Qin Ming's Promise, Ye Lingling

"Blue Silver Grass."

Blue Silver Grass!?

Ye Lingling wasn't the only one shocked. The others were, too.

The Nine Heart Begonia, one of the continent's top healing-type Martial Souls, had actually resonated with Blue Silver Grass, the Martial Soul with the least potential. It was a tale straight out of the Arabian Nights.

The others wondered: could Blue Silver Grass really be cultivated to this level? Could it really possess such strength?

"Heaven Dou Royal Academy, the empire's highest institution of learning," Qin Ming said. "Your strength and potential shouldn't be buried."

Tang Yin pretended to consider it.

"Rest assured, the best resources are there, and I promise you'll have your freedom too."

Qin Ming took a silver token from inside his robes and tossed it to him. The token traced an arc through the air and landed firmly in Tang Yin's palm. Engraved on its silver face was the crest of Heaven Dou Royal Academy-identical to the one on the youths' torn finery.

"I'll hold a place for you at Heaven Dou Academy for three years. If you're willing, you can come with me to the academy now; if you have things you can't leave behind, come with the token once you've made up your mind."

The members of the Imperial Fighting Team prepared to leave.

Ye Lingling moved close to Tang Yin and handed him a token engraved with the character "Ye." Looking charming, she said, "The Ye Family Pharmacy in Heaven Dou City. You... you can come find me."

Tang Yin left a ring of Blue Silver Emperor leaves around both Ye Lingling's and Dugu Yan's wrists.

I hope Dugu Bo notices, Tang Yin thought.

As Dugu Bo was at the top of the Douluo must-eat list, Tang Yin naturally had to make plans in advance.

Thirty li from the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang Yin stopped in a deserted mountain hollow.

He stood on a slab of green stone, closed his eyes, and felt the renewed power within him. Rank twenty-one. Soul Grandmaster. His Soul Power was no longer a stream, but living water-the Second Soul Ring flowed around the vine in his palm, its purple ring and emerald light like a small, sleeping sun.

It was time to test it. He hadn't truly used even an inch of his strength since breaking through.

He looked down at his arm, his gaze calm, and sliced a bloody gash into it with his fingertip. Emerald light rose, and the wound closed at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, only a white scar so faint it was almost invisible remained. He tried again-this time, the cut was deep enough to expose bone. Emerald light swept over it, and once again, it took only a few breaths.

Life Returning to Origin. Healing. Then he turned to a grove of withered trees at the edge of the hollow, killed by poisonous miasma. Vines spread over them, and emerald light seeped in-the scorched, withered bark slowly grew moist, and new shoots broke through it.

Purification. Restoration of vitality.

Tang Yin withdrew his vines and nodded slightly. Control, healing, purification-all three far exceeded the level expected at rank twenty. What about his weak points, then?

In the bushes across the hollow, a blue-gray Gale Wolf had, at some unknown point, crouched down in the shadows, its green eyes fixed on him. A Hundred-Year Soul Beast, a speed-type hunter.

Tang Yin didn't move. The Gale Wolf let out a low howl and sprang at him in a blue blur-fast. Almost too fast for him to react at rank twenty-one. Tang Yin's vines instinctively wove a net in front of him, but the wolf's shadow brushed past its edge, its fangs snapping at his throat.

He turned sideways, half a beat too slow. The wolf's claws tore into his left arm, sending a string of blood droplets flying.

Emerald light flashed, and the wound healed. The Gale Wolf landed and looked back, a flicker of surprise and suspicion passing through its green eyes-it had clearly never seen prey emerge unscathed from its claws.

Tang Yin watched it thoughtfully. He didn't strike again. He simply let his Blue Silver vines slowly spread, ten zhang, twenty zhang, weaving the entire hollow into a vast emerald net. The vines blocked the Gale Wolf's every leap, and it sank deeper and deeper into the trap until its four limbs were bound, leaving it unable to move.

Tang Yin walked up to it and crouched down.

He looked at the ferocious Hundred-Year Soul Beast, his gaze as calm as if he were looking at a tree. A moment later, he withdrew the vines and stepped aside.

Freed, the Gale Wolf warily backed away a few steps, then darted into the bushes without looking back, vanishing into the mountain shadows.

Tang Yin stood and looked at his fully healed left arm, frowning slightly-this was the second time today someone had gotten close to him. Against the Bone-Eroding Vine King, he hadn't had enough Soul Power; this time, his speed hadn't kept up. Ultimate Life had given him unparalleled control and recovery, but it had also given him a body that wasn't particularly fast.

It'll be hard for the Blue Silver Emperor's Soul Skills to give me a speed-type Soul Skill, Tang Yin thought.

Tang Yin lowered his eyes as the Blue Silver vines in his palm slowly drew together. He needed something, something that would let him catch up to the wind or escape from it.

Back to Holy Soul Village, to find Tang Hao!