A few hours later.
Yang Yunhai followed Changgong Ao to a low valley.
The sound of flowing water could already be heard faintly even before they got close.
"That green one is the target." Changgong Ao lifted his chin toward the front while speaking, and at the same time summoned his martial soul.
The next second, his eyes turned sharp. The longbow rose, soul power surged, and in the blink of an eye, an arrow condensed on the drawn bowstring.
"Swish!" His fingers released. The arrow shot out like a meteor.
Then, with hand up and hand down, the motion was smooth and clean. In just one breath, a seven-shot volley was unleashed, raining down like a sudden storm toward the front.
"Puff, puff, puff!" Each arrow pierced into the roots of a green vine a hundred steps away.
"Sha, sha, sha..." The sound of violently shaking leaves rang out, soil splattering as thick vines twisted and lashed up from the ground.
'Good grief, vine-type soul beasts really are the sneaky kind.' Seeing root after root burst from the soil, Yang Yunhai's scalp went numb.
Images instantly surfaced in his mind — someone walking down a path suddenly being grabbed and dragged off by vines.
It was his first time witnessing how the Sky Azure Vine attacked, and it left him in awe.
For safety, he silently swore to himself: 'From now on, whenever I run into a plant-type soul beast, I'll keep my distance. If I can fight from afar, I will never fight them up close.'
Plants might have far-reaching roots and vines, but their main bodies rarely moved. That was their biggest weakness.
Besides that, plants were naturally weak to lightning — another advantage for him.
'The same applies to fighting plant-type soul masters. For my own safety, it's better to stay slippery and evasive.' He thought again of Tang San's methods and added silently, 'Yes, definitely better to be crafty.'
While he was mulling it over, Changgong Ao lowered his martial soul with a calm look of confidence. "Xiao Hai, it's done. Go finish it."
As the leader of the patrol unit, no one was more familiar with this forest's soul beasts and their weaknesses than him. His hunting experience was unmatched.
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Ao." Yang Yunhai pulled himself together. Looking ahead, he saw that the vines were now only trembling weakly on the ground. The occasional twitch seemed powerless.
A hundred-year plant-type soul beast might develop hunting instincts, but it was still far from a true intelligent creature. Normally, at least ten thousand years of cultivation were needed for that.
This was also why spirit impact only happened when absorbing ten-thousand-year soul rings.
So the Sky Azure Vine before him wasn't pretending to be dead. All its movements were simply instinct.
Thinking this, Yang Yunhai grabbed the standard-issue spear and strode forward.
Originally, Changgong Ao had prepared a bow for him, but since he had never practiced archery, Yang Yunhai chose a spear instead.
At least he had practiced throwing spears.
His steps quickened, and when he was about six meters away, he suddenly raised the spear and hurled it.
"Puff!" The spearhead sank right into the vine's damaged root.
"Sha..." The vines gave one last weak tremor before falling still. A yellow soul ring floated out.
"Not bad at all! You weren't lying about practicing with spears," Changgong Ao muttered in surprise. He hadn't believed him at first. 'A boy with Blue Silver Grass training with a spear? Who would have thought.'
Meanwhile, Yang Yunhai was already sitting cross-legged, summoning his martial soul and guiding the soul ring toward him.
Seeing this, Changgong Ao, normally calm and steady, couldn't help but tense. His fists clenched, his tiger-like eyes fixed on the boy with unease.
The soul ring floated rapidly toward Yang Yunhai's head, then shrank down like a golden bracelet and slipped onto the Blue Silver Grass before him.
The next moment, Yang Yunhai's body shuddered violently.
Seeing this, Changgong Ao's fists tightened instantly. He muttered under his breath: "The soul ring's energy is entering his body. Xiao Hai, you must endure!"
On Yang Yunhai's side, his first feeling was heat — an overwhelming, scorching heat. The energy poured into him like molten lava, surging into his limbs and channels, rampaging wildly like untamed stallions.
The pain was excruciating, as if his meridians were about to melt and burst apart.
'So absorbing beyond the limit really isn't easy.' Yang Yunhai gritted his teeth, silently sighing inside.
