Blue Silver Grass User Manual

"Luo Yan."

Luo Yan leaned against a tree trunk, tearing a leaf he had picked up from who knew where into thin strips.

Hearing the voice, he turned to look.

Tang San walked over from the teachers' dormitory, a trace of unfinished contemplation still on his face.

"What is it, San?"

Tang San stopped beside him and fell silent for a second, as though organizing his thoughts.

"Teacher said he'll take me to Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow to obtain my First Spirit Ring."

Luo Yan gave an "Mm," scattered the leaf scraps onto the ground, and dusted off his hands. "That's a good thing. You'll finally have a Spirit Skill. No more theorizing about weaving baskets—you can put it into practice directly."

Tang San automatically ignored the second half of that.

He looked at Luo Yan and asked seriously, "I wanted to ask you something. What should I watch out for when hunting Spirit Beasts?"

Luo Yan raised an eyebrow.

"You're asking me?" He pointed at himself.

"Xiao Wu has a First Spirit Ring, and so do you. Teacher said your first ring should be around four hundred years old. Otherwise, your Spirit Power couldn't have surged to level fourteen."

Tang San's tone was calm. "A four-hundred-year Spirit Beast isn't something a newly awakened Soul Master can kill head-on."

Luo Yan blinked. "He could even figure that out?"

"He didn't investigate. He deduced it from theory."

Luo Yan went "Oh" and nodded. "Then he really is 'impressive.'"

Tang San did not let him derail the subject and continued asking, "So how did you kill it?"

Luo Yan did not answer immediately.

He tilted his head in thought, then looked up at the sky.

Dappled shadows from the trees fell across his face, making his delicate features look unusually less punchable.

"I didn't really do much," he said.

Tang San said nothing and waited quietly.

"I just squatted there for four days and figured out all the Spirit Beasts in that area. Which one drank water at what time, which paths they liked to take, whether they snored when they slept—I wrote it all down."

Tang San's eyes shifted slightly.

"And then?"

"And then?"

Luo Yan smiled. "Then I made a trap."

"A trap?"

"Mm. I dug a pit, covered it with grass, then scattered some berries that Illusion Foxes loved to eat. Very simple."

Tang San frowned. "A four-hundred-year Spirit Beast could be handled by a single pit?"

"Who said it was only one pit?"

Luo Yan glanced at him. "There were vines behind the pit, rocks behind the vines, and a sharpened tree stump behind the rocks. A chain trap."

Tang San was silent for a moment, seemingly reconstructing the layout of the trap in his mind.

"At most, those could injure it. They shouldn't be enough to kill a four-hundred-year Spirit Beast," he said.

Luo Yan nodded. "Right. So I never expected the trap to kill it."

"Then how did you kill it?"

Luo Yan sighed, as if recalling something he was reluctant to admit.

"I waited four days until it finally fell into my chain trap. One of its hind legs got tangled, and it was struggling with all its might."

"I circled around to its side, planning to take advantage of its immobility and use the only method I had—infuse a wooden spike with Spirit Power and stab it through the back of its neck."

Tang San listened intently.

This was the standard approach for an ordinary Soul Master without the assistance of any powerhouse: use patience and the environment to deal with a Spirit Beast above one's level.

"And then?"

"Then I gripped the wooden spike and ran forward five steps."

Luo Yan paused.

"Just as I was about to strike, my Martial Soul flew out on its own."

Tang San froze.

"What?"

Luo Yan raised his right hand. The mask appeared in his palm, lying there quietly like the most ordinary face in the world.

"The Elation Mask."

He said, "It came out by itself. Like a wild dog that had been starving for three days, it flew to that Illusion Fox's neck, opened its mouth, and bit down."

Tang San stared at the mask, his gaze full of disbelief.

"It bit it to death?"

"Yeah. It normally doesn't do that. Maybe it thought I was taking too long that day."

Luo Yan put the mask away and shrugged. "One bite, and that fox stopped moving. The Soul Ring floated out automatically. It was that simple."

