After the staff of the Competition Organizing Committee restored the Arena, Yun Ming and Tang San stepped down from the academy viewing stands. Two months had passed, and they were once again standing on the stage for a direct confrontation.
Yun Ming looked at Tang San, who stood ten meters away with his physique, appearance, and aura completely transformed, and could not help but marvel at the strength of the other's fortune.
It had been less than a month and a half since he had crippled Tang San's martial soul, yet the man now stood before him reborn. This tenacity and unyielding vitality were truly just like his martial soul—as vigorous as wild Blue Silver Grass.
Yun Ming said with interest.
"I hope Brother Tang's abilities have recovered and improved significantly, otherwise I shall be very disappointed."
After stepping into the Arena, the gentle expression that had previously graced Tang San's face vanished entirely. He felt like a volcano on the verge of eruption, radiating an aura of extreme danger. Looking at the calm and composed Yun Ming opposite him, Tang San's cold voice rang out.
"I won't let Captain Yun be disappointed. In order to repay the 'kindness' you showed me by teaching me the rules, I haven't dared to slack off for even a moment!"
Hearing the emphasis placed on the word 'kindness', Yun Ming remained unmoved. He had never expected Tang San to let go of his hatred, so he replied casually.
"Is that so? Then you must work hard."
Subsequently, under the referee's signal, they officially began their second bout.
The two summoned their martial souls.
Yun Ming raised his right hand, and the transparent, ethereal Atlas Divine Spear appeared in his grasp. Just as before, only the martial soul was visible, with no Spirit Rings in sight.
The spectators in the VIP and viewing stands who were seeing this for the first time began to whisper among themselves.
"Why doesn't this person have any Spirit Rings?"
"I don't know. When he fought during the opening ceremony of the tournament, we didn't see any Spirit Rings on him either. Who knows what's going on."
"."
Tang San looked at the Atlas Divine Spear in Yun Ming's hand, feeling the familiar energy fluctuations (Sky Support Power) radiating from the spear. The painful memory of his Spirit Origin being forcibly obliterated flooded his mind once more, and his body trembled involuntarily. That pain was etched into his marrow and soul, making it impossible to forget.
Seeing Tang San in this state, Yun Ming spoke up.
"If your body hasn't recovered, you should withdraw!"
Hearing the advice from his nemesis, Tang San took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and replied.
"No need."
Immediately after, Tang San raised his right hand and summoned his new martial soul.
A beautiful little blade of grass emerged from his palm. Compared to his previous Blue Silver Grass, the entire plant was thicker. The combination of the jewel-blue leaves and the golden veins running through them gave it an air of vibrant vitality and extraordinary nobility.
Yun Ming looked at the grass in Tang San's hand, and realization dawned on him—it was indeed this. It made sense; only this kind of martial soul could recover after he had completely destroyed its Spirit Origin.
This was the Blue Silver Emperor, the sovereign of all Blue Silver Grass. It was a unique martial soul possessing royal bloodlines, placing it at the top tier of martial souls.
Looking at the Blue Silver Emperor in his hand, Tang San's eyes turned red, fueled by both anger and pain. The process of the martial soul's recovery had brought him joy, but also deep suffering.
Everything here had to start from when Tang Xiao went to Blue Tyrant Academy to check on Tang San's condition.
One month ago.
Tang Xiao finished his seclusion and found Tang San's residence within Blue Tyrant Academy.
But the moment he saw the situation inside Tang San's room, he froze.
He saw a large flowerpot in the room containing a gorgeous, swaying little blade of grass about three feet tall.
'This is?!'
This little blade of grass was naturally the Blue Silver Emperor, Ah Yin.
After Tang San had braved countless dangers to find the location mentioned in Tang Hao's final testament, he had not only found the hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor Spirit Bone but also his mother, Ah Yin, who had been subjected to such 'abuse'.
(He had kept Ah Yin planted in a sunless cave behind a waterfall; one had to wonder what Tang Hao was thinking. Even if he lacked knowledge of plant cultivation, he should have known that plants needed sunlight! Even if he feared planting it outside where it might be eaten by herbivorous Soul Beasts, he could have planted it under his own nose, yet he chose the most foolish method possible.)
Since he had found his mother, Tang San naturally had to bring her back to Heaven Dou City. Unlike Tang Hao, while Tang San couldn't claim to be an expert in plant cultivation, he had dealt with medicinal and poisonous herbs for years, so his level was far higher than Tang Hao's.
