Chapter 252 - Second Blossoming

Chapter 252 - Second Blossoming

After Xiao Xiao's five soul rings reached the twenty-thousand-year limit under Du Qianjue's guidance, she switched her martial soul to the Nine Phoenix Musical Soul. The five black soul rings transformed into a single lonely yellow one.

Quite plain indeed...

Du Qianjue paused slightly, then with a hint of resignation, he infused a massive amount of spiritual essence into this hundred-year soul ring. Instantly, the soul ring changed from yellow to purple and continued to darken.

Soon, the seal of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm that had been broken was completely exhausted, and Xiao Xiao's soul ring reached the twenty-thousand-year limit. Although enhancing the age of soul rings with spiritual essence didn't significantly increase soul power, it was still beneficial to elevate all six of Xiao Xiao's soul rings to this level. It would greatly enhance the power of her soul skills and make it easier for her to reach higher cultivation levels in the future.

"Level fifty-nine now!" Xiao Xiao retracted her martial soul, opening her eyes with joy. The energy from one seal of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm was immense, enough to boost her two whole levels of soul power; otherwise, normally absorbing six twenty-thousand-year soul rings could have elevated her to the rank of a Soul Saint.

"Thank you, brother!" Xiao Xiao jumped up from the ground, gave Du Qianjue a big kiss on his cheek, and then left with a blush. From today, I, Xiao Xiao, am also a soul master with all ten-thousand-year soul rings! Ha ha ha...

Overjoyed, Xiao Xiao left with a grin that was harder to suppress than an AK.

Tang Ya was left baffled, watching Xiao Xiao's departing figure and tugging at her hair in confusion. Although it was a significant enhancement, did it really warrant such jubilation?

Tang Ya didn't understand that Du Qianjue had just increased Xiao Xiao's total soul ring age by a hundred thousand years, a feat worthy of excitement for any soul master.

"Little Ya, come in." "Uh, okay!" Tang Ya quickly stood and entered Du Qianjue 's room.

Inside, Tang Ya sat obediently in front of Du Qianjue, her big watery eyes staring at him full of expectation. But Du Qianjue didn't make a move. Instead, he asked her a question, "Aren't you curious why I didn't take you to get soul rings?"

Tang Ya shook her head and then nodded, "Master tells me what to do, and I do it without asking too many questions." So obedient...

It seems she's really been conditioned. Du Qianjue gently rubbed her head and, seeing her face light up with pleasure, said seriously, "I didn't let you get soul rings because you're on the wrong path. Blue Silver Grass isn't cultivated this way; I'm just taking time to put you back on the right path."

"Wrong? But all the sect masters of Tang Sect followed this soul ring arrangement passed down from Tang San..." Tang Ya was stunned, then began to explain in a fluster.

But before she could finish, Du Qianjue raised his hand to stop her.

"Is Tang San always right?" Du Qianjue looked at her with a half-smile.

"This..." Tang Ya wanted to say yes, but faced with Du Qianjue's meaningful expression, she hesitated to speak.

"But that's how our Tang Sect has always cultivated Blue Silver Grass..."

"That's why your Tang Sect declined, to the point where it was nearly wiped out in your generation," Du Qianjue said bluntly, watching Tang Ya's crestfallen expression before posing another question, "Do you know where the theory that Blue Silver Grass should be poisonous and increase toughness comes from?"

Feeling somewhat sad by Du Qianjue 's blunt words, Tang Ya still instinctively answered, "It's from Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang, Tang San's teacher at Tang Sect."

"Yes, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang," Du Qianjue scoffed, "A charlatan and a hypocrite who's been worshipped on the Douluo Continent for thousands of years. Ridiculous."

Tang Ya's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected Yu Xiaogang and Tang San to have such an image in Du Qianjue's mind. She wanted to argue, but faced with his scornful expression, she didn't dare speak.

"Blue Silver Grass, a plant found everywhere on the Douluo Continent, is frail and easily broken, but it's even found under the ice layers in the far north because of its incredible resilience," Du Qianjue continued softly.

"Although Yu Xiaogang's research on Blue Silver Grass was based on speculation, one thing he said was not wrong—the greatest strength of Blue Silver Grass is its adaptability. But he left out that its most powerful attribute is its vitality."

"Vitality..." Tang Ya muttered, lost in thought.

"Yes, vitality," Du Qianjue nodded. "The saying, 'Wildfires cannot destroy it, nor can spring breezes bring it back more than it is; this is the true essence of Blue Silver Grass's powerful life force.'

