Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power, Tang San's First Probe

A pale yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath Zhou Qian's feet.

His body quickly became hunched, grayish-brown fur grew along his cheeks, and the tip of his nose protruded slightly.

The shadowy form of a slender weasel appeared behind him.

"Bewildering Smoke Weasel, possess me."

Zhou Qian raised his head. The weakness in his eyes had vanished completely.

In its place was undisguised coldness.

The grass on both sides of the road rustled at once.

Two burly men in short tunics charged out, blocking the carriage's retreat from the front and rear.

They did not release their Martial Souls.

But each held a wooden club half an arm's length long, and their movements showed clear signs of training.

"Protect the two grandpas."

Tang San spoke in a low voice.

He stepped in front of Old Jack, his right hand hanging naturally at his waist.

Several polished iron slivers had already slipped into his palm.

Dong Jian did not move.

He stared at the Yellow Soul Ring beneath Zhou Qian's feet.

Only one ring.

His opponent was only a Soul Master above level ten.

But he, Tang San, and Li Man did not have Soul Rings yet.

In a direct fight, there was still a huge gap between them.

"Don't be nervous."

A smile reappeared on Zhou Qian's face.

"I only want to ask you three children a few questions."

"The first one."

He looked at Li Man.

"Where are the research materials Li Ze left behind?"

Li Man raised her right hand.

A pale cyan light gathered in her palm.

Nine-Section Green Jade Bamboo slowly grew out, its emerald leaves swaying gently.

"My father didn't leave any materials behind."

"You think I'll believe that?"

"Whether you believe it or not is your business."

Li Man's voice remained calm.

"Faking wounds and ambushing children-is this how the Return to One Society does its research now?"

The smile on Zhou Qian's face stiffened slightly.

"So you do know about the Return to One Society."

"It seems Li Ze did leave behind some things he shouldn't have before he died."

Li Man's fingers tightened sharply around the bamboo stalk.

Dong Jian stepped half a pace forward, blocking Zhou Qian's view.

"What's the second question?"

Zhou Qian looked at him.

"Can your Martial Soul leave your body and act independently?"

"No."

Dong Jian answered without the slightest hesitation.

"Everyone at the awakening ceremony saw it."

"That was just my Martial Soul manifesting."

"Ordinary Beast Martial Souls can do that too."

Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes.

"Is that so?"

"But your mother's Martial Soul back then was no ordinary Beast Martial Soul."

Dong Jian's gaze turned cold in an instant.

"You knew her?"

"More than just knew her."

Zhou Qian deliberately drew out his words.

"Her position in the Return to One Society back then was much higher than you imagine."

"Unfortunately, she made the wrong choice in the end."

The black-and-white Soul Power inside Dong Jian trembled gently.

The Panda Martial Soul's consciousness awakened in response.

A deep anger surged from the depths of his consciousness.

Let me out.

Tear him apart.

Dong Jian did not respond.

His opponent had deliberately mentioned his mother to make him lose control of his emotions and reveal the abnormality of his Martial Soul himself.

"Why aren't you asking anymore?"

Zhou Qian smiled.

"As long as you release your Martial Soul, I can tell you more."

"For example, why your mother left Iron Bamboo Village."

"Or-"

"Whether she's dead or alive now."

Dong Jian's pupils contracted slightly.

But his feet never moved.

"The words of someone who even fakes his wounds aren't worth much."

The smile gradually faded from Zhou Qian's face.

"It seems you're harder to deal with than the information suggested."

He raised his right hand.

The Yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up abruptly.

"First Soul Skill, Soul-Stupefying Smoke!"

Grayish-yellow mist poured from the Bewildering Smoke Weasel's mouth.

In just a few breaths, it covered the road ahead.

The driver had barely caught a whiff when his head grew heavy and his body began to sway.

"Don't breathe it in!"

Li Man planted the Green Jade Bamboo in the ground.

Its emerald leaves unfurled all at once.

Without a Soul Ring, she could not use a true Soul Skill.

But Green Jade Bamboo was extremely sensitive to life energy and airflow.

Each bamboo leaf tilted gently in the direction of the smoke.

"The wind is faster on the right."

"The smoke will spread to the rear left."

"Leave from the right side of the carriage!"

Tang San grabbed Old Jack by the arm and leaped down from the carriage with him.

Dong Jian supported the old village chief of Iron Bamboo Village and handed him over to the driver.

"Go along the woods on the right."

"Don't look back."

The two village chiefs were worried, but they knew staying would only make them a burden.

As Tang San turned, he flicked his wrist.

Whoosh!

Two iron slivers shot into the smoke.

The burly man on the right had just raised his club when his wrist suddenly went numb.

