Yu Xiaogang was leading Tang San and Xiao Wu toward the Soul Beast Forest.
Along the way, he noticed how Tang San eagerly trailed behind Xiao Wu like a puppy, and his heart tightened.
He realized that Tang San was focusing too much on Xiao Wu. If this distraction delayed his cultivation and wasted his immense talent, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
No, he thought, I'll have to do more ideological and moral work on San when we get back.
Glancing over, Yu Xiaogang decided to use the remaining time before the hunt to go all-out trying to sell Tang San on the benefits of spirit rings formed from poisonous snake-type soul beasts.
He went on and on, passionately lecturing, pulling out the accumulated knowledge of his life's work to persuade Tang San. (After all, His Majesty Tang Hao said I should respect Tang San's wishes. But if I can change his wishes, then technically I'm not disobeying His Majesty, right?)
But despite all his eloquence and spittle flying, Tang San stayed silent, his face clearly showing growing impatience.
"Have you said enough?" Tang San finally snapped. "My spirit ring is my decision. I want to find a plant-type soul beast that satisfies me. If you can make that happen, I'll follow you. If you can't, then go find someone else."
Yu Xiaogang: "…"
"San-gēgē," Xiao Wu chimed in, "he's your teacher, right?"
Tang San reluctantly nodded.
"Well, from what I know, 'Master' is a title for someone who's made achievements in their field, someone who stands out above the rest. Since Teacher Yu is called a Master, he must have solid theoretical knowledge. If he's advising you to absorb a poisonous snake-type soul beast, I'm sure he has his reasons."
To Xiao Wu, the actual soul ring didn't matter at all.
What mattered was testing Tang San's level of obedience.
If Tang San was willing to listen to his teacher because she suggested it, then she would consider him successfully submissive—an ideal candidate as a loyal lapdog.
Faced with Xiao Wu's words, Tang San couldn't bear to respond as harshly as he did with Yu Xiaogang. He softly said, "Xiao Wu, on the Douluo Continent, plant-type martial spirits usually pair best with plant-type soul beasts. I think we should stick with the safer option."
Yu Xiaogang felt a pang in his heart watching how differently Tang San treated Xiao Wu compared to him.
It only deepened his determination—he had to get Tang San to absorb a poison-type snake ring. He had to leave a mark on Tang San. Only then would Tang San truly be his disciple.
He placed one hand behind his back and pointed at Tang San with the other, saying, "San, who told you that all plant-type soul masters must find plant-type soul beasts? Some use animal-type ones too! (Referring to his last abandoned experiment subject.)"
He then launched into another round of saliva-laden persuasion, describing the benefits of animal-type soul beasts for plant-type soul masters.
Had it just been Yu Xiaogang, Tang San might've exploded in anger. But Xiao Wu joined in, echoing the same advice, encouraging him to take a poisonous snake-type beast.
Eventually, the persuasion turned into pressure:
"San, how can you not listen to your master? I'm only doing this for your own good! Your Blue Silver Grass is a trash spirit—if you want to defy fate, you must absorb a poisonous snake-type soul beast!"
"San-gēgē, Master makes a lot of sense. And he's your teacher—he'd never hurt you."
Caught between the two, Tang San was overwhelmed. He wanted to resist, but looking at his beloved Xiao Wu, how could he bring himself to lash out?
Xiao Wu doesn't know Yu Xiaogang's true face, he thought. She must think that he's acting in my best interest. That's why she's helping him convince me.
Still, Tang San wouldn't give up his plan. He wanted a plant-type soul beast, preferably with life attributes—but definitely not one with poison attributes.
In his previous life, before his Blue Silver Emperor martial spirit awakened, his cultivation speed had slowed drastically.
That was due to the conflict between the poison-type attributes and his inherent life attributes. And the root cause of that? Yu Xiaogang.
Fuming silently, Tang San entered the Soul Beast Forest, enduring round after round of "this is for your own good" from Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu.
Yu Xiaogang showed his token, and the gates to the forest opened. The trio entered.
Once inside, Yu Xiaogang began introducing the forest and its soul beasts.
At that moment, a group of ten-year-old soul beasts appeared, staring them down.
"Teacher,"—this was the first time on the journey Tang San had called him that—he said mockingly, "Surely with your strength, these soul beasts should be no problem for you."
Yu Xiaogang's face twitched. Of course he could handle them—they were only ten-year soul beasts. But due to his lack of confidence in his martial spirit, he'd been avoiding showing his strength in front of Tang San.
Knowing Yu Xiaogang's weak foundation, Tang San wasn't about to let him off the hook. He turned to Xiao Wu and said, "Xiao Wu-meimei, Master is a highly respected figure. I'm sure his strength must be impressive too, right?"
Xiao Wu looked at Yu Xiaogang with anticipation.
Yu Xiaogang: "…"
Now it was his turn to be on the spot. Eager to leave a mark on Tang San, he had dragged him to the forest, completely forgetting about his martial spirit's embarrassing nature.
