CH 17: Tang San's 10-year white Soul Ring

Sitting cross legged a meter or so away from the corpse of the "Datura Snake", Tang San was absorbing the Soul Power inside of the Soul Ring to completely absorb the Soul Ring. A little away from him was his master who was standing guard.

'Hahahaha, we actually managed to find a 400-year Datura Snake for Xiao San's 1st Soul Ring!' He smiled in his heart, looking at the yellow Soul Ring floating around Tang San which was getting absorbed bit by bit :'With this, the quality of Xiao San's Blue Silver Grass will definitely grow stronger!

Not only will it get a lot more durable, but it will also acquire the Datura Snake's poison! We seriously got lucky! But still, our luck this time was really huge. We actually saw two Datura Snakes, both of which were over 400-years-old. It's unbelievable, honestly. But oh well, as long as it means Xiao San can get stronger with my theories and prove my Ten Core Competitiveness of Martial Soul Mimicry Theories, it doesn't matter!

We got lucky, and that's all that matters. Hmm, it should still take a long time for Xiao San to finish the absorption of the Soul Ring. Absorbing the Soul Power of a 100-year Soul Ring will of course take time. Especially one that is 400-years, so close to the upper limit. Until he finishes, I should guard him-'

Just as Yu Xiaogang put a stop to his fantasies, a small and rather weak wave of Soul Power left Tang San's body and rushed to his surroundings. It wasn't anything powerful or significant though. If Yu Xiaogang wasn't near him and wasn't actually paying attention to him, he would have hardly noticed it.

But even though he did notice it, he wasn't happy nor excited about it :'W-wha...? What happened?! This wave of Soul Power... Did Xiao San finish the absorption already?! But that doesn't make any sense! The absorption of a 100-year Soul Ring should take a lot longer!'

Immediately afterwards, he began to panic inwardly as he looked at his disciple, looking to see if there was something wrong, and hoping that it was just a random wave of Soul Power :'M-maybe he just happened to finish the absorption quickly? Y-yeah, it must be that! It should be that!'

While he was panicking inside and trying to hide it on the outside, he froze in place when Tang San completely finished absorbing the Soul Ring and got up. Once he got up, he smiled and turned to Yu Xiaogang :"Master, I finished absorbing the Soul Ring! And I can fill it, my Soul Power has increased slightly!"

"S-slightly...?" The older man's heart sank :'What is going on...? First, it's absorbing it so quickly, now it's that Xiao San's Soul Power has increased only slightly?! The Soul Power brought by a 100-year Soul Ring should be a lot more than that...'

However, he didn't show his panic. He coughed to calm himself before nodding at Tang San :"I see, that's good. Xiao San, go ahead and summon your Soul Ring so I can take a look. After that, we can see what your Soul Ring is and test the strength of your Soul Skill."

"Yes, master." Tang San nodded calmly, and raised his hand before releasing his Martial Soul and Soul Ring at the same time. But no matter the appearance of the Martial Soul or the Soul Ring, both of them stunned the master disciple duo.

"T-this... What happened?! What is going on?!" Yu Xiaogang exclaimed while looking at the Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's hand and the Soul Ring circling around his small feet :"Why is your Soul Ring white?! Your Martial Soul should have had a tougher exterior, so why does it look slimy and as if it's about to fall apart?!"

That's correct. Just like how Bibi Dong had explained, not only did Tang San's Blue Silver Grass not improve, but it simply got a lot worse. Not only did it have a horrible and gross appearance, it also gave out a very disgusting and foul smell.

But the appearance wasn't what shocked them the most. It was the color of the Soul Ring. The color of the Soul Ring shows the age of that Soul Ring. Originally, both of them of course expected it to be a yellow Soul Ring. Indicating that it was a 100-year Soul Ring.

However, the color of the Soul Ring actually turned out to be white instead! The Soul Ring of a 100-year Soul Beast shockingly turned into a 10-year white ring instead! How could they not be shocked? Especially Yu Xiaogang who knew that world, he was panicking like hell. Tang San on the other hand, who barely knew anything about the world of Soul Masters, just looked shocked and confused.

Zsss

However, while the two were confused, a sound of sizzling suddenly came out of the corpse of the "Datura Snake", getting the attention of both of them. When they turned to look at the dead Soul Beast, their expressions froze when they saw that it actually began to melt.

"No..." Suddenly realizing something, Yu Xiaogang's heart sank even deeper when the Soul Beast completely melted and turned into a black puddle :"It can't be... A World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime?! How can this be?!"

"World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime? Master, what's that?" Tang San questioned in confusion :"Isn't that a Datura Snake? Is it the reason for my Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul's change in appearance and my Soul Ring?"

"Sigh... Xiao San, we seriously got unlucky this time..." With a heavy and gloomy expression, Yu Xiaogang began to explain it to Tang San. Not knowing that several meters away from them, a hooded man was burning with rage and trying to hold himself back from ripping the old man to pieces.

Or more accurate, trying to hammer him into a puddle resembling the one next to them.

And neither of them knew that quite far away, a jet black haired boy was laughing his ass off :"Hahahahaha!! Ahahahahahahaaa!!" Bibi Dong beside Ah Li wasn't any better. Both of them were laughing happily and mockingly after getting far away once they saw Tang San's disgusting Blue Silver Grass and trashy 10-year white Soul Ring.

