In the original story, when Tang San received the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, he hadn't shown greed. He'd been curious and cherished it.
How could a child who loved studying Hidden Weapons and pondering mechanisms not be interested in a belt with a storage function?
At the thought, Huang Fei's lips curled upward.
Let Tang San talk to Yu Xiaogang.
Let Tang San ask for some benefits.
Then Huang Fei wouldn't have to do a thing. He could just sit back and wait for the system to give him something even better.
That made perfect sense.
It made extremely good sense.
All he had to do was watch from the sidelines and occasionally offer a word or two of "advice," so Tang San wouldn't let Yu Xiaogang lead him completely by the nose.
As for everything else, Tang San could experience it, judge for himself, and fight for what he wanted.
After all, Tang San was the one who needed to make a place for himself in this world.
And Huang Fei?
He only needed to lie back and take it easy.
Huang Fei sighed with contentment, pulled the quilt up to his chin, and closed his eyes.
Tang San finished eating beside him, tidied up the bowls, and turned to see Huang Fei looking ready to sleep. The corner of his mouth twitched.
"You're going to sleep again?"
"Mm," Huang Fei mumbled. "It's against the laws of heaven to stay awake after eating your fill."
Tang San: "...Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
"What's wrong with getting fat? It means I'm living better than everyone else."
Tang San had nothing to say.
He turned and saw Xiao Wu across from him watching Huang Fei with a strange look.
"What's wrong?" Tang San asked.
Xiao Wu shook her head, her ponytail swaying behind her.
"Nothing. I just think this person..." She pointed at Huang Fei, whose eyes were already closed. "...is really strange."
Tang San gave a wry smile.
"You'll get used to it."
In his office, Yu Xiaogang had finally calmed down completely.
He opened his notebook again and drew a diagram on a blank page.
Tang San on the left, Huang Fei on the right.
Beneath Tang San, he drew an upward-pointing arrow and wrote, "Worth pursuing."
Beneath Huang Fei, he drew a downward-pointing arrow and wrote, "Give up."
He set his pen down, folded his hands on the desk, and fixed his gaze on the diagram.
As long as he won Tang San over, that would be enough.
His Twin Martial Souls experiment didn't need two subjects. A single complete case would be sufficient to prove his theory.
Once Tang San had grown under his guidance, once he'd revealed his astonishing talent and strength, everyone would be left speechless.
Including that kid surnamed Huang.
Then he would walk right up to Huang Fei and ask him:
"Didn't you say my theories were worthless? Then where did Tang San's achievements come from? Did I teach him, or did he figure it all out by himself?"
At the thought of that scene, a cold smile rose on Yu Xiaogang's lips.
He needed to wait for an opportunity.
An opportunity when Huang Fei wasn't beside Tang San.
He'd waited all these years. A day or two more wouldn't matter.
Over the next two days, Huang Fei did something very simple.
He "disappeared" from Tang San's side.
Of course, he hadn't really disappeared. He simply stopped sticking close to Tang San every moment like before and spent more of his time sleeping instead.
He slept in Dorm Seven and outside Dorm Seven.
He slept beneath trees and on the training grounds.
Wherever he went, he slept—like a human bed that could move from place to place.
At first, Tang San wasn't used to it.
From the time they were children, Huang Fei had been lazy, but he'd rarely strayed far from him.
Especially after they'd come to Nuoding City, the two of them had been practically inseparable.
But these past few days, Huang Fei seemed to have developed a deeper pursuit of sleep. He would often wave Tang San off and say, "Go ahead. I'll take a quick nap," before flopping down wherever he could lie and falling asleep within three seconds.
Tang San didn't think much of it. He just figured Huang Fei's nature had finally overpowered his reason, returning him to his truest self: "If I can lie down, I'll never sit."
That gave Tang San more time to himself.
He still kept to his daily cultivation schedule.
He meditated on the Mysterious Heaven Skill in the morning, practiced Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track in an open area at the academy in the morning, went to the library to read in the afternoon, and meditated again at night.
His routine was as regular as a precision machine.
And a pair of eyes watched it all.
Yu Xiaogang waited two days, and at last the opportunity he wanted arrived.
That afternoon, Tang San left the library with a copy of Basic Theory of Plant Martial Souls in his hand and took the path behind the classroom building toward the dormitory area.
As he reached the Old Locust Tree, a voice came from behind him.
"Tang San."
Tang San stopped and turned around.
Yu Xiaogang stood a short distance behind him, still dressed in black and still wearing that deliberately profound expression.
But his face was much softer than last time, and there was even a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"Grandmaster." Tang San greeted him politely, his tone courteous but distant.
He wasn't curious like he'd been last time, nor did he show any enthusiasm.
After Wang Sheng's "explanation" the other day, Tang San's impression of this "Fart Master" had taken a severe hit.
But Yu Xiaogang didn't mind Tang San's coolness.
He smiled, walked up beside Tang San, and naturally fell into step with him.
"Tang San, I know what happened last time gave you and your friend a certain impression of me."
Yu Xiaogang got straight to the point, his tone frank. "I don't want to offer any more explanations. I came to talk to you again about your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."
Tang San didn't stop walking, but neither did he refuse.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang felt reassured and continued.
"I've spent the past two days carefully studying the development path for the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Combining it with the theories I've accumulated over more than twenty years, I can tell you with complete confidence that this path is viable. If you cultivate according to my theories, your first three Soul Rings, and perhaps even your fourth, can follow a control-and-poison route. Your Blue Silver Grass will become a powerful Martial Soul that combines control, attrition, and sustained damage."
He spoke quickly, as if afraid Tang San would interrupt him.
"Poison?" Tang San furrowed his brow but didn't immediately argue.
"That's right, poison." Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Blue Silver Grass is inherently fragile, and direct combat isn't its strength. But if it can release poison, adding paralysis and corrosive effects as it Entangles an enemy, then it will go from a useless control-type Martial Soul to one with a formidable ability to control the battlefield. This is the most promising direction I know of for developing Blue Silver Grass."
As he spoke, his excitement grew, and he gestured animatedly with both hands.
"Think about it. When your Blue Silver Grass Entangles an enemy, its poison will seep into their body at the same time, weakening their strength and paralyzing their nerves. Who wouldn't fear Blue Silver Grass like that?"
"Besides, I can help you obtain a First Soul Ring from a Soul Beast that's over a hundred years old. Four hundred and twenty-three years is the theoretically optimal limit for absorption, but your physical strength far exceeds that of ordinary people. A five-hundred-year Soul Beast isn't out of the question, either."
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