Hidden Strength

"Too bad... that was an Ice Attribute Soul Skill, or rather, an extended ability of the Mental System."

"Huo Yuhao relied on the Mental System's Spirit Eyes Spirit. With a Blue Silver Grass like mine, what would I even look for in the Extreme North Land? I probably wouldn't even reach the Extreme North Land before..."

Thinking of this, Tang Chuan smiled bitterly inwardly.

However, this reminded him of something.

"Simulation is merely a form of Soul Skill."

"Since Ice Attribute Soul Beasts can derive Simulation, could other attributes and other types of Soul Beasts also derive similar disguise abilities?"

"As long as they can conceal their aura and mask their level, they don't necessarily have to use the kind of Simulation Soul Skill Huo Yuhao has."

At this thought, Tang Chuan's gaze narrowed slightly.

The next moment, he rose and headed for Nuoding Academy's library.

Night fell. Few people walked through the campus, but a corner of the library still glowed with dim yellow lamplight.

Pushing open the door, Tang Chuan skillfully made his way to the Soul Beast classification section. He quickly scanned the rows of thick animal compendiums, flipping through them rapidly with both hands.

Spirit Beast Compendium: Plants,

<Record of the Distribution of Rare Plant-Type Spirit Beasts Across the Continent>,

Overview of Low-Level Spirit Beast Ecology...

He flipped through page after page and searched through volume after volume.

Several hours passed, and the night grew deep.

The other students had long since fallen asleep. Tang Chuan was the only one left in the library.

It was not until he opened a yellowed copy of <Research Records on Hidden Abilities of Spirit Beasts> that his fingers suddenly stopped. His gaze landed on an illustration on one of the pages.

The illustration depicted an elegant purple-gold flower Spirit Beast covered in vines. Its bud resembled a chrysanthemum, yet it possessed an extremely powerful mimicry ability. It could change its form beneath swamps, dense forests, rocks, and even piles of fallen leaves to ambush approaching prey.

Spirit Beast Name: Illusionary Hidden Flower

Attribute: Plant-Type

Distribution: Swamp forest belt in the southwest of the Star Dou Great Forest; wetlands along dense-forest edges

Speculated Soul Skill Directions: Concealing aura, simulating surroundings, mental disruption.

The instant he saw the description, Tang Chuan's eyes lit up.

He stared at the illustration of the vine-covered flower bud. His pupils contracted slightly, and an excited curve appeared at the corners of his lips as he murmured:

"Plant-Type Spirit Beasts... They can simulate and disguise themselves according to their surroundings, turning themselves into rocks, fallen leaves, vines, or even mud... Then they lure prey closer before delivering a lethal strike."

"Illusionary Hidden Flower..."

As he quietly spoke those three words, Tang Chuan felt an indescribable sense of compatibility rising within him.

Closing the book, Tang Chuan lowered his head in thought and muttered to himself:

"Although this Spirit Beast doesn't belong to the pure Life System, it's still a Plant-Type Spirit Beast, so its fundamental attributes don't conflict with Blue Silver Grass."

"Besides, Blue Silver Grass has another major advantage."

"Its potential development paths are extremely broad, and it won't reject Soul Rings of any attribute."

This was a hidden advantage behind the reputation of Blue Silver Grass as a Waste Spirit.

It had none of the evolutionary restrictions of an offensive Martial Soul, nor was it limited to fusing with any particular attribute. As long as the Soul Rings were properly suited to it, Blue Silver Grass could develop in any direction: control, life, poison, entanglement, defense, and even long-range disruption and disguise.

Even now, Tang Chuan continued weighing the matter in his heart:

"I'm still too weak at this stage. Although my Soul Power has reached Level Ten, I have no combat experience, no allies, and no offensive Soul Skill."

"If people discover that my Soul Power Level has risen so quickly, they might guess that it came from absorbing a Spirit Bone. That could easily bring me a fatal disaster."

