before the age of nine. That cultivation speed was already incredibly fast.
Gangzi was finally basking in the sunlight again, his back straight and his head held high.
He had taught a genius!
Although he himself was still only a Soul Grandmaster in his forties or fifties, his disciple had already become a Soul Grandmaster before turning nine. Tang San would surely become Titled Douluo in the future, and Gangzi would become the teacher of a Titled Douluo.
Who would dare laugh at him now? Who would dare gossip about him behind his back now!
As Chen Yumo watched Gangzi, Tang San, and the dean of Nuoding Academy leave the academy together, a strange gleam flickered in his eyes.
He had perked up again?
That would not do!
Wherever I, Chen Yumo, am, Gangzi, you only deserve to kneel and sing of your defeat!
Ding~
"I suddenly thought of a really cool execution method!" Chen Yumo raised his right hand and extended his index finger. A lightbulb also lit up beside his head.
However, Chen Yumo's proficiency with the Bloodline Secret Technique was not yet sufficient to complete that execution method. He still had to keep practicing. Once he could achieve the ability he had envisioned, Gangzi's execution could begin in spectacular fashion.
The advanced edition of the Encyclopedia was rather thick, and he could not finish reading it anytime soon. Nor could he find suitable medicinal herbs with both water and earth attributes.
To execute Gangzi sooner, Chen Yumo decided to stop spending most of his time reading. He would use that freed-up time to cultivate the Bloodline Secret Art and develop Self-Created Soul Skills.
The Frost Illusion Butterfly was not defined only by the word frost. It also carried the unpredictable and uncanny quality of illusion.
That meant that beyond ice-attribute abilities, Chen Yumo could also develop skills on the spiritual level.
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