Absolutely Brilliant

The young man had barely finished speaking when another person in the crowd cried out.

"There's also the Bloodthirsty Mosquito Emperor! Its ability is to absorb life force and Soul Power. If someone acquired it, wouldn't they be able to keep draining their opponent's life force and Soul Power and funneling them back to the user?"

"That's right."

Su Yun nodded lightly. These people were actually quite clever. They only needed a little prompting to figure things out. The reason they hadn't thought of it was that they were used to following the rules.

Soul Masters were already few and far between, and innovation came at a price. After finally becoming a Soul Master and rising above their station, who would be willing to experiment with their Martial Soul for the sake of innovation? What if they ruined it? Gradually, fewer and fewer people bothered to think outside the box.

Su Yun's words had opened a new door for everyone, giving them a fresh way of looking at things.

Even the middle-aged man had finally shut his mouth, his expression complicated. He was thoroughly convinced by Su Yun now.

He couldn't understand how the young lady in front of him had come up with such strange and wonderful ideas—and what was more, they seemed genuinely feasible.

"Miss Su! My Martial Soul is an Iron Bow. Could you give me some advice?"

"Of course... By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Zhao Ting."

Hearing that, Su Yun checked the system panel. He hadn't contributed any Friendship Points. Did he think he could freeload? She immediately put on a stern face.

"Zhao Ting? Let me see... Sorry, your name and I just aren't meant to be. I can't give you advice."

"What about me? What about me, Miss Su? My name is Wang Kai."

"Wang Kai, right? Sure. What's your Martial Soul? Show me."

"A Wood Bow Martial Soul? You can take the debuff route too.

"Listen to me. Hunt Spirit Beasts with fire, ice, lightning, or curse attributes. That way, your arrows can gain those effects and burn, slow, or paralyze your enemies. Doesn't that sound great?"

As more and more people came to ask her for advice, Su Yun's Friendship Points rose rapidly.

Watching Su Yun bask in everyone's admiration, Tang San clenched his fists. As expected of Su Yun—she shone wherever she went. That was why he had to keep up with her, or he'd be left behind.

The crowd kept growing until even the middle-aged man from earlier couldn't resist coming over.

"Miss Su, my Martial Soul is Dandelion. What kind of Spirit Ring do you think I should get?"

Su Yun turned and glanced at him. The bald man's face was bright red, and he looked utterly embarrassed.

The crowd's teasing gazes burned like flames, setting his face ablaze. But even so, he gritted his teeth, bowed respectfully, and pressed on. It was clear he genuinely wanted to improve.

"What's your name?"

"I... I'm Liu Lin."

"Hm?"

Su Yun checked the system panel and saw that he had contributed six Friendship Points. Her smile turned warm.

"I don't hold grudges. Your name and I are meant to be, so I can give you advice.

"But since you know Yu Xiaogang, haven't you asked him how to develop your Martial Soul?"

"I have."

Liu Lin answered with great respect. Clearly, Su Yun's knowledge had earned his admiration.

"Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang judged my Martial Soul to be even more useless than Blue Silver Grass."

As he said this, Liu Lin's expression fell.

"He said Blue Silver Grass could at least entangle people, so it could be developed toward toughness and control. But Wind-Blown Grass had no advantages at all. It was fragile and had no way to attack. The only path it could take was support, and it would be poor at that too. So he told me to get Ice-Snow Grass for my First Soul Ring and gain a support skill that could calm the mind."

Su Yun was utterly speechless. Once again, she felt completely disillusioned with Yu Xiaogang's theories.

Seeing her expression, Liu Lin asked cautiously, "Miss Su, is something wrong?"

"What do you think? Sometimes I really don't know what the hell you people are studying when you research Martial Souls."

Su Yun rolled her eyes. Seeing the bald man at a loss, she didn't bother keeping him in suspense.

"Even if you couldn't think of it yourself, couldn't you look for a Spirit Beast with the same traits as Wind-Blown Grass?"

Hearing her question, Liu Lin looked a little aggrieved.

"Miss Su, of course I thought of that. Whether it's Azure Sky Willow or Tumbleweed, absorbing either one would be useless. They only spread by letting their seeds ride the wind.

"Even if I absorbed one, I'd probably only get a parasitic Spirit Skill. But Wind-Blown Grass has no attack power at all. Even if it parasitized another Soul Master and suddenly sprouted, it wouldn't do any good."

Su Yun felt exasperated by how hopelessly slow he was.

"Use your head! Why not think of a Spirit Beast?"

"A Spirit Beast?"

Liu Lin shook his head.

"I hadn't thought of that. What Spirit Beast would be suitable?"

Su Yun: ...

What a waste of intelligence. She gave him the answer outright.

"Rotten Bone Poison Miasma Insect."

"Rotten Bone Poison Miasma Insect?"

Hearing the name, Liu Lin instinctively recited what he knew about the Spirit Beast.

"It looks like a fat maggot, with a grayish-white body covered in black spots. It secretes a pale green poisonous mist from its skin and usually lives in rotting wood and swamps.

"Its ability is to release 'Rotten Bone Poison Miasma.' Anyone who touches it suffers skin lesions and sluggish Soul Power circulation. When it dies, it bursts into poisonous mist, contaminating the ground within a one-meter radius.

"After evolving, it becomes the 'Rotten Bone Poison Miasma Insect.' It grows to a foot long, can condense poisonous needles on its body, and fire them..."

The farther Liu Lin got, the brighter his eyes became. He realized that this Spirit Beast seemed like a perfect match for his Wind-Blown Grass!

Wind-Blown Grass consumed even less than Blue Silver Grass. If he could obtain the skill that created poisonous mist when the Rotten Bone Poison Miasma Insect died, each stalk of Wind-Blown Grass could become a flower of poison...

Once detonated, they could form a cloud of poisonous mist in an instant. And after the Rotten Bone Poison Miasma Insect evolved, all the seeds of his Wind-Blown Grass could become poisonous spikes, fired off on the wind...

Liu Lin grew more and more excited. To hell with Grandmaster! To hell with support-type Soul Masters! He could clearly become an Assault System Soul Master!

That was right! How had he never thought of this? What had he even been studying all these years?

The onlookers also caught on. For a moment, they were left in awe.

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"Holy crap! I never dreamed that a Trash Martial Soul like Wind-Blown Grass could be used like this!"

"Jeez, just thinking about it gives me the chills!"

"As expected of Miss Su! I'd never have figured out a development plan like this, even if I racked my brains!"

"So this is the foundation of a hidden Soul Master family whose members can absorb thousand-year Spirit Rings as their First Soul Ring?"

Liu Lin suddenly let out a long sigh. Then he looked at Su Yun with a reverent, almost worshipful gaze. A moment later, he bent his knees and dropped to the ground, bowing deeply.

Those with knowledge were worthy of being teachers!

"Thank you for your guidance, Miss Su."

[Friendship Points from Liu Lin +25]

Liu Lin's expression was devout. He'd not only won Su Yun over—even Tang San forgave him.