His thunder-tempering had sounded impressive, but the results weren't nearly as good as it seemed. Nuoding City averaged only 60 to 80 rainy days per year, similar to his previous life's southern region. And each time he could only endure two strikes before needing four days of recovery. At most, 20 sessions per year — about 40 lightning bolts total.
Two and a half years added up to less than 100 bolts. And that didn't even count the days he had missed.
So although his body absorbed a trace of lightning energy, the actual benefits weren't huge.
'Bloodlines really do set the limit.' His heart sank. Unlike families with true lightning-attribute martial souls, his body had no natural lightning affinity. His Blue Silver Grass was innately fragile, and though his soul had carried lightning when he crossed over, it wasn't enough to change that.
That was why his innate soul power had been so low.
Still, he had endured years of lightning strikes. Was he going to be defeated by this soul ring now?
'No. If I succeed this time, my foundation will no longer be so weak. Even if cultivation becomes harder later, this first soul ring will carry me forward. I must succeed!'
With that determination, he pushed his soul power to circulate faster, forcing himself to endure.
Time passed, he didn't know how long.
Suddenly, his consciousness lit up. He saw himself inside a sea of flames. In the center of the fire swayed a sprig of tender Blue Silver Grass, nimble and alive.
"An inner vision?" Yang Yunhai was startled. He remembered the novel's description — Tang San had gained inner vision when absorbing his first soul ring.
'So every soul master who succeeds in gaining their first ring can see this?'
In the vision, under the fire's tempering, his Blue Silver Grass changed. Its branches grew longer and thicker, fibers visible beneath the smooth skin. Its pale blue color darkened toward azure. Only the pale vein-like patterns stayed, stretched thin but still clear.
As time flowed, the raging heat subsided. Warmth and comfort replaced pain.
"Success!" Yang Yunhai exhaled, opening his eyes in joy.
"Success!" Not far away, Changgong Ao burst into laughter, striding over. "Xiao Hai, congratulations! I knew you'd make it. You scared me half to death just now — your skin was splitting from the strain."
Yang Yunhai smiled and stood, bowing deeply. "Uncle Ao, thank you. Without your help hunting and guarding, I couldn't have gained this ring."
"Bah, just a small matter!" Changgong Ao waved it off, grinning. "So? How much did your soul power rise? And what soul skill did you get?"
"I reached rank 11, almost rank 12." Yang Yunhai replied honestly. He didn't have Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Technique, so he hadn't stored up internal power to leap further. For him, this result was already satisfying.
"As for the skill…" He raised his right hand. Blue Silver Grass extended out, surging forward like a living vine. It shot across sixty meters to wrap around a towering tree, coiling upward like a serpent.
Within seconds, ten meters of trunk were tightly bound.
"That long? Just like a real Sky Azure Vine." Changgong Ao was stunned.
Yang Yunhai nodded. "My first soul skill is called Extension. As long as I have soul power, there's no limit to the length. Because my martial soul is Blue Silver Grass and the soul ring came from a Sky Azure Vine, the compatibility is perfect. Soul power consumption is very low, and the toughness is excellent."
To demonstrate, he pulled hard.
Crack! Bark split apart and even the thick trunk dented.
The vine's toughness was extraordinary. Tang San had gotten Bind from a snake-type soul beast, but Yang Yunhai had inherited the Sky Azure Vine's true traits — toughness and limitless growth.
'So this is the difference,' Yang Yunhai thought. 'Animal traits stay with animals. Plant traits transfer fully to plants. Tang San got only partial characteristics, but I gained everything.'
"Impressive strength! Not just the vines, even your body grew stronger." Changgong Ao sighed in admiration.
Yang Yunhai grinned. "That's what happens with an over-limit soul ring."
"Haha, indeed." Changgong Ao laughed loudly, then glanced at the sky. "It's still early. If we hurry, we can return to camp tonight. No need to sleep out here. Let's go."
"Alright." Yang Yunhai nodded, following close behind.
By midnight, they had returned to camp, celebrated with food, and rested.
The next morning, Yang Yunhai bade farewell to Changgong Ao, retrieved his little yellow horse at the outpost, and set off back toward the academy.
(End of Chapter)
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