Three Months Later, Life Scepter

After a few more breaths, the cracks merged into one, and wood shavings began to fall.

Wang Xian finally released the Blue Silver Grass and withdrew his palm.

He leaned in to look; a deep, circular indentation was left on the pillar, sunken a full meter and a half deep, with edges so neat they looked as if they had been carved with a knife.

Wang Xian reached out to touch the indentation, his fingertips feeling that the surface of the tree trunk had been compressed into a dense, hardened state, with fine powder appearing in some places.

He tested the Toughness of the Blue Silver Grass again, pulling a blade of grass from his palm and tugging it hard in both directions.

The blade pulled taut, emitting a low, humming sound like a plucked harp string.

He felt a distinct resistance in his hands; the grass was fighting back, retracting, with a continuous, persistent force as if it were locked in a tug-of-war with him.

He pulled for a full ten seconds until his hands grew sore, yet the grass showed no sign of breaking, having only stretched slightly longer.

Wang Xian let go, and the blade snapped back with a "whoosh," returning to its original state without even a crease.

Such resilience brought an irrepressible smile to Wang Xian's face.

He tried whipping the Blue Silver Grass against the ground a few times; the blade struck the earth with a crisp "pop," sounding just like a lash.

Each strike kicked up a small cloud of dust, leaving shallow marks etched into the soil.

Afterward, he picked up the blade to inspect it; it was completely undamaged, without even a single nick.

"As expected, none of these traits are simple. The improvement after adding the Toughness trait is truly immense."

Wang Xian retracted the Blue Silver Grass into his body with satisfaction, calculating in his mind.

Now, his Blue Silver Grass possessed three traits: Sharpness, Toughness, and Deep Tilling.

Sharpness handled cutting, Toughness provided durability, and Deep Tilling ensured sustained output.

With the three traits working in tandem, the longer he entangled an enemy, the tighter it would constrict and the deeper it would cut, increasing the damage dealt.

Furthermore, the Blue Silver Grass itself possessed the recovery and growth capabilities inherent to the life attribute; even if broken, it could grow back, so there was no need to worry about endurance.

"Under these circumstances, my combat power can be considered quite respectable."

"Perhaps I might even have a fighting chance against Tang San. When I was one year old, Tang Hao and Qian Xunji fought their great battle; Tang San had just been born then."

"That makes me one year older than Tang San." A gleam flashed in Wang Xian's eyes.

This was undoubtedly the best-case scenario for him, as he had enough time to develop and bridge the gap in Innate Soul Power between himself and Tang San.

Moreover, he could continue to improve his strength, so that when Tang San eventually arrived at Notting Academy, he would be ready to capture his martial soul.

Three months passed quickly, and the time finally arrived to head to Notting Academy for his studies.

Before dawn had even broken, Old John was already up and bustling about.

He pulled the ox cart out from the shed, carefully inspected the wheels, and fed the ox some fodder before heading inside to call Wang Xian.

"Little Xian, time to get up. We have a journey to make today."

Wang Xian had long been awake; hearing the call, he scrambled out of bed, dressed in a few quick motions, and grabbed his small bundle.

There wasn't much in the bundle: a few changes of clothes, a pair of newly made cloth shoes, and a few steamed buns and a small bag of dry rations that Old John had tucked inside.

Of course, there was also a small pouch of Soul Silver Coins.

Seeing him come out, Old John looked him over, reached out to straighten his collar, and took the bundle to weigh it in his hand before turning toward the courtyard.

"Did you bring everything? Don't leave anything behind."

"I brought it all, Grandpa."

Old John nodded, placed the bundle onto the ox cart, and went back inside to retrieve a waterskin, placing it alongside the rest.

The ox cart wasn't large, but it was lined with hay, making the ride reasonably comfortable.

Seated on the cart, Old John flicked the reins, gently urging the ox forward, and the cart began to roll slowly toward Notting City.

Wang Xian sat on the hay, feeling a great sense of anticipation, for he would finally be able to obtain a Meditation Method.

During his time in Emperor Soul Village, he had actually been trying to cultivate, but the results were far from satisfactory.

He could perceive the Heaven and Earth Vitality through his martial soul, but the process of converting it into soul power was fraught with stumbling blocks, resulting in significant waste.

In the end, the effort far outweighed the results.

Wang Xian felt quite helpless about this, but there was nothing he could do.

Lacking a Tang Sect Technique like Tang San's, he had no choice but to wait until he reached Notting Academy to learn a Meditation Method.

Additionally, over this long period, he had found other villagers to challenge, capturing several martial souls for training.

He discovered that his training speed had increased; his standard training speed was now nearly comparable to his previous limit-breaking training.

This situation filled him with joy, as it meant he could acquire Cultivation Points more rapidly.

It was a pity that the traits he obtained were not always ideal, but being able to gain Cultivation Points was still a great boon.

Furthermore, the Weapon Form had already completed its cultivation.

The Weapon Form was not, as Wang Xian had previously guessed, similar to Tang San's Blue Silver Overlord Spear soul skill.

However, this was indeed a weapon, a weapon transformed from his martial soul.

After unlocking this Weapon Form, it was equivalent to him being able to transform his plant-type martial soul into a tool-type martial soul.

However, it could not have spirit rings attached, and the spirit skills would not change in any way either.

The good news was that this Weapon Form came with its own skill and could continuously grow stronger through subsequent cultivation.

Form Cultivation: Weapon Form, Life Scepter (E-rank). Skill: Life Severing. Next cultivation requires 1000 Cultivation Points.

Next form, Armor Form (unlocked), unlock condition: martial soul quality reaches C-rank.

Sitting on the hay, Wang Xian swayed unsteadily but never fell over; in the blink of an eye, two hours had already passed.

A city appeared in the distance ahead, and Old John immediately pointed toward the city and said, "Little Xian, that is Notting City up ahead."

Wang Xian turned his head to look, and the city walls of Notting City came into view.

The walls looked somewhat ancient and dilapidated, and the height was not particularly impressive, as it was only a small city after all.

The ox cart drove to the city gate and then came to a stop.

Old John found an acquaintance, parked the ox cart, and then returned to Wang Xian's side.

"Let's go, Grandpa will take you to register."

As the village chief of Emperor Soul Village, Old John had brought other children to study at Notting Academy before, so he naturally knew where the academy was located.

Half an hour later, they arrived at the entrance of Notting Academy.

"Little Xian, take out your martial soul certificate," Old John said familiarly in advance.

Wang Xian nodded and took out the martial soul certificate.

Old John handed the martial soul certificate to the guard, who verified it back and forth before nodding.

"Alright, this child can go in," the guard said while handing the martial soul certificate back to Wang Xian.

Old John quickly said, "Thank you, thank you."

Afterward, he crouched down in front of Wang Xian and instructed, "Little Xian, you must study hard after entering the academy."

"Grandpa, I will. Once I become a spirit master, I will return to repay you," Wang Xian said with a serious little face.

Old John revealed a gratified smile and stroked his hair, "Alright, go on in."