With the purpose of his trip largely accomplished, Lin Yang was in high spirits. He used his Soul Bone's flight skill to return to the cave where he had found it.
Lin Yang gently stroked the Blue Silver Emperor's leaves, a thoughtful gleam flashing through his eyes.
He had originally intended to leave the Blue Silver Emperor here, hoping that might delay Tang Hao's discovery of the missing Soul Bone.
But he had not expected to achieve his goals so much more smoothly than anticipated.
And the emergence of the demon god body had given him the confidence to face Tang Hao.
Even if I can't beat you yet, I'll just hide in the deep mountains and ancient forests and cultivate for eighty or a hundred years. When I come back out, I'll scatter your ashes.
That was the confidence of someone blessed with longevity.
Of course, that was the worst-case scenario.
With foreknowledge and an understanding of where the opportunities on the Douluo Continent lay, if Lin Yang still failed to become a god, he might as well find a block of tofu and bash himself to death against it.
Now, however, Lin Yang had changed his mind and intended to dig up the Blue Silver Emperor and take her away.
He decided to find her somewhere more suitable, as repayment for using her Soul Bone.
Because no matter how he looked at it, this did not seem like somewhere a plant should live.
There was no sunlight, no water, and even the soil was nothing more than a tiny mound...
Even with the blue silver emperor bloodline, powerful vitality, and robust foundations, staying in this wretched place would gradually wear her down.
If Tang San had not moved her to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, and Tang Hao had been allowed to keep blundering around, the Blue Silver Emperor probably would not have survived many more years.
That also made Lin Yang wonder whether Tang Hao had swung his great hammer so much that he had knocked himself stupid, planting the Blue Silver Emperor somewhere that never saw the light of day.
Or did he have ulterior motives, deliberately paving the way for his son?
After thinking it over, Lin Yang decisively abandoned his speculation.
With Tang Hao's way of thinking, nothing bizarre that hypermasculine father did would be surprising.
Lin Yang had no desire to lower his intelligence to Tang Hao's level.
Looking at the sickly Blue Silver Emperor, without the slightest trace of vigor, Lin Yang even worried that he might accidentally kill her while transplanting her.
Fine. I owe you a favor, so let me give you a hand this time.
As he spoke, Lin Yang clenched his fist and held it above the Blue Silver Emperor.
With a slight exertion, drops of blood as crimson as gemstones flowed between his clenched fingers, landing steadily on the Blue Silver Emperor's leaves.
The instant the blood touched the Blue Silver Emperor, it was absorbed along the veins of her leaves.
The effects were plain to see.
The previously listless Blue Silver Emperor instantly perked up, as though she had taken a potent restorative.
Even the golden patterns on her leaves grew much brighter, giving her more of the bearing of a Blue Silver Emperor.
The blood of the demon god body naturally needed no introduction.
Containing martial soul origin and brimming with vitality, it was an exceptional tonic for the Blue Silver Emperor in her current state.
Of course, if Lin Yang wished, he could now use his blood as a catalyst to create a batch of "demon servants" who feared no death and obeyed his every command.
But doing so was simply... meaningless.
What could he do with a group of demons far weaker than himself?
They would be nothing more than conspicuous burdens, and could easily expose the peculiarities of his constitution.
He had no desire to be captured and sliced up for study.
As for powerful Soul Masters...
Never mind Titled Douluos-with his current strength, he could not even fully transform a Soul Emperor into a demon.
The stronger someone was, the more strongly they inherently rejected outside forces.
Not to mention the question of ensuring that those he transformed would not turn against him.
Thus, the idea of creating demons had never entered Lin Yang's mind.
Only the Blue Silver Emperor before him was weak yet possessed extraordinary potential.
Lin Yang gave her some blood partly to ensure she would not die later, and partly to prevent her from turning around and biting him once her consciousness awakened.
Betrayal was absolutely unacceptable.
As the blood continued to shower down, the Blue Silver Emperor began growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Her slender stems thickened, and her leaves unfurled one after another, growing fuller.
On closer inspection, the golden patterns originally on the Blue Silver Emperor's leaves had now turned dark gold, with a few fine blood-colored lines added among them.
Her presence also rapidly strengthened, rising from that of a ten-year soul beast to that of a hundred-year soul beast.
