Chapter 336: Bloodline Degradation, Malignant Spirit Mutation, and a Choice
Chapter 336: Bloodline Degradation, Malignant Spirit Mutation, and a Choice
Tang Hao stared at the paranoid, almost crazed determination on his son’s face, and slowly raised his only remaining left hand.
That hand was coarse and heavy, with knuckles like iron, and a palm covered in thick calluses from decades of blacksmithing.
His complexion was extremely poor, his face so white it lacked even a trace of blood.
Yet that hand was as steady as an iron pincer, clamping down on Tang San’s shoulder with a force as heavy as a descending mountain.
"Little San."
Tang Hao’s voice rolled out of his throat like muffled thunder from deep within the earth.
"The current you and I are not yet a match for Spirit Hall."
That hand pressed down on his shoulder, forcibly suppressing the Mysterious Heaven SkillInternal Energy that was surging and nearly exploding within Tang San’s body.
Tang San’s chest heaved violently, and he took several deep, ragged breaths before the killing intent that was about to overflow from his eyes was suppressed bit by bit.
"Father, I—"
"Little San, I understand your feelings, but right now your most important task is to become stronger. Only when you are powerful enough can you contend with Spirit Hall."
Tang Hao interrupted him, his tone devoid of blame, containing only gratification.
Feeling that his son’s crazed energy had receded, he released his grip.
"Tai Tan has already told me that something went wrong with your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Release your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul and let me see."
Upon hearing this, Tang San’s eyes, which had been flushed red with hatred, suddenly lit up.
He immediately thought of the recent abnormalities with his Blue Silver Grass.
The uncontrollable shrinking, the restless surging deep within his Bloodline, and that feeling of suffocation, as if someone were squeezing his throat.
His father had specifically asked him to release his Spirit; could it be that he had seen the clues long ago? Was there a way to treat it?
"Dad, you know about my Spirit—"
"Release it."
Tang San didn’t say another word.
He knew his father’s temperament all too well; his words carried weight, and he never wasted breath.
He took a deep breath and extended his right hand, palm upward—a thin, weak blue leaf sprouted from beneath his skin.
But that plant looked even more pathetic than it had a few days ago.
Its stem propped itself up crookedly, looking as if its marrow had been drained, unable to even muster the strength to stand straight.
The leaves were thin and yellow, their edges curled and shriveled, their withered color resembling wild grass that had been trampled on the roadside and then wilted by a poisonous sun.
Once the Spirit was released, the tips of the grass drooped toward the ground, barely managing to maintain even its most basic form.
One could even hear fine, crisp snapping sounds from inside the stem, as if something were breaking.
Tang Hao’s gaze was fixed on his son’s palm, landing on the Blue Silver Grass that was withered to the extreme.
His originally calm face suddenly darkened, his brows furrowing bit by bit, a deep vertical line etched between them.
The left hand resting on his knee had clenched into a fist at some point.
"When did this start?"
"About half a month ago."
Tang San spoke in a low voice, "At first, I just felt the Spirit was a bit weak, but later it became harder and harder to sustain."
"I tried increasing the spirit power output, and I tried nourishing it with spirit power, but nothing worked."
Tang Hao didn’t respond, staring intently at the Blue Silver Grass as if he wanted to dissect every vein within the leaves.
Yu Xiaogang stood to the side, and after seeing the actual state of Tang San’s Spirit, his face changed instantly.
He had only caught a few glimpses from a distance on the training field before, feeling that Tang San’s state was off, but he never expected the actual situation to have rotted to this extent.
Seeing this Spirit up close now, he truly realized how serious the problem was.
This wasn’t some common Spirit depletion; this was a problem at the very root.
"His Eminence."
Yu Xiaogang kept his voice low, yet he couldn’t hide the worry within it, even his breathing becoming hurried.
"Little San’s Spirit... can you tell what it is?"
"I’ve scoured all the records regarding Blue Silver Grass Martial Souls, and I haven’t found a single case that matches this."
Tang San stood before Tang Hao, his hands tightening slightly, the muscles in his palms as hard as iron.
He desperately controlled the Blue Silver Grass to keep it as steady as possible, not letting it completely collapse in front of his father.
