"Bro, why have you been running over to Gangzi's place so much lately?"
Tang Wu had been keeping a close eye on Tang San's behavior during this time.
He was afraid Tang San would end up following the same path as in the original story.
A perfectly good Blue Silver Grass spirit, suited to the life element, had been talked into becoming something that was neither here nor there.
Seeing his little brother's concern, Tang San smiled faintly.
"Don't worry, Xiao Wu. I'm not interested in Yu Xiaogang's useless theories."
"It's just that the school records on Soul Beasts aren't very complete, so I have no choice but to ask him for advice."
Tang San dropped the act and came clean!
The truth was, he was only after the knowledge inside Gangzi's head.
As for being a lab rat, who wanted that job could take it.
Even if he, Tang San, had to die—die out there somewhere—he still wouldn't touch those so-called Ten Great Martial Soul Theories.
"By the way, Xiao Wu..."
Just then, Tang San seemed to think of something. He looked at Tang Wu expectantly.
"You've been acting all mysterious these past couple of days. What are you working on now?"
Whether it was the substitute from before or the advanced applications of Blue Silver Grass, Tang Wu always managed to come up with something new.
Tang San always benefited greatly from it.
Controlling the substitute required concentration.
While doing so, he could train his mental strength and practice controlling Blue Silver Grass at the same time.
"Don't get me started..."
Faced with Tang San's question, Tang Wu scratched his head in frustration. His smooth blue hair ended up sticking out like a bird's nest.
He leaned back and flopped onto the bed, stretching lazily.
"Lately, I've been wondering if I can improve the way I use my Second Bomb, the Tracking Bomb."
"During our spar, didn't you use Blue Silver Grass to detonate the bomb early?"
"If the bomb had a mind of its own and could dodge on its own, I wouldn't have to control it. That would leave my hands free."
Hearing Tang Wu mention his second bomb, Tang San seemed to recall something terrifying and shuddered.
The Tracking Bomb back then could be detonated early, but it had still blown him into misery.
Now that he'd heard Tang Wu's plan to upgrade the Tracking Bomb, his scalp prickled.
Suppressing his fear, Tang San couldn't help saying,
"Could there be another way to look at it?"
"Automatic tracking is already unreasonable enough. There's no need to upgrade it. If you don't even have to control it yourself, that's just too unfair."
"Say what you want. My experiments have all failed lately, so I won't be able to create one anytime soon."
Tang Wu pulled the pillow from beside the bed and buried his head in it, sounding utterly dejected.
Developing intelligence.
It sounded simple, but it was anything but easy.
If Tang Wu could truly create a living being out of nothing, he'd have already ascended to godhood.
Watching Tang Wu roll around on the bed, Tang San couldn't help shaking his head with amusement.
"Little bro, you have to eat your meals one bite at a time and take your road one step at a time. Don't expect to reach the heavens in a single bound."
He'd already found all kinds of ways to play with just his first Soul Skill.
That kind of creativity was already terrifying...
If anyone else had managed even one thing like that in their whole life, they'd have had every reason to be proud.
And yet.
His little brother still thought it wasn't enough.
He really ought to remember that you couldn't chew more than you could swallow!
After Tang San left, Tang Wu sat up.
He rubbed his chin, his gaze profound. Then the stars in his eyes began to shine brighter and brighter.
"Right! If I can't create a living being out of nothing, I can take a step back and use a plant's instinct to sense danger!"
"As long as I preserve its instinct to seek good fortune and avoid disaster when forming the Tracking Bomb..."
As he spoke, Tang Wu suddenly broke into a smile.
There was a hint of three parts charm, three parts madness, three parts wickedness, and one part excitement in that smile.
No matter how you looked at it, he didn't seem like a good person!
After that.
Tang Wu really did create an Improved Tracking Bomb.
"Success! But what should I use to test how well it works?"
Just as he was fretting over it, a few birds came into view.
The little birds were perched by the window, flapping their wings, completely unaware that danger was closing in.
Tang Wu locked onto his targets and formed several Tracking Bombs in an instant.
"Chirp, chirp—"
The little birds saw the bombs flying toward them, went on high alert, and immediately flapped their wings to flee.
But the bombs pursued them relentlessly, until they had gone beyond Tang Wu's sight.
"They sure can fly fast. I wonder how the experiment turned out in the end?"
Inside Gangzi's dorm room.
At that moment, Gangzi was teaching Tang San about Soul Beasts.
He was quite pleased with Tang San.
Serious, meticulous, mature—these qualities made him regard the six-year-old boy before him in a new light.
It would be even better if Tang San would agree to become his disciple.
Of course.
Gangzi still hadn't given up on the idea. He was just testing Tang San's attitude through subtle hints.
As the atmosphere grew more relaxed, a strange-looking "toy" suddenly barged into the room.
As it turned out.
The Tracking Bomb wasn't perfect. It had a fatal flaw.
Once it left the ten-meter range of the Soul Skill, it would select the object with the highest temperature within range and attack it.
As luck would have it, Gangzi was within that range.
If you had to name the warmest part of the human body, the first choice was naturally the crotch.
And so.
The Tracking Bomb switched its target to Gangzi's little brother.
"What is this thing? Wait, don't come near me~~~"
Gangzi backed away in terror, trying to escape the bomb's attack range.
But he was a "genius" who was already over fifty at level 29.
Add to that a body that hadn't been exercised in years, and how could he possibly outrun the Tracking Bomb?
"Ah—!"
"Water! I need water too, lots and lots of water..."
With a scream, Gangzi's crotch caught fire, and the flames spread in an instant.
He dashed out of the dorm, searching wildly for the nearest source of water.
"That thing just now looked like Xiao Wu's Tracking Bomb, didn't it?"
Watching Gangzi's retreating figure, Tang San stood dazed and murmured to himself.
Afterward.
He learned that Tang Wu had thrown out more than just one bomb.
And Gangzi wasn't the only one who'd been hit. Several men in Notting City had caught fire.
After something so outrageous happened, Notting City fell into a panic, with everyone on edge.
They were afraid that if they let their guard down for even a moment, they'd be the next to suffer.
The incident eventually even reached the Spirit Hall Branch.
But no matter how thoroughly the various powers investigated, they couldn't find the culprit.
By the time they'd finished searching, whether the perpetrator even existed was still a mystery.
People came to call the case:
The Notting City Bird-Burning Case!
After causing such a huge disaster, Tang San sternly warned Tang Wu not to casually demonstrate his Tracking Bomb in Notting City.
After that.
Tang San looked at his little brother's innocent expression and let out a helpless sigh.
"Xiao Wu, you really are a Demon Pill..."