Blue Silver Grass had many advantages.
Its leaves were soft.
Its vitality was tenacious.
These two were obvious.
And the remaining trait toughness
This was a conclusion Zhou Qing reached after comparing Blue Silver Grass with other wild grasses.
Compared to other weeds of similar size, Blue Silver Grass had more veins in its leaves and was much tougher. Baskets and bags woven from longer Blue Silver Grass blades could last for nearly half a year.
So, if Zhou Qing's spirit were Blue Silver Grass, then the first spirit ring he chose should bring a skill that enhances softness, vitality, and toughness.
In terms of improving the spirit itself, vitality was key, toughness came next, and softness was last... although Zhou Qing believed that in the growth of a spirit, spirit power was the true "fertilizer." As spirit power increased, the spirit grew with it. Spirit rings didn't provide massive improvements, mostly acting as guidance...
As for spirit skills, toughness and flexibility were more important than vitality.
There was no way around it.
Without special circumstances, Zhou Qing believed that, as a commoner, he had to choose a spirit skill that could enhance vitality while also carrying some offensive ability.
This was the helplessness of civilian spirit masters. With no background, no influence, and no team of spirit masters of their own, one entering the spirit master world like this must ensure that at least one of their first three spirit skills had attack capabilities, just in case.
Choosing a pure support path would require a trustworthy team to protect and help you grow.
This was a necessary choice or perhaps, a compromise to reach higher realms.
As for Tang San
His spirit looked like Blue Silver Grass, but was actually the Blue Silver Emperor. In the early stages, he could just stack skills that enhanced vitality without needing to care about offensive capabilities.
In the original story, Tang San didn't win battles with the Blue Silver Emperor most of the time, but rather with the hidden weapons of the Tang Sect. In fact, even without using his spirit, Tang San could counterkill spirit masters with a higher rank.
So, for Tang San, whether Blue Silver Grass had attack power early on didn't matter much. What mattered was whether it could support his personal fighting style.
And this spirit growth plan that Zhou Qing created for himself might not be perfectly suited for Tang San, but it was definitely a hundred times better than things like the Mandala Snake, Ghost Vine, or Human-Faced Demon Spider!
"First spirit ring choice: Wolf-Hair Grass."
Tang San had seen Wolf-Hair Grass before too. It was a fairly common weed, just not as good as Blue Silver Grass. It looked similar to foxtail grass from his previous life.
"Exactly."
Zhou Qing pulled out a book introducing spirit beasts, flipped to the page on Wolf-Hair Grass, and pointed it out to Tang San. "Even ordinary non-spirit-beast Wolf-Hair Grass has extremely strong vitality. If you pull it up by the roots, leave it under the sun for two days, then replant it, it will still grow. At the hundred-year level, its vitality is even more incredible."
Unlike other plant-type spirit beasts—
Most plant spirit beasts produce a spirit ring once the stalk is broken. But for hundred-year Wolf-Hair Grass, you must uproot it, completely destroy it, or burn it to obtain a ring.
From the data I have, spirit masters who acquire this spirit beast's ring all gain a single skill: Life Accumulation!
It stores life energy to greatly enhance the power of your other skills. It can also temporarily strengthen your body—or protect your heart meridian!
The multiplier is based on the age of the Wolf-Hair Grass:
100 years: +50%
1000 years: +100%
10,000 years: +200%
After that, according to a spirit researcher from the Spirit Hall 300 years ago, every additional 10,000 years increases the multiplier further.
Tang San was astonished.
Not by the enhancement of spirit skills—he hadn't awakened his spirit yet, and Zhou Qing's descriptions still felt abstract.
What caught his attention was the temporary body boost and the ability to protect the heart meridian.
In his past life—
If he'd had that, it would have been like having an extra life while wandering the martial world!
But here, as long as you got the Wolf-Hair Grass spirit ring, you gained that ability and increased your spirit skills' power, too.
Spirit skills...
Tang San now assumed they were like Xuan Yu Hand, Purple Demon Eye, Controlling Crane Catching Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track techniques you had to train hard for.
Yet in this world, one spirit ring = one ability.
Unbelievable!
[Spirit masters are like internal energy cultivators, but with spirits and spirit skills, they're far stronger than inner energy experts of the same level. This world is full of powerhouses!]
That was the thought that jumped into Tang San's mind. He then asked, "Why is it just a 'hypothesis' after 10,000 years? Has no one ever obtained a 20,000-year Wolf-Hair Grass spirit ring?"
"The book says that because of the effects of the Wolf-Hair Grass spirit ring, even 200 years ago, no 10,000-year-old Wolf-Hair Grass had been seen. Those over 1,000 years were extremely rare, and even 100-year ones were scarce. For plant-type spirit masters to hunt them, it all came down to luck. Only the wild, non-spirit-beast level Wolf-Hair Grass is still rampant in our rural villages."
Zhou Qing flipped to the next page and showed Tang San while commenting, "At this rate, spirit beasts that help spirit masters will be hunted to extinction. Our descendants won't have any left to hunt."
This planted a seed of foresight in Tang San.
Even if it didn't succeed, it didn't matter. Zhou Qing would continue to use examples like this in their conversations. Over time, it would have an effect.
Tang San nodded slightly and then asked, "So, what is my spirit exactly?"
"Ask your dad."
Zhou Qing answered without hesitation. He already knew Tang Hao wouldn't say.
"I do want to ask, but my dad might not answer. At home, the most he says is, 'Is the food ready,' 'I'm going to bed,' and 'Someone's here, go deal with it.'"
Tang San half-complained, half-explained. "So, can you analyze it for me?"
Zhou Qing felt genuinely pleased.
From this perspective, he'd earned over 70% of Tang San's trust.
"Spirits, huh... other than Blue Silver Grass types that don't seem very useful, the rest especially tool spirits like hammers can vary. There are forging hammers, carpentry hammers, etc. If someone has one of those but didn't awaken innate spirit power, it means they have no talent for cultivation. Most end up doing manual labor woodworkers or blacksmiths. They're just people suited for hammer-related work."
At this point, Tang San's mind turned. He remembered his father was a blacksmith and guessed:
"So… my dad's spirit is a hammer?"