Tang San Successfully Absorbs His First Soul Ring! Yu Xiaogang Is Poisoned and Unconscious!

Tang San moved.

With Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track driven to its limit, his figure became a blurry phantom in the Mandala Snake's sight.

The snake's head whipped toward him, its venomous fangs slicing through the air, but under the Purple Demon Eye, Tang San saw the angle and speed of the strike with perfect clarity.

He shifted his body half an inch to the side, and the fangs grazed his sleeve, stirring up a foul wind.

Tang San stepped forward with the motion, his Mysterious Jade Hand already reaching out.

"Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon!"

His five fingers clamped around the snake's tail and jerked upward. The Mandala Snake's body was pulled in the opposite direction, abruptly interrupting the momentum of its swinging head and knotting its entire body in midair.

Tang San took two steps back, then reached to his waist and flicked his right hand.

A jet-black sleeve arrow shot from his cuff, accurately pinning the Mandala Snake seven inches below its head.

The slender arrow shaft pierced through its scales and sank deep into the softest gap in its body.

The Mandala Snake let out a shrill hiss. Its massive body twisted violently, its tail lashing madly against the ground and sending fallen leaves and dirt flying everywhere.

Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to weave through the gaps in the snake's attacks. With another flick of his hand, he fired a second sleeve arrow, pinning it at the joint between the snake's head and neck.

Venom seeped from the tips of its fangs and dripped onto the ground, producing hissing white smoke and corroding small black pits into the earth.

Yet not a drop of that venom touched even the corner of Tang San's clothes.

For his third attack, he launched several Bone-Piercing Needles infused with soul power, striking crucial points along the snake's blood vessels from different angles.

The Mandala Snake's struggles grew weaker and weaker. The vicious gleam in its vertical pupils gradually faded, and at last, it slowly collapsed to the ground. Its enormous body convulsed a few times before becoming completely still.

The forest fell silent.

Yu Xiaogang leaned against a tree trunk, his face pale as he watched the scene unfold. His lips parted slightly, but for a long while, he could not utter a word.

He watched Tang San retrieve his hidden weapons, walk over to the Mandala Snake's corpse, and inspect the remaining venom sacs with his Mysterious Jade Hand. His movements were so practiced that it was as though he had done this countless times.

"You..." Yu Xiaogang's voice was hoarse. "You killed it?"

"Yes." Tang San stood up and dusted the dirt from his hands. "A Mandala Snake with more than four hundred years of cultivation has a weak point seven inches below its head. Its venom is mainly stored in sacs behind the roots of its fangs. Although it is fast, it needs to build up strength when changing direction. If you seize that opening, you can kill it."

He spoke calmly, as though he were merely stating something insignificant.

Yet Yu Xiaogang's heart was shaken like a storm-tossed sea.

A child who had only just enrolled and did not even possess a soul ring had independently killed a Mandala Snake with more than four hundred years of cultivation using several finely crafted hidden weapons, after Luo Sanpao had been driven back.

And he himself, a two-ringed Grand Soul Master, had fallen into a disadvantage the moment the battle began.

Yu Xiaogang's fingers clenched around the tree bark until his knuckles turned white.

He lowered his head, his expression obscured by the shadows of the trees.

Tang San walked over to him and bent down, his tone as respectful as ever. "Teacher, you once said that weak Blue Silver Grass could rely on a powerful beast martial soul to improve itself. This Mandala Snake is a snake-type soul beast, and its poison attribute matches the characteristics of my Blue Silver Grass. Although its four hundred years of cultivation exceeds the standard you originally selected for me, this disciple is willing to try. Please stand guard for me, Teacher."

Yu Xiaogang raised his head and looked at the youth before him, whose expression was calm but whose tone allowed no refusal.

His lips moved, but in the end, he only said two words.

"Good. I had the same thought."

He was excited. He had thought he would need to spend quite some effort persuading Tang San.

