On the high ground of Soul Hunting Forest, Su Hang drew Xiao Wu half a step behind him.
The Mandala Snake's corpse lay across the muddy ground. Its blood corroded the grass, sizzling as black smoke curled up.
The Soul Ring hovered above the corpse, its color somewhat dim. It swayed in circles, still carrying its poison attribute, but the Soul Power within had been scattered by the lightning.
Tang San stood at the edge of the low ground. His sleeves were torn in several places, and red marks from the snake's tail stood out on his shoulder.
He did not step forward at once.
Yu Xiaogang did not move either.
Both of them could tell that something was wrong with this Soul Ring.
Xiao Wu stayed close to Su Hang and spoke softly.
"Brother Su Hang, can this Soul Ring still be used?"
Su Hang glanced at the Soul Ring.
"It can."
Xiao Wu had just started to relax when he heard Su Hang add,
"It might just be disgusting to use."
Tang San raised his head, his gaze shifting from the Soul Ring to Su Hang.
"What do you mean?"
Su Hang brushed the dust from his sleeve, standing there at ease.
"It's simple."
"This Mandala Snake was originally suited to Blue Silver Grass."
"Poison, toughness, and entanglement—it had all three."
"But it was pierced by lightning just now, and I also drew out its most important point of compatibility."
"Now it still has poison, and a little toughness, but its core is a mess."
"After absorbing it, the Spirit Skill might be warped."
Yu Xiaogang immediately stepped forward, his walking stick tapping the muddy ground.
"The Soul Ring still fundamentally comes from a Mandala Snake."
"Blue Silver Grass can still absorb it, and the control route remains viable."
"Tang San, don't let him distract you."
Tang San did not respond right away.
The Soul Ring above the muddy ground was still swaying.
Su Hang had already touched this Soul Ring.
More accurately, Su Hang had damaged it.
But if he gave up, who knew how long it would take to find another Soul Beast of the same level.
In Soul Hunting Forest, you couldn't simply find whichever Soul Beast you wanted.
Mandala Snakes were rare to begin with.
A Mandala Snake close to six hundred years old was even rarer.
Yu Xiaogang suppressed the turmoil in his heart and continued,
"Tang San, this Soul Ring still has value."
"Its poison is still there, and so is the toughness of the snake's body."
"Even if its Soul Power is somewhat scattered, absorbing it will still strengthen your Blue Silver Grass."
"You'll have a hard time finding a more suitable target in the short term."
Su Hang did not argue.
He even stepped aside.
"Whether you absorb it is up to you."
"I won't urge you, and I won't stop you."
At those words, Tang San straightened his sleeve instead.
All along this journey, Su Hang had kept him down at every turn.
He had stolen his dorm room after they entered the academy.
He had taken apart his teacher after they entered the forest.
Now he had even stuck his foot into his first Soul Ring.
If he gave up on this Soul Ring, it would be like admitting Su Hang had cut off his path.
Tang San could not accept that.
He stepped toward the Soul Ring.
"Teacher, I'll absorb it."
Yu Xiaogang immediately nodded.
"Good."
"Sit cross-legged. I'll protect you."
Xiao Wu tugged at Su Hang's sleeve.
"You're really not going to stop him?"
Su Hang lowered his hand and let her hold on.
"When people choose their own path, only stepping into a pit will make them feel the pain."
Xiao Wu pressed her lips together.
"But if something happens to him..."
Su Hang turned his head.
"Have you gone softhearted?"
Xiao Wu lowered her head and scuffed the edge of the muddy ground with her toe.
"I just think he looks pretty miserable right now."
Su Hang did not mock her. He only lowered his voice.
"If you save him once, that doesn't mean he'll take even one less benefit from you later."
Xiao Wu's hand went still.
Sacrifice.
Daming.
Erming.
The contents of the diary came pressing back into her mind.
She moved to stand behind Su Hang.
"Then I won't get involved."
"I'll listen to you."
In the low ground, Tang San had already sat down.
Yu Xiaogang stood beside him, while Luo Sanpao lay on the other side, its ears drooping. It still had not recovered from the effects of the poisonous mist.
"Tang San, steady your mind."
"Use your Soul Power to draw in the Soul Ring."
"Release your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."
Tang San raised his right hand.
Blue Silver Grass sprang from his palm, its slender blades swaying in the air.
Drawn by him, the Soul Ring began to approach.
The moment it touched the Blue Silver Grass, a chaotic poison force burrowed into Tang San's body.
Tang San's shoulders and back stiffened, and his teeth clicked together.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill began circulating on its own.
Soul Power raced through his meridians, forcefully holding back the counterattack of the poison.
But the problem with the damaged Soul Ring also emerged at that moment.
The Mandala Snake's poison did not gently fuse with the Blue Silver Grass. Instead, it split into several streams and surged in different directions.
One stream traveled through his meridians.
One rushed into his arm.
Another pressed straight toward the area around his dantian.
Sweat quickly beaded across Tang San's forehead.
Yu Xiaogang stood beside him, speaking without pause.
"Stay steady."
"Blue Silver Grass can bear it."
"The control route is sound."
"Draw the poison into your Martial Soul. Don't let it spread through your body."
Listening from the high ground, Su Hang clicked his tongue softly.