With no choice left, Yu Xiaogang pulled out three masks—one for himself, and two for the others.
Knowing the truth, Tang San asked mockingly, "Teacher, what are these masks for?"
"You'll need them in a moment," Yu Xiaogang replied awkwardly.
Once the masks were on, Yu Xiaogang summoned his martial spirit—a purple… thing. It looked vaguely like a pig, but not quite; maybe more like a dog, but not really either.
"Master, this is your martial spirit?" Xiao Wu blurted out. "It's… so ugly."
"You're right, Xiao Wu," Tang San added sarcastically. "But we shouldn't judge a martial spirit by its looks. I'm sure, despite its appearance, it must be very powerful."
Yu Xiaogang's face turned corpse-pale. Saying nothing, he reached out a hand to Tang San and said, "San, give me some carrots."
"Carrots? What for?" Tang San asked, feigning surprise.
"…To produce gas," Yu Xiaogang muttered, his voice like a mosquito.
"Gas?"
Tang San reached into his soul guide and handed over some carrots.
Yu Xiaogang handed a carrot to Luo Sanpao, who ate it. Two yellow-orange soul rings appeared around Luo Sanpao's body. He shouted loudly:
"Fart like thunder, shattering heaven and earth—Luo Sanpao!"
Luo Sanpao turned around, locked onto the soul beasts, and unleashed a thick yellow fart in their direction.
In an instant, the surrounding area was enveloped by the yellow stench cloud. Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and Xiao Wu were all caught in it—the visibility was so low that they couldn't even see their own hands.
"Master, this is your soul skill?" Tang San said, pretending to be shocked.
"Cough cough! So stinky! What a perverted soul skill!" Xiao Wu's disgusted voice came from within the fart fog.
"That's why you only have two soul rings," Tang San teased even more.
Yu Xiaogang wished he could crawl into a hole and never come out. But remembering that Tang San was his precious disciple he couldn't give up on, he quickly tried to explain himself:
"I—I may not be powerful, but I'm a master of theory! In terms of theory, no one on the entire Douluo Continent is more suitable to guide you than I am."
"Sure, sure, but Master, you're just a Grandmaster—only rank 29. That's a fact." Tang San had no intention of breaking off their relationship as master and disciple over this.
After all, Yu Xiaogang was still a useful shield. But he took this opportunity to hint: You're just my nominal teacher—don't overstep.
Yu Xiaogang led Tang San deeper into the Soul Beast Forest.
Tang San followed behind, thinking about the Mandala Snake that was supposed to appear.
He remembered that in his past life, Yu Xiaogang had been bitten because of Luo Sanpao, which caused poison to backfire onto himself, rendering him useless.
If not for Tang San mastering the Tang Sect's secret techniques in his past life, the Mandala Snake would have wiped them both out. Remembering this, Tang San became increasingly irritated.
What kind of teacher is this? In the future, how can he shamelessly claim, "I trained a god"?!
In my past life, I saved him. Maybe this time... Tang San thought darkly, when the Mandala Snake appears and poisons him, I should just leave him to rot a bit. Let the poison spread. Maybe cut off a leg before doing anything.
But no matter how long he waited, the Mandala Snake never showed up.
As Tang San continued forward cautiously, suddenly a scream came from behind:
"Aaaaahhhhhh—!"
It turned out a small black snake had suddenly darted out of the path and bitten Xiao Wu's rabbit leg, injecting venom into her body.
"Xiao Wu—!" Seeing Xiao Wu writhing in pain, Tang San's eyes turned red with fury.
He immediately used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to rush to her side and threw a hidden weapon at the snake, pinning it to the ground.
A faint yellow soul ring appeared above the snake's corpse.
It was a 101-year-old soul beast. But when Tang San took a closer look, his heart sank.
It was a Black Mamba Snake.
The world of soul beasts is full of the unexpected. There are all kinds, and the Black Mamba Snake is both a soul beast soul masters avoid like the plague and one they desperately desire.
Why? Because the Black Mamba's venom is nearly incurable. The only way to save someone bitten is to absorb the soul ring of the very same snake. Doing so draws the poison out of the victim's body through the soul ring.
So, if someone's bitten, the team faces a cruel choice:
Do they abandon the poisoned person, or sacrifice a soul ring slot to save them?
For poison-type soul masters, however, the Black Mamba Snake's venom makes it a dream soul ring.
It's one of those soul beasts that always shows up when you don't want it, and never does when you do.
Now that Xiao Wu had been bitten, Tang San was stuck with a tough decision:
Let her die from the venom? Or absorb the soul ring to save her, wasting a precious slot?
"It's the Black Mamba!" Yu Xiaogang was shocked, but a gleam of joy flashed in his eyes.
He had been racking his brain trying to convince Tang San to follow his theory and absorb a poison-type beast for a control-type ring. Now this incident practically dropped from heaven.
