Vine Scale Turtle

Looking at this soul beast, Tang San could no longer suppress the surprise in his heart and blurted out:

"A Vine Scale Turtle, and judging by its appearance, it's around 3,000 years old."

His expression sank instantly, his vigilance pushed to its peak.

The Vine Scale Turtle is one of the extremely rare symbiotic soul beasts.

The Scale Vine on its back is alive, a plant-type soul beast possessing a trace of ancient bloodline, and it boasts incredibly strong defensive capabilities.

Innate skill: It can distribute the damage it receives, and even halve it before the distribution takes effect.

In other words, if an attack would normally deal one hundred points of damage, after the distribution, the Vine Scale Turtle would only take fifty.

After the halving, it would be lucky to take twenty-five.

Possessing such a heaven-defying mechanism, coupled with its symbiotic nature, most soul beasts are unwilling to provoke it.

Furthermore, the Scale Vine on its back can launch mid-to-long-range attacks, compensating for the turtle's lack of reach.

Forming a combination of offense and defense, it is extremely troublesome to deal with.

"What Vine Scale Turtle? I think 'Garlic Clove Tortoise' is more like it."

Seeing the creature's physical structure, Tang Wu inexplicably thought of this and couldn't help but retort:

"Come to think of it, do I have a grudge against turtles these past two days? Why do I keep running into so many?"

"Xiao Wu, you must not let your guard down..."

Seeing Tang Wu being dismissive, Tang San warned him sternly not to underestimate the enemy.

However, before he could finish his sentence, the Vine Scale Turtle launched an attack.

The Scale Vine on its back lashed out, its speed so great it created a sonic boom, forcing Tang Wu and Tang San to scramble to the left and right.

The second after they moved, the Scale Vine passed between them and struck a nearby boulder.

The massive rock, which would have required three people to wrap their arms around, shattered into pieces from that single blow.

A single lash had caused it to explode...

Watching the scene unfold behind him, Tang San's expression became exceptionally grave:

"The Vine Scale Turtle's attack power is not weak; be careful not to get hit."

Tang Wu said nothing, merely stowing his playful grin and nodding to show he understood.

Next.

The Vine Scale Turtle lashed out with its Scale Vine again, this time with dozens more vines than the first, attempting to repeat its tactic.

Those vines danced and stretched in mid-air, piling up in a dense mass.

"Trying to use the same method against me is useless. Muda, muda, muda, muda..."

"Second soul skill, go!"

Martial Soul Mode: Conversion, Explosive Burning Chili.

Tang Wu countered with an equal number of Explosive Burning Chili, entangling them with the Vine Scale Turtle's Scale Vine in a fierce, inseparable struggle.

Just then.

The ground suddenly cracked open, and roots of Explosive Burning Chili vines burst forth, tightly binding the Vine Scale Turtle's body.

It was tied up completely.

Tang Wu triumphantly declared:

"Didn't expect that, did you? Besides the frontal assault, I also buried Explosive Burning Chili seeds underground."

"Attacking from both sides, you're done for now, you big turtle..."

"Well done, Xiao Wu. Leave the rest to me."

Seeing this, Tang San praised Tang Wu.

He then took out the Zhuge Crossbow, aimed at the Vine Scale Turtle's head, and with a "click," pulled the trigger.

Whoosh, whoosh—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Two consecutive waves of arrows were fired.

The first wave aimed for the Scale Vine on its back, while the second targeted the turtle's eyes.

Tang Wu was not to be outdone; his vine main stem extended, and his avatar condensed into form.

Clenching his fists, he unleashed a barrage of blows against the Vine Scale Turtle:

"Ora, ora, ora, ora, ora..."

It's a hit!

The arrows flew out rapidly, and just as Tang San felt a moment of relief seeing them about to strike their target, the unexpected happened!

The Vine Scale Turtle seemed to have fallen into a berserk state.

The Scale Vine whipped about frantically, its branches lashing against the turtle shell until it forcibly broke free from Tang Wu's restraints.

It then detached itself entirely from the turtle's body.

Under the influence of external factors, they had actually split into two, becoming independent entities!

"What?!" ×2

Seeing this, both Tang Wu and Tang San were struck with disbelief.

However, despite their separation, that unique innate skill did not vanish.

The turtle quickly flipped itself over, using the shell on its back to block all the incoming arrows.

The moment they made contact, a metallic "clang, clang, clang" rang out.

Under the effect of its innate skill, the damage was shared and halved, leaving not even a single dent.

Facing the menacing turtle, neither Tang San's Blue Silver Grass nor his hidden weapons had any effect.

The same was true for Tang Wu; the opponent possessed a template mostly identical to his own, and it was fighting with its true body.

For the moment, he had no good solution and could do nothing against the Scale Vine.

"Ah----!!!"

Suddenly.

Worried for Xiao Wu's safety, and especially after attacking for so long without leaving a single scratch on the turtle due to its bloodline talent, Tang San grew increasingly anxious and left an opening through a moment of carelessness.

The turtle seized the opportunity, spun two and a half times, and put all its strength into a tail whip against him.

A massive, overwhelming force struck.

Tang San felt as if he had been hit by a train; he flew straight back, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he lost consciousness in mid-air.

"Damn it, I'll make you pay with your lives!"

Tang Wu rushed to Tang San's side to quickly check his injuries.

Finding that Tang San had only fainted and was not in serious danger, he felt a moment of relief, followed by a surge of rage that rushed straight to his brain.

In his extreme fury, the golden veins on the Blue Silver Grass vines expanded, growing from barely visible to the width of a thumb.

The Blue Silver Grass condensed and stretched, finally transforming into a small blue-gold hammer.

One side of the hammerhead was flat, while the other was protruding and jagged.

The moment Tang Wu gripped the Blue Emperor Hammer, the roots followed his right arm, automatically attaching to form shoulder armor, bracers, and other components.

After the Blue Silver Grass bloodline awakened, it became incredibly tough.

The enemy was no longer something that could be snapped with a casual tug.

Furthermore, in its weapon form, its hardness was comparable to refined steel, sufficient to clash with the vast majority of tool spirits without falling behind.

Tang Wu gripped the Blue Emperor Hammer with both hands and smashed it ferociously toward the Scale Vine in front of him:

"Beast, go to hell..."

In a trance, Tang San felt as if he had returned to the Bashu Tang Sect.

"Is this... the Tang Sect?!"

"Could it be that the Douluo Continent was just a dream? But why does it feel so real?"

The memories of the Douluo Continent grew increasingly blurry; Tang San even began to think that his experiences there were nothing more than a dream.

But as fragments of memory continued to surface before his eyes.

Memories concerning Tang Hao, Tang Wu, and Xiao Wu appeared.

Within them were friendship, family, and a budding, yet truly genuine, love.

Tang San's gaze shifted from initial confusion to growing certainty:

"No, the Douluo Continent is not a dream, because everything I cherish is there."

"Wake up, I have to go back...!!!"

Tang San snapped his eyes open, and the first thing he saw was Tang Wu, who was fighting two-on-one against the Vine Scale Turtle.

The instant the Clear Sky Hammer appeared, he felt a weight on his hand, nearly losing his grip.

"Don't be afraid, Wu, Big Brother is here to help you. Damn it, move, just move!"

Tang San squeezed out the last shred of soul power in his body and finally lifted the Clear Sky Hammer.

At the same time, the moment he lifted it, the body of the hammer crackled and hissed with flashing blue electricity.