"He's still reciting theory, even at a time like this."
Xiao Wu replied in a low voice.
"Is he afraid to admit he chose wrong?"
Su Hang nodded.
"Some people want resources, and some people want to save face."
"Put them together, and things are bound to go wrong."
The Soul Power inside Tang San spun faster and faster.
His sleeves billowed from the surging Soul Power, and several small Hidden Weapons slipped out through the tears in his clothes.
One Sleeve Arrow fell into the mud. Its metal mechanism was stained with snake blood, and it gave a faint click.
Among the branches high above,
Yue Guan raised a hand and parted the leaves, staring at the Sleeve Arrow.
"Did you see that?"
Gui Mei was hidden in the shadow of a tree, black mist flowing along its trunk.
"I saw it."
Yue Guan lowered his voice.
"That thing has a delicate mechanism and can be hidden in a sleeve."
"He used it to wound the Mandala Snake just now."
Gui Mei paused for a moment.
"Tang Hao couldn't have taught him that kind of technique."
Yue Guan tapped a flower petal with his fingertip.
"Report it when we get back."
"Besides Twin Martial Souls, Tang San has other secrets."
"If those Hidden Weapons ended up in the hands of the Spirit Master Army, it'd be a serious problem."
Gui Mei said nothing more and simply took note from the shadows.
In the low ground, the absorption continued.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass began to change color.
Faint dark-green patterns appeared on the otherwise ordinary blades of grass.
But the patterns were scattered unevenly.
In some places, Poison Patterns clustered together, turning the blades of grass completely black.
Other parts remained fragile, and even grass debris carried by the wind could cut into them.
Yu Xiaogang's palms were clammy as he watched, but all he could do was keep things steady.
"Good."
"The Soul Ring has entered your Martial Soul."
"Keep suppressing the poison."
"As long as you make it through, your First Spirit Skill will be complete."
Standing on the high ground, Su Hang did not interrupt.
This was exactly the outcome he wanted.
If Tang San refused to absorb it, he would lose at most one opportunity.
If he absorbed it, this flawed opportunity would become part of his foundation.
A low-grade start.
With side effects included.
Now that was a real loss.
Xiao Wu watched the fluctuations of Soul Power around Tang San and could not help asking,
"Brother Su Hang, will he succeed?"
Su Hang answered calmly,
"He will."
Xiao Wu was stunned.
"Then weren't all our efforts wasted?"
Su Hang raised a hand and tapped her on the head.
"Success comes in different grades."
"Can a perfect answer sheet and barely scraping by really be called the same thing?"
Xiao Wu rubbed her head and muttered under her breath.
"Got it."
"He's all about just barely passing."
Su Hang smiled.
"Pretty much."
After a long while, the Soul Ring finally settled completely into Tang San's body.
The Soul Power in Tang San's body suddenly sank, then quickly stabilized.
He raised his right hand, and Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his palm.
His First Soul Ring rose into view.
A Yellow Soul Ring circled around him.
Its color was somewhat dull, though, and its edges were marred by messy Poison Patterns.
Yu Xiaogang hurried forward.
"Tang San, try out your Spirit Skill."
Tang San stood up and swung his right hand forward.
"Entangle."
Several strands of Blue Silver Grass shot up from the ground and wrapped around a broken log nearby.
Once the leaves had coiled around the log, they quickly tightened.
Poison Patterns spread along the leaves, corroding several black patches into the log's surface.
But in the next instant, the Blue Silver Grass itself began to falter.
Several leaves couldn't withstand the backlash of the poison. They withered and blackened on the spot, then snapped in two.
Tang San's arm went numb as well, and a small amount of Soul Power was sucked back out of his body.
He forcibly suppressed his discomfort and withdrew the Blue Silver Grass.
Yu Xiaogang stood beside him, at a loss for words for quite a while.
The Spirit Skill had indeed worked.
It could entangle, and it was poisonous.
But it lacked resilience, the poison wasn't pure, and it even backfired on his Soul Power.
It was a far cry from the perfect control Spirit Skill he had envisioned.
Xiao Wu peeked out from behind Su Hang.
"So this is the control path Grandmaster was talking about?"
Su Hang obligingly twisted the knife.
"It can control."
"Half a moment for someone else, and a whole moment for yourself."
Xiao Wu nearly burst out laughing, then quickly covered her mouth.
Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened, but he kept up the act.
"He's only just obtained the Spirit Skill. He needs to practice."
"If Tang San trains more in the future, the backlash will lessen."
Su Hang replied blandly.
"Let's hope so."
Tang San withdrew the Blue Silver Grass.
His sleeve was torn, his Hidden Weapons had fallen to the ground, and his First Spirit Skill hadn't lived up to expectations.
This Soul Hunting trip had ended in an ugly fashion.
He bent down to pick up the Sleeve Arrows and put them away in the cloth bag one by one.
Then he walked to a spot not far in front of Su Hang.
Xiao Wu instinctively edged closer behind Su Hang.
Su Hang didn't move.
Tang San stopped, suppressing the lingering pain in his body.
"I'll remember this."
Su Hang patted the back of Xiao Wu's hand where it gripped him, then looked up at Tang San.
"Make sure you remember it well. There's plenty more to come."
Before you continue