Chapter 167: with translation of chapter title

Xueke fell silent for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Are you still thinking about defeating the two great empires and unifying the continent?"

Qian Renxue blinked, then calmly said, "I never told you I had the idea of unifying the continent; I'm not interested in that."

Xueke could no longer hold back; she also wanted to see Qian Renxue make a fool of herself, so she flopped down comfortably on the ground, but when she turned her head she saw Qian Renxue still leisurely sitting in midair.

"Tsk, what if you have no ideas? Not being interested doesn't mean you won't do it later—you've always been like that, doing whatever you want."

"I clearly told you all those gentle little stories! Yet you haven't changed at all—you've gone astray, become a bad woman!"

Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow, her eyes full of disdainful contempt, "What are you talking about? That boring nonsense—just stop saying it; it's only wasting my time."

Xueke looked indignant, she lifted her head and puffed out her lips, looking just like an angry pufferfish.

"What do you mean by boring stuff! I'm trying to tell you that good people get good rewards! The villains in stories never have a good ending! Do you remember the Cinderella I told you? It's because she was kind that she got help from so many friends, and in the end she lived happily ever after with the prince."

"Kindness?"

Qian Renxue snorted, "That's just a trick to fool kids; essentially it's still the strong pitying the weak. Besides, how do you even know Cinderella is kind?"

"Maybe the kind and plain Cinderella isn't really kind—she's just ordinary. Maybe the proud and vicious little princess isn't really vicious—she's just proud. Cinderella used her cleverness to portray herself as kind and pitiful, while at the same time painting the princess as vicious and despised."

"Ake, guess—am I the kind Cinderella or the proud princess?"

Xueke remained silent, her beautiful eyes filled with complexity.

Qian Renxue didn't even wait for her reply, continuing on her own, "I am neither kind nor proud; I am the cleverest Cinderella and the most vicious princess."

"So—I will never lose."

Qian Renxue's figure flashed, and she was already standing in midair between Atolisi and Tang San, hands behind her back, looking at the two people full of tension, she said lightly, "The soul duel begins."

As Qian Renxue's voice sounded, Atolisi clenched his hands in the air, and an invisible sword appeared in his grasp.

At this moment, Atolisi's both arms were simultaneously covered with blue-silver arm armor, and two striking soul rings rose from beneath his feet.

These were not the theoretically optimal yellow-yellow soul ring configuration, but an unprecedented yellow and purple!

The splendid purple soul ring emitted an extremely powerful soul power fluctuation, yet Tang San's heart grew ever calmer.

However, each time Tang San saw Atolisi's purple thousand-year soul ring, he couldn't help but feel regret—if he hadn't been so cautious back then and had chosen a thousand-year second ring as well, it would have been fine.

It's a pity that he fully believed Yu Xiaogang's claim about the soul ring age limit and completely ignored Atolisi's reminder.

Do geniuses have to be different? Indeed, he and Atolisi are unlike; his innate full soul power was merely cultivated through the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Tang San let out a light sigh, then gathered his spirit; under the immense pressure, he began to change as well—the violent impulse hidden in his heart gradually surfaced, a faint purple haze covered his eyes, and he slowly raised his right hand.

A deep blue light suddenly surged, and a clump of deep blue grass sprang from his palm; each blade looked slender but was covered with snake patterns, the leaves were no longer flat but had become cylindrical, and upon close inspection one could see dense tiny spines covering them.

A milky white light emanated from Tang San's body; the deep blue grass blades, as if stimulated, suddenly expanded, in the blink of an eye becoming as thick as a person's arm, like vines. The black snake patterns flickered with a faint light, writhing like dozens of great snakes coiling around Tang San's body.

Two yellow soul rings rose simultaneously from beneath Tang San's feet, circling his body.

"I'm here!" Atolisi couldn't hold back any longer, stomping the ground with a bang; the next instant he had flashed to Tang San's front.

Atolisi's expression remained calm as he raised his sword diagonally upward with his right hand.

Tang San almost without hesitation retreated swiftly, using Ghost Shadow Perfume Track, dodging Atolisi's attack by a hair's breadth; others might not know the length of that invisible sword, but he knew it all too well—though neither of them knew how many times they had sparred.

