Highest Institute of Science and Technology of Great Xia, Research Institute No. 19!
Professor Su Xiaoyin utilized the Blue Silver Grass to extract a special "life substance" from it, enabling gene recombination and conducting clinical trials on patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. The experiments have now achieved a breakthrough.
"Director, pancreatic cancer is known as the 'king of cancers.' Patients in the late stage typically survive no longer than six months. However, the tablets our team developed using the miraculous Blue Silver Grass have demonstrated clinical efficacy that extends patient survival to five years!"
"Although the drug cannot completely eradicate cancer cells, significantly prolonging life expectancy represents a monumental achievement! The team is prepared to expedite the promotion and market launch of the Blue Silver tablets!"
Su Xiaoyin reported the recent research progress.
"Excellent—an outstanding accomplishment! Xiaoyin, please compile the research findings into a paper as soon as possible and file for patents promptly. You will be the first author of the Blue Silver tablets and the primary patent holder! For this year's regular third-tier professorship position, I will personally recommend you for evaluation."
Director Zhou Chuan smiled warmly.
On Blue Star, academic titles for scientists progress from associate professor upward as follows: third-tier professor, second-tier professor, first-tier professor, special-grade professor, and lifetime professor!
Advancement between each rank is exceedingly difficult.
Su Xiaoyin fully understood that attaining third-tier professor status would remove the "associate" prefix from her title!
She felt profound gratitude toward the director for his recognition and support, as well as toward Tang Yi from the Douluo universe—someone she had never met in person.
Without Tang Yi transmitting the Blue Silver Grass, Su Xiaoyin could not have achieved such significant breakthroughs in biological research so rapidly.
"Thank you, Director, for your guidance and cultivation!"
"According to the letter from Great Xia citizen Tang Yi, the Blue Silver Grass he transmitted this time is merely the most common variety on the Douluo Continent! Among Blue Silver Grass, there exists an Emperor variant! Its life level has undergone sublimation and it can even assume human form!"
"Moreover, the Douluo universe contains countless unknown and wondrous immortal herbs and high-tier soul beasts! I firmly believe that the biomedical community of Great Xia will ultimately conquer the challenge of cancer and secure healthy lives for the masses!"
Su Xiaoyin spoke with solemn conviction.
Director Zhou Chuan's expression grew equally grave: "Indeed! Our support for Tang Yi must now be elevated to the level of national strategy. Today I will meet with the vice-director to request additional resource allocation and the establishment of a dedicated channel, ensuring that Tang Yi receives the strongest possible backing from Great Xia while in that other world."
"Understood, Director! I will remain vigilant and await Tang Yi's next transmission of materials!"
Over the past few days, Su Xiaoyin had also studied the so-called "inter-world traversal" mechanism.
The initiative rested entirely with Tang Yi.
Unless Tang Yi transmitted something, Great Xia could not send items proactively.
...
Notting Junior Soul Master Academy:
Tang Yi continued attending classes and cultivating his soul power as usual.
Under the daily supplementation of gene enhancement potions and the advancement driven by the Nine Yang True Scripture, on the morning of the third day, Tang Yi smoothly broke through to rank ten soul master!
"My soul power has finally reached rank ten!"
"It seems this Hunting Soul Token will now come into use!"
Tang Yi pondered for a moment and resolved to set out immediately for the Hunting Soul Forest outside the city to hunt a soul beast.
Of course, having thoroughly studied the original novel and understanding the fundamental rules of martial souls on the Douluo Continent, Tang Yi would never follow Tang San's example by burdening his martial soul with haphazard toxic attributes.
"Vitality!"
"I must seek an extreme life-attribute soul beast!"
"The strength of my current physique is several times greater than Tang San's at age six! Tang San's limit was a four-hundred-year Man-Eating Demon Snake, whereas my limit should be around a two-thousand-year soul beast!"
Tang Yi was well aware that Yu Xiaogang's confidently proclaimed theory—"the limit for the first soul ring is 423 years"—was fundamentally incorrect!
However, a two-thousand-year soul beast, moreover one locked into the life-attribute category, was indeed quite rare in the vicinity of Notting City.
Naturally, Tang Yi had no fear of a soul beast's combat strength. With the Desert Eagle in hand, even a rank-fifty-something Soul King could be felled with a single shot!
"What a headache!"
Tang Yi racked his brain, trying to recall details from the original novel and anime in search of any clues.
"You must be Tang Yi—Big Brother Tang San's younger brother?"
Just as Tang Yi was pondering, Wang Sheng—the representative of the working-student dormitory, head of the original Seventh House—and Xiao Chenyu—the representative of the academy's wealthy students—approached with hostile expressions.
A year earlier, Xiao Wu had become the boss of the Seventh House and, together with Tang San under the working-student banner, had thoroughly subdued the rich students led by Xiao Chenyu.
By now, the relationship between Wang Sheng and Xiao Chenyu had improved somewhat.
Upon hearing that their "big sister" Xiao Wu had suffered a setback, these two "lackeys" could no longer restrain themselves and decided to seek justice on her behalf.
Wang Sheng's martial soul was a tiger, with soul power at rank eight!
Xiao Chenyu's martial soul was also beast-type—a wolf—with soul power already at rank ten, though he had not yet acquired a soul ring and remained a mere soul master!
"Two little brats—soul masters?" Tang Yi was speechless and had no interest in prolonged combat.
"Little brats?" Wang Sheng's face darkened.
"Tang Yi, don't think that just because you're Tang San's younger brother we have to go easy on you! You offended Sister Xiao Wu—today we're here to demand an explanation!"
