As the prismatic light faded, Liu Yuan's silhouette materialized.
He looked at the boy standing before him, who appeared to be only six or seven years old.
Tang San: "..." The Datura Serpent: "..."
The sudden intrusion left both man and beast stunned. Where did this person come from?
But in the next second, an invisible ripple swept across the clearing. Within the bounds of these unseen rules, the cognition of the boy and the serpent was instantly altered.
"Hiss—!"
The crimson light in the Datura Serpent's eyes flickered as it immediately categorized Liu Yuan as its primary prey. Its head lunged forward, and its serpentine body shot out like a green arrow!
Seeing this, Tang San cried out instinctively, "Look out!"
In his heart, Liu Yuan was now a helper summoned by his teacher. Although he couldn't fathom how a child not much older than himself could be of any use, Tang San wouldn't dream of questioning his teacher's decision.
More importantly, the Datura Serpent was attacking!
Amidst Tang San's warning, Liu Yuan felt the rush of a foul, stinging wind. He summoned the Origin Willow instantly. Several willow branches whipped out like agile fingers, whistling through the air with a series of sharp cracks.
With a swift wrap and a tight bind, the Datura Serpent was pinned. The willow branches were so resilient that the beast couldn't break free in its initial struggle.
Liu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Quite the exciting welcome."
"Hiss—!"
The Datura Serpent thrashed violently. Facing the flailing body, Liu Yuan remained unperturbed. He reached into his storage soul tool and pulled out a metal box he had prepared long ago, snapping it onto his left arm.
Since he had anticipated such encounters, his storage tool was stocked with items for various environments. This particular device was a Grade 2 Soul Tool: the Soul-Light Ray. Its destructive power was roughly equivalent to the long-range attack of a standard Grand Soul Master. Against a four-hundred-year Datura Serpent, a well-aimed shot at a vital spot would be more than enough.
"First Spirit Skill—Rooting!"
A yellow spirit ring rose into the air, and the roots of the Origin Willow dove into the soil. The Soul-Light Ray hummed to life, locking onto the serpent's eyes. Three slender metal tubes spat out beams of brilliant white light.
The first shot hit, and the second and third followed in rapid succession.
Shuck-shuck-shuck—!
Before Tang San's wide, disbelieving eyes, the rays pierced through the Datura Serpent's skull. Under the repeated bombardment, the serpent's head erupted in a mess of green and red. The four-hundred-year beast, so terrifying a moment ago, crashed to the ground. A yellow spirit ring slowly drifted upward.
It was dead beyond any doubt.
Tang San was speechless. What kind of weapon was that? How is it so powerful?
"Mission accomplished."
Liu Yuan blew a breath across the metal tubes to cool them. Dealing with a four-hundred-year beast using a Soul-Light Ray for precision fire was essentially a "dimensional strike."
He stowed the soul tool and turned to look at the dazed Tang San, his gaze somewhat clinical. So this is the six-year-old Tang San of the Manhua universe? He is actually quite cute. Curiosity aside, he hadn't forgotten the task requester. "Hey, where's your teacher?"
"Teacher!"
Snapped back to reality, Tang San bolted toward Yu Xiaogang. Seeing the deep purple hue of the venom on his teacher's skin, he pulled out a knife, sliced open the arm, and began to suck out the poisoned blood.
Liu Yuan reached into his bag and tossed a few stalks of herbs next to the boy. "Crush those and apply them to the wound."
Tang San didn't have time to hesitate. Once he confirmed the herbs were correct, he followed the instructions. He didn't notice that behind him, Liu Yuan was already being enveloped by prismatic light once more. He vanished without a trace.
A short while later, the detoxified Yu Xiaogang groaned as he woke.
He murmured, "Little San... run... the Datura Serpent..."
"Teacher, it's alright now." Tang San breathed a sigh of relief. "The serpent was taken care of by the Spirit Master you called." He looked around, but the forest was empty. He scratched his head, confused. Strange. Where did he go? Did he leave already?
"The person I called?" Yu Xiaogang's mind was a fog.
But slowly, he regained his senses. "He... he killed the Datura Serpent?"
Tang San, suspecting nothing, nodded. "Yes, but he seems to have left."
"I see..." Seeing the headless corpse of the serpent, Yu Xiaogang gradually regained his composure. "Cough... I'm just glad you're safe."
As for the reward that would be taken... he was a man who could never advance further anyway. If the platform wanted his Light Bloodline, let them take it. As long as Little San was safe, nothing else mattered.
[Ding!][Task Completed. Reward: Light Bloodline.]
In a flash of light, the platform returned Liu Yuan to his own world.
Simultaneously, a sphere of golden light drifted out from the commission panel, hovering before him and radiating a rich, holy aura.
"So this is the Light Bloodline..."
He reached out and touched it. The gold light melted into his body. The phantom of the Origin Willow appeared behind him, its usual green glow beginning to undergo a profound metamorphosis.
The strange, nourishing sensation he had felt while absorbing the Golden-Top Poplar re-emerged, flooding his veins.
"As I thought."
Liu Yuan understood now. That feeling was the integration of a spirit beast's bloodline essence. He didn't waste a moment, sitting cross-legged to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill. As time ticked by, the Light Bloodline and his own energy became one.
Hum—!
At the moment of final fusion, a radiant emerald-gold brilliance erupted! A surge of life and holy light billowed out from the Origin Willow phantom.
With a thought, Liu Yuan pulled the radiant aura back inside, and the martial soul returned to its unassuming appearance.
Liu Yuan: "..."
Looking at his martial soul, he fell into a long silence. He could feel that his very constitution had changed. His soul quality and innate spirit power had both increased significantly.
More importantly, while the species was different, he felt his Origin Willow was becoming more and more similar to Shrek Academy's Golden Ancient Tree.
And then there was that unchangeable nickname: [Son of Nature]. It was inextricably linked to the Golden Ancient Tree or the Life Core of the planet.
Was I set up by the Life Core?
It wasn't an unreasonable suspicion. Over the past year, he had noticed that the nicknames of task requesters on the platform were never random; they perfectly highlighted their core identities. His own nickname was likely no different.
But he quickly shook the thought away. With his current strength, he could do nothing to change such grand designs.
"Time to keep cultivating..."
Liu Yuan closed his eyes and began to guide his spirit power through another cycle.