At the same time, the first soul ring lit up, Blue Silver Entanglement!!! The Blue Silver Grass martial soul Tang San released immediately began to move, rings of dark blue-black thick vines coiling out, surging from all directions toward Atolisi's body, while Tang San himself seemed to vanish into the vines.

Atolisi curled the corner of his mouth into a faint smile, "Who can you control with Blue Silver Grass?" His Oath-Victory Sword fears no Blue Silver Entanglement! Light flashed in Atolisi's eyes, his body brimming with surging soul power; as he swung his arms, the invisible sword in his hand shattered the nearby vines.

After the second ring, these vines of Tang San became extremely tough; even a Soul Elder–level instructor at the academy couldn't cut them completely, only tearing them halfway, and the Blue Silver vines themselves would quickly heal—but that's only against ordinary soul masters; against a true top-tier martial soul, the so-called tenacity of Blue Silver Grass is far too weak.

A faint sweet tea fragrance spread among the vines, which seemed endless, continuously surging from all directions.

From the outside, Atolisi's body was already trapped within the massive vines; just as Tang San was about to unleash his second soul skill, Parasite, countless blue lights suddenly shot out from the vines' gaps, followed immediately by a muffled explosion that boomed.

A burst of azure qi instantly exploded from Atolisi's body, directly shattering the ten-meter radius of Blue Silver Grass vines into powder; the powerful shockwave left a huge crater beneath his feet.

"Hah, pointless effort."

Atolisi gave a light chuckle, the purple soul ring on his body gradually fading; that had just been his second soul skill, Soul Power Release.

Since martial soul and host are one, Tang San's face turned pale instantly; he stepped back to steady himself.

Atolisi laughed, "How about it, Xiao San? The parasitic seeds you secretly placed on me were also shattered by my shock—you're powerless now, right?"

"Your neurotoxin is all on the poisonous spines of the vines from my second soul skill; otherwise, just from the fragrance of Blue Silver Grass, I wouldn't go numb even after smelling it all day."

Tang San's eyes flickered, his lips pressed tight; the second-ring Blue Silver Grass's tenacity is no match for a single move of the Oath-Victory Sword, and the second soul ring, Parasite, the seeds hadn't even taken effect before Atolisi's soul power blast shattered them.

His shortcomings seemed not to be compensated by the soul rings; in terms of martial soul he was completely outmatched, unable to figure out where his problem lay or which direction to develop.

He even doubted whether following Yu Xiaogang down the path of a control-system soul master was a mistake.

Previously he could control the instructor, solely because each of his soul rings was superior in quality to others', but against Atolisi, a genius with a top-tier martial soul, his soul skills had no advantage whatsoever.

And when the inherent flaws of Blue Silver Grass were exposed, Tang San immediately realized his problem: a truly powerful control-system soul master must not only be able to control, but also grant his soul skills a certain attack capability.

The more he thought, the lower his confidence in Blue Silver Grass sank; his inner turmoil churned like a stormy sea, various chaotic thoughts making him feel on the verge of madness.

Atolisi said somewhat strangely, "Xiao San! Why are you zoning out? Still fighting? I've learned a new sword move from my teacher! Although my teacher's martial soul is an angel, angel martial souls come with an angelic holy sword, and our martial souls are all swords! Too bad I haven't yet mastered my teacher's sword intent, otherwise I'd definitely be stronger! Come on, let me try the move!"

Hearing Atolisi's excited words, Tang San's eyes grew dimmer; was he wrong in choosing his teacher? Peers like Atolisi keep getting stronger; now, relying on Tang Sect's secret arts, he might still match him, but later the gap will only widen. Tang San shook his head at Atolisi, "Sorry, I concede."

He turned to look at the calm-eyed Qian Renxue and asked, "Qian Teacher, can a Blue Silver Grass soul master truly become strong?" "One can become strong, but not the strongest."

Qian Renxue's gaze flickered slightly; it should have been possible, but after absorbing those two toxic soul rings with his first two rings, it probably wouldn't work—his Blue Silver Grass was already weak, and now it permanently lacks the life essence of two soul rings.

For now, only after his father brings him to find the Blue Silver King to replenish Tang San's life essence can he truly transform into the Blue Silver Emperor.

"What should I do then? Cultivate a second martial soul?" Tang San asked eagerly; after three years together he had fully trusted Xueke and Atolisi.

