Despite immediately using the soul skill Resurrection to heal his injuries, a wound to the dantian was not something so easily mended!
In particular, using Resurrection consumed soul power; consuming soul power caused his ruptured dantian to suffer even greater strain, leading to a drop in cultivation! But if he didn't fix it and allowed the dantian injury to worsen, his cultivation would still drop!
It was a perfect death spiral!
Had he not just absorbed the life force of that Evil Soul Master Soul King to manage for a while, he likely would have plummeted straight back down to the Soul Ancestor rank!
Feeling his cultivation constantly bleeding away, Tang San's expression was now exceptionally hideous. From the nadir of being captured to the joy of a "timely rain" of power, and now back to a ruptured dantian and fading cultivation—his mood had once again hit rock bottom!
"Senior Dai, I haven't provoked you, have I? Why are you dealing me a lethal blow?!"
"Heh, a fine 'haven't provoked' indeed!"
Dai Yueheng wiped the blood from his hand and spoke syllable by syllable: "Tang San, you turned my mother into a cripple and killed so many people in my Duke's Mansion! And you tell me that's 'not provoking'!"
A tinge of crimson stained Dai Yueheng's eyes as his long-suppressed hatred erupted completely! Without hesitation, he stacked his third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation, and his fifth, White Tiger Fiendgod Transformation. Simultaneously, his sixth soul skill, White Tiger Annihilation Kill, was unleashed without reservation!
Tang San faced a formidable enemy. He didn't dare clash head-on with a Power Attack System Soul Emperor's reckless soul skill attacks—especially now with his dantian severely damaged. If a frontal confrontation dragged on, his dantian would be the first thing to give out!
Without delay, his spider lances began to combine and shift, forming the Spider Lance Armor. Facing Dai Yueheng's full-strength strike, Tang San used Invincible Golden Body without a second thought!
With a bang and a flash of golden light, a corner of the Spider Lance Armor shattered upon impact. But it wasn't over. How could Dai Yueheng, who had studied Tang San's information over and over, not know about the Invincible Golden Body skill?
Knowing he couldn't give Tang San an opening, Dai Yueheng's assault didn't stop for a second. Another claw descended, and as expected, Tang San was forced to trigger Invincible Golden Body again!
Dai Yueheng rejoiced, thinking his strategy was working. However, in the next instant, Tang San's seamless armor opened gap after gap, and a foul-smelling mist billowed out frantically from within.
Poison!
Dai Yueheng realized what it was instantly, but having no knowledge of this specific trick of Tang San's, he was defenseless and took the hit directly. The toxin began to spread, and Dai Yueheng immediately felt his head grow heavy and his mind wander.
Struggling to stay conscious, Dai Yueheng slapped out a palm. Tang San didn't dodge, letting his Invincible Golden Body take the hit. He then grabbed a jagged fragment of his shattered spider lance and used it like a dagger, plunging it directly into Dai Yueheng's neck.
Blood sprayed. Tang San blocked it with his hand and then swung it hard.
Blinding the enemy with their own blood—the roles of attacker and defender had swapped!
Previously, Dai Yueheng could rely on his Soul Emperor cultivation to withstand Tang San's "injury-for-injury" fighting style, but now, heavily poisoned and with his vision obscured—especially with Tang San keeping Invincible Golden Body active—Dai Yueheng fell into a disadvantage. He possessed the cultivation of a Soul Emperor but couldn't exert it.
Dai Yueheng tried to strike back, but in the next heartbeat, countless strands of Blue Silver Grass coiled around his body. The Devouring Talent activated!
Dai Yueheng, already like a candle flickering in the wind, completely lost any chance of killing Tang San. His life force and soul power were absorbed and plundered bit by bit, becoming nourishment for Tang San's advancement.
However... Tang San couldn't feel happy at all.
His dantian was broken!
...
"A ruptured dantian... that's a minor problem that can be solved easily enough, but why a ruptured dantian specifically?"
Walking slowly through this tragic battlefield, Huo Yuhao lowered his gaze slightly, kneading Dai Yueheng's soul in his hand while pondering the deeper meaning of the Planar Will.
Tang San had already been taken away by Elder Xuan. The only ones who knew the full story, besides the participant Tang San, were the observer Huo Yuhao and the Planar Will.
The Planar Will wouldn't do anything superfluous... aside from its doting affection for him, most of its arrangements for Tang San had deep significance.
Watching Tang San being calculated step-by-step into a twisted wreck by the Planar Will, Huo Yuhao had reason to believe it had a specific plan. Its increasingly active interference was definitely not just to watch Tang San for entertainment. Wasting precious destiny power just for a laugh would be far too extravagant.
"Constantly collapsing but being pulled back just in time, a character growing more twisted by the day, an increasingly frenzied style of doing things..." Huo Yuhao murmured under his breath, a thought naturally surfacing in his mind.
He let out a soft laugh, but his expression was one of intense anticipation.
The Planar Will really knows how to play! To even come up with such a concept!
Fortunately, I am the Child of Destiny.
How could 'Mom' ever hurt me? .jpg
...
A few days later, Star Net City, Royal Grand Hotel.
In the meeting room, Wang Yan looked at the group before him with a relaxed expression, introducing the rules and precautions of the Soul Master Competition to the first-time participants without any apparent pressure.
Though Wang Yan looked fine on the surface, he was actually panicking internally. Of the original main team, only Ling Luochen was unscathed; the other six were either dead or heavily injured. Among the reserves, Jiang Nannan and Tang Ya were covered in soul tools, so the corpse explosion naturally posed no problem for them.
Bei Bei and the others hadn't ventured too deep due to their cultivation levels and stayed on the periphery, so they weren't caught in the blast. Tang San, however, was severely injured; though he had recovered, his cultivation had regressed by one level...
Nonetheless, their current team still boasted a luxurious configuration of one Soul Emperor, three Soul Kings, three Soul Ancestors, and one Soul Elder!
The early matches wouldn't be a problem; with Ling Luochen as a safety net, they could win easily. Combined with the three Soul Kings, reaching the semifinals was a certainty.
But what about the semifinals and finals? They would be facing powerhouse teams then! Even if Ling Luochen was strong, she was only one person!
Wang Yan, unaware that Ling Luochen's "Magic Cultivation" system held an overwhelming advantage over the traditional Soul Master system, naturally grew anxious.
Sending the reserve members away, Wang Yan looked at Ling Luochen, the only eligible member of the main team: "Classmate Ling, the next few matches are in your hands!"
Wang Yan suddenly bowed. Ling Luochen, who had been spacing out the entire time and was clearly distracted, snapped back to reality and hurriedly said:
"Ah, okay! Don't worry, Teacher Wang, we will win."
Ling Luochen nodded earnestly, then hurriedly stood up. "Um, Teacher Wang, I have an urgent matter. I'll take my leave first!"
With that, she rushed out. She needed to find someone!
Just now, when they checked into the hotel, the Shrek team had happened to run into the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Tool Engineer Academy team.
And then, she had seen a youth who looked remarkably like Huo Yuhao!