"Shapeshifting and treasure-seeking talents… Hmm. My martial soul's main attribute is definitely spiritual, with a touch of space affinity. Space attribute—undeniably powerful. But where on earth am I supposed to find a soul beast with spatial attributes?!"
"The Dark Devilgod Tiger? As far as I know, there's only one in the story that can even be found and killed later…"
Thinking of this gave Zhu Wu a headache.
"My abilities are limited. Getting a dragon-type beast for my first soul ring is probably out of reach—let alone one with spiritual or spatial attributes. If all else fails, I'll have to lower my expectations and at least ensure the ring matches the martial soul's spiritual nature. But even spiritual-attribute beasts are rare!"
"Damn, this martial soul is just too hard to work with…"
Still, the potential of spiritual attributes wasn't bad. Huo Hang was a living example—something like a built-in reference.
"Maybe I should take a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest? See if Skydream Iceworm would come to me voluntarily?"
"Yeah right. Do I even have that kind of luck?"
"Probably not. Most likely, I'd die trying."
He shook his head in frustration. "One step at a time," he muttered, glancing down at his martial soul.
The Ice-Fire Yin Yang Well was undeniably an ideal location—but only if he could safely get to it. Right now, he definitely couldn't. Forget about passing Dugu Bo; even the extreme yin-yang energies inside would fry him alive.
As for the Star Dou Forest—it was the largest primeval forest on the continent, filled with heaven-sent herbs and treasures… and also crawling with soul beasts. A single misstep could be fatal.
Even on the outskirts, millennia-old beasts were common.
"Ugh, forget it." He shook his head again. "The most important thing right now is learning everything about soul beasts and soul masters. Then I need to hit level 10. The rest can wait."
"Alright, little guy… from now on, I'll call you Xiao Bai." With that, he cradled his martial soul in his hands and walked quickly out of the house.
He needed to test whether his martial soul could grow and evolve by consuming things…
In the backyard, he plucked a blade of Blue Silver Grass from the corner and offered it to Xiao Bai with a nod.
"Xiao Bai, time to eat!"
Xiao Bai immediately shook its head violently, clearly radiating rejection and disgust. Its emotions practically screamed:
"Blue Silver Grass? Not even dogs eat that!"
"…Is it because ordinary Blue Silver Grass has no cultivation… or because it has no medicinal value?" Zhu Wu wondered aloud. He glanced at the nearby medicinal patch, dropped the Blue Silver Grass with a snort, and strode over.
Squatting down, he reluctantly uprooted a Polygonum multiflorum (fo-ti) plant he'd been nurturing for ages—he had originally planned to use it as a wedding gift when he found a wife. Holding it up to Xiao Bai, he said nothing.
Crunch, crunch…
Xiao Bai leaned in and began chewing happily.
"I've got a feeling," Zhu Wu muttered, twitching slightly at the corners of his mouth, "this isn't a Treasure-Hoarding Beast at all—it's a gold-eating beast. And a picky one, too."
Also, based on what he was seeing, Xiao Bai couldn't directly absorb medicinal herbs stored in its belly space.
Zhu Wu sighed and headed back inside. "After the New Year, I'll have to head back into the mountains to gather more herbs."
Murmuring to himself, he returned to his room and placed both Xiao Bai and the half-eaten fo-ti root on the table to observe.
Xiao Bai was so small it ate incredibly slowly. It took a long while to gnaw down even a small chunk. After a bit more chewing, it finally stopped and looked up at Zhu Wu.
Seeing Zhu Wu nod slightly, Xiao Bai happily looked down, the rainbow scale on its brow flashed—and the palm-sized fo-ti root vanished instantly.
"So that's how it stores things…" Zhu Wu raised his brows. Then a question came to mind.
"Wait… my martial soul is external. Can it possess me for combat?"
In the original story, Yu Xiaogang never used Luo Sanpao for possession combat. But was that because external-type martial souls couldn't do it—or because Luo Sanpao had degraded too badly?
"I guess I'll have to wait until I get my first soul ring and find out."
He sighed and let the thought go.
"There are still three months before the academy term begins. I need to make the most of this time and reach level 10. As for Xiao Bai's diet, judging from its small appetite, it probably isn't strong enough yet to digest potent medicinal properties."
