Planting Blue Silver Grass, Yan Shaozhe's Worries

Morning.

Sea God Pavilion.

Outside the window of Lu Ran's room, a small platform had been constructed where patches of Blue Silver Grass grew lush and vibrant, their thick leaves containing a vitality far richer than that of ordinary Blue Silver Grass.

Overgrown vines trailed off the edge of the platform, swaying gently in the breeze.

Lu Ran reached out to touch the leaves, feeling their cool texture. He plucked one, rolled it between his fingers, and pulled out a notebook to record his observations beneath the entry for the twentieth day.

The previous page contained the records for the nineteenth day, filled with dense, meticulous handwriting, revealing a cautious and thorough attitude.

The tip of his pen moved lightly.

Once finished, Lu Ran shifted his focus, and the scenery around him changed in an instant. Before him lay another patch of Blue Silver Grass, though this one was several times larger in area.

Its growth and condition were slightly inferior to those at the Sea God Pavilion, yet it remained healthy and robust.

Lu Ran plucked a leaf from this one as well, observed it, and recorded the findings in his notebook.

After he finished writing and closed the notebook, the cover was neat and clean, with the title inscribed: Blue Silver Grass Planting Notes.

Both patches of Blue Silver Grass had been specifically cultivated by Lu Ran, for two reasons:

First, it was common knowledge that the growth rate of both plant-type and animal-type Soul Beasts was tied to their environment, especially the concentration of soul power.

For instance, the same species of Blue Silver Grass would develop entirely differently if grown beside the Lake of Life versus deep within a desert.

Ten years later, one might have become a century-year Soul Beast, while the other remained at the ten-year level or even lower.

As the era progressed, old theories were gradually being proven incorrect, such as the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul... and the idea that a Soul Beast only gains one year of cultivation for every year it lives.

In an environment with superior conditions, gaining ten years of cultivation in a single year was entirely possible; by devouring their own kind or Soul Masters, they could even gain ten years of cultivation in a single day.

Lu Ran wanted to observe

the specific impact of varying soul power concentrations on the growth of Blue Silver Grass.

He wanted to see how much the growth rate would differ between the Sea God Pavilion and his Small World, where the soul power concentration was several times higher.

To this end, the Blue Silver Grass in both locations came from the same batch, and he even used the same soil from the Small World for both, ensuring that no other variables would interfere.

Secondly, it was for his next step in planning.

Lu Ran put away his notebook and turned his gaze to his right.

There grew a Green Wood Vine, its leaves emerald green, its vines, thicker than an arm, coiled around two towering trees, blooming with large white flowers that filled the air with a faint fragrance.

He had transplanted it from the Star Dou Great Forest a month ago.

The characteristic of the Green Wood Vine was its rich vitality and tenacious life force; even a severed piece of vine planted in the soil could take root, though its growth rate was slow.

As it happened, Blue Silver Grass grew very quickly.

A year passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Ran spent every day feeling fulfilled, cultivating, eating in the Inner Court, visiting the libraries of the Outer and Inner Courts, keeping records, helping Ma Xiaotao vent her internal heat, spending time with Zhang Lexuan, and occasionally meeting with Ling Luochen...

During this period, he also carried out planting plans for his ever-expanding Small World, designating zones for fruit trees, medicinal herbs, Blue Silver Grass... and a future area for livestock.

He had also replanted over twenty types of fruit-tree Soul Beasts, making the layout much more organized.

He had also risen from level 25 to level 30, and it was time to obtain his third Soul Ring.

Sea God Pavilion.

A faint scent of ink drifted through the room.

Lu Ran sat amidst a sea of books, flipping through a massive, fist-thick blue-covered tome with a soft, rhythmic rustling sound.

Each page of this book was about five inches wide and seven inches long.

It was exceptionally large.

The yellowed pages revealed an air of extreme antiquity.

As he gazed at the illustrations of the Blue Silver Grass, he couldn't help but sigh that Soul Power was truly a wonderful thing.

Beyond its ability to accelerate physical development, it also made reading incredibly convenient.

In the past, finishing all the books in this room would have taken at least a year or more, but with the augmentation of his spiritual power, Lu Ran could scan two lines at a glance without missing a single character, and even after finishing a stack, he still remembered exactly where each book belonged...

Turning the final page, he closed the book and let out a long breath.

The once-exquisite, yellowed cover bore the title: Blue Silver Grass Illustrated Guide, with a line of tiny gold characters in the bottom left corner--

Tang Sect.

