Tang San pushed himself to the limit, gripping the heavy Clear Sky Hammer in both hands as he leaped into the air!
He unleashed a flurry of left and right hooks against the Shell Turtle's face.
Small hammer, 40; big hammer, 80!
The Clear Sky Hammer smashed into the Shell Turtle's face, carrying an Armor Break effect.
Even though its damage had been greatly reduced, the Shell Turtle couldn't help reeling from the blows, its head spinning and its vision swimming.
If the Shell Turtle could talk, it would probably have said:
"Wait, dude?! Are you treating me like a nail you're hammering in, or what? And why are you lining up your hits so neatly?"
Just as Tang San was beating the Shell Turtle until it wished it were dead, Tang Wu was nearly finished on the other side, too.
The Blue Emperor Hammer swelled dramatically in the wind, its dappled shadow gradually spreading across the Scale Vine on the ground.
The enormous hammerhead was like a wall, and on the other end was a booster made of Explosive Burning Chili.
Tang Wu held the handle high in his left hand, his figure looking tiny beside the massive hammer.
Yet this tiny body could easily raise the gigantic weapon above his head, weighing several times more than he did.
"One last blow. I'll finish you for good..."
Boom—
Boom—
Boom, boom, boom—
The Explosive Burning Chili blazed, powering the booster.
With that propulsion, the Blue Clear Sky Hammer fell faster and faster. Its acceleration increased, and its power multiplied along with it.
The next second.
The Blue Silver Emperor came crashing down!
The Scale Vine lashed its tendrils wildly, attempting one last desperate resistance.
But before its tendrils could reach the Blue Clear Sky Hammer, the fierce wind ground them to pieces.
Crash—
The hammerhead slammed down, and the surrounding forest swayed violently, as if struck by a small earthquake.
Tang Wu and Tang San each landed a hammer blow. Although the Vine Scale Turtle had an exceptionally strong defense, the brothers' attacks exceeded its limit.
Its innate skill was smashed apart with a sound like shattering glass.
The Scale Vine and the Shell Turtle let out a joint roar, then were swallowed up by the Clear Sky Hammer.
The Blue Clear Sky Hammer broke apart into the Blue Silver Emperor, returned to its original form, and then disappeared.
This move consumed far too much. Even with Tang Wu's Soul Elder cultivation, he couldn't use it a second time so soon.
Only after the Blue Clear Sky Hammer disappeared did the scene inside the crater become visible.
The Scale Vine's final fate was to be flattened by Tang Wu until it looked like a floor plan.
Scale Vine: Friends, I've become a 2D original character too...
Still, it had one last drop of health left and hadn't died on the spot.
Part of the reason was the Vine Scale Turtle's tenacious vitality. The other was that Tang Wu hadn't wanted to kill it outright.
He'd left it with its last breath so Tang San could hunt it and absorb its Soul Ring.
"Brother, the Vine Scale Turtle's Soul Ring is perfect for you. It has plenty of vitality, and it can also distribute damage."
"As the saying goes, 'A thousand-year-old softshell turtle, a ten-thousand-year-old tortoise.' This Soul Beast couldn't be more suitable."
"Recover your strength, then hunt it. I'll keep watch for you."
"Okay. I'll meditate now and recover my Soul Power. Once I'm back in shape, I'll absorb the Soul Ring."
Tang San didn't hesitate. He sat down right where he was and began restoring his Soul Power.
Tang Wu took on the role of guard, staying alert to his surroundings so he'd notice the slightest disturbance.
But he still wasn't satisfied with that, so he added another layer of protection.
The Blue Silver Grass Ghillie Suit covered Tang Wu and Tang San, giving off the distinctive scent of Blue Silver Grass and blending in with their surroundings.
Blue Silver Grass could conceal them from the environment and block most Soul Beasts from tracking them.
The Blue Silver Rammer Truck from earlier had incorporated this trait as well. The Soul Beasts hadn't noticed it until it was very close.
