Chapter 48: Martial Soul Control Training!
Fu Shiyan spoke in a flat tone, then took out a calligraphy brush and a piece of white paper. "The second step is to wrap your Blue Silver Grass around the brush handle. Imagine the Blue Silver Grass as your fingers, and control it to write on the paper."
"When the handwriting, brushwork, and force are no different from what you would write with your own hand, only then will you be considered to have crossed the threshold of this stage."
Tang San respectfully took the brush and immediately attempted to control it using his Blue Silver Grass.
However, the brush handle was difficult to stabilize under the wrapping of the vines. The brushstrokes fell crookedly, and the ink was a messy smudge, a world of difference from his usual elegant and neat handwriting.
He tried several times in succession, but the results were entirely unsatisfactory.
He stopped his movements, frowned slightly, and looked at Fu Shiyan, his tone carrying a hint of confusion. "Master, please forgive your disciple for speaking bluntly."
"Using the Blue Silver Grass to wrap around a brush and write involves fine and complicated movements. In actual combat, it seems... to be of no great use?"
"Your disciple is dull-witted and does not know the deeper intention behind this training."
He was not questioning his master, but rather, he was accustomed to exploring the practical intent behind every single training exercise.
Hearing this, Fu Shiyan was not angry. Instead, he smiled faintly. "You think it's impractical? Then watch closely."
After saying this, he did not even stand up, merely shifting his intent slightly.
In an instant, a slender branch of Blue Silver Grass erupted from the ground by his side.
Then, that branch lightly curled around another spare calligraphy brush nearby, soaking it completely with ink.
The next moment, carrying a unique rhythm and cadence, the Blue Silver Grass branch flew across the white paper like dragons and snakes.
In the blink of an eye, a short poem with exquisite brushwork was written!
Tang San watched, dumbfounded.
He had never imagined that a Martial Soul could be used for such exquisite writing, and that the control could reach such a frighteningly meticulous level!
Fu Shiyan dispersed the branch, looked at Tang San, and said solemnly, "Let me ask you, if your control over your Martial Soul can reach this level of being an extension of your own arm, down to the finest detail, then in actual combat, what level will your Blue Silver Grass reach?"
He casually pointed at another wooden stake not far away. "Take the most basic Binding, for example."
"If this kind of skill relies solely on a Soul Skill, its activation will only follow a fixed and rigid pattern."
"But if your control is meticulous, you can execute it without needing a specific Soul Ring. Moreover, unlike the Soul Skills attached by Soul Rings, this kind of attack method controlled directly by the Martial Soul will become increasingly powerful as the quality of the Martial Soul improves."
"Furthermore, when your control capabilities advance a step further, you can also make the Blue Silver Grass weave into an airtight net shield when defending, transform into a pervasive jungle of sharp needles when attacking, and become nimble tentacles to borrow strength and climb when moving..."
"Its variations depend entirely on your mind."
"The Soul Skills bestowed by Soul Rings are a shortcut, but they also solidify your thinking and the possibilities of your Martial Soul," Fu Shiyan summarized. "Meticulous control is the key to unlocking the potential of the Martial Soul itself."
"You currently feel that writing is impractical because you haven't even achieved the most basic stable control."
"When you can truly control it down to the finest detail, you will find that you can casually achieve the effects of many low-level Soul Skills in a more flexible and powerful way. Why waste a precious Soul Ring slot to engrave a rigid pattern?"
Tang San's mind suddenly cleared, and his admiration for his master deepened by another layer. "Your disciple understands! It was your disciple who was short-sighted."
"If the foundation is not solid, even with high-level Soul Skills, it is like a tree without roots, making it difficult to display its true power."
Immediately afterward, he calmed his mind once more and threw himself into the tedious writing training.
Days passed one by one.
Tang San did not achieve a sudden leap in his writing right away, but he quickly noticed another significant change--his basic control over the Blue Silver Grass was improving at an astonishing speed.
When completing the first task previously, he was already able to stably bind rocks.
