The wind howled through the forest, and the shadows swayed like ghosts.
Tang San felt as if his heart were about to leap out of his throat.
The shuddering sensation of being targeted by an apex predator made every hair on his body stand on end.
"Teacher, run! Don't look back!"
Tang San shoved the panting Yu Xiaogang aside, and the light from the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges flashed repeatedly in his hand.
If he couldn't escape, then he'd fight!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Three Bone-Piercing Nails, three Back-Mounted Flower Crossbows, and a Sand-Shooting Shadow.
Tang Sect Hidden Weapons—full salvo!
Bolstered by the Purple Demon Eye, the hidden weapons covered every possible route the pale figure behind them might take to dodge.
Even a Soul Elder would be riddled like a pincushion by such a sudden, all-out assault!
However.
The figure didn't dodge at all.
"Hehehehe..."
Accompanied by a laugh that made their scalps tingle, Dr. Orochimaru's body twisted in an eerie, unnatural way.
Like a boneless invertebrate.
"Pfft, pfft, pfft!"
The hidden weapons, powerful enough to pierce metal and shatter stone, sank straight into his body.
Not a drop of blood spilled.
Instead, countless little white snakes poured from the wounds and swallowed the hidden weapons whole!
"W-what kind of Martial Soul is that?!"
Tang San's pupils contracted violently. In both his lives, he'd never seen such a bizarre body!
Was it physical immunity? Or an Immortal Body?
"Quite an interesting little toy."
Dr. Orochimaru stopped and slowly plucked a Bone-Piercing Nail from the "wound" in his chest with his slender fingers.
He stretched out his impossibly long tongue and licked the poison-coated nail.
"Datura Snake venom... far too impure."
"The taste is a little bitter."
"Ugh—"
Watching this, Yu Xiaogang's stomach churned all over again.
Was this guy even human?
Swallowing hidden weapons whole? Tasting poison?
"Xiao San! He's an Evil Soul Master! He has to be an Evil Soul Master!"
Yu Xiaogang shrieked as he summoned Luo Sanpao. "Fart like thunder! Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"
"Luo!"
The pig-like yellow creature stuck out its rear, spraying a cloud of yellow poisonous gas.
Dr. Orochimaru's brow furrowed, and a trace of disgust flashed in his golden, slit-pupiled eyes.
"Though I'm not picky about biological specimens, this lowly creature that uses excrement as a weapon..."
"is simply far too inelegant."
Dr. Orochimaru flicked his sleeve.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
"Hiss—!"
A dozen thick pythons shot from his sleeve and swelled as they surged through the air!
Ignoring Luo Sanpao's poisonous gas, they opened their enormous jaws and bit down on its round body.
"Luo—!!!"
Luo Sanpao let out a miserable shriek and instantly turned into a streak of light, forcibly recalled into Yu Xiaogang's body.
"Pfft!"
With his Martial Soul injured, Yu Xiaogang spat blood into the air and collapsed to the ground like a limp rag.
Instant defeat!
In a single exchange, the so-called "Grandmaster of Theory" was completely out of the fight.
"Teacher!"
Tang San's eyes bulged with rage, and his gaze instantly turned bloodshot.
"You dared to hurt my teacher! I'll kill you!"
The Mysterious Heaven Skill within him surged into action. A small black hammer flickered into view in his left palm.
Though his father had warned him not to use it lightly, he couldn't worry about that now!
However.
Before he could even raise his hand,
a cold, slick sensation suddenly coiled around his neck.
"Too slow."
Dr. Orochimaru's voice rang out right beside his ear.
Tang San's body stiffened.
He stared in horror as Dr. Orochimaru's neck stretched more than ten meters like a snake, his head curling around behind him!
Those golden, slit-pupiled eyes were fixed on the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang San's left palm.
"So this is the... Second Martial Soul?"
"A highly concentrated aggregation of metallic elements... a pure expression of a strength-type gene."
Dr. Orochimaru drew in a greedy breath, as if he'd caught the scent of a peerless delicacy.
"What a perfect test subject."
"If I dissected you, I'd surely uncover all sorts of fascinating secrets."
"D-don't!"
Tang San struggled frantically and tried to activate Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, but his body wouldn't move. It felt as if a giant python had wrapped around him.
The gap in strength was too great!
This wasn't even a fight on the same level!
