Cuttings of the Blue Silver Emperor

"Tsk, soaking in this poisonous water is really intense. My Soul Power Level has increased by two levels in just ten days."

The young man lay naked in the bathtub, eyes narrowed, looking quite content.

The water was a murky, oily green, emitting a pungent, fishy sweetness. At first glance, it looked like stagnant water drawn from some highly toxic swamp.

A normal person would have had their skin ulcerate and bled from their seven orifices long ago, but this young man enjoyed it like a delicacy, occasionally pulling out a blue leaf to chew on, his expression as satisfied as if he were eating potato chips.

The young man was named Gu Qingshan, a transmigrator.

A month ago, during the awakening ceremony at Martial Soul Hall, he had awakened his martial soul: Thorn Shield.

The people from Martial Soul Hall were stunned on the spot. Shield-type martial souls were already rare, let alone one with the Innate Full Soul Power.

The deacon in charge of the test searched through all the records but couldn't find any relevant information, so he could only report the situation upward.

Gu Qingshan, however, knew exactly what was going on.

Wasn't this shield the artifact for shield warriors in the game he played in his past life?

Thorn Shield: Percentage-based damage reflection, true damage, ignores level, ignores defense, ignores all damage reduction effects.

Noble percentage-based reflection; the thicker the health bar, the higher the reflection damage.

In the Douluo Continent, this "health bar" corresponded to vitality.

In other words, he just needed to stack health like crazy.

Whoever hit him would die.

This discovery had Gu Qingshan excited for three whole days and nights.

Others in the Douluo Continent relied on talent, background, or luck.

As for him? He just relied on getting beaten up.

Thus, on a dark and windy night, Gu Qingshan climbed over the wall and snuck into the cave behind the waterfall in Holy Soul Village.

At that time, Tang Hao had already taken Tang San to Nuoding Academy, and the cave was empty.

When Gu Qingshan snuck in, his hands were trembling—not from fear, but from excitement.

Blue Silver Emperor, that was the Blue Silver Emperor!

In the original work, Ah Yin was the plant-type empress whose vitality was so vast it could nourish half of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Others who obtained the Blue Silver Emperor would at most absorb a soul ring, but Gu Qingshan was different; his Thorn Shield came with a unique "Life Conversion" mechanism.

This mechanism was simple and brutal: anything containing vitality, once it reached his mouth, could be directly converted into his maximum vitality.

Tang Hao didn't even know his wife had been stolen by a six-year-old kid!

Returning home, Gu Qingshan planted the Blue Silver Emperor roots in his courtyard and propagated all the leaves.

As long as he cultivated these "Blue Silver Seedlings" well, he could continuously gain vitality and become a happy meat shield.

Of course, this mechanism was limited to Gu Qingshan himself; if others chewed on Blue Silver Emperor leaves, they would at most replenish some soul power, with no special effects.

As for the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone...

Gu Qingshan touched his right lower leg, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

He hadn't left the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for Tang Hao either; he had fused with it that very night.

The fusion process wasn't easy; the energy impact of the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone almost sent him to the grave.

But the Thorn Shield played a crucial role at the critical moment, neutralizing all the impact.

The energy of the soul bone didn't increase his Soul Power Level, but was entirely converted into vitality.

Now, Gu Qingshan's vitality far exceeded that of an ordinary soul master.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his body, and a pale red number appeared before him: 5500.

This was his current vitality value.

Yes, he could see his own "health bar," and not only his own, but others' as well.

After observing and calculating for some time, he discovered a pattern: the vitality value of an average soul master was roughly equal to their Soul Power Level multiplied by one hundred, while for a Titled Douluo, it was multiplied by one thousand.

Special martial souls were an exception; for instance, plant-type martial souls and some top-tier martial souls would have additional bonuses.

But what was the concept of 5500?

It was equivalent to the vitality level of a level 55 Soul King.

Yet, Gu Qingshan's current Soul Power Level was only fifteen.

This was the terrifying aspect of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone—all the energy of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone had been poured into his vitality, forcibly stacking the health bar of a level 15 little soul master to the level of a Soul King.

What was even more terrifying was the reflection damage.

The passive reflection of the Thorn Shield was determined by the proportion of vitality. Gu Qingshan's current vitality far exceeded those of his level, and his reflection ratio reached as high as 60%.

60% true damage reflection.

What kind of concept was that?

60% of 5500 is 3300.

The health of a Soul Elder is around 3000; if an ordinary Soul Elder were to punch him, they would end up killing themselves through recoil.

If it were a Soul Ancestor, a level 40 Soul Ancestor has about 4000 health; a single punch would leave them severely injured as well.

If it were a Soul King...

Gu Qingshan thought for a moment and decided it was better to keep a low profile.

However, he could adjust this damage reflection ratio, with the minimum being 10%, otherwise, it would be too easy to accidentally kill someone.

After all, Douluo Continent is not a game; death is permanent, and he didn't want to end up on the Martial Soul Hall wanted list so soon.

Speaking of Martial Soul Hall, Gu Qingshan couldn't help but smile again.

He possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

On the day of his awakening, the people from Martial Soul Hall detected his Soul Power Level: level ten, maxed out.

When the news reached Martial Soul City, even the Pope, Bibi Dong, was alarmed.

A genius with Innate Full Soul Power and a special martial soul was worth her personal attention.

Bibi Dong came to Nuoding City in person.

The moment she saw Gu Qingshan's martial soul, she made her decision: to take him as her disciple.

Gu Qingshan's feelings at the time were quite complicated.

On one hand, latching onto Bibi Dong's influence was certainly satisfying; he could basically walk sideways across Douluo Continent from then on.

On the other hand, he always felt like he had walked into a wolf's den. Bibi Dong was, how should one put it, a manic yandere with unfathomable thoughts; staying by her side meant keeping his head on a swivel at all times.

But the benefits were also tangible.

Once Bibi Dong learned of his unique cultivation method—that he could rapidly increase his soul power by "taking a beating"—she had people concoct a poisonous liquid for him.

Yes, the very vat he was soaking in right now.

Green, sweet-smelling, and emitting an eerie luster, this poisonous water was a mixture of extracts from over a dozen highly toxic plants, combined with soul beast blood and special mineral powders. For an ordinary person, soaking in it would result in death within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

But for Gu Qingshan, as the toxins entered his body, they continuously stimulated his martial soul, triggering his Thorn Shield passively and converting that stimulation into soul power growth.

In plain terms: soaking in poison was passive cultivation.

Although the efficiency wasn't as high as being directly attacked by a soul master, the problem was that the "getting beaten" method was too damaging.

It wasn't that Gu Qingshan couldn't take the damage—his health bar was thick enough—the key was that others couldn't.

Last time, he asked a Soul Ancestor to help test the damage reflection; that guy punched his shield and immediately collapsed, vomiting blood, and was barely saved.

Ever since then, Gu Qingshan had been honestly soaking in the poison.

It was worry-free, safe, and didn't hurt anyone.

Just as Gu Qingshan was comfortably popping a third Blue Silver Leaf into his mouth and crossing his legs, preparing to doze off for a while longer, a series of footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

It wasn't just one person; there were four.

The footsteps were very light, but Gu Qingshan's perception had become exceptionally sharp due to his significantly increased vitality; he could even distinguish the weight and rhythmic pace of each person through the sound of their steps.

The person in the lead had a steady gait, landing without a sound, their aura unfathomable.