Tuoba Xuan had left the Shui Clan for one main reason.
It was the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well. Tang San was the same age as him, after all.
What if Tang San got there first?
Even without the Immortal Herbs, Tuoba Xuan was confident he could still become a god.
Besides, he was doing this for the Shui Clan's sake.
As the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall,
Hu Liena naturally put Spirit Hall's interests first in everything.
When Hu Liena had said those things in public,
she had completely given up on the Tian Clan.
So, of course, they would turn their sights elsewhere.
And who would they target?
Who else could it be?
Tuoba Xuan, naturally!
If he stayed with the Shui Clan, he would likely bring them endless trouble.
After all, the Shui Clan was firmly aligned with the Heaven Dou Empire.
And since Spirit Hall wanted to recruit him, it certainly wouldn't forget the Shui Clan.
If he refused, the Shui Clan would suffer along with him.
Spirit Hall's ambition to annex the continent was already beginning to show.
Only a talent who had grown strong could truly be called a talent.
He had to find a secluded place to hide right away.
As for joining Spirit Hall,
it wasn't out of the question, but he would wait until he had the means to stand on his own first.
Spirit Hall had a great many people.
If he joined, he would inevitably be watched, and that would make things difficult.
Tuoba Xuan left the City Lord's Mansion without meeting any resistance.
Tian Henglei had already left, carrying his son's corpse.
Tuoba Xuan bought a wide-brimmed hat from a roadside stall and concealed his aura.
Looking like an ordinary citizen, he left Skywater City.
As for Shui Bing'er, he would return once he had taken care of the things he needed to do.
She was already his wife-to-be. He couldn't just let her go.
Skywater City lay in the far north of the Heaven Dou Empire, a great distance from Heaven Dou City.
But for Tuoba Xuan, that was no problem.
Ten days later
"Damn, why is there one mountain after another?"
Tuoba Xuan squinted against the blazing sun overhead.
He'd plucked a stalk of foxtail grass from who knew where and idly held it between his lips.
With the wide-brimmed hat on his head, he really did look like a wanderer.
"Why's there a sign here too... 'Ferocious Beasts Sighted.' I'm a grown man..."
Tuoba Xuan recalled a joke from his previous life.
He looked toward the mountains packed together in the distance.
For the past ten days, Tuoba Xuan had stuck to remote country paths. Sometimes, he'd even had to swim across a great river.
Naturally, he was trying to evade Spirit Hall's search.
Of course, Tuoba Xuan avoided roads that were too remote.
Those were the very places where Spirit Hall's people would conduct inspections. He stuck to small paths between villages instead.
More than once, Tuoba Xuan had seen Spirit Hall's people searching everywhere.
But he had easily evaded them each time.
Tuoba Xuan had come to Heaven Dou City for two reasons.
First, to obtain his third Soul Ring and confirm his current Soul Power Level.
Second, to see if he could find Dugu Bo and get his hands on the Immortal Herbs.
"Hey, little one, hurry down the mountain. There's a big bug up there."
Several old men carrying bundles of firewood were coming toward Tuoba Xuan. Their faces looked grim.
"A big bug?"
Tuoba Xuan was taken aback. He hadn't expected to run into people in such a remote place, let alone hear about a big bug.
"That's right, a big bug—a huge black one, the kind that eats people!"
One of the old men gestured as he spoke, looking terrified.
"Thank you, uncle."
Tuoba Xuan replied softly. He wanted to go up and see what kind of big bug it was.
Tuoba Xuan continued up the mountain.
"Stubborn little brat!"
The old man muttered under his breath and hurried away.
"A black big bug?"
Tuoba Xuan felt puzzled.
This place was so remote that even finding a Soul Beast would be unusual, let alone a tiger-type Soul Beast.
"Big bug" was a folksy term for a tiger.
"How interesting."
Tuoba Xuan kept the foxtail grass between his lips.
He let his Soul Power surge and headed up the mountain, taking two steps at a time.
"Where's this big bug?"
With a rumble, Soul Power burst outward, and Tuoba Xuan casually put his wide-brimmed hat away in the Green Wood Ring.
Now that he had strength, he naturally couldn't keep acting as cautiously as he had on the way here.
Otherwise, what would have been the point of getting stronger?
Tuoba Xuan was now full of confidence. Standing atop a boulder, he surveyed the mountaintop from above.
A strange noise suddenly came from a hidden cave.
Tuoba Xuan's eyes narrowed at once.
"Come out!"
"Roar!"
A terrifying tiger's roar erupted from the cave, and a black tiger sprang toward Tuoba Xuan like a sword.
Tuoba Xuan saw at once what the old men's black big bug really looked like.
At a single glance, he felt every hair on his body stand on end. His Soul Power exploded around him.
"First Soul Skill: Ten Thousand Jun Tremor!"
Tuoba Xuan let out a low growl, and it seemed as if the entire mountaintop sank.
This was his first Soul Skill, formed from the Dragon Soul Origin.
It let him control the surrounding earth, bringing down gravity several times over to pin enemies in place. He could also unleash tremors through the mountains to attack them.
The black tiger immediately slowed. Its sharp claws narrowly missed Tuoba Xuan as they swept past him.
"Shake!"
Tuoba Xuan's gaze turned cold as he clenched his fist.
The ground moved at once.
Countless whirlpools dragged at the tiger as the rock and earth beneath it burst apart with a boom.
The tiger let out a series of pained howls.
Fierce and savage, it paid no heed to its injuries and abruptly broke free.
"Damn it, how is there a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger here that's at least a thousand years old?"
Tuoba Xuan cursed. There was no doubt about it: the black tiger the old man had mentioned was a fearsome Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
"Shit, I shouldn't have been so cocky just now."
Tuoba Xuan gave a bitter laugh. His spiritual power was already at full force. He wouldn't forget the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's signature move.
If its tail hook struck him and dragged him inside, he'd be done for.
One of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's legs was already lame, but that didn't stop it from slashing with its claws and launching another fierce attack at Tuoba Xuan.
"Second Soul Skill: Dragon Breaks the Firmament!"
Tuoba Xuan's strength was rising at astonishing speed. It was as if countless Dragon Souls circled around him.
Without the slightest fear, Tuoba Xuan collided with the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger again and again, the impacts ringing out like thunder.
Tuoba Xuan clamped the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's tail hook in his right hand, then brought down his left fist like a giant hammer.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Tuoba Xuan pummeled it furiously. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had become a punching bag, and its head, covered in stiff fur, was crushed flat in an instant.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could only lash out in fury, leaving streak after streak of blood across Tuoba Xuan's body.
By now, Tuoba Xuan was covered in blood too, with not a single part of him unhurt.
But Tuoba Xuan had the divine skill Body Healing!
Besides, the Mountain Dragon King Martial Soul was naturally suited to close-quarters combat.
Wounds kept appearing on Tuoba Xuan's body, only to heal in an instant.
Tuoba Xuan was fighting with exhilarating abandon, once again venting all the anger inside him.
Tian Bingyun had been far too weak to deserve being called an opponent. Tuoba Xuan had crushed his head with a single blow.
But this Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was another matter.
Its body was incredibly powerful, and its species ranked among the very strongest of the Soul Beasts.
"You should be honored. You're going to become my third Soul Ring."