Douluo Continent: Simulating Douluo Dalu III, Targeting Tang San
"Let me introduce myself too. My name is Gong Yu. I'm about the same age as you; I won't turn seven for another two months. My Martial Soul is... also Blue Silver Grass, but it's a mutated version. You'll understand when you see it."
Hearing Gong Yu say his Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, Xiao Lan, who stood nearby, froze for a moment in surprise.
Gong Yu continued, "This is Xiao Lan. She should be a little older."
He looked at Xiao Lan and asked, "Xiao Lan, how old are you?"
"E-eight," Xiao Lan answered timidly.
Gong Yu continued, "Xiao Lan is eight, so she'll be your big sister from now on. You already know about her Martial Soul, so I won't say any more about it. As for what you call me, my name or young master is fine."
"Today marks a new life for you, so I'll give you all new names. From now on, you'll all share my surname, Gong. Xiao Lan, you'll be Gong Lan. Xiao Xue, you'll be Gong Xue. The rest of you will be Gong Yue, Gong Xiao, Gong Qianqian, Gong Miaomiao, Gong Niuniu, and Gong Xi... no, Gong Xi isn't good. It sounds a bit like 'congratulations,' so Gong Xi will be Gong Xi'er."
"From now on, we're family. First, go wash up. I'll cook for you, and after we eat, I'll teach you to cultivate. The bathroom is in the room to your left. For now, you'll live in there. I'll arrange your beds later.
"This is only a temporary place for us to stay, so make do for now. In two months, we'll move somewhere bigger. All right, take your new clothes to the room. Once you've all washed up, come to the main hall for dinner together."
After making those arrangements, Gong Yu went into the kitchen by himself.
The matter of the Martial Soul team was more or less settled. Gong Yu didn't think there would be any major changes in the future.
Gong Yu had considered picking some known, named geniuses to form a team, but after thinking it over, he decided against it. Rather than team up with them, he would rather raise his own team and have it defeat those teams of geniuses.
As a transmigrator with a golden finger like the simulator, it wasn't too much to turn a few good-for-nothings into geniuses, and then into gods, was it?
About forty minutes later, Gong Yu had prepared a table full of fragrant dishes. He picked up two pieces of meat with his fingers and tasted them. They were pretty good.
A little while later, the eight little girls finished washing and came to the main hall together.
They wore far more smiles now than when he had first seen them.
Chapter 18: Extracting Blue Silver Emperor Juice
Toward evening, the four beds and large wardrobe Gong Yu had ordered finally arrived. He had them carried into the girls' room, where they filled it almost completely, leaving two passageways. The beds were bunk beds, just enough for the eight girls.
Well, Gong Yu didn't have much money now, so the girls would have to put up with it for the time being.
A little later, Gong Yu called all eight girls to the training room.
The eight girls stood in a row, and Gong Yu began speaking again. "In a moment, I'll teach you to cultivate, but before that, I need to help you obtain Soul Power. Now, sit cross-legged."
At Gong Yu's words, the little girls immediately sat down cross-legged, each looking a little excited.
Gong Yu nodded in satisfaction, then walked over to Gong Lan. "We'll do this one at a time, starting with your big sister."
He then said to Gong Lan, "Lan'er, your Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, so relatively speaking, it'll actually be easier for you to obtain Soul Power than for them."
Gong Yu took out a thumb-sized glass vial containing a green liquid. He opened it and handed it to Gong Lan. "Lan'er, this is juice I extracted from the Blue Silver Emperor.
"The Blue Silver Emperor is still Blue Silver Grass, but it's the sovereign among Blue Silver Grass, like an emperor. Drink the juice, and I'll help you refine and absorb it."
Gong Lan took the vial Gong Yu handed her and, without another word, poured the liquid into her mouth and swallowed it.
The other seven girls watched with curious, wide eyes.
"Good. Now sit cross-legged and close your eyes," Gong Yu instructed. Gong Lan did as he said.