Deciding that was enough, Lin Yang withdrew his fist, and the wound in his palm instantly healed.
Through his connection to the blood, Lin Yang could clearly sense the affection coming from the Blue Silver Emperor, even tinged with a little dependence.
Lin Yang reached out and stroked her leaves.
The Blue Silver Emperor extended a leaf of her own accord, winding it around Lin Yang's fingertip and rubbing against it gently.
Lin Yang's expression turned somewhat peculiar. The Blue Silver Emperor now reminded him of a kitten he had once raised.
He really had made good on that fierce declaration from back then. He had truly won over Tang San's mother and even thoroughly molded her into his own shape.
He really wondered what expression Tang San would wear if he found out.
Then Lin Yang pulled the Blue Silver Emperor straight out of the soil,
"Once we're out of here, I'll find you a suitable environment."
Just then, the Blue Silver Emperor's stems and leaves wound around Lin Yang's arm like vines, and a thought entered his mind.
Lin Yang looked momentarily stunned, then said, "You want to come with me?"
The Blue Silver Emperor swayed gently, seemingly nodding.
Then a blood-colored gleam flashed across the Blue Silver Emperor's leaves.
Under Lin Yang's astonished gaze, her body slowly shrank and merged into his flesh.
If Lin Yang's clothes were removed, a Blue Silver Emperor could be seen on his back.
Her long stems extended from his back all the way to his chest, while full leaves covered his entire back.
She looked like an elaborate tattoo branded onto his body.
Lin Yang moved around and found that she did not restrict his movements. Instead, he could smell the natural, delicate fragrance of Blue Silver Grass.
"Not bad."
Lin Yang muttered to himself, cleaned up the traces he had left behind, and departed the cave.
Flight skill, activate!
Lin Yang soared into the air, his body sweeping through the sky.
Warm sunlight spilled over Lin Yang, as though coating him in a golden mantle.
Just then, two blades of grass unfurled from his neck, basking greedily and longingly in the sunlight.
Seeing this, Lin Yang smiled softly and slowed down a little.
Once he left the mountains, Lin Yang stopped flying. Being so conspicuous was not his intention.
After half a day on the road, the familiar Red Maple Village came into view.
When Su Xi saw Lin Yang's sudden return, her first reaction was not delighted surprise, but panic.
She thought Lin Yang had gotten into trouble at school and been expelled.
Seeing this, Lin Yang felt both warmed and amused. He quickly took out the graduation certificate Dean Su Hong had given him.
"You... you've already graduated?"
Grandma Su Xi turned the graduation certificate over and over as she examined it. Her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled back into place, and the deep wrinkles on her face spread into a gratified smile.
"You're amazing, Yang. Now our Lin family has finally produced a Soul Master."
"Mm." Lin Yang crouched beside Grandma Su Xi and said softly,
"Grandma, now that I'm back, I want to stay with you a while longer. After that... I'll have to go out and find a Soul Ring, then find a suitable intermediate Soul Master Academy."
"When that happens, I'm afraid it'll be a long time between visits."
"Go with your mind at ease."
Grandma Su Xi reached out and gently patted the back of Lin Yang's hand. Reluctance shone in her eyes, but even more prominent was her pride in seeing her grandson grow up.
"I'll be home, with all the neighbors looking after me. Don't worry about me."
Half a month hurried by.
Before leaving, Lin Yang filled the woodshed with firewood for winter, prepared commonly used medicinal herbs, and left some Gold Soul Coins and Silver Soul Coins.
It was enough for his grandmother to live comfortably, but not so much that it would attract trouble.
However, one thing he had planned encountered a slight complication.
He had intended to use his blood to turn Grandma Su Xi into a "demon," restoring her health that way.
But the reality was that, even though he did not fear sunlight, he was still fundamentally a "demon."
If his blood was used on an ordinary person without Soul Power, it would completely consume their body, turning them into a mindless, vicious demon that craved flesh and blood.
They would be even more vicious than the demons in the Demon Slayer World!
So Lin Yang could only helplessly abandon that plan.
Instead, he considered whether he could use demon blood as a medicinal catalyst to produce a life-extending potion that ordinary people could tolerate.
But for now, that goal remained a heavy burden with a long road ahead!
Before you continue