The Life Route

The absorption process lasted two hours.

Finally, Tang San absorbed all the medicinal power, opened his eyes, and took stock of his body.

"Teacher, I feel much stronger."

He clenched his fists slightly. His strength had indeed increased considerably.

Tang San knew that the whale rubber had strengthened not only his flesh, but also his bones and meridians.

No wonder his teacher had said that absorbing whale rubber could raise the upper limit of the soul rings he could withstand.

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "Very good. Now we'll begin studying theory. Aside from improving their strength, theoretical knowledge is also extremely important for soul masters. You're about to obtain your first soul ring, so today's lesson will concern your martial soul."

"You should still remember that I said your martial soul wasn't ordinary blue silver grass."

Tang San nodded.

"You said that martial soul quality was directly proportional to innate soul power level."

"Yes, good. You remember quite clearly. If my guess is correct, your martial soul shouldn't be called blue silver grass, but Blue Silver King."

"Blue Silver King?"

Tang San was somewhat puzzled.

"That's right. The Blue Silver Grass Clan actually isn't as simple as you think. Above blue silver grass is the Blue Silver King, and above the Blue Silver King is the Blue Silver Emperor."

"If ordinary blue silver grass counts as a trash martial soul, then the Blue Silver King is a high-grade martial soul. The Blue Silver Emperor above it is one of the very finest plant-type martial souls."

"And the fact that you have twin martial souls further supports this, because one prerequisite for twin martial souls to appear is that the two martial souls can't differ too greatly in quality."

After Yu Xiaogang's explanation, Tang San felt as though everything had suddenly opened up before him. So that was it. His blue silver grass wasn't the blue silver grass everyone knew.

It was the even stronger Blue Silver King!

Just what I'd expect from Teacher.

Tang San thought to himself.

Yu Xiaogang explained the various cultivation routes for soul masters to Tang San.

"In your opinion, what direction should your blue silver grass take in its cultivation?"

Yu Xiaogang asked.

Tang San thought for a moment. "The control system, perhaps? After all, blue silver grass has vines. If used to bind things, it should make a good means of control."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "You're right. Ordinary plant-type martial souls are indeed very suited to the control system route. If your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul takes that direction in the future, it certainly won't be weak."

"But I have a better route to recommend to you."

"The life attribute route."

"Life attribute?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "In the eyes of everyone on the continent, the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is incredibly weak. But do you know what its greatest and most unique strength is?"

Tang San thought of the life attribute Yu Xiaogang had just mentioned.

"Its vitality!"

"Exactly."

Yu Xiaogang nodded. As expected of Tang San, he had found the key with just a slight hint.

"Blue silver grass's greatest strength is its vitality. You can find traces of blue silver grass in almost any environment, no matter how harsh. That's the best proof. Though weak, it's tenacious."

"Your Blue Silver King is stronger than blue silver grass, and the same goes for its vitality."

In fact, Ah Yin's soul skills made it clear that the best route for blue silver grass wasn't control, but life.

One of the Blue Silver Emperor soul bone's soul skills, Wildfire Cannot Burn It All Away; the Spring Breeze Blows, and It Grows Again.

It was an exceptionally powerful life attribute soul skill.

"You've already absorbed the whale rubber. Go back and make your preparations today. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a soul ring."

"Obtain a soul ring?"

He thought of his Mysterious Heaven Skill. Ever since he had first reached the completion of its first level, he had made no further progress. Could that be because he lacked a soul ring?

"On the Douluo Continent, there are ten soul master ranks in total."

"They start with Soul Scholars below level ten and go all the way up to the highest rank, Titled Douluos above level ninety."

"And to reach the next soul master stage, you must first obtain a soul ring."

"You have innate full soul power at level ten, so you can already obtain your first soul ring. Although soul power will continue to accumulate if you don't obtain a soul ring after reaching a bottleneck, your cultivation speed also increases somewhat with each new stage. So the sooner you can obtain a soul ring, the better."

Tang San looked thoughtful. So that was it-from Soul Scholar to Titled Douluo.

According to Teacher, I'm currently at the peak of the Soul Scholar stage, and my Mysterious Heaven Skill is likewise at the completion of its first level.

So that was it. It seems that to raise the Mysterious Heaven Skill to the second level, I must first obtain my first soul ring.

In that case, as long as I become a Titled Douluo, I'll be able to cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill to full completion.

To think the Mysterious Heaven Skill fits this world's cultivation system so well. What an unexpected delight.

Yu Xiaogang took out a book.

"This book contains some general knowledge about the continent. Finish reading it as soon as you get back. We'll set out for the Soul Hunting Forest first thing tomorrow morning."

Tang San took it. "Yes, Teacher."

As it grew late, Yu Xiaogang taught Tang San some more theoretical knowledge before letting him leave.

In the blink of an eye, it was early the next morning.

Tang San rose early and arrived at the school gates, where Yu Xiaogang had already been waiting for quite some time.

"Teacher."

"Yes, let's go. The Soul Hunting Forest is some distance from Nuoding City. We'll take a carriage."

Yu Xiaogang hired a carriage with Tang San, and they finally reached the Soul Hunting Forest at noon.

He showed his token, and they entered without trouble.

Tang San looked around. "So this is the Soul Hunting Forest? It's much bigger than an ordinary forest."

Yu Xiaogang said, "The so-called Soul Hunting Forest is a place where the Heaven Dou Empire raises soul beasts in captivity. Although it belongs to the Heaven Dou Empire, it's actually managed by Spirit Hall."

"The soul beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest generally aren't very high-level, but finding your first soul ring here will be more than easy enough."

As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang summoned Luo Sanpao.

As soon as Luo Sanpao appeared, he affectionately sidled up to Yu Xiaogang and rubbed against him.

Tang San stared at Luo Sanpao in wonder. "Teacher, is this your martial soul?"

It actually appears in physical form.

Yu Xiaogang nodded. "That's right. This is my martial soul, Luo Sanpao. Sanpao is a mutated beast martial soul that can be independently summoned in physical form. Unfortunately, the mutation was negative, which was also why I couldn't break through the level-thirty bottleneck before."

"But I've already solved that problem now. It involves knowledge about Martial Soul Evolution, which I'll teach you later. Your martial soul, blue silver grass, can evolve too."

Tang San nodded thoughtfully.

"I told you before that your soul power was innate full soul power at level ten. Once you reach this level, you can no longer increase your soul power through cultivation alone. Only by obtaining your first soul ring and absorbing its soul power can you break through to level eleven."

As Yu Xiaogang finished speaking, two yellow soul rings rose around him.

"Are those soul rings?"

"That's right."

Yu Xiaogang looked ahead. The grass rustled slightly, and several Wind Wolves emerged.

"Soul rings are obtained from slain soul beasts. After obtaining a soul ring, a soul master not only gains soul power, but also receives a corresponding soul skill."

Roar!!

Seven Wind Wolves in all approached the two of them with low growls.