Gong Yu sat cross-legged behind Gong Lan and pressed his palms against her back. He circulated the Quanzhen Great Dao Song and sent Soul Power into her body, helping her refine the Blue Silver Emperor juice.
After about ten minutes, Gong Lan had completely absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor juice in her stomach. Her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul appeared out of thin air. It had originally been ordinary Blue Silver Grass, but now its markings showed faint signs of transforming into golden ones.
A great deal of dirt and impurities then came out of her body. Her hair was still black, but it now had a faint blue sheen.
Gong Yu spoke again. "All right, now feel your surroundings and see if you can sense anything in the air."
"Yes." Gong Lan did as he said. After a while, she said, "I can feel little sparkling things in the air."
Gong Yu nodded to himself. "That's right. That's the primordial Qi of heaven and earth, ownerless Soul Power floating in the air. Once you absorb those sparkling things into your body and your body transforms them, they'll become your Soul Power."
"So those things are what turn into my Soul Power? Then I really can cultivate from now on?" Gong Lan asked Gong Yu with a trace of excitement.
"Of course." Gong Yu smiled. "But the meditation methods on the continent are too inefficient at converting ownerless Soul Power between heaven and earth, so cultivation is very slow. I don't intend to teach you those.
"I'll teach you a cultivation technique. It'll let you cultivate many times faster than any meditation method. Now I'll help you draw Qi into your body and guide it through one circuit. Remember the route it takes. When you cultivate later, just draw in Qi yourself and follow the same route."
"Yes, I'll remember it carefully," Gong Lan replied firmly.
Gong Yu then began drawing Qi into Gong Lan's body, guiding it through her meridians. After completing one full heavenly circuit, it sank into her dantian, forming the first strand of Soul Power that belonged to Gong Lan alone.
"Did you feel it?" Gong Yu spoke again. "That spot in your lower abdomen is called the dantian. There's a ball of Qi there; that's your Soul Power. You're a rank-one Soul Scholar now."
Hearing Gong Yu, Gong Lan sank her consciousness into her dantian. When she found the ball of Qi, her heart overflowed with excitement. "Thank you, young master!"
Gong Lan was about to rise and kneel before Gong Yu, but he held her down. "Don't worry about anything else. I don't go in for kneeling and bowing. Just remember it in your heart. Now keep cultivating the way I taught you and refine a few more strands of Soul Power. I have to teach the others first."
Next, Gong Yu took out two Mystic Water Pills. He divided each into four small portions, making eight in total.
None of the girls had cultivated before. If they took too much at once, they might not be able to refine it. Even with Gong Yu's help, they might not be able to withstand so much Soul Power arriving all at once, so he divided the Mystic Water Pills into small portions for them.
Of course, those were secondary reasons. The main reason was that Gong Yu only had six Mystic Water Pills left, not nearly enough to give each of them one. He also needed to keep two for himself, leaving four for the eight girls.
Gong Yu first gave Gong Lan a small portion and told her to take and refine it herself. She was now perfectly capable of refining that quarter of a Mystic Water Pill on her own.
After taking care of Gong Lan, Gong Yu began helping the remaining seven girls refine the pill portions. Using the same method he had used with Gong Lan, he taught them to guide Qi through their meridians and circulate it through a heavenly circuit.
Altogether, it took more than three hours. All eight girls had become Soul Scholars. Gong Lan was a little luckier: having taken the Blue Silver Emperor juice, her Soul Power reached rank two. The other girls were all rank-one Soul Scholars.
In any case, the eight girls had finally set foot on the path of Soul Masters.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Nothing major had happened during that time. The only thing that caused even a small stir was that a scruffy, hooded man carrying a hammer Martial Soul had smashed the Spirit Hall Branches in several cities.
When Gong Yu heard the news, he guessed it was Tang Hao. Presumably, Tang Hao had nowhere to vent his anger after Ah Yin and her Soul Bone were stolen, so he had taken it out on the Spirit Hall Branches in several cities.
