NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 86: The Second Soul Ring
At Hanfeng Base, for several years now, the land has been covered with a peculiar sight of "Blue Silver Grass."
Aside from the walkways and the training grounds, nearly all the earth is adorned with these sprigs of "Blue Silver Grass."
These tiny plants with pale blue leaves offered the twenty-thousand-strong troops a dominant splash of color amidst the otherwise barren, icy landscape, second only to white.
They were as if reflecting the clear sky of a bright winter's day.
Walking briskly through the camp, surrounded by the vibrant life emanating from the countless "Blue Silver Grass," Ling Yi's mind was anything but hurried. On the contrary, a serene calmness enveloped him.
Soon, Ling Yi returned to his tent, placing a large clay pot on a low table.
He was in no rush to indulge in the revitalizing broth he had painstakingly brewed; instead, he stepped towards the large wooden tub in the corner of his tent.
He bathed, cleansed himself, and changed into some dry, loose clothing with a steady, deliberate rhythm.
Sitting down before the low table, Ling Yi extended his right hand, and with a thought, his martial soul "Blue Silver Grass" materialized.
The translucent blue leaves shimmered, casting a cascade of light that seemed to weave through the air.
With the appearance of the "Blue Silver Grass" martial soul, all the "Blue Silver Grass" within Ling Yi's tent instantly transformed into faint blue starlight, resonating within his spirit.
As these bluish stars gradually brightened, they illuminated the once dark and distant corners with a hazy silhouette.
These are merely the outlines sensed through pure mental energy.
When combined with Ling Yi's powerful senses and telepathy, every single blade of grass and every stone within a thirty-meter radius was vividly mapped out in his mind.
Beyond the thirty meters, it wasn't absolute darkness; rather, like human vision, the clarity diminished the further something was away from him.
In this moment, within Ling Yi's mind, three blue starlights were the most prominent.
If the other "Blue Silver Grass" starlights could be likened to fireflies, then these three were like the bright moon in the sky!
These three blue moons were just a few meters behind Ling Yi's bed.
The golden sunlight streaming through the skylight of the tent shone down on three distinctive clusters of "Blue Silver Grass", each resembling a small bush.
The one by the bedside appeared ordinary, indistinguishable from the rest of the "Blue Silver Grass" scattered on the ground, though its stems and leaves were thicker and broader, with more and longer leaves, as if dozens of larger "Blue Silver Grass" were growing together as one.
During the past four years, many had entered Ling Yi’s tent, but never found anything unusual about this particular "Blue Silver Grass".
The most they felt was that it seemed more lush compared to the others, and had a tendency to cluster together.
In comparison, the two "Blue Silver Grass" plants at the foot of Ling Yi's bed were slightly more conspicuous.
The one growing closer to the edge of the tent was similar in size and style to the 'original model' at the head of the bed, but different in that the colors on its leaves and stems were not the usual pale blue of "Blue Silver Grass".
Instead, it shimmered with a metallic bluish-grey hue, imparting a sense of resilience even to the naked eye.
On the other side, closer to where Ling Yi stood, a particular Blue Silver Grass also displayed its unique difference in color.
It was a shade of pale blue, almost white, akin to the sky right after dawn, filled with the miracle and potential of life.
This was the seed left behind by the Blue Silver Grass that had become Ling Yi's first soul ring, completely devoted to him, cultivated once more by his hands.
Over four years had passed since then. Now, it had grown again into a hundred-year Blue Silver Grass, and its age even reached over six hundred years!
Throughout its regrowth, the critical points like the ten-year and hundred-year barriers no longer existed. Nurtured by Ling Yi's soul power and the rapid absorption of external nutrients, the energy accumulated within it swelled rapidly.
It was as if a master discarded their power to retrain, ignoring past bottlenecks, soaring quickly to recover their original strength and even advancing further!
Who knew whether, upon reaching the nine hundred ninety-nine and thousand-year milestones, this Blue Silver Grass would bring Ling Yi new surprises like before.
In contrast to ‘A Lan’, who, like Ling Yi, started anew, the other two named ‘A Hua’ and ‘A Luo’ by Ling Yi were different Blue Silver Grass. They were nurtured using the shavings of an Iron Birch Tree and the vines of Maidenhair Grass as fertilizer.
