Chapter 28: Tang Ya's Third Soul Ring (2)
...
"Looks like it was a success." Bei Bei smiled, but when he saw Tang Ya's face, he couldn't help but blush. "Xiao Ya, congratulations." The results were really speaking for themselves. Her body showed more athleticism and beauty than before.
Tang Ya cheered, and then in the next instant she practically launched herself at Bei Bei, jumping into his arms with wild, unchecked joy. The older boy caught her, stumbling slightly as her legs wrapped around his waist and her arms looped around his neck.
"I— I, you— hah, Tang Ya, you—" Bei Bei sputtered. His face was dangerously close to hers.
"Bei Bei, I'm so happy you're okay." She beamed. Before he could respond, most likely to remind her there was a kid in the vicinity, she lightly slapped his chest, an adorable pout on her face. "But don't make me worry like that again, you dummy!"
Bei Bei's heart melted on the spot, and he couldn't help but impulsively give a small peck to her cheek. "I did promise to help you achieve your dreams, didn't I? I can't die until I fulfill my promise to you." He smiled at her, and Tang Ya felt her heart skip a beat.
At the time, Tang Ya didn't know if it was due to her excitement at getting her third Soul Ring, Bei Bei's heartfelt words, or just because said Soul Ring had an effect on her personality, but whatever the reason, she couldn't help but outright kiss him in that moment.
Bei Bei stiffened at the unexpected kiss but relaxed into it, one hand unconsciously tightening against her back.
The kiss felt amazing for the violet Bei Bei, like he was hypnotized in a beautiful dream. His mind was so hazy that he didn't give two thoughts about the surprisingly long tongue that slipped past his lips. He certainly wasn't complaining, deepening the kiss as the two became utterly lost in their own world.
'Daaaaaamn.' Kronos whistled. Hairless apes or not, game was game.
"…" The Silver Demigod, for his part, just stood there as he blinked once. His face was unreadable.
But in his mind, he was having questions. 'Were public displays of affection in Soul Land always this unrestrained?' He wondered before then, thinking, 'Well, they're young teenagers, so it's nothing weird. Whatever, we shouldn't linger here any longer.'
He cleared his throat loudly, and the two immediately froze and turned toward him. Huo Yuhao stared back with a perfectly flat expression. "Not to interrupt… whatever that was, but this isn't the place to be making out. We need to move."
He then went to grab his traveling bag.
The two quickly remembered about the third party in the area, and realizing their compromising position, hastily wriggled out of each other's arms, somewhat embarrassedly and red-faced as they profusely apologized to Huo Yuhao for their overly public display of affection. Tang Ya herself was so mortified about her behavior that she wanted to crawl in a hole and die.
But the demigod was unbothered and simply went to get his things. While he found it a bit weird considering the Asian culture of this world and their personalities, it wasn't really that much of a concern to him.
They left the area and followed the slope eastward, making their way toward the Xingdou Forest's edge. By the time the sun began to set, they reached the familiar stream where they had met.
The small river shimmered under the dying light, ripples catching streaks of orange and violet. The three set up camp along its bank, making a fire and setting up their tents. They only brought two tents, so they asked Yuhao if he wanted to borrow one for the night, only to be politely declined.
"I'll sleep in the trees." He said, already glancing upward. The answer confused them both, but neither dared question him further.
The trio gathered around the fire. Tang Ya clung playfully to Bei Bei's arm, cheeks warming with embarrassment every time she remembered what had happened earlier. Bei Bei was no better—trying and failing to keep his overt staring hidden.
The demigod, on the other hand, was focused entirely on cooking, turning skewered fish over the fire. When they returned, Tang Ya had begged him to make that grilled fish again. He wanted to refuse, but one look at her bright, expectant eyes destroyed any chance of that.
During the grilling, he had a visible grimace the entire time. He couldn't stand cooking seafood. But personal dislike was no excuse to slack. A chef's duty was to turn any ingredients into a proper, exquisite meal, and he would accept nothing less from himself. To Tang Ya and Bei Bei it looked funny.
"Don't tell me you don't like fish." Bei Bei snickered over the crackling wood. He was glad to be learning something new from his mysterious junior brother, even if it was something small like his dislikes.
"I prefer not to eat fish unless I absolutely have to." He replied, flipping another skewer. He, of course, hadn't prepared any for himself. Instead, he had a bunch of apples he picked earlier ready for him. "They're just about done."
Tang Ya giggled. "Guess we found your weakness." She pulled plates from her Soul Guide.
"Hardly." He muttered, rolling his eyes as he handed the finished skewers to the couple.
Tang Ya lit up. "Yay! Thank you, little Yuhao, you little food genius." She complimented before happily digging in. Bei Bei tasted a piece as well, the perfectly crisp skin and balanced seasoning drawing a satisfied smile to his lips.
Yuhao sighed but sat next to them, apples in hand, and the three enjoyed a lavish dinner, talking about various things. Once the meal ended, Tang Ya clapped her hands, getting the attention of the two boys.
"Yuhao, now's as good a time as any to begin teaching you the Tang Sect Techniques before we head to Shrek Academy. Since we can't teach the Purple Demon Eyes because it's nighttime, we'll do it in the morning before we head out." She said, getting a nod from Bei Bei.
"Well said." He turned toward Yuhao. "Are you ready, Yuhao?" He asked, getting a determined nod from the Son of Poseidon, and that got a smile from the both of them.
They began his instruction with the foundation. The Mystic Sky Method. Compared to the mundane technique Yuhao had used at the estate, this method of cultivation was on an entirely different level. It was much more intricate and demanding, requiring the circulation of soul power through his meridians more than ten times.
Usually this would've made it much more difficult for him to cultivate using this method because of his past circumstances, and it would've needed someone like Bei Bei to sit behind him and slowly infuse his Soul Power into him to guide him through the first cycle of cultivation, but that wouldn't be necessary, as after obtaining his first Soul Ring and regaining a lot of his powers back, his demigod body fixed his meridians to peak performance, and he had no trouble going through the first cycle.
However, something came up when he was undergoing his first cycle of cultivation using the Mystic Sky Method. Huo Yuhao had sensed something off with it, and even Kronos thought the same. It's not that the cultivation method was faulty or anything, but there was clearly something missing from it, like it was only working at half speed. At first, they thought they were deceived, but judging by how Tang Ya and Bei Bei were clueless about it all, they decided to keep it to themselves.
They then proceeded to teach him the rest and were extremely surprised and amazed by how fast he managed to learn them in just a few hours, along with how skillfully he used them. His talent for learning was utterly monstrous. He soaked in the knowledge they gave him like a sponge, and better yet, he even displayed different ways of using the techniques, like using the Mysterious Jade Hands to also train the feet or how he displayed a way to use the opponent's physical strength against them. Something that Tang Ya never thought was possible.
They were really happy about this development, and Tang Ya couldn't wait to teach him the Purple Demon Eyes in the morning to see what he'd do with it.
With his lessons done for now, they took a short break. The sun had only set recently, so the night was still young, barely around nine. As the fire crackled softly, Yuhao's thoughts drifted back to earlier events.
"Miss Tang," He began, turning toward her, "I've been wondering, what exactly did you gain after absorbing your third Soul Ring?" He asked, and Bei Bei himself perked up as well, curious at the results.
Normally, asking a Soul Master about their abilities would be considered very offensive, but that wasn't the case for Tang Ya. Though they had known each other briefly, a small spark of trust had been forged between both parties.
"Don't get jealous." She lifted her arms, and faint, ghostly green scales glimmered across her shoulders, collarbones, forearms, and thighs. "The first thing I got was these gorgeous scales. It's not the actual Soul Skill, but I can turn them on and off whenever I want."
Whenever someone absorbed a Soul Ring from a variant, side effects, whether positive or negative, were bound to occur. It was to be expected. So that Tang Ya gained the scales of the variant Datura Snake.
Yuhao leaned slightly forward, studying the scales. He was using his Martial Soul to examine them in depth as if he were using a microscope. "Fascinating. Just like the variant Datura Snakes'. I'm assuming they provide some defense, right?"
Tang Ya nodded. "That's right, little Yuhao. They're pretty durable, though they don't grant me total protection. At best it can increase my defense by ten to twenty-seven percent depending on how much I surround my body in them, but it lowers my speed." She explained, covering more of her neck and arms, and with a playful tilt of her head, said to Bei Bei, "I think it makes me look pretty. Right, Bei Bei?"
The stunned youth gave her a wavering thumbs-up. "Yep… very pretty." He managed, face crimson with awe and other thoughts, before promptly splashing his face with some creek water.
He didn't know what was going on with him. Ever since she gained her third Soul Ring, Tang Ya was becoming more alluring every time he looked at her. In his mind every step she took was downright seductive, and just her touching his arm was causing his throat to dry up, and her scent alone made him feel like he was on cloud nine.
What neither Bei Bei nor Tang Ya knew was that the latter was unintentionally releasing poisonous pheromones akin to an aphrodisiac in small quantities in the air. The scent wafting off of her was a sweet and enticing one that would attract prey to lower their defenses. It was just another benefit from the variant Datura Snake. Its species used both harmful and nonharmful poison to survive in the wild. Its lethal acid spit was capable of burning flesh and rotting. Needless to say, it spoiled the meat of its prey, so it had another way to use its poison without harming them. This method worked to make its prey incapable of action. Sleep paralysis, hallucinations, all of it came out from the flower on its tail.
Moving on, the only one immune to it was the demigod in the room, who was too busy to care.
"Increase of defense by up to twenty-seven percent?" He hummed thoughtfully as he withdrew his Martial Soul. Those scales were comparable to an above-beginner-grade defense spell. "That's already quite good, and you're saying it's not the Soul Skill. Now I'm really curious. What else did you gain?"
"Well, there's… this." She opened her mouth to stick out her tongue, extending an abnormally long tongue, splitting subtly at the tip. It stretched almost twelve centimeters from her face.
The two boys stared dumbly. Bei Bei especially was in a stunned daze, remembering what that tongue does. Feeling a tad bit embarrassed, Tang Ya drew her tongue back. "It's permanent." She added with a giggle. Having a long tongue was weird, but she was nonetheless amused by it. If anything, she thought it was fun.
'Kind of reminds me of myself.' The son of Poseidon absentmindedly thought of his divine transformation.
"Are you really fine with that?" Bei Bei asked. He knew the mutations that can occur. It was why he was hesitant about the idea of Tang Ya absorbing one prior to their trip, but she insisted that they do so because she needed to improve herself.
"It doesn't bother me at all. I think it's… kind of cute." She leaned closer to him, wagging her tongue dangerously close to his face. "What? Don't like?"
Bei Bei coughed, nearly choking on air. "Cute's one word for it… but you should really put that away." He replied.
"So that's what happens when a Soul Master absorbs a variant Soul Beast. Because the mutation is so concentrated, you didn't just obtain its Soul Skill, you gained a fragment of its physical traits as well—just in a limited form."
Tang Ya nodded, the scholarly note in his tone oddly reassuring. "That's right. Little Yuhao, you're really intelligent." She complimented. "There's more. My Blue Silver Grass… it's gotten stronger. Way stronger."
She then released her Martial Soul. In quick fashion, Blue Silver Grass spread in every direction, way further than before and way thicker too. The area was filled with the sweet smell of lush grass. Even the grass of the environment became a sheen more vibrant.
"Tang Ya...this is amazing!" Bei Bei kneeled to feel the Blue Silver Grass. "How far can these go?" From beside him, Yuhao silently studied the vines with his Spirit Eyes.
"I can extend it up to forty meters, and that's not all. I can also coat it in venom potent enough to even afflict a Soul King!" She beamed, giving a peace sign as she brought down her Marial Soul.
"That's amazing, Tang Ya. With this, qualifying for the Inner Court is within sight." He told her, and Tang Ya smiled proudly. In her heart she was very thankful because it was thanks to them for making all this happen.
"Thanks. I bet I could even give Wuken a run for his money now." She chortled before finishing. "As if."
Bei Bei chuckled. "Yeah, little Wuken is a real monster. That cheeky monkey's mutation is off the charts." He replied, causing Yuhao to inquire about who they were talking about.
Yuhao glanced up. "Who's Wuken?"
"He's another student who lives in the academy. His name is Son Wuken." The violet-haired youth answered.
The demigod's eyebrow arched slightly. He didn't know any person like that, but the name suddenly triggered a memory of a very powerful individual he once battled during his youth. The Sage himself.
"He's a ridiculously strong student in the academy. He's around your age too, and he is about to officially join Shrek Academy this year, but he's actually been living there for years as a disciple under one of the elders. A lot of people think he'll be the strongest first year." He revealed it, and that alone piqued his interest.
"You speak so highly of him." Yuhao said. "Is he really that strong?"
"Yuhao, he's already a shoo-in for the Inner Court. He's a Soul Venerable, and all of his rings are from variant Soul Beasts. His physical strength is out of this world. He even beat Bei Bei once after he got his third ring. It was an amazing fight." Tang Ya exclaimed, and Bei Bie nodded in agreement.
Yuhao blinked. "You're kidding." Bei Bei was a Soul Venerable with one of the best Martial Souls on the entire continent. If even he lost… then just how powerful was this guy?
Bei Bei laughed softly. "Nope. It was his total victory. I fought with everything I had and even used my trump card, but the moment he went all out, it was over. Wuken's physical strength and endurance far exceed mine." His hand curled into a tight fist. "But I've been training hard since then for our inevitable rematch. It won't go the same way."
Yuhao's gaze returned to the fire, but his thoughts were elsewhere. A twelve-year-old Soul Venerable who specially has all three of his rings from variant Soul Beasts. 'Shrek Academy.' He thought, wondering what other freaks he'd meet there?
It was then that Tang Ya proposed an idea. "Hey, now that we've eaten." She began, grinning, "How about we celebrate properly with a little spar?" She said sweetly.
...
..
.
(Getting her third Soul Ring awakened something in her. Bei Bei is the wife.)