Just as Dr. Orochimaru opened his mouth, revealing two sharp fangs, and prepared to bite into Tang San's main artery,
"Cough, cough."
A lazy voice came from the treetops.
"Dr. Orochimaru, take it easy."
"He's a renewable crop. Don't ruin him all at once."
Qin Feng sat on a tree branch, a bottle of Happy Water in his hand, watching the "bullying" below with great interest.
Grey Wolf crouched beside him, holding a camera and filming from every angle.
"Qin Feng, you're always so softhearted."
Though Dr. Orochimaru complained, he loosened his grip on Tang San.
His neck retracted like a spring, returning to its normal human shape.
But he didn't let Tang San go.
Instead, he extended a finger and gently touched the side of Tang San's neck.
"If I can't cut him into pieces, I'll leave him a mark."
"I'm curious to see whether a native of this world can withstand my 'gift.'"
Before the words had even faded,
Dr. Orochimaru suddenly lowered his head and bit hard into Tang San's shoulder!
"Argh—!!!"
A shrill scream rang through the night.
Tang San felt a scorching, violent force, brimming with evil, surge through the wound and flood into his body.
It wasn't poison.
It was a terrifying energy that seemed intent on rewriting his cellular structure and forcibly burning through his life force!
"Zzzzt—"
Black markings spread from the wound like living tadpoles, rapidly crawling across half of Tang San's face.
Three black Tomoe patterns were branded deep into his skin.
Heaven Cursed Seal!
"W-what... is this...?"
Tang San clutched his neck in agony, his whole body convulsing as cold sweat poured off him.
He could feel the power devouring and assimilating his Mysterious Heaven Skill.
A bloodthirsty urge to kill battered his reason.
"This is science's blessing, young man."
Qin Feng jumped down from the tree and walked up to Tang San, examining the Cursed Seal like he was inspecting a lab mouse.
"By injecting highly active Jugo Cell Enzyme, it forcibly unlocks your potential, giving you strength beyond your level for a short time."
"Of course, the side effects..."
Qin Feng shrugged, his smile bright.
"Sometimes you lose control and turn into a monster that knows nothing but killing."
"Or the power devours you and turns you into a puddle of rotten flesh."
"But I believe that, as the child of destiny, you'll pull through, right?"
Tang San was in too much pain to speak. All he could do was glare at Qin Feng with bloodshot eyes.
Hatred!
An ocean of hatred!
Tang San would never forget this humiliation.
"Don't look at me like that."
Qin Feng patted Tang San's contorted face.
"You should thank me."
"After all, in this dog-eat-dog world, I've given you a shortcut to getting stronger."
"Though the road is... a little painful."
With that, Qin Feng stood and waved to Dr. Orochimaru.
"All right, data collection is complete."
"Let him take his time adjusting."
"We have more important things to do."
Dr. Orochimaru licked his lips, still unsatisfied. He gave Tang San, lying on the ground, one last look, then turned and followed Qin Feng.
"Qin Feng, who's our next target?"
"The little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? Or the prince with the Evil Eye White Tiger bloodline?"
"No rush."
Qin Feng looked at the distant sky, just beginning to brighten, ambition gleaming in his eyes.
"Before that, we're going to Nuoding City."
"We'll buy every blacksmith shop there."
"In this world, theory alone won't spread science."
"We need guns. We need cannons."
"We need the kind of 'truth' that makes everyone shut up!"
Watching Qin Feng and the others disappear into the distance,
Tang San finally reached his limit. His vision went black, and he passed out completely.
In the second before he lost consciousness,
he seemed to hear the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, long silent within him, let out an unprecedented... eager rumble in response to the Cursed Seal.
[ Ding! Tang San has been branded with the Heaven Cursed Seal. The plot has undergone a major deviation! ] [ Ding! Tang San's hatred of the host has reached its limit and has transformed into fear! ] [ Ding! Gained 5,000 shock points! ] [ Ding! Congratulations, host! You've unlocked the Resident Evil technology tree branch! ] [ Next-stage mission released: Establish the first "arsenal" and get the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to seek cooperation! ]
As Qin Feng listened to the notification in his mind, the curve of his smile grew wider.
Tang San, Tang San.
You think this is torture?
No.
This is only the first "evolution" experiment I've prepared for you.
Live well.
After all, lab rats as durable as you are few and far between.
Before you continue