Under Tang San's careful tending, Ah Yin had spent a year in comfort, beginning to grow and flourish once again.
Walking into the room, Tang Xiao observed the grass at close range. It was exactly as he had suspected—it was identical to the martial soul of his former goddess and sister-in-law, Ah Yin.
'So what is going on here? What is the connection between this Blue Silver Emperor and Ah Yin?' Tang Xiao was desperate to uncover the truth.
Before Tang Xiao could investigate, the Blue Silver Emperor soon gave him the answer.
It wasn't just that Tang Xiao saw Ah Yin; Ah Yin had also sensed Tang Xiao.
Feeling the arrival of a familiar aura, Ah Yin swayed more vigorously, and a blade of grass reached out toward Tang Xiao.
Seeing the Blue Silver Emperor's movement, Tang Xiao was puzzled, but he still reached out and let the leaf wrap around his wrist.
The moment they made contact, Tang Xiao felt a faint, vaguely familiar ripple of Spiritual Power coming from the Blue Silver Grass before him.
In an instant, a stormy sea surged within Tang Xiao's heart. His eyes widened, and his voice trembled as he spoke.
"Ah Yin, is that you?"
Ah Yin seemed to understand Tang Xiao's words, swaying even more intensely. At the same time, it finally struggled to convey information to Tang Xiao. The information transmitted through Spiritual Power was sparse, but the meaning could be summarized in a single word.
'Return.'
Ah Yin's strength had not yet recovered much; this was already the limit of what it could do.
Seeing Ah Yin's reaction and receiving its message, Tang Xiao's eyes turned red. He was on the verge of tears; the Blue Silver Emperor before him was truly Ah Yin. His goddess had not completely perished after all.
He had received news of the passing of his closest kin one after another today; the sorrow he had accumulated over the past decade did not compare to what he felt in this single day. Yet, seeing that the goddess he once loved was still alive—even if only in the form of a lowly Plant System Soul Beast—provided him with immense solace.
However, Ah Yin was destined to be unable to perceive Tang Xiao's emotional state. Her consciousness was currently somewhat blurred, driven more by instinct, and she was in a great hurry. With Tang San's Spirit Origin obliterated, she only wanted this acquaintance, whose aura was so similar to her late husband, to take Tang San and herself to that place immediately.
Ah Yin extended two more blades of grass; one wrapped around Tang San's wrist, while the other pointed toward the south of Heaven Dou, once again using her Spiritual Power to urge Tang Xiao.
'Return'
Seeing Ah Yin's actions, Tang Xiao finally regained some clarity; he still had other important matters to attend to today.
Tang Xiao sat down beside Tang San, looking at the pale, unconscious boy. A strange sensation of blood connection clearly lingered in Tang Xiao's heart. His bloodline was reminding him that this was the child of his younger brother and Ah Yin, the only remaining descendant of their three siblings.
Recalling the rumors from the outside world, Tang Xiao hurriedly grasped Tang San's hand and began to examine his condition.
With his Two Great Spirits destroyed, Tang San was still alive, but his origin was so severely depleted that it was uncertain if he would ever wake up again.
A moment later, Tang Xiao's expression turned as cold and heavy as water, becoming quite grim.
He could find nothing; not even a trace of the Spirit Origin remained. The person who had done this was far too ruthless, and he was helpless to fix it. Seeing that Tang San had truly been crippled and might become a living corpse, Tang Xiao's anger surged, his fists clenching until they creaked.
Just as he was at a loss for what to do next, the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his wrist moved. This served as a reminder to Tang Xiao, and he thought of the message Ah Yin had previously conveyed to him. Just because he was helpless did not mean that Ah Yin, as a mother, was the same.
Tang Xiao looked at the Blue Silver Emperor and asked with some trepidation.
"Ah Yin, are you able to help Little San recover?"
Seeing that this person had finally gotten to the point, she hurriedly shook her grass blades, struggling to convey the previous message once more.
Tang Xiao looked at the direction Ah Yin's grass blade was pointing and began to ponder the hint she had given.
'That direction is...'
'Is it the place where the two brothers first met Ah Yin? And then return?'
Tang Xiao thought of a possibility and asked Ah Yin for confirmation.
"Ah Yin, are you trying to say that I should take Little San to the forest where we first met?"
Seeing that Tang Xiao had guessed correctly, Ah Yin began to shake violently again, as if relieved that this person had finally understood her meaning.
Having received confirmation from Ah Yin, there was no time to lose. Tang Xiao immediately took Tang San and Ah Yin and headed toward that place: the Blue Silver Forest.
