Hidden genius: Black belly snake

Tang Yue looked at the Silver Soul beetle with a complex gaze. 

At first sight, it seemed extremely weak but she could tell that the thing probably had some tricks.

[Yes, little snake. You are correct. That beetle is very adept at escaping. You have to catch it in one go.]

[Don't think too much and just grab it with your hand at your full speed. Easy and simple.]

Tang Yue nodded, but she didn't quite agree with the method. 

After thinking for a few seconds, she sucked in a deep breath of air and mumbled under her breath. Arise~

The next instant countless minute needle-like spears materialized next to her, each having a red sheen to it.

[Oh ho! Lava needles. Not bad. Not bad.] The old man chimed inside her head. 

"Hush!" Tang Yue shushed him mentally and then used all of her concentration to rain down the dozens of lava needles on the unsuspecting beetle.

Normally, it would have noticed her by now, but thanks to the poison fumes, it was not doing great and hence didn't respond in time even after sensing the incoming danger.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The lava needles rained on the beetle without waiting for it to react, completely surrounding it, not giving it any space to run away.

One of the thin needles directly pierced its small body, skewering it.

Ding. 1 Silver Soul beetle killed

Ding. 50 Experience points have been rewarded

"Got you!" Tang Yue clapped her hands in excitement. She then rushed forward to grab that single lava needle with the silver beetle's body on it.

[Quick. Quick. Eat it!] The old man urged her.

"Ok. Ok. Can you at least tell me now what is so special about this guy?" Tang Yue frowned, directly sucking the beetle from the lava skewer as if she was savoring a delicacy.

Ding. 100% Silver Soul beetle bloodline absorbed

Ding. Bloodline Evolution has been initiated

Perhaps because the beetle was only a low-grade beast, Tang Yue barely felt a pinch the entire evolution process was triggered and completed in a jiffy.

The other serpentine spirit beasts who were watching everything from a distance blinked their eyes in shock.

They had all only read about this, heard about this as tales and praises of the Great Empress Medussa. This was the first time they were seeing it in action.

All of them were utterly dumbfounded. Some of them collapsed on the ground, kneeling in respect, while others bowed deeply in reverence.

The elder Jin Wei even had tears streaming from his eyes. They had all suffered a lot and their only redemption, their savior was standing in front of them. He too then bowed in reverence.

Ding. Congratulations. Bloodline Evolution completed.

Ding. Congratulations. 500 Experience points have been rewarded.

Ding. Congratulations. New Skill obtained.

[Soul Parasite] - Active skill, Level 1, Absorbs a fraction of the soul when a living being dies.

"Ah…" Tang Yue nodded in realization, now understanding why the old man had been super excited about this random beetle.

[He He! Do you see now, little snake?! You asked me how to improve your soul power and the solution fell into your lap.] 

[What a lucky little snake you are!] The nasal voice chuckled.

Tang Yue, as well, was more than surprised. Was this a coincidence?

"Old man, I have a doubt. I came to this island and I immediately walked into the apes, who are probably one of the few beasts here that I can actually handle."

"Then I met my exiled clan members. In fact, directly ran into them."

"And not to mention, this soul beetle. Everything seems a bit too coincidental." She pensively gazed at the fire, checking for signs of any other beasts nearby, that could have been possibly attracted by the fire.

[Not bad, little snake. It is indeed not a coincidence. Do you see that harpy over there?]

[Keep her real close to you, little snake. Those ugly birds might bring a plague onto others but they also bring tremendous luck onto themselves.]

[Don't count too much on it though. It's not very reliable.]

"Eh?" Tang Yue sighed. 

She was someone who believes in working hard for everything and achieve things with her strength, willpower, and determination.

Something like luck?

She didn't want to believe in something as intangible as luck, but she couldn't also deny the things right in front of her.

Tang Yue thought about it for a moment and then decided to take things as they come. Since the old man mentioned that the harpy's supposed luck was not reliable, there was no point in trying to harness it, at least for now.

Perhaps if her level was higher and she was able to share the system feature with her contracted beasts? Tang Yue pondered.

She then gazed at the last frog's corpse lying bare in front of her and quickly activated her newly acquired skill to test it out.

"Soul Parasite" Tang Yue murmured. 

She inhaled and exhaled, trying to get a sense of the soul energy around her, differentiating it from the fire elemental essence spilling out of the burning marsh.

However, she didn't feel anything. Rather she saw it.

Tang Yue saw small white pockets of soul energy floated up and out of the frog, gently dispersing into the world, gradually fading away.

But some of them flew towards her, right into her, and fused with her.

Ding. Soul Strength has increased

Ding. Soul Strength has increased

Ding. Soul Strength has increased

…

…

Tang Yue grinned, licking her lips seductively, completely satisfied with her recent progress.

She then tossed the last beast corpse as well into her spatial ring and slithered back to her group.

"Are you guys alright?" She asked, to which Little Blue let out excited yelps and the others dazedly nodded.

"Ok then, let's head back to the chasm for now. I have to take care of some things." Tang Yue wanted to first finish absorbing the frog bloodline before further heading deeper into the island.