"When it comes to hunting spirit beasts… have you thought about what kind you want for your third spirit ring?"Xiao Wu asked curiously, holding up two fingers as she spoke. "Your first soul ability is Endless Life, which absorbs power from the earth to restore yourself and your teammates. The second is your positive and negative buff, which enhances allies and weakens enemies across the board."
"These two are totally broken—really heaven-defying stuff. Sure, they each have weaknesses: they can't function off the ground and they're vulnerable to wind disruption, but those drawbacks are nothing compared to their advantages. Besides, not many soul masters can fly."
She tilted her head. "Wait—are you thinking of getting a flying-type ability for your third ring?"
Flying?Tang San chuckled and shook his head. "The Blue Silver Emperor's hundred-thousand-year right leg bone already has a flying ability. Why bother getting another one?"
He glanced at her and explained, "Have you forgotten what I told you before about spirit ring fusion? I want my spirit abilities to complement each other. The soul power flow patterns between rings can't be too similar."
"Just like with the soul abilities I chose for you—Wind Listening and True Spirit Bone. Their properties don't conflict. Their directional flows are different, and they align quite well."
"That way, if you pursue spirit ring fusion in the future, it'll be much easier."
In Tang San's eyes, spirit ring fusion far surpassed the Clear Sky School's soul ring explosion technique.
Explosion was simple: destroy the ring and unleash all its power in a short-lived burst. It was brilliant, but unsustainable.
Fusion, however, was different.
If soul ring explosion was like nuclear fission, then soul ring fusion was nuclear fusion—and it was even controllable fusion. In terms of technical complexity and long-term potential, it was vastly superior.
"How do you actually train spirit ring fusion?" Xiao Wu asked.
"I don't know yet," Tang San admitted. "There aren't any books explaining how to synchronize the rings. It's definitely not as simple as forcing two soul rings to interact. I suspect it involves aligning the soul power flow between them. I'll have to experiment slowly."
He looked at her meaningfully. "But don't you dare try it on your own. If something goes wrong and your soul rings explode, I can't revive you yet. I'd just end up crying while packing your belongings."
"Hey! Don't underestimate me!" Xiao Wu huffed, not understanding what "licking the bag with tears" meant but ignoring it. "Anyway, you still haven't told me what spirit beast you're planning to get for your third spirit ring."
"I'm sticking to the life route. That hasn't changed."
Tang San elaborated, "My first spirit ring lets Blue Silver Grass absorb power from the earth. The second lets it produce seeds. So for the third… I want it to absorb the power of sunlight."
"Or more precisely, I want a spirit ability that lets it grow by absorbing light. Photosynthesis is a core trait of plants. If I can incorporate that into my martial soul, it'll not only improve its regenerative capability but also make it more heat-resistant."
"That's… a really specific requirement," Xiao Wu muttered.
Tang San nodded. "It is. That's why it's hard to find a suitable plant-type spirit beast. Ironically, there are animal-type spirit beasts that are a better fit."
"For example—the Sun Lion. It has a ruby-like organ on its forehead that absorbs sunlight and converts it into powerful vitality. It can also release red beams of focused energy. A thousand-year Sun Lion can pierce a Soul Saint's defense."
"But if I take that spirit ring, Blue Silver Grass would likely gain an offensive skill. And I don't need more attack skills—I already have enough methods for combat."
"Besides, Sun Lions live on the Evergreen Prairie near the Star Luo Empire's coast. That's extremely far. From here in Nuoding, even if we traveled without rest, it'd take more than half a year to get there."
Xiao Wu blinked. "It's that far?"
"Of course it is. The Douluo Continent is huge," Tang San said. "But yes, even though human civilization covers a lot, there are far more unexplored regions out there."
He then smiled. "Luckily, I found something more promising. There's a plant-type spirit beast in a desert near the Sunset Forest called the Sun and Moon Grass."
"Sun and Moon Grass?" Xiao Wu tilted her head. She'd lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for many years and never heard of it.
Tang San explained, "It's a rare desert plant spirit beast found only in oasis regions. It absorbs sunlight during the day and moonlight at night. That dual intake lays the foundation for evolving into a ten-thousand-year beast."
"One of its key traits is the soul skill Energy Storage. It stores the absorbed energy and condenses it into a Sun and Moon Pearl."
Tang San's tone grew focused. "That pearl can be used to release stored energy later. It's exactly what I need. Otherwise, I'd have to always prepare a field of Blue Silver Grass just to recharge from the ground—that's too time-consuming."
"Right now, we don't feel the delay much. But once we reach the Soul Ancestor level, the preparation time becomes a serious limitation."
That was why he prioritized the Energy Storage ability.
Based on available records, soul masters who had absorbed the Sun and Moon Grass gained variations of the same core ability—though they named it differently based on their martial soul. For example: Lion Soul Storage, Lone Wolf Storage, or Green Vine Energy Storage.
But the core was the same.
Tang San believed that if his Blue Silver Grass—in truth, the Blue Silver Emperor—gained that spirit ring, the resulting ability would be superior to all the others. After all, the Blue Silver Emperor was the king of plant-type soul beasts.
"Hmm… the Sun and Moon Grass's energy storage does seem powerful."Xiao Wu nodded thoughtfully. "If you can absorb energy from earth, sunlight, and moonlight and store it for use anytime… that's a huge advantage."
"Wait—should I get an energy storage skill too?"
Tang San shook his head. "You don't need one."
"Unlike my Blue Silver Grass, all of your spirit abilities so far directly enhance your body. With every increase in spirit power, your speed, strength, and agility improve automatically."
"What you need isn't stored energy. You need abilities that further strengthen your body. As for selecting soul rings that enhance your martial soul, it's best to accept passive reinforcement for now. If it matches your martial soul, it'll yield maximum gains."
Tang San envisioned Xiao Wu as a melee powerhouse—lightning-fast, with a devastatingly flexible body. Between her long legs, scorpion braid, and incredible agility, she was a perfect fit for an extreme-speed martial arts path.
As for other Soft Boned Rabbit talents, like Teleportation and Invincible Golden Body from the original story?
Tang San wasn't convinced they were worth it.
Sure, those abilities offered short-range escape and temporary invincibility—but in high-level combat, they weren't enough to turn the tide. Especially against stronger foes.
In the original canon, even with three ten-thousand-year rings, Xiao Wu struggled against an equally ranked Titled Douluo. In the end, she needed external help—a powerful hidden weapon like the Peacock Plume—to land a critical blow.
So rather than waste a ring slot on minor spatial talents, Tang San believed she should specialize in speed and martial arts.
When she eventually reached the Titled Douluo stage, her speed could rival lightning, and her physique would be sharp enough to cut through steel. With precise soul power control and swordsmanship, she might even one day break into space-cutting techniques.
And if Xiao Wu really did have a hidden spatial talent?
Then in the future, when her cultivation was higher, she could awaken it as a domain, not just a soul ring ability.
That would be a far more powerful—and elegant—solution.
Tang San was confident that, with her hundred-thousand-year cultivation origin, Xiao Wu could awaken some form of innate domain once she reached Soul Saint. When that day came, he'd guide her toward cultivating it properly.