Countermeasures Against the Lightning Gale Bird

"Nonsense! Even if that Lightning Swift has a cultivation of only three hundred years, it can fly hundreds of meters in a few breaths the moment it is startled. How could the three of us possibly catch up to it?" Upon hearing Tang Yin's desire to hunt the Lightning Swift, Grandmaster immediately rebuked him.

Although the Lightning Swift possesses little offensive power, it is renowned for its speed.

Even at only three hundred years, its flight speed rivals that of other thousand-year avian soul beasts. Coupled with a discharge ability that causes paralysis, it rarely faces enemies that pose a threat, provided the level gap isn't too vast.

Low-level soul masters can only hunt the Lightning Swift through sneak attacks, and in Grandmaster's view, their trio lacked any means for long-range ambushes.

"You had best abandon this thought. Although the Soul Hunting Forest is stocked with captive low-level soul beasts, it remains extremely dangerous for us. If we accidentally stumble into a pack of soul beasts while chasing the Lightning Swift, the consequences would be unthinkable."

"Sanmei, what do you think?" Ignoring Grandmaster, Tang Yin turned to look at Tang Sanmei. Others might not know, but he understood her perfectly.

While Tang Sanmei's hidden weapons were ineffective against plant-type soul beasts without the addition of potent toxins, their impact on animal-type soul beasts remained significant.

Furthermore, having recently broken through to the second level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, her strength had increased geometrically, allowing her to utilize certain hidden weapon techniques that were previously inaccessible.

The strength of the Tang Sect lies not in the hidden weapons themselves, but in the techniques used to deploy them!

Upon hearing this, Tang Sanmei instinctively activated her Purple Demon Eye to observe the distant Lightning Swift. It seemed tired from flying and had landed on a fruit tree branch, where it was leisurely eating wild berries.

"It's worth a try!" Although Tang Sanmei spoke of "trying," her expression was one of absolute confidence.

It seems it's in the bag!

Tang Yin's lips curled upward slightly. In a world where even a Title Douluo could be assassinated with ordinary weapons, using a hidden weapon to ambush a three-hundred-year-old avian soul beast was child's play.

Of course, the key was how to strike it without alerting it.

Avian soul beasts are known for their vigilance, especially flighty creatures like this one that lack defensive means; they will flee at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Then you shall help your brother hunt this soul beast this time. Grandmaster and I will stand guard nearby for you." Tang Yin offloaded the task onto his sister without the slightest psychological burden.

"Alright, Brother. Sanmei will certainly not let you down!" Sensing the expectation in Tang Yin's eyes, Tang Sanmei's expression tightened, and she nodded solemnly, though she felt a nagging sense that something was wrong, as if she had forgotten something important.

"Never mind, helping Brother hunt a soul beast to obtain a soul ring is what matters most!"

Suppressing the strange feeling in her heart, Tang Sanmei touched the small box hanging from her belt, which contained the Tang Sect hidden weapons she had secretly crafted behind her father and brother's backs before arriving at Nuoding Academy.

"You—you people—sigh!" Seeing the two finalize their plan right in front of him without a care for his opinion, Grandmaster's eyelids twitched violently. He pointed at them, momentarily at a loss for words, and could only pivot to asking about their plan.

Grandmaster's own personality was one of inferiority and sensitivity; he preferred to avoid conflict, and if one stood firm, he would inevitably retreat.

Regarding Grandmaster's reaction, Tang Yin chuckled inwardly and proceeded to introduce his plan.

In truth, it wasn't much of a plan; the crux of the operation was a one-hit kill. Since it relied primarily on Sanmei's ability to deploy her hidden weapons, Tang Yin and Grandmaster would at most be responsible for guarding the perimeter and handling the follow-up tracking once the target was struck.

Since the goal was to absorb a soul ring, they couldn't truly let it die instantly, as the target might still attempt to flee before expiring.

Better safe than sorry!

"Grandmaster can also wait here; regardless of success or failure, it won't take much time!" After finishing his explanation, Tang Yin noticed Grandmaster still looked hesitant and offered a reminder.

As for guarding and tracking, he was perfectly capable of handling it alone. After all, his Sharp-Tailed Swift martial soul allowed him to fly. Previously, having Luo Sanpao—a unique external martial soul—act as a scout was safe and insurance-heavy, and he was happy to conserve his own soul power.

"No, I must accompany you." Grandmaster's attitude was firm, and he then turned to Tang Sanmei to ask the question he cared about most.

"Sanmei, do you truly possess the means to assassinate a target from such a distance?"

Tang Sanmei remained silent. With a flick of her right hand, a thin needle shimmering with a cold light struck a falling leaf dozens of meters away with invisible speed, pinning it to a tree trunk.

"What an exquisite technique for deploying hidden weapons!" Grandmaster's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected Tang Sanmei to possess such a unique skill.

It was a pity that the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament did not allow the use of such things!

Ultimately, Grandmaster valued proving himself in the tournament. While Tang Sanmei's techniques were breathtaking, they were of no use to him.

"The Lightning Swift is a highly vigilant soul beast among avians. A three-hundred-year-old specimen has a detection radius of nearly two hundred meters. Therefore, even if your hidden weapon is extremely stealthy, you must maintain a distance of over two hundred meters."

"What is the maximum distance at which you can hit your target?" Composing his thoughts, Grandmaster asked the most critical question.

This was the benefit of knowledge, and the reason why he still intended to associate with Grandmaster despite his personal distaste. Without Grandmaster's reminder, the two might have failed at the final hurdle.

Tang Yin nodded secretly and looked toward Tang Sanmei.

"I have a hundred percent accuracy within one hundred meters. At two hundred meters, I can only guarantee eighty percent, but I can fire three needles at once." Tang Sanmei's tone was certain, but there was little pride on her face; instead, her gaze toward Tang Yin flickered with avoidance.

She finally realized what she had overlooked.

It turned out that her secret crafting and practice of hidden weapons had been under her brother's nose the entire time.

Will Brother hold a grudge because I kept secrets from him?

Will he distance himself from me because I practice such sinister hidden weapon techniques?

The more Tang Sanmei thought, the more frightened she became, and her face turned pale.

"What are you thinking about?"

Just as Tang Sanmei was lost in her wild thoughts, a hand suddenly rested on her shoulder—it was Tang Yin, who had sensed her abnormality.

He had originally intended to pat her head, but at this moment, Sanmei was half a head taller than him, making the gesture seem somewhat awkward.

"Will Brother blame Sanmei for hiding things?" Tang Sanmei stared cautiously into Tang Yin's eyes—the windows to the soul. She was confident that under her Purple Demon Eye, no lie could be hidden.

"So that's what you're worried about!" Tang Yin was slightly surprised, then comforted her in a helpless tone.

"Everyone has their own little secrets, myself included. As long as your secrets don't harm innocent people, what does it matter how many you have?"

Huu~

Seeing Tang Yin still acting as he always did, Tang Sanmei felt a weight lift from her heart, relieved that the stone which had been pressing down on her for so long had finally settled.

However, the subsequent realization that her brother also possessed secrets of his own inevitably stirred a trace of disappointment within her.

"What secrets does Brother have that Sanmei doesn't know about?"

"Since it's called a secret, how could it be easily revealed to others!"

"Hmph, does Brother consider Sanmei to be an outsider?"

After their playful banter, the three of them began their operation to hunt the Lightning Gale Bird.