In the headmaster's office of Nuoding Academy, Zhang Tian stood with a polite, almost apologetic expression on his handsome face. Before him sat a middle-aged teacher with weary eyes.
"You wish to... drop out?" the teacher asked, surprise coloring his tone. "Zhang Tian, we've all seen you. You work harder than almost any other student here. Are you sure about this?"
Zhang Tian offered a small, sad smile. "Teacher, I am grateful for the academy's guidance these past few years. But I must be realistic. My innate spirit power is 0.5. My spirit ring is a mere ten-year one. I have reached my limit."
He lowered his head, his voice tinged with a convincing melancholy. "I've lost hope in the path of a Spirit Master. It's better I return to my village. I am good with my hands; I can manage a farm, earn a living. Chasing an impossible dream will only lead to poverty and regret."
The teacher sighed, a wave of pity washing over him. He had indeed seen the boy. Always training, always reading, always polite. It was a true shame that talent was so cruel.
"I understand," the teacher said softly. "It is a mature decision. Perhaps it is for the best. With your intelligence, you will surely prosper as a farmer or a merchant. The academy will process your withdrawal. We wish you well, young man."
"Thank you, Teacher," Zhang Tian said, bowing deeply before turning and walking away, his face a perfect mask of resigned disappointment.
The moment he was out of the academy gates, the mask vanished, replaced by a cold, calculating focus.
His return to the Holy Spirit Village caused a small stir, mostly of pity, which he accepted with quiet grace. He explained his decision to Grandpa Jack, who patted his shoulder sadly but supported his choice to lead a practical life.
Zhang Tian seamlessly fell into the role of a diligent farmer. He managed a small plot of land, applying his modern knowledge to yield impressive crops that he sold for a tidy profit. With his earnings, he bought books. The Spirit Hall, in a rare act of public service, sold affordable encyclopedias on common spirit beasts. They lacked information on rare or powerful species, but they were filled with details on locations, habits, and weaknesses of more mundane creatures, which was exactly what he needed.
But his true work was done in secret. Miles from the village, he found another secluded valley, larger than the one near Nuoding. Day by day, he patiently cultivated, and piece by piece, he corrupted the entire valley of Blue Silver Grass, turning it into a sprawling, thriving field of his loyal Blood Silver Grass.
A year flew by.
Through the constant, active devouring of energy from plants, insects, and the passive tribute from his Blood Silver Grass field, his cultivation soared. He reached Level 14, a speed that would be utterly unbelievable for someone with his supposed talent. Furthermore, by constantly feeding his spirit ring the life force he devoured, his first ring, originally a flimsy white, now pulsed with the deeper light of a yellow, hundred-year ring.
He had also spent the year meticulously crafting the tools from his designs. The compact crossbows, the specialized grappling claws, the hand-cranked pulley system—all were ready.
The time had come.
He told a proud Grandpa Jack that his love for knowledge was calling him and that he wished to travel to Heaven Dou City to study in its grand libraries. The old man, seeing the fire in the boy's eyes, gave him his blessing and a pouch of coins for the journey.
Zhang Tian never went towards Heaven Dou City. Instead, he headed for the remote mountain range he had identified on his maps. He moved with a purpose that belied his age, his mind sharp and focused.
'Tang Hao should still be at Nuoding,' he reasoned. 'Xiao Wu is a walking 100,000-year-old lure. He wouldn't dare leave his son unprotected for long. The cave should be empty.'
After two days of trekking, he stood before it: a colossal cliff face, nearly perfectly vertical, with a monstrous waterfall crashing down its center, the roar deafening.
He wasted no time. He assembled his first crossbow, aimed high above the dark patch of water he estimated was the cave, and fired. The steel claw sailed through the air and bit deep into the rock with a satisfying thunk. He tested the silk line; it was secure.
Attaching the pulley system to his belt, he began the slow, arduous process of winching himself up. He was a tiny spider ascending a massive wall, the spray of the waterfall soaking him to the bone.
After forty minutes of grueling work, he was level with the cave entrance, suspended a hundred meters in the air. The sheer force of the water next to him was terrifying. Attempting to swing through it would be instant death.
He calmly assembled his second crossbow. He aimed for a point on the cliff on the far side of the twenty-meter-wide waterfall, took a deep breath to steady his aim against the wind and spray, and fired. The second claw found purchase.
He attached the second rope to his harness and began to winch it, pulling the line taut until it formed a horizontal bridge in the air, right in front of the thundering curtain of water. Clipping himself onto this traverse line with a rolling carabiner, he released the vertical rope and pulled himself across, sliding through the mist, the deafening roar of the falls just inches away. He had bypassed the waterfall's fury with cold, calculated engineering.
He landed on a narrow ledge in front of the cave mouth. He ran his hands along the rock face, feeling for the mechanism. He found a series of loose stones, just as the novel had implied.
"Ah, if Tang San, who was born in the Tang Sect, was asked to design the entry switch, it wouldn't be so simple," he muttered to himself, a smirk on his face. He summoned his Blood Silver Grass, and several red vines shot out, pushing all the stones simultaneously and one turned out to be the trigger stone. "I can only say that the mechanical arts and engineering of this world are still too superficial."
With a low groan, a section of the rock wall slid open.
"And this is just convenient for me!"
He slipped inside. The cave was damp and bare, but in the center, bathed in a soft, ambient light from phosphorescent moss, was a single, small plant. It was a blade of Blue Silver Grass, but unlike any other. It was a deeper, more vibrant blue, and embedded within its leaves were delicate, intricate veins of pure gold. It radiated an immense, pure life energy. The Blue Silver Empress, Ah Yin.
He approached her, his Blood Silver Grass materializing in his hand. He first tried to use his 'Devour' skill. He reached out a tendril and touched one of her golden-veined leaves.