A few days later, Tang Xiao arrived at the Blue Silver Forest with Tang San and Ah Yin.
Ah Yin instinctively released her Spiritual Power to connect with the Spiritual Magnetic Field formed by the Spiritual Power of countless Blue Silver Grass within the Blue Silver Forest.
With the return of the Blue Silver Emperor, the Blue Silver King in the forest naturally sensed it. Feeling the familiar aura, the Blue Silver King's inner voice resonated within Ah Yin's heart.
"Empress, great Empress, is it really you? How did you become like this?"
With the help of the Blue Silver Forest's Spiritual Magnetic Field, Ah Yin's intelligence seemed to clear slightly, and she sent a mental command to the Blue Silver King.
"Save my son"
However, this mental voice remained very faint.
Tang Xiao, who had been listening in with his own Spiritual Power, felt relieved upon hearing that Tang San could indeed be saved.
The Blue Silver King also understood that Ah Yin's current state was poor. A surge of intense Spiritual Power quickly connected with Tang Xiao, and it then transmitted a message to him with some urgency.
"This human powerhouse, please bring the Empress to me, would you?"
Inviting a human powerhouse into the territory of a Soul Beast was certainly not because the Blue Silver King had lost its mind. It had simply sensed the bloodline aura of Ah Yin and Tang Hao from Tang San, and since Tang Xiao was Tang Hao's older brother, it mistook him for their King Consort.
Tang Xiao had no objections. He stepped into the forest and moved quickly in the direction of the mental guidance.
About five minutes later, moving at full speed, Tang Xiao saw the Blue Silver King that had summoned him.
Countless vines with crystal-clear skin and a deep blue hue were intertwined and climbing upward, reaching a height of about ten meters. Each of these soaring vines was as thick as a normal person's waist, with a diameter exceeding one foot.
In the center of the vines was a human face formed by the arrangement of various smaller vines. This was the Blue Silver King, the strongest entity in the current Blue Silver Forest.
Seeing Tang Xiao arrive, the Blue Silver King spoke in human language.
"This human powerhouse, please plant the Empress in the soil in front of me; I must heal the Empress."
As it spoke, it waved its vines to pull away the other Blue Silver Grass in front of it, transplanting them elsewhere.
Hearing that this Soul Beast could save Ah Yin, Tang Xiao spoke excitedly.
"Is this true!"
The Blue Silver King replied earnestly.
"It is true. The Empress is the sovereign of our clan; I would not harm her. Furthermore, given your strength, I would not dare to deceive you."
Hearing the Blue Silver King's prompt response, Tang Xiao did not hesitate further and moved to plant Ah Yin in the soil the Blue Silver King had cleared.
Seeing that everything was ready, the Blue Silver King asked Tang Xiao to step back. Two drops of blue liquid flowed down from the face of the Blue Silver King, and it shouted aloud.
"Empress, please feel the adoration of your subjects."
As the Blue Silver King's voice fell, an incomparably vast aura suddenly rose up. This power did not come solely from the Blue Silver King, but from the entire Blue Silver Forest.
If someone were to look down from high above, they would discover that blue, ghostly radiance was rising from every single blade of Blue Silver Grass throughout the forest; that was the power contributed by all the Blue Silver Grass in the Blue Silver Forest for their Empress.
After Ah Yin muddledly absorbed one-tenth of this vast power, her originally dim soul finally awakened. The first thing she did after waking was to stop the energy absorption; these energies had another purpose.
Subsequently, endless blue spirit light surged, condensing into a human shape and transforming into a stunningly beautiful woman.
The woman appeared to be in her thirties, her entire body draped in a blue-gold gown. Her noble and elegant temperament accentuated a face so beautiful it seemed not of this world, and her deep blue eyes were as flawless as blue crystals. Golden ribbons curled around the hem of her skirt, and a faint, lingering fragrance drifted through the air. This person was none other than the generation's Blue Silver Empress, Ah Yin.
Ah Yin approached Tang San, her eyes filled with pity as she gazed at her son. Tears of Soul Power welled up and slid down her face uncontrollably, and she murmured in a low voice.
"My son, you have suffered."
"Mother has finally found you."
"."
After a long while, Ah Yin composed herself and looked toward Tang Xiao, who stood beside Tang San.
"Big Brother, it has been a long time."
Hearing that familiar form of address and seeing that face, as moving as it had always been, Tang Xiao's tiger-like eyes filled with tears as he whispered.
