The Snipe and the Clam

"Sanpao, clear the way!"

"Yip!"

At the edge of the Soul Hunting Forest, Yu Xiaogang summoned his Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao, to lead the way while he continued teaching Tang Sanmei about Soul Beasts.

"Third Sister, look. This is a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo. It isn't very aggressive, but Solitary Bamboo naturally has the Toughness attribute, which makes it very suitable for your Blue Silver Grass."

"If we can't find anything suitable later, choosing it would still be a good option."

"Teacher, didn't you say a Soul Scholar could absorb a Soul Ring of up to four hundred and twenty-three years? Isn't ten years far too little?" Tang Sanmei's eye twitched slightly, and she sounded dissatisfied.

"That's why I said it's a last resort. According to my Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, Plant-type Martial Souls don't necessarily have to absorb Soul Rings from Plant-type Soul Beasts."

With his hands behind his back, Yu Xiaogang strolled leisurely through the forest. "My expectations for you are extremely high, so I'll do my best to find a Soul Ring at the absolute limit of what you can absorb."

"Only then will you be worthy of being my disciple!"

"Yip!"

At the same time, Luo Sanpao, scouting ahead, let out a warning.

"Purple Demon Eye!"

"Brother, be careful. There seem to be two Soul Beasts fighting up ahead." Tang Sanmei reacted even faster than Yu Xiaogang. The instant Luo Sanpao sounded the alarm, she activated her Purple Demon Eye, then went over to Tang Yin and warned him in a low voice.

"It's a Datura Snake. Judging by its length, nearly four meters, it's about four hundred years old." Yu Xiaogang crouched down and parted the dense undergrowth. A look of delight spread across his face.

"Third Sister, we've found your Soul Ring."

"This Datura Snake is just shy of four hundred years old. Its attributes include Toughness, poison, and paralysis."

"According to my Martial Soul Mimicry Theory, there's a very high chance your Blue Silver Grass will gain these attributes after absorbing its Soul Ring." Yu Xiaogang grew more and more excited as he spoke. He hadn't expected to be so lucky.

Normally, with his own Soul Power Level of twenty-nine and his Trash Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao, he would have run the moment he encountered this Datura Snake.

But today, luck was on their side. They had happened upon the Datura Snake fighting another Soul Beast, giving them a very good chance to reap the benefits.

Tang Yin raised an eyebrow slightly. He hadn't expected his arrival to change the timing of the Soul Ring hunt from the original story, yet they had still run into a Datura Snake.

He wasn't sure if it was the same one as in the original story, but the sight still stirred something in him.

Of course, he wasn't about to let Third Sister follow Yu Xiaogang's advice and absorb the Datura Snake's Soul Ring.

"Third Sister, let's go take a look." Tang Yin calmly led Tang Sanmei to the concealed spot where Yu Xiaogang was hiding, carefully parting the leaves as he went.

About a hundred meters away, a dense tangle of blue-green vines spread across the clearing for more than ten meters. Between them, a snake-shaped Soul Beast with a dark green, triangular head flicked its tongue and darted about among the vines.

"Jade Evergreen Vine. Judging by its size, it's nearly five hundred years old."

Tang Yin's eyes flickered. The Jade Evergreen Vine was one of the Plant-type Soul Beasts he had chosen for Tang Sanmei, though he hadn't expected to find one.

Jade Evergreen Vines only grew in the inner reaches of the Tiandou Great Forest.

Only high-level Soul Masters could venture deep into the Tiandou Great Forest, and they wouldn't bother with anything less than a thousand years old. Besides, the Soul Hunting Forest was specifically meant to raise Soul Beasts for students at elementary Soul Master Academies, so it was unlikely they would keep a thousand-year-old Soul Beast there.

He hadn't expected anyone to actually bring a five-hundred-year-old Jade Evergreen Vine back from the Star Dou Great Forest. It was an unexpected stroke of luck.

Nearly half an incense stick later, the Datura Snake and the Jade Evergreen Vine finally showed signs of a victor emerging.