Su Yuntao of Nuoding City had been to Holy Soul Village, so Tang Hao had grown suspicious of him and given him a savage beating.
Unfortunately, Tang Hao hadn't managed to get anything out of him in the end. Only because Tang Hao disdained killing a small fry like Su Yuntao had he survived.
Later, word also came from Spirit Hall that the hooded man was indeed Tang Hao, and Tang Hao was once again placed on the wanted list.
As for the other matters, none were worth Gong Yu's attention.
After two months of cultivation, Gong Yu's Soul Power had reached rank twenty, so before the school break, he had already applied to graduate early from Nuoding Academy.
The eight girls at home had cultivated at a decent pace, advancing an average of one rank a month. After two months, they were basically all rank-three Soul Scholars. Gong Qianqian, Gong Niuniu, and Gong Lan had each raised their Soul Power by three ranks: Qianqian and Niuniu had become rank-four Soul Scholars, while Gong Lan had become a rank-five Soul Scholar.
Gong Qianqian and Gong Niuniu's Martial Souls were top-tier to begin with. For some unknown reason, they simply hadn't awakened any Innate Soul Power. Now that they had Soul Power, they naturally cultivated a little faster than the others.
As for Gong Lan, the Blue Silver Emperor juice had nourished her Blue Silver Grass, causing it to transform for the better, so her cultivation speed had also increased.
Chapter 19: Simulating Again
At night, Gong Yu lay in bed, unable to sleep.
Several months had passed, and he had used up the resources he had on hand. He finally began another Simulation, hoping to gain something from the simulator.
[Preparing Simulation. Please select an associated person.] [1. Evil Soul Master A-Tai 2. Qiangu Xianglin, a member of a Qiangu Family collateral branch 3. A caterpillar on the Golden Tree]
"Holy crap, how am I supposed to choose this time? That caterpillar is badass too, actually daring to crawl on Tang San's mother. What's it trying to do, slay a god or devour one?"
"Forget it, I won't pick the caterpillar. I'll let the Evil Soul Master go too. This time I'll be a member of the Qiangu Family. I choose two."
[Simulation begins.] [Age 0: You were born into the Qiangu Family as a member of a collateral branch.] [Age 1: Your parents were murdered by people of unknown identity, leaving you an orphan.] [You were sent to the Qiangu Family orphanage to be raised.] [Age 2: Nothing significant happened. You lived a peaceful life.] [Age 3: Nothing significant happened. You lived a peaceful life.] [Ages 4 and 5: Nothing significant happened. Your life remained peaceful.] [Age 6: Along with a group of children your age, you underwent Martial Soul Awakening with the help of someone from the family. You awakened the Coiling Snake Staff Martial Soul, a mutation of the Coiling Dragon Staff. It had mutated for the worse, however, making it a degenerated version of the Coiling Dragon Staff.] [Fortunately, your Martial Soul had not degenerated too badly. Its dragon markings had merely become snake markings. You still awakened with very high Innate Soul Power, reaching rank eight.] [Although you had awakened with rank-eight Innate Soul Power and had a chance of earning a title in this life, the family members with true Coiling Dragon Staff Martial Souls regarded you as an anomaly. Many even believed dragons did not dwell with snakes, so few held you in high regard.] [Two months later, your Soul Power rose to rank ten. With the family's support, you obtained a yellow earth-dragon-type Soul Spirit.] [You absorbed the earth-dragon-type Soul Spirit and obtained your First Soul Ring. Your Coiling Snake Staff evolved, its snake markings becoming jiaolong markings. You obtained your first Soul Skill, Jiaolong Explores the Sea.] [You secretly found a deserted place to test the power of your first Soul Skill. Your Soul Ring flashed, and you thrust your staff forward. A jiaolong-shaped stream of Soul Power flew out like a giant dragon exploring the sea, blasting straight through a tree more than ten years old. Its power was extraordinary.] [A man in black saw what you did.] [The man in black wanted to take you as his disciple.] [The man in black displayed his Soul Power. He was a rank-ninety-nine Demigod. You didn't know much and had no idea