Blue Silver Grass Wasn't Trash Grass

When Tang San returned to Notting Academy, Dorm Seven had already been buzzing all day.

Wang Sheng and the others had heard long ago that Tang San had gone Soul Hunting.

The moment they saw him return, they all crowded around him.

"Tang San, did you succeed?"

"What's your First Soul Ring?"

"Is your Soul Skill powerful?"

Xiao Wu sat on the edge of her bed. She didn't ask anything, but her eyes had already turned toward him.

Tang San nodded.

"I did."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand.

Pale blue Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his palm.

But it was completely different from the grass he'd awakened with.

Its leaves were thicker and more resilient, and faint purplish-black patterns marked their edges.

A Yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath his feet.

Dorm Seven fell instantly silent.

Then Wang Sheng cried out in surprise.

"That really is a Soul Ring!"

"Tang San, you're a One-Ring Soul Master now?"

Tang San nodded.

"Mm."

Xiao Wu jumped off the bed and walked up to him, studying the Blue Silver Grass for a long while.

"Is this your First Soul Skill?"

Tang San replied, "Entanglement."

Wang Sheng's eyes lit up.

"Want to try it out?"

Tang San glanced at him.

"Are you sure?"

Wang Sheng thumped his chest.

"I'm Dorm Seven's old—cough, I mean, I'm Dorm Seven's former leader."

Xiao Wu shot him a look.

Wang Sheng immediately changed his tune.

"Trying it won't hurt, right?"

Tang San didn't refuse outright.

He also wanted to see how his First Soul Skill would fare against Soul Masters his own age.

So he stepped back two paces.

"Then be careful."

"First Soul Skill, Entanglement."

Blue Silver Grass burst out of the ground.

Before Wang Sheng could react, his legs were already bound.

The next moment, the Blue Silver Grass wound its way up his legs and locked his arms as well.

Wang Sheng was startled and immediately strained to break free.

But the Blue Silver Grass was much more resilient than he'd expected.

The harder he struggled, the tighter it became.

Worst of all, the slight poison on its leaves made his arms go a little numb.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Wang Sheng shouted in a hurry.

Tang San immediately withdrew his Soul Skill.

Wang Sheng plopped down on the floor, his face full of shock.

"Is this really Blue Silver Grass?"

The other Work-Study Students were dumbfounded too.

They'd always known that Blue Silver Grass was a Trash Martial Soul.

But how could the Blue Silver Grass in front of them possibly be trash?

It could bind people.

It could restrain them.

It could even carry poison.

At least for Low-Rank Soul Masters like them, it was already quite difficult to deal with.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up a little, too.

"Not bad."

Tang San withdrew his Soul Ring, but showed no sign of pride.

"The Soul Skill works well, but its weaknesses are obvious too."

Xiao Wu asked, "What weaknesses?"

"Range," Tang San replied.

"If my opponent is very fast and closes in before the Blue Silver Grass has fully spread, I'll be at a disadvantage."

"And anyone with enough strength can break free, too."

Wang Sheng felt a little awkward at that.

He hadn't managed to break free just now.

Tang San added, "Of course, it should be enough against Soul Masters of the same rank."

Wang Sheng: "..."

He could've done without that last part.

Xiao Wu laughed.

"Then want to try it out against me?"

Tang San looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

Xiao Wu rolled her wrists.

"Of course."

Wang Sheng and the others immediately backed away.

They knew Xiao Wu's strength well.

She was the new leader of Dorm Seven, and she wasn't just called that for show.

Tang San didn't underestimate her either.

He knew that Xiao Wu was fast and nimble, and that the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul had plenty of explosive power.

She was just the person to test Blue Silver Grass's weakness.

"Let's begin."

As soon as he spoke, Xiao Wu charged forward.

She was far faster than Wang Sheng.

Tang San raised his hand and released the Blue Silver Grass, but Xiao Wu sprang lightly into the air, leaping over its range like a rabbit.

Tang San stepped back.

A second strand of Blue Silver Grass burst from the ground at her side.

Xiao Wu twisted her body and dodged it, reaching Tang San almost in the blink of an eye.

The Hidden Weapon in Tang San's sleeve shifted slightly.

But he didn't use it.

This was a spar.

Not a fight to the death.