Otherwise, given the commotion made by the Hundred-Ton King, the Soul Beast overlords nearby would have learned its location long ago and come after it.
Then they wouldn't have made it this far into the forest.
You could say that—
when it came to developing Blue Silver Grass, Tang Wu was second to none.
Not even Ah Yin, the former Blue Silver Emperor, could top him.
Once he'd finished all this—
Tang Wu waited quietly until Tang San woke up and killed the Vine Scale Turtle with a single blow.
One thing worth mentioning was—
since the Vine Scale Turtle was a symbiotic Soul Beast, it took two more strikes to kill it completely.
The Vine Scale Turtle had a lifespan of 3,000 years, which didn't put too much of a burden on Tang San.
His Second Soul Ring had already been close to 800 years old.
So absorbing a 3,000-year Soul Ring as his third wasn't all that difficult.
Tang San sat cross-legged, but when he drew the Soul Ring toward himself, two Soul Rings appeared at the same time.
One belonged to the Shell Turtle and the other to the Scale Vine. Both were thousand-year purple Soul Rings.
"The body can split apart, but why are there two Soul Rings, too?" Tang Wu couldn't help guessing.
"Could this Soul Beast be an extremely rare mutant? Is that why this happened?"
Meanwhile—
while Tang Wu was full of doubts, Tang San was caught in a dilemma.
From what he could sense, both thousand-year Soul Rings could be absorbed. It was up to him to choose.
After hesitating for a moment, Tang San ultimately chose the Shell Turtle's Soul Ring.
After all—
in Vine Scale Turtle, the Shell Turtle was the main body that the Scale Vine depended on.
But just as Tang San made his choice and prepared to absorb it, the Scale Vine's Soul Ring came along, too.
This situation—
was just like a scumbag who took off his pants and swore up and down that he'd only go so far, then did something entirely different.
Scale Vine Soul Ring: I'm just going to rub against you. I'm not going in...
Tang San was a little panicked at first. This was the first time in his life he'd absorbed two Soul Rings at once.
But when he realized he wasn't just fine—he was actually benefiting from it—he immediately relaxed.
That made sense...
The two Soul Beasts that had produced these Soul Rings had originally been symbiotic. After sharing their auras for so many years, they were already inseparable.
Even as Soul Rings, they could coexist inside the same Soul Master.
It really proved that saying—
"In life, you were my beast; in death, you became my ring..."
What a pair of star-crossed lovers!
Time slipped away unnoticed, and soon an hour had passed.
After the last trace of Soul Power entered his body, Tang San slowly woke.
The moment he opened his eyes, he noticed the Ghillie Suit he was wearing and asked in confusion,
"Xiao Wu, what kind of clothes are these? They look so strange."
"Now isn't the time to worry about that, Brother. Tell me what Soul Skill you got!"
Tang Wu cut him off.
He also told Tang San everything he'd just witnessed outside.
Hearing what had happened, Tang San was surprised, too.
Then he shook his head and said,
"I'm not sure what happened, but while I was absorbing them, I could feel it vaguely."
"As for what the Soul Skill does..."
Tang San actually left him hanging, keeping Tang Wu in suspense.
"I'm back to full strength now. We can talk while we walk."
Still worried about Xiao Wu, Tang San continued pursuing the Titan Giant Ape in the direction it had gone.
On the way, he finally explained the Soul Skill:
"It's called Blue Silver Vine Scale Armor. It lets me designate one target and return half the damage it takes."
"My body also inherited the Vine Scale Turtle's damage reduction, but it's only 30%, nowhere near as outrageous as theirs."
After absorbing the Soul Ring, Tang San had broken through from level 30 to level 33.
That was proof enough of just how extraordinary its quality was.
Then Tang Wu, with his keen eyes, noticed something unusual about Tang San's Soul Ring.
Pointing at it, he suddenly shouted,
"Why is there a crack in the middle of this Soul Ring?!!"