Wu Zhangkong stood up. "You have many secrets. Though I'm curious about them all, as a student of Shrek and his disciple, I will respect you. I will also teach you with all my heart, repaying the academy's kindness."
Gu You crossed his arms and gazed at the brightest star in the sky. "Look, she's always watching you... Sometimes, the world is filled with too much sorrow and parting, but perhaps just living well is the greatest comfort you can give her. If you miss the stars, don't be sad—you might end up missing the moon too."
Wu Zhangkong was stunned. He realized he couldn't outargue a mere child, yet he fully understood the reasoning behind those words. But every time he thought about letting go, the memories of the past would flood back uncontrollably.
Long Bing…
Wu Zhangkong chuckled at himself. "Get back to your dorm. I'll give you special training tomorrow." His expression returned to its usual coldness.
Gu You jumped down from the window ledge. "Ow! I think I miscalculated…" That was all Wu Zhangkong heard.
He shook his head and returned to his dorm. He was curious—why did Gu You have a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring? Why was his Spirit Master profile classified by the Federation? However, for now, Gu You was his student. The more secrets a student had, the more promising they were—it was something to be proud of as a teacher.
Inside the dormitory, Tang Wulin's body emitted a gentle blue glow that rippled outward.
One by one, Blue Silver Grass tendrils emerged from his palms, stretching out in all directions.
Wu Zhangkong walked closer, picking up one of the vine-like strands for a closer look. A flash of surprise appeared in his eyes.
Was this still Blue Silver Grass? The once simple leaves had transformed into vines—this was normal. The tendrils, now as thick as a finger, had a remarkable elasticity. But what truly surprised Wu Zhangkong were the faint golden patterns running along the vine's surface.
As expected, the bloodline within Tang Wulin's body had triggered a mutation in his martial soul. From the looks of it, the change was positive. That Golden Dragon Claw of his was already beyond his current level, granting him an enormous boost in combat power, even though he could only maintain it for a short time and needed close proximity to unleash its full potential. He wondered—could the power within his bloodline evolve further? If so, it would be a whole different story…
Just then, a faint golden light flashed on Tang Wulin's chest. A small golden snake slithered out. Its body was still slender, but the light gold scales covering it had become much more prominent. It had grown to about ten centimeters long, and its body had thickened to nearly the width of Tang Wulin's pinky finger.
At the center of its forehead, one scale stood out conspicuously. Unlike the rest of its light golden body, this scale was a bright, radiant gold. Every time its glow intensified, the muddled look in the snake's eyes would clear for a brief moment.
A faint yellow halo surrounded Jin Guang—it was no longer the barely visible white glow it had before.
A hundred-year spirit soul!
Tang Wulin, once deemed defective, had finally evolved his spirit soul into a hundred-year level. Thanks to the power of his own bloodline and the energy he absorbed from the spirit beasts in the Ascension Platform, Jin Guang had finally reached a point where it could be useful in actual combat.
Wu Zhangkong nodded in approval. Not bad. Tang Wulin's greatest weakness had now been mitigated to some extent. But he was curious—how would Tang Wulin's spirit skill change after this evolution?
As his teacher, Wu Zhangkong was well aware of Tang Wulin's strengths and weaknesses.
His strengths were obvious—natural-born physical power and a bloodline that granted him extraordinary abilities, allowing him to dominate his peers in combat.
But his weaknesses were just as glaring.
A Spirit Master's true progression depended on their martial soul. Without a strong martial soul, one could only go so far. While physical strength and bloodline power were beneficial, history had never recorded a Spirit Master who became truly powerful by relying solely on these two aspects.
If Tang Wulin wanted to grow stronger, his martial soul had to evolve. And since a spirit soul was part of a martial soul, its evolution was crucial.
Inside Tang Wulin's mindscape…
"Wulin… Wulin…"
Tang Wulin was so comfortable that he nearly forgot to open his eyes. "Old Tang? What's up?"
The first thing he saw was a deep blue figure standing with its back to him. Ahead of this figure was an enormous dragon, nearly ten thousand meters long. Its entire body was covered in golden scales that radiated a menacing light. Its ruby-like eyes glowed with waves of destructive energy.
"Wulin, do not get too close to that boy, Gu You."
Old Tang turned around. His face was hazy, unreadable, but his long azure hair stood out vividly.
"Why?" Tang Wulin didn't understand. First, Gu Yue had told him to stay away from Gu You, and now even Old Tang was saying it. But in his experience, Gu You was a good person—he never acted arrogant about his talents, never mocked Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass, and always seemed kind.
"Sigh… I can only warn you this much. In time, you will understand."
Tang Wulin's vision suddenly darkened, as if he had lost some sort of connection. But at the last moment, that connection was re-established—just barely.
Back in reality, Wu Zhangkong reflected on Tang Wulin's battles. His martial soul had practically become an auxiliary tool in combat, contributing very little control and serving more as a simple rope than a real asset.
Wu Zhangkong saw all of this clearly, but he didn't tell Tang Wulin directly. He knew the boy was smart—he would figure it out on his own.
Besides, he was curious to see how Tang Wulin's martial soul would change upon reaching Rank 20. Would his bloodline power further influence it?
Now, it seemed he didn't even have to wait until Rank 20—the answer was already unfolding before him.
If that were the case, then Tang Wulin's martial soul was indeed promising.
Wu Zhangkong had never believed that Blue Silver Grass was inherently weak. After all, in the legendary history of the continent, the strongest member of the original Shrek Seven Monsters—the one hailed as the greatest human Spirit Master and the first to ascend to godhood—had started with Blue Silver Grass as his martial soul.
In the past twenty thousand years, apart from the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, another legendary figure who might have reached the divine realm, no one else had ever attained such a level.
So, Blue Silver Grass was not necessarily weak.
The glow around Tang Wulin gradually faded. Jin Guang yawned, then lowered its head and slithered back into Tang Wulin's body, vanishing from sight.
His evolution was nearly complete. With the light receding, Tang Wulin sank into a deep slumber.
The evolution of a spirit soul would always trigger a series of transformations, influencing both the martial soul and the Spirit Master's overall strength. A stronger martial soul naturally led to an overall enhancement in power—strength, reaction speed, agility, soul power, and even physical endurance would all see improvements.
This process took time. That was why Tang Wulin was so exhausted…
(End of Chapter)