Ye Chen's Changing Mindset

"Xiao San, what weapon did you just throw?" Yu Xiaogang asked in surprise, using his Soul Power to forcibly suppress the poison in his right arm.

Tang San glanced at Ye Chen and Dean Ding before turning to Yu Xiaogang. Then he rolled up his sleeve and flipped his arm over, revealing the Silent Sleeve Arrow strapped beneath his wrist.

Dean Ding's eyes lit up. "What an exquisite weapon! It's so small, yet it can wound a Datura Snake?"

"Yes," Tang San explained. "My father is a blacksmith with superb skill. Though he makes his living forging farm tools in Holy Soul Village, he's also skilled at forging weapons."

"The weapon strapped to my wrist is supposedly a kind of Hidden Weapon called the Silent Sleeve Arrow. My father made it. It makes no sound when fired, and it's most powerful when used in secret. That's how I managed to catch the Datura Snake off guard and wound it."

After hearing Tang San's explanation, Dean Ding and Yu Xiaogang exchanged glances, each seeing the surprise on the other's face.

No matter how skilled a village blacksmith was, he couldn't possibly forge a Hidden Weapon powerful enough to wound a Soul Beast, could he?

Unless the blacksmith was a Soul Master with a forging-type Martial Soul, he wouldn't be able to forge such a powerful Hidden Weapon.

At that thought, Yu Xiaogang suddenly understood. His disciple Tang San had Twin Martial Souls.

The Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul might seem insignificant, but if his other Martial Soul was the hammer he suspected, then it was the Clear Sky Hammer, the greatest tool Martial Soul in the world.

That meant Tang San's father was a direct descendant of the Clear Sky Sect. Before the sect became famous, it had already been unrivaled across the continent for its forging techniques. It was only natural that they could make a Hidden Weapon like this.

Since Tang San's father didn't want his son's connection to the Clear Sky Sect exposed, then as his teacher, Yu Xiaogang ought to keep it secret for him.

With that thought, Yu Xiaogang stopped Dean Ding with a glance just as he was about to ask more questions, then smoothly covered for Tang San. "I see. Xiao San, we have your father to thank for giving you such a powerful Hidden Weapon. Otherwise, we masters and disciples would have been in serious trouble."

"Mm, I didn't expect this Hidden Weapon to be so powerful, either." Tang San replied, lowering his sleeve before looking at Ye Chen and smiling faintly in greeting.

Meeting Tang San's gaze, Ye Chen pretended to be shocked, as though he had only just learned about the Hidden Weapon, so he wouldn't reveal his advantage of knowing what was to come.

Still, witnessing the entire desperate battle between Tang San and the Datura Snake with his own eyes had genuinely shaken Ye Chen.

He suddenly realized that his three previous fights with Tang San, as well as his sparring matches with Wang Sheng, Xiao Wu, Yu Xiaogang, and the others, had all been no more than friendly exchanges. They could hardly be called real combat.

On Douluo Continent, real combat had always been a matter of life and death. There was no such thing as pulling one's punches.

If he and Tang San fought to the death, Tang San would surely use the assassination techniques he had learned in his previous life in the Tang Sect and kill him without hesitation.

But Ye Chen came from Blue Star. He had never killed anyone, much less prepared himself mentally to fight to the death.

Forget fighting for his life—back on Blue Star, he hadn't even dared to seriously injure anyone, because the law would punish him for it.

So if he wanted to adapt to life on Douluo Continent, he had to cast off Blue Star's legal restraints and moral shackles and harden himself.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful he became, he would still lose to those who were ruthless and decisive if he wasn't ruthless enough himself.

Coming back to himself, Ye Chen had already made up his mind. After obtaining his First Soul Ring, he wanted to stay in the Soul Hunting Forest alone and train. That way, he could hone his real combat and survival skills amid the desperate peril of being surrounded by Soul Beasts, while also raising his Soul Power by hunting them.

Just as Ye Chen settled on his decision, Tang San seemed to reach an understanding with Yu Xiaogang. His voice firm, he said, "Teacher, let me be the one to put your theory to the test. I believe your Martial Soul Mimicry Theory is right. A plant Martial Soul can definitely absorb an animal Soul Ring."

"Good, good!" Yu Xiaogang smiled in relief. "Xiao San, then let's begin. Follow the method I taught you earlier: deliver the final blow to the Datura Snake, then absorb the Soul Ring it produces."

"Mm." Tang San answered and took a short sword from his waist. He approached the fallen Datura Snake with cautious, measured steps. Once he was sure it couldn't strike back, he killed it swiftly and decisively.

As the dazzling Yellow Soul Ring took shape above the Datura Snake, Tang San gazed at it, entranced. Once he absorbed this Yellow Soul Ring, perhaps his Mysterious Heaven Skill would advance to the second level.

Ye Chen stared at the Yellow Soul Ring as well, his heart pounding. Surely whether Torchic could evolve was connected to Soul Rings.

Once Torchic evolved into Combusken, it would gain the Fighting type, grow larger, and receive a tremendous leap in all its attributes. Its strength would soar to unprecedented heights!

With Combusken at his side, Ye Chen would have more confidence when he trained in the Soul Hunting Forest.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Tang San sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate. The Datura Snake's Soul Ring spun wildly around him. Only after a short while did it begin to merge with his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.

Seeing no sign of rejection between the Datura Snake's Soul Ring and the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, Yu Xiaogang was overjoyed. It was only the beginning, but this clearly suggested that a plant Martial Soul really could absorb an animal Soul Ring.

After all these years, the Martial Soul Mimicry Theory he had devoted himself to was finally about to be proven!

Even as excitement surged through him, Yu Xiaogang's thoughts grew clearer. Having Tang San risk his life to test the theory had certainly been partly motivated by his desire to prove himself, but his decision had also been made after careful consideration.

Blue Silver Grass was the weakest of plant Martial Souls and was naturally countered by fire. Absorbing another plant Soul Ring would only magnify that weakness without limit.

But if it absorbed an animal Soul Ring, mixing the animal's bloodline into the plant Martial Soul's origin, it could greatly mitigate the plant's weakness to fire. That would make its Control even steadier against fire-type Soul Masters in the future.

And Ye Chen's Torchic just happened to be fire-type.

With the Datura Snake's Soul Ring bolstering it, even if Blue Silver Grass was still countered by Torchic, it would never be as helpless as other Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls.

If Tang San could defeat Ye Chen's Torchic using Blue Silver Grass, it would not only prove the theory correct but also help Yu Xiaogang, his master, recover the face he had lost earlier.

Once Ye Chen saw with his own eyes how powerful Tang San had become under Yu Xiaogang's guidance, surely he would regret refusing to take him as his teacher back then.

Coming back to himself, Yu Xiaogang glanced at Ye Chen. He was just about to clasp his hands behind his back and assume the unruffled, magnanimous bearing of an elder who held no grudge when a fierce wave of numbness and dizziness surged through his poisoned right arm.

The poison, held back by his Soul Power, had finally erupted. Yu Xiaogang's vision went black, his knees gave way, and he toppled straight to the ground.

Dean Ding hurried over to catch Yu Xiaogang. Seeing his old friend lying unconscious from the poison, his face changed drastically, and he cried out in alarm, "Xiaogang!!!"