"Haaa, damn, that was funny!" After laughing for a while, Ah Li wiped away the tear at the corner of his eye while panting from laughing too hard :"Who would've thought something like that would happen? Seriously, a Soul Beast that not only completely takes another Soul Beast's appearance and Soul Ring, but is actually able to take the appearance of one that is a whole digit older in age?! That's just evil! Hahahaha!"

"It is." Bibi Dong nodded while smiling happily and evilly :"Because of how dangerous a Soul Beast Forest is, the World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime will try to mimic the appearance of the oldest and strongest Soul Beast it sees. However, it can't just take the appearance and Soul Ring of a Soul Beast that is 10,000-years or even 100,000-years while itself is only 100-years.

But even though they can't skip that many Ranks, they can still take the appearance of a Soul Beast that is a whole digit older than them. Because of that, they'll always do that. This World Deceiving Shapeshifting Slime was the same. Although it had the appearance of a 400-year Datura Snake, it was actually a 40-year Soul Beast instead!"

"Yeah, and not just that, it can even hold that disguise even after dying. That's just scary." Ah Li nodded with curled lips and a smile as Bibi Dong nodded :"Yup. Truly deserving its name, World Deceiving. That's why it's so special. Not only can it show it's a whole digit older, but its Soul Ring will also stay like that until disappearing.

But once its Soul Ring disappears, it will turn back into its original appearance. Well, either its Soul Ring just disappearing normally after 2 hours of not being absorbed, or getting completely absorbed. Once the Soul Ring is absorbed, then it will also return back to its original appearance. A truly terrible Soul Beast."

"Hehehehehe, one that Tang San and Yu Xiaogang felt the horror of first hand! Now, not only did Tang San get a 10-year Soul Ring instead of a 100-year one, but he also got an absolute trash version of it too! Hahahaha, that was satisfying to see! Especially that Yu Xiaogang's face! That was something else!" Recalling the panicking and embarrassing sight of the bastard he hated, he began to laugh again, causing Bibi Dong to laugh with him.

'Hmph, that bastard Tang Hao must have been keeping an eye out on his son. Let's see what he'll do to Yu Xiaogang now that he ruined one of his Twin Martial Souls.' Bibi Dong smirked sinisterly inside before calming down and looking at Ah Li with a calm smile :"Alright, that's enough laughing. The sky is already getting darker and darker. Although it is good that stronger Soul Beasts will come out, it's not a favorable situation if you're tired.

Find a place to rest tonight, and we'll go back tomorrow. You should digest today's information and gains to get a better hold of your own situation. Once you do, we'll come back here again or to another Soul Beast Forest to hunt more. But for now, this much is enough."

"I see, understood, Sister Goddess." Ah Li nodded with a smile before starting his task. After the night, when the morning arrived, both him and the disappointed and gloomy duo set off to Nuoding City. Yu Xiaogang extremely sad and angry at the situation, and Tang San also mad, but better than him since he didn't know the severity of the situation.

Who knows how angry and resentful he'll be towards his dear master, who he kneeled down to, once he knows that his Martial Soul was simply ruined and unable to turn normal thanks to the entirety of its evolutionary path being screwed up.

"Was that him?" Meanwhile, in a dark place in the same Soul Beast Forest that Ah Li, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were, a calm but weak spoke. It was the voice of a man, somewhat deep and seeming to belong to a man in his late 40s or middle 50s.

"Yup, it was. So, what do you think? Do you agree?" Another voice sounded. Much more cleared than his. If Ah Li or Bibi Dong heard the voice, they would immediately recognize it as only one person's.

Crow

"Sigh, do I have any other options?" The man's tired and calm voice sounded again :"It's either that, or I'll die once my time comes. And as you can see, I don't have much time. I just hope he hurries. Otherwise, I'll definitely disappear in a few years."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." Crow chuckled with his arms folded :"You've already held on for a few centuries out of despite of not dying, haven't you? Just a few years more won't be anything. And as you saw, the kid will definitely succeed, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I think. The kid's got a good head over his shoulder, so I hope he'll succeed." The man sighed in the darkness before Crow bid farewell and disappeared :'It has already been a few centuries, huh? Time sure flies away. I'm surprised I haven't died yet...'

-

"Um, um um, um um um um um um um um ummm! Um um um umm!" Ah Li sang the theme of perfection aka Pink Panther's theme while walking in the Nuoding Academy once he got there. Obviously, thanks to causing such a misfortune for Tang San yesterday had put him in an amazing mood. So he was very happy and all smiles today.

While walking, he heard the excited and curious shouts of children as they ran :"I heard that a working student is going to fight against Boss Xiao!"

Student number 2 :"Oh, really?! Let's go and have a look!"

Hearing the exclamations of the children, Ah Li himself grew curious as well :'Xiao Chenyu? Ah, is this that little fight in the original where Xiao Wu became the school's boss or something? Sigh, that bitch is so immature and infuriating for an ancient grandma. You're so awesome, you became the boss of a bunch of children who are barely into their teens! Is that how she expects others to react?

Hmph, since you want to show off and be cool, why the fuck would I allow it? Fine, I'll take part in this little fight too. It would make for a good excuse to kick Tang San and Xiao Wu's asses anyway. And with my new strength that I got after killing several 100-year Soul Beasts, no way in hell are they gonna stand a chance.' And with his plan made, he walked towards the place where the other children were running off to.