Tang San: "First Soul Skill, Blue Silver Pole Vault!"

"Little San, the path I've mapped out for you is to restrict enemies while applying toxins," Yu Xiaogang said as they walked.

"Restrict enemies? Blue Silver Grass is so fragile, how could it possibly restrict anyone?" Tang San asked, puzzled.

"That involves the choice of your spirit ring. If the ring you absorb possesses toughness, then the toughness of your Blue Silver Grass will naturally be enhanced."

Yu Xiaogang had been speaking with his usual indifference until he spotted a lone bamboo stalk standing in the middle of the forest.

"This is a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo. Its characteristics are toughness; while its attack power is weak, its defensive capabilities are decent. It is very suitable for your Blue Silver Grass," Yu Xiaogang said, patting the bamboo stalk.

"Then..."

Tang San took a dagger from his Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlight Night, intending to hunt the Solitary Bamboo to serve as his first spirit ring, but Yu Xiaogang stopped him.

"Let's look around a bit more to see if there are more suitable soul beasts. If we truly find nothing, it won't be too late to come back and absorb the Solitary Bamboo."

"Yes, Teacher." Tang San obediently put away his dagger.

"He actually wants Tang San to absorb a Solitary Bamboo," Na'er said, speechless. "What is he thinking, having his disciple absorb a ten-year spirit ring?"

"Who knows?" Di Lintian didn't know what was going through Yu Xiaogang's mind either. As a disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family, how could he not know the massive gap between a ten-year and a hundred-year spirit ring?

"Isn't that Tang San's martial spirit the Blue Silver Emperor? Why does that 'Grandmaster' want him to take the control route?" Na'er saw through the bloodline hidden within Tang San's Blue Silver Grass at a glance.

"Just a thief," Di Lintian said coolly. He also felt that Yu Xiaogang was simply ruining Tang San's potential. If Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor had taken a purely support route, absorbing life-attribute spirit rings, he would have absolutely been able to awaken the Blue Silver Emperor's bloodline on his own.

Although he would lack combat power in the early stages, Tang San's hidden weapons would have been enough to get him through that period. By the later stages, he would have become a Tang Hao possessing the power of endless life.

In fact, besides the life-force support route, Di Lintian felt that Tang San's Blue Silver Grass could also have taken a sharpness route. Combined with Tang San's hidden weapon techniques, he could have absolutely achieved the ability to kill without a trace.

"How could this be?"

Yu Xiaogang had taken Tang San for a tour through the Soul Hunting Forest and had seen many spirit rings suitable for Tang San, including a five-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake—the one he considered the most ideal for Tang San—but they had all been killed by someone else a step ahead of them.

"Teacher, there are spirit masters slaughtering soul beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest on a massive scale. Let's just go back and absorb that Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo," Tang San said indignantly.

"That seems to be the only option." Yu Xiaogang nodded.

The two returned to the spot where they had seen the Solitary Bamboo. Tang San held a short dagger in his hand, somewhat unsure of how to proceed.

It was said that Yu Xiaogang was a master for a reason; he truly had foresight. He took an axe from his spirit tool and handed it to Tang San.

"Use this to chop."

Tang San nodded, gripped the axe tightly with both hands, and swung it with force.

A flash of pale white spirit power flickered over the Solitary Bamboo, leaving it completely unscathed.

A look of embarrassment appeared on Tang San's face, and he began to employ the Chaotic Cloak Hammer Technique his father had taught him before he left home!

A moment later, the Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo was finally severed into two by Tang San's Chaotic Cloak Axe Technique.

A pale white spirit ring spiraled up from the remaining bamboo root, emitting a very weak fluctuation of spirit power.

"This Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo should grant you a powerful defensive spirit skill, and it will also greatly enhance the toughness of your Blue Silver Grass martial spirit," Yu Xiaogang said, standing with his hands behind his back, full of confidence.

"Mm." Tang San nodded heavily, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to draw in the pale white spirit ring.

