Offshoot Vine

Early the next morning, Dean Fang was already at the city gate, standing at the foot of the wall with his hands behind his back. He nodded when he saw the three of them approaching.

The Iron Rock Mercenary Group had arrived too: Tie Yan, Liu Dao, and Cheng Dun, the same three as last time. Tie Yan had his short hammer slung over his shoulder. He grinned when he saw Wang Xingyu. "What Soul Beast this time?"

"A thousand-year Offshoot Vine."

Tie Yan's short hammer paused. "A thousand-year one?"

Dean Fang glanced at Tie Yan. "I'll lead the attack. You keep it occupied."

Tie Yan said nothing more, but his fingers tightened around the hammer's handle. Liu Dao tucked his short blade back into his belt, while Cheng Dun crouched to tie his shoelaces. Both moved a beat slower than usual.

The group left the city and headed for the Soul Hunting Forest. The light dimmed once they entered. The canopy blotted out the sky, and the ground was covered in tangled roots and fallen leaves.

Dean Fang walked at the front. He wasn't moving quickly, but every step was steady. Wang Xingyu noticed that although his hands were behind his back, his fingertips were slightly spread, ready to summon his Martial Soul at any moment.

Wang Xingyu planted his Blue Silver Grass in the soil, connecting it to the surrounding plants to sense Soul Power fluctuations. He probed at intervals as they headed east. After a little over an hour, he stopped.

It wasn't underground, but ahead of them. Deep in a dense patch of forest, the Soul Power fluctuations were like a tangled mass of hemp. There were so many that he couldn't tell which was the main vine.

"Ahead." Wang Xingyu stood up. Dean Fang's fingertips moved, and a pale golden light appeared in his palm. His Martial Soul emerged: a long blade with a slender body, a dark red blood groove along its spine, and a handle wrapped in leather cord worn smooth and shiny.

It wasn't a blade forged in a smithy, but a blade that was itself his Martial Soul, completely one with his Soul Power. Tie Yan and the other two spread out, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass unfurled along the ground, and Xiao Wu's Moon Shadow lit up.

The group pushed through the bushes and saw the Offshoot Vine.

Dark brown vines densely carpeted the entire forest floor, winding around trunks, climbing branches, and hugging the ground like a nest of writhing snakes.

The thickest main vine was as thick as an adult's arm. It extended from the base of an old tree so thick it took two arms to encircle, winding and coiling until it wrapped the entire tree tightly. It was around a thousand years old, and its Soul Power fluctuations were so dense they were almost visible to the naked eye.

Dean Fang struck first. His long blade, carrying Soul Power, chopped down and severed a section of the main vine. New vines immediately grew from the cut: one became two, two became four. In the blink of an eye, their number had doubled, and they lashed back at Dean Fang.

That was the Offshoot Vine's nature: it stored Soul Power, then rapidly grew new vines. To deal with it, they had to either exhaust its Soul Power or quickly finish off the main vine.

Tie Yan took the side branches head-on with his Iron Armored Rhinoceros Martial Soul Possession. Vines wound around his arms, tightening with a creak. Liu Dao's short blade flashed as he sliced through the thin branches reaching for them.

Cheng Dun held the front, using his round shield to block flying fragments of vine. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass spread out, and Iron Thorn Strangulation locked down several main vines.

Xiao Wu's Moon Shadow flashed repeatedly. Her afterimages darted among the vines as she swept through the thin branches with kick after kick.

But the more they fought, the more vines there were. Every time Dean Fang cut one, two grew from the severed end.

It was a thousand-year Soul Beast, after all. It had plenty of Soul Power stored up.

The vines had already left bloody welts on Tie Yan's arms, and Liu Dao was slowing down. Dean Fang frowned. Soul Power surged along his long blade, and he drove it into the base of the main vine.

The Offshoot Vine convulsed violently, all its vines shuddering at once. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass seized the opening to lock down the base of the main vine, and Iron Thorn Strangulation tightened with all its might. Dean Fang brought his blade down a second time, nearly severing the main vine.

Tang San hurried forward to deliver the finishing blow.

The Offshoot Vine's struggles weakened, and its vines drooped one by one. A purple Soul Ring rose from its remains and floated in midair.

The Thousand-Year Soul Ring was far deeper in color than the yellow of a hundred-year one. Like congealed grape juice, it glowed faintly in the dim forest light.

After dealing with it, everyone sat down where they were to recover.

Once they had rested enough, Tang San sat cross-legged beside the Offshoot Vine and extended his Blue Silver Grass toward the purple Soul Ring.

Wang Xingyu sat to his left, and Xiao Wu to his right. Three strands of Blue Silver Grass linked each pair of them, completing a triangle, and Soul Power began to circulate through the loop.

The moment Tang San's Blue Silver Grass touched the purple Soul Ring, a vast surge of Soul Power poured into his body. The impact of a thousand-year ring was more than twice as strong as that of his four-hundred-year First Soul Ring, and his meridians swelled under the strain.

Soul Power flowed through the Triangle Cycle to Wang Xingyu and Xiao Wu, and all three shuddered at once.

Wang Xingyu felt the Soul Power rush into his meridians like a great river pouring through them.

His Life Drain activated on its own, dispersing the impact into the roots of his Blue Silver Grass before sending it back into Tang San through the Triangle Cycle.