The next moment, Xiao Wu's hand was on his shoulder.

"You lose."

Tang San nodded.

"Mm."

Xiao Wu tilted her head.

"Why didn't you use that strange footwork of yours?"

"I did," Tang San replied.

"But you were faster than I expected."

Xiao Wu smiled.

"Good. Now you know."

Tang San didn't feel embarrassed.

On the contrary, he understood his own problem more clearly.

After gaining his First Soul Ring, Blue Silver Grass's control had improved considerably.

But when he faced a Soul Master who was extremely fast, it was still easy for them to get close.

Xie Yue's words came back to him.

The first thing a control-type Soul Master had to do wasn't control their opponent.

It was control the distance.

Tang San lowered his eyes to the Blue Silver Grass in his palm.

Those words were right.

Spirit City.

Meow Meow watched the scene inside the Soul-Calming Bell and nodded with satisfaction.

"Xiao Wu really is pretty fast."

"And Tang San has noticed his own problem, too."

Bibi Dong sat to one side and said calmly, "He learns quickly."

"Mm."

Meow Meow swished his tail.

"That's how smart people are."

"Give him a little something, and he'll figure out the rest on his own."

Bibi Dong looked at the Blue Silver Grass in the scene.

"Yesterday, you said you wanted to grow grass."

"Not just any grass."

Meow Meow waved a paw.

A scroll of Blue Silver Grass Research Data appeared on the table.

"Blue Silver Grass is found all over the continent, and it's highly resilient."

"An individual plant isn't much use."

"But a whole field of Blue Silver Grass, all connected together, could be interesting."

Bibi Dong looked at him.

"You want to use Blue Silver Grass to send messages?"

"We could try it over short distances."

Meow Meow nodded.

"But not by controlling it through bloodline like Tang San does."

"What I want to do is use Blue Silver Grass's vitality to establish a low-level Soul Power sensing network."

"For example, we could plant a field of Blue Silver Grass outside the school."

"If a child's Soul Power runs wild while they're cultivating, the Blue Silver Grass will react."

"If there's a trace of Pollution nearby, the Blue Silver Grass will wither first, too."

"That way, it can serve as an early warning system."

Bibi Dong's eyes shifted slightly.

The idea wasn't far-fetched, but it was practical.

Especially if the Martial Soul Hall School was to be expanded on a large scale, keeping Low-Rank Soul Masters safe would be a major concern.

"Can it be done?"

"We'll have to try first," Meow Meow replied.

"Blue Silver Grass is so common that it's actually ideal for widespread use."

"We can't exactly put a group of Holy Fire Cats at every school."

"Cats get tired too."

Bibi Dong glanced at him.

"Are you sure cats aren't just slacking off?"

Meow Meow pretended not to hear.

He opened the Blue Silver Grass Research Data and quickly found the most basic cultivation method.

Ordinary Blue Silver Grass didn't need a special environment.

But if the soil was purified with Holy Fire and a small amount of Soul Power was used to guide it, the grass could be made more sensitive to fluctuations in Soul Power.

It wasn't powerful.

But it was enough.

The more Meow Meow read, the more promising it seemed.

"Notting City would be a good place to try it first."

"Because of Tang San?" Bibi Dong asked.

"And because there's someone there with Innate Full Soul Power and a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul," Meow Meow replied seriously.

"If the children in Notting City all learn that Blue Silver Grass isn't just useless grass, then more commoner children with Plant-type Martial Souls will have confidence in the future."

"Sometimes, a Martial Soul isn't weak."

"It's just that no one knows how to use it."

Bibi Dong nodded slightly.

That was an important point.

She picked up a dossier. "In the Spirit Hall's awakening records from previous years, a large proportion of those with Plant-type Martial Souls had low Soul Power."

"Many of them were judged to have no value for cultivation."

Meow Meow looked at her.

"Let's not write them off so quickly from now on."

"Change it to—under observation."

Bibi Dong's brows twitched.

"All of them?"

"At least for Plant-type Martial Souls," Meow Meow said.

"Some Martial Souls might seem weak at first, but they can still be useful if we find the right direction."

"For example, Blue Silver Grass can control things."

"Ordinary vines can restrain people."

"Herb-type Martial Souls can heal people or make medicine."

