A Thousand-Year Solitary Bamboo, Defined by Its Tenacity!

Several dozen days passed, and the rumors around the academy only grew more intense. Neither Lin Wu nor Tang San paid them any mind.

Lin Wu simply could not be bothered, seeing no need to care. Tang San, on the other hand, was thoroughly enjoying herself! She loved seeing others notice how close she was to Brother Wu!

Still, they had trained for quite a while. Without going out for some real combat, there would always be lingering doubts about the effectiveness of that training.

Their chosen destination was, naturally, the Soul Hunting Forest.

Deep within the Soul Hunting Forest, ancient trees towered overhead, their dark canopies blotting out the sky and sun.

The air was thick with the damp, earthy scent unique to a primeval forest, along with the faintly threatening aura emitted by unknown soul beasts.

Lin Wu swaggered along in front, his hands casually tucked into his pockets.

At his side, the petite and delicate Tang San followed closely in small steps.

Her watery black eyes would occasionally steal glances at Lin Wu's handsome profile, brimming with dependence and sweetness.

After Lin Wu's inhumane devilish special training, coupled with the frenzied nourishment of large quantities of top-grade whale glue, Tang San's body had long undergone a complete transformation.

Beneath her seemingly slender, delicate frame, her bones and meridians had become extraordinarily resilient.

The life essence within her, originating from Blue Silver Grass, had been tempered into something as tenacious and surging as a vast ocean.

Her soul power had already reached the level ten bottleneck. It was the perfect time to obtain her first soul ring.

Unlike ordinary soul masters, who wandered the outskirts of the forest aimlessly in hopes of getting lucky, Lin Wu had an exceptionally clear objective.

He led Tang San straight through the outer perimeter and into an extremely remote, silent region.

Weeds grew everywhere here, with several strange bamboo stalks rooted alone amid them.

These bamboos were solitary by nature. Unlike ordinary bamboo groves that grew together in dense clusters, they stood alone between heaven and earth. In the soul master world, they were known as "Solitary Bamboo."

Whether they counted as plant-type soul beasts was debatable.

"Brother Wu, did we come here... to look for bamboo-type soul beasts?"

Tang San stretched out her slender, fair little hand and gently tugged at Lin Wu's sleeve.

Her soft, silky hair draped over her shoulders, and her delicate voice was sweet and pleasing to the ear.

Lin Wu stopped and turned to glance at her, a gentle yet confident smile curling across his lips.

"Little San, have you forgotten what I told you before?"

"We're taking the most reliable, most solid route: the 'stacked armor life build.'"

"If we're going to stack the thickest armor and nurture the most vigorous life essence, then there's no need to consider those flashy animal-type soul beasts in the early stages."

"The endless vitality and purity of plant-type soul beasts are the foundation best suited for your Blue Silver Grass."

As he spoke, Lin Wu stopped before a seemingly ordinary bamboo stalk that faintly emitted a dark purple glow.

He raised a hand and casually patted its thick stalk, smiling as he looked at it.

"See this bamboo?"

"This is a thousand-year Solitary Bamboo. Its greatest trait is its utterly pure 'tenacity.'"

Tang San froze slightly.

"A thousand-year... Solitary Bamboo?"

Yet a rapid chain of thoughts had already silently flashed through Lin Wu's mind.

This was no ordinary Solitary Bamboo. It was the absolute anomaly among Solitary Bamboos: the Nine-Section Heavenly Heart Bamboo.

Back when he had still been a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, he had used this Nine-Section Bamboo to sharpen his teeth every day. Even after gnawing on it for three years, he had failed to wear it away. That alone said enough.

One had to know that not all tenacity was equal. The ten-year Solitary Bamboo that Yu Xiaogang spoke of in the original story was utterly incomparable to this one.

Moreover, its age was precisely around eleven hundred years.

Tang San was the future Blue Silver Emperor. Her bloodline merely lacked awakening; taking the poison-and-control route would be nothing short of wasting a priceless treasure.

This Nine-Section Bamboo absorbed the essence of heaven and earth day and night, containing no impurities or toxins. It was formed purely from vast plant life essence and supreme tenacity.

With such an age and quality, placing it as a first soul ring would absolutely shatter common sense.

However, Lin Wu could not be bothered explaining all those details to Tang San. He only needed to give her the simplest, most straightforward conclusion.

As for Tang San, not a trace of panic or doubt appeared on her face.

In this world, Tang San had never become Yu Xiaogang's disciple, so she had naturally never heard of the rigid theory that "the maximum age a first soul ring can withstand is four hundred and twenty-one years."

In her simple understanding, anything Brother Wu chose had to be the most correct and the best.

"A thousand years... Can a first soul ring really absorb a thousand-year soul ring?"

Tang San nervously pressed her tender lips together, her beautiful eyes full of admiration and reliance.

"If Brother Wu says it can be done, then it can definitely be done. I believe in Brother Wu."

Tang San's eyes reddened slightly. Her heart overflowed with the emotion of being cherished and protected, while pink heart bubbles once again rose wildly in the depths of her gaze.

Feeling the silently increasing affection value delivered by the Love God's inheritance, Lin Wu's lips curved into a meaningful smile.

He had not acted on a whim.

He wanted to see with his own eyes whether, under the frenzied body-tempering of his large supply of top-grade whale glue and the aid of all kinds of devilish special training...

Tang San could truly break the ironclad law of Douluo Continent throughout the ages and forcibly absorb a thousand-year soul ring as her first soul ring.

Besides, Tang San was the protagonist of the first part of Douluo Continent.

Even if she had now been feminized into a sweet, delicate little girl, she was still the core of fortune favored by heaven.

Logically speaking, how could she be so easily tormented to death?

If she can't die, then I'll use her until she nearly does.

Lin Wu coldly and amusedly calculated in his heart.

Once Tang San successfully absorbed this thousand-year soul ring filled with the attribute of supreme tenacity, then through the contractual bond of the Love God...

This incomparably powerful characteristic of "tenacity" could be shared back with him completely intact.

Lin Wu had already regarded Tang San as something his contract beast was bound to consume.

When the time came, not only would his own physical defense and bodily resilience rise to an outrageous level...

Even a certain crucial part of him could become incomparably "tenacious."

As long as he was tenacious enough, when he later arrived in Heaven Dou City and the God Realm to conquer Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, even Qian Renxue and the Goddess of Life, would he not be even more unstoppable, able to settle everything in a single battle?

As long as more goddesses fell in love with him, the progress of the Love God's inheritance could advance by leaps and bounds.

After all, over the past several days, Lin Wu had deliberately examined this Love God inheritance.

It felt completely different from the tragic image in the original story, where the Love God had been betrayed to death by a lover, developed resentment, and descended into Heaven-and-Earth Valley of Love Inquiry.

The intent conveyed by this Love God inheritance was actually to build a harem and give everyone a warm harbor.

The core skill of the Love God inheritance was contract beasts! And based on his earlier tests, it was clearly tailor-made for goddesses like Tang San. Was this not plainly telling him to spread great love?

Its fundamental purpose was to use the power of great bonds to form contract beasts and gather all the greatest goddesses in the world beneath his command.

Lin Wu found this utterly baffling. Was this really the Love God? Truly worthy of being the Immortal Venerable of Great Love!

Of course, what if he had guessed wrong?

What if the violent energy of this thousand-year Nine-Section Heavenly Heart Bamboo truly exceeded the limit, and Tang San could not endure it, exploding to death on the spot?