The Grandmaster Questions His Life

"Teacher, those Netherworld Wolves that were just defeated by that stin... uh, by Luo San Pao seemed to have something come out of them.

Those ring-like things are Soul Rings, right? Can I absorb them?"

After hearing this, the Grandmaster's face twitched twice. He knew what Tang San had wanted to say just now; he had merely changed his words halfway through.

"No, you can't."

"Cooperating with others to hunt soul beasts is common practice among soul masters. However, only the person who deals the killing blow to a soul beast can absorb its Soul Ring. So, you can't absorb the Soul Rings of those Netherworld Wolves, and they aren't suitable for your Blue Silver Grass either."

"When absorbing a Soul Ring, you must use your own Soul Power to draw it over. Once the Soul Ring comes to you, all you need to do is meditate and absorb it."

The Grandmaster spoke calmly. These were the most basic common knowledge in the world of soul masters.

"Then, Teacher, let's go back. You can absorb those Soul Rings."

"Those Soul Rings are useless to me. When my martial soul awakened, I only had half a level of innate Soul Power. I am destined never to break through level thirty. Besides, I already have two hundred-year Soul Rings, so I can't absorb those Soul Rings." As he spoke, the Grandmaster took a dagger from his robes and handed it to Tang San. "Take this. If we encounter a suitable soul beast later, give it the killing blow.

"You must be cautious when choosing a Soul Ring. Finding one that suits you and whose age is just within the limits of what you can endure is not easy. If we're unlucky, we may have to stay in the Soul Hunting Forest for several days."

Tang San listened carefully. Every sentence from the Grandmaster benefited him greatly. "Then what age of Soul Ring can I endure?"

"No more, no less—exactly 423 years." The Grandmaster raised one finger, his gaze sharp and his expression exceptionally confident.

When Tang San heard that and saw the Grandmaster's supremely confident expression, admiration filled his eyes. "What confident and precise data. Sure enough, I was right to take the Grandmaster as my teacher."

Seeing Tang San's admiring gaze, the Grandmaster was deeply satisfied. The corners of his mouth rose slightly as he clasped his hands behind his back, puffed out his chest, and lifted his chin. "Do you know why others call me the Grandmaster?"

Tang San shook his head.

"Although I can never break through level thirty because of my martial soul, I have one strength that no one can match! That is being number one in soul master theory!"

Tang San admired him even more. Meanwhile, Lu Chen, hiding in the shadows, nearly vomited last night's meal. This Grandmaster really had thick skin—utterly shameless.

He had Tang San completely fooled, practically fooled him lame.

"Luo Luo, Luo Luo."

"Hmm? A soul beast?"

Hearing Luo San Pao's warning, Tang San immediately became alert.

"Whew, don't be afraid. It was just a false alarm." The Grandmaster pointed at a Snake Vine Flower coiled around a large tree. "San Pao mistook this Snake Vine Flower for a real Mandala Snake."

"This really isn't a snake?" Tang San asked cautiously after looking at it. No matter how he looked at it, it seemed exactly like a real snake, and he could even smell a faint poisonous stench.

"I can't be mistaken. The Snake Vine Flower is a very fragile plant-type soul beast. It disguises itself as the venomous arrow demon—the Mandala Snake—to drive away its natural enemies."

"However, it is only a low-level soul beast and cannot account for every detail. The Mandala Snake it mimics is over four hundred years old, but this is the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest. A Mandala Snake over four hundred years old would never appear here. Hmph, what a self-important idiot."

"I think you're the idiot. That's such a huge snake, yet you're calling it a flower." Lu Chen could no longer stand it. He was truly slapping his own face; that Mandala Snake was about to ambush them.

Sure enough, just as the Grandmaster and Tang San prepared to leave, the Mandala Snake launched its sneak attack.

Fortunately, Tang San reacted quickly enough to shove the Grandmaster aside. Otherwise, with the Grandmaster's strength, he would have died on the spot.

His theory was mediocre, and his strength was inferior to that of a six-year-old child.

"Teacher, what do we do now?" Tang San asked, touching the hidden weapons he had crafted.

"More rings, more bones—unleash a wave of skills. Fewer rings, fewer bones—turn around and run." The Grandmaster stared at the Mandala Snake watching them hungrily from a distance.

"What does that mean?"

"It means run."

"..." Tang San was speechless and somewhat disdainful. Just moments ago, the Grandmaster had confidently declared it wasn't a Mandala Snake but merely a Snake Vine Flower, only to be proven wrong immediately. He felt deceived.

Just as in the original story, the Grandmaster's Second Soul Skill, Poison Smoke, failed to paralyze the Mandala Snake. Instead, after Luo San Pao was bitten, recalling his martial soul caused him to be poisoned as well.

At the critical moment, Tang San finally acted. With the Hundred Hidden Weapons combined with the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, along with the Purple Demon Eye, he finally killed the Mandala Snake.

"Little San, you actually..." The Grandmaster was shocked. He had never expected Tang San, who had no Soul Ring, to kill the Mandala Snake alone. Seeing this, he became excited. He truly had not misjudged him; this child's talent was far too strong.

As long as he properly guided Tang San and had him cultivate according to his plans, one day his theories would be recognized, and those who looked down on him would be forced to shut up.

"Tang San, quickly give it the final blow. This is a 422-year-old Mandala Snake. Its Soul Ring is a yellow hundred-year Soul Ring, just within the range you can endure."

"My First Soul Ring?" Tang San was doubtful. This was a snake. Shouldn't he choose the Soul Ring of a plant-type soul beast?

"Little San, trust me. I've researched this for so many years, and I'm your teacher. Would I harm you?"

In the end, Tang San still believed the Grandmaster's words.

He walked up to the Mandala Snake and stabbed down at its vital point.

Watching from the shadows, Lu Chen injected a tiny thread of Soul Gem energy into the gradually forming Soul Ring.

A purple thousand-year Soul Ring appeared before Tang San's eyes.

Tang San: "..."

Grandmaster: "!!!???"

"Teacher, didn't you say this Mandala Snake was a 422-year-old hundred-year soul beast? If I remember correctly, hundred-year soul beasts should have yellow Soul Rings. Then why is this Mandala Snake's Soul Ring purple?"

"Th-this!"

The Grandmaster was somewhat dumbfounded. Judging by the Mandala Snake's length, it was indeed only a little over four hundred years old. But why was its Soul Ring a thousand-year one?

There was no logic to it. It made absolutely no sense. Where had things gone wrong? If this were a thousand-year Mandala Snake, both he and Little San would have died here. There was no way Little San could have killed a thousand-year Mandala Snake.

But reality was this cruel. The dazzling purple Soul Ring lay quietly there, the most powerful evidence of all.

The Grandmaster felt dizzy, and the Mandala Snake's venom began to affect his body.

"Teacher? Are you alright? Let me detoxify you first."

"You know how to detoxify poison?" the Grandmaster asked in surprise.

"I was bitten by a venomous snake in the village before. My father taught me," Tang San said without blushing or skipping a beat.

Well, Little San, you really aren't an upright gentleman. You can lie without even blushing. How did I never notice before?