Chapter 12: The Son of the City Lord, Part 1
Yet as the child of Tang Hao and the ten thousand year Blue Silver Emperor, Tang San's essence was immensely powerful especially with the Blue Silver Emperor's natural vitality, unique to a ten thousand year soul beast. This should mean that even with just one martial spirit, Tang San would inherently have innate full soul power. The only plausible reason for any deviation could be due to Tang Hao's abusive treatment during Tang San's early years. Constantly drinking thin porridge, which is medically considered a poor source of nutrients, while also living in such harsh conditions how could his innate soul power not suffer?
Thus, Ye Wen hypothesized that a martial spirit's innate soul power is closely linked to the nutrition a fetus receives during pregnancy, as well as the environment and diet after birth. This is, of course, a theory. After all, even in the original story, Oscar, an orphan, had innate full soul power, though Ye Wen speculated that Oscar might have accidentally ingested some rare medicinal herb before awakening his martial spirit. Without that, he likely wouldn't have possessed innate full soul power considering his impoverished upbringing and lack of family support.
Time flew by, and soon it was time to return to school. By now, Ye Wen's soul power had reached level 20. Thanks to his early training in soul power control, he'd already visited the Spirit Hall before the holidays to register as an 11th level spirit master, securing a monthly stipend of one gold coin a considerable amount that could sustain a small family for several months.
Though Ye Wen was now eligible to hunt for a second spirit ring, he was in no hurry, aiming instead for a thousand year ring a concept considered astonishing in his time but proven possible in the later Douluo world. Beyond Tang San's hybridized daughter, another key example was a prodigy of the Body Sect whose martial spirit was his own skin.
Currently, Ye Wen's physical strength limit was about 1,000 jin (approximately 500 kg), though he felt this wasn't sufficient. To be safe, he planned to increase his strength to 1,300 jin before acquiring the second ring. In any case, soul power could still be cultivated without it, and his chosen spirit beast was not especially powerful, so he could afford to wait.
Meanwhile, Ah Yin had successfully condensed her second ring, gaining the skill Blue Silver Surge. Rather than offensive, it was a defensive skill. She could summon waves of Blue Silver Grass in front of her to block attacks and even hinder enemy movement a versatile ability for both defense and crowd control. If used within her Blue Silver Domain, this skill's strength would increase significantly, making it difficult even for a typical Soul Elder to approach her flying type soul masters being the exception.
For now, Ah Yin's spiritual power was too low to precisely manipulate the Blue Silver Grass, so creating armor was out of reach. She could, however, form simple shields or cages to protect herself, making it difficult for even airborne soul masters to harm her. Despite her low attack power, combining her skills with the pulley crossbow meant she could potentially take down a Soul King in the right circumstances.
In comparison, what had Grandmaster really taught Tang San? Such a straightforward control style approach seemed to elude him entirely. The essence of control was to impede the enemy's attacks while ensuring self preservation. Tang San's style, meanwhile, relied too heavily on his hidden weapons and proved vulnerable under pressure a laughable flaw.
As Ye Wen carried on with his quiet student life, continuing his martial spirit research, it was inevitable that the arrogant nobles would eventually take issue with his dormitory. One noble in particular, a foolish son of a prominent family, saw his status as an excuse to antagonize Dorm Three, interpreting their lack of conflict with him as an insult to his noble status. And upon seeing Ah Yin's delicate beauty one day as she washed, his lecherous intentions got the best of him.
"Oh, little miss," he sneered, a sinister smile curling on his lips, "a girl like you is wasting her life with these lowly peasants. Come and be my wife. I'll give you a life far better than this one."
A tall, narrow eyed youth stood before Ah Yin, smirking as she stood with Dorm Three gathered behind her. Ye Wen stepped forward from the crowd, unimpressed. The so called noble marriage customs were hardly a secret he knew this noble wasn't asking her to be his wife but likely his concubine, or worse, a temporary plaything.
"I'm happy as I am. Please leave me alone so I can focus on my studies," Ah Yin replied coldly, dismissing him.
But the haughty noble boy, long accustomed to acting as he pleased, was not so easily brushed off. With an air of superiority, he said, "Consider my interest in you a gift. You'd do well not to be ungrateful I am the son of the city lord of Notting."
Ye Wen's brow furrowed. While he didn't see this noble as a serious threat, it could be troublesome if he was indeed the son of Notting City's lord. Ah Yin had no sense of the noble hierarchies in human society and might unknowingly speak her mind too bluntly, bringing unnecessary trouble. He decided to step in.
"According to imperial law," Ye Wen interjected calmly, "a noble may not use his status to force a union with a common soul master. Those who attempt it face a minimum sentence of one year in prison and a fine of one thousand gold coins. Are you so willing to defy the law, sir?"
"Boss!" Dorm Three shouted in unison, their voices echoing. The intimidating sound caught the noble entourage off guard.
Stunned, Shao Lie, the city lord's son, hadn't expected a commoner to know the law. Now caught between his two goals winning Ah Yin and teaching Dorm Three a lesson he hesitated. His lackey quickly whispered advice, reminding him that mere flirting was not technically illegal.
After composing himself, Shao Lie announced, "I'm merely courting the young lady. I have no intention of forcing her. I'd advise you, a lowly commoner, not to accuse me falsely, or the city lord's residence will ensure you pay for it."
"Ah, so you know the law," Ye Wen replied with a faint smile. "Then, as you can see, my sister has already refused your proposal. Do you have any other business here?"
Momentarily flustered, Shao Lie stammered, unsure how to proceed. He'd come intending to make trouble, but his encounter with Ah Yin's beauty had distracted him. Now, his initial motive of putting Dorm Three in its place was at odds with his current goal of impressing her.
(End of Chapter)
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