Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh of relief, and then explained:
"The opponent likely possesses some kind of mental ability or a special Soul Skill."
"He has been misleading you from the very beginning."
"So you'd think he only had the cultivation level of Soul Ancestor Master."
"Then use illusion magic to create a fake purple-black Soul Ring Configuration."
"That explains everything."
Tang San did not speak immediately.
Illusion?
This explanation...
That does seem plausible.
But for some reason, he felt that something was wrong.
A moment later, Tang San suddenly raised his head.
"What about the dean?"
Yu Xiaogang was taken aback.
"What?"
"What if I'm under an illusion?"
Tang San looked at Flender, who was standing to the side.
"Was the Soul Ring the dean saw also an illusion?"
"And that last shot."
"The Dean is a level 78 Soul Saint."
"Surely even the part about him being seriously wounded by a bullet is fake?"
Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth.
For a moment, I didn't know how to answer.
Tang San's unease resurfaced.
Seeing this, Flender's expression also turned somewhat unpleasant.
After a long while, he coughed once.
" The Xiao San."
What your teacher said... might not be impossible.
Tang San turned to look at him.
Flender paused.
That person could never be just an ordinary Soul Ancestor.
He said this with unusual certainty.
After all, no one knew better than him what it felt like to be shot.
"Although I was injured, I did not lose my ability to judge at the time."
"The power of that shot..."
Flender' face twitched involuntarily as he said this.
"Don't even mention the Soul Ancestor."
"Even an ordinary Soul Emperor wouldn't possess that kind of power."
"So he may have been hiding his true Soul Power Level from the very beginning."
Tang San frowned.
"Concealing one's cultivation level?"
"Right."
Flender nodded.
As for Soul Ring...
He paused for a moment.
When he spoke again, his tone was noticeably less certain than before.
"Maybe..."
"Just like Xiaogang said, it's some kind of illusion."
"Otherwise..."
Flender stopped there.
Even he himself felt that this explanation was somewhat far-fetched.
But what if it's not an illusion?
The First Soul Ring lasted a thousand years.
The Third Soul Ring lasts for ten thousand years.
He was over level 40 and severely injured a level 78 Soul Saint with a single shot.
This cannot be explained by simply calling someone a "genius."
That person must be hiding a secret they don't know about.
Tang San lowered his head.
No further questions were asked.
The teacher's explanation makes sense.
Flender ' words also make sense.
But I don't know why.
The four Soul Ring kept flashing through his mind.
purple.
purple.
black.
black.
Especially that first Purple Soul Ring.
It just won't go away.
What if it wasn't an illusion?
If the teacher's theory...
Is there really a vulnerability he's unaware of?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when Tang San immediately suppressed it.
No, it won't.
The teacher dedicated his entire life to researching the Martial Soul Theory.
How could they possibly get even the most basic thing—the age limit of Soul Ring —wrong?
There must be something wrong with that Black Bamboo.
It must be.
Tang San told himself this.
But this time...
Even he himself didn't realize it.
The seed of doubt has been quietly planted in my heart.
On the other side.
Deep in a secluded valley.
Xiao Xuan stood before a dense forest, his gaze falling on a thick, Lone Bamboo not far away, and a smile finally appeared on his face.
Found it!
The second one!
He had been searching the neighborhood for two whole days for this last ingredient.
Both plants meet the system's requirements for star-level promotion.
This also means --
The Five-Star Blue Jade Bamboo can finally continue its ascent!
Xiao Xuan did not delay.
He first summoned the Five-Star Blue Jade Bamboo.
Buzz!
A light, a blend of pale blue and deep blue, shone forth.
The bamboo spear, smooth and warm like jade, floated quietly in front of him, with a faint shimmer of water flowing slowly along its shaft.
Compared to that ordinary Lone Bamboo from the beginning, the current Martial Soul is hardly recognizable.
During the previous star-up, the life and water attributes brought by the remnants of the Blue Silver Emperor have been completely integrated into it.
Xiao Xuan took a deep breath.
The spear swept past.
Click!
Click!