"And food-crop Martial Souls might even help with farming."

Bibi Dong looked a little strange when she heard the last example.

"Soul Masters farming?"

"What's wrong with that?" Meow Meow said matter-of-factly.

"A Soul Master who can double the yield of an acre of land is no less valuable than a Low-Rank Soul Master who can only fight."

Bibi Dong fell silent.

That didn't sound like conventional wisdom in the Soul Master World.

But when she thought about it, it made sense.

Most people on the Douluo Continent weren't Soul Masters.

They needed food, medicine, and a livelihood.

If Low-Rank Soul Masters could help with those things, the Spirit Hall would have a deeper influence on commoners.

Besides, those Soul Masters wouldn't have to fight.

They could find a place for themselves, too.

"You're thinking of establishing another new subject," Bibi Dong said.

Meow Meow's eyes lit up.

"Plant-Type Application Course?"

Bibi Dong held her forehead.

She'd known it.

Whenever this cat got to thinking, it came up with a whole new school.

"Write up a plan first."

"You write it."

"This cat will handle the ideas."

Bibi Dong looked at him.

Under her gaze, Meow Meow felt a little guilty and immediately lowered his head to lick his paw.

"How about having Yue Guan write it?"

Bibi Dong thought for a moment.

"That works."

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan already loved flowers, and he was deeply interested in Plant-type Martial Souls and medicinal herbs.

He was a good choice to write it.

Meow Meow was satisfied.

"That's called making the best use of everyone."

"Or letting the cat get away with being lazy," Bibi Dong added.

Meow Meow: "..."

Notting City.

Soon after Tang San obtained his First Soul Ring, the Spirit Hall School received the news.

Su Yuntao personally organized and filed the Soul Hunting records.

They read:

[Tang San, Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.]

[First Soul Ring: Datura Serpent.]

[First Soul Skill: Entanglement.]

[The Soul Hunting process followed the registered target. No record of indiscriminate killing.]

The Branch Hall Master finished reading and nodded.

"Well done."

"This child is very steady," Su Yuntao said.

The Branch Hall Master agreed.

"Send a copy of this record to Spirit City."

"Also, have the school prepare a Blue Silver Grass Experimental Plot."

Su Yuntao was taken aback.

"A Blue Silver Grass Experimental Plot?"

"It's a new order from above." The Branch Hall Master handed him the document.

"The Spirit Hall will be trialing a Plant-type Martial Soul application course in Notting City."

"Blue Silver Grass will be the first sample for basic instruction."

Su Yuntao stared at the document for a long while without speaking.

Blue Silver Grass.

A basic teaching sample.

In the past, he would have thought there was no point in it.

Blue Silver Grass grew everywhere.

What was there to teach?

But after seeing the record of Tang San's First Soul Skill, he no longer dared to think that way.

Maybe Blue Silver Grass really wasn't entirely useless.

At the very least, they shouldn't write it off without a second thought.

"I'll make the arrangements," Su Yuntao said.

The Branch Hall Master added a reminder.

"Don't make too much of a fuss."

"Just let the children know."

"Especially the children with Plant-type Martial Souls."

Su Yuntao nodded.

"Understood."

A few days later, a small patch of Blue Silver Grass appeared outside the Spirit Hall School in Notting City.

At first, the children all thought it was strange.

They could understand planting flowers and trees at a school.

But why plant Blue Silver Grass?

Yet after their first Plant-Type Application Course, many of them changed their minds.

Holding Meow Meow Chalk, Su Yuntao wrote on the wooden board:

Weak does not mean useless.

Then he had the children observe the Blue Silver Grass.

In the sunlight, the tiny blades swayed in the breeze.

They looked as ordinary as could be.

But when one of the children with a Plant-type Martial Soul released their Soul Power, the nearby Blue Silver Grass actually tilted gently toward them.

The children cried out in surprise.

"It's reacting!"

Su Yuntao nodded.

"Blue Silver Grass is weak, but it has a natural sensitivity to life force and Soul Power."

"If used well, it can serve as a tool for sensing."

"It can also help Low-Rank Plant-type Soul Masters understand the flow of Soul Power."

A child whose Martial Soul was Wild Grass asked quietly:

"Then is the Wild Grass Martial Soul useful too?"

