Zhao Wuji gestured for him to calm down, then said:
"Senior Serpent Granny, as you can see, this is my student. He just reached level thirty as well, so he needs a Soul Ring too. This snake would suit him perfectly..."
Serpent Granny looked at Oscar, a flicker of astonishment in her eyes. Level thirty, at such a young age?!
The atmosphere grew tense again.
They both wanted it, and neither wanted to give it up.
After several rounds of verbal sparring, Serpent Granny saw that Zhao Wuji wouldn't back down and could only yield a little. "How about this, Brother Zhao? Let my granddaughter fight your student. Whoever wins gets the Soul Ring. What do you say?"
Damn it. If the old man were here, you wouldn't dare act so brazenly.
Zhao Wuji put on a strained smile. "Senior Serpent Granny, my student is a food-type Soul Master. He can't fight."
If I weren't worried about Dragon Duke, do you think I'd be bargaining with you?
Serpent Granny's eyes widened in surprise again.
While the two sides were at an impasse, Tang San's eyes suddenly lit up.
A perfect chance!
If I step forward and win this fight, won't everyone look at me in a new light? I can even beat Xia Yan!
"Teacher Zhao..."
Tang San stepped forward, his voice ringing out. "I'll fight in Oscar's place."
He looked at Meng Yiran. "I'm level twenty-nine, and you're level thirty. I won't have an unfair advantage."
Meng Yiran looked him up and down.
She had thought Tang San was older than her, and a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes.
He looked like someone of ordinary talent and strength.
Tang San keenly caught the small gesture and clenched his fists.
Hmph. I'll make you regret that in a moment!
Zhao Wuji nodded. "Be careful. Go ahead."
Meng Yiran stepped forward. "Meng Yiran, level-thirty Battle Soul Master. Martial Soul: Serpent Cane."
Tang San summoned his Dark Purple Blue Silver Grass. "Tang San, level-twenty-nine Battle Soul Master. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass."
"Ugh..."
After the fight, Meng Yiran stood up, panting hard, her fingers trembling. She gritted her teeth and fixed her brown eyes on Tang San.
"Black Bear Spirit, let's go again!"
Tang San's smug, dark face stiffened at once. He was red-faced and breathing like an ox, wishing he could use Sand-Shooting Shadow to shoot Meng Yiran dead on the spot.
"Hmph! Then let's go again!"
But Serpent Granny stepped forward and held Meng Yiran by the shoulder, sighing. "Yiran, we've lost."
She cupped her hands, forcing a smile onto her face.
"Brother Zhao, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is yours."
With that,
she left with Meng Yiran, who cast one last resentful glare over her shoulder.
Zhao Wuji snorted. "You lost, and now you're saying it's yours to give?"
He turned to Oscar and said:
"Hurry up, before anything else goes wrong."
Oscar thanked Tang San, then got to work at once. A purple Soul Ring rose into view.
He sat cross-legged and slowly guided the Soul Ring onto his Sausage Martial Soul.
The others kept watch around them, guarding against any unexpected trouble.
Tang San was extremely excited. See that? See that!
I'm only level twenty-nine, and I can still beat someone who's level thirty!
This is the Blue Silver Grass you all looked down on!
Half an hour later,
night had fallen completely. Beneath the thick canopy of leaves, the forest was darker still.
Oscar opened his eyes. His first thought was that he'd gone blind—he couldn't see a thing. It took two seconds for his eyes to adjust.
Then he saw Ma Hongjun's chubby face looming right in front of him. "Ugh..."
He shoved the repulsive face away.
"Fatty, get away from me..."
Ma Hongjun pressed him. "Xiao Ao, what's your Soul Skill? Tell us already!"
Oscar got to his feet with a smug snort. He looked more alert and a little more mature now—one of the benefits of absorbing a Soul Ring.
"Watch closely. This is my third Soul Skill!"
He pinched his fingers together. "Daddy Has a Mushroom Sausage."
