Chapter 9: My Own Plan.
After finishing their meal, the two slowly emerged from the cafeteria, only to find Tang San waiting obediently at the door.
Seeing them emerge, Tang San hurried forward, "Teacher, Senior Brother."
Yu Xiaogang nodded in satisfaction. While rules weren't always a good thing in theoretical research, abiding by them could avoid trouble, increase opportunities, and foster success.
Shi Yi wasn't impressed by Tang San's rule-abiding demeanor. Having read the original novel, he knew Tang San's character all too well. Tang San's rules were always based on the assumption that you were stronger than him.
Whether it was strength or status, as Tang San gained greater strength, status, or achievements, his attitude would change accordingly.
Of course, Shi Yi could understand Tang San to a certain extent. As an outer disciple of the Tang Sect in his previous life, abiding by the rules was his only way to protect himself. And the final facts were clear: after Tang San achieved considerable success in hidden weaponry, becoming the outer sect's most dazzling hidden weapon genius, he broke with his own rules and chose to steal the Tang Sect's unique techniques.
Soon, the three of them arrived at Yu Xiaogang's room. Just like Shi Yi had been, Tang San was instantly captivated by the roomful of books.
Yu Xiaogang pulled a paper bag from his pocket and handed it to Tang San, saying slowly, "Eat first. You're growing up, so poor food won't do."
Tang San paused for a moment, then opened the bag to find two chicken legs and a steamed bun. They were still warm.
"Teacher..."
"Alright, hurry up and eat. After dinner, your senior brother and I have something to say to you. Don't waste time when you're young," the master said calmly, his face calm and serious.
Shi Yi couldn't help but smile as he watched Tang San devour his meal, slowly sitting down on his bed.
Yu Xiaogang poured Tang San a glass of water and sat down behind the desk.
Perhaps sensing their gazes, Tang San ate quickly.
Seeing Tang San finished eating, Yu Xiaogang also said straight to the point: "Xiao San, tomorrow is the opening ceremony, and the formal classes will start the day after tomorrow. However, for you, this is just a waste of time. The most urgent thing now is to enable your martial spirit to continue to cultivate. After accepting you as a disciple this morning, I thought about it carefully.
Tomorrow morning, you will leave the academy with me. I will take you to find a suitable spirit ring so that you can advance to the spirit master level."
After that, Yu Xiaogang looked at Shi Yi and said: "It's just right, Xiao Yi, you are going with us this time. It's just right for your "We're experimenting with the theoretical idea."
Shi Yi nodded when he heard this. If Xiaoyi's bloodline was to evolve, it would have to devour a soul beast of its own kind. However, this method only worked for Xiaoyi. The weaker things tended to have greater room for development. Yu Xiaogang's problem was different. Luo Sanpao possessed a powerful bloodline, yet it couldn't awaken.
He wouldn't eat even a sub-dragon soul beast, let alone an ordinary soul beast, as this would only affect his unawakened bloodline, unless Yu Xiaogang could obtain the bloodline of a true dragon.
Shi Yi did have some ideas for Luo Sanpao. The simplest and most direct one was to feed Yu Xiaogang a celestial treasure, allowing him to continue improving his cultivation and awakening Luo Sanpao's bloodline. Another option was to have Luo Sanpao infuse the Yin-Yang Eyes of Ice and Fire.
The Yin-Yang Eyes were formed from the remains of two great dragon kings, and they must contain a certain amount of true dragon blood. However, given Yu Xiaogang's cultivation level, this would be quite risky, but with risk comes opportunity. The true dragon blood contained within might even make Luo Sanpao's bloodline even stronger. After all, it was a true divine dragon.
"I'll take care of things for you at the academy, don't worry. I'll teach you about spirits on the way there and back. Xiaosan, what do you think of your Blue Silver Grass spirit?" Yu Xiaogang asked Tang San.
Tang San said: "Everyone says it is a useless martial spirit, but I think everything has a certain use and its characteristics, even the most common blue silver grass should be like this."
Yu Xiaogang nodded, glanced at Shi Yi and said: "Yes, your senior brother said so too, and the characteristic of blue silver grass is its extremely powerful vitality. I have always advocated that there are no useless martial spirits, only useless soul masters. Your senior brother is the best example. His innate soul power is only level one, but he created a new meditation method. In just two years, he has cultivated to level nine. Tomorrow I will take you to find soul rings. I hope you can decide the direction of the development of your martial spirit yourself."