Although the ring had barely reached the hundred-year mark, that didn't matter.
The snake's venom made up for its weakness. And besides, the useless Blue Silver Grass spirit could take it just fine. Later, Tang San would switch to the Clear Sky Hammer and start with ten-thousand-year rings anyway. Soul ring age wouldn't matter then.
Yu Xiaogang quickly grabbed Tang San and opened his "soul beast encyclopedia," explaining in detail the nature of the Black Mamba Snake. He highlighted the benefits of its ring, then said in a deep and moralizing tone:
"Xiao San, only the soul master who absorbs the Black Mamba Snake's ring can detoxify its venom. We can't just let Xiao Wu die, can we~?"
Xiao Wu looked utterly hopeless. She hadn't expected to be ambushed by a mere hundred-year soul beast while out hunting with Tang San.
Doesn't this thing know I'm a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast?!
But because she was in a weakened state after transforming into a human, getting bitten by a hundred-year beast was a serious, even fatal matter. Without help, she might just become the first ever hundred-thousand-year soul beast to be killed by a hundred-year soul beast.
In agony, Xiao Wu begged Tang San:
"Ah San giegie... I don't want to die..."
"Xiao San, once the venom reaches late stage, there will be no saving Xiao Wu," Yu Xiaogang added with righteous pressure. "As her friend, you can't just stand by and watch. You have to save her."
Looking at the suffering Xiao Wu, then at the pale yellow soul ring, Tang San closed his eyes and made a decision.
Absorbing the ring would temporarily impact his potential, but he could always replace it later. But if Xiao Wu died, that loss would be far greater.
He sighed and sat cross-legged, drawing the soul ring toward him to begin the absorption process.
Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang finally let out a sigh of relief.
At last, Tang San followed my theory and absorbed a poison-type ring.
For Tang San, absorbing a hundred-year soul ring was easy. He completed the process quickly.
But when he sensed the new soul skill it granted, his expression instantly turned dark.
Damn it! It's just Blue Silver Bind again?!
This soul skill was decent early on, but increasingly useless later. Especially once he awakened the Blue Silver Emperor spirit—then he could entangle enemies without even needing a soul skill. So why waste a ring slot on this garbage?
Whether it was the Mandala Snake or the Black Devil Spider Snake, both were extremely poisonous species.
So why did they only grant Tang San a basic Entanglement as his first soul skill, and why had his Blue Silver Grass never poisoned anyone, despite being toxin-based?
The reason was simple—just like water and fire don't mix. If a water-attribute soul master absorbed a fire-attribute soul beast's soul ring, either the fire would evaporate the water (weakening the fire in the process), or the water would douse the fire (losing some strength as well).
Therefore, the poison from the Mandala Snake and Black Devil Spider Snake was diluted when absorbed by the Blue Silver Grass. All that remained was the chicken-rib-like (meaning: weak and dispensable) soul skill Blue Silver Entanglement.
What was worse was that the Black Devil Spider Snake's poison was stronger than the Mandala Snake's, but its age was barely at the hundred-year level.
In this second life, Tang San had hoped for a better first soul ring than in his previous life. Instead, he got a worse one—completely inferior.
All of this was to save Xiao Wu.
When he resurrected her in the future, he would have a chance to replace this soul ring anyway. Tang San comforted himself with this thought, then walked over to Xiao Wu, using his Blue Silver Grass to draw the Black Devil Spider Snake's venom from her body.
After stabilizing Xiao Wu's condition, Yu Xiaogang (Grandmaster) immediately rushed over and asked, "Xiao San, what's your first soul skill? The Black Devil Spider Snake should give you a poison-based ability to enhance your combat power, right?"
"No," Tang San said darkly. "It's Blue Silver Entanglement."
He then demonstrated the soul skill. His Blue Silver Grass now had a slight trace of poison, but not much. Its only real improvement was in its durability.
Yu Xiaogang froze—this wasn't quite what he had expected.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's dumbfounded expression, Tang San internally cursed: "Do you really not have the slightest awareness of the consequences of your theory?"
Yu Xiaogang consoled him: "Blue Silver Entanglement isn't bad. You probably inherited the toughness trait from the snake-type soul beast. The Blue Silver Grass is very fragile to begin with. With this boost in durability, you'll be better suited to play the role of a control-type soul master."
At that moment, Xiao Wu slowly woke up. Feeling her body had recovered, she looked softly at Tang San with her delicate eyes and said, "Thank you, Ah San giegie. You're such a good person."
Hearing her voice—which could practically impregnate his ears—Tang San's dissatisfaction instantly vanished. "It's no problem, Xiao Wu. You're my sister. How could I just stand by and do nothing?"
The three of them began their return journey. In this process:
Yu Xiaogang successfully left a mark of his theory on Tang San.
Xiao Wu completed her loyalty test toward Tang San.
Tang San obtained his first soul ring.
All in all, a win-win-win situation.