Bluff

"I wonder which senior is here? Could you please reveal yourself? This junior would like to thank you in person for saving my life!"

Grandmaster stood up and bowed slightly toward the direction from which the steel spikes had been fired.

Tang San also looked over with curiosity. The attack just now did not look like something a Martial Soul could produce; it seemed more like a bed crossbow or some kind of hidden weapon.

Could it be that this world also possesses factions that research mechanical hidden weapons, similar to the Tang Sect?

He thought to himself.

"I am no senior."

At that moment, the youthful voice rang out again. Then, Grandmaster and his disciple, Tang San, saw a White Tiger, two or three meters tall, slowly emerge on a nearby hilltop. Its fur rippled in the wind, and its tiger eyes glinted with a cold, sharp light.

It stood there, exuding an air of natural authority that commanded respect without anger.

What surprised the two of them most was that a child was riding on the back of the white tiger.

The child appeared to be about ten years old, with cold, sharp features and a dignified appearance.

Although his clothing was simple, the exquisitely crafted gold-inlaid jade pendant hanging from his waist suggested that his family background was certainly not ordinary.

This combination of a boy and a tiger was, naturally, Xu Bai and Di Yi, who had been tracking them.

"I am Grandmaster. Many thanks to you, young friend, for saving our lives."

Grandmaster suppressed the astonishment and curiosity in his eyes and spoke sincerely: "A life-saving grace is hard to repay. If you have any needs in the future, young friend, just say the word, and I will do my utmost to fulfill them."

Xu Bai glanced at Grandmaster without replying. He merely waved his hand, and the space behind him rippled slightly. Then, the Blue Silver Grass that had been binding the Datura Snake began to retract slowly, as if it had received an order.

Only then did he speak indifferently:

"I did not save you out of greed for your gratitude. This was simply a case of seeing an injustice and drawing my blade to help."

Hearing this, Tang San, who had been observing silently, felt his eyes flicker.

In his previous life, he had once heard a saying: "To see an injustice and draw one's blade to help is the virtue of a hero."

As a man of the martial arts world, he had initially harbored fantasies of acting chivalrously and roaming the world with his sword.

However, trapped within the Tang Sect—perhaps if he had been in the inner sect he might have had a chance—he was merely an outer sect disciple. Most of his daily contact was with hidden weapons and assassinations, things despised by the martial arts community.

Over time, his spirit for chivalry had gradually faded, and all that interested him were the various hidden weapons and techniques of the Tang Sect.

He never expected that, reborn in this strange world, someone would actually say words similar to those he had once heard.

"If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave. We shall meet again if fate allows."

Once Little Blue had retracted its vines, Xu Bai replied and patted Di Yi, signaling that they could depart.

His demeanor was exactly that of a chivalrous hero who brushes off his clothes after the deed is done, hiding his name and achievements.

Yes, this was the exact feeling he wanted.

After all, if he wanted to gain the trust of Tang San and the others in a short time, the life-saving grace alone was not quite enough. Xu Bai needed to add another persona to himself.

That was chivalry.

Because anyone with a shred of conscience would naturally feel a sense of affinity toward such a person.

And once that affinity was established, gaining their trust would become very simple.

As for leaving like this, Xu Bai was not worried at all that Grandmaster wouldn't call out to stop him.

Because Grandmaster truly cared for Tang San. Regardless of his underlying motives—even if it were just to prove his own theories—having seen Little Blue, it was impossible for him to watch him walk away.

Of course, there were no absolutes in this world. If Grandmaster truly had no intention of stopping him, Xu Bai would accept it and find another way.

If all else failed, he could just risk entering the Sunset Forest or the Star Dou Great Forest; a living person would never be stifled by such a predicament.

Di Yi turned and walked away slowly, while Xu Bai counted in his heart.

Five, four, three, two, one. I'm off the clock, Mr. Krabs... cough, cough, wrong script.

However, Grandmaster did not disappoint Xu Bai. Just as Di Yi had taken a few steps away, his voice came over with a hint of urgency: "Young friend, please stay!"

"What is it?" Di Yi paused, and Xu Bai looked back.

Grandmaster hesitated for a moment before asking: "I have a presumptuous question: have you found a way to cultivate the Blue Silver Grass?"

"Why do you ask?" Xu Bai feigned a frown.

"I mean no harm."

Grandmaster spoke quickly, then pulled Tang San in front of him and explained:

"This is my disciple, and his Martial Soul is also the Blue Silver Grass. You should be aware that the Blue Silver Grass is recognized in the Soul Master world as a trash Martial Soul. But just now, I observed that the strength of your Blue Silver Grass is far beyond that of an ordinary one. I am curious, and I also wish to find a path for my disciple, which is why I ask."

"So that's it."

Xu Bai realized, signaled for Di Yi to turn around, and then smiled:

"I am afraid I will disappoint you. My Martial Soul is not the Blue Silver Grass. What you saw just now was my tamed beast; you can think of it as a Soul Beast I raised."

It was a raised Soul Beast...

Grandmaster was shocked. The Blue Silver Grass was recognized as a trash Martial Soul in the world of Martial Souls, and it was naturally no better in the world of Soul Beasts.

The most obvious point was that such a Soul Beast could basically never become a century-old Soul Beast. Yet, judging by the fact that the Blue Silver Grass had been able to bind the Datura Snake, its age was at least a century, perhaps even a millennium.

This was even more shocking than cultivating a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul to such a degree.

However, after the brief shock, a sense of disappointment rose in his heart.

The possibility of using this as a reference was gone, and Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul would have to continue feeling its way across the river.

Thinking this, Grandmaster sighed softly, "My apologies, young friend. Although your Martial Soul is not Blue Silver Grass, you should be aware of the status of Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls in the world of Soul Masters."

"I was too excited when I saw that Blue Silver Grass of yours easily subdue a four-hundred-year-old Datura Snake, and I was momentarily blind and failed to see clearly. I have made a fool of myself."

"It is of no concern; you are simply acting out of deep care for your disciple."

Xu Bai shook his head slightly and said leisurely, "Moreover, your disciple's Blue Silver Grass is no ordinary Blue Silver Grass."

"What does my young friend mean by that?" Grandmaster furrowed his brows, but a glimmer of hope flashed deep within his eyes.

Although he considered himself well-read and possessed strong insights into Martial Soul theory, it was still merely scratching the surface compared to all the knowledge in this world.

Perhaps this young friend before him possessed secrets regarding Blue Silver Grass theory that he was unaware of.

After all, he was keeping a Blue Silver Grass Soul Beast that was at least a hundred years old by his side.

Tang San, standing to the side, also wore a look of curiosity.

Could there be another turning point for his own Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul? Yet, when his father saw it back then, he had been clearly disappointed.

"It seems you have not discovered it."

Xu Bai nodded and patted Di Yi on the back.

With the contract mark in place, Di Yi reacted instantly, then leaped forward, covering the distance to Grandmaster and Tang San in a few strides.

The pressure exerted by a hundred-year-old Di Yi was still quite significant for any Soul Beast below the three-ring level, especially when face-to-face.

The inherent aura belonging to a tiger-type Soul Beast caused Tang San, who was not even a Soul Master yet, to feel a direct, primal fear; had he not been a transmigrator, he likely would have wet himself by now.

One only had to look at Grandmaster, a Great Soul Master, whose face had turned slightly pale at this moment.

"What is your name, little brother?"

Xu Bai vaulted off Di Yi's back, revealing a smile as refreshing as a spring breeze.

"Tang San..."

Tang San was sparing with his words, though not out of coldness; he was primarily suppressing the fear in his heart, afraid that if he said too much, his voice would tremble.

Xu Bai nodded, then, without any preamble, spoke directly, "If it is convenient, could you give me a drop of your blood?"

Upon hearing this request, Grandmaster and Tang San were merely puzzled, but Tang Hao, hidden in the shadows in the distance, saw his gaze toward Xu Bai turn increasingly dangerous.