"Once it finishes this fo-ti root, I'll go into the mountains again to gather more herbs. With Xiao Bai's treasure-sensing ability, it should be a lot easier this time."
"Also… maybe Xiao Bai can help with the explosives…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Yes. I need to train it intensively over the next few weeks—like transforming into a bird and flying into buildings to deliver things."
After all, it was still winter, but birds were active—he'd just heard a magpie chirping outside yesterday.
With those thoughts swirling in his mind, he summoned Xiao Bai back and resumed practicing his martial arts.
That afternoon, Old Jack arrived, followed by several burly men.
"Awooo! Awooo!"
From the side yard, the pigsty suddenly erupted with tragic squeals.
Zhu Wu may have awakened with six levels of innate soul power, but given that his martial soul was widely regarded as trash, it was a bit of a bittersweet celebration.
Old Jack and the other villagers understood. So after they finished butchering the pig, each took a piece of pork to take home, both to share the joy and for good luck. After a few simple congratulations, they quietly left. There was no feast—no formal celebration.
Zhu Wu was perfectly happy with that. He politely sent them off one by one.
Only Old Jack's family—who had helped the most—and Old Wang's household, whose wife had nursed Zhu Wu as a baby, stayed for dinner.
After the meal, Zhu Wu tidied up and retreated to his bedroom.
"Xiao Bai, this here is the ash-disposal port of the furnace," Zhu Wu explained while placing Xiao Bai on his shoulder. He pointed to a clay model of the Tang Hao family's forging furnace on the table and carefully explained the structure.
Technically, sticking the explosive in the air vent's blind spot would make it easier to detonate—since the burning charcoal was right below. But considering Tang San's short height, an explosion there could just graze his forehead—or he might duck and avoid it entirely.
However, placing the bomb in the blind spot near the ash chute, around waist height, eliminated that risk.
Why?
Because the goal was maximum blast coverage.
As for planting multiple charges? Too risky.
If even one failed to go off, it would be blatantly obvious it was sabotage. Tang Hao was a Titled Douluo, after all—there was no guarantee the bomb would even kill him. If he survived and went on a rampage, things would get very ugly.
So for safety, one charge only.
He planned to wrap it in multiple layers of clay, mix in hard carbon residue to reinforce it. The blast might be slightly weaker, but it would leave no obvious trace. After all, Tang Hao's furnace was made from mud, with carbon slag at the base. The materials would match perfectly.
At the predicted blast intensity, the clay wrapper would be vaporized—no trace left.
And Tang Hao didn't know anything about gunpowder.
Of course, it would be impossible to completely eliminate suspicion of sabotage. But Zhu Wu had done all he could.
"Let's just hope nothing goes wrong…" he muttered.
"I only awakened my martial soul today. To be safe, I'll wait a few days before executing the plan." With that thought, he continued coaching Xiao Bai.
Night fell, quiet and still.
Zhu Wu began practicing the movements for his Longevity Art again.
He hadn't yet learned the meditation methods that soul masters used, nor had he figured out the cultivation pathways for soul power. For now, he could only rely on physical movement to refine and build power.
Two hours later, mentally exhausted, he went to bed.
—
At dawn the next day, he got up and practiced the Vajra Art. After getting tired, he rested and helped his grandfather Zhu Gang with chores. When finished, he resumed training.
After all, the martial movements he practiced didn't exist in this world. To avoid suspicion—especially from Tang San—he had always practiced privately in his bedroom.
With the window facing an open space, even if Tang San tried to hide nearby, he'd have no place to conceal himself. So Zhu Wu wasn't worried about being watched.
The only exception was the toxic herbs he brought down from the mountains. Those he never dared keep indoors.
Why?
He was genuinely worried that Tang San might sneak in at night and startle his grandfather—resulting in an "accidental" silencing.
You couldn't blame him for being paranoid. In the original story, Tang San had a habit of killing people with suspicious ease. His infamous line "those who seek death will die" had left a deep impression.
Better safe than sorry. Zhu Wu figured a little paranoia was totally justified.
Besides, did it really matter whether the herbs were planted inside or outside?
Fences and doors were only useful against honest people. Against a seasoned thief? Useless.
That evening, he continued training Xiao Bai for the infiltration mission.
(End of Chapter)
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