CH 16: Tang San's misfortune

(A/N: Okay, genuine question that I seriously need answered. Why do people like Xiao Wu? Like, seriously, why? Especially those Chinese authors! They seriously piss me off. Like, someone give me one, just ONE redeeming and good quality about her that I can't refuse. Cause believe, any good story that has Xiao Wu getting remotely close to the MC just ruins the entire thing for me.)

--------------------------

"This is... Master, this should be a Soul Beast as well, right?" Tang San asked his master, Yu Xiaogang, inside of the Soul Beast Forest. It had already been several hours since they had entered the Soul Beast Forest and we're looking for a suitable Soul Ring for Tang San.

While Tang San had a curious look, Yu Xiaogang looked slightly amazed when looking at the corpse :"Yes, this is a Soul Beast. A remarkable one at that. Xiao San, this is a Datura Snake. It is one of the most terrifying beings of the poisonous Soul Beasts. And on top of having an extremely potent poison, it is also very fast and has a very tough body.

It's hard to hurt it with an ordinary sword. Only its mouth and eyes are its weaknesses. But it always protects these two parts very well. However, it seems like it was hunted by stabbing its mouth. Whoever killed it must be very skilled and cunning. Damn it, how unlucky..."

"Huh? Master, why do you say that?" Tang San looked at his master curiously when he heard his curse. With a sigh, Yu Xiaogang explained :"If this Datura Snake was alive, its Soul Ring would be extremely suitable for you. Remember what characteristics we are looking for in your 1st Soul Ring? Toughness and toxicity.

Datura Snakes have an extremely durable defense, and as I said, their poison marks them as one of the most dangerous poisonous Soul Beasts. Their venom not only has paralytic effects, but also damages the nerve system! Moreover, it's the exact same age as what we're looking for. Before a Datura Snake evolves to become a 1,000-year Soul Beast, it will grow 1 centimeter long every year.

Since this Datura Snake is already a little more than 4 meters, it is already a 400-year Soul Beast! And if you look closely and pay close attention, you can see that it's actually 422 centimeters! Meaning it's a 422-year Datura Snake! Only one year below what my theories say that a Soul Master can absorb! Sigh, but unfortunately, it's already dead. But I guess it doesn't matter.

Even if it was alive, I'm not confident in beating it at all. So maybe it's a good thing, since we won't be in danger of getting attacked by it. After all, It's unexpected that this 400-year Datura Snake actually showed up in the outer layer of the Soul Beast Forest."

"Huh? Master, you mean I could've absorbed this Soul Beast's Soul Ring?" Tang San questioned with confusion and uncertainty :"But, master, my Martial Soul is a plant. Wouldn't it conflict?"

"It isn't a must to absorb a Plant Soul Beast's Soul Ring for a Plant Martial Soul. It also isn't necessarily that Beast Martial Souls can't absorb Plant Soul Beast's Soul Ring." His master explained :"Under certain circumstances, both of them are mutually absorbable."

While Yu Xiaogang explained and taught his disciple about his theories and how unfortunate it is that a Soul Beast so suitable for Tang San was found dead by them, several tens of meters away, Ah Li was hiding while concealing his breath and presence according to how his two Instincts told him to do. Which had enabled him to hide from every Soul Beast in the area.

"(So, Sister Goddess, what are we doing exactly?)" He questioned the gorgeous milf next to him who was paying close attention to the master and disciple in the distance :"I want to see if we can cause that trash Tang San to obtain a weak Soul Ring. The chances of succeeding are low, but I still want to try."

After several hours of hunting and killing Soul Beast after his Abyssal Centipede Martial Soul evolved, and they found out that the four attributes of all Soul Beasts will be absorbed, be it weak ones or strong ones, Ah Li's senses had grown so strong that perceiving them from such a distance was very easy. Getting so strong in such a short time had caused even Bibi Dong to get surprised.

"(Ohh! Hahahaha, I like that plan!)" Ah Li immediately laughed as a smile formed on his lips :"(But can we succeed though? I know you said there is still a chance, but how are we going to do it anyway?)"

Although he loved Bibi Dong's idea, he wasn't really optimistic in it succeeding. After all, even though Yu Xiaogang was trash, he really did know a lot about Soul Beasts. After all, the dumbass didn't have anything else to do besides reading books. That's all he could do to get a sense of being useful and powerful.

Which was absolutely dumb. You never see ordinary people without Soul Power or even Soul Masters with low talent being so desperate. He just had bad character and wanted to be some big shit when even he knew that he wouldn't succeed. Just enjoy your life like a normal person, bro, damn. Nobody said that ordinary people live an unhappy life. Sure, it isn't the best, but with a backer like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, who would cause trouble for you? So it's obvious that Yu Xiaogang was just an arrogant and asshole who deserved every hate and ridicule that he got.

"Well, we'll just have to try and see, no? Maybe we'll get lucky." Bibi Dong said without taking her eyes off of the two bastards. Seeing her being so serious, Ah Li didn't fool around either. So with a shrug, he quieted down and paid close attention towards them as well.

Once the two walked away with Yu Xiaogang leading the way, Ah Li quietly followed with Bibi Dong beside him. Ah Li had suggested for her to fly next to them to keep a closer look, but her disgusted look and refusal answered him.

