Hearing the teacher's concerned voice,
even though he was clearly on the verge of death, he was still worrying about his disciple's soul ring.
Tang San hesitated for a moment, but finally hopped over in two big leaps,
sealing Yu Xiaogang's leg meridians and blood flow.
Then he asked doubtfully:
"Teacher, my martial spirit is a plant, but this sawtooth viper is an animal-type soul beast.Didn't you say that the choice of a soul ring must match the martial spirit's traits and development path?"
Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San a suspicious glance.Normally, for a toxin that spreads through the bloodstream, the more you move, the faster the poison acts and the worse the symptoms.
But this kid had sprinted like a lunatic with him, then hopped on one leg to kill the sawtooth viper solo,then hopped back again —
and yet showed almost no signs of poisoning, even looking flushed and breathing steadily.
How could he not get it? Tang San knew how to handle the viper's venom.
Feeling like he'd just escaped death, Yu Xiaogang's old urge to brag flared up again.
He immediately spoke confidently:
**"Xiao San, you're right — normally, yes. But that's for ordinary soul masters.
What I developed — the 'Top Ten Core Competencies of Martial Spirits' — includes a theory called 'Martial Spirit Mimicry.'
According to this theory, a plant-based martial spirit doesn't have to absorb only plant soul rings.Animal soul beasts can also be absorbed — if chosen carefully, they can even be better.
Also, remember?I said the biggest advantage of the Blue Silver Grass is its non-exclusivity.Because it's so weak, it won't reject or conflict with any properties or abilities added by soul rings — it can only passively accept the changes.
Based on my designs,absorbing a snake-type soul beast will not only enhance the toughness of your martial spirit,you'll also gain some of its poison traits.
Both of these will massively boost your control abilities.
And another thing: this hundred-year sawtooth viper is incredibly rare and valuable.
You're still young, so you might not know: among lower-ranked soul beasts, it's considered a top predator.Even powerful soul beasts, if poisoned by it, are dead within minutes.
Normally, a beast like this would never show up in a beginner-level soul hunting forest.It's only because the Wuhun Hall guards were negligent that you even had the chance to snag such a precious soul ring.
The quality, the age, the attributes — everything is practically tailor-made for you!"**
When it came to bullshitting, Yu Xiaogang was practically a grandmaster.His arguments were ridiculously well-structured, his logic airtight.
Even when he was spouting nonsense, he could always find a seemingly reasonable excuse, making it ridiculously convincing.
It gave you the weird feeling that if you didn't do what he said, you were definitely gonna regret it for life.
And he wasn't done yet.The reason Yu Xiaogang could roam the world for so many years was because he had a trump card he hadn't even pulled out yet.
The next second, a twisted expression of hatred and fanaticism suddenly flashed across his face.
It was almost impossible to describe —
it was like he had compressed decades of humiliation, injustice, mockery, and slander,then added in pure devotion and obsession with his research,and shoved it all into one terrifying facial expression.
That look could rattle your soul.
With those eyes, Yu Xiaogang locked onto Tang San.
He gritted his teeth and said:
**"Ordinary soul masters, the arrogant bastards in Wuhun Hall —they all scoffed at my research. No one believed me.
No soul master has ever dared to absorb soul rings against the 'rules' and strengthen themselves through it.
But practice is the only test of truth.
The reason my 'Top Ten Core Competencies' stayed just a theory and didn't become widely accepted truth,was only because no one dared to be the first to try.
Xiao San, even though I'm confident in my theory, no one has ever dared attempt it.Will you... try it?"**
"I will!"
Tang San was once again completely bamboozled.Without the slightest hesitation — in fact, with extreme determination — he nodded hard.
With a deeply moved look, he said:
"Teacher, I am willing to believe in you.Let me be the one to test and prove your research!"
The moment the words "I will" left his mouth,
Yu Xiaogang abruptly closed his eyes, the fanaticism on his face dissolving into pure exhaustion and relief.He let out a long, deep breath.
Strictly speaking, the sawtooth viper wasn't exactly his first-choice target.
Its body was too fragile; it couldn't offer much physical strengthening or really toughen the Blue Silver Grass either.
But soul hunting and the forest were just too damn dangerous.He didn't have the strength or guts to find Tang San another more "ideal" soul beast.
Anyway, it was just the first soul ring — not a big deal.Tang San would have to make do.
Also, there was one more thing Yu Xiaogang didn't say out loud:
once Tang San absorbed the viper soul ring successfully,the poison in Yu Xiaogang's body would also be cured.
Sealing his blood flow only delayed the poison — it hadn't been neutralized.
Meanwhile, in the underground cavern, Nangong Lingyun had watched the whole scene of Yu Xiaogang's masterclass in conning.At this point, he was already clicking his tongue in admiration.
Being able to scam a cold-blooded, murder-ready ice maideninto kneeling down and worshipping you in seconds —
He really wanted to borrow Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade just to peel an apple for this guy.
Slick!
God-level slick!
Solo-slick!
Flower of Slickness!
God's Favorite Slick!
It was just that ridiculously slick.
The sawtooth viper's body was weak to begin with;after its head was chopped off, it only took a few minutes to burst out a bright, golden-yellow soul ring.
After resting a little, Tang San immediately began absorbing it, following Yu Xiaogang's instructions.
And at the exact moment when his martial spirit and the soul ring connected —Tang San's entire body convulsed violently.
His face twisted in pain; his skin trembled; his brows knit into a tight frown.
He felt like the arm holding the Blue Silver Grasshad suddenly plunged into an icy cold spring — so cold it made his bones shudder.
An evil, chilling energy was pouring into him like a raging flood.
In his mind, the Blue Silver Grass kept twisting and thrashing, like a bunch of writhing snake tails.
Tang San didn't know: this was the backlash from a mismatch in attributes — his martial spirit was instinctively struggling.Normally, absorbing a soul ring wasn't like this at all.If the match was good, the martial spirit would eagerly devour the energy to evolve.
But seeing that the Blue Silver Grass didn't collapse despite the violent energy surge,
Tang San was instantly ecstatic, convinced that his teacher had been right all along.
(End of Chapter)