First Soul Ring

The Yellow Soul Ring slowly settled around the Blue Silver Grass.

The next instant, a surge of searing energy poured through Tang San's Martial Soul and into his body.

The Blue Silver Grass grew wildly out of control. Fine, snake-scale patterns gradually appeared on its leaves, and its color shifted from pale blue to deep blue.

Yu Xiaogang stood guard nearby, his expression grave.

The Soul Ring had already begun to fuse with Tang San. No one else could intervene directly.

If Yu Xiaogang forced the process to stop, he might destroy both Tang San's Martial Soul and his meridians.

All he could do was wait.

Time passed little by little.

Tang San's body grew hotter and hotter, and sweat covered his forehead.

The Mandala Snake's energy battered his meridians without pause, carrying a numbing poison within it.

A faint purple tint gradually appeared on his arms.

Tang San circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, drawing the power surging into his body through his meridians.

At first, the violent energy resisted his control. Every collision brought tearing pain.

Rather than suppress it head-on, he kept changing its course, using the Mysterious Heaven Skill to guide the Soul Ring's energy through a complete cycle.

The Soul Power of the Mysterious Heaven Skill was not especially strong, but it was steady and enduring.

If one attempt failed, he tried again.

Each time the Mandala Snake's energy completed a cycle, its violent nature weakened a little, and its connection to the Blue Silver Grass deepened.

The first half hour was the most dangerous. Yu Xiaogang remained on alert throughout.

Another hour passed, and the restless Blue Silver Grass gradually calmed.

A soft crack sounded within Tang San's body, audible only to him.

It was as though a barrier that had trapped him for ages had finally shattered.

The First Layer of Mysterious Heaven Skill had broken through.

The last of the Soul Ring's power merged into his Martial Soul, and the yellow light hovering around Tang San suddenly contracted.

A Yellow Soul Ring took shape beneath his feet.

Tang San slowly opened his eyes and breathed out a mouthful of stale air.

Everything looked far clearer than before. He could even make out the droplets on distant leaves.

"Did it work?"

Yu Xiaogang asked at once.

Tang San checked his body first. Only after confirming that his meridians were unharmed did he nod.

"Yes."

Yu Xiaogang let out a long breath.

Only then did he realize that cold sweat had soaked his back.

"Test your Soul Skill first."

Tang San stood and opened his right hand.

Deep-blue Blue Silver Grass grew from his palm.

Compared with before he absorbed the Soul Ring, its leaves were noticeably broader, with a layer of fine patterns across their surfaces.

Tang San seized a strand and pulled hard.

The Blue Silver Grass stretched taut but did not snap.

Its toughness had increased severalfold at the very least.

"First Soul Skill."

The Yellow Soul Ring lit up.

"Blue Silver Entanglement."

Several strands of Blue Silver Grass burst from the earth and swiftly coiled around a small tree nearby.

The leaves crossed over one another like deep-blue snakes, binding the trunk tight.

Tang San raised his hand and tightened his grip.

A faint cracking came from the trunk, and its bark quickly turned purple.

"It's poisonous too."

Yu Xiaogang walked up to the tree but did not touch the Blue Silver Grass.

"How effective is it?"

Tang San sensed it for a moment.

"The poison isn't strong enough to kill. It mainly causes paralysis."

"The harder the target struggles, the more deeply the Blue Silver Grass makes contact, and the faster the poison takes effect."

He released the Soul Skill.

The little tree did not recover once freed. The purple stain was still slowly spreading.

Excitement rose unmistakably in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.

The Blue Silver Grass had gained more than poison from the Mandala Snake's Soul Ring. It had gained the resilience of the snake's body as well.

Entanglement, paralysis, and sustained restraint combined had already surpassed the scope of an ordinary First Soul Skill.

His theory had finally been proven.

Yu Xiaogang did not rush to proclaim his conclusion. Instead, he asked, "How much does it consume?"

Tang San used Entanglement again, carefully gauging the change in his Soul Power.

"If I'm only controlling one person, I can use it repeatedly. Increasing its range or the number of Blue Silver Grass strands also increases the cost."

"Range?"

"About twenty meters for now."