The club slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

The other iron sliver struck the second man on the side of his knee.

The burly man staggered and nearly fell to his knees.

"Hidden Weapons?"

Zhou Qian looked at Tang San.

"A Blue Silver Grass Soul Master, yet you've got quite a few tricks hidden away."

Tang San did not answer.

Zhou Qian's tone had already confirmed that he had investigated Tang San too.

"This wasn't an impromptu ambush."

Tang San spoke gravely.

"They'd already set their sights on us before we left the village."

"Only just noticed?"

Dong Jian met the first burly man head-on.

The man picked up his club and brought it smashing down at Dong Jian's head.

Dong Jian sidestepped.

Instead of grabbing the club, he pressed his right hand against the man's elbow.

Following the force of the downward blow, he pushed forward.

The burly man lost his balance and plunged straight into the Soul-Stupefying Smoke.

"Cough, cough!"

Before he could regain his footing, he inhaled a large amount of smoke.

His eyes rolled back, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

The other burly man charged in from the side.

Li Man suddenly spoke.

"Left foot!"

Dong Jian did not look back.

But he immediately shifted half a step to the right.

The ground the burly man's left foot landed on was exactly where a Green Jade Bamboo leaf was pointing.

A loose stone lay there, hidden by weeds.

As his foot came down, his body immediately tilted.

Dong Jian leaned forward with his shoulder.

Bang!

Mountain-Leaning Collision struck the man squarely in the chest.

The burly man was not sent flying far, but the force of his own charge knocked the breath from him.

Dong Jian grabbed him by the collar and turned with the motion.

The second man was thrown into the smoke as well.

Zhou Qian's expression finally changed.

"You took care of two adults at once without releasing your Martial Soul."

"So your mother did leave something to you."

He pushed off the ground.

The speed granted by his Bewildering Smoke Weasel Martial Soul erupted in an instant.

His gray figure flashed through the smoke, claws aimed straight at Dong Jian's shoulder.

Dong Jian only had time to raise an arm to block.

Bang!

A searing pain shot through his arm.

He slid backward several steps.

At that moment, the gap between a Soul Master and an ordinary martial artist was laid completely bare.

Zhou Qian gave him no chance to recover.

His body swayed, and he closed in again.

"Release your Martial Soul!"

His claws slashed toward Dong Jian's chest.

Dong Jian did not release the Panda Martial Soul.

He shifted his weight backward, turning his body in the direction of the claws.

But Zhou Qian was too fast.

Even by turning to deflect the force, Dong Jian could only protect his vital spots.

Three gashes were still torn in his clothes.

"You can't hold out much longer."

Zhou Qian sneered.

"As long as you release your Martial Soul, you can stay alive."

Dong Jian didn't answer.

He was waiting.

Tang San had stood at the edge of the smoke ever since the fight began.

On the surface, he was protecting Li Man and the two village chiefs as they withdrew.

In truth, his gaze had never left Zhou Qian.

Just as Zhou Qian charged at Dong Jian for the third time, Tang San's right hand shot up.

Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!

An invisible pulling force caught Zhou Qian's right foot.

The force wasn't strong.

It was nowhere near enough to pull a Soul Master off his feet.

But Zhou Qian was charging forward at high speed.

His foot only had to land half an inch off course to shift his entire center of gravity.

Zhou Qian's expression changed.

His right foot landed farther outward than he had expected.

His body immediately tilted.

Now!

Dong Jian stepped forward.

His right foot planted on the ground.

His waist and abdomen twisted.

His shoulder drove forward.

All his strength converged in an instant.

Mountain-Leaning Collision!

Bang!

His shoulder slammed squarely into Zhou Qian's chest.

Zhou Qian had already lost his balance.

Dong Jian's collision sent him flying sideways out of the smoke.

His back crashed heavily into a tree trunk by the road.

Crack!

The bark split open.

After Zhou Qian hit the ground, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

He looked up at Tang San, suspicion and surprise in his eyes.

"Pulling from a distance?"

"That Blue Silver Grass of yours isn't as simple as it looks, either."

Tang San calmly lowered his right hand.

"It has nothing to do with my Martial Soul."

"My father just taught me some ways to exert force."

When Dong Jian heard that, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

Using blacksmithing to explain footwork.

Using his father to explain the Tang Sect Secret Arts.

The two of them had an unexpectedly good understanding in that regard.

"Zhou Qian."

Li Man stepped beside the Green Jade Bamboo.

"Your Soul Power is already in disarray."

"If you keep using Soul Skills, your meridians will give out first."

"How could you tell?"

"The color of your smoke is growing fainter."

Li Man looked at his right shoulder.

"Every time you release a Soul Skill, your right shoulder contracts first."

