"Ping'an, you and Tang San came from the same village. How about suppressing your soul power and having a little spar?"
The following day, with Gu Ping'an deliberately wandering about, Yu Xiaogang happened to find them.
This time, Yu Xiaogang's attitude was much better.
He even proposed a spar, which suited Gu Ping'an perfectly.
"I have no objections."
Gu Ping'an was curious about Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eye, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and other techniques.
"Xiao San!"
Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San a meaningful look.
Tang San nodded almost imperceptibly and walked into the clearing, a Yellow Soul Ring appearing around him.
Since Tang San's cultivation could not match Gu Ping'an's, Yu Xiaogang wanted him to beat Gu Ping'an at the same level.
"Let's give it a try, then."
Gu Ping'an did not care what the two were plotting. He stepped forward to face Tang San, several strands of blue silver grass circling him.
"First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!"
Tang San struck first, opening with his soul skill.
"Blue Silver Entanglement!"
Gu Ping'an grew his blue silver grass and sent it twining around the incoming strands in the same entangling fashion.
Both sides' entanglement was rendered ineffective.
Tang San stared at the intertwined blue silver grass, his pupils trembling slightly.
They were not merely similar. They were practically identical!
"Wasn't your first soul skill Healing? How..."
Tang San stopped halfway through.
He had realized that Gu Ping'an's soul ring had not flashed at all, meaning he had not used a soul skill.
He could achieve the same effect as Tang San's soul skill without even using one?
Tang San started turning to look at Yu Xiaogang nearby.
"Tang San, don't get distracted."
To keep Tang San from blaming his defeat on distraction, Gu Ping'an reminded him aloud while growing more blue silver grass to entangle him.
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"
Tang San's feet flickered as he twisted and darted within a small area, actually evading every strand of blue silver grass.
"Not bad!" Gu Ping'an's gaze fell on Tang San's feet.
"Go!"
Purple flashed through Tang San's eyes, and he flicked his fingers.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several tiny needles became barely perceptible glints of cold light as they shot toward Gu Ping'an.
Gu Ping'an's brows drew together.
Had he not been watching out for Tang San's hidden weapons all along, he would have struggled to notice when the needles were launched, let alone dodge them.
"Blue Silver Grass!"
Several strands of blue silver grass coiled together into a barrier in front of the needles.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three more sounds of rushing air followed.
Three throwing knives traced semicircular arcs through the air, instantly bypassing the blue silver grass and heading straight for Gu Ping'an.
Gu Ping'an's gaze darkened little by little.
Only by facing Tang San himself could he truly appreciate how troublesome he was.
Unlike soul skills, hidden weapons gave no visible signal every time they were used.
"Flash Step!"
An explosive crack rang out beneath Gu Ping'an's feet as he turned into an afterimage and left his original position.
The throwing knives sliced through the air and flew past him.
I can't let this continue!
Gu Ping'an's gaze grew thoughtful. His blue silver grass formed a long whip, and a flick of his wrist sent it sweeping out.
This is bad! Tang San's expression changed. His attempt to launch more hidden weapons was interrupted, and he tapped his feet against the ground repeatedly, retreating.
But the Blue Silver whip had plenty of reach!
Crack!
The Blue Silver whip struck the arm Tang San raised to block it, then wound around it.
A powerful force pulled at him from ahead.
Tang San was yanked straight into the air.
"Damn it!"
Suspended in midair with his balance gone, Tang San's eyes reddened, and he panted like an ox.
His unbound left hand quickly reached toward his waist.
Again?
Gu Ping'an's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately drove the Blue Silver whip toward the ground.
Thud!
Tang San slammed heavily into the ground, and several slender needles spilled out.
"Xiao San!"
Yu Xiaogang hurried frantically over to Tang San.
Gu Ping'an turned toward Dugu Yan and the others and shook his head slightly.
With his strength suppressed, Tang San was far too difficult to fight.
Had he not caught Tang San off guard by turning his blue silver grass into a whip, there was no telling how the fight would have ended.
He had originally planned to have Dugu Yan and Shui Bing'er fight Tang San in turn, but that would have to fall through now.
His only consolation was that hidden weapons became less useful the further one progressed.
"Tang San, how are you?"
For the sake of his subsequent plans, Gu Ping'an approached with concern.
Then he saw blood streaming from Tang San's nose, a large gash across his chin, and his left hand twisted at an unnatural angle beneath his body.
"Don't move. I'll heal you!"
His First Soul Skill activated, and a rich surge of healing power flowed into Tang San.
In mere moments, all his injuries had healed.
"Tang San, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
After healing Tang San's injuries, Gu Ping'an looked at him apologetically.
"It's... it's fine!" Tang San shook his head stiffly.
Yu Xiaogang scrutinized Tang San, then spoke reassuringly once he had confirmed that all his injuries had healed:
"Xiao San, Ping'an's soul power has already reached the Soul Ancestor level. Don't take losing to him to heart."
Shameless! Gu Ping'an grumbled inwardly.
He had not only suppressed his soul power and the strength of his blue silver grass, but had even refrained from using Rasengan.
