Tang Hao: That Master Was Full of Shit!

Soul Hunting Forest.

The forest was silent, with only the occasional voices drifting through the trees.

"A ten-year Slug? Why is it this thing again?"

"A twenty-year Solitary Bamboo. Its age was too low, and it had been chopped down."

"A Mandrake Snake close to four hundred years old. It's very suitable for your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, and its age is just right, within the limits of what you can bear. It's just a pity that, for some reason, it died by the roadside. Even its head is gone."

Yu Xiaogang had already taken Tang San around the forest once. They had spent a full half month searching, and both were nearly turning into savages, yet they still could not find a suitable soul beast.

Either they would find one inexplicably lying dead in the wilderness, or it would be a low-year Slug.

Their rations had long since run out. All they had left were the white radishes stored in Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges to stave off hunger. At this rate, even the radishes would soon be gone.

Yu Xiaogang's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. If they had not been so weak, he would have suspected someone was deliberately messing with them in secret.

"Teacher, we've searched Soul Hunting Forest for so long that we've eaten all our rations. Are we still going to continue?"

Tang San looked somewhat exhausted. No matter how formidable he had been in his previous life, he was now only a six-year-old child. His body was beginning to give out.

"Sigh, our luck is just too terrible."

Yu Xiaogang sighed, then clenched his fists, seemingly making up his mind. He said to Tang San,

"Xiao San, there's no other way. Soul Hunting Forest isn't large to begin with, and there are too few soul beasts to choose from. On top of that, we've had some bad luck. We can only go back and absorb that twenty-year Slug."

In Yu Xiaogang's eyes, Blue Silver Grass was inherently ordinary. It could even be called a useless Martial Soul.

The purpose of cultivating it now was merely to lay a foundation for Tang San's second Martial Soul—the Clear Sky Hammer, the number one weapon Martial Soul in the world—so that the Clear Sky Hammer's upper limit could be higher.

Although absorbing a white Soul Ring was indeed somewhat wasteful for a genius like Tang San, this was the only choice available to them now.

So what if his first Soul Ring was a little lacking? He could make up for it by finding better Soul Rings afterward.

As long as Blue Silver Grass gained more than five Soul Rings, the Clear Sky Hammer could start by absorbing black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings. Its potential for development would be enormous.

As for whether Tang San could cultivate Blue Silver Grass to its utmost realm, Yu Xiaogang had never even considered it.

In his understanding, the fact that Blue Silver Grass could be cultivated at all was already a miracle. How could it possibly stand shoulder to shoulder with a top-tier weapon Martial Soul like the Clear Sky Hammer?

Moreover, cultivating Blue Silver Grass to the rank of Soul King was already a fantastical notion. Going any further was completely unrealistic.

He himself was stuck at the Soul Elder realm, and Luo Sanpao had been unable to gain its third Soul Ring for so long.

What right did an ordinary stalk of Blue Silver Grass have to soar into the heavens?

If that really happened, wouldn't the Martial Soul theories he took such pride in become a joke?

"I'll follow Teacher's instructions."

Tang San knew very little about Soul Rings at this point. Combined with his admiration for his teacher, he naturally obeyed Yu Xiaogang's arrangements without hesitation.

Who knew what he would think of this moment once his strength had grown and he looked back on it in the future.

Some time later.

After putting in some effort, the two finally found the Slug they had seen on the first day.

Yu Xiaogang's already stiff face looked even uglier now. He had boasted about finding a soul beast over a hundred years old for his disciple, yet in the end, all Tang San could absorb was this bug at the very bottom of the soul beast food chain.

Looking at the Slug, covered in mucus and slowly wriggling along, Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh before speaking helplessly.

"Xiao San, this is it. Kill it."

The Slug moved slowly and had almost no combat ability. Killing it was extremely simple.

"Alright, Teacher."

Tang San followed Yu Xiaogang's instructions and stomped down with one foot.

The bug instantly burst into pulp. Even Yu Xiaogang, standing nearby, could not help frowning at the disgusting sight, much less Tang San, who had personally stepped on it.

A white Soul Ring emerged from the Slug's flattened corpse.

Seeing a soul beast produce a Soul Ring for the first time, Tang San could not help feeling curious. As he examined the Soul Ring's characteristics, he asked Yu Xiaogang,

"Is this a Soul Ring? Its color is actually white. It's completely different from your yellow Soul Ring, Teacher."

Yu Xiaogang covered his mouth and coughed lightly before explaining,

"Xiao San, this is the distinction between Soul Ring colors and ages that I told you about before. White ones are below the hundred-year level. Mine, um... is a Hundred Year Soul Ring."

His old face reddened slightly. Yu Xiaogang did not wish to dwell on the subject, so he hurriedly instructed,

"Quickly circulate your Soul Power and draw this white Soul Ring over to absorb it. Otherwise, it will dissipate after a while."

"But Teacher, my Martial Soul is a plant. Won't absorbing a beast-type Soul Ring like a Slug cause a conflict?" Tang San asked doubtfully.

Hearing this, Master Yu Xiaogang's eyes shone with confidence. This was precisely his field of expertise.

"Xiao San, do you remember one of the ten core competitive theories of the Martial Soul world that I researched and proposed—the Martial Soul Mimicry Theory?

A plant Martial Soul does not necessarily have to absorb the Soul Ring of a plant soul beast. It can also absorb the Soul Ring of a beast soul beast."

However, Gangzi's fanatical and proud expression, paired with the twenty-year Slug corpse at his feet, looked rather comical and out of place.

But Tang San's eyes lit up, and he was once again won over by Master's theory.

"Alright, don't just stand there. Hurry up and absorb the Soul Ring. I'll stand guard for you."

"Alright."

Tang San nodded, then sat cross-legged on the ground and used the internal force of the Mysterious Heaven Skill to draw the Soul Ring toward himself.

He finally fell for it! My half month of secretly observing in this forest wasn't in vain. Xiao San, go ahead and enjoy the first Soul Ring I specially selected for you... Xu Peinian crouched in a hidden corner some distance away. Watching Tang San begin absorbing the white Soul Ring, he struggled not to laugh aloud, though the corners of his mouth had already stretched nearly to his ears.

Some rejoiced while others worried.

Not far from Tang San, in another location, a scruffy middle-aged man who looked like a beggar hid in the shadows, burning with rage.

Ever since Tang San had left Notting Academy with Yu Xiaogang, Tang Hao, unable to set his mind at ease, had been following the two in secret.

Having heard of Yu Xiaogang's past deeds, he had not rushed to reveal himself before the pair. He believed that Master's research into Martial Soul theory was still fairly reliable.

Even knowing that Tang San's Martial Soul was actually the Blue Silver Emperor rather than Blue Silver Grass, he would have been satisfied as long as Tang San absorbed a first Soul Ring of more than a hundred years.

The Blue Silver Emperor was decent enough, but how could it compare to the Clear Sky Hammer?

Yet no matter how much Tang Hao calculated, he never expected Yu Xiaogang to spend more than ten days searching the forest, only to have his son absorb the Soul Ring of a twenty-year Slug.

That was a trash soul beast even inferior to Solitary Bamboo. At least Solitary Bamboo possessed toughness. Other than looking disgusting, what use could this bug possibly have?

That Master was full of shit!

Gangzi, you have chosen the path to death!

Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like a bull.