Blue Silver Pole Vault

Tang San sat on a rock at the edge of the Spirit Hunting Forest, staring blankly at the Blue Silver Grass in his palm.

The pale blue blades swayed gently beneath the sunlight. Their leaves were broader than before, and their color had deepened as well. A white soul ring circled the grass blades, turning slowly.

A ten-year Lone Bamboo soul ring.

White.

The lowest-grade soul ring.

Yu Xiaogang crouched nearby, his face ashen.

Several times, he opened his mouth, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but each time, he swallowed them back down.

He had prepared for so long. Researched so much material. He had specifically chosen the Mandala Snake as Tang San's first soul ring target—fast, highly venomous, with the soul ring skill "Entanglement" perfectly suited to the attributes of Blue Silver Grass.

He had even mapped out Tang San's cultivation path for the next five years, every step calculated down to the smallest detail.

And now, it was all ruined.

Ruined by a ten-year Lone Bamboo.

"Tang San..." Yu Xiaogang finally spoke, his voice dry as sandpaper scraping wood. "Try out your soul skill first. Let's see... let's see what skill the Lone Bamboo gave you."

Tang San fell silent for a while before nodding.

He raised his right hand and activated his Blue Silver Grass. The white soul ring lit up, and the grass blades rapidly began to change.

The once-soft leaves became hard and rigid, their surfaces taking on a faint sheen as if coated in wax.

Then something happened that left both of them stunned.

Tang San's body was propelled by a force, and he suddenly shot forward, tracing an arc through the air. He flew more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground, his mouth full of dirt.

"Cough, cough..." Tang San climbed to his feet, spitting out the dirt in his mouth, his face filled with shock and confusion.

Yu Xiaogang hurried over. "What happened? What was that just now...?"

"I don't know..." Tang San lowered his head to look at his hand. "I activated the soul ring, and the Blue Silver Grass hardened. Then... then I flew out."

"Try again," Yu Xiaogang said. "This time, control the force. Take it slow."

Tang San nodded and activated the soul ring once more.

This time, he was prepared. Rather than activating it with full force, he carefully released his soul power. The Blue Silver Grass hardened again, and an upward force lifted his body. He jumped roughly two meters into the air before slowly falling back to the ground.

"A jumping-type soul skill..." Yu Xiaogang frowned, pondering for a while. "Try it a few more times and see exactly what it does."

Over the next half hour, Tang San repeatedly tested his new soul skill.

In the end, they summarized all of its effects:

First, Blue Silver Grass could harden. While hardened, Tang San's body gained roughly thirty percent damage reduction. In other words, the same attack would deal around thirty percent less damage to him.

Second, the hardened Blue Silver Grass could serve as a support point, allowing Tang San to rapidly move a certain distance in any direction, with the farthest range being roughly ten meters. He could jump two meters straight up, ten meters forward, dodge attacks by jumping backward, and move left or right as well.

Third, this soul skill consumed very little. With Tang San's current soul power, he could use it more than a dozen times in succession without difficulty.

In short, it was Blue Silver Pole Vault.

After hearing Tang San's description, Yu Xiaogang remained silent for a long time.

He had wanted to say, "This soul skill is pretty good," but the words felt too insincere. For a control-type soul master, a movement skill did have some value, but only if it did not interfere with their ability to control the battlefield.

Yet the hardening effect brought by the Lone Bamboo soul ring instead weakened the flexibility of Blue Silver Grass, effectively reducing its control capabilities.

Thirty percent damage reduction sounded decent, but Tang San was only six years old. The enemies he encountered in the future would only grow stronger. In high-level battles, thirty percent damage reduction would hardly be worth mentioning.

As for moving ten meters...

Put bluntly, it was an escape skill.

"Master, is this soul skill... useful?" Tang San asked cautiously.

Yu Xiaogang looked at his hopeful eyes and simply could not bear to tell him the truth. He could only answer vaguely, "It's useful, of course it's useful. Movement skills are important in any battle, and the damage reduction can also improve your survivability."

Tang San's eyes brightened. "Really?"

"Really." Yu Xiaogang nodded, silently adding in his heart, At least it's better than nothing.

But he knew perfectly well that this soul ring was ultimately a major blow to Tang San.

With Tang San's talent, he could have pursued far greater achievements. But now, his first soul ring was a ten-year Lone Bamboo. It was the equivalent of falling far behind everyone else right at the starting line.

"Let's go. We'll return to the academy first." Yu Xiaogang rose to his feet and dusted off his pants. "Once we're back, we can slowly figure out how to make the best use of this soul skill."

Tang San nodded and followed Yu Xiaogang out of the forest.

His steps were much heavier than when he had come.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Spirit Hunting Forest, Lin Chen leaned against a large tree with a blade of grass between his teeth, a satisfied smile on his lips.

He had hidden in the shadows just now and watched Tang San test his soul skill from start to finish.

Blue Silver Pole Vault.

Just as expected.

In his previous life, he had read plenty of Douluo Continent fan discussions online. One post had specifically discussed what would happen if Tang San's first soul ring were a ten-year Lone Bamboo.

Many people in the post had analyzed it, saying that the Lone Bamboo's soul skill would most likely be hardening. Combined with Blue Silver Grass, it might produce a movement skill similar to pole vaulting.

He had not expected them to be right.

Lin Chen could not help laughing aloud.

A ten-year Lone Bamboo soul ring, Blue Silver Pole Vault. Calling this skill useful would not be entirely wrong—it did have some use.

Movement plus damage reduction was indeed decent for staying alive. But it was not as though it was especially useful.

A control-type soul master whose first soul skill was an escape skill—wouldn't that make people laugh their teeth out?

And most importantly, the quality of the first soul ring directly affected the upper limit of later soul rings. Starting with a ten-year soul ring, Tang San's cultivation path would be much harder than in the original story.

Even if he obtained better soul rings in the future, it would be difficult to make up for the disadvantage caused by his first soul ring.

Tang San, Tang San. In this life, forget about becoming a god.

Wouldn't it be better to just be an ordinary person?

Lin Chen spat out the grass stem, stretched lazily, and turned toward Nuoding City.

He had to return to the academy before Tang San and Yu Xiaogang did. Otherwise, if that girl Xiao Wu woke up and could not find him, she would make a fuss again.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps between the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across the forest path.

Lin Chen's steps were light and unhurried.

Behind him, at the edge of the Spirit Hunting Forest, Tang San turned back for one last look at the dense woods, his eyes carrying a trace of unwillingness and stubborn resolve.

He clenched his fists.

So what if it's a ten-year Lone Bamboo?

He, Tang San, would never be defeated by a single soul ring.