Nothing happened.
He felt no energy flow. It was like trying to drink from a sealed bottle.
'As expected,' he thought, not disappointed. 'She's a 100,000-year-old being, even in this state. Her quality is simply too high for my hundred-year ring to affect.'
He switched tactics. He began to infuse his own blood-red spirit power into her. This time, he saw a reaction. One of her tendrils slowly began to turn red, tainted by his corrupting energy. But almost as quickly, the pure, golden light from her veins pulsed, and the red was purified, returning the leaf to its original blue.
'It works, but my power is too weak and her vitality is too strong. It would take years of constant effort at my current level. But first things first.'
His eyes scanned the cave and found it: a groove high up on the stone wall, holding a large, lead box. He sent his vines snaking up the wall, wrapping around the box and carefully lowering it. It was heavy, at least two hundred kilograms, but his physically trained body and the strength of his vines could handle it.
He placed the box on a large cloth he'd spread out. The Blue Silver Emperor's Right Leg Spirit Bone. He knew absorbing it would take time. Three days for Tang San. It was too risky to do it here.
He then walked back to the center of the cave, took out a large, specially designed bamboo tube, and carefully dug up the Blue Silver Empress, roots, soil, and all. He placed her gently inside the container, which had holes at the top to allow for air.
He packed the lead box in his bundle, padded it with clothes, and wrapped the entire thing with more of his Blood Silver Grass for security. Before he left, a wicked idea came to him.
He picked up a sharp stone and, on a dry section of the wall, began to carve a message.
"Tang Hao, I will take the soul bone for my own use. As for the blue silver grass, it should be the Blue Silver Emperor that was sacrificed for you. Unfortunately, she is too weak now."
"So, I have decided to take it with me and will help it grow stronger before killing it for its Spirit Ring."
"Don't worry, I won't reveal the news that you've been here, nor will I reveal your son's information and whereabouts. After all, I don't want to expose the fact that I absorbed the 100,000-year soul bone left by your wife and am carrying your wife's body that is in the form of Blue Silver Grass."
"As for who I am, haha, guess! Just know that our grudge from all those years ago can be considered to be cancelled out with this."
He chuckled, admiring his handiwork. He then carefully poured water over the floor, erasing his footprints, and scattered some dust and pebbles to make it look undisturbed before sealing the cave and making his escape.
He didn't return to the village. He went directly to his secret valley of Blood Silver Grass. He planted the Blue Silver Empress in her bamboo pot in the very center of the field. As he expected, the surrounding Blood Silver Grass made no attempt to share their energy with her—she was no longer their empress—but their collective presence seemed to amplify his own. When he tried to corrupt her again, he found the process was significantly faster, though her immense vitality still pushed back effectively. It was a good start.
Satisfied, he turned his attention to the lead box. He opened it, revealing a spirit bone that pulsed with a gentle, azure light. The Blue Silver Emperor's Right Leg. He sat down, took a deep breath, and began the absorption.
He used his Blood Silver Grass, empowered by the entire field, to form a thick, pulsating cocoon around himself, shielding his aura from the outside world.
The process was intense. A torrent of pure, gentle, yet overwhelmingly vast energy flooded his body. It was a power of pure life. It nourished his muscles, strengthened his bones, and sent his spirit power skyrocketing.
For five days, he remained in the cocoon. When he finally emerged, he felt reborn. His spirit power had surged dramatically, hitting the solid wall of Level 20. He could feel a significant amount of excess energy stored within him, ready to be unleashed the moment he acquired his second ring. He estimated it would push him straight to Level 22.
More importantly, he had gained two new abilities from the spirit bone.
Wildfire Cannot Destroy the Grass, It Grows Again With the Spring Wind: A passive healing skill of incredible potency. Minor wounds closed on their own. By channeling spirit power into it, he could regenerate grievous injuries, even lost limbs, as long as a spark of life remained.
Flight: He could now fly.
But there was another, unexpected change. The spirit bone had resonated with his martial spirit. It hadn't purified his Blood Silver Grass, but enhanced it. He felt a deeper connection, an innate authority over all Blue Silver Grass, and especially his corrupted Blood Silver Grass. He could now sense through them, draw information from them, and command them with greater ease.
His physical appearance had also undergone a transformation. His black hair had shifted to a deep, lustrous blue that cascaded down his back. His obsidian eyes were now the same shade of profound blue. His skin was flawless, his features even more refined and delicate. He was no longer just handsome; he was ethereally beautiful, possessing a charm that could captivate at a glance.
He stood up, took Ah Yin in her pot, and knew it was time to leave the Holy Spirit Village for good. His next destination was Suotuo City, a place known for its grand spirit arena.
He flew for a part of the journey, reveling in the freedom, before landing near a small village. Famished, he ate a hearty meal at a tavern, the first proper food he'd had in a week, before catching a carriage to the city.
His mind was already on his next target. He needed a second spirit ring.
'There's a plant beast mentioned in the books,' he mused as the carriage rattled along. 'The Corpse-Puppet Flower. A twisted, parasitic plant. It releases spores that, when inhaled by a creature, slowly take root in its nervous system. Once the host dies, the flower blooms from its corpse and can puppeteer the body to defend itself and spread more spores.'
It was a weak beast in direct combat, and its spirit ring was considered useless by most. The puppeteering ability couldn't be transferred to a Spirit Master.
'But they miss the point and do not understand how to use that ability properly,' Zhang Tian thought, a predatory glint in his new blue eyes. 'I don't need to make puppets. I just need to plant a seed. If my Blood Silver Grass can deliver those spores into an enemy, it creates a connection. A connection I can use to Devour their life force and spirit power from anywhere, at any time. It will make my cultivation speed explode.'