Chapter 45: Radiant Tang San

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Gu La scanned the area, found several targets, and carefully counted them to determine the size of a three-thousand-year-old sunflower. He began searching for similarly sized sunflowers, checking the color beneath their petals.

Sunflowers were considered gentle spirit beasts whose greatest desire was sunlight. As long as they weren't attacked or blocked from basking in the sun, they generally wouldn't initiate an attack.

The trio was still young and short, bending over as they searched among the sunflowers, which made them appear non-threatening.

Soon, Xiao Wu waved her hand and whispered, "Over here—I've found one."

Tang San jogged over, glanced at it, and counted the petals. A smile spread across his face. "Correct—a 3,500-year-old mutated sunflower. Let's dig it out and prepare to retreat."

"I'll use my Blue Silver Mantis Crown to convert life force and paralyze the mutated sunflower, making it think it's still rooted in the ground. Gu La, it's up to you—finish this quickly."

The versatility of life force manipulation was enough to create an illusion for low-intelligence, instinct-driven plant-type spirit beasts in a short time.

This had been their prearranged plan. Otherwise, facing off directly against a large group of sunflowers would be impossible.

"Watch me."

Gu La stomped his left foot hard, causing the earth element to ripple and forcing the soil around the mutated sunflower's roots to rise.

Tang San acted swiftly, releasing his soul skill to envelop the sunflower. A short sword appeared in his hand, and with quick slashes, he severed the sunflower's roots into two halves.

Lifting the sunflower with its flower base facing downward, Tang San unleashed his Ghost Shadow Perpelxing Steps to the fullest. He darted through the sea of sunflowers, weaving left and right without touching a single leaf, and quickly escaped the flower field.

Gu La and Xiao Wu followed closely behind, keeping watch in all directions in case any of the sunflowers detected something amiss.

Fortunately, Tang San's movements were clean, and none of the sunflowers were alerted. The group managed to leave the sunflower field without incident.

After leaving the cliffside and running downhill, Tang San's spirit power was more than halfway depleted. The sunflower on his shoulder sensed something was wrong, and its golden petals began to glow, focusing energy at its center.

A blinding golden ray shot out, the flower base swinging back and forth. The intense heat nearly singed Tang San's hair.

"That was close."

Tang San inwardly sighed in relief. He dropped the mutated sunflower and quickly slashed his short sword, cutting the sunflower into pieces with a few swift strikes.

A purple soul ring slowly coalesced, hovering above the shattered remains of the sunflower.

Tang San looked at Gu La and Xiao Wu, who had caught up. "Guard me while I fuse the soul ring."

"You can focus on fusing the soul ring. The battle ended quickly—it won't attract any spirit beasts."

Gu La reassured Tang San.

Tang San nodded slightly, sat down cross-legged, and entered meditation to recover his spirit power. Once he reached his peak condition, he summoned his Blue Silver Grass martial soul and began drawing in the soul ring.

After Tang San entered deep meditation and could no longer hear external sounds, Gu La turned to Xiao Wu and asked:

"Have you made up your mind? Do you want to follow the route I suggested for attaching soul rings? It will give you the chance to evolve your martial soul, allowing you to move freely outside without worrying about being recognized by a Title Douluo."

With soul rings as material, Gu La could help Xiao Wu's Soft Boned Rabbit martial soul grow. Later, he planned to use points to purchase a high quality Moon Stone and conduct a ritual, giving him a hundred percent certainty of evolving Xiao Wu's martial soul.

Xiao Wu fell silent for a moment. By helping Tang San find the sunflower, she had already mentally prepared herself.

She lowered her head slightly and murmured, "If we do as you say, how should I explain it to Xiao San? And… how did you discover my identity? Don't you want a hundred-thousand-year soul bone?"

Xiao Wu laid all her cards on the table, voicing all her doubts in one breath.

Gu La gave Xiao Wu a once-over. After more than a year, she hadn't changed much—she still looked like a little loli.

He chuckled. "Compared to a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, I value the unique data you provide as a non-ordinary soul master far more. Besides, your attributes don't meet my requirements for soul rings."

"As for your identity, I don't care. Moreover, didn't you already pay me? Regarding Xiao San, we can tell him the truth outright. His father is a Title Douluo—he must have already discovered your identity."

Seeing Xiao Wu's face turn pale in an instant, Gu La reassured her. "Don't worry. Xiao San's background isn't simple either. His father won't harm you."

"This information should make you trust me, right?"

Compared to time travel, Xiao Wu's soul rings and soul bones were likely to grant Invincible Golden Body or Intangibility-type soul skills. They couldn't compare and wouldn't contribute to her martial soul's growth.

Gu La had grand ambitions and wouldn't let immediate benefits blind him to future potential.

Xiao Wu sensed Gu La's sincerity and relaxed her guard slightly. She pouted stubbornly. "What's so great about you, acting all superior."

Gu La didn't mind her stubbornness as long as she listened and completed his training plans. What she did otherwise was none of his concern.

Xiao Wu continued, "You said charm-type soul skills aren't suitable for me. I originally planned to get a teleportation skill as my second soul skill, but that's not possible now. According to your plan, what kind of soul ring should I obtain?"

Gu La already had a plan. "The evolution path I designed for you is based on the cosmic-aligned Lunar Jade Rabbit. Your first soul ring is already set and can't be changed, but the second soul ring's thousand-year span can compensate for some shortcomings."

"Do you know where we can find a pure-blooded Moonlight Worm?"

"Moonlight Worm? The offspring of the Super Soul Beast Moon Insect—I remember Da Ming mentioned it…"

Xiao Wu tried to recall but couldn't remember anything. At this critical moment, she deeply regretted her past carefree self. How could she know nothing when it mattered most?

Gu La was exasperated. If shape-shifting spirit beasts weren't so rare and valuable for research, he wouldn't have bothered taming a naïve girl like Xiao Wu.

He snapped impatiently, "Moonlight Worms like to absorb moonlight while cultivating on osmanthus trees. Think about where there might be groves of osmanthus trees."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "I know osmanthus trees! Their petals taste like honey—sweet and fragrant. Every year, I go with my brother to pick osmanthus flowers to eat."

Gu La paused thoughtfully. "If osmanthus trees became spirit beasts, they'd be perfect as Tang San's third soul ring."

"Since the first two soul rings—based on the Orchid Mantis and Sunflower—utilize sunlight, adding a plant-type soul ring that harnesses moonlight might allow Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor to gain a light attribute alongside its life attribute."

Gu La hadn't forgotten that a soul master's personality could be influenced by their martial soul.

Generally, dark-attributed soul masters tended to have cold, solitary personalities, preferring to be alone.

On the other hand, light-attributed soul masters were open-minded, kind-hearted, and upright.

Since he intended to change Tang San's extremely self-centered personality, the unpredictable nature of Ditto's personality changes, combined with the influence of martial souls on soul masters, should ensure success.

Gu La committed his plan to memory, intending to implement it later to guide Tang San onto the right path. The Tang family needn't exist on this continent.

Seeing Gu La lost in thought, Xiao Wu hesitated. "Are you sure Xiao San's father won't harm me? Even if he's a Title Douluo, surely he wouldn't overlook a hundred-thousand-year soul bone, right?"

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