"Li Shen, go and wait outside the Soul Hunting Forest. I'll meet you after gathering enough Spirit Masters," Ma Nuo said, looking at him.
Li Shen nodded seriously and turned to Baihua, who was watching him silently.
"Baihua, go back inside the Book of Infinity for now," he said gently. "It'll be weird if anyone sees you walking around outside… especially since you're a spirit beast."
Baihua pouted, crossing her furry arms. "Hmph. Fine. But you better take me out the moment we reach the forest. I want to see what kind of beast you'll choose for our first spirit ring."
Li Shen smiled. "Of course. I'll need your opinion too. We're partners now, remember?"
Her pout vanished, replaced by a proud grin. "Good. I'll be watching you from inside. Don't embarrass me, Li Shen."
With a soft shimmer of light, Baihua returned to the pages of the Book of Infinity, vanishing in a swirl of silver ink and ethereal mist.
Ma Nuo, who had been watching this exchange quietly, finally turned away. "Alright then, go ahead and wait near the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest. I'll gather a few Spirit Masters to ensure your safety and meet you there."
Soon, Li Shen reached here, just outside the gate of Soul hunting Forest and then found a side place and sat there.
As Li Shen sat quietly on a stone near the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest, legs folded and chin resting on his hand, he watched the Spirit Hall guards idly. They barely paid attention to him after confirming he wasn't entering alone. Time passed slowly—the wind rustling through the trees, the distant cries of spirit beasts echoing from within.
His eyes wandered lazily—until a sudden disturbance in the quiet caught his attention.
A man and a child approached the gate. The man was middle-aged, carrying himself with pride and wearing black robes, while beside him walked a boy about Li Shen's age—blue hair, a cold, calm demeanor, and unmistakably familiar features.
Li Shen narrowed his eyes, recognition flashing through him like lightning.
"Master and Tang San," he muttered under his breath, voice laced with quiet disdain. His hands clenched slightly.
Li Shen kept his composure as the man before him—Yu Xiaogang, the so-called Grandmaster—approached with curious eyes. The boy could feel the man's spirit power subtly probing him, sensing his level, attempting to gauge his potential. Typical.
'The self-proclaimed Grandmaster of Theory,' Li Shen thought with veiled contempt. 'Only ever interested when he smells value.'
Yu Xiaogang's voice was calm, practiced. "Child, what are you doing here alone?" he asked, trying to sound gentle, though the calculating glint in his eyes gave him away. His gaze lingered on Li Shen's composed aura and the faint trace of spirit power clinging to him.
"You've just awakened your Martial Spirit, haven't you?" he asked again, trying to draw out information—especially about the Martial Spirit.
Li Shen didn't look up right away. His heart remained cold and strategic.
"Yes," he replied softly, playing the part of an innocent child. "I awakened it just yesterday."
Yu Xiaogang's lips twitched into a faint smile.
'Another rare treasure, perhaps? Could it be a twin spirit? Or a hidden variation? A tool to prove my theories...' the Grandmaster mused inwardly, already weaving plans in his mind.
"I see. Very good. Very good indeed," Yu Xiaogang said warmly. "Have you already decided who will help you obtain your first spirit ring? Or are you still waiting for someone?"
He glanced toward Tang San. "I'm going to help this child get his first spirit ring. He has innate full spirit power like you, and his Martial Spirit is just Blue Silver Grass—considered useless by many. But in my eyes, there are no useless Martial Spirits. Only useless spirit masters."
Li Shen rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"Are you an idiot?" he asked bluntly.
"What did you say?" Yu Xiaogang paused, frowning as if he hadn't heard correctly.
"I said, why are you so excited over a child with innate full spirit power when his Martial Spirit is just Blue Silver Grass? If he has that spirit with full power, then clearly it's a royal variant—either Blue Silver King or even Blue Silver Emperor. Do you really not know this basic stuff?"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes twitched.
Tang San, standing quietly behind his teacher, blinked in surprise at Li Shen's words and unconsciously repeated them in his mind. "Blue Silver King...? Emperor...? what are those?" he wondered, then quickly shook his head. "No. Teacher is the Grandmaster. He knows best. What can a child like him understand?"
Yu Xiaogang cleared his throat, trying to recover from the verbal blow. "Just so you know," he said coldly, "have you even considered that he might have twin Martial Spirits?"
Li Shen smirked, folding his arms. "Oh? So you admit you are an idiot , cause you don't even know how a child inherits a Martial Spirit?"
Yu Xiaogang froze. Tang San raised his eyebrows slightly.
Li Shen explained, "You see, when a child is born, their Martial Spirit is formed based on the merging of the bloodlines and spiritual imprints of both parents. The stronger one dominates and becomes the child's Martial Spirit. If the child inherits equally from both, or if a unique condition occurs during birth, the child may awaken twin Martial Spirits."
He glanced at Tang San. "If his Martial Spirits were truly inherited evenly, then both should either be useless or both powerful. But since he was born with innate full spirit power and awakened Blue Silver Grass as his Martial Spirit, it must be a royal variant. Otherwise, it would be impossible for such a spirit to have full innate soul power."
"As for him being a twin spirit user, that's highly unlikely—only three people in history are known to have twin Martial Spirits. Are you seriously suggesting this scrawny kid is the fourth?"
Yu Xiaogang's face turned dark as he stared at Li Shen. Tang San, however, fell into deep thought, his mind slowly opening to the implications of Li Shen's words.
"If what he said is right... then my Blue Silver Grass isn't ordinary. Could it really be the Blue Silver King or Emperor?"
He looked down at his palm where the vine of his Martial Spirit had once formed. For the first time, doubt crept into his faith in his teacher's words.
Yu Xiaogang, meanwhile, stood stiff, staring coldly at Li Shen.
"Who... is this brat?"
And Li Shen?
He simply smirked.
****
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