Su Yuntao looked at him.

"Of course."

"It's useful as long as you find the right direction for it."

The child's eyes lit up at once.

Tang San was standing nearby, listening to the lesson as well.

He looked at the patch of Blue Silver Grass and felt something strange.

The grass seemed to be reacting to him.

More strongly than it reacted to the other children.

When he approached, the entire patch swayed gently.

Standing beside him, Xiao Wu said quietly, "They seem to like you a lot."

Tang San looked at her.

"You can feel it too?"

"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded.

"It's pretty obvious."

Tang San lowered his gaze to the Blue Silver Grass.

He suddenly felt that his Martial Soul might be even more special than he had imagined.

Grandmaster stood in the distance, watching with a grave expression.

The Blue Silver Grass was reacting strongly to Tang San.

That meant Tang San's Martial Soul was anything but ordinary.

But it was the Spirit Hall School that had demonstrated these phenomena first.

That familiar feeling rose in Grandmaster's heart again.

It was as if the Spirit Hall had put on the table, ahead of him, something he hadn't yet had the chance to say.

He didn't like that feeling.

But he had to admit that it had given Tang San more to think about.

"Blue Silver Grass..."

Grandmaster murmured under his breath.

"It looks like I'll have to study it again."

Xiao Wu glanced at Grandmaster.

She didn't know why, but she felt there was something strange about the way Grandmaster looked at Tang San.

As if he were looking at a person.

And as if he were looking at something that could prove a point.

She didn't like it.

So she moved a step closer to Tang San.

Tang San didn't notice.

He was still looking at the Blue Silver Grass.

A gentle breeze passed by.

A strand of Blue Silver Grass curled around his finger.

So lightly.

As if it were responding to something.

Spirit City.

Watching the scene inside the Soul-Calming Bell, Meow Meow nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad."

"The Blue Silver Grass angle is moving too."

Bibi Dong said, "Tang San will realize sooner that there's something unusual about his Martial Soul."

"Mm."

Meow Meow didn't deny it.

"But that's all right."

"Realizing it early doesn't mean he'll immediately awaken the Blue Silver Emperor."

"If anything, it'll make him ask more questions."

"The more questions he asks, the less likely he is to be led by a single theory."

Bibi Dong looked at him.

"You've been weakening Yu Xiaogang's influence over him all along."

Meow Meow's tail paused.

"Is it that obvious?"

Bibi Dong said nothing.

Meow Meow cleared his throat.

"It's not really weakening it."

"I'm just giving Tang San more choices."

"If Yu Xiaogang really has the ability, he can still teach Tang San well."

"If he's only relying on Tang San, this exceptional student, to prove himself, then he'll have a hard time."

Bibi Dong lowered her eyes.

"You're deeply prejudiced against him."

Meow Meow didn't look away.

"Mm."

Bibi Dong raised her eyes.

Meow Meow said earnestly, "But it's not because of you."

Bibi Dong's fingertips paused slightly.

Meow Meow continued, "At least, not entirely."

"I just think that someone who's always trying to prove himself can easily lose sight of other people."

"Tang San is a person, not a theoretical specimen."

"And you're a person too, not a shadow from his past that he can look back on with regret."

Silence fell over the hall.

Bibi Dong said nothing.

After a long while, she finally murmured, "You're getting more and more talkative, little cat."

Meow Meow blinked.

"Do you want to hear what I have to say?"

Bibi Dong looked at him.

"Yes."

Meow Meow's tail swayed gently.

"Then I'll tell you bit by bit."

He didn't press her any further.

Some things were best left there.

Any more, and it would hurt.

At that moment, the system chimed softly.

[Ding, Bibi Dong's old wound has been stirred, but not aggravated.]

[Ding, Host successfully reduced the emotional impact of Yu Xiaogang's past on Bibi Dong.]

[Meow Wish Value +80.]

Meow Meow didn't show it.

He simply rested his head gently beside Bibi Dong's hand.

Bibi Dong raised her hand and stroked his head.

Her touch was feather-light.

As if she were afraid of shattering this moment of peace.

Outside the window, the night breeze swept through Spirit City.

Over in Notting City, the patch of Blue Silver Grass continued to sway gently.

A tiny seed had already been planted.