"Heh heh heh, Tang San, this is only the beginning!" Di Lintian revealed the signature smile of the Spirit Hall.

Na'er, standing beside him, felt her skin crawl at the sound of that laughter.

Half an hour later.

Tang San opened his eyes, slowly stood up from the ground, and brushed the dust off his clothes.

"Little San, is your spirit skill biased toward defense?" Yu Xiaogang asked, stepping forward.

Tang San focused his mind to carefully sense his spirit skill, then said with a strange expression: "My first spirit skill is... Blue Silver Pole Vault. It isn't a defensive type."

"First spirit skill, Blue Silver Pole Vault!"

A stalk of Blue Silver Grass burst from the ground beneath Tang San's feet and grew wildly. Two seconds later, Tang San stood atop a straight, ten-meter-tall stalk of Blue Silver Grass.

He applied a slight force with his legs, and the Blue Silver Grass beneath him displayed impressive toughness, bending slightly into a C-shape.

The next moment, Tang San shot forward, covering a full ten meters!

Yu Xiaogang looked at this spirit skill, which required a three-second casting time only to move ten meters, and rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

Di Lintian, watching from the shadows, nearly laughed out loud.

Absorbing a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo could actually unlock the Blue Silver Pole Vault skill? If Tang San absorbed seventeen more stalks of bamboo, wouldn't he unlock the divine skill [Blue Silver Eighteen Consecutive Jumps] and jump straight to the God Realm?

"This Tang San could just condense his spirit power into his legs and run ten meters in less than three seconds," Na'er said, having carefully counted the three seconds it took from the moment Tang San released the skill until he landed. She couldn't believe such a weak spirit skill existed.

"Little San, although this spirit skill is a bit lackluster, at least it has increased your toughness," Yu Xiaogang said, comforting him.

"Yes, Teacher. The toughness of the Blue Silver Grass has been greatly increased." Tang San controlled the Blue Silver Grass to wrap around a nearby tree and pulled with force; the tree snapped on cue.

Although this tree didn't even count as a ten-year soul beast, it still demonstrated the growth in the toughness of his Blue Silver Grass.

"I knew it. My theory was correct; the Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo is the soul beast most compatible with your Blue Silver Grass martial spirit."

Yu Xiaogang laughed and said, deciding that when Tang San hunted for his second spirit ring, he would use his connections to help him hunt a hundred-year-old Solitary Bamboo.

"Let's go, back to the Sky Dragon Pavilion. In six years, we're going to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy!" Seeing that Tang San had absorbed the Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo, Di Lintian no longer intended to stay in Nuoding City and spoke to Na'er beside him.

"Hmm."

Before leaving, Di Lintian took one last look at Tang San and thought to himself, Tang San, we shall meet again in six years.

Only a few days after Di Lintian returned to the Sky Dragon Pavilion, a man in a black robe sought out Yu Xiaogang and beat him up without saying a word.

Tang Hao truly had not expected that in the mere two days he had spent recovering at Holy Soul Village, this Yu Xiaogang would have let his son absorb a ten-year spirit ring, and the spirit skill was something like a Blue Silver Pole Vault.

After receiving the beating, Yu Xiaogang finally realized the identity of the man in black; it was his idol, the youngest Title Douluo on the continent, the Clear Sky Douluo!

As a result, when Yu Xiaogang looked at him with a face swollen like a pig's head and eyes full of worship, Tang Hao could not help himself and beat him up again.

Finally, Tang Hao left behind a single sentence and an Elder Token of the Spirit Hall before turning and melting into the night.

"If you ever let Little San absorb another ten-year spirit ring, don't even think about seeing tomorrow's sun."

Even though Tang Hao had beaten him twice in a row, Yu Xiaogang still watched him leave with a look of pure adoration.

The next day, when Tang San saw Yu Xiaogang's face, which had yet to lose its swelling, he had already mentally labeled the person who had harmed his teacher as someone who "already had a path to death."