The Third Martial Soul is indeed a BUG

The moment Tang Liu saw the Mandala Snake move, he decisively activated his teleportation, vanishing once more amidst blue-black light only to reappear in another flash of the same hue.

"The consumption of a first-level innate soul power... it's practically nothing!"

Feeling the soul power within his body having decreased only by a mere fraction, the shock in Tang Liu's heart deepened, followed immediately by wild ecstasy.

Am I about to become invincible? At this speed of teleportation and rate of soul power consumption, it will be very difficult for anyone's soul skill to hit me in the future! Tang Liu thought joyfully, his gaze toward the Mandala Snake shifting entirely.

"Brother Snake, why don't you come and test this out with me!"

Watching the Mandala Snake charge toward him, Tang Liu vanished once again into a burst of blue-black light.

Because he had left marks on all the surrounding trees, and given how dense the forest was here, he could theoretically appear anywhere in this region at any moment.

Consequently, blue-black light began to flicker incessantly around the Mandala Snake, making Tang Liu's figure almost impossible to track.

Since the Mandala Snake was also incredibly fast, Tang Liu was forced to initiate a new teleportation the instant he finished the previous one, which created the scene of continuous, flashing light.

About five minutes later, Tang Liu teleported once more to put some distance between himself and the Mandala Snake.

Having familiarized himself with the mechanics of teleportation over these few minutes, he no longer needed to keep Ethereal Defense active; he could dodge the Mandala Snake's attacks using teleportation alone.

"This won't do; I can't touch it at all."

Tang Liu muttered to himself after teleporting away from the charging Mandala Snake yet again.

He had considered moving further away to lure the Mandala Snake before teleporting back, but the system vetoed this with the message: "The Mandala Snake has a keen sense of smell. Unless the host moves more than 1,000 meters away, the Mandala Snake will still be able to track you down. Furthermore, if the host's current teleportation exceeds 1,000 meters, it will consume 90% of your maximum soul power, after which the host will enter a weakened state."

"It is suggested that the host activate Ethereal Defense, allow the Mandala Snake to pass through your body, and attempt to use the Hao-Lan Mark."

The system's words caught Tang Liu off guard, and he nearly failed to dodge the Mandala Snake's attack.

"You mean, you want me to mark it while it passes through me?"

"Yes."

Tang Liu's eyes lit up.

That's right! The prerequisite for the mark is skin contact, but if the Mandala Snake passes through his body, couldn't that be considered "skin contact"?

"Why didn't you say so sooner?!" Tang Liu began to complain to the system.

"The host did not ask. Furthermore, it is best for the host to attempt these techniques on your own," the system replied.

Tang Liu: "..."

However, the system's logic held up, so he stopped arguing.

Taking advantage of the brief gap before the Mandala Snake charged again, he immediately replenished his Ethereal Defense and stood his ground, waiting for the beast to approach.

"Come on, Brother Snake, let me send you a mark!"

He waved at the Mandala Snake opposite him and shouted loudly.

The second the Mandala Snake heard his voice, it lunged toward him. Tang Liu, having already switched to his Third Martial Soul and prepared himself, began repeatedly attempting to release his first soul skill.

Then, the moment the Mandala Snake passed through his body, the first blue-black soul ring flashed quietly.

Mark successful!

However, due to the imperceptible nature of the Hao-Lan Mark, the Mandala Snake showed no reaction. After passing through Tang Liu's body, it coiled up once more, staring at him motionlessly.

"Now, please choose whether to send the Mandala Snake away," the system's voice rang out again.

"Wait a moment; I want to familiarize myself with the power of the mark first," Tang Liu said internally, walking over to a tree and sitting down cross-legged.

During this time, the Mandala Snake naturally attacked him again due to his movement, but thanks to Ethereal Defense, Tang Liu took no damage.

The system's words earlier had enlightened him: regarding the utility of soul skills and the techniques for using them, it was best to explore and master them through his own trial and error.

Moreover, the system's description of his Hao-Lan Mark indicated that he could "do many unexpected things through the mark," and he was very curious about what these "unexpected things" actually were.

Now, he had a marked Mandala Snake and hundreds of marked trees to experiment with. Plus, he was in a relatively safe state where he only needed to refresh his Ethereal Defense occasionally, so why not take this opportunity to test the effects of the mark?

Tang Liu closed his eyes, switched his martial soul to Haolan Spell, and silently sensed the power of the Hao-Lan Mark. Of course, he didn't forget to have the system remind him when his Ethereal Defense was about to expire.

As his mind settled, he moved his intent, and Tang Liu felt a slight wave of dizziness in his brain, followed immediately by a sensation of being pulled away and floating.

It felt a bit like looking down from an airplane as the scenery below gradually shrinks. Tang Liu discovered that dozens of blue-black, soccer-ball-sized spheres of light had appeared in his dark field of vision. As his perspective rose, these spheres gradually shrank until they looked like stars scattered across the night sky.

Tang Liu realized that he seemed to possess "vision" once again—a vision consisting of the dark sky he saw now and the blue-black starlight scattered across it. Yet, he was clearly still keeping his eyes closed.

Shifting his gaze slightly, he saw two stars huddled together in the distance, moving slowly, their speed almost imperceptible.

That must be Third Brother and Grandmaster.

He thought to himself.

Then, he felt his gaze—or rather, his consciousness—rapidly approaching those two lonely stars. In his eyes, the two stars gradually grew larger, their light becoming dazzling.

Then, as his consciousness landed above those two stars, the surroundings suddenly brightened, and light returned.

The space around him looked like the interior of a carriage.

On the seats, a middle-aged man and a six-year-old boy sat side by side.

Their expressions looked somewhat grave, faintly tinged with worry.

They were, naturally, Grandmaster and Tang San.

"Is this the vision granted by the Mark?"

At this moment, Tang Liu was observing Tang San and Grandmaster from a god's-eye perspective.

Because of the obstruction from the carriage cabin, he could currently only see the situation inside.

However, if he wished, he could raise his perspective slightly higher to see everything within a fifty-meter radius.

Thus, he also noticed the carriage trailing behind Tang San and Grandmaster.