He had not expected Tang San to bring it up himself.

Naturally, that was a good thing.

His theory would soon be proven.

Tang San sat cross-legged beside the Mandala Snake's corpse, pressed both hands against its body, and began circulating the Soul Transfer Art to absorb the soul ring's power.

Dark green soul power slowly seeped from the snake's corpse, winding around his body as it gradually condensed into form.

Yu Xiaogang stood nearby and watched silently.

His theory... someone was finally willing to test it.

Yet what rose in his heart at that moment was not the satisfaction and anticipation he had expected.

Tang San's fluid movements when killing the Mandala Snake, along with his calm judgment that bordered on ruthlessness, made Yu Xiaogang realize for the first time that this disciple might not need his guidance at all.

He was the one being looked after.

Yu Xiaogang leaned against the tree trunk, closed his eyes, and let out a bitter smile.

So be it.

The path had already been chosen. He would walk it to the end.

The moment the Mandala Snake's soul power entered his body, Tang San understood what it meant to wish he were dead.

The dark green energy was like countless fine needles stabbing into his meridians, rampaging along the paths of his circulating soul power.

It was a mixture of the Mandala Snake's remaining beastial nature and poison, tearing wildly through his body. Every impact brought an intense burning pain, as if his blood were about to boil.

Tang San gritted his teeth and pressed both hands tightly against his knees, veins bulging on his forehead.

His Mysterious Jade Hand had long since faded. His palms were so tense that his knuckles had turned white, while beads of sweat rolled down his jaw and fell onto the grass, spreading into dark spots.

But what Tang Sect disciples feared least was endurance.

When cultivating atop Ghost Sorrow, he had once climbed cliffs barehanded through wind and snow for an entire day and night;

In the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapon Hall, in order to master the accuracy of the Bone-Piercing Needle, his palms had been pierced by steel needles thousands of times, yet he had never shed a single tear.

The pain before him was agonizing, even reaching into his soul, but he still kept his mind clear and gradually tamed, absorbed, and fused that violent soul power bit by bit.

Time passed slowly. The forest light shifted from bright to dark, then from dark to bright again.

An entire night passed.

When the first ray of sunlight on the following morning filtered through the canopy and fell into the forest clearing, Tang San slowly opened his eyes.

A faint glimmer of dark green flashed through the depths of his pupils before vanishing, and his eyes returned to normal.

He lowered his head and looked at his palm, where the phantom image of Blue Silver Grass emerged.

The originally slender and fragile Blue Silver Grass was now covered in faint dark green patterns. Tiny barbs had appeared along the edges of its blades, and it gave off the Mandala Snake's distinctive sweetly fishy scent.

His first soul ring.

He had succeeded.

Tang San let out a long breath and moved his stiff body. His joints crackled softly.

He stood up, only then noticing Yu Xiaogang leaning against the nearby tree trunk.

The other man's head was tilted to one side. His face was pale as paper, his lips an unnatural bluish purple, his breathing rapid and ragged, and his forehead burning hot.

Tang San's pupils contracted sharply.

"Teacher!"

He rushed over and supported Yu Xiaogang by the shoulders. Only then did he discover a small bite mark on the back of the man's right hand, with a ring of swollen purple-black flesh around the wound.

When Luo Sanpao had been bitten by the Mandala Snake, Yu Xiaogang, as its soul master, had suffered the venom's backlash as well.

Tang San had been focused on absorbing the soul ring throughout the night, while Yu Xiaogang had forced himself to remain at his side and stand guard until the poison fully took effect in his body and he lost consciousness.

"Damn it..."

Without time to think, Tang San immediately laid Yu Xiaogang flat on the grass and drew a small dagger from his waist.

He turned the blade over a firestarter to heat it, then swiftly cut open the wound on the back of Yu Xiaogang's hand. Purple-black poisonous blood poured out, carrying a pungent, fishy stench.

Bloodletting.