Tang San remained silent for a long time.

"Luo Yan, I don't think this joke is funny," he said.

Luo Yan smiled. "I wish I were lying to you, but that's what happened. By the way, what kind of effect are you expecting from your Spirit Skill?"

Tang San looked at him for two seconds and did not press further.

He understood what Luo Yan meant: this topic ended here.

So Tang San followed his lead.

"Teacher thinks it would be best for my first Spirit Skill to be a control-type skill."

Luo Yan gave an "Mm," leaned back against the tree again, and assumed the posture of someone listening attentively.

"My Blue Silver Grass is naturally soft. Taking a fierce, forceful path won't work."

Tang San spoke in an unhurried tone. "If I can gain a restraining Spirit Skill from a Spirit Beast, something like binding, then I can bring out Blue Silver Grass's characteristics."

"Teacher also mentioned that it would be even better if the Spirit Skill came with other attributes, such as paralysis, poison, or enhanced toughness."

"A control build." Luo Yan nodded. "It suits you well."

Tang San said nothing, waiting for him to continue.

"But your Blue Silver Grass already has control built into it."

"What do you mean?" Tang San was somewhat puzzled.

Luo Yan extended his hand. "Do you remember what I said? Use Blue Silver Grass as rope?"

"...You're serious?"

"If you don't believe me, release your Martial Soul and control the Blue Silver Grass to bind my hand."

Tang San looked at the hand Luo Yan had extended and fell silent for a moment.

He did not refuse.

Blue Silver Grass quietly emerged from Tang San's palm, as thin as strands of hair and glowing with an extremely faint blue light in the dusk.

The blades climbed along his fingertips and gently curled around Luo Yan's wrist.

The movement was slow, yet remarkably steady.

Luo Yan lowered his head to look at the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his wrist and raised an eyebrow. "I told you to bind me, not bind me this gently. Are you afraid of hurting me?"

Tang San ignored him and controlled the Blue Silver Grass to tighten a little more.

The grass pressed into his sleeve cuff, leaving a faint ring-shaped mark on his skin.

"Just like that," Luo Yan said.

He raised his other hand, grabbed a strand of Blue Silver Grass, and tugged it.

"What did you feel?" he asked.

Tang San concentrated for a moment. "You're pulling me."

"Right. Then what if I do this?"

Luo Yan abruptly stepped backward and yanked hard with his wrist. The Blue Silver Grass instantly went taut.

Tang San's palm was pulled forward, and he nearly lost his footing.

Luo Yan steadied himself and let go. The Blue Silver Grass limply withdrew.

"See that?"

He said, "You don't even have a Spirit Skill yet, and I didn't use any Spirit Power."

"Just this lousy piece of grass can give you an extra window to react in battle. It already has the ability to control; you've simply overlooked it."

"As for additional attributes... sorry, I'm only a one-ring Soul Master too. What advice can I give you? Even if I dared to give it, would you dare to listen?"

Tang San glanced at him and actually smiled very faintly.

"If you dare to say it, I'll dare to listen," he said.

Luo Yan raised an eyebrow. "You've got more guts than I thought."

"But forget it."

Tang San said again, retracting the small remnant of Blue Silver Grass from his palm. "I'm heading back first."

He glanced at the sky, then turned toward Dorm Seven.

After walking a few steps, he stopped again. Without looking back, he only said, "Get some rest early."

With that, he walked away.

Luo Yan stood where he was, watching Tang San's back disappear through Dorm Seven's entrance.

Heh~

If what I said could really change Tang San's first Spirit Skill, what would happen in the future?

If the original binding became binding plus Parasite, or binding plus devouring—or something even more absurd, like developing in the direction of "Blue Silver Grass will go find people by itself"—then what would the most inconspicuous grass on Douluo Continent become?

I was starting to look forward to it.

So this was the mindset Sparkle had when she played director?

Aha really was bored out of his mind.