Yet Yu Xiaogang had attributed his victory entirely to his higher soul power cultivation.
"All right, Xiao San. Because of your teacher, you didn't get to have a proper chat with Ping'an yesterday.
I'll give you the day off today. Keep Ping'an company."
"Yes, Teacher."
With a sentence apiece, the two had arranged everything for Gu Ping'an.
Gu Ping'an was happy to oblige. Yu Xiaogang and Tang San wanted to bait him, but he wanted to bait Tang San, too.
"Gu Ping'an, where did you go a year ago?
Grandpa Jack spent ages looking for you."
They found somewhere to sit in the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy and chatted casually.
"Grandpa Jack..."
Gu Ping'an fell silent for a moment, then raised his head toward the sky.
He had not seen Grandpa Jack in so long.
He wondered how the old man was doing now.
"I went out to make my way in the world! How else could I have cultivated so quickly?"
"By the way, was your teacher all right yesterday?"
Gu Ping'an brought up Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang certainly had no good intentions in sending Tang San to keep him company.
He probably wanted to pry out the secrets behind his cultivation speed and his ability to absorb soul rings beyond the age limit.
Yu Xiaogang had plagiarized Spirit Hall's books and passed them off as his own theories.
Tang San had stolen the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in his previous life.
These two were absolutely capable of wheedling out the methods behind his cultivation speed and absorption of soul rings beyond the age limit.
"Don't worry, my teacher is fine.
Also, my teacher wanted to ask whether you'd taken anything. Otherwise, your soul power..."
"My teacher certainly isn't coveting your method of cultivating quickly. Some medicines can speed up cultivation, but they drastically shorten the user's lifespan."
"We're worried about your health."
"What? Shorten my lifespan?" Gu Ping'an's expression changed wildly, fear, horror, and doubt all tangled across his face.
"You really took forbidden drugs?" Tang San's expression was full of concern.
Forbidden drugs?
So they suspected he had reached the Soul Ancestor level in just over a year by taking forbidden drugs.
Feigning fear and horror, Gu Ping'an clutched both of Tang San's hands tightly.
"I thought they only sped up cultivation. How could they cost me my lifespan?
I've often been feeling weak and exhausted lately. Does that mean I'm about to die?"
So it really was forbidden drugs! Tang San felt contempt stir inside him.
There were all kinds of forbidden drugs that accelerated cultivation and increased strength.
Yet the sensations they produced were mostly the same.
At first, users would feel as though their stamina and energy were inexhaustible. Only when their life force ran dry would they feel weak and powerless.
Since Gu Ping'an had been feeling weak lately, he clearly did not have much time left.
Teacher was right. Since he's dying anyway, he should share his method of absorbing soul rings beyond the age limit and benefit countless ordinary soul masters.
Tang San recalled Yu Xiaogang's words and found them perfectly reasonable.
"Actually, you don't need to worry too much. You can ask my teacher. He's a grandmaster of martial soul theory in the soul master world. He might have a way to replenish the life force you've lost.
But you'll have to explain your situation clearly, or even my teacher won't be able to help.
Your second ring clearly exceeds the maximum of 764 years laid out in martial soul theory. Was that because of forbidden drugs, too?"
Can't even wait, can you? Gu Ping'an sneered inwardly.
Having decided that his soul power came from forbidden drugs, Tang San had moved on to probing his method of absorbing soul rings beyond the age limit.
Gu Ping'an deliberately glanced around. Once he had confirmed that no outsiders were nearby, he leaned toward Tang San and spoke softly:
"A soul bone. I absorbed a soul bone. That's how I managed to absorb a thousand-year soul ring."
As he spoke, he caught Tang San's arm lifting slightly out of the corner of his eye, as though he wanted to aim it at him.
"Since we're from the same village, I'll tell you something. Don't tell anyone else."
Gu Ping'an continued, lowering his voice even further.
The rising arm stopped.
"We came to Nuoding City because we heard someone stole soul bones from Spirit Hall and fled here."
"Six! A complete set of six soul bones!"
"Absorbing them all wouldn't just let you absorb soul rings beyond the age limit. You'd gain six extra soul skills out of thin air, too."
"According to an inside rumor, Spirit Hall has already secretly captured the thief, but they haven't found the soul bones. Some people think they're hidden somewhere near Nuoding City."
"Tang San, when can you ask your teacher to help me with my shortened lifespan?"
Gu Ping'an wanted to see just what solution Yu Xiaogang could come up with.
"Ping'an, don't worry. I'll go back and ask my teacher right now."
Tang San patted Gu Ping'an's shoulder and rose to leave, deliberately putting on a worried expression.
He had already obtained the method of absorbing soul rings beyond the age limit.
He had even gained an unexpected piece of information.
Six soul bones were hidden near Nuoding City. He had to get them all.
Leaving already? Gu Ping'an was dumbfounded.
He had thought Tang San would keep probing for information about those six soul bones.
Next, he would have to find somewhere to hide the soul bones, then lead little Xiao San there.
Before you continue