"Xiao Wu, are you sure you want to do this...?"
Tang San's voice was tinged with doubt.
Hearing Tang Wu's suggestion, Tang San wasn't sure whether this tactic would work.
Tang Wu hurried to reassure him. "It'll be fine. I'm here, so don't worry!"
"It's precisely because you're here that I'm worried."
Though Tang San said this aloud, grumbling helplessly at Tang Wu, his hands didn't slow down for a moment.
Tang San selected Tang Wu as the target of his third Soul Skill, Blue Silver Vine Scale Armor.
It gave Tang Wu the ability to share damage.
At the same time,
a strand of energy extended from Tang San and connected to Tang Wu.
Two more energy lines linked to the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, further reducing the damage they would take.
But that wasn't all...
Still uneasy, Tang San used his First Soul Ring to wrap Blue Silver Grass around Tang Wu's body, boosting his defenses even further.
Tang Wu had already prepared for this, with a layer of Blue Silver Soft Armor covering him.
With the extra layer of Blue Silver Grass, he was wrapped up like a dumpling, armed from head to toe.
Only after he'd done all this did Tang San finally relax.
"Come on, brother, do you really have to be so nervous?"
"Better safe than sorry. The experiment we're about to try is simply too dangerous."
"Fine, fine. You don't have to keep lecturing me now..."
Seeing Tang San about to nag him like an old mother, Tang Wu quickly raised his hands in surrender.
The yellow First Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed, and in the blink of an eye, his body was covered in Explosive Burning Chilies.
Once ignited, the chilies gradually swelled, nearing the point of detonation.
Feeling the temperature rise, Tang Wu wasn't afraid in the slightest. He was practically bursting with excitement.
"Come on, art is... Patrick Star!"
He poured all his strength into it, using his Soul Power as the ignition point to further amplify the explosion, creating an effect much like self-detonation.
That's right—the Ultra Bomb!
Boom—
After a deafening explosion, shattered stones flew everywhere, and a huge crater appeared, over ten meters across and two meters deep.
Tang Wu, who should have been at the bottom of the crater, had vanished without a trace.
Three seconds later...
"Ah—!"
With a scream, Tang Wu came crashing down from the sky.
He was in terrible shape.
Even with Tang San's damage-sharing effect and all those defensive measures, he couldn't avoid getting hurt in the blast.
The explosion had left Tang Wu covered in soot. His armor had disappeared entirely, revealing his underwear and leaving him looking utterly disheveled.
"What the heck happened?"
"I don't know, but it sounded like it came from the Back Mountain."
Over on Dai Mubai's side, the four of them were startled by the explosion, caught completely off guard.
They all looked up, turning their gazes toward the Back Mountain.
"Xiao Wu! Xiao Wu, are you all right? Are you hurt?"
Tang San and the others rushed over to check Tang Wu's injuries.
Tang Wu, who looked like a lump of charcoal, gave them a thumbs-up and stubbornly insisted, "I'm fine..."
"I just can't feel my whole body. It's no big deal. I'll be fine after a little rest."
"Seriously, you call that fine?!" ×3
Seeing Tang Wu still insisting he was fine in that state, Tang San, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong could only grumble in disbelief.
Thanks to Tang San's damage-sharing effect, Tang Wu looked a mess, but his injuries weren't severe enough to damage his bones or tendons.
With the powerful life force of his awakened Blue Silver Emperor, he recovered in less than an hour.
He was back to the same condition as before the self-detonation, bouncing around like usual.
An ordinary Soul Ancestor who suffered that kind of injury wouldn't just spend ten days or half a month in bed; they'd need about a week of rest at the very least.
Tang Wu, on the other hand, was fully recovered in about an hour.
That was more than enough to show just how terrifying the recovery power of his awakened Blue Silver Seed Martial Soul was!
During that time,
to speed up his recovery, Ning Rongrong summoned her Martial Soul. The light of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda shone down on Tang Wu.
Though the healing ability of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda was negligible compared to a true healing Martial Soul, it was better than nothing.
Looking at the colorful little pagoda before him, Tang Wu's eyes shifted as an idea came to him.
He'd studied this in his previous life.
People saw things because their retinas received light from the outside world, and their brains processed the information.
After filling in the gaps, the brain formed the colorful world before their eyes.
In theory, if an object's colors blended into its surroundings, then that animal or object would disappear from view.
A mischievous idea struck Tang Wu.
"Rongrong, I have an idea. Would you be interested?"
"Uh, is it safe?"
Thinking of Tang Wu's "Ultra Bomb," Ning Rongrong shrank back in fear.
"Completely safe."
"If the theory works, you'll gain the ability to protect yourself. You won't have to stand by helplessly when facing a powerful enemy."
After that, Tang Wu began to explain his idea at length.
He put it in terms that people on Douluo Continent would understand more easily.
"By changing the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda's color to blend in with the surroundings..."
"There's a good chance you could create a self-created Soul Skill that makes you invisible."
Ning Rongrong wasn't a silly little rabbit like Xiao Wu. She had a sharp, nimble mind and caught on immediately.
Following Tang Wu's line of thought, she also felt it had a good chance of working.
If—if they really could develop this self-created Soul Skill, then we Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Soul Masters wouldn't be helpless prey on a butcher's block whenever we were away from the protection of Battle Soul Masters.
Looking at the boy before her, who was about her age and whose mind kept producing novel ideas, Ning Rongrong couldn't contain her excitement.
"Tang Wu, you're a genius!"
"If this self-created Soul Skill really works, then the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will owe you a huge favor."
"Haha, you're too kind..."
At Ning Rongrong's praise, Tang Wu awkwardly scratched his head, not taking credit for himself.
"I only gave you an idea. Figuring out how to make it work is up to you."
"But ideas are the most important thing. So many people have no direction to move forward in, let alone any idea of what to work toward."
Ning Rongrong was utterly earnest and insisted on thanking Tang Wu.
In the end, she simply gave him a Supreme Black Card. Even Ning Rongrong herself didn't know how much money was on it.
Tang Wu had wanted to refuse, but when she said, "If you don't accept it, I won't consider you a friend," he could only accept it helplessly.
While Ning Rongrong was excitedly thinking about the self-created Soul Skill, Tang Wu was also thinking about how to improve his Ultra Bomb.
It was a powerful ultimate move. He couldn't just give up on it.
Most importantly...
It was so cool!