The Datura Snake was an exceptionally powerful creature in the Soul Hunting Forest. It was not only fast, but also highly venomous, making it a force to be reckoned with in the area.

But the Jade Evergreen Vine countered all its advantages. The vine had immense vitality and was completely unafraid of its venom. Its dense growth also restricted the snake's speed, and it was older than the Datura Snake besides.

As time passed, the Datura Snake gradually fell into a disadvantage, its body acquiring dozens of wounds from the vines' lashes and coils.

"Hiss—"

The Datura Snake was struck by the vines again and let out a pained hiss. A hint of humanlike wariness appeared in its eyes.

It was already thinking of fleeing.

But the Jade Evergreen Vine, firmly in the advantage, clearly had no intention of letting it go. More vines spread up from underground, sealing off an area over ten meters wide, while several lashed toward the Datura Snake.

"Hiss—"

The Datura Snake let out another piercing hiss. Struck by the vines once more and seeing no way out, its eyes filled with venomous rage.

"Hiss! Hiss!" Driven into a corner, the Datura Snake finally abandoned any thought of escape and reared up its front half. Its belly suddenly swelled.

"Ptooey!"

A dark purple, sickly-sweet liquid shot from the Datura Snake's mouth, streaking toward the Jade Evergreen Vine's roots like a sharp sword.

After releasing such a massive amount of venom, the Datura Snake grew even more feeble. It swayed unsteadily, nearly collapsing.

But the Jade Evergreen Vine was a Plant-type Soul Beast and could not dodge. It could only pull back some of its vines in time to weave a shield of vines in front of its roots.

Sizzle, sizzle—

The venom struck the vines, melting through part of the wall as if hot water had been poured over ice. A little even seeped through the gaps and splashed onto the Jade Evergreen Vine's roots.

At once, the vines that had been writhing and lashing all around them faltered, then contracted sharply. It had clearly been badly hurt.

Even so, the Jade Evergreen Vine remained in the advantage.

Though the Datura Snake's last-ditch attack had wounded its roots, the vine had tremendous vitality. It only had to draw back most of its vines and use the life force it saved to resist the venom. Even with only a small number of vines left to deal with the now-weakened Datura Snake, it would still be more than enough.

Seeing that the Datura Snake was about to be killed, Yu Xiaogang panicked. If he didn't act now, he would lose a Soul Ring that, in his eyes, was perfectly suited to proving his theory. He could no longer afford to hesitate.

"Third Sister, Tang Yin, now! Put on your masks and stay behind me. Make sure you protect yourselves." Yu Xiaogang pulled out the masks he had prepared and handed them to the two of them. Then, leaving them with those words, he charged toward the battlefield with Luo Sanpao.

"Thunderous Fart, Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"

For a Soul Master, a hundred meters was only a moment's work. The instant Yu Xiaogang sprang into action, he unleashed his Soul Skill.

"Yip!"

Luo Sanpao, who had been charging ahead of Yu Xiaogang, immediately leapt into the air at his command. A Yellow Soul Ring appeared around its body. It twisted around in midair and aimed its rear end at the Jade Evergreen Vine's main body, which was about to direct its vines to kill the Datura Snake.

Boom!

A thunderous sound rang out as a yellow ball of light shot toward the center of the battlefield.

Crash!

The vines that had been attacking the Datura Snake were blown apart by the blast.

"Good, I made it in time!" Yu Xiaogang had now reached a spot ten meters from the Jade Evergreen Vine. He breathed a sigh of relief, but didn't dare slack off.

"Farting Smoke, Sleep-Inducing Luo Sanpao!" The Grandmaster unleashed another big move. A cloud of yellow gas sprayed from Luo Sanpao's rear end and, in the blink of an eye, engulfed the Jade Evergreen Vine.

The already weakened Datura Snake had only just touched the smoke when its struggling body suddenly stiffened. It then slumped to the ground and lost consciousness.

Compared to the snake, the hypnotic smoke had little effect on the Jade Evergreen Vine. Its main body merely paused for a moment before more than ten vines, each as thick as a child's arm, shot out of the smoke toward Yu Xiaogang.