Yet on the third day of attempting to write, during a rest break, he casually practiced binding a small tree nearby, only to discover that the Binding he used on a whim...
Its overall effect and power were actually faintly not inferior to the "Binding" Soul Skill he had seen in his first simulation, which required a hundred-year Soul Ring to activate!
And he had achieved a similar effect merely through these few days of basic training in meticulous Martial Soul control, without relying on any Soul Skills whatsoever--and it even possessed more potential in certain aspects!
On the other side, during this period of time spent with Tang San, Fu Shiyan's impressions of Tang San were indeed slowly changing.
Initially, he had merely viewed Tang San as a tool to gain Faith Power, and he did not hold much goodwill toward this "Divine King Tang" from the original work.
But Tang San's performance after becoming his disciple caused a ripple of emotion even in his soul, which had drifted through the Douluo Continent for ten years and witnessed the warmth and coldness of human nature.
This kid was too sensible, and also too starved of love.
Every morning, simple side dishes and porridge at just the right temperature would always be laid out punctually on the stone table in his courtyard.
Before going to sleep at night, Tang San would invariably come to pay his respects, meticulously reporting his cultivation insights and confusions from that day, his attitude respectful to the point of near-piety.
The admiration and dependence in those eyes looked as though he truly regarded him as both a master and a father.
Fu Shiyan knew that Tang San had been an orphan in the Tang Sect in his past life, and in this life, his mother had died early while his father, Tang Hao, was drowned in pain and neglected to care for him.
The appearance of Yu Xiaogang in the original work had filled this emotional void to some extent--even though Yu Xiaogang's motives were impure and his theories were flawed, he had at least given Tang San attention and guidance.
(Even if it was pointing in the wrong direction.)
But now, this role had fallen onto his own head by a strange twist of fate.
Watching Tang San's completely focused, even slightly desperate earnestness during training, Fu Shiyan would occasionally think: perhaps aside from utilizing him, he could truly fulfill a bit of his responsibility as a master?
After all, this kid's talent and disposition were indeed worth cultivating.
Five days quickly passed.
Tang San had already caught a glimpse of the threshold of Martial Soul writing control. Although he was still far from making it indistinguishable from his own handwriting, his progress was remarkable.
He could also clearly feel that his control over his Martial Soul was becoming increasingly proficient. Many movements that previously required deliberate effort could now be completed with almost a mere thought.
On this evening, Fu Shiyan was in the courtyard planning the details of his subsequent contact with Oscar. A faint blue light quietly landed in the courtyard, transforming into the plant avatar formed by the "Blue Silver Seed" he had previously handed to Fu Ze.
At the same time, a black streak of light descended from the horizon, revealing Fu Ze's steadfast figure.
"Young Master, your subordinate has returned." Fu Ze dropped to one knee in salute.
Fu Shiyan nodded. Instead of listening to Fu Ze's report first, he directly reached out to touch the plant avatar.
The avatar dissolved into dots of light and merged into his body, and a clear scene of memory rapidly unfolded in his mind.
[Memory Scene: Sunset Forest, Outside the Poison Formation]
Following instructions, Fu Ze had searched within the Sunset Forest for two days. Relying on his sharp perception of energy fluctuations, he finally discovered a vast Jade Phosphor Serpent Poison Formation at the edge of an area shrouded in dense mist where the vegetation's color was slightly bizarre.
The toxic fog permeated the air, and ordinary Soul Masters would not dare approach at all.
Fu Ze did not force his way through. He released the majestic Soul Power belonging to a Level 95 Title Douluo, piercing his Soul Power directly into the toxic fog.
After just a moment, the toxic fog churned violently. A gaunt old man with dark green hair, green-gleaming eyes, and a grim expression appeared like a ghost at the edge of the poison formation. It was precisely the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo.
The gaze he directed toward Fu Ze was filled with wariness and ill intent. The phantom of the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor loomed faintly around his body, and the toxic fog grew restless along with it.
"Who dares trespass into this old man's domain?!" Dugu Bo's voice was raspy and sharp.