The courtyard was thick with a tension so heavy it felt like a physical weight. After Chen Fan's public deconstruction of the Ten Core Competencies, Grandmaster looked like a man who had aged ten years in ten minutes. His hands shook as he gripped his staff, his eyes hollow.
Tang San stepped between his teacher and Chen Fan. His face was a mask of cold fury—not the explosive anger of a child, but the killing intent of a Tang Sect assassin.
"Chen Fan," Tang San said, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "You insulted my teacher. You spat on his life's work. Words are cheap. Let's see if your 'God-level' soul can withstand the strength of a 'waste' soul."
The Duel of the Blue Silver
The students backed away, forming a wide circle. This wasn't a school spar anymore; it was a battle for the soul of the academy.
"First Spirit Skill: Binding!" Tang San roared.
Thick, thorny vines of Blue Silver Grass erupted from the cobblestones. They were infused with the Datura Snake's toughness and toxicity. But as they lunged toward Chen Fan, the Blue Silver Seed in Chen Fan's left palm began to rotate like a miniature black hole.
Chen Fan didn't use his Specter to phase away. He stood still.
"Specter God... Shadow Shroud," he muttered.
The Specter God manifested behind him, its violet-gold eyes glowing. Instead of attacking, it reached out with its translucent hands and grasped the air. It wasn't grabbing the vines; it was grabbing the essence flowing through them.
The Bloodline Extraction
As Tang San pushed his Spirit Power to tighten the bind, he felt a strange sensation—like a leak in a dam. He thought he was exerting pressure, but in reality, his Spirit Power was being siphoned.
Deep within Tang San's Blue Silver Grass lay the dormant, noble aura of the Blue Silver Empress. It was a tiny thread of gold, hidden deep within the blue.
The Process: Every time Tang San's vines touched Chen Fan's shadow, the Blue Silver Seed pulsed.
The Theft: Like a magnet pulling a needle from a haystack, the Seed began to draw the "Emperor's Bloodline" out of Tang San's spirit.
Tang San grunted, his Mysterious Heaven Skill working overtime to compensate for the sudden drain. "Why... why is my grass getting brittle?"
He launched a flurry of Flying Locust Stones, but Chen Fan swatted them away with a physical manifestation of the Ghost Claw.
"Is this all your 'Grandmaster' taught you?" Chen Fan taunted, masking the fact that his left hand was burning with a golden-blue fire. "To rely on tricks and snake venom?"
The Hollow King
With one final, violent tug of his spirit, Chen Fan's Seed gave a final thrum. The golden thread snapped away from Tang San and merged into Chen Fan's palm.
In that instant, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass didn't disappear, but its hidden luster vanished. To any observer, it still looked like the same tough, snake-like grass. Even Tang San couldn't quite put his finger on what had changed—he just felt a sudden, profound sense of loss, as if a part of his soul had gone cold.
Chen Fan retracted his Specter. "I'm done with you, Tang San. Your grass is just... grass now."
He turned and walked away.
Tang San stood in the center of the courtyard, panting. He had "won" the duel in the eyes of the crowd because Chen Fan walked away, but he felt hollowed out.
Deep in Chen Fan's mind, the Specter God let out a satisfied purr. The Blue Silver Seed was no longer dormant. It began to sprout, its first leaf etched with a crown of gold.
Chen Fan Status: Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline (100% Secured).
Tang San Status: Blue Silver Grass (Standard Variety). His path to the Blue Silver King awakening was now a dead end.