Soul Land: Raiden Shogun Is My Martial Soul

Chapter 196: Two Pairs of Shoes?

In the Sunset Forest, three uninvited guests arrived today: Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and Qin Ming.

Tang San had yet to join the Emperor Team's second squad, choosing instead to wait until he obtained his fourth spirit ring before making the move. Qin Ming, as the mentor responsible for the Emperor Team, was obligated to assist team members in acquiring spirit rings whenever they broke through. This duty extended even to Tang San, despite his personal dislike for him.

Not that Qin Ming was alone in this sentiment—Flender didn't care much for Tang San either.

"Teacher, if we can't find a Mandala Snake, can I substitute another type of spirit beast?" Tang San asked respectfully, directing his question toward Yu Xiaogang and completely ignoring Qin Ming, who stood nearby.

It was worth noting that Qin Ming was technically serving as Tang San's mentor for this trip, accompanying him on a spirit beast hunt. Yet Tang San chose to consult Yu Xiaogang instead, without even pretending to acknowledge Qin Ming's presence.

This was classic Tang San.

Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang clasped his hands behind his back—a habitual pose he adopted during his lectures, as it made him appear more scholarly.

"Xiao San, the Mandala Snake is one of the most terrifying spirit beasts in the mid-to-low-tier range. Its spirit ring can provide the strongest possible enhancement," Yu Xiaogang explained calmly. After a pause, as if recalling something important, he continued, "Since you aim to strengthen your Blue Silver Bind ability, your fourth spirit ring should ideally come from a Mandala Snake."

"After all, you've already obtained two spirit rings from Mandala Snakes, and your martial spirit has a strong adaptability to them."

Yu Xiaogang's words made Qin Ming's mouth twitch. Seriously? This teacher-and-disciple pair was just going to milk one type of spirit beast for all it was worth?

Strengthen Blue Silver Bind?

Why bother enhancing such a skill?

It might be good enough to bind Dai Mubai, but who else could it restrain?

On second thought… never mind. It wasn't Qin Ming's problem, so why should he care?

"Thank you for clarifying, Teacher. Then the goal for this trip will be the Mandala Snake," Tang San replied.

Before the conversation could end, Yu Xiaogang waved his hand and added, "That said, there are alternatives to the Mandala Snake. However, their effects might not be as good. For instance, the Titan Giant Python…"

Qin Ming's eye twitched. Titan Giant Python? These two must be dreaming!

The Titan Giant Python was a terrifying existence. Even a four- or five-thousand-year-old specimen wasn't something a mere Spirit Emperor like Qin Ming could hope to defeat. Without a Spirit Sage present, who would dare provoke such a creature?

And that was just for a thousand-year-old one. If they encountered a ten-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Python, even a Spirit Sage would likely flee for their life!

This teacher-disciple duo was both ignorant and fearless.

Qin Ming rolled his eyes but held his tongue. He silently followed behind them, remembering Flender's instructions: avoid offending Yu Xiaogang and Tang San at all costs. The reason? Tang San's father was a Titled Douluo.

This was the only reason Qin Ming had been able to tolerate them so far. If it were anyone else, his patience would have run out ages ago.

Hunting spirit beasts like this—fixating on a single type and demanding the perfect age—was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Yet time passed, and then something happened that left Qin Ming utterly astonished. He blinked, struggling to process what he was seeing.

"A Mandala Snake over four thousand years old???"

Wait, they actually found one?

And so quickly?

They had barely been searching for half a day!

Qin Ming couldn't understand this stroke of luck, but since they had encountered the snake, there was no way he was letting it escape.

Ironically, the Mandala Snake had no intention of running. Instead, it treated the trio as prey.

"How strange. A spirit beast as formidable as the Mandala Snake, and we encounter one after less than half a day of searching?" Yu Xiaogang was also surprised but quickly regained his composure. Turning to Qin Ming, he commanded, "Qin Ming, this one will do. Help Xiao San take it down!"

The process of Tang San obtaining the spirit ring went smoothly. The four-thousand-year-old Mandala Snake became his fourth spirit ring, granting him his fourth spirit ability: Blue Silver Bind.

Yes, it was another binding skill, but this one came from a spirit ring over four thousand years old! Combined with the enhancements from his previous two binding abilities, it was now nearly impossible for spirit masters of the same rank to break free from the Blue Silver Bind.

Of course, this was all theoretical knowledge. How effective it would truly be could only be determined through actual combat.

"It's a pity this Mandala Snake didn't drop a spirit bone. If only…"

"No, Tang San, you can't think like this! Spirit bones do indeed provide rapid power boosts, but there are only six slots for absorbing spirit bones. If you fill them prematurely and later encounter more suitable spirit bones, you'll regret it deeply…"

Tang San reflected inwardly. At this point, he was still unaware of the existence of external spirit bones, let alone that he had already missed out on one in the past. Even if he were to acquire an external spirit bone now, it wouldn't compare to what he achieved in the original story.

Without the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and the immortal herbs, many of the spirit bones he could acquire would be of lower quality, with at least two of them being only thousand-year spirit bones. His foundation was already compromised.

While spirit bones for other parts of the body could be removed by severing limbs, the torso and head spirit bones were nearly impossible to extract unless a god personally intervened.

Meanwhile, at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

After leaving the Crown Prince's mansion, Kong exited Heaven Dou City and made his way toward the academy.

Before long, he arrived at the academy grounds.

"Huh? Sister Yan has finished her seclusion?"

Kong paused in surprise. Had she already exited seclusion and even broken through to over level 60? That was incredibly fast!

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense. In the original story, even Dai Mubai managed to advance from the early 40s to over level 60 within five years. For Dugu Yan to go from the 50s to the 60s in just two years wasn't so shocking.

After all, she had the additional enhancement of spirit bones. Progressing quickly was almost inevitable.

"Captain, you'll understand everything once you return to the dormitory," Shi Mo said with a neutral expression. However, his brother Shi Mo seemed uneasy, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Shi Mo desperately wanted to mention that Yu Feng was on the verge of being disfigured by Yu Tianheng. He hoped Kong could intervene and ask Ye Lingling to heal him.

"Forget it. The boss knows his limits," Kong said after some thought. "Besides, Yu Feng is always getting his directions mixed up. Letting him learn a lesson might not be a bad thing."

After saying goodbye to the Shi brothers, Kong headed toward the dormitories. He couldn't help but wonder if his right eyelid's twitching earlier was related to Sister Yan's breakthrough.

"Was it left for misfortune and right for fortune? Or was it the other way around?" Kong pondered, rubbing his smooth, temporarily beardless chin.

Before long, he reached the door of his dormitory.

Heaven Dou Imperial Academy was famously wealthy. Even the standard student dormitories were private rooms. Kong's accommodations, however, were a standalone villa.

"???"

Looking at the two pairs of elegant shoes placed neatly at the door, Kong found himself deep in thought once again.

(Chapter End)

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