There was a very strange phenomenon on the Douluo Continent. The soul master system had existed for over ten thousand years, and the Seven Great Sects had legacies stretching back a thousand years, yet their development and use of medicinal herbs remained extremely limited.
Apart from the Ye Family and the Breaking Clan, other soul masters could not even identify many medicinal herbs, let alone use them.
Even Dugu Bo, a Poison Master, could only sit atop a mountain of treasure, utterly helpless.
So although they would ask Huo Wu to help gather medicinal herbs, they could not expect her to actually recognize more than a few.
Tang Yin had Tang San Niang illustrate a small booklet and gave it to Huo Wu as a reference.
Huo Wu stayed for a short while before leaving. After all, it was not the weekend.
"Brother, why did you say I was sick?"
In the study, Xiao Wu wore an aggrieved expression.
Tang Yin and Tang San Niang exchanged a glance.
Little San Niang smiled with her lips pressed together, her face looking all the more charming.
"Don't worry, Xiao Wu. That was just an excuse Brother made up to gather medicinal herbs."
"You scared me to death! I thought I really was sick."
Xiao Wu patted her little chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
"There are pastries ready for you in the kitchen. Go have some."
"Yay! Thank you, San Niang."
Xiao Wu cheered, planted a smacking kiss on Tang San Niang's cheek, and skipped away.
Tang San Niang withdrew her gaze and looked at Tang Yin. "Brother, is Xiao Wu really a transformed soul beast? Just like Mother?"
"Yes. Soul beast transformation means giving up all their cultivation and turning it into reserves, then starting their cultivation anew as a human."
"Transformation means shedding their beast form and cultivating a human form."
"As her soul power level rises, the traces of a soul beast on Xiao Wu will grow fainter and fainter, until she reaches maturity as a level-sixty soul master and becomes completely indistinguishable from an ordinary human.
"The only difference is that she still carries the reserves from her former existence as a soul beast. That is her advantage, but it is also what soul masters covet."
"Before she reaches maturity, a soul beast's aura will still linger on her. If she encounters a Douluo-level expert, she will be discovered very easily."
Tang San Niang nodded.
"So that's why you asked me to research a way to help Xiao Wu hide her aura."
"Exactly."
"There are no Douluo-level experts here in Nuoding City, but if we go to Heaven Dou City in the future, things will be different."
"Heaven Dou Royal Academy is, after all, the second-ranked soul master academy on the continent. If we get the chance to study there, it will benefit us considerably."
"So we have to solve this problem within these six years."
Tang Yin's eyes were filled with pride. "Little San Niang, your talent for medicine is unlike anything I've ever seen. I believe you can definitely develop a way to conceal a soul beast's aura."
A little embarrassed by her brother's praise, Tang San Niang blushed.
She had far more than talent. She also carried the Tang Sect's finest legacy of the Poison Path from her previous life.
Medicine and poison had never been separate disciplines. As one of the foremost masters of the Poison Path, Tang San Niang was naturally well versed in pharmacology.
"I've set aside a quiet room in the rear courtyard just for you. From now on, I'll leave the medicinal herbs we buy in your care."
"Yes, Brother. I won't let you down."
Feeling how much her brother valued her, Tang San Niang was overjoyed.
She could finally help shoulder some of her brother's burdens openly. Her heart leaping with joy, Tang San Niang returned to her room with light steps to make her plans.
Tang Yin gazed into the distance, his knuckles tapping lightly against the armrest.
That old bastard Tang Hao dumped Xiao Wu on me, then vanished himself. Absolutely outrageous.
I really don't know whether I'm the son in this life or Tang Hao is. I'm always wiping his ass for him. Sigh... exhausting.
Over the past few days, Tang Yin had gradually injected the internal energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill into Xiao Wu's body, gaining an initial understanding of how she differed from ordinary humans.
The differences fell into two main categories.
The first was the structure of her bones, and the second was the distribution of her meridians.
The first was a physiological difference, while the meridians involved the circulation of soul power. Tang Yin suspected that her soul beast aura primarily originated there.
"Unfortunately, unlike Little San Niang, Xiao Wu and I don't share a bloodline. As a result, her rejection of my Mysterious Heaven Skill internal energy is still fairly strong, making my examination of her body exceptionally slow."
"But I do have an advantage. My Spirit Veins Martial Soul possesses some of the Blue Silver Emperor's traits, which makes my internal energy extremely accommodating."
"As our internal energy mingles more frequently, the rejection will gradually weaken until they become compatible."
"Once the Mysterious Heaven Skill's internal energy has flowed throughout Xiao Wu's entire body, Little San Niang and I will have a very good chance of concealing her soul beast aura, or even removing it completely, if we work together."
Tang Yin rose and paced back and forth.
Little San Niang had already mastered hidden weapons and poisons in her previous life. They only needed to gather the materials and reproduce them step by step.
As for him, his main task was to integrate all his martial skills and begin developing a fighting style suited to soul master combat.
He also needed to use his forging skills and Little San Niang's knowledge of pharmacology to earn a living, lest they sit idle and eat their mountain of savings bare.
Xiao Wu's ideological education could not be neglected either.
Humans were humans, and beasts were beasts. The two must never be confused.
The moment she decided to transform, she became a human.
Ideological education had to begin in childhood. People could have a past, but they had to learn to focus on the present.
His tangled thoughts gradually became clear. Tang Yin pushed open the study door and walked out.
The next six years at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy would be the best opportunity for the siblings to take stock of themselves and improve their strength.
The opening day of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy arrived as scheduled.
Tang Yin set out early with his two younger sisters.
People bustled around the academy entrance. Taking advantage of the crowds on opening day, vendors called out their wares along the street.
"Candied hawthorn skewers!"
The children's mouths watered, and they begged their parents to pay for some.
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, her gaze fixed on them.
Tang Yin smiled and released his two younger sisters' soft, seemingly boneless little hands.
"I'll buy you two skewers. Wait here for me."
With that, he stepped into the crowd.
Outside the academy gates, a man with a short crew cut was craning his neck expectantly. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he walked straight toward Tang San Niang.
"Child, are you a student here to register? Let me see your Spirit Hall certificate."
"We don't even know you. Why should we show you?"
Xiao Wu planted her hands on her slender waist, her face full of wariness.
Tang San Niang did not even glance at Yu Xiaogang. Her eyes remained fixed on her brother amid the crowd.
"You may not know me, but almost everyone on the continent knows my theories."
"The 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul' theory I published has guided countless young soul masters. The entire soul master world shows me respect and honors me with the title of Grandmaster."
Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back, displaying all the bearing of a grandmaster.
In truth, he had been watching Tang San Niang's reaction out of the corner of his eye the entire time.
Now, having heard his great theory,
Tang San Niang finally reacted.
She raised her head with a frown and pulled Xiao Wu a little farther to the side.
A clear trace of disgust appeared on her delicate, fair little face.
"Please stay away from us."
Pfft!
Her soft words were like a sharp blade plunging straight into Yu Xiaogang's heart.
His aging face instantly flushed red.
Xiao Wu looked utterly scornful.
"So you're that famous clown of the soul master world!"
Pfft!
Lies did not hurt people. The truth was the sharpest blade!
Yu Xiaogang turned completely red!
Red with boiling rage!
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