what a Demigod was, only that it was impressive.] [You took the man in black as your master.] [The man in black taught you the first eight forms of the Nine Unyielding Staff Strikes. He only explained the theory behind the final form, because the final form was itself only theoretical; no one had ever mastered it.] [You began learning the Nine Unyielding Staff Strikes.] [Age 7: Aside from cultivating Soul Power, you spent your time practicing the Nine Unyielding Staff Strikes. Your days were fulfilling.] [Age 8: Your Soul Power reached rank twenty. The family provided you with a yellow thunder dragon Soul Spirit.] [You absorbed the thunder dragon Soul Spirit, obtaining your Second Soul Ring and your second Soul Skill, Thunderous Sweep.] [Your Martial Soul mutated again. It still bore jiaolong markings, but they were wreathed in lightning. You gained a slight ability to control the lightning element and were very satisfied with your Martial Soul.] [Two months later, you mastered the first form of the Unyielding Staff Technique. Your teacher in black was very pleased with your progress.] [Age 10: Your Soul Power reached rank twenty-nine. The family rewarded you with a Soul Ascension Pill, which could raise Soul Power by one rank without side effects.] [You did not take the Soul Ascension Pill rashly. Instead, you gave it to a middle-aged gatekeeper who had been stuck at rank twenty-nine for years. After taking it, he successfully reached rank thirty. He thanked you profusely and willingly became your eyes and ears.] [Two months later, you advanced to rank thirty.] [You planned to keep your rank a secret for a while before reporting it.] [Three months later, you reported the situation to the family, and they provided you with a purple earth-dragon-type Soul Spirit.] [You absorbed the earth-dragon-type Soul Spirit, obtaining your third Soul Ring and third Soul Skill, Earth-Shaking Strike.] [Your Martial Soul mutated again. Your staff turned ocher, and you gained the ability to control the earth element.] [The family members were curious about your Martial Soul. Some who specialized in theoretical research took an interest in you and wanted to ask about it and study your Martial Soul while they were at it.] [For a time, you became the family's hottest commodity.] [Age 12: You mastered the second form of the Unyielding Staff Technique. Influenced by the unyielding will in your Martial Soul, your spiritual power began to soar, reaching the peak of the Spirit Connection Realm.] [Your Soul Power Level reached rank thirty-eight, but because you kept a low profile, no one knew you were actually a genius.] [You enrolled at Spirit Pagoda Academy.] [One month later, you entered the Spirit Ascension Platform. The ages of all three of your Soul Rings increased. Your First and Second Soul Rings advanced to two thousand years, and your third Soul Ring advanced to three thousand years.] [Age 13: Your Soul Power reached rank forty. With the family's support, you were allowed to absorb a Soul Spirit above your rank.] [You obtained a black Fire Dragon Python Soul Spirit.] [You successfully absorbed the black Soul Spirit, obtaining your fourth Soul Ring and fourth Soul Skill, Fire Dragon Tail Swing.] [Your Martial Soul mutated again, granting you immunity to fire and the ability to control it.] [You now possessed the ability to control three elements, and many family members looked at you with envy.] [Qiangu Dongfeng arranged for you to become an attendant to his grandson, Qiangu Dieting.] [Age 15: Your Soul Power reached rank forty-six.] [That day, you discovered clues left behind by your parents, who had been dead for many years.] [You began investigating the clues and discovered that your parents had been in contact with the Tang Sect shortly before their deaths.] [The Tang Sect discovered that you were investigating the cause of your parents' deaths, but pretended not to know.] [Age 16: You successfully mastered the third form of the Unyielding Staff Technique.] [You didn't know where your master in black had gone. You hadn't seen each other for several years, and you missed him a little.] [Two months later, your Soul Power rose to rank fifty.] [To test your Martial Soul's ability to mutate, the family gave you a thirty-thousand-year wind dragon Soul Spirit this time.]