However, an hour or two later, something unexpected happened. After searching for a long time and slowly getting deeper into the forest, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang actually found another Datura Snake!

"(Uhh... Sister Goddess, is that possible? Like, two Soul Beasts of the exact same age and race appearing in such a small Soul Beast Forest?)" Ah Li asked with a frown, in a bad mood since he didn't want Tang San to obtain the Soul Ring of a powerful Soul Beast like the Datura Snake. He wanted to ruin his 1st Soul Ring and his evolutionary path, that's why he had searched for that Datura Snake.

"It is possible, but the chances are low..." Bibi Dong also frowned, clearly in a bad mood. After all, although she didn't know what Tang San's 1st Soul Ring's origin was, she still didn't want him to obtain the Soul Ring of such a powerful Soul Beast. Just like Ah Li, she also wanted to ruin his 1st Soul Ring and his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul's evolutionary path.

But the appearance of a second Datura Snake with the exact same age of 422-year as the one they had encountered and killed had surprised her. But when she observed it with her Divine Consciousness while the two escaped and fought back like in the anime, her eyes went wide as she immediately smiled :"Ah Li, that is not a Datura Snake!"

"(Huh? What does that mean, Sister Goddess? That's clearly a Datura Snake. It looks exactly like the one I killed a while ago.)" The red eyed boy looked at her with confusion as she chuckled darkly with an evil look in her eyes :"Oh, believe me, that is not a Datura Snake. It is one of most unfortunate things that can happen to a Soul Master.

That Datura Snake looking Soul Beast is actually an extremely rare and peculiar Soul Beast called the World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime! Although it is very rare, it is not a good Soul Beast at all. Seeing it is actually considered very bad luck. You see, this Soul Beast never stays in its true form.

It always, always mimics the appearance of the strongest Soul Beast it has seen. By doing this, not only can it obtain the capabilities of that Soul Beast, but also make it so other Soul Beasts won't attack it. And as you can see, since it has taken the form of a Datura Snake, it is obvious that it was the strongest Soul Beast it has met.

It is obvious that the ability to gain all the abilities of another Soul Beast that it took the form of is extremely powerful and if hunted down, its Soul Ring should also give the same kind of Soul Skill at least something of that same caliber of strength, right? Wrong.

In history, no Soul Master who has absorbed the Soul Ring of this Soul Beast has obtained that Soul Skill. The reason is that not only does the World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime take the form of another Soul Beast, but the Soul Skill that is absorbed from it will also be the same Soul Ring and Soul Skill of the Soul Ring that could be obtained from the Soul Ring that it took the form of!

Meaning that if Tang San killed this World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime and absorbed its Soul Ring, he would actually be absorbing the Soul Ring of a Datura Snake!"

"(Whoa, there's actually this kind of a Soul Beast?!)" Ah Li exclaimed in his mind as he looked at her with shock :"(That's way too weird of a Soul Beast, no? But, Sister Goddess, isn't that still as bad as him meeting a genius Datura Snake? After all, doesn't this mean that he'll obtain the Soul Ring of a Datura Snake in the end?)"

"Hahahaha, let me explain, kid." Seeing his unsure look, Bibi Dong chuckled sinisterly :"If the Soul Ring was actually the exact same as the Soul Ring of Soul Beast that this World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime took the form of, it would be too magical and lucky, right?

And if in a big Soul Beast Forest, if it took the form of one of those extremely rare Soul Beasts, it would be the good fortune of many Soul Masters who look for it, right? So how is it that I described it as one of the most unfortunate things that could happen to a Soul Master?

The answer is simple, although it gives the same Soul Ring as the Soul Beast that it took the form of, the Soul Ring is always a trash version of that Soul Ring! Meaning that if the original Datura Snake would grant immense toughness and toxicity to Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, this Soul Ring will instead make it fragile as hell, and there will be barely any toxicity in it!"

"(Wait, you serious?! This Soul Beast can cause something like that? Damn, this guy really says if I'm dying, I'm taking your Martial Soul with me...)" Ah Li sucked in a cold breath as Bibi Dong chuckled darkly :"That's why I described it like that. The Soul Ring of this Soul Beast just ruins the evolutionary path of a Martial Soul.

And the earlier this Soul Ring has been absorbed, meaning if the position in the Soul Ring list of a Soul Master is lower, the more it'll ruin the Martial Soul's evolutionary path. Since Tang San actually managed to meet it and absorb its Soul Ring for his 1st Soul Ring, his Blue Silver Grass is simply doomed! If we're lucky, Yu Xiaogang will have Tang San absorb its Soul Ring.

The fact that this Soul Beast cannot be identified unless a very powerful Soul Master tries to find its actual identity doesn't make it any better. Also, believe it or not, giving a trash version of the original Soul Beast's Soul Ring is only one of the two things that make this Soul Ring a damn nightmare."

"(Wait, what now? There's more?! How could this Soul Beast get any worse?!)" The jet black haired boy gasped in speechlessness, causing the gorgeous milf to chuckle with an evil smirk :"Just wait and see, Ah Li. Just wait and see."