Chapter 3: I Am Venom!

While thinking about his martial soul, Ye Qiu decided to postpone his meal to the evening.

After watching Old Jack and Tang San leave, Ye Qiu happily made his way home.

All the way back, he kept examining his martial soul.

Looking at the tiny tadpole on his fingertip...

It was indeed very small.

It was hard to imagine its purpose, and no wonder Su Yuntao had judged it to be a useless martial soul.

As soon as he got home, Ye Qiu stood by the water tank at his doorstep and attempted to activate his martial soul.

Under his gaze, the tiny tadpole stuck to his fingertip—

Then, like black fibers or threads, it rapidly spread across his body.

Ye Qiu could feel power surging through him.

Looking at the water tank, he suddenly heard a sharp, raspy exclamation.

"Holy shit—!"

Ye Qiu stared in disbelief at the 'monster' reflected in the water.

His entire body was pitch black, covered with streaks of white fibers.

The most distinctive feature was the two large white patches over his eyes.

As he spoke, Ye Qiu could even see rows of sharp teeth and a long tongue in his own mouth!

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Staggering back a few steps, Ye Qiu touched his face and looked at his now muscular arms.

He recognized what had attached itself to his body.

His heart pounded wildly.

"My martial soul is... Venom?"

His raspy voice carried a trace of uncertainty.

Taking a deep breath, the sleek black substance on his head receded like a tide.

His body now looked like it was covered in a tight-fitting leather suit.

Slowly, he stepped closer to the water tank—

"Holy shit! Where's my head?! No way, stop messing with me!"

Ye Qiu panicked as he saw the headless figure in the water's reflection.

Frightened out of his wits, he frantically grabbed at his neck, trying to pull his head back out.

If any villagers had passed by, even in broad daylight, they would have been scared to death.

Luckily, there was no real danger.

Ye Qiu's head successfully regenerated, the black substance weaving itself back into place.

His face was slightly pale from the shock.

But then—

A brilliant smile spread across his face.

He had a bold idea!

Ye Qiu hugged the water tank, half of his face bubbling and morphing into Venom.

A raspy yet youthful voice sounded:

"I get it now."

"I am Venom, right?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Qiu noticed a strand of silk dangling in front of him, with a tiny spider hanging from it.

The white patches over Venom's eyes narrowed slightly.

Ye Qiu slowly raised a finger and gently poked the spider.

"Wanna give it a try?"

Gurgle!

Ye Qiu's body began to ripple and surge, flowing like liquid toward the spider.

"Holy shit! I'm stuck—stuck!!"

"..."

"Yes! It worked!"

…

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

Ye Qiu's body had become significantly stronger.

With his martial soul activated, he could scale walls with ease and even wove himself a hammock to lounge in.

He often entertained himself, smashing bricks with his bare hands, breaking them with his forehead—

And even, out of sheer daring…

Testing his durability down there with a brick.

After all his experiments, Ye Qiu was now filled with confidence and anticipation for the future.

Though he had some obvious weaknesses, no one knew about them yet.

As long as he found ways to compensate for them in advance, things would be fine.

Heat vulnerability? No big deal!

—

The sun was shining bright.

Ye Qiu packed his belongings simply, still carrying his signature wine gourd at his waist, and followed Old Jack to Tang San's house.

In the village, those with soul power were rare.

Getting a work-study quota from another village was no trouble at all.

"Tang Hao, I'm here as promised to take Tang San," Old Jack called out.

Ye Qiu followed him into the blacksmith shop.

A wave of heat and the strong smell of alcohol hit them instantly.

Broken scrap metal and empty wine bottles littered the corners of the room.

"Yo, morning! Little San, and Uncle Rat!"

Ye Qiu greeted Tang Hao and Tang San with a smile and pulled something from his pocket, offering it to Tang San.

"Little San, want some?"

"No need."

Tang San shook his head, his tone slightly softer than before.

Ye Qiu shrugged helplessly.

Tang Hao, sitting at the dining table with his unkempt beard, continued drinking his soup without acknowledging anyone.

He simply lifted his eyes and gave Ye Qiu a glance, his murky gaze unreadable.

But Ye Qiu wasn't about to let him off the hook.

Grinning, he uncorked the wine gourd at his waist.

"Uncle, how about some wine?"

"Pour it!"

A hoarse, unpleasant voice responded as Tang Hao casually dumped his bowl of rice soup onto the ground, placing the empty bowl back on the table.

"You got it!"

Ye Qiu immediately poured him a full bowl of his special brew.

The wine was a clear greenish color, with bits of Blue Silver Grass floating in it.

No one else would buy his wine—

Only Tang Hao had acquired the taste for it by chance.

Splash!

Tang Hao stuck his dark, grimy fingers into the bowl, stirred it around, and dumped it out.

Then, with a thud, he slammed the now "clean" bowl back on the table.

Ye Qiu didn't mind at all.

He simply poured Tang Hao another bowl of his personally crafted liquor.

"Uncle, want some more?"

Tang Hao took a sip, savoring it like fine tea.

Glancing at Ye Qiu, he casually reached out and grabbed all the fruit Ye Qiu was holding in his palm.

Ye Qiu's smile grew even wider.

Rubbing his hands together, his big black eyes blinked mischievously as he said,

"Uncle, I'm heading off to school soon. You see…"

Before Ye Qiu could finish, Tang Hao waved him off impatiently.

"Forget it. I don't have any money."

"Haha, no worries! Little San is so capable—he'll have money in the future."

Ye Qiu wasn't upset at all.

Tang Hao's tab for the wine was nothing to a soul master.

Hearing this, Tang San remained silent but glanced at his scruffy father.

"Little San, you don't have to pay for his wine."

Tang Hao casually instructed, tossing a few fruits into his mouth without looking at Ye Qiu.

"Understood, Dad."

Tang San nodded seriously.

"…What?!"

Ye Qiu's expression darkened.

Even though his wine was just leftover bottle water mixed with Blue Silver Grass,

he had never forced anyone to buy it!

This was his hard-earned profit!

"Uncle, how could you do this? This is just bullying an honest man!"

Old Jack, who had been helping Tang San pack, also noticed the situation.

Unable to hold back, he chimed in:

"Tang Hao, you're going too far! Even stealing from a child?!"

"What's all the noise about? It's just some wine on credit, and a handful of fruit! I haven't had a proper drink in ages…"

Tang Hao didn't even turn around.

Munching on the grassy-tasting fruit while sipping his exclusive grass liquor, he looked utterly content—

As if his long-lost wife were hidden in that drink.

"…It may not taste great, but at least it's clean. I brewed it myself."

Ye Qiu scowled.

He had collected a ton of wine bottles and even distilled them—totally clean and sanitary!

But this so-called Haotian Douluo was completely shameless!