"You're talking nonsense! Even if that Lightning Gale Bird is only three hundred years old, the moment it's startled, it can fly hundreds of meters away in just a few breaths. How could the three of us possibly catch up to it?" Yu Xiaogang immediately scolded Tang Yin when he heard that Tang Yin wanted to hunt the Lightning Gale Bird.
The Lightning Gale Bird wasn't much of a fighter, but it was renowned for its speed.
Even at only three hundred years old, its flying speed nearly matched that of other thousand-year bird Soul Beasts. On top of that, it had a paralyzing lightning attack. As long as its opponent wasn't vastly stronger, few enemies could threaten it.
Low-ranking Soul Masters could only hunt Lightning Gale Birds by catching them off guard. But in Yu Xiaogang's view, none of the three of them had any means of launching a sneak attack from a great distance.
"You should give up on that idea. The Soul Hunting Forest may be stocked with low-ranking Soul Beasts, but it's still very dangerous for us. If we accidentally wander into a group of Soul Beasts while chasing the Lightning Gale Bird, the consequences will be unthinkable."
"Third Sister, what do you think?" Tang Yin ignored Yu Xiaogang and turned to Tang Sanmei. Nobody else knew, but he understood all too well.
Without poison added, Tang Sanmei's Hidden Weapons were of little use against Plant-type Soul Beasts, but they were still highly effective against animal-type Soul Beasts.
And she had recently broken through to the second layer of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, causing her strength to increase severalfold. She could now use some of the Hidden Weapon techniques that were only possible after reaching the second layer.
What made the Tang Sect strong wasn't its Hidden Weapons, but the techniques used to wield them!
At his words, Tang Sanmei instinctively activated her Purple Demon Eye and looked toward the distant Lightning Gale Bird. It seemed to have grown tired of flying and had landed on a fruit tree branch, where it was leisurely eating wild fruit.
"We can give it a try!" Though Tang Sanmei said they could try, her confident expression suggested she already had it in the bag.
Looks like this is a sure thing!
The corners of Tang Yin's mouth lifted slightly. In a world where even Titled Douluo could be assassinated with ordinary weapons, using Hidden Weapons to ambush a three-hundred-year-old bird Soul Beast would be a piece of cake.
Of course, the key was how to hit it without making it wary.
Bird Soul Beasts were known for their alertness, and that was especially true of fliers like this one, which had few means of attack. The slightest disturbance would send it fleeing.
"Then you can help your big brother hunt the Soul Beast this time. Grandmaster and I will keep watch nearby." Tang Yin had no qualms whatsoever about putting the task on his younger sister's shoulders.
"Okay, Big Brother. Third Sister definitely won't let you down!" Tang Sanmei sensed the expectation in Tang Yin's eyes. Her expression turned solemn, and she nodded firmly, but something still felt wrong. It was as if she had forgotten something important.
Never mind. Helping Big Brother hunt a Soul Beast and obtain a Soul Ring is what matters most!
Suppressing the strange feeling, Tang Sanmei touched the little box hanging from her belt. Inside were the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons she had secretly made before coming to Nuoding Academy, without her father or brother knowing.
"You—you two—ah!" Seeing the two of them decide on a course of action right in front of him without the slightest regard for his opinion, Yu Xiaogang's eyelids twitched violently. He pointed at them, momentarily at a loss for words, then could only ask about their plan.
Yu Xiaogang was an insecure and sensitive person by nature, someone who liked to avoid trouble. If you stood your ground, he would back down.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang's reaction, Tang Yin chuckled to himself and began explaining his plan.
It could hardly be called a plan. The most important thing in this operation was to strike a fatal blow. The main factor was Third Sister's skill with her Hidden Weapons. Tang Yin and Yu Xiaogang would do little more than keep watch around her and track the target after a Hidden Weapon hit.
Since they wanted to absorb a Soul Ring, they couldn't actually kill it instantly. Their target might still flee before it died.
Better safe than sorry!
"Grandmaster can wait here too. Either way, it won't take long, whether we succeed or not." After explaining his plan, Tang Yin saw that Yu Xiaogang still looked hesitant and offered the suggestion.
As far as keeping watch and tracking the target afterward went, Tang Yin could handle it all by himself. After all, his Sharp-Tailed Swift could fly. Before, Luo Sanpao, his unusual detached Martial Soul, had been on lookout, and sending him ahead as a vanguard had been safe and reliable. Tang Yin had been happy to save his Soul Power.
"No. I have to go with you." Yu Xiaogang was firm. Then he turned to Tang Sanmei and asked the question that mattered most to him.
"Third Sister, do you really have a way to assassinate a target from a great distance?"
Tang Sanmei didn't answer. She simply flipped her right hand, and a slender needle glinting with cold light shot out too quickly for the naked eye to follow. It struck a falling leaf dozens of meters away and pinned it to a tree trunk.
"What exquisite Hidden Weapon technique!" Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected Tang Sanmei to have such a skill.
What a pity the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament didn't allow these things!
What Yu Xiaogang ultimately cared about was proving himself in the tournament. Tang Sanmei's Hidden Weapon technique was certainly breathtaking, but it was of no use to him.
"Among flying Soul Beasts, the Lightning Gale Bird is exceptionally alert. A three-hundred-year-old Lightning Gale Bird can sense danger from about two hundred meters away. So even if your Hidden Weapons are extremely subtle, you'll need to stay more than two hundred meters from it."
"What's the farthest distance from which you can hit a target?" Pulling himself together, Yu Xiaogang asked the most important question.
That was the benefit of knowledge, and the reason Tang Yin had planned to associate with Yu Xiaogang despite not liking him. Without Yu Xiaogang's warning, the two of them might have failed at the last moment.
Tang Yin nodded to himself, then looked at Tang Sanmei.
"Within a hundred meters, I can hit every time. At two hundred meters, I can only guarantee an eighty percent success rate. But I can throw three needles at once." Tang Sanmei sounded certain, yet there was little pride on her face. Instead, she glanced at Tang Yin with a hint of evasion.
She had finally realized what she had overlooked.
Her brother had known all along that she had secretly made and practiced with Hidden Weapons.
Will Big Brother resent me for keeping it from him?
Will he distance himself from me because I practice such sinister Hidden Weapon techniques?
The more Tang Sanmei thought about it, the more afraid she became, and her face grew pale.
"What are you thinking about?"
Just as Tang Sanmei's thoughts began to run wild, a hand suddenly came to rest on her shoulder. It was Tang Yin, who had noticed something was wrong.
He had originally meant to pat her on the head, but Third Sister was half a head taller than he was now. Patting her head seemed a little strange.
"Will Big Brother blame Third Sister for keeping something from him?" Tang Sanmei looked cautiously into Tang Yin's eyes. The eyes were windows to the soul, and she was confident that under her Purple Demon Eye, no lie could escape her.
"So that's what you're worried about!" Tang Yin was a little surprised, then reassured her in a helpless tone.
"Everyone has their own little secrets. Even I'm no exception. As long as your secrets don't harm innocent people, what's wrong with having as many as you like?"
Phew~
Seeing that Tang Yin was still the same as always, Tang Sanmei breathed a sigh of relief. She was also glad that the weight she had carried in her heart for so long had finally lifted.
But then she remembered that her brother had secrets of his own, and a trace of disappointment rose in her heart.
"What secrets does Big Brother have that Third Sister doesn't know about?"
"If they're secrets, how could I let other people know so easily?"
"Hmph. Does Big Brother consider Third Sister an outsider too?"
After their playful squabble, the three of them began their hunt for the Lightning Gale Bird.
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