"Lin-ge! Xiao San!"
Before they had even chased for a few minutes, Xiao Lin and Tang San heard Xiao Wu's voice calling from afar.
The two looked ahead and saw Xiao Wu unharmed, her face full of smiles.
"Xiao Wu!"
Before Xiao Lin could say anything, Tang San had already darted forward.
His speed was so fast that Xiao Lin began to wonder if Tang San had obtained some kind of acceleration-type soul skill.
By the time Xiao Lin leisurely walked over, Tang San and Xiao Wu had already embraced. He then began asking her what had happened.
Just like in the original timeline, Xiao Wu made up an excuse, saying she fought the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python to cover things up.
"Oh right, Lin-ge, Xiao San, I've already absorbed my second soul ring," Xiao Wu said with a proud grin on their way back.
"It's from a Lightning Rabbit, 1,500 years."
She smiled triumphantly. Now, who could still call her a slacker?
Her new soul skill wasn't any worse than Lin-ge's!
Xiao Wu was absolutely elated, ready to show off big-time in front of Xiao Lin and Tang San.
"Alright, Xiao Wu, let's head back to Nuoding Academy. Even a Titled Douluo just now couldn't beat the Titan Giant Ape," Xiao Lin said, using the Titled Douluo as an excuse to shut Xiao Wu up—he was worried her identity might be exposed.
They looped around Xie Yue and the others. Xiao Wu led the way, bouncing cheerfully up front while Xiao Lin and Tang San guarded from behind.
"Lin-ge, listen to me! My soul skill isn't ordinary at all. When we get back, you better update my martial soul stats," Xiao Wu said proudly, hopping along, her scorpion braid swinging with each step.
Tang San looked at her, full of affection.
Xiao Lin…
"You've got my attention," Xiao Lin replied with curiosity.
"My second soul skill is called Lightning Dash. After martial soul possession, yellow lightning surges over all my fur, increasing my speed and attack by 30%."
Seeing the slightly unimpressed expressions on Xiao Lin and Tang San's faces, she quickly added:
"That's not all! For every level my soul power increases, my speed and attack power get another 1% boost. Plus, my lightning paralyzes those it touches."
As she proudly explained, she observed the two of them. When they showed a bit of "shock" at the paralysis part, her smug grin grew wider.
"This paralysis depends on the opponent's soul power and physical strength. For support-type or agility-type soul masters, it basically disables them."
This was exactly the soul skill Xiao Lin had planned for her—a speed-focused, headhunting assassin type.
Most normal support and agility-type soul masters wouldn't be able to withstand such a skill.
But Xiao Lin wasn't actually shocked. He simply felt that given how custom-tailored Xiao Wu's self-condensed soul ring was, it should've been even stronger than his.
Noticing Xiao Lin's doubtful look, Xiao Wu immediately continued:
"Lin-ge, you don't really think that's all my second soul skill can do, do you?"
She crossed her arms and smirked: "Its best function isn't even those things I just said. The real benefit is comprehensive speed enhancement—everything you can think of."
"30% boost to movement speed, reaction speed, strike speed... Even when I'm sprinting at full speed, I won't get overwhelmed and easily taken out."
"And the energy cost is very low, probably because my martial soul is a perfect match with the soul ring."
Xiao Wu's low-key flex left even Tang San stunned.
He hadn't expected her soul skill to boost all forms of speed.
While the overall boost wasn't quite as terrifying as Xiao Lin's, in terms of her own level, it was still a monstrous skill.
"Xiao Wu, your skill is incredible. I doubt I could beat you now," Tang San said with a shake of his head, clearly impressed.
"Xiao San, what's your soul skill? It's not weak, right?" Xiao Lin asked.
He acknowledged Xiao Wu's soul skill as S-tier, but now he was more curious about Tang San's second soul skill.
"My soul skill... it's pretty average," Tang San said with a sigh, hanging his head.
"Other than allowing my Blue Silver Grass to regenerate rapidly, the only other thing it does is make it huge."
"Huh?"
That couldn't be right.
Xiao Lin was puzzled. After all, he had personally helped Tang San select that soul ring—it shouldn't be weak.
But when he saw the small smirk tugging at Tang San's lips, he quickly understood.
Wow... even hiding things from your own brother?
"Xiao San, don't be sad. Big Sis Xiao Wu will protect you from now on," Xiao Wu said, still fooled, turning her head in mock anger.
Xiao Lin secretly shook his head. This silly rabbit had fallen for it.
"Yeah, my second soul skill just doubles the effects of my first one. The other effects are all passive, nothing special."
"Stuff like vitality, or that 'giant' form, not worth mentioning," Tang San said with a laugh, watching Xiao Wu get flustered.
"Ugh! Xiao San, I'm ignoring you!" she pouted, turning away angrily.
"Xiao San, your soul skill has more to it, right?" Xiao Lin asked seriously.
"Yeah, Lin-ge. My second soul skill perfectly enhances my first skill—including all the abilities from my first soul ring."
"Soul power transmission, perception—they've all been boosted."
"My Blue Silver Regeneration Bracelet's healing effect is now at 50%—that's the sum of all enhancements from the vitality boost of the martial soul."
"If I use my second soul skill, the healing effect becomes 100%."
Tang San looked proud. His vitality had increased so much that he now had full confidence in taking on even power-attack soul masters, wearing them down with continuous Blue Silver Entanglement.
He didn't rely on anything else—just his hyper-regeneration and gigantification were already enough.
Normal soul masters couldn't destroy his vines faster than he could regrow them with soul power.
Add in the never-ending internal energy from Xuan Tian Technique, and he was confident even against three opponents at once.
As long as he didn't face ice or fire attributes—those were the only major counters to Blue Silver Grass.
Actually, even with fire and ice, Tang San wasn't too worried. He believed he could outlast them using his extremely low soul power consumption.
His only concern was ice attribute freezing his vines, or fire attribute burning them to a certain scale, at which point regeneration would become useless.
He told Xiao Lin all of this, hoping for a solution.
"That's manageable. The next soul ring you get should grant fire and ice resistance to Blue Silver Grass," Xiao Lin replied.
"In general, that means a water-attributed soul beast with high vitality, which would neutralize fire. But for ice resistance… that's trickier."
"A better solution is to find a water beast with cold resistance as well."
Xiao Lin thought for a moment—such beasts would likely be found in the far north, near the ocean.
But obtaining marine soul beast rings was not easy.
"Alternatively, find a plant-type soul beast with strong vitality and heat resistance... But no, that won't work."
He shook his head after some thought. Heat-resistant plants didn't necessarily resist ice.
"Maybe a plant-type beast with a kind of exoskeleton and immense vitality would work."
(End of Chapter)