Lu Ran placed the Blue Silver Grass Illustrated Guide onto a stack of books.

On the remaining stacks, the top books were:

Overview of Plants in the Outer Star Dou Great Forest

Unique Blue Silver Grass

Blue Silver Grass (Tang Sect)

Secret History of Blue Silver Grass (Tang Sect)

Blue Silver Grass Notes (Tang Sect)

Blue Silver Grass Ascending to Godhood (Tang Sect)

Tang Sect was not a person's name, but the name of a sect.

It was the very sect established by Tang San.

Books published by the Tang Sect almost exclusively bore the name "Tang Sect," and as for who the true authors were, outsiders rarely knew.

Lu Ran had collected so many books related to Blue Silver Grass naturally because he was researching the plant.

As for why he had to read these Tang Sect books, it was simple:

Authority!

Ever since Tang San ascended to godhood with the Blue Silver Grass ten thousand years ago, shocking the entire continent, the Tang Sect had established a rule: the Sect Master's Martial Soul must be Blue Silver Grass.

First, out of worship, and second, because there was a precedent; they hoped to cultivate another god by imitating his growth trajectory.

The Tang Sect had faithfully executed this sect rule ever since, which was why they were now on the verge of bankruptcy.

They did not know that

Tang San was able to ascend to godhood because he possessed the bloodline of the top-tier hundred-thousand-year plant-type Soul Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor, combined with an heaven-defying technique like the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

His Martial Soul was the Blue Silver Emperor, not the Blue Silver Grass.

Yet, the Tang Sect of later generations could only find ordinary Blue Silver Grass.

Even having an Innate Soul Power of level one was considered a rare genius found once in a hundred thousand, and exhausting all resources to cultivate them still yielded disappointing results.

But the later Tang Sect was unaware of these facts, remaining obsessed with finding and cultivating Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls.

They were also curious why their esteemed first-generation Sect Master could be so exceptionally gifted with the same Blue Silver Grass, while his descendants could not.

Naturally, The entire sect began to study this weak, ubiquitous plant-type Soul Beast that even pigs wouldn't eat.

Over ten thousand years, countless works were produced, and the research on Blue Silver Grass could be called the best on the continent, detailed to the extreme, yet most were merely singing its praises, with every line filled with how excellent and unique Blue Silver Grass was...

Their goal was to find out why Blue Silver Grass was powerful, rather than whether it was powerful or not—

Blue Silver Grass was obviously strong, it needed no proof, if it weren't strong, how could their ancestor Tang San have become a god?

This viewpoint

led to the Tang Sect failing to understand it even after ten thousand years of research, and now the sect was nearly gone, left with only one blade of grass and one dragon, just one step away from breathing its last.

Yet no one had expected that this final sect master would actually possess the bloodline of the Blue Silver Emperor.

"..."

Lu Ran rested his chin on his hand, glancing at the piles of books, most of which had already turned yellow, and had it not been for their special material and careful preservation, they would have likely rotted away long ago, making them impossible for him to read.

The legacy left behind by the Tang Sect had, in the end, benefited him.

Just as he was thinking this, a knock suddenly came at the door, and Lu Ran looked up

to see Yan Shaozhe standing outside.

He stood up and walked over: "Dean Yan."

Yan Shaozhe entered, surveying the sea of books covering the floor and walls, then glanced at the Blue Silver Grass planted outside the window, which had already trailed down to the ground dozens of meters below, secretly worried:

Is Xiao Ran interested in Blue Silver Grass?

He wouldn't want to contract a Blue Silver Grass, would he?

That's a lie, don't believe it!!

"Xiao Ran, some students in the academy have recently made breakthroughs, and one even has Innate Soul Power of level seven. Since you have also broken through, if you agree, I will personally lead the team to go together,"

"What do you think?"

His tone remained unchanged, but inside, he was nearly cursing the Tang Sect.

Lu Ran pondered for a moment and nodded: "We shall do as Dean Yan says."

Seeing this, Yan Shaozhe breathed a sigh of relief; if he could communicate normally, then the condition wasn't too severe, he would find a time to talk later, and if that didn't work, he would have to ask Elder Mu to step in.

He could already imagine Mu En's reaction, nearly leading a peerless genius, the hope of the academy, astray, he would probably think Xian Lin'er was more suitable...

Yan Shaozhe shed tears in his heart, such a fine person, how did he suddenly become like this?

Forget it, the hope of the academy cannot be ruined in his hands...