"And how do you activate it?"

Tang San glanced at the ground.

The Blue Silver Grass had emerged from underground just now, seemingly without warning, but it still needed his Soul Power as a medium.

If Blue Silver Grass was already growing nearby, the cost would drop further.

"I can extend it directly from my Martial Soul or activate it through the ground, but the latter takes a moment to prepare."

Yu Xiaogang nodded.

"For a control-type Soul Master, what matters most isn't strength. It's preventing opponents from using their full strength. This Soul Skill suits you well."

Tang San withdrew the Blue Silver Grass. "Only a real fight will show me what other weaknesses it has."

Yu Xiaogang paused, then asked, "Did your father teach you that?"

"In a way."

Tang Hao had never taught him how to become a control-type Soul Master, but he had told him more than once that defeating weaker opponents did not prove his methods were sound.

True flaws often revealed themselves only in the face of danger.

After a moment's silence, Yu Xiaogang took a booklet from his robe and recorded the details of Tang San's Soul Ring.

"This Mandala Snake was probably around four hundred and thirty years old."

"Your success proves there's still an error in my estimate of the limit for a First Soul Ring."

"Or perhaps my body is unusual."

"All the more reason to record it."

Yu Xiaogang closed the booklet. "A theory isn't an answer that stays correct forever. It's a conclusion drawn from the facts we have."

"When new facts appear, it should be revised."

Tang San gave him a thoughtful look.

Yu Xiaogang's attitude toward being wrong made Tang San see him in a new light.

Yu Xiaogang had not claimed all the credit for the success on behalf of his theory, nor had he hidden the flaw in his earlier judgment.

"How is your Martial Soul?"

"A little injured. A few days' rest will do."

Yu Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao.

Luo Sanpao's body was still somewhat insubstantial. As soon as he appeared, he rubbed against Yu Xiaogang's trouser leg with an aggrieved look.

Tang San took out some rations and gave him a piece.

Luo Sanpao snatched it up at once, apparently forgetting he had been hurt.

"When we get back to the academy, would you still be willing to study with me?" Yu Xiaogang suddenly asked.

Tang San nodded. "I would."

A trace of hope appeared in Yu Xiaogang's eyes.

But Tang San continued, "I can't become your disciple yet."

"Why not?"

"We've only known each other for two days."

The answer was so direct that Yu Xiaogang was momentarily speechless.

Tang San said earnestly, "Your theories have helped me a great deal, and you saved me during this Soul Hunting trip."

"But my father said choosing a teacher is like choosing a Soul Ring. I can't judge either by whether it seems right at the moment."

"I still need to get to know you, and you need to get to know me."

Yu Xiaogang studied him for a long time before nodding.

"That makes sense."

He was disappointed, but he did not press the matter.

At least Tang San was willing to keep studying with him.

As dawn approached, they briefly dealt with the Mandala Snake's corpse and set off back to Nuoding City.

Before leaving the Soul Hunting Forest, Tang San looked back.

The First Soul Ring was only the beginning.

Yu Xiaogang's theory was workable, but this had also proved that a supposed limit was not absolute.

His father had been right. More than anyone else's theories, Tang San needed to trust himself.

Deep in the Sunset Forest.

Dugu Bo's right arm rested in a barrel of medicinal liquid. The poison markings beneath his skin slowly gathered, finally settling in his palm.

A quarter of an hour later, the poison still had not flowed back.

Not far away, Tang Hao sat cross-legged beside the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. Before him lay a cold-jade medicine box and a fiery-red medicine case.

Inside the cold-jade box lay a large white flower with eight pointed petals.

Inside the fiery-red case lay an Immortal Herb shaped like a cabbage, red from end to end.

Dugu Bo opened his eyes.

"You really intend to take both at once?"

"If I don't, I'll die even faster."

Tang Hao looked at the two Immortal Herbs, one cold and one hot. A faint golden light glimmered beneath his chest.

The Angel Soul Power he had shaken the night before had already begun eroding his meridians again.

He did not have much time left to study it at his leisure.

"Get ready."

Tang Hao reached out and picked up both medicine cases.

"Time to stake my life on it."