"Attaching poison and toughness to the soul rings of Blue Silver Grass isn't utterly wrong; it's just completely nonsensical."

To get Tang Ya back on track, the most important thing was to change her entrenched views, to discard the mistaken teachings passed down by Yu Xiaogang and others.

Du Qianjue didn't rush to transform Tang Ya's Blue Silver Grass but chose to let her understand her martial soul and grasp its true essence.

"Skills like entwining, netting, binding, parasitism... these can all be effortlessly executed with your control over your martial soul because these are natural abilities of Blue Silver Grass. As your martial soul grows stronger, these skills will become instinctual, and their power will not be limited by the age of your soul rings."

"After hearing this, don't you feel like your first four soul rings, with their attached skills, are completely useless?" Du Qianjue chuckled as he looked at Tang Ya.

Tang Ya looked down at her palm where a strand of Blue Silver Grass sprouted, but it didn't radiate vitality; instead, its roots and leaves bore vicious barbs, and dark purple veins wound around its stems.

Is this even Blue Silver Grass?

"Do you see? This is your Blue Silver Grass. Have you ever seen naturally growing Blue Silver Grass looking so monstrous?" Du Qianjue said disdainfully.

Tang Ya didn't speak; she just controlled the Blue Silver Grass to grow and then tried to make it perform various actions—entwining, binding, netting...

While not very skilled, she indeed managed to do it.

Du Qianjue silently watched Tang Ya keep trying, observing her expression deteriorating and tears streaming from her red eyes.

"I was wrong... really wrong..." Tang Ya's hands trembled as she supported herself, her worldview shattered once again by Du Qianjue.

"Centuries of adherence, centuries of pursuit, all fundamentally flawed..."

"Oh, one more thing," Du Qianjue suddenly seemed to remember, slapping his forehead.

Hearing his words, Tang Ya looked up, her eyes blurry with tears.

Du Qianjue then smiled wickedly, grasped Tang Ya's chin, and forced her to look at him, "There's no useless martial soul, only useless soul masters—a principle you must have all considered as truth, right? After all, Tang San's martial soul was the standard Blue Silver Grass, so you thought you could do the same as him."

"But... Tang San's martial soul isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass, only yours is!"

Tang Ya's expression continued to crumble; she felt again the brainwashing she'd experienced not long ago.

"Tang San's father was Tang Hao, the Sky Douluo of a millennium ago, but his mother wasn't human," Du Qianjue said in a low voice, as if a devil was whispering, "His mother was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast whose true form was the Blue Silver Emperor, so his martial soul is actually the Sky Hammer, of a quality no less than the Sky Hammer, a genius unlike you ordinary Blue Silver Grass!"

At that moment, Tang Ya's beliefs completely collapsed.

Their Tang Sect's greatest pride was their ancestor Tang San, who ascended to the god realm; they had always taken pride in their Blue Silver Grass martial soul, and their soul ring configuration had always been modeled after Tang San's.

But now Du Qianjue was telling her that everything their Tang Sect had held onto was false, their pride in their Blue Silver Grass martial soul had always been a lie.

"Wha... Wah..." Tang Ya burst into tears.

Du Qianjue 's words were even more cruel than last time, rekindling her emotional turmoil.

"Do you feel it's all been in vain? That everything you've revered and held onto is just a lie?" Du Qianjue smiled slightly, extending a hand to Tang Ya, "Do you want revenge? I told you I would give you a rebirth, and I can solve your martial soul's problems too."

"If you want, in the future, you can slap your Blue Silver Grass right across Tang San's face to show him what true Blue Silver Grass is!"

"The real... Blue Silver Grass..." Tang Ya murmured lowly, her former adoration shattered like a mirage, replaced by bone-deep hatred.

Lies, deception!

Tang San!!!

Tang Ya's eyes blazed with angry flames, and the purified Blue Silver Grass seemed to darken once again.

"I want to!" Tang Ya nodded firmly, grasping Du Qianjue 's offered hand. Just a simple word, but it contained all her endless fury.

"Good, then I'll help you!" Du Qianjue smiled satisfactorily.

Anger and hatred are the best motivators for a person, just like a certain university chancellor who let the flames of vengeance burn in his heart for over a century. For revenge, he could act without limits, abandoning all lines.

Tang Ya was no different.

Recalling how her parents died because they clung to this lie, along with the fall of Tang Sect, her heart couldn't stop the anger and sorrow. For her, the best way to extinguish this raging fire was to severely punish the one who crafted the lie.

A thousand cuts and a thousand slices! (End of Chapter)

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