Tang San was stunned, "The direction of the development of the martial spirit? Teacher, what do you mean?"
Yu Xiaogang looked at Shi Yi and said: "Xiaoyi, you tell me."
Hearing Yu Xiaogang straightforwardly push the task of popularizing knowledge to himself, Shi Yi's face darkened.
Seeing Tang San's eyes fall on him, Shi Yi slowly said: "To put it simply, the development direction of the martial soul is what kind of abilities and characteristics you hope your martial soul will obtain. The abilities and characteristics of your martial soul determine what kind of soul master you are, just like a person's occupation is determined by the skills he learns."
"If you want to use blue silver grass to fight, what kind of abilities or characteristics do you think the blue silver grass needs as a weapon?"
Hearing this, Tang San subconsciously looked at the palm of his right hand and slowly fell into deep thought. Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang did not interfere. He really wanted to know if this well-behaved disciple could give some novel answers.
"When one's internal energy is cultivated to a deep level, guided by the Tang Sect's hidden weapon techniques, even plucking flowers and flying leaves can injure. If the Blue Silver Grass can become as sharp as a steel needle..."
Tang San's eyes gradually brightened, and he turned to Shi Yi and said, "Brother, do you think the Blue Silver Grass can be given the attribute of sharpness?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head slightly. It's not like no one has ever achieved such sharpness and hardness. The most representative example is Ju Douluo Yue Guan. However, Yue Guan and Tang San's spirit are in no way comparable. Yu Xiaogang still believes that Shi Yi's plan is the best, nearly bringing out all the plant's characteristics.
Shi Yi naturally understood Tang San's intentions. Tang San, whose mind was filled with hidden weapons, would definitely choose to launch the Blue Silver Grass as a hidden weapon.
Shi Yi observed Yu Xiaogang's expression and said, "Teacher, don't be so quick to shake your head. I actually think your idea has merit. If we follow your method to attach spirit rings, we only need to find a spirit beast with both strength and sharpness, such as a bear, tiger, lion, or leopard. Then, you can quickly familiarize yourself with the combat methods of a powerful attack-type spirit master, which will also lay the foundation for your next spirit, right?"
Tang San saw a flicker of surprise on Shi Yi's childish face. He hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang to tell Shi Yi about this.
"Does Teacher need to ask Senior Brother's opinion?" Tang San thought to himself.
Yu Xiaogang, too, was lost in thought. Shi Yi was right. While sharpness wasn't the best choice, it would allow the Blue Silver Grass to combine strength with strength, making it easier for Tang San to wield the Clear Sky Hammer in the future.
Shi Yi didn't care. In his opinion, no matter what path Tang San took, with his talent and the unique Tang Sect skills, he would shine in the future. He had already explained the correct way to unlock the Blue Silver Emperor, but the choice depended on Tang San's own fate. He wouldn't deny Tang San's choice, and even if it wasn't a good one, he would still agree with it with a smile.
Shi Yi's motto was to let go of his compulsion to help others and respect their fate. He could offer others choices, but he wouldn't make them for them.
After thinking for a while, Yu Xiaogang said to Tang San: "Xiao San, regarding your development direction, I talked with your senior brother while we were having dinner just now. Now you have three plans."
"Teacher, please speak." Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang seriously.
"The first is the plan you just mentioned. Although this plan cannot develop your Blue Silver Grass to the maximum extent, it lays a solid foundation for your second martial soul."
"The second is my plan. I choose to develop two important characteristics of the Blue Silver Grass. One is toughness, and the other is toxins. In this way, you can quickly form a certain combat effectiveness as a control-type soul master, and use the Blue Silver Grass as a rope to control the enemy, and add toxins. In this way, you can choose soul beasts such as snakes and spiders, so that you can form a certain combat effectiveness while laying a certain foundation."
"Finally, there is your senior brother's plan, which is to develop the characteristics of the Blue Silver Grass as a plant to the maximum extent, and choose plant soul beasts to continuously add new characteristics to the martial soul.
However, the Blue Silver Grass is too weak, which will cause your growth cycle to be prolonged to a certain extent, but your Blue Silver Grass can be developed most perfectly."
Yu Xiaogang briefly described the three plans, and Tang San also thought silently.
Choosing his own plan would significantly reduce his consumption of hidden weapons. The added attributes of the spirit beast would also lay a solid foundation for cultivating his second martial spirit. Having experienced the weight of the Clear Sky Hammer, he naturally understood that wielding it with ease required immense strength.
