Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, putting distance between them in the nick of time.
After dodging Dai Mubai's surprise attack, a long whip appeared in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he lashed it across Dai Mubai's body.
It looked just like a circus trainer taming a tiger.
Whoosh-crack!
"Hiss?"
Dai Mubai froze. Why did that suddenly feel rather good?
The tingling numbness felt like a trip to a massage parlor, where a master masseur had tended to every meridian and pressure point. His whole body felt refreshed, as though he had downed an ice-cold drink on a scorching day.
"What soul skill is that?"
Dai Mubai couldn't help asking.
"Blue Silver Whip," Tang San replied, continuing to swing his whip.
Dai Mubai stood still, letting the whip lash him.
Attacks of this strength couldn't hurt him at all. Instead, they felt so good that he wanted to fall asleep.
With Martial Soul Possession giving him some animal habits, he even began making the purring sound unique to felines.
Tang San: "???"
Su Mo: "???"
Xiao Wu: "???"
The twins: "???"
The hotel manager and staff: "???"
So this was the kind of tiger you were!
Tang San whipped him a few more times, only to find Dai Mubai still looking as though he were enjoying a massage. He had even closed his eyes.
After a moment's hesitation, Tang San finally stopped.
"Why did you stop? Keep going... uh..."
Coming back to his senses, Dai Mubai opened his eyes and found everyone in the hotel lobby staring straight at him. His face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
"I got distracted. Again!"
The First Soul Ring beneath Dai Mubai's feet flashed.
His hundred-year first soul skill-White Tiger Protection Barrier.
A white barrier enveloped Dai Mubai, strong enough to withstand the Blue Silver Whip's attacks.
Then his Second Soul Ring lit up. A mass of white light gathered in his mouth, and with a tiger's roar, Dai Mubai spat out the ball of light.
His thousand-year second soul skill-White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.
Sensing trouble, Tang San used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and took to his heels as though they had been greased.
Rumble-
The powerful shock wave swept through the Rose Hotel's lobby, leaving it in shambles. Su Mo and the other spectators had to retreat even farther.
Amid the smoke and dust, Tang San raced like the wind, circling behind Dai Mubai.
The Thousand-Year Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed. A barbed whip appeared in his palm, and he lashed it across Dai Mubai's back.
Whoosh-crack!
The whip sliced through the air, forcibly shattering the White Tiger Protection Barrier and leaving a deep crimson welt across his back that drew blood.
"Aaargh-"
Dai Mubai let out a sudden scream.
That lash sent pain piercing deep into his bones, as though it had struck his very soul.
When Tang San reached level twenty, his hunting target had been a Plant-type Soul Beast called Ghost Vine, which possessed an extremely potent neurotoxin.
Anyone pierced by its thorns would immediately die from the poison, becoming nourishment for the Ghost Vine.
Because he had consumed ten-thousand-year whale glue, he had absorbed a soul ring from a twenty-five-hundred-year-old Ghost Vine. Of course, with Su Mo pulling strings behind the scenes, it had been reduced to just over a thousand years.
As a result, Tang San hadn't obtained the Parasite soul skill from the original storyline.
Instead, he had gained a soul skill called Blue Silver Thorn Whip.
It was more powerful than Blue Silver Whip, and striking someone with it would send poison seeping into their body, causing excruciating pain.
It was no less agonizing than childbirth.
For a moment, even Su Mo couldn't tell whether his meddling had hurt Tang San or helped him.
Still, it wasn't as good as Parasite, so it wasn't a big deal.
"What the hell kind of soul skill is that?" Dai Mubai asked through gritted teeth.
"Blue Silver Thorn Whip. It really hurts when it hits you. I suggest you surrender, because I won't be holding back from here on," Tang San said calmly.
Dai Mubai grimaced, a fierce light blazing in his double pupils.
"What impressive Blue Silver Grass. If I only had two rings like you, I really would have to surrender. But I have one more ring than you."
"Hm?" Tang San instinctively sensed trouble.
But it was already too late. The third ring beneath Dai Mubai's feet blossomed with purple light, the air around him distorted, and his evil eyes turned blood-red.
His thousand-year third soul skill-White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
"Roar-"
Dai Mubai let out a resounding tiger's roar and underwent a second transformation. His body swelled again, his muscles bulging grotesquely and bursting his shirt apart, while tiger stripes appeared across his skin.
Dazzling golden light enveloped his entire body, as though he had been plated in gold.
He radiated the commanding presence of the king of beasts.
"What did you just say? Say it again?" Dai Mubai's blood-red evil eyes held the mocking amusement of a cat toying with a mouse.
Tang San took a deep breath and decided to strike first.
He swung his whip at Dai Mubai again.
Swish!
Five streaks of silver flashed past, and the Blue Silver Thorn Whip in Tang San's hand was instantly severed.
Tang San's mouth fell open, disbelief written across his face.
He also felt somewhat... defeated.
"Your soul skills are quite good, combining attacks, restraint, and soft control. But Blue Silver Grass has too poor a foundation. Both its power and toughness are mediocre."
Dai Mubai delivered his assessment with an air of superiority.
Seeing Tang San sink into thought, his evil eyes darted around. He seized the opportunity to step forward, grab Tang San, and pound him furiously about the head.
That was for whipping me so comfortably that I embarrassed myself!
That was for whipping me so painfully!
Under the circumstances of the original storyline, Dai Mubai wouldn't have pressed his advantage. But this time, Tang San had humiliated him twice in a row. With a tiny nudge to his emotions from Su Mo, attacking came naturally.
A little while later, Dai Mubai released Tang San.
He had ultimately held back, only beating Tang San's face into a pig's head without injuring his muscles or bones. A day or two of rest would be enough for him to recover.
"You lost. As agreed, you need to answer a few questions."
The red light in Dai Mubai's eyes gradually faded, and his bulging muscles slowly shrank back to their original state. His shirt, however, wasn't coming back.
"Go ahead."
Tang San got to his feet with a grimace. He could take a loss gracefully.
Besides, he had only regarded this as a spar. In a genuine fight to the death, he had a seventy-percent chance of taking his opponent down with him and a thirty-percent chance of killing him outright.
"I sensed a resonance with your martial soul. Did you feel it too?"
Dai Mubai's expression grew serious.
Tang San nodded at his question. "That's right."
Privately, though, he thought another martial soul swap might not be so bad. His twin martial souls were already as useless as they could possibly be.
What if he got something better in exchange?
"I think my Evil-Eyed White Tiger and your Blue Silver Grass might be able to form a Martial Soul Fusion Skill." With his suspicion confirmed, a keen light flashed in Dai Mubai's evil eyes.
"A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"
Tang San paused, feeling a little disappointed. This time, it actually wasn't a martial soul swap.
Dai Mubai assumed Tang San didn't know what a Martial Soul Fusion Skill was, so he immediately explained it before extending an invitation.
"How about we find somewhere to try it?"
Tang San waved his hand and was about to refuse when Dai Mubai, seemingly reading his thoughts, said, "You're planning to apply to Shrek Academy, right? I'll come find you after you get in."
With that, he waved goodbye to Tang San and the others, then beckoned the twins to follow him upstairs.
As for what they were going to do, those who knew, knew.
For those who didn't, it wasn't something that could be explained in detail.
Su Mo maintained that he didn't know and considered using Spiritual Detection to find out.
After all, you lived and learned.