This Was an Act of Utmost Filial Devotion

"The venom of a Hundred-Year Mandala Snake really was vicious beyond compare!"

"Only after a month of tempering my eyes with purple qi did my vision barely recover to the level of an ordinary Soul Master!"

As a pale streak of dawn rose in the sky, the purple qi gradually faded.

Only then did Tang San slowly breathe out a mouthful of stale air.

When he opened his eyes again, a deep violet gleam flickered within them.

Tang San eagerly scanned the motes of dust drifting through the air.

But before he could celebrate, a faint gray mist veiled his vision once more.

The effects of the Mandala Snake venom that had splashed into his eyes still could not be eradicated.

With a dejected sigh, Tang San jumped down from the roof.

Nearly a month had passed since that Soul Hunting expedition ended.

The snake venom had sunk deep into Yu Xiaogang's bones, beyond any complete cure.

Six-year-old Tang San could only endure the stabbing pain in his eyes, carry Yu Xiaogang out of Soul Hunting Forest alone, and seek treatment in the Soul Master town on its outskirts.

Unlike Spirit Hall, which awakened Martial Souls for free, the resident healing-type Soul Masters in the town charged steep fees!

Tang San was penniless. Where was he supposed to find spare Gold Soul Coins for treatment? He had no choice but to sell his Storage Soul Tool.

"If venom hadn't splashed into my eyes and left me unable to see clearly, why would I ever have sold Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moonlit Night?"

The thought left Tang San seething.

He had possessed the Storage Soul Tool for less than three days. Before it had even warmed in his hands, he had been forced to sell it.

After all, every Hidden Weapon he owned had been stored inside Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moonlit Night. Without that Storage Soul Tool, how could he carry so many Hidden Weapons on his person?

In the end, Tang San destroyed some of the Hidden Weapons on the spot so no one else could pick them up and covet his Tang Sect Secret Arts.

Despite everything Tang San had given up, the treatment's results were still far from satisfactory.

Whenever he used the Purple Demon Eye for longer than half an incense stick, a thin gray haze covered his eyes.

Even after Tang San stopped using the Purple Demon Eye, that haze still obscured his vision!

To recover, he had to close his eyes and rest them.

But that made even his daily Purple Demon Eye practice difficult.

Would I have to give up this eye-training art?

"No. I still have another chance!"

"Xu Yuan's Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul can make wishes come true!"

"If it lets me keep practicing the Purple Demon Eye, so what if I have to pay a price?"

The flames of hope rekindled in Tang San's eyes.

He returned to the clinic's partitioned ward and found Yu Xiaogang in a wheelchair, revising his theories.

"Little San, I've finally worked out what caused the chaos in Soul Hunting Forest!"

"It turns out that a Ghost Vine, a Plant-type Soul Beast at least six hundred years old, appeared in the forest's core!"

"It's a terrifying Plant-type Soul Beast. Not only does it possess an extremely potent neurotoxin, but it also has a particularly frightening parasitic ability."

"If your Blue Silver Grass absorbs it as your Second Soul Ring, you may even gain a parasitic Soul Skill!"

"It could also give your Blue Silver Grass the Ghost Vine's neurotoxin, making up for its weakness!"

"Then your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul will possess both the toughness of the Corrosive Swamp Venomfang Python and the Ghost Vine's terrifying toxin!"

"No Soul Master whose Soul Power Level is less than ten levels above yours will be able to break free of your Blue Silver Grass!"

Yu Xiaogang spoke with such excitement that his eyes nearly shone.

It was simply the perfect Second Soul Ring for Tang San.

Even the usually calm Tang San felt his blood surge as he listened.

But...

"Teacher, won't it be difficult for the two of us to kill a Ghost Vine that's at least six hundred years old?"

A four-hundred-year-old Mandala Snake had nearly wiped out master and disciple alike. What chance did they have against a six-hundred-year-old Soul Beast?

"Hahaha..."

"Little San, you needn't worry about that."

"I overestimated myself on this Soul Hunting trip, but next time, I'll ask the headmaster of Nouding Academy to help!"

"Don't believe those rumors going around. Did you really think I'd spent all these years at Nouding Academy without building any connections?"

Yu Xiaogang wore the look of a man with victory already in hand. His proud bearing immediately set Tang San's mind racing.

"Teacher, you mean..."

"Hmph. Your teacher founded the theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul. The Soul Master World honors me as Grandmaster!"

"I ignored those teachers and students only because they were too ordinary to be worth befriending!"

"Only the headmaster of Nouding Academy, a level-forty-two Soul Ancestor, is barely worth my guidance!"

A level-forty-two Soul Ancestor?

Tang San's eyes widened and his mouth fell open. He had never imagined his teacher's connections reached so far.

Nor had he imagined that even a level-forty-two Soul Ancestor barely met his teacher's standards for guidance.

"Heh, Little San, don't look so surprised!"

"Back when I roamed the continent alone, the people at my side were all Soul Saints above level seventy!"

"If it weren't for..."

A trace of loneliness surfaced in Yu Xiaogang's eyes. As though reminded of something painful, he said no more.

Even that was enough to stun Tang San.

Level-seventy Soul Saints!

Weren't they the stuff of the Holy Soul Village legend that Village Chief Old Jack was always talking about?

"In any case, a level-forty Soul Ancestor is nothing to be surprised about!"

"With my guidance, you'll surpass Soul Ancestors and Soul Saints alike. You'll become a Titled Douluo!"

Yu Xiaogang wheeled himself up to Tang San, gripped his shoulders tightly, and spoke with utter conviction.

"Teacher, I won't let you down!"

Their first Soul Hunting trip had gone terribly, but Tang San was still won over by the grand future Yu Xiaogang painted for him.

After all, his teacher was a master of theory. Asking him to accompany Tang San on a Soul Hunting trip was like using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken!

"Good! That's my disciple!"

Yu Xiaogang smiled and patted Tang San's shoulder. "In that case, it's time we went back!"

"But Teacher, your legs..."

Yu Xiaogang's face twitched sharply, and unease flashed through his eyes.

"It's nothing. Just a little hardship!"

"The healing-type Soul Master said I only need a month of quiet rest before I can stand again."

Yu Xiaogang spoke with a show of fortitude.

Tang San gave him a long look.

As an outer disciple of the Tang Sect in his previous life, Tang San had dealt with poisons every day. How could he not know what was going on?

After so much time, the Mandala Snake venom had long since traveled upward through the blood.

Even though he had acted quickly enough to keep it from reaching Yu Xiaogang's heart, there was nothing he could do about the venom in his lower body.

And the Mandala Snake had bitten him high on the thigh...

Tang San dared not think any further. It was too tragic.

Maybe I should tell Teacher about Xu Yuan's Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul. It might even help him recover.

The thought suddenly surfaced in Tang San's mind.

So far, only four people had used the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul's ability!

Xu Yuan himself had told them about three of those cases, and whether they were true remained to be seen.

Only Xiao Wu had made a wish in front of everyone.

But no one could tell what price she had paid.

If Teacher could test it first for me...

No, Tang San, Tang San! What are you thinking?

How could I call it making Teacher test it for me?

I'd be telling him for the sake of his happiness in the years to come! I'd have no choice. This would be an act of utmost filial devotion!