Gangzi is a Big Swindler

As night deepened, Zhu Shen and Tang San pitched a simple tent, lit a campfire, and sat on the ground.

After Tang San finished absorbing his spirit ring, the system detected a century-old Lone Bamboo nearby and triggered an opportunity mission.

[Assist Tang San in absorbing a century-old Lone Bamboo spirit ring for his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.]

[Mission Reward: A ten-year Lone Bamboo spirit bone at a random location.]

[Mission Time Limit: One day.]

Throughout the afternoon, Zhu Shen led Tang San on a thorough search around the periphery of the Soul Hunting Forest, but they either found no Lone Bamboo or the specimens were not of the required age.

On the way, to solidify Tang San's trust in him, Zhu Shen continued to hoodwink the boy: "Little San, do you trust your teacher?"

"Of course I trust you, Teacher. Although your spirit power is not high and your practical combat ability is weak, in the field of theory, you are truly peerless."

Zhu Shen's mouth twitched. What a brutally honest thing to say. Although the Tang San of this world had a slightly different emotional intelligence than the original, it was no big deal.

"When I absorbed the ten-year Lone Bamboo spirit ring this afternoon, I was initially a bit skeptical of you, Teacher, but the effect of the spirit skill exceeded my expectations. Now, I trust you absolutely."

Zhu Shen coughed lightly and said solemnly, "If you trust your teacher, I have another unique skill. I wonder if you are willing to learn it."

Zhu Shen transformed into a salesman, ready to pitch his Pure Bamboo Douluo plan.

"Of course I am willing, Teacher."

"Good." To ensure Tang San grew according to the system's constraints, Zhu Shen began to spout nonsense with a straight face: "Ancient secret records state that if one collects nine Lone Bamboo spirit rings, one can attain strength comparable to that of a god."

"But..."

"I know your question. Naturally, there are limitations."

Tang San felt at a loss. He was still young and had only been in this world for a few years; he was ignorant of many theoretical concepts.

Although he was a genius living his second life, his proud father had become a decadent wreck, and all his theoretical knowledge had been taught by Fei Gang. Who else could he believe?

Even though the things Zhu Shen had said over the past two days were becoming increasingly absurd, Tang San had discovered in practice that the results were quite good, making it difficult for him to judge.

Seeing Tang San's suspicious look, Zhu Shen spoke up: "Little San, do you also think my theories are no better than a pile of waste paper?"

Immediately, Zhu Shen put on a pained expression, as if he were a frustrated genius being shunned by the world.

"No, Teacher, I just..." Tang San felt Zhu Shen was overacting, but he didn't say it aloud.

Zhu Shen's face turned bitter, and this wasn't entirely an act. Even a moron would think absorbing nine Lone Bamboo spirit rings was unreliable, let alone that Tang San had twin martial souls—eighteen Lone Bamboo spirit rings to become a god? Who was he kidding?

However, he wasn't panicked. As a fellow transmigrator, he felt he could appropriately reveal a bit of the system's capabilities to convince Tang San of his theories.

Besides, if all else failed, he could just force Tang San to absorb them once he became stronger himself.

However, Zhu Shen remembered Tang Hao. That man was not easy to fool, and more importantly, he couldn't beat him.

Forget it, forget it. Let's just think about how to trick Tang San into absorbing the century-old Lone Bamboo first. Having a spirit bone will at least provide some persuasive power.

To Zhu Shen's surprise, Tang San spoke.

Tang San lowered his head and pondered for a long while. After several days of getting along and the knowledge Zhu Shen had instilled in him, Tang San made up his mind to trust him: "This disciple believes in your judgment, Teacher."

However, Tang San didn't trust Zhu Shen completely; he decided to wait and see, starting by absorbing two Lone Bamboo rings to test the results.

"Good! I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Zhu Shen breathed a sigh of relief now that Tang San finally trusted him.

Although Zhu Shen knew it was impossible for Tang San to trust him entirely, it was enough that he had bluffed his way through this time. Once the system exerted its power later, everything would improve.

"Tomorrow, we will find a spirit ring for your second martial soul, and I will also hunt for my third spirit ring."

The night passed in silence.

Early the next morning, the two woke up and continued their search for spirit rings. They chatted as they walked.

"Little San, yesterday I had you absorb the ten-year Lone Bamboo on purpose because I had my eye on its displacement spirit skill. Today, you need to absorb a century-old Lone Bamboo."

"A century-old Lone Bamboo?"

"Correct. According to my research, the maximum age for a spirit master's first spirit ring is 423 years." Zhu Shen didn't actually believe some of Fei Gang's theories, but being new to this world, he couldn't verify them.

He continued, "However, I see that you are gifted, and Lone Bamboo is a relatively mild plant-type spirit beast, so you can try to absorb a ring of a higher age."

Tang San followed behind, his gaze occasionally falling on his teacher's back.

Today's Master seemed a bit different from before.

The Yu Xiaogang of the past walked with a slight stoop, his brow always furrowed with the sorrow of a frustrated man.

But the Master now held his back straight, his steps were steady, and his every movement carried an indescribable aura.

"This disciple will follow your arrangements, Teacher."

Tang San said this sincerely, his eyes as clear as those of a true six-year-old child.

Zhu Shen looked into those eyes and felt inexplicably uneasy.

This child was a soul living his second life, an elite of the Tang Sect, a master of hidden weapons, and a man of decisive action. Now, he was being led around by the nose, and if he realized the truth when he grew up...

No, I must accelerate the progress. I need to arm myself to the teeth before he awakens. I'm tricking him now, but in the future, I might have to use force.

He looked at Tang San and thought silently: I have no choice. But following the system means good spirit skills, spirit bones, and even evolution—it's a unique opportunity, and I won't treat you poorly.

"Teacher," Tang San suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

"How did you know that absorbing nine Lone Bamboo spirit rings could grant god-level strength?"

Zhu Shen paused in his tracks.

That was a good question. So good, in fact, that he didn't know how to answer it.

He couldn't exactly say, "Your master transmigrated here and bound a system," could he?

He pondered for a moment and decided to continue spouting nonsense: "Over these years, I have traveled across the continent, studying various martial soul theories, and finally discovered the secret of martial soul evolution in an ancient ruin."

"Simply put, martial souls are not immutable. When a spirit master's ability reaches a certain critical point, or they come into contact with specific rare treasures, there is a chance to trigger an evolution."

Although this explanation was mystical, it was at least logically sound. Even though Tang San still had doubts, he stopped asking further questions.

The two walked for a while longer until a system notification sounded.

[A target, a hundred-year Lone Bamboo, has appeared ahead.]

He felt a surge of joy and was about to call out to Tang San when he suddenly sensed something, his expression shifting slightly.

"Wait."

Tang San stopped immediately, looking around vigilantly. "Master, what is it?"

Zhu Shen didn't answer, pushing his perception to its limit.

"There are people ahead. Follow me."

The two hid behind a cluster of bushes, parting the branches to peer forward.

Ahead lay a relatively open clearing in the forest. In the center of the clearing, a Lone Bamboo with a body of pure emerald stood silently; its stalk was thick, at least the width of an adult's calf.

However, at this moment, three people were standing beside the Lone Bamboo. What made Zhu Shen uneasy was that the three of them were reeking of an evil aura.