"Ah Yin, you are still alive. This is truly wonderful."
A flash of sadness crossed the depths of Ah Yin's eyes at Tang Xiao's words, but she did not let it show, instead offering a smile.
"Being able to see you again, Big Brother, is wonderful for me too. However."
Ah Yin pointed toward the energy in the sky and continued.
"Now is not the time for talk. I must first restore Little San's spirit."
Tang Xiao nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.
In an instant, Ah Yin utilized her Bloodline Imperial Authority to seize control of the Spiritual Magnetic Field, transmitting her voice to the Blue Silver King with a sigh.
'Xiao Lan, you have carried the burden of the Blue Silver Forest for so long. You have worked hard.'
Hearing Ah Yin's transmission, the Blue Silver King replied with tears streaming down its face.
'It is no hardship, Empress, you are too kind.'
'It is enough that you have returned.'
After the two plants exchanged brief pleasantries, Ah Yin got to the point and transmitted to the Blue Silver King.
'Xiao Lan, my son's Spirit Origin has been destroyed. I need you to assist me in awakening the Blue Silver Emperor Lineage for him.'
The Blue Silver King glanced at Tang San and said solemnly.
'Empress, I observe that the Young Master's bloodline is damaged; I fear that—'
At this point, it seemed to realize something. What it knew, Ah Yin naturally knew as well, so this was what Ah Yin intended. The Blue Silver King cried out in alarm.
'Empress, you cannot!'
'Your own origin is already severely depleted. If you use your own bloodline to awaken the Young Master, I fear you will lose all your intelligence and be reduced to an ordinary stalk of Blue Silver Grass!'
Seeing that the Blue Silver King had guessed her intent, Ah Yin stared straight at Tang San, her eyes filled with such tenderness that it seemed she wished to engrave his image into her very soul, and she replied calmly.
'I know.'
The Blue Silver King tried to dissuade her.
'Since you are aware of the consequences, awakening the Blue Silver King Lineage for the Young Master would be enough! Why must you seek the Imperial Lineage!'
Ah Yin shook her head and said.
'It is not enough. My son's origin is too heavily damaged. If it is not the Blue Silver Emperor Lineage, my son will not wake up.'
The Blue Silver King wanted to argue further, but Ah Yin said firmly.
'My mind is made up; say no more!'
'If it is fated that only one of us can live freely, then I want my son to live, even if the price is my life!'
Hearing Ah Yin's resolute command, the Blue Silver King had no choice but to obey, no matter how unwilling it was.
Tang Xiao stood to the side, watching the expressions of Ah Yin and the Blue Silver King shift constantly. He did not know what they were saying, assuming only that saving Tang San was somewhat troublesome. Ah Yin controlled the Spiritual Magnetic Field to push Tang Xiao away so he could not hear. This was intentional on her part; otherwise, she feared that if Tang Xiao knew the price of saving Tang San, he would forcibly take her away.
Having settled things with the Blue Silver King, Ah Yin took one last lingering look at Tang San before beginning to restore his bloodline.
Blue light surged from the Blue Silver King, and Tang San began to float. His body acted like a massive maw, frantically devouring the surrounding ocean of Blue Silver energy.
Everything seemed normal until Tang Xiao saw Ah Yin forming hand seals, countless golden lights emerging from her body to pour into Tang San's, while her own aura plummeted rapidly. Sensing something was wrong, he roared.
"Stop!"
The formidable Soul Power of a Super Douluo erupted as he attempted to halt Ah Yin's ritual.
Seeing that Tang Xiao had discovered the truth, Ah Yin spoke.
"Big Brother, I am sorry. I deceived you."
"To save Little San, this is the only way, and there is no turning back now."
Tang Xiao's movements stalled at her words, but it was already too late. He could do nothing, and in the end, he could only choke out her name.
"Ah Yin!"
As the ritual neared its end, Ah Yin began to entrust her son to him.
"Even though the Clear Sky Hammer spirit is gone, having the Blue Silver Emperor is not bad either."
"From here on, I must trouble you to guide Little San, Big Brother!"
Finally, as the ritual accompanying the Life of Ah Yin neared its end, she glanced at Tang San and said gently.
"Little San, Mother is leaving. To be able to see you one last time, Mother is very happy!"
"From now on, you must take good care of yourself."
As her voice faded, the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline of Ah Yin completely withered away; her originally resplendent true form regressed into common Blue Silver Grass, and her soul dissipated entirely.
From this moment on, Ah Yin was no more in this world.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader