"Even though Ah Yin hasn't fully awakened yet, she's still the Blue Silver Emperor, a top-tier Martial Soul capable of matching the Clear Sky Hammer. With the foundation of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, her combat strength is considerably greater than that of other Soul Beasts of the same level."
"I just wonder how much effect Tang San's 'Mother's Entanglement' would have if Ah Yin's Blue Silver Emperor faced off against Tang San's Blue Silver Grass."
After all, the one in his hands was Tang San's real mother!
Heh heh heh.
At the thought of this, Lin Hui felt a little excited.
"Next, it's Ah Yin's Soul Bone."
Lin Hui searched the stone chamber for another hour and finally found a mechanism above. When he pressed it, a black lead box dropped from the ceiling.
Lin Hui reached out and caught it.
The lead box was incredibly heavy. Lin Hui had barely opened a crack when an overwhelming, surging aura burst through it, making the air around him seem to freeze for an instant.
"What a rich surge of Soul Power."
Lin Hui couldn't help exclaiming.
Inside the long lead box lay a crystalline blue-and-gold right leg bone. Flecks of starlight seemed to shimmer within it, and just touching it was enough for Lin Hui to feel its surging vitality.
"Because Tang Hao loved Ah Yin, he didn't absorb this Soul Bone after she sacrificed herself. Instead, he kept it as a memento."
"But I don't have any such scruples. If you can't bring yourself to take her, I'll do it; if you can't bring yourself to use the Soul Bone, then hand it over to me."
"I'll take good care of your wife, so you don't need to worry."
With the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's right leg bone and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Ah Yin both in hand, the trip had been a complete success.
This wasn't a place to linger, either. With everything he came for in hand, Lin Hui left the stone chamber.
Elsewhere, in the Soul Hunting Forest.
Luo Sanpao was no match for the four-hundred-year-old Datura Snake. Its venomous fangs bit Luo Sanpao, and he turned into a streak of purple light before reentering Yu Xiaogang's body.
Just as the ferocious Datura Snake was chasing Yu Xiaogang and Tang San, Tang San used his bizarre Hidden Weapon technique to fling a white radish from the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, the Soul Tool belt. The radish struck the Datura Snake and bought them a little time.
When the Datura Snake attacked again, Tang San stepped forward. The hidden Sleeve Arrow shot out, a streak of black light flashed, and the Datura Snake let out a pained howl.
Tang San's Sleeve Arrow had been forged from Iron Mother, and its mechanism gave it tremendous force. Even the Datura Snake, with its strong defenses, couldn't stop it from piercing through.
Seeing the enraged Datura Snake attack Tang San and Yu Xiaogang again, Tang San stopped holding back. He grabbed a short sword and charged forward. With the Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he drove the two-foot-long sword into the Datura Snake's gaping maw.
"Success!"
Yu Xiaogang was thrilled. After all, he had carefully chosen this Soul Ring for Tang San.
He was astonished by Tang San's terrifying footwork, but his surprise was quickly swallowed up by his excitement.
"Xiao San, the Datura Snake is both tough and poisonous, making it ideal for your Blue Silver Grass."
"Absorbing its Soul Ring will be a great help to you if you pursue the Control System in the future."
"Moreover, according to my theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, the maximum age of a First Soul Ring a Soul Master can absorb is four hundred and twenty-three years. This Datura Snake is nearly four meters long and about four hundred years old, so its Soul Ring is just right for you."
"Perfect. Simply perfect."
"Once you absorb it, there's no doubt you'll have a head start on the path of a Soul Master!"
Yu Xiaogang grew more and more impassioned as he spoke. Tang San was the only Soul Master he had ever taken on who possessed both Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, and he was determined to make him his finest creation.
Hearing his teacher say this, Tang San replied excitedly.
"All right, teacher. I'll absorb it now."
"I'll prove that your theory is right, teacher, and that Lin Hui was wrong."
"And I'll defeat him fair and square!"
Yu Xiaogang was already so overjoyed that he had forgotten himself.
"Lin Hui?" He seemed to recall a name from long ago.
"He can't even break through level ten. He's no longer worthy of being your opponent. He's nothing more than a stepping stone on your path as a Soul Master."
"That's true," Tang San said, as if enlightened. "You're right, teacher! I'll absorb the Soul Ring now!"
While absorbing the Datura Snake's Soul Ring, Tang San encountered a few minor obstacles, but overall the process went smoothly. He never came close to the point where his body was about to collapse.
In fact, Tang San even felt his body could withstand a more powerful Soul Ring, but he still didn't question his teacher.
"But that makes sense. The maximum age for a First Soul Ring is four hundred and twenty-three years, and this Datura Snake is nearly four hundred years old. The extra capacity my body can handle must be the difference of those few decades."
After absorbing his First Soul Ring, Tang San also showed Yu Xiaogang his evolved Blue Silver Grass.
"It's tougher now, and it has a paralyzing effect."
After absorbing the Datura Snake, the grass in Tang San's hand had changed from pale blue to deep blue. A few black patterns covered its leaves—the Datura Snake's markings.
"It may look a little uglier, but what does that matter as long as it's stronger?" Tang San thought.
But in the woods a few hundred meters away, a burly figure dressed in black robes watched with utter disdain.
"Xiao San's been helping me forge iron since he was little. He's always been much stronger than ordinary people. With his physique, why did he choose a Soul Ring that was only four hundred years old?"
"The maximum age of a Soul Ring a Soul Master can withstand isn't fixed. It also depends on the Soul Master's physical strength, the nature of their Martial Soul, and more!"
But in the end, Tang Hao held back.
"Forget it. It's passable. As long as he's safe, that's what matters."
After absorbing the Soul Ring, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang returned to the academy.
Behind Holy Soul Village.
Tang Hao had also returned from the Soul Hunting Forest. He had been secretly protecting his son, Tang San, all along. After seeing that Tang San seemed to have a unique combat technique and had successfully obtained his First Soul Ring, he felt pleased.
He couldn't wait to tell Ah Yin the good news.
Tang Hao leaped powerfully into the waterfall and pressed the mechanism. A door appeared in the stone wall.
Soon, Tang Hao excitedly made his way toward the depths of the chamber, talking to himself as he went.
"Ah Yin, do you know? Our son has Twin Martial Souls, and he just added his First Soul Ring to his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul."
"Though he only got a four-hundred-year Soul Ring under the Grandmaster's guidance, our son has been forging iron with me since he was little. His body is stronger than the average person's, and I think he could've withstood even a five-hundred-year Soul Ring."
As a Titled Douluo, Tang Hao naturally understood the rules governing Martial Souls, accepted by powerful Soul Masters, far better than Yu Xiaogang, a twenty-ninth-level Soul Master.
"Fortunately, Xiao San absorbed it without any danger. Overall, it was a decent result."
"His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul comes from you, Ah Yin. Did you know?"
Tang Hao reached the innermost chamber. Tears shimmered in his eyes as he looked toward the little mound of earth.
Slowly, his pupils widened, filling with confusion, disbelief, and even anger.
Because the place where Ah Yin had been planted was now completely bare.
A burst of fury surged through Tang Hao's chest, and he let out a heartrending cry.
"Ah! My Ah Yin! Who did this? Who on earth did this?!"