However, he was surprised to find that neither Atolisi nor Xueke showed any surprise; they seemed completely unsurprised—could they have known all along that he had twin martial souls? Qian Renxue looked at him calmly, her eyes revealing disappointment, "How did your teacher even teach you? Why didn't he tell you something this important? The greatest advantage of twin martial souls isn't having an extra martial soul, but the soul ring age limit!"

"Not bad; if you now choose to cultivate the Haotian Hammer, you could indeed boost your strength in the short term, as long as you have suitable soul rings you'll instantly become strong—even stronger than Atolisi and Ake."

"But have you considered, if you only start cultivating the Haotian Hammer at rank ninety and obtain nine soul rings, what quality would they be? By then, even if you acquired nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings and superimposed them on yourself, it wouldn't be impossible."

Tang San's pupils contracted; he suddenly recalled the nine shocking soul rings he'd seen three years ago—now it made sense!

The inner turmoil gradually faded; Tang San felt the mist in his heart quietly clearing. Qian Teacher truly lives up to her title as a Titled Douluo—she hits the nail on the head. Even though he isn't a match for Atolisi now, once he cultivates his second martial soul, it will be a time of offensive and defensive transformation!

Moreover, Qian Teacher herself originally had twin martial souls! Tang San couldn't help but resent Yu Xiaogang's opinion even more—why wasn't the advantage of twin martial souls told to him earlier? He was just a step away from going to cultivate the Haotian Hammer.

Indeed, his foster mother would be a better teacher for him! They both share the secret of twin martial souls, and she has reached the pinnacle as a twin martial soul master! Tang San regained his confidence, "Thank you! I understand—I won't give up on Blue Silver Grass."

Qian Renxue nodded, but Tuolis beside her suddenly thought of something and said, "Teacher, didn't you say before that if Blue Silver Grass takes the life-attribute path, its future would be limitless?"

Tang San's body, which had just relaxed, suddenly stiffened again. Life attribute? That's not the path Yu Xiaogang said was impossible? Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment, her expression somewhat awkward.

Tang San only felt his heart pounding nervously, his whole body chilled; he clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and said, "Teacher, you don't need to worry about Yu Xiaogang, please tell me about the life-attribute path, please."

Qian Renxue muttered to herself, "Tuolis really is Tang San's good brother; he won't be happy until he completely breaks Tang San's mindset."

Qian Renxue calmly said, "The life attribute is indeed Blue Silver Grass's most fundamental path, and originally the most suitable for you. However, very few martial soul masters can cultivate Blue Silver Grass, so only a few know this secret."

The essence of a martial soul's origin is the most important quality of all martial souls, and also the fundamental reason they can evolve—just like the Three Exalted Holy Dragon Douluo of the Spirit Hall: when their martial soul awakened, it was an ordinary White Armor Ground Dragon, but at the seventh spirit ring they fulfilled the martial soul's origin, causing the original White Armor Ground Dragon to leap and transform into the supreme martial soul White Armor Holy Dragon, becoming the third strongest in the Spirit Hall after the Grand Exalted and Second Exalted, a peak rank ninety-seven Super Douluo, only a step away from rank ninety-eight.

If the seventh spirit ring is the most important threshold for a soul master, it is the key that determines whether a martial soul truly transforms; then the first six spirit rings are providing the origin energy needed for the martial soul's evolution.

On the present Douluo Continent, every Title Douluo's martial soul is of high quality, because soul masters with inferior martial souls mostly don't know how to choose suitable spirit rings for their martial soul to evolve, and thus naturally cannot break through the rank ninety bottleneck.

Nowadays there are hundreds of Soul Douluo openly, but only a dozen or so Title Douluo, because those Soul Douluo's spirit rings do not match their own martial souls; unless their spirit rings are those heaven-defying hundred-thousand-year spirit rings, for those Soul Douluo without a spirit nucleus, rank ninety remains an untouchable bottleneck.

If your first six spirit rings all follow the life-attribute path close to the essence, perhaps you will undergo transformation at the seventh spirit ring, and the feeble Blue Silver Grass martial soul will evolve.

