Night had fallen deep into the forest. In the Soul Hunting Forest, Grandmaster sat alone by the campfire.
"Did Tang Hao leave?"
Xiao Yan glanced around casually, then quietly approached. He took some dry wood from his storage jade belt and placed it next to the campfire.
"Grandmaster, how are you feeling? What about that senior just now?"
"Xiao... Xiao Yan," Yu Xiaogang remembered Tang Hao's instructions and paused mid-sentence, coughing violently before quickly correcting himself.
"The poison in my body has been cleared. I'll be fine after a night's rest. That senior is an old friend of mine. He had other matters to attend to and left first."
Friend? Xiao Yan found it hard to believe. A Titled Douluo befriending a Grandmaster? What could they possibly have in common?
What, swapping postpartum recovery tips about Luo Sanpao?
Still, Xiao Yan didn't press further. He smiled and said, "I see. We're lucky to have had his help."
Since more than an hour had passed, the Mandala Snake's hundred-year spirit ring had completely dissipated.
Both of them understood more or less what had happened, yet they silently agreed not to bring up how the Mandala Snake died. Playing dumb together—it was a fine art.
Xiao Yan reached to his waist and pulled out two palm-sized, blood-red lingzhi mushrooms.
This Soul Hunting Forest had been around for a very long time, and it had nurtured an abundance of herbs.
Staring at the brightly colored Blood Lingzhi, Xiao Yan thought, What kind of understanding do the people of this world have of pharmacology? So many soul masters come hunting here, and no one's discovered such treasures?
Besides these extremely rare Blood Lingzhi, Xiao Yan had also found a variety of decades-old herbs scattered around the forest.
Though not miraculous in appearance, their age meant they carried dense and powerful medicinal energy.
And the two Blood Lingzhi in his hand were, by far, his greatest harvest from the last half hour.
Of course, he'd also had help from the Blue Silver Domain.
Ever since his second martial soul awakening into the Blue Silver Emperor, he'd also gained a skill called Blue Silver Domain.
One of the domain's effects allowed him to resonate with surrounding Blue Silver Grass, control all of them within its range, and use them to help detect the environment via spiritual force.
"Xiao Yan, are those dry, shriveled things in your hand more firewood? The fire's already blazing," Yu Xiaogang asked, puzzled.
Firewood? Xiao Yan nearly doubted his ears. These were precious Blood Lingzhi, and the guy thought they were kindling?
For someone who could make snake repellent powder, he should know a bit about herbs, right? How could he not recognize such rare medicine?
Was his knowledge of martial spirits so obsessive it made him utterly ignorant in every other field?
And yet, for all that so-called martial spirit research, he'd produced nothing but wrongheaded nonsense.
Xiao Yan gave an awkward laugh and said, "These aren't firewood, they're extremely valuable medicinal herbs.
Grandmaster, you once said that Sanpao could reduce your spirit power consumption by eating food. I believe that if it eats higher-quality food, it could enhance your spirit power. You might even be able to break through the bottleneck at level twenty-nine and become a Soul Elder."
After hearing that, Yu Xiaogang's already stiff face turned gloomy, as if he had just been insulted. He angrily rebuked:
"Xiao Yan, how could you think like that? Relying on external objects is a major taboo in cultivation. It could severely damage your potential. Get that garbage out of my sight!"
"Cultivation must be a step-by-step process. You must steadily improve your spirit power through meditation. Using outside means may boost your strength temporarily, but in the long run, it's disastrous.
Xiao Yan, your talent is the greatest I've ever seen. You must never walk that crooked path, or your entire future will be ruined!"
Treating good intentions like trash—Xiao Yan was getting annoyed.
Those two wild Blood Lingzhi were worth an astronomical sum. If sold, they'd fetch at least ten thousand gold soul coins in Douluo currency.
Yet this so-called Grandmaster treated them like poison.
He tested his own theories on others, but dismissed anyone else's ideas as heresy.
Worse yet, his ideas could kill people. Xiao Yan's idea? Just feeding a pig better food. No risk at all.
Originally, Xiao Yan had planned to let Sanpao eat just a little first—test the waters. Even if by some miracle it went wrong, the small dosage and Xiao Yan's expert medical skills could fix everything.
But clearly, all that planning was pointless.
Feeling speechless, Xiao Yan was about to put the Blood Lingzhi back into his storage jade belt.
If you won't use it, I will.
This stuff was top-tier for healing or body-tempering medicinal baths.
But suddenly, Grandmaster lunged forward and snatched both Blood Lingzhi from Xiao Yan's hand and tossed them into the fire.
In Xiao Yan's eyes, Grandmaster's movements were tortoise-slow.
He could've easily stopped him or dodged, but...
Doing so would mean having to find another way to repay the debt of that storage jade belt.
Besides, a guaranteed path to advancement had been shoved in Grandmaster's face—and he outright rejected it, dripping with disdain.
So, Xiao Yan couldn't be bothered to stop him.
Yu Xiaogang's rigid old face contorted into an awkward smile as he tried to reassure him:
"Xiao Yan, I'm doing this for your own good. You must never use such things. One day, you'll understand."
As the strange herbs fully ignited and could no longer be salvaged, Xiao Yan thought: They were meant for him anyway. Now that he destroyed them, I guess it still counts as used on him.
Sure, it was a bit wasteful. But hey—what's more valuable than peace of mind?
So, consider the debt of the storage jade belt repaid.
Watching the rare plants burn completely, Yu Xiaogang finally let out a long breath of relief.
A proper spirit master should cultivate through meditation—not by popping pills. That was like drinking poison to quench thirst!
Once the two rare herbs had burned to ash, Yu Xiaogang turned to Xiao Yan and said:
"This Soul Hunting Forest is too small. It doesn't have the right kind of spirit beasts for you. I plan to take you to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow. Rest early."
"Alright."
Xiao Yan responded, then sat cross-legged on the grass beside him, now completely done with this Grandmaster.
After spending some time with him, Xiao Yan had confirmed all his suspicions.
Not only were his theories garbage and his skills useless—he had major personality issues too. No wonder he was cast out of a great clan and ended up loafing around a backwater like Notting City, freeloading at a junior academy.
This Grandmaster was nothing more than a pretentious fool trapped in his own delusions.
He deserved to be a failure for life.
(End of Chapter)