Chapter 71: Old Tang
Wu Zhangkong stood up slowly.
"You have many secrets," he said quietly. "I'm curious about all of them. But as a Shrek student — and as his disciple — I will respect you. I will give you everything I have to teach, all of my dedication. And I will not forget the debt I owe to the academy."
Gu You crossed his arms and gazed up at the sky, focusing on the brightest star above. "You see that?" he murmured. "She's always watching you… Sometimes, you can't help but admit, this world is full of grief and joy intertwined. But you know, maybe living well — maybe that's the greatest comfort you can give her. If you miss the stars, don't be too sad. Who knows, you might end up missing the moon next."
Wu Zhangkong froze for a moment. He realized he couldn't outtalk this kid. But deep inside, he knew the meaning behind the words. And every time he wanted to let go, the past — those tiny fragments of memory — would inevitably rise again.
Long Bing…
Wu Zhangkong gave a faint, self-mocking smile. "Enough. Go back to your dorm. Tomorrow, I'll be giving you special training." His expression returned to its usual cold sharpness.
Gu You hopped down from the windowsill —
"Oof! Damn, misjudged that!" he muttered as he landed with a small stumble.
Wu Zhangkong shook his head with a faint sigh, then turned and walked inside.
He was curious — why did Gu You have ten-thousand-year soul rings? Why were his soul master records protected by the Federation's top-level confidentiality? But in the end, as Gu You's teacher, the more secrets the student held, the more satisfaction he felt.
Inside the dorm, Tang Wulin's body was surrounded by a soft, rippling blue glow.
Thin strands of Blue Silver Grass began emerging from his palms, slowly spreading outward.
Wu Zhangkong approached, gently pinching one of the vines between his fingers. His eyes instantly flashed with surprise.
Was this really still Blue Silver Grass? Its leaves had already morphed into vines, which was normal, but the thick, finger-sized vines had remarkable elasticity. What astonished Wu Zhangkong most was the faint, shimmering gold pattern running through them.
As expected, the bloodline power within Tang Wulin was triggering a martial soul mutation — and by the looks of it, the change was heading in a good direction.
That Golden Dragon Claw of his had already far surpassed the attack power of his current rank. Even if it could only be used briefly and at close range, it still gave him a massive leap in strength. The real question was: could this bloodline power evolve even further?
If it could, the future would look very different.
Just then, a faint golden light flickered at Tang Wulin's chest.
The little gold snake emerged. Its body was still slender, but the pale golden scales covering its body were now gleaming brightly. At some point, its length had grown to about ten centimeters, and its thickness had increased too — nearly as thick as Tang Wulin's pinky finger.
At the center of its forehead, a particular scale stood out.
Unlike the surrounding pale gold, this scale was a brilliant, shining gold. Every time it pulsed with Tang Wulin's breath, there was a brief flash when Little Gold's previously muddled eyes turned clear.
The soft yellow glow radiating from its body was no longer the barely visible pale white light it once had.
A hundred-year soul spirit!
Tang Wulin, once considered a defective product, had finally evolved under the combined influence of his bloodline power and the spirit beast energy inside the spirit ascension platform. Now, at last, his soul spirit held real combat value.
Wu Zhangkong nodded in quiet approval.
Not bad. Tang Wulin's biggest shortcoming had been somewhat remedied. The next question was: now that his soul spirit had evolved, how would his soul skills change?
As a teacher, Wu Zhangkong could see Tang Wulin's strengths and weaknesses more clearly than anyone.
Tang Wulin's strength was obvious: natural, monstrous strength, paired with the talent of a mutated bloodline, giving him a distinct edge among his peers.
But his weaknesses were just as clear.
A soul master's growth ultimately depended on their martial soul. Without a strong martial soul, there was a ceiling to how far one could go. Physical strength and bloodline power had their uses, but in the entire history of soul masters, no one had ever relied on those alone to become truly powerful.
If Tang Wulin wanted to keep advancing, his martial soul had to grow stronger too. And since the soul spirit was part of the martial soul, its improvement was naturally critical.
Inside Tang Wulin's spiritual sea…
"Wulin… Wulin…"
"Mmm, Old Tang? What is it?" Tang Wulin murmured, his voice groggy, eyes barely open from the deep comfort flooding his body.
The first thing he saw was a dark-blue figure, facing away from him. In front of that figure stood a nearly ten-thousand-meter-long dragon, its entire body covered in gleaming golden scales, ruby-like eyes radiating a terrifying aura of destruction.
"Wulin, don't get too close to that boy named Gu You." Old Tang slowly turned his blurry face toward him. His features were indistinct, but the long, flowing blue hair was striking.
"Why?" Tang Wulin was confused. Why did Gu Yue warn him to stay away from Gu You — and now even Old Tang was saying the same? From what he could tell, Gu You was a good person. He didn't act arrogant despite his genius, and he'd never once mocked Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass. In fact, he'd always seemed kind and easygoing.
"I can only warn you this much," Old Tang said softly. "One day, you'll understand."
Before Tang Wulin could respond, his vision was suddenly swallowed by darkness, and that faint connection between them snapped — or rather, was suspended, just barely holding on.
Wu Zhangkong, standing beside Tang Wulin, calmly observed the faint blue glow gradually receding from the boy's body.
In real combat, Tang Wulin's martial soul had already become little more than a support tool, providing some binding and auxiliary effects — more like a rope than a weapon.
Wu Zhangkong had long since noticed these problems, but he hadn't spoken to Tang Wulin about them. He knew the boy's comprehension was sharp.
He would figure it out himself.
At the same time, Wu Zhangkong was curious: when Tang Wulin reached rank 20, would his bloodline power bring even more beneficial changes to his martial soul?
Looking at things now, the answer had already appeared before they even got there.
If so, then his martial soul was still worth anticipating.
Wu Zhangkong had never believed Blue Silver Grass was a weak martial soul.
After all, in the legends of the Douluo Continent, the strongest of the original Shrek Seven Monsters — the one hailed as the greatest human soul master in history, the one who truly ascended to godhood — had started out with Blue Silver Grass.
It was with that humble martial soul's help that he had stepped, step by step, onto the divine stage.
In the twenty thousand years since, aside from the founder of the Spirit Pagoda — a legendary powerhouse rumored to have been on the verge of entering that same divine realm — no one else had ever reached that level.
So no, Blue Silver Grass wasn't necessarily weak.
Tang Wulin's glow gradually faded.
Little Gold opened its tiny mouth, almost like yawning, then lowered its head and slipped back into Tang Wulin's body, vanishing without a trace.
The evolution was basically complete.
Tang Wulin's body settled into a deep, quiet sleep.
The evolution of a soul spirit triggered a whole chain of transformations. It influenced the martial soul's advancement and affected the soul master's own body. With the martial soul's growth came overall improvements in strength, reaction speed, soul power, and even physical toughness.
But the process required time. And that was why Tang Wulin now lay so utterly exhausted, fast asleep…
(End of Chapter)
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