But now you are following the poison path; although Blue Silver Grass, being weak, does not reject it, it also does not align with its life essence. Without opportunity, having lost two spirit rings, you no longer have any chance for your martial soul to evolve.

I originally wanted to warn you, but since Yu Xiaogang is the teacher appointed by your father, I naturally trusted him completely; after you obtained your first spirit ring, I also couldn't bring myself to say it, because you had already embarked on the poison-attribute path, and telling you now would only add worry.

Tang San's body trembled, his eyes slightly reddened, he asked in a hoarse voice, "Teacher, can I still walk the life-attribute path?"

Qian Renxue shook her head, "The seventh spirit ring is a critical point; the first six spirit rings are all indispensable. Unless you later absorb life-attribute spirit rings beyond your level to compensate for the lost life origin, but then your Blue Silver Grass's poison cannot continue to evolve."

Neither direction can be taken to the extreme; whether poison origin or life origin, you're merely a half-baked soul master.

Xueke, who had been lying there resting, got up and walked over, also somewhat interestedly saying, "If that's the case, it's indeed a pity—if Blue Silver Grass followed the life attribute, it could still assist one's second martial soul; an indestructible assault-type soul master would be incredibly formidable."

Xueke is currently striving in that direction.

I don't really understand why Master wants you to take the poison-attribute path; if you can't evolve, can the fragile Blue Silver Binding plus poison even control others? Look at today's battle—against top-tier martial souls, you have absolutely no power to fight back.

The more Tang San listened, the more fearful he became; he suddenly thought of something and, like a person clutching a life-saving straw, hurriedly asked, "Teacher, you said besides me there are few who can cultivate Blue Silver Grass soul masters—doesn't that indicate the life-attribute path is also unknown?"

Qian Renxue shook her head and continued, "Although few can cultivate Blue Silver Grass soul masters, over a decade ago there indeed was a soul master whose martial soul was the Blue Silver Emperor; like you, she was a control type, the Blue Silver Emperor being the evolved form of Blue Silver Grass, and she was a control-type soul master who followed the life-attribute origin, possessing both control and healing abilities."

You are of the poison origin, far from her life origin, but don't lose heart—perhaps Blue Silver Grass truly has a second origin path; after all, before that soul master appeared, no one knew Blue Silver Grass could take the life-origin route.

These explanations plunged Tang San instantly into a vortex of pain; it turned out he had been left with no way out by that beast Yu Xiaogang! Now, he can only continue down the poison-attribute path.

But soon, Tang San's heartache was replaced by reluctance at Qian Renxue's impending departure; Teacher Qian was leaving him, and now he had only Teacher Qian as a relative left—if she didn't return, what should he do? "Teacher Qian, you really have to go?"

You're overreacting—she's just going to participate in the Continental Youth Soul Master Elite Tournament; you're talking as if she's going to die.

Xueke rolled her eyes in dissatisfaction, really disliking Tang San's current expression; Qian Renxue and she are the best in the world! What's little Tang San? Qian Renxue has already forged and sent her the Spiritforged Gold Battle Armor for herself.

You should know that the forging method of Spiritforged Gold differs from ordinary metal; it requires using spiritual power to hammer it into shape within the sea of spirit.

That piece of Spiritforged Gold is indeed not small; even after making a full set of battle armor for Xueke, Qian Renxue still has one-third left, which is more than enough for Yilakes.

Tang San gazed intensely at Qian Renxue, "All-continent? We can go watch too?"

Tang San isn't stupid either; upon realizing Qian Renxue has twin martial souls, he knows her age certainly isn't much older than his.

Tang San plans to take advantage of Qian Renxue's absence, first trap that Gangzi who ruined his cultivation path, then go with Atole and the others to watch Qian Renxue's match; he now doesn't trust Yu Xiaogang at all.

Qian Renxue indifferently nodded, "Do as you please."

"I want to go watch too! I'm your loyal fan, Teacher Qian!"

Tuolis suddenly let out a strange loud cry, and while Xueke wasn't paying attention, he furtively slipped a gem-like object and a letter into Qian Renxue's hands behind her back.

Qian Renxue stared, instinctively clenched her hands, then stored the items in her storage bracelet.

She turned her head to look at Tuolis, only to find this guy had already run behind Xueke, grinning and winking at her, pointing at Xueke and making a silent gesture.

(End of chapter)