The next day dawned over the Star Dou Great Forest with muted light filtering through the dense canopy. Mist hovered low, curling between towering trunks and dense foliage, as if the forest itself whispered silent warnings. The air was thick with moisture, heavy and alive with the promise of danger.
Kazuki, Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang moved cautiously along the narrow trail, each step deliberate but watchful. The undergrowth rustled with unseen life, the forest's many inhabitants alert to the intrusion of these spirit masters. Yu Xiaogang led, his eyes sharp beneath furrowed brows, alert for any sign of soul beasts.
Suddenly, a sharp rustle and a blur of motion erupted from the brush.
Yu Xiaogang's voice cracked the tense silence. "Datura Snake! It's charging right at us!"
Without hesitation, the massive serpent burst into the clearing, scales shining with a toxic green and streaks of yellow—a living hazard. It moved with deadly speed, fangs bared and venom dripping in slow, ominous beads.
Tang San's heart hammered as the snake lunged headlong toward them.
Yu Xiaogang called sharply, "Brace yourselves! Don't let it escape!"
Kazuki's silver eye flickered with cold calculation. He stepped fluidly toward the serpent's flank, weaving invisible threads of spatial energy that lanced through the air like razor-sharp wires. The serpent hissed in fury and thrashed wildly, but Kazuki's precise manipulation constricted its movements.
Tang San gripped his weapon, his breath heavy but eyes sharp. When the serpent faltered under Kazuki's invisible binds, Tang San struck decisively, slashing at the beast's side. Venom sprayed in retaliation, but the beast's strength was ebbing.
Yu Xiaogang watched silently, a flicker of surprise in his gaze. "You didn't have to intervene," he murmured, eyes narrowing on Kazuki.
Kazuki's voice was cool, detached. "It was an obstacle. Restricting it ensured efficiency."
The snake collapsed with a final shudder. Silence blanketed the clearing.
Tang San sank to his knees, chest rising and falling in exhausted gasps. Kazuki observed from a distance, eyes narrowed as the faint glow of the soul ring began to emerge from the serpent's corpse—a swirling orb of toxic green light pulsing with latent power.
Tang San settled cross-legged on the forest floor, hands resting lightly on his knees, and extended his energy toward the soul ring. A tense moment stretched as the toxic power surged, seeking to overwhelm his spirit.
Kazuki's thoughts drifted, detached but analytical.
The Blue Silver Grass martial soul Tang San possessed was an unusual and delicate thing. Its path—the poison path—was fraught with hidden dangers.
Poison, while a powerful weapon, was a double-edged curse. It could stunt the growth of a soul spirit, slowly corrupting vitality and warping nature's delicate balance.
Kazuki recalled the signs of compromised vitality in poisoned plants: stunted growth, leaves yellowing and curling into grotesque shapes, brittle stems that snapped under the slightest pressure, and a general pallor of life that seeped from the soul itself.
Yet, paradoxically, Kazuki considered the alternative—the life path, which many with Blue Silver Grass sought to pursue.
He knew from his own study and experience that a non-poisonous plant soul beast, while seeming gentler, often imposed a heavier burden on its host.
Without the natural defense of toxins, such a plant must rely entirely on pure vitality and growth. This could strain the spirit, causing excessive energy expenditure to maintain health and vigor, sometimes to the point where the martial soul became more of a drain than a weapon.
In many cases, a pure life-path soul beast could be a slow poison to the spirit, sapping energy through constant demands for maintenance, leaving the soul master vulnerable.
By contrast, the poison path offered a defensive mechanism—the venom served as a natural shield and weapon, reducing the need for brute vitality and allowing the spirit to conserve strength for combat and growth.
Of course, this came with the price of risk—the poison could backfire, poisoning the host's own soul if they lacked the resilience to control it.
Kazuki's gaze shifted back to Tang San.
Without the bloodline of the Blue Silver Emperor flowing through Tang San's veins, his Blue Silver Grass would have been a mere ornamental, a weak and fragile martial soul destined for failure. The rare emperor blood granted Tang San the ability to withstand and even thrive amid the toxins, a resilience that few possessed.
The bloodline was the true reason Tang San had survived so long under the poison's assault—without it, the venom would have consumed him long ago, turning his soul into little more than wasted material, a failed vessel lost to the forest.
As Tang San connected deeply with the soul ring, pain flashed across his face—the venom's raw force seeking to assert dominance over his spirit.
Kazuki noted the subtle tremble in his hands, the tight clenching of his jaw—a silent battle fought within.
The absorption process was perilous. Many without Tang San's unique fortitude would have been overwhelmed, their souls crushed under the weight of poisonous power.
But Tang San endured, slowly bending the venom to his will, shaping it into a weapon rather than a chain.
Yu Xiaogang's voice cut through the tension. "Remember, poison is a tool—not a master. Do not let it control your soul."
Kazuki said nothing. To him, such platitudes were irrelevant. The true power lay beyond poison, in the mastery of laws and the immutable forces that shaped all life.
When the soul ring settled on Tang San's finger, glowing faintly with an eerie green light, Yu Xiaogang nodded with approval.
"You've passed the first test. But this is only the beginning."
Kazuki stepped back into the shadows of the forest, his expression unreadable. He understood this moment as a fragile foothold on a treacherous path, a battle barely won.
The forest exhaled softly around them, alive with silent promise.
And in the quiet depths of his mind, Kazuki felt the relentless pull of destiny—toward power, control, and a truth that would shake the legends themselves.