"Thank you, Master."
Tang San accepted the large, fragrant rabbit leg, his face full of gratitude.
Although he felt a little strange about the sudden treat, the aroma of roasted meat tempted him to take a bite immediately.
Seeing this, Lin Mu also began to eat heartily.
In no time, the two of them had devoured the roasted rabbit, which was the size of a basketball.
Having traveled extensively for many years, Lin Mu's culinary skills, if not unparalleled, were at least at the level of a top chef.
Tang San ate the large rabbit leg and then proceeded to gnaw on the remaining rabbit butt.
This showed that Tang San was used to a life of hardship; compared to thin porridge, even rabbit butts were clearly a delicious luxury.
"Little San, let me see your Blue Silver Grass now."
After the meal, Lin Mu spoke to Tang San.
Tang San nodded slightly and immediately released his Blue Silver Grass. After this incident, he trusted his Master even more.
With a faint blue halo appearing, the Blue Silver Grass sprouted from Tang San's palm. At first glance, it seemed unchanged, but upon closer inspection, its surface was covered with a thin layer of white keratin.
Clearly, this white keratin was the influence of the Ice Crystal Grass.
"Try injecting Soul Power into the Blue Silver Grass; see if you can control its growth."
Under Lin Mu's guidance, Tang San gradually injected Soul Power into the Blue Silver Grass, and it indeed began to grow rapidly.
"Continue. Try to control it to wrap around me."
Tang San added more Soul Power, and the Blue Silver Grass's growth accelerated considerably, wrapping around Lin Mu like a venomous snake.
This was all within Lin Mu's expectations. Even without fully awakening the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, the Blue Silver Grass was still a plant; as long as its vitality was sufficient, binding and wrapping were merely basic abilities.
Although the current binding strength was weak, it would increase as the Blue Silver Grass strengthened.
"Try your First Soul Skill."
Hearing this, Tang San hesitated for a moment. "Master, isn't this too dangerous?"
"Go ahead and do it."
After receiving an affirmative answer, Tang San no longer hesitated. A yellow Soul Ring suddenly lit up from beneath his feet.
"First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Crystal!"
In an instant, the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Lin Mu quickly condensed into a layer of hard ice crystals, mimicking the properties of the Ice Crystal Grass.
Before absorbing the first Soul Ring, the Blue Silver Grass was very weak, almost breaking with a single tear.
After absorbing the Ice Crystal Grass Soul Ring, the Blue Silver Grass's toughness increased several times, but the control effect was still relatively weak. However, after releasing the First Soul Skill, its strength increased dramatically due to the crystallization.
"Not a bad Soul Skill."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Mu unleashed a powerful burst of Soul Power, forcibly shattering the crystallized Blue Silver Grass.
As a Level 47 Battle Soul Ancestor, even without using his Martial Soul, Lin Mu's physical power was comparable to that of a Soul King with a Beast Martial Soul.
"If it were a two-ring Great Soul Master, it would be difficult for them to break free from your First Soul Skill in a short time. Most importantly, this Soul Skill is both offensive and defensive, making it very practical."
"This is all thanks to you, Master," Tang San said sincerely.
Hearing this, Lin Mu gently patted his shoulder, but his attention was focused on the system panel in front of him.
[Main Quest: Accept Tang San as your disciple and cultivate a completely new Tang San. The greater the contrast, the richer the reward. Completion: 7.9%.]
"Only this much?"
Lin Mu sighed with a hint of helplessness, then turned to Tang San and asked, "Little San, what Level are you now?"
"Level 13."
Upon hearing this, Lin Mu remained calm. The Ice Crystal Grass was over three hundred years old, and combined with Tang San's accumulated Soul Power, breaking through to Level 13 in one fell swoop was perfectly normal.
Helping Tang San acquire a Soul Ring was merely a pretext; the main purpose was to subtly change his mindset.
The higher the completion rate, the more rewards Lin Mu would receive.
With just the Flame of Nava Armor, Lin Mu was confident he could deal with a Soul King-level expert. If he obtained another set of Armor, even dealing with a Soul Emperor wouldn't be a problem.
"Let's go. We should leave before dark."
Lin Mu patted the fragments of Blue Silver Grass off his body and was about to leave with Tang San when the sounds of fighting suddenly came from afar.
Moreover, the sounds grew louder, clearly indicating that someone was approaching fast.
Without hesitation, Lin Mu grabbed Tang San by the back of his collar, lifted him up like a chicken, and then leaped several times before landing him safely on top of a large tree.
Although being carried like this by his Master was somewhat undignified, Tang San didn't harbor any resentment.
As the saying goes, "A teacher for a day is a father for life." Given that Lin Mu treated him even better than his own father, Tang San already considered him family.
A moment later, a woman in white palace attire, pulling a short-haired girl, rushed to the lakeside. Her skirt fluttered in the wind, making her appear ethereal, like a fairy descended to earth.
"Hehehe—"
"Matriarch Ye, why are you doing this?"
With a strange laugh, a middle-aged man in black emerged. His clothes were stained with blood that hadn't yet dried.
A sinister smile appeared on his face as he pressed closer, like a venomous snake ready to strike at any moment.
The woman surnamed Ye panicked, hastily shielding the short-haired girl behind her.
In reality, this was completely futile, as she was powerless against this enemy.
"Your Ye family has long since declined. Joining our Fire Leopard Sect would be good for both of us."
"Wishful thinking!"
"Don't be so ungrateful. Even if you don't consider yourself, you should at least consider your daughter, shouldn't you?"
Seeing the other party's defiance, the middle-aged man directly released his Fire Leopard Martial Soul. His aura suddenly increased several levels.
At the same time, five Soul Rings rose up from beneath his feet: two yellow and three purple. While this Soul Ring configuration wasn't optimal, it was still quite formidable for a Soul King.
"Fire Leopard Sect!"
Standing on the tree, Lin Mu looked down at the Fire Leopard Soul Master, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
As one of the Lower Four Sects, the Fire Leopard Sect, while not as powerful as the Upper Three Sects, was still a top-ranking sect on the continent. Why would they threaten a woman like this?
"The Ye surname..."
Lin Mu's pupils shrank. The most famous Ye family on the continent was the Nine-Heart Begonia Ye family.
So, it seemed the Fire Leopard Sect wanted to annex the Ye family to enhance its sect's foundation. That made sense.
The Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul has always been passed down through a single lineage, with only two Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters alive at any given time. Only after one of them dies can the next generation awaken the Nine-Heart Begonia.
As a top-tier Support-type Martial Soul, the Nine-Heart Begonia, while lacking the powerful amplification abilities of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, possesses unique and absolute healing capabilities.
In battle, a powerful healer is crucial.
The only drawback is its overly singular Soul Skills and lack of self-defense capabilities, thus requiring close protection.
Lin Mu gazed at the white-clad woman and the short-haired girl below. If nothing unexpected happened, these two should be the only two living inheritors of the Nine-Heart Begonia.