"Whoosh—!"
The sound of something slicing through the air was sharp and piercing.
Tang San flicked his fingers, releasing all the force in his fingertips. The pebble shot straight at Lin Jing's face, wrapped in a gust of wind.
Lin Jing didn't even glance at the pebble. He stomped hard on the ground.
His whole body shot forward, straight at Tang San.
His right hand clenched into a fist,
then he threw a punch!
There was no surging wave of Soul Power, just an ordinary punch.
Yet that punch made the air emit a mournful, explosive howl.
Tang San's pupils contracted slightly.
But there wasn't a trace of fear on his face. Instead, the corner of his mouth curled into a cold smile.
In his eyes, Lin Jing was courting death.
A good-for-nothing who spent every day doing nothing but playing, eating, drinking, and sleeping dared to fight him at close range?
As his thoughts raced, Tang San's palm turned a smooth, white jade color, and his fingers curled into a claw.
"Mysterious Jade Hand."
"Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon."
Tang San deployed two Tang Sect Secret Arts in succession.
In Tang San's estimation, after this move,
Lin Jing's strength would be completely deflected, and he'd end up on his knees, begging for mercy.
However,
reality soon slapped him hard across the face.
"Thud—!"
The instant fist and palm collided, a muffled boom erupted.
A wave of air surged outward, and dust flew everywhere.
The cold smile on Tang San's face froze in an instant.
The deflection, grappling, and counterattack he'd expected... none of it happened.
Instead, an overwhelming force, like a row of mountains crashing down, came bearing down along Lin Jing's fist.
The force was so fierce, it was no weaker than a full-grown rhino charging straight into him.
"Crack—"
A sharp snap rang out
from Tang San's elbow joint.
Tang San's face changed drastically. Before he could react, his whole body flew backward.
"Holy crap?"
Lin Jing remained frozen in his punching stance.
He really was stunned.
He hadn't put any force into that punch...
Forget using Soul Power, he hadn't even used much of his physical strength. It had just been a casual punch.
How had Tang San gone flying?
That made no sense.
The next second, Lin Jing suddenly realized.
He'd forgotten about his Second Martial Soul again.
Beast Martial Souls were different from Tool Martial Souls.
A Beast Martial Soul could enhance a Soul Master's physique, even when the Soul Master hadn't activated it.
And what was his Second Martial Soul, anyway?
The Vast Sea Glazed True Dragon!
A legendary True Dragon—its physical enhancement for a Soul Master was absolutely among the best of the best.
Meanwhile,
Tang San flew backward through the air, the wind howling in his ears.
He didn't have the time to wonder why Lin Jing was so terrifyingly strong.
Because right behind him was a cliff!
If he fell down there, wouldn't he end up black and blue all over?
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"
Tang San let out a low roar in his heart.
In an instant, he tapped the air several times with his toes, borrowing a little force with each step.
At last,
in the final moment before he plunged off the cliff, his toes hooked onto a protruding rock at its edge, and he just barely steadied himself.
"Whew... whew..."
Tang San panted heavily, his forehead covered in tiny beads of cold sweat.
He looked down at his right arm, and what he saw made him suck in a sharp breath.
"Gah—"
His entire right arm was red and swollen, and the joint had bulged badly. The slightest movement sent stabbing pain coursing through his whole body.
Tang San's pupils shrank, his eyes filled with disbelief.
How was this possible?!
How could Lin Jing's punch have hurt him this badly?
Tang San raised his head and looked at Lin Jing, his eyes bloodshot.
"Hard to believe, isn't it?"
Lin Jing rolled his wrist and chuckled.
Before Tang San could answer, two pitch-black Blue Silver Grasses shot out from behind Lin Jing, lashing toward him to ensnare him.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
Tang San's expression changed. He didn't dare let his guard down for a moment.
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"
He ducked, dodging the first Blue Silver Grass.
Then he leaped into the air, dodging the second.
However,
it was all for nothing.
The Dark Blue Silver Grass soon came at him again.
"Pfft! Pfft!"
Two soft thuds.
The ground beneath Tang San suddenly split open, and two strands of Dark Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his ankles.
Tang San didn't hesitate. He raised his Mysterious Jade Hand and chopped down at the Blue Silver Grass.
"First Soul Skill: Blood Thorn Overgrowth."
Lin Jing murmured.
At his words, blood-red patterns appeared along the Dark Blue Silver Grass wrapped around Tang San's ankles.
"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"
Countless hollowed-out thorns sank mercilessly into Tang San's flesh.
"Ugh—!"
Tang San grunted, his face paling at once.
The instant the thorns pierced his body, he clearly felt his blood being frantically drained.
"Gulp... gulp..."
As he lost blood, the crimson patterns on the Dark Blue Silver Grass grew brighter.
The Dark Blue Silver Grass hardened at a visible rate.
"Clang—!"
A crisp ring of metal striking metal rang out.
Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand chopped into the Dark Blue Silver Grass.
But...
the Blue Silver Grass was completely unharmed.
Instead, Tang San's own hand went numb from the shock.
"What?!"
Tang San was utterly dumbfounded.
His Mysterious Jade Hand... couldn't even cut through a single strand of Blue Silver Grass?
Before he could recover from his shock, another strand of Dark Blue Silver Grass burst from the ground.
It instantly wrapped around his upper body, pinning both his arms tightly against him.
He couldn't move.
Tang San struggled with all his might, but the Dark Blue Silver Grass only tightened around him. He couldn't break free.
Seeing that Tang San was restrained, Lin Jing stopped draining his blood.
Blood was something he had to be careful with.
If he sucked too much and turned Tang San into a dried corpse from the ancient Loulan Kingdom, that would be no fun.
But... Soul Power was another matter.
Lin Jing's eyes lit up.
Just now, while draining Tang San's blood, he'd made a surprising discovery: his Dark Blue Silver Grass could also absorb Tang San's Soul Power and convert it.
It became his own Soul Power, which was completely different from what he'd understood before.
The discovery delighted Lin Jing.
It was no less surprising than an ancient caveman suddenly discovering one day that animals were allergic to rocks.
Lin Jing had no qualms about draining Tang San's Soul Power.
At worst, he'd drain him dry. It wasn't as if he'd die from it.
He'd just be weak for a few days.
At the thought, the smile on Lin Jing's face grew brighter and brighter.
He controlled the Dark Blue Silver Grass, increasing the rate at which it drained Soul Power.
Strands of pure Soul Power flowed along the Dark Blue Silver Grass and into his body, without end.
Warm and comfortable.
Lin Jing couldn't help closing his eyes, his face full of bliss.
Meanwhile, Tang San, trapped by the grass, grew visibly paler.
The Soul Power inside him poured out like floodwater unleashed from a gate.
He wanted to stop it, but there was nothing he could do.
All he could do was feel his Soul Power being stripped away bit by bit, entering someone else's body.
The helplessness was like that of a wife hiding under the bed.
A look of despair appeared in Tang San's eyes.
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