A sausage shaped like an umbrella mushroom appeared in his hand. Before the others could burst into laughter, he said:
"My third Soul Skill lets me fly!"
Zhao Wuji and the others nodded. Xia Yan had said earlier that there was a good chance it would be flight, so they weren't too surprised.
But they were still quite astonished, since flight Soul Skills were extremely rare.
Group flight Soul Skills were even rarer.
"My Flying Mushroom Sausage lets me fly at the speed of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent for one minute!"
Everyone was startled. At the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's speed, he could cover more than two thousand meters in a minute.
Zhao Wuji patted his shoulder approvingly.
"Not bad, not bad!"
"Xiao Ao, you really did come along at the right time!"
Ma Hongjun and the others gathered around Oscar to celebrate, and Oscar was thrilled with his newly acquired Soul Skill.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw again
Ning Rongrong and Xia Yan standing together, seemingly whispering something to each other...
The next morning,
the dew in the Star Dou Great Forest had yet to dry, but everyone was already ready to go.
"All right, kids," Zhao Wuji said. "We're getting ready to head back."
Ma Hongjun and the others answered, "All right!"
But Tang San was still sitting cross-legged atop a twenty-meter-tall tree. He hadn't come down.
Just as Zhao Wuji was about to speak,
Tang San suddenly opened his eyes, his face brimming with excitement. The corner of his mouth lifted.
"Teacher Zhao..."
"I'm afraid we can't leave just yet..."
Ma Hongjun and the others didn't understand what he meant.
Tang San dropped to the ground and released his Soul Power.
"Teacher Zhao, I've reached level thirty!"
Zhao Wuji was overjoyed. He sensed Tang San's Soul Power and confirmed it was indeed at level thirty.
"Good, good!"
"Hahaha!"
"Kids, looks like you won't be going home yet!"
Over the next two days,
the group searched for a suitable Soul Beast for Tang San.
Tang San said his teacher had told him that his first three Soul Rings were for laying a foundation. After that, he would need Soul Rings that specifically corresponded to parts such as stems, leaves, roots, and flowers. His teacher had chosen his third Soul Ring long ago.
It was called the Green Poison Bone-Eroding Serpent.
It was a venomous snake whose poison could even corrode bone, making it brittle and porous. At the slightest touch, the bone would shatter, and its target would eventually die in extreme agony!
On the evening of the second day,
at the border between the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest and the Mixed Zone,
Zhao Wuji found a Green Poison Bone-Eroding Serpent around fourteen hundred years old. It was five meters long, with sharp fangs and a dark-green body patterned with irregular white markings.
It could blend into the forest with ease.
Its only drawback was its strong smell. A stench emanated from its body.
But Tang San didn't care in the least.
This time, Zhao Wuji subdued it himself with ease, and Tang San began absorbing it.
Half an hour later.
Tang San opened his eyes in excitement and summoned his Blue Silver Grass.
Its shape had indeed changed again!
The Blue Silver Grass grew in his palm, turning a mixture of colors. It was still a deep, dark purple-black throughout, but a green hue could be faintly seen beneath the purple-black coating, with scattered white spots...
The poison secreted by the Blue Silver Grass had changed too.
It was no longer white, but a mixture of white and green, clinging to the vines. If he had to describe it... it looked like a lump of white tofu that had been left to rot until it was oozing green liquid.
It was sticky, and it gave off a foul smell.
The changes were hard to describe.
But Tang San's eyes held nothing but delight. He could clearly feel that the Blue Silver Grass was tougher now! Its biggest weakness had been solved!
Of course it had a pungent smell when it was poisonous. That was a sign of its power!
"I did it!"
"Look!"
He jumped to his feet, expecting the others to celebrate with him. Instead, he was met with their strange looks.
Tang San took in the expressions of the Seven Devils. "What's with those faces?"
Ma Hongjun pointed at him.
"Your... uh, it's really dark..."
Before you continue