"Your Martial Soul Fusion is incomplete."

"The Bewildering Smoke Weasel wasn't your original Martial Soul, was it?"

The expression on Zhou Qian's face froze completely.

Dong Jian and Tang San both looked at him.

Could a Martial Soul be something other than a person's original Martial Soul?

Zhou Qian fell silent for several breaths, then suddenly laughed.

"Li Ze's daughter really did inherit his eyes."

He took a vial of black potion from inside his clothes.

Li Man's expression changed.

"Stop him!"

The iron shard in Tang San's hand shot out in an instant.

But Zhou Qian turned his head aside in advance, dodging it, then tipped his head back and poured all the potion into his mouth.

Gray veins rapidly bulged on the surface of his neck.

The Bewildering Smoke Weasel's phantom let out a piercing shriek.

Zhou Qian's Soul Power surged in a short time.

Even the edge of his pale yellow soul ring took on an unnatural layer of black.

"Fusion Potion."

Li Man stared at him.

"You've already started using it on people?"

"Research always needs materials."

Zhou Qian's voice turned hoarse.

"Your father refused to understand, so he died."

For the first time, unmistakable killing intent appeared in Li Man's eyes.

The Green Jade Bamboo's leaves stirred without wind.

But Dong Jian reached out to stop her.

"Don't be rash."

After taking the potion, Zhou Qian's presence had grown at least twice as strong.

Even if the three of them joined forces, they weren't confident they could keep him there.

Zhou Qian didn't continue attacking.

The potion's power was clearly taking a toll on his body as well.

He turned and charged into the woods.

Before he left, his voice carried from far off among the shadows of the trees.

"Dong Jian."

"Do you think you're the only special one?"

"Someone at Nuoding Academy has been waiting for you for a long time."

Zhou Qian's presence quickly receded into the distance.

Dong Jian didn't give chase.

He looked down at the ground.

A few drops of darkened blood remained where Zhou Qian had stood.

Li Man crouched down and collected the blood in a medicine bottle.

"His Martial Soul was artificially altered."

"That potion only deepened the fusion temporarily."

"The Return to One Society has already begun experimenting on humans."

The hand holding the medicine bottle trembled slightly.

Her father's death was clearly bound up with these experiments.

Tang San stood beside her, watching as she put the sample away.

"You seem to have tangled with a very troublesome organization."

"We didn't go looking for trouble with them."

Dong Jian said:

"They came knocking first."

Tang San was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"What was that method of exerting force you just used called?"

"Mountain-Leaning Collision."

"Using only your body?"

"For now."

Dong Jian looked at his right hand.

"And what was it you used to change where he landed from a distance?"

"A force-control technique."

Tang San replied:

"When my father taught me blacksmithing, I had to control my strength through the tools."

Half true, half false.

Dong Jian didn't expose him, either.

"Your father knows a great deal."

"So does yours."

The two looked at each other for a moment.

Tang San suddenly said:

"Once we get to Nuoding Academy, let's find a chance to spar."

It wasn't a simple invitation.

It was a probe.

Tang San wanted to know just how many abilities Dong Jian was still hiding.

Dong Jian likewise wanted to experience the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and the Tang Sect's techniques for himself.

"All right."

He replied:

"But don't go complaining to the village chief if you lose."

Tang San was taken aback.

Then he shook his head gently.

"Same goes for you."

The carriage set off again.

For the rest of the journey, none of the three spoke much.

The towering gates of Nuoding City gradually came into view.

Old Jack and the chief of Iron Bamboo Village were still shaken by the attack.

Li Man lowered her head and recorded the reactions of Zhou Qian's blood.

Tang San closed his eyes and regulated his breathing, recovering the internal force he had expended using Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

Dong Jian leaned against the carriage, sensing the Panda Martial Soul that had grown quiet inside him.

The Return to One Society had placed someone at Nuoding Academy.

That meant Tang San and Yu Xiaogang would certainly not be the only trouble at the academy.

The carriage stopped at the entrance to Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

Dong Jian had only just jumped down when he felt the black-and-white Soul Power inside him ripple gently.

Although he hadn't completed Martial Soul Possession during the fight, he had briefly drawn on the Panda Martial Soul's power.

A very faint wisp of black-and-white presence had yet to fully dissipate.

Inside the academy gates, a somewhat thin middle-aged man stopped in his tracks.

The man wore plain black clothes and held his hands behind his back. His face had the pallor of someone who had long lacked color.

His gaze swept over Tang San first.

Then it fell on Dong Jian.

More precisely-

It fell on the black-and-white Soul Power around Dong Jian that had yet to dissipate.

Yu Xiaogang came to a halt.