Over the years, no fewer than a hundred people have entered Ling Yi's tent, but none realized these three Blue Silver Grass had survived for hundreds of years.
It wasn’t that they were blind; such a thought simply never crossed their minds!
The phrase "hidden in plain sight" truly applies here.
Who would have expected that three centennial-ranked soul beasts were quietly growing right next to Ling Yi's bedside?
Who could have imagined that "Blue Silver Grass" could also reach the centennial level?
Speaking of which, can "Blue Silver Grass" even be considered a soul beast? After uprooting it, tearing it into pieces and grinding it up, it doesn’t produce a soul ring or even the slightest soul power fluctuation, right?
Over the past four years, the strongest and most discerning soul master to enter Ling Yi's tent has undoubtedly been Lou Gao, a Soul King.
Yet, despite traversing half the Douluo Continent, even Lou Gao has neither seen nor paid attention to the existence of centennial "Blue Silver Grass."
Furthermore, due to Ling Yi, the vibrant waves of vitality and energy from these clusters of "Blue Silver Grass" are extremely subdued, barely differing from ordinary "Blue Silver Grass" around them, except perhaps appearing a bit more lush. Without specifically cutting the grass and tasting it, one can hardly directly perceive the vast vitality and plant energy contained within.
Ling Yi's gaze swept across A Lan, A Hua, and A Luo before finally settling on the slender, elongated leaves of A Luo.
He lowered his head and removed the lid from a clay pot. Amidst the enticing aroma, he calmly consumed nearly half a pot of "Ten Ingredient Nourishing Soup," bones and all, effortlessly downing it with the rich broth.
Feeling the warmth spreading from his stomach throughout his body, Ling Yi stood and approached his bed. With his right hand, he gestured at A Luo with his martial spirit, "Blue Silver Grass," channeling his soul power outwardly to draw it.
A familiar scene unfolded. Dots of blue, green, and yellow light started to appear around Aluo's body, which was roughly two square feet in size, and began to rise into the air, gathering together.
While the soul ring was still forming over there, Ling Yi didn’t foolishly wait. Instead, he positioned himself in the open space between the small table and the bed, half-squatting to assume a stance.
"Beast Martial Soul: Xing Yi Quan Frame" First Form: Galloping Stallion!!
As his muscles, bones, and flesh were spontaneously enhanced by the warm energy flooding his abdomen, a deep yellow ring exuding intense vitality finally formed in mid-air about a meter away from Ling Yi.
There was no need for Ling Yi to urge his soul power to absorb it; with just a slight thought, that deep yellow ring transformed into a stream of light, encircling Ling Yi's right palm where his martial soul, "Blue Silver Grass," remained extended.
Simultaneously, on the ground, the mutated "Blue Silver Grass" Aluo, which appeared to be a cluster of dozens of "Blue Silver Grass" gathered together, also transformed into a stream of light. It followed, merging into Ling Yi's "Blue Silver Grass," like a fledgling bird finding its forest, or rain falling into a secluded pool, merging seamlessly.
All that was left behind was a pile of ashen remains tinged with faint blue, and a blue and white seed as large as a thumb.
Disregarding Aluo’s self-sacrificial act, Ling Yi continued practicing his "Beast Martial Soul: Xing Yi Quan Frame," starting from the first form, Galloping Stallion, then onto the second form: Soul Technique - Spiraling Snake, the third form: Soul Technique - Light as a Swallow, the fourth form: Soul Technique - Tiger’s Roar, the fifth form: Soul Technique - Wild Bull Charge, the sixth form: Golden Ape Throw, and the seventh form: Bear Crushes Rock...
With his mind split in two, under the control of his mental power, the warm energy from the "All-Nourishing Soup" in his abdomen and the enormous life energy from Aluo coursed through Ling Yi’s body simultaneously.
At this moment, Ling Yi’s bones emitted faint cracking sounds under the wash of this energy, his broad tendons elongated and strengthened with the movements of his fist techniques, his muscles, bones, and flesh, even his meridians, internal organs, and blood vessels, all were reinforced without exception.
As all the surging energy gradually calmed down, Ling Yi slowly retracted his fists and exhaled deeply, feeling the significant enhancement of his physical body and soul power compared to before. A bright smile appeared on his face:
“It worked—!”
(End of Chapter)