He quietly lifted his eyelids to glimpse his father’s expression, a surge of uncontrollable tension rising in his heart.
If even his father couldn’t see the problem, then who else on the entire Douluo Continent could he turn to? Who else could save his Spirit?
"..."
The room fell silent.
Tang Hao sat at the edge of the light and shadow, his stubble and wrinkles lost in the darkness, looking like a silent stone statue.
Time stretched on for a very long time, so long that Tang San felt his palms begin to tremble, before Tang Hao finally uttered three words from that silence.
"It is the Bloodline."
Low and certain.
Tang San’s head buzzed.
"Bloodline? What Bloodline?"
He instinctively looked down at the drooping Blue Silver Grass in his palm.
Bloodline—his Bloodline was that of the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grasstwin spirits; which side was his father referring to?
"Bloodline!"
Yu Xiaogang’s reaction was much faster than Tang San’s. He repeated the word, his eyes suddenly lighting up.
"It’s the Bloodline! Why didn’t I think of that!"
He strode over to Tang San and leaned down, almost pressing his face against the Blue Silver Grass.
"This kind of sudden, comprehensive degradation of the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is not caused by external injuries, nor is it a malfunction in spirit power circulation, and it’s certainly not poison or a curse—all signs point to the Bloodline level."
His eyes were locked onto every vein on the leaves, and he muttered incessantly, his speaking speed increasing with the excitement of catching a key clue.
"This situation can be classified as Bloodline Degradation Mutation!"
"Once a certain latent defect appears in the Bloodline inheritance chain, it will suddenly explode at a certain point in time, completely disintegrating the stable structure of the Spirit from its source..."
Tang Hao nodded once.
"Bloodline Degradation, or rather, Malignant Mutation."
He confirmed Yu Xiaogang’s judgment, his voice carrying an indescribable weight.
When Tang San heard the words ’Malignant Mutation,’ it felt as if his heart had been struck hard by something.
Malignant Mutation—he had heard these two words countless times in Yu Xiaogang’s theory classes.
No matter which Spirit theory system it was placed in, this was the most troublesome and unsolvable issue.
The quality and characteristics of a Spirit depend entirely on Bloodline inheritance; once the Bloodline is rotten, it is equivalent to rotting from the roots of the tree.
Withered branches can be pruned, and a hollow trunk can be patched, but if even the roots are rotten through...
Yu Xiaogang’s Luo San Pao was a tragic example.
Tang San did not want his Spirit to become like Luo San Pao, only capable of passing gas.
But he immediately suppressed his panic.
Since his father could see the crux of the problem at a glance, there must be a solution!
"Father."
Tang San stared straight at Tang Hao, his tone urgent and burning, "Then how do we treat it? You must have a way, don’t you?"
Tang Hao looked at the hope burning once again on his son’s face.
He was silent for a few seconds.
Those few seconds dragged on longer than an entire century.
Then he slowly shook his head.
"This problem... I cannot treat it."
"What?!"
Tang San felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him, chilling him from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
His shoulders suddenly slumped, and the expression on his face went blank in an instant.
The sensation of falling from a great height was a hundred times more painful than his previous irritability and anger, so painful he could hardly breathe.
Yu Xiaogang, standing nearby, also froze.
The light that had just surfaced on his face quickly vanished.
If even the Clear Sky Douluo was helpless, it meant the difficulty of this matter far exceeded the knowledge of everyone present.
Tang San’s hand, which had been tightly clutching onto hope, suddenly let go.
He looked down at the shriveled Blue Silver Grass in his palm, his heart feeling completely hollowed out.
He even felt that the grass was looking back at him, in an equally desperate posture.
Before he could process this disappointment, Tang Hao spoke again.
"However—"
"I know a place where someone might be able to heal your Spirit."
"What place?!"
Tang San looked up abruptly.
Yu Xiaogang also looked toward Tang Hao at the same time.
Two gazes met in the air and then fixed simultaneously on the one-armed man.
Tang Hao met the two gazes, his face, weathered to the bone, showing an extremely complex expression as he slowly uttered four words.
"Blue Silver Forest."
(End of Chapter)
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