The two Lone Bamboo stalks were cut down almost simultaneously.
Before the life force at the severed wound had completely dissipated, Xiao Xuan reached out with both hands and grasped it from the left and right.
Immediately afterwards, his other consciousness entered the Storage Soul Tool.
A section of ancient vine wood, entirely purplish-black in color and still bearing the fine crackle patterns on its surface, was taken out directly.
The true form of the Thundering Hell Vine!
The system determined from the outset that this item was a genuine six-star auxiliary material.
This is exactly the right place for it!
"System!"
"Activate the Three-in-One Fusion of All Things!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
Buzz--!
The air jolted violently!
[bite!]
[ Martial Soul Material Detected!]
[Two wild Lone Bamboo (main material) detected!]
[Star-up requirements met!]
[Six-star auxiliary material detected - Thundering Hell Vine!]
[ Three-in-One Fusion of All Things, activate!]
boom!
The instant the system notification sound ended.
The two Lone Bamboo in Xiao Xuan's hands exploded simultaneously.
There are no sawdust particles.
There were no broken branches.
The two complete plant Soul Beast seemed to have been directly dismantled into their purest origins by some kind of power.
Vast expanses of lush green light shot into the sky!
Then it transformed into two thick streams of azure light, pouring into the Five-Star Blue Jade Bamboo from both sides simultaneously!
Buzz!
The bamboo spear vibrated violently.
The gun's surface suddenly lit up with a deep blue sheen.
In an instant, cyan and blue light intertwined, completely enveloping the entire bamboo spear.
But real change--
It's still to come!
The Thundering Hell Vine moved.
To be precise, it was its lifeless body that began to disintegrate little by little!
Click!
A tiny crack appeared on the surface of the purplish-black vine wood.
Immediately afterwards.
The second one!
The third one!
Numerous cracks quickly spread across the entire section of vine.
The next second--
boom!
The purplish-black lightning exploded completely!
Crackling and popping!
Countless deep purple lightning arcs surged wildly.
The entire valley was bathed in purple light at that moment.
A large amount of lightning entangled in mid-air, and finally condensed into a purple-black lightning pillar that was several meters long!
And at the deepest part of that lightning pillar.
There was also a barely noticeable wisp of black aura.
There was no thunder.
There was no explosion.
But the moment that wisp of black appeared...
The surrounding raging lightning suddenly quieted down.
Xiao Xuan's pupils contracted slightly.
This is...
Another hidden power within the Thundering Hell Vine!
The next moment.
The system notification sounded again.
[Extracting core properties of auxiliary materials...]
[Lightning attribute successfully extracted!]
[Special force detected!]
[Detection in progress...]
[Confirmation complete!]
[Fragment discovered— Fragment of the Law of Destruction!]
A sharp glint suddenly flashed in Xiao Xuan's eyes.
The Law of Destruction?!
Before he could react...
Boom--!
The purplish-black lightning bolt in mid-air crashed down!
blue!
Dark blue!
Deep purple!
Three forces simultaneously struck the bamboo spear!
The entire stalk of Blue Jade Bamboo was instantly engulfed by dazzling light.
Numerous bolts of lightning traveled wildly along the bamboo joints.
The originally warm and calming deep blue color began to fade at a visible rate.
The purple color continued to spread upwards!
Just a few breaths.
The bamboo spear, which was originally blue-green and had a faint watery sheen, turned completely into a deep purple!
But this is not the end.
That wisp of black, destructive aura followed closely behind.
It doesn't have a cover over the gun like the Thunder.
Instead, it sank directly into the deepest part of the bamboo spear.
In an instant--
The space around the bamboo spear suddenly fell silent.
The thunder stopped.
The sound of the wind disappeared.
Even the dissipating Soul Power fluctuations around them seemed to be forcibly suppressed by some invisible force!
The next second.
All the light suddenly contracted inward!
boom!
A terrifying aura spread out from the bamboo spear.
Xiao Xuan's robes fluttered in the wind.
But his gaze remained fixed on the Martial Soul in front of him, which was undergoing its final transformation!