Xiao Chenyu shouted even more angrily: "I hear your martial soul is trash and your innate soul power is only rank one, yet your temper is quite something. Here's the deal: go apologize to Sister Xiao Wu obediently, and we'll let this matter drop. Otherwise, even though I'm a senior student, I won't mind teaching a lesson to a freshman like you!"
"Explanation? Apology?"
Tang Yi shook his head. His tone remained calm yet carried an unmistakable finality: "I'm busy. Get out of my way!"
"Arrogant!" Wang Sheng could no longer hold back.
With a low growl, soul power fluctuations surged around him. Though he lacked a soul ring, the beast martial soul's amplification of his body was already evident. He lunged forward fiercely, right hand formed into a claw, carrying a faint whistling wind as he aimed directly for Tang Yi's shoulder.
Tang Yi did not move.
Only when Wang Sheng's claw was about to reach him did Tang Yi casually raise his left hand. Acting second yet striking first, he precisely seized Wang Sheng's wrist.
Wang Sheng felt as though his wrist had been clamped in an iron vise. A tremendous force halted his forward momentum abruptly.
Stunned, Wang Sheng tried to wrench free but could not budge an inch.
"Wang Sheng!" Seeing this, Xiao Chenyu's eyes narrowed. He no longer stood idle.
Xiao Chenyu let out a low shout: "Martial soul possession!"
Immediately, he swept a whip-like leg toward Tang Yi's lower body.
Tang Yi remained rooted in place.
Facing simultaneous attacks from above and below, he pulled downward on Wang Sheng's captured wrist with his left hand. Wang Sheng felt an irresistible force drag him forward, causing him to lose balance and lean directly into the path of Xiao Chenyu's incoming kick.
"Bang!"
Xiao Chenyu's leg struck solidly against Wang Sheng's thigh.
"Ouch!" Wang Sheng cried out in pain.
Xiao Chenyu was also momentarily stunned—he had not expected Tang Yi to react so swiftly and with such skillful technique.
Before Xiao Chenyu could retract his leg, his balance wavered slightly.
In that split second, Tang Yi moved.
"Time to end the warm-up!"
Tang Yi delivered one punch to each of them!
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
Fists met arms. Both Wang Sheng and Xiao Chenyu were sent flying backward, crashing awkwardly to the ground.
The entire exchange lasted no more than one or two minutes.
Tang Yi brushed the dust from his hands and walked over to Xiao Chenyu, who was now coughing up blood in large gulps.
"You… what do you want?"
Xiao Chenyu's voice trembled slightly: "My Xiao family is one of the prominent clans in Notting City!"
Tang Yi replied calmly: "Nothing much. You wasted my time and attacked me first. Shouldn't you compensate me for 'lost time' and 'mental distress'?"
Xiao Chenyu was taken aback, then realized Tang Yi was demanding money!
Tang Yi was indeed preparing to head to the Hunting Soul Forest and required some travel funds.
As a wealthy student, Xiao Chenyu had conveniently presented himself as a walking "wallet."
"How much do you want?"
Having been defeated, Xiao Chenyu had no choice but to produce his money pouch.
"Give me everything."
With a swift motion, Tang Yi snatched the pouch.
Opening it, he found more than twenty gold soul coins and over fifty silver soul coins.
It had to be said—Xiao Chenyu was indeed affluent; he did not even bother carrying copper soul coins.
Curiously, inside the pouch was also a small sheepskin map.
"What is this?"
Tang Yi asked with interest.
Xiao Chenyu stared at the pouch in Tang Yi's hand, gritting his teeth: "Tang Yi, although my family is wealthy, those twenty-plus gold soul coins are my entire monthly living allowance! If you take everything, how am I supposed to live?"
"Stop babbling! Do you want another punch? What is this map?"
Tang Yi pressed.
Under Tang Yi's pressure, Xiao Chenyu had no choice but to explain: "I obtained this from an adventurer! My soul power has already reached rank ten—I only need a suitable soul ring to become a true soul master!"
"My family has already used connections to secure noble guarantees and obtained a Hunting Soul Token for me. I can set out with family guards to the Hunting Soul Forest at any time to hunt a soul beast!"
"However, an adventurer who owed gambling debts told me that the Hunting Soul Forest outside Notting City has not been peaceful lately. He spotted a life-attribute soul beast around two thousand years old—the Azure Nether Longevity Crane!"
"That adventurer was a seasoned veteran. Based on the soul beast's patterns of activity, he drew this map. When I met him, he was in debt from gambling and sold it to me."
"After all, a two-thousand-year soul beast is extremely powerful. With the forest being unstable recently, having the map allows me to avoid dangerous areas!"
Xiao Chenyu explained.
In his view, Tang Yi possessed only rank-one innate soul power. A map of the soul beast forest would be useless to him—once the explanation was given, surely Tang Yi would return it.
Upon hearing Xiao Chenyu's account, Tang Yi was overjoyed!
Truly, one may search everywhere in vain only to find what is sought without effort!
He had been racking his brain over how to locate a life-attribute soul beast around two thousand years old—now the information had come straight to him.
"A two-thousand-year soul beast—the Azure Nether Longevity Crane! Perfect!"
Glancing at Xiao Chenyu, Tang Yi smiled broadly: "Xiao Chenyu, take these fifty-plus silver soul coins for your living expenses! The map and the gold soul coins are your compensation to me!"
Xiao Chenyu's face immediately crumpled into a bitter expression as he cried out: "No! Tang Yi! I bought that map from the adventurer for fifteen gold soul coins! Please—I beg you—return at least some of the gold soul coins…"
Humming a cheerful tune, Tang Yi paid no further attention to Xiao Chenyu and Wang Sheng and walked away directly.