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*****
Yu Xiaogang coughed twice before finally speaking. "Xiao Tian, your case is an exception. Generally speaking, it is extremely difficult for an ordinary Spirit Master to even absorb a four-hundred-year spirit ring, let alone a thousand-year one like you. However, you have indeed given me a reminder. Among my Ten Core Competencies, I did not mention the factor of physical constitution. That is because I believed that, as children, you simply could not reach that level. Because... not even the disciples of the great sects can do it!"
That last sentence was, in fact, an explanation directed at Tang San. It wasn't that he didn't want Tang San to absorb a thousand-year spirit ring, but that Tang San's physical constitution had exceeded his expectations.
And what could Tang San say? If it were possible, he too wanted to try absorbing a spirit ring beyond his limit for his third one. He was unwilling to fall too far behind Xiao Tian; the gap was simply too great.
Soon, four years had passed, and Xiao Tian and the others were finally about to graduate from Nuoding Academy.
It was worth mentioning that during these four years, when Xiao Tian's strength had reached rank thirty, he had used the excuse of needing to go out and obtain his third spirit ring to bid farewell to Tang San and the others.
Originally, Yu Xiaogang, Xiao Wu, and Tang San had wanted to accompany him, but he had refused them all without the slightest hesitation. He already had a God-Bestowed Spirit Ring from the system and had no need to hunt a spirit beast. He just wanted to use this opportunity to shake off Tang Hao and make a trip to Saint Soul Village.
(Many readers in the previous chapter commented that Tang Hao wouldn't know how to set up formations, so I've changed it here~~)
Hehe.
Xiao Wu had sought him out in private, insisting on coming with him no matter what. Left with no choice, Xiao Tian could only say to her with a very serious expression, "I have something very important to do on this trip, and I must do it alone. You have to stay here and watch Tang San. When you're finally ready to be honest with me, I'll naturally tell you everything."
Boom!
That short sentence instantly caused the color to drain from Xiao Wu's face. She didn't understand what he meant by it.
'Honest? What do I have to be honest about?' In the years they had spent together, they were practically inseparable, except for when they were sleeping. What could there possibly be that Xiao Tian didn't already know?
That left only one possibility: Xiao Tian had seen through her identity as a hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast in human form!
This left Xiao Wu utterly baffled. Xiao Tian's strength was clearly not at the Titled Douluo level, so how could he have seen through her disguise?
Xiao Wu's hand, which had been clutching his sleeve, fell to her side.
Xiao Tian seized the opportunity and left Nuoding City under the cover of night.
The journey was smooth and uneventful. Xiao Tian arrived at the back mountain of Saint Soul Village without any trouble and, behind a large rock, found the box containing the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone.
In a damp cave on the same mountain, he found a stalk of Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns on its leaves. Without a doubt, this was the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin. Unfortunately, after her sacrifice, she was now just an ordinary hundred-year-old Blue Silver Grass.
Xiao Tian approached Ah Yin and crouched down. "Ah Yin, you don't want to stay in this cold, damp cave for the rest of your life, do you? Right now, Tang San and Tang Hao are both in Nuoding City and haven't been back for years. How about I take you to be reunited with them?"
Although Ah Yin's current body was only that of a hundred-year Blue Silver Grass, her consciousness still existed. Seeing that Xiao Tian wanted to take her away, she immediately began to react violently. She repeatedly wrapped her grass blades around his hand, trying to stop him.
Unfortunately, Blue Silver Grass was still just Blue Silver Grass. The current Ah Yin possessed practically no offensive or controlling power whatsoever. However, to prevent her from causing trouble inside his storage soul tool, Xiao Tian still issued a warning.
"Ah Yin, you should have been able to sense me when I came to Saint Soul Village with Tang San last time. I can be considered Tang San's friend now. If you stay by my side, you can watch over him all the time. Isn't that a good thing? Besides, aren't you the least bit curious about those secret arts Tang San possesses? Do you really think he's so gifted that he learned those spirit-ability-like techniques before he even awakened his Spirit? Impossible! Also, do you really think your sacrifice to Tang Hao back then was an accident? I have to say, you've lived for tens of thousands of years in vain, growing a body but not a brain!"
Boom!
Ah Yin's little head felt like it was about to explode. Oh, right, she didn't have a head right now.
'Wait! Who on earth is this person! He seems to know so much about what happened back then.' And the questions he had raised about Tang San and Tang Hao instantly set off a storm in her heart. These were two things she had been unwilling to think about, and now they had been directly pointed out.
Ah Yin fell silent, and the movements of her grass blades ceased. She didn't sense any malice from Xiao Tian. Perhaps, by staying with him, she could learn the truth.
Seeing Ah Yin's blades sway slightly towards him, Xiao Tian knew she had agreed.
However, if he knew what she was thinking, he would have only said, 'You couldn't even sense the malicious calculations from Tang Hao back then. As if you could possibly sense any from me!'
In truth, he bore her no actual malice. With his system, as long as he had enough time, he could sooner or later reach the pinnacle of this world. Rather than letting Ah Yin just fade away, why not let her take human form again and become his wife?
Although he did not possess the bloodline of a Cao Cao, he had inherited his will.
(Translator's Note: "Cao Cao" is a historical figure, but in modern Chinese internet culture, he's a meme representing men who have a penchant for taking other men's wives.)
As for how to make Ah Yin give up on Tang San and Tang Hao, that was a matter to be planned slowly. It wasn't as if she could take human form again so quickly anyway.
[Ding! The Host has shocked this little system once again, actually managing to subdue the Life Core of the Douluo Plane, the Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin! Triggering a critical hit reward.]
[Congratulations to the Host for obtaining the usage method for the "Soul Spirit - Equal Contract" and the art of "Inch-Shortening Earth."]
[Soul Spirit - Equal Contract: Allows the user to sign a contract with a spirit beast. The Soul Spirit can provide spirit rings for the Host, and the Host's increase in strength will also drive the Soul Spirit's growth. Furthermore, upon the Host's death, the contract is automatically dissolved...]
[Inch-Shortening Earth: After successful cultivation, can greatly shorten spatial distances. What appears to be a small step can actually cross an extremely long distance, achieving rapid movement.]
Holy crap!
Holy crap!
Holy crap!
The first reward, the Soul Spirit Contract, was incredible. It was an equal contract, beneficial to both parties. More importantly, the death of the Spirit Master would not cause the Soul Spirit to die as well, which preserved a measure of rights for the spirit beast. However, signing a contract with a spirit beast was not such an easy matter. Ordinary spirit beasts needed to reach a cultivation level of at least ten thousand years before they would possess human-like cognitive abilities. Those below ten thousand years old mostly operated on the instinct to kill, devour, and level up. Unless one could find the lord of all spirit beasts or a powerful fierce beast like Di Tian, it was a non-starter.
(End of chapter)