Xiao Wu was sharing the burden as well. Her Soul Power was nimble and lively, stripping away the impact layer by layer.

Sweat broke out on Tang San's forehead, and his breathing grew heavier. All three had somewhat underestimated the power of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

Wang Xingyu suddenly opened his eyes.

The Blue Silver Grass in his palm put out several thin branches, extending in every direction.

One wound around a nearby tree trunk, one burrowed into the layer of humus on the ground, and another climbed a hanging vine. Several more reached toward Dean Fang and Tie Yan's group, resting lightly against their wrists or ankles. They didn't wrap tightly, merely stayed in contact.

"Everyone, lend me a little strength," Wang Xingyu said.

Life Drain worked at full force. From the trees, vines, weeds, moss, and everything else connected to the Blue Silver Grass, faint Soul Power and life force were drawn out strand by strand. They flowed along the Blue Silver Grass to Wang Xingyu, then through the Triangle Cycle into Tang San.

Dean Fang felt the faintest pull from the strand of Blue Silver Grass on his wrist. It wasn't forcibly drawing from him; it was asking. He didn't move.

Tie Yan, Liu Dao, and Cheng Dun exchanged glances, but didn't move either. A thread of Soul Power came from each of them, like a ladleful of water scooped from each river, and flowed along the Blue Silver Grass.

The fluctuations in the purple ring's brightness steadied. Tang San's tightly furrowed brow relaxed a little.

Wang Xingyu gritted his teeth and pushed Life Drain to its limit. The surrounding leaves yellowed slightly at a visible rate, and several of the nearest weeds withered outright.

After roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, the purple ring abruptly contracted and vanished completely into Tang San's body.

Tang San opened his eyes, gasping for breath. Level twenty-one. Wang Xingyu withdrew his Blue Silver Grass and plopped onto the ground, both hands shaking like sieves. Xiao Wu gave him a hand.

"I'm fine," Wang Xingyu said between breaths. "I'll be all right after a rest."

Everyone looked at Tang San in delighted surprise. He had really absorbed it-a thousand-year Second Soul Ring!

Dean Fang withdrew his Martial Soul and looked at Wang Xingyu. "That Soul Skill of yours can borrow other people's strength?"

"A little. It doesn't hurt anyone; it only borrows a trace." Wang Xingyu flexed his fingers to stop them trembling. "I can't keep the borrowed Soul Power for myself. I have to use it immediately. It was just right for what happened."

Tie Yan looked down at the place on his wrist where the Blue Silver Grass had touched him. He said nothing and slung his short hammer back over his shoulder.

"Try it," Wang Xingyu said, looking at Tang San.

Tang San summoned his Blue Silver Grass from his palm. Its color was a shade deeper than before. Along the edges of its leaves, beside the pale yellow lines left by his First Soul Ring, there was now an extremely fine purple line. The two patterns intertwined.

With a thought, he sent the Blue Silver Grass shooting out to wrap around a nearby dead tree. Not one strand, but three shot out at once. Once the three vines had wrapped around the tree, each split into two. Three became six, and the six vines bound the tree tightly.

Tang San activated Iron Thorn Strangulation again, and all six vines tightened at once. With a creak, they squeezed six deep grooves into the dead tree, splitting its bark.

Tie Yan glanced at the dead tree, now squeezed out of shape. "Control over a point becomes control over an area. Paired with your first Soul Skill, this one can lock down a whole area in a group fight."

"I should be able to split it into twelve vines now. Any more and I won't have enough Soul Power. But I feel that if I had enough Soul Power, I could keep splitting them. They can also regenerate on their own if they break, but it's not fast, so it isn't very useful in actual combat," Tang San said.

"Quantity first, regeneration second. It has room to grow." Wang Xingyu nodded.

The group returned the way they had come. By the time they left the Soul Hunting Forest, the sun had already begun to sink in the west. Dean Fang withdrew his Martial Soul and turned to face the three of them.

"Come find me again the next time you need help." His gaze rested on each of them for a moment in turn. "You three are all outstanding children." He paused, then added, "I suppose I've witnessed history too."

With that, he turned and left, walking at a measured pace.

Tie Yan collected his commission and slung his short hammer back over his shoulder. "A thousand-year Soul Beast. More money next time." He left with Liu Dao and Cheng Dun.

They really had forgotten that. A thousand-year Soul Beast certainly couldn't be dealt with at that price. Fortunately, Tie Yan hadn't made an issue of it. They would make up the difference to him next time.

As Wang Xingyu walked back to the academy, the sensation of that circulation at his wrist still lingered in his meridians. The impact of the thousand-year ring had been divided three ways, and the three of them had endured it. The Triangle Cycle could not only assist cultivation, but also share the pressure of absorbing a Soul Ring. When adding Soul Rings in the future, this path held more possibilities than he had expected.

"Your second Soul Skill, Offshoot." Xiao Wu gestured beside them. "One becomes two, two becomes four. In future fights, you can spread your vines across the field first, and I'll use Moon Shadow to dart through them. No one will get away."

Tang San looked at Wang Xingyu. "Thanks."

Wang Xingyu stuck his hands in his pockets. "What for? Only once your Soul Ring is settled can my support be useful."

A thousand-year Offshoot Vine, a Second Soul Ring, and the Triangle Cycle sharing the impact. The theory held up, and so did the practice. They were on the right path.