Chapter 20: Tang San's Second Spirit Ring

Yu Xiaogang was slightly taken aback.

He had not expected such a coincidence, to encounter his nephew here. "Tianheng, I never imagined you would have grown so much in the blink of an eye!"

"Uncle, Grandfather and my father have both been very concerned about you."

Yu Tianheng’s voice was low as he slowly came to a halt before Yu Xiaogang. "Grandfather is old now; he has let go of the past and only hopes that you will return to accompany him..."

"Say no more, Tianheng. I have more important matters to attend to."

"If I succeed, I will naturally return to the sect." Yu Xiaogang raised a hand, cutting off whatever else Yu Tianheng intended to say. He turned his gaze toward the sky.

Li Xun, watching this scene, felt a strong urge to produce a watermelon and a stool from his soul storage device. However, doing so would seem discourteous. Instead, he found a broken tree to sit upon, watching the uncle and nephew with great interest.

Ning Rongrong and Dugu Yan, seeing the situation, sat down on either side of Li Xun. Ning Rongrong did not know who Yu Xiaogang was. Having been out for half a day without a break, she didn't think much of it. She took two drinks from her soul storage device and handed one to Li Xun. After a pause, she retrieved another and handed it to Dugu Yan.

"Uncle, what could possibly be more important than a family reunion?" Yu Tianheng’s voice was like a wounded little wolf, full of mournful resonance.

His words made Yu Xiaogang’s body tremble. His hands, clasped behind his back, tightened into fists. "Tianheng, the sect has no place for me... Even if I returned, it would only put your grandfather in a difficult position."

"Uncle... Grandfather would not be like that." Tears glimmered in Yu Tianheng’s eyes, his voice choked with emotion. Since he was a child, only this uncle had treated him with such kindness. When he was sad, his uncle would comfort him; when he was injured, his uncle would apply medicine for him. Those warm memories seemed deeply etched into his mind, never to be forgotten.

"Your grandfather indeed would not, but the others in the sect would!" Yu Xiaogang’s eyes, fixed on the sky, were profoundly deep, his voice gradually deepening. "I, Yu Xiaogang, will prove that I am not some good-for-nothing who only talks of empty theories!"

"I will let the world know that even though my own soul power cannot rise, the disciples I teach will be the strongest on the continent."

Yu Xiaogang looked down at Tang San. "And he is the practitioner of my soul master theories, and will be the most outstanding work of my life."

Yu Tianheng looked at Tang San in a daze. "Him?"

"Yes, he is my disciple, Tang San!" Yu Xiaogang smiled as he introduced him to Yu Tianheng. "The day he becomes a powerhouse will be the moment I return to the sect!"

Seeing his teacher hold him in such high regard, Tang San puffed out his chest with pride. They say a teacher for a day is a father for life. He had gathered from the conversation that his teacher had suffered much in the past. The day he became strong, he would personally accompany his teacher back to the sect to show them who the real "good-for-nothing" was.

Yu Tianheng looked at Tang San, who was about the same age as Li Xun, his mind stalling. He could not understand why his uncle would place such high hopes on a child.

Seeming to notice Yu Tianheng’s confusion, Yu Xiaogang chuckled. "Xiao San, show them your martial soul."

"Yes, Teacher." Tang San raised his right hand, and a stalk of Blue Silver Grass manifested in an instant.

"Blue Silver Grass!"

...

It was not just Yu Tianheng. The surrounding crowd gasped in surprise.

Blue Silver Grass was the most common plant on the continent. It possessed no offensive capability, and its only characteristic was its tenacious vitality. Perhaps because the plant’s level was too low, everyone who awakened it as their martial soul lacked soul power. It was recognized across the continent as a trash martial soul.

Qin Ming, Dugu Yan, and Ning Rongrong all stepped forward with great curiosity to examine it.

Yu Xiaogang, watching the crowd gather, tilted his head slightly, a boundless sense of pride rising in his heart.

"Through my teacher's theory, my Blue Silver Grass, which was originally useless, has acquired control capabilities." Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang with reverence. "According to my teacher’s vision, we will continue to endow the Blue Silver Grass with even stronger characteristics."

With so many eyes watching, Tang San gave only a rough description, without revealing the specific mechanics of his soul skill. Even so, everyone was shocked. Especially Qin Ming. Though he did not know Yu Xiaogang, as a teacher himself, he understood how profound the knowledge required to turn Blue Silver Grass into a treasure must be.

"Ahem! Alright, Xiao San, let us get to work." Yu Xiaogang coughed lightly, turned calmly, and looked at the Ghost Vine coiled on the rock wall.

"Yes, Teacher," Tang San replied respectfully.

This Ghost Vine was six hundred years old and already possessed significant aggression. The dean of Notting Academy had expended great effort to beat this plant-type soul beast into a near-death state.

"Xiao San, go and deliver the final blow." Seeing that the Ghost Vine had no strength left to resist, Yu Xiaogang nodded and instructed Tang San.

Seeing Tang San prepare to absorb the vine, Li Xun slowly walked forward. He had to witness this classic moment with his own eyes. It was considered "classic" because Yu Xiaogang’s soul ring age limit theory stated that the limit for a second soul ring was seven hundred and sixty-four years, and Tang San’s was six hundred years.

The importance of having a good teacher!

Li Xun looked up at the sky, his sense of security bolstered. There was a black dot in the sky that had been following them ever since they left the academy for the Hunting Forest. He guessed it must be Sword Douluo.

"Success!" A smile appeared on Yu Xiaogang’s previously stern face.

"Teacher, your idea was correct. I can feel that the Blue Silver Grass has undergone a qualitative change. Combined with my first soul skill, it will form a persistent, inescapable control." Tang San stared intently at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, two yellow soul rings pulsing around his body.

From this day on, as long as his Blue Silver Binding trapped an opponent, he could plant a seed of soul power within them. When he needed it, he could trigger it to form a secondary level of control.

"Congratulations..."

"..."

Though the others did not know what Tang San’s second soul skill was, seeing the satisfaction on the faces of the master and disciple, they could conclude that it was certainly a powerful skill. What shocked them even more was that Tang San’s recognized "trash" martial soul, Blue Silver Grass, could actually achieve the perfect configuration of two yellow soul rings.

"Ahem, Xiao San, we will discuss the rest when we return. It is time for us to go." Seeing the crowd staring at Tang San in amazement, Yu Xiaogang straightened his back and coughed into his hand.

"Uncle, where are you staying now? I will come find you after I help my junior schoolmate acquire his soul ring." Seeing that Yu Xiaogang was about to leave, Yu Tianheng hurriedly stepped forward.

"Tianheng, I am no longer a member of the sect, why must you..."

"Uncle, I just want to spend more time with you." Yu Tianheng interrupted Yu Xiaogang and looked around. "Li Xun, that Lone Bamboo over there should be about five hundred years old. It’s perfect for you. I won’t accompany you any further."

The crowd followed Yu Tianheng’s gaze. In the distance, a fourteen-meter-tall Lone Bamboo stood alone on the edge of the forest. For a Lone Bamboo, ten meters equaled a hundred-year soul beast, and every meter thereafter added another century of soul power. Fourteen meters corresponded exactly to five hundred years of cultivation.

Hearing that someone intended to use the Lone Bamboo as a soul ring, Yu Xiaogang froze. He turned his head slowly: "Lone Bamboo?"