Tang Chuan slowly clenched his fist, a look of resolve flashing through his eyes:

"I can slowly make up for the Life System Soul Ring later. Right now, I have to preserve my life first."

"This is a fantasy world where strength reigns supreme. Before I truly become strong, I must first learn how to hide my abilities and survive, making others believe that I'm nothing but a useless person."

The following afternoon, the setting sun spilled across the red-brick eaves of Nuoding Academy, while the air still retained the fresh dampness left by the rain.

Tang Chuan stood outside the dormitory, skillfully pulling the sinew from a wild rabbit's leg. His movements were clean and practiced; clearly, this was not his first time doing it.

"The Illusionary Hidden Flower is distributed throughout the Star Dou Great Forest. That's over a thousand li away..."

He held a blade of grass between his teeth, his gaze calm and clear.

In Tang Chuan's view, even if he wanted to obtain his First Spirit Ring, he had to prepare properly first. Traveling required money. Moreover, the Star Dou Great Forest was far from Nuoding City, and the journey back and forth would take a long time. Asking for leave and leaving rashly would not be wise.

"Although my appetite has increased, there are plenty of rabbits in the woods around the Academy, so I can at least fill my stomach. Anything I can't finish, I can bring to the Academy and sell."

"Once I save enough money for the journey, I can set out."

Tang Chuan skillfully flipped the freshly roasted rabbit. The charcoal fire sizzled, and its fragrance spread in all directions, immediately making the passing students turn their heads repeatedly.

For the past few days, he had gone to the grassy woods behind the mountain every morning to set traps and bury snares. At dusk, he returned to check them, catching wild rabbits and pheasants, and occasionally even finding injured birds.

He kept the better prey for himself.

He butchered the inferior ones, turned them into barbecue, and set up a temporary stall outside the dormitory. To his surprise, quite a few students stopped to watch.

"This rabbit smells amazing... How much for one?"

"Tang Chuan, what did you used to do? How do you roast things so authentically?"

"Damn, roast a few more. I'll bring money back to buy some!"

"Come and get them—the freshly roasted rabbit legs! Crispy on the outside and tender inside, definitely better than the cafeteria porridge!"

Tang Chuan skillfully turned the skewers, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. He was just about to call out a few more times when a familiar pink figure came hopping over from the distance.

It was Xiao Wu.

Her nose wrinkled, as though she had smelled something infuriating.

The next moment, her expression changed abruptly. Her eyes widened as she glared at the rabbit leg in Tang Chuan's hand, and her face turned rather ugly.

"You... you're roasting rabbits?!" Xiao Wu's voice rose several pitches, making several Work-Study Students waiting in line shudder.

Tang Chuan froze, then looked up and pretended to be confused. "Huh? Yes. What's wrong?"

Xiao Wu's face and eyes reddened at once. She stamped her feet angrily, looking as though she was about to cry:

"Rabbits are so cute! How can you eat rabbits?!"

She looked terribly aggrieved as she pointed at the golden, glistening rabbit leg over the fire, as though it were not roasted meat but a relative from her own family.

Hearing this, Tang Chuan's hand paused. He deliberately put on a blank expression, as if he had no idea what she was talking about, and said casually:

"Why can't I eat rabbits? Those things can give birth to seven or eight kits in one litter, and have several litters a year. There are as many of them as Grass. Back in Holy Spirit Village, whenever the vegetables in the fields first sprouted in spring, they would come steal them. The Village Chief would even organize everyone to catch them for food."

"Tang San and I couldn't get enough to eat back then. We survived on those things."

Tang Chuan spoke with complete seriousness and a calm tone, describing nothing more than his life experience without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Xiao Wu, however, ground her teeth upon hearing this. Her eyes reddened with anger, and she stomped her foot hard before shouting:

"I don't care! You're not allowed to roast rabbits outside the dormitory anymore!"

"If I ever see you roasting rabbits again, I'll—I'll flip your stall over!"