Yu Xiaogang's plan was also quite good. Hidden weapons, as a form of surprise attack, often required something to draw fire. A martial spirit was clearly a good option, transforming into a rope to restrain the enemy and inflicting a toxin. If the Blue Silver Grass could truly achieve this, then his hidden weapons would no longer be used against moving targets, but fixed ones.
As for the final plan.
Tang San looked at Shi Yi and asked, "Brother, can you tell me specifically what your plan aims to develop?"
Shi Yi smiled at Tang San and said, "Although plant-type spirit beasts don't offer the same powerful benefits to the body as animal-type spirit beasts, most of them provide more robust and pure spirit energy.
Select plant-type spirit beasts with suitable traits, such as strong vitality, toxins, parasitism, devouring, reproduction, or even certain auxiliary abilities. This way, your Blue Silver Grass can still be used as a rope to control your enemies. Once you've caught them, these powerful negative abilities will continuously weaken them.
If a rope could bind someone while simultaneously absorbing their spirit energy and continuously increasing its power, it would be an extremely terrifying existence."
"Thank you, Brother," Tang San said softly to Shi Yi.
Shi Yi smiled slightly and nodded.
Tang San pondered. Indeed, Shi Yi's plan, as Yu Xiaogang had said, fully exploited the potential of plants. However, as Yu Xiaogang had said, the growth cycle would be prolonged.
This plan's early combat effectiveness was far inferior to the previous two. The previous two plans had a significant positive impact on hidden weapons. Possessing the Tang Sect's unique skills, he was also quite capable in close combat. Absorbing powerful spirit beasts like bears, tigers, lions, and leopards would further enhance his abilities.
With this in mind, Tang San said to Yu Xiaogang, "Teacher, I still want to choose my own development plan."
A hint of surprise flashed in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, and he whispered, "Can you explain why?"
Shi Yi smiled at Tang San. His guess was correct; Tang San had indeed chosen this development plan, which seemed most suitable for him.
This plan was based on the Moon Gate. While it could provide a certain level of combat power in the short term, its lethality diminished as it reached higher levels. Even Qianxunji and Juegui couldn't defeat a newly crowned Tang Hao, demonstrating its extremely limited lethality.
As for laying the foundation for the Clear Sky Hammer, forget it. In the later stages of the original novel, Tang San barely wields it, even throwing it as a hidden weapon. A seasoned wielder of hidden weapons, Tang San's mindset has long been shaped. He won't easily engage in head-on combat. Rather than overwhelming with sheer force, Tang San excels at cunning tactics.
In the later stages of the novel, Blue Silver Emperor remains Tang San's most frequently used spirit, and Shi Yi's third plan is actually the most suitable for this cunning old man.
Tang San hasn't seen much of the world yet, but he'll understand it later.
"Teacher, I believe the foundation is most important. Pursuing instant gratification is not what I, your disciple, desire," Tang San said to Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang chuckled, believing him, "You're quite greedy."
It's natural for Yu Xiaogang to see his disciple striving for a higher realm as a positive thing.
"This kid is quite good at deceiving people. Using Blue Silver Grass as a hidden weapon isn't a bad idea," Shi Yi thought to himself.
Of course, it was merely good. If Tang San could change his fighting style and focus on honing his Clear Sky Hammer skills, it would certainly be a win-win. However, having lived two lives, Tang San struggled to change. His reclusive nature made him unsuitable for hammer training.
With this in mind, Shi Yi began to consider his own development. His spirit ring selection naturally favored insect-type spirit beasts to impart more traits to Xiao Yi, but he presented a problem.
"This brat even managed to fool Yu Xiaogang. I'm afraid it's impossible to get even a single move from him. I'm afraid relying solely on the title of cheap senior brother won't be enough. I need to rely on myself. It's time to research how to improve my abilities."
"Alright, that's settled for now. You can go back. I'll meet you in your dorm tomorrow morning," Yu Xiaogang said to Tang San.
"Okay, Teacher." After responding, Tang San bowed slightly to Yu Xiaogang and Shi Yi and slowly departed.
"Teacher, you should ask the dean to go with you tomorrow. If Xiao San really wants to hunt down a spirit beast like a bear, tiger, leopard, or lion, three cannons won't be enough," Shi Yi chuckled and joked.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened upon hearing this, and he nodded helplessly. Although Shi Yi's words were unpleasant to hear, he still had some self-awareness.
With that, Shi Yi began to search Yu Xiaogang's bookshelf.
(End of this chapter)