A Chance Encounter with Tang San

Outside the entrance to the Spirit Hunting Forest, Su Chen paused for a moment.

There were no signposts ahead, nor was anyone there to tell him where was safe.

Shadows of trees crisscrossed overhead, while the ground was covered in messy footprints—some left by soul hunting parties, others by soul beasts crawling through.

Su Chen touched the bundle at his waist.

Hu Liena had prepared quite a few things: a waterskin, dried meat, medicine for injuries, and a packet of insect-repelling powder.

"She says she doesn't care, but she packed everything pretty thoroughly."

Not far away, a faint figure hid behind a tree.

Yue Guan leaned against the trunk, still holding that cup of fruit tea.

"Your Highness, another two hundred steps forward and you'll officially enter the outer region."

"Elder Ju, weren't you supposed to protect me in secret?"

"This one is merely giving you one final reminder."

"Are you done reminding me, then?"

Yue Guan narrowed his eyes.

"Yes."

"Then hide properly."

"You child, you're not adorable at all."

Su Chen waved a hand and stepped into the forest.

Yue Guan watched his figure vanish among the trees, the smile on his face gradually fading.

"His Holiness the Pope asked me to protect you. Don't make me go back unable to answer for it."

The forest was quieter than outside.

Su Chen didn't hurry onward. He first crouched down and pushed aside a patch of grass.

Several shallow pits lay in the soil, their edges still damp.

"The pawprints aren't large. Four legs, three toes. They should belong to Shadow Rats."

Shadow Rats were merely ten-year soul beasts. They were fast, not particularly aggressive, and liked moving in groups.

Further ahead, more claw marks appeared on a tree trunk.

The marks were not low, and the gaps between them were wide.

"There are hundred-year soul beasts around here."

Su Chen looked up.

"Hold the sword properly. Don't embarrass me on your first trip out."

The Purple Thunder Spirit Sword appeared in his palm.

The lightning patterns along its blade glowed faintly.

Su Chen continued forward.

He had just rounded a huge boulder when the grass suddenly rustled.

A gray shadow pounced out.

It was a Rending Claw Wolf, larger than an ordinary wild wolf by a full size, with protruding fangs and several old wounds on its body.

Around a hundred years old.

Su Chen didn't retreat.

As the Rending Claw Wolf leaped into the air, the Purple Thunder Spirit Sword was already raised.

"Thunder Attraction."

The sword tip swept through the air.

A thin streak of lightning shot out along the blade's path, striking the Rending Claw Wolf's front leg dead on.

The Rending Claw Wolf's body tilted, and it crashed to the ground, rolling several steps away.

Su Chen didn't pursue it with another strike.

"If your leg's numb, don't run around."

The Rending Claw Wolf struggled to rise, the ferocity in its eyes growing stronger.

Su Chen frowned.

"Coming again?"

The Rending Claw Wolf let out a low growl and pounced once more.

This time, Su Chen sidestepped, and his blade swept across the wolf's neck.

The movement wasn't fast, but it was precise.

Blood splashed onto the grass.

After landing, the Rending Claw Wolf twitched a few times before going still.

Su Chen stood where he was, looking at the sword in his hand.

"The first move can paralyze. The second can kill."

"The soul skill isn't bad."

Hidden in the shadows, Yue Guan nodded lightly.

Facing a hundred-year soul beast for the first time, he hadn't panicked or made any unnecessary movements.

More importantly, Su Chen hadn't relied on soul power to overpower it.

The angle of that strike, the timing, and the control he displayed when releasing his soul skill were nothing like those of a child who had only recently awakened his martial soul.

"This little monster doesn't even need anyone to teach him how to fight."

Su Chen didn't touch the Rending Claw Wolf's corpse. He merely used a leaf to wipe the blood from his sword.

"You attacked first. Me killing you doesn't count as needless slaughter."

With that, he continued deeper into the forest.

Half an hour later.

Su Chen had already encountered three hundred-year soul beasts.

A Spotted Leopard skilled in ambush was forced out of the grass by Thunder Attraction, then had its spine severed with a single slash.

An Armored Lizard with decent defenses endured the lightning with its hard shell, only for Su Chen's sword to pierce straight into its eye socket.

There was also a Winged Snake that tried to dive down from a tree. The moment it opened its venomous fangs, it was flicked away by the sword tip.

Su Chen stood beside the Winged Snake's corpse and looked down at it for a while.

"The venom sac isn't damaged. I could take it back and trade it for some money."

After thinking it over, he shook his head.

"Forget it. Spirit Hall probably doesn't lack something this small."

In the distance, Yue Guan nearly laughed.

The Holy Son looked like he didn't care about anything while in the Papal Hall, yet once he entered the forest, he was surprisingly good at living frugally.

Just then, Su Chen suddenly stopped.

A faint disturbance came from ahead.

Not a soul beast.

The footsteps were light, but they hadn't deliberately concealed their traces.

An old man and a young boy stepped out from behind the trees.

The older man wore gray robes. He was rather thin, his hair somewhat messy, and his expression carried unmistakable exhaustion.

The boy looked to be around six years old. He wore blue, had short hair, and ordinary features, but his eyes were remarkably calm.

When Su Chen saw the two of them, his brows lifted slightly.

Yu Xiaogang.

Tang San.

What a coincidence.

Yu Xiaogang saw Su Chen as well.

His gaze first fell on the Purple Thunder Spirit Sword, then stopped at the emblem on Su Chen's collar.

It was a silver badge marked with a sword pattern.

A unique insignia found on Spirit Hall Holy Son attire.

Yu Xiaogang's expression immediately darkened.

After the Treatise on the Truth of Martial Souls spread across the continent, Yu Xiaogang had not been having a good time lately.

Whenever he passed through towns, people discussed it in taverns.

When he stayed at inns, proprietors looked at him with strange expressions.

Some soul masters had even asked him directly.

"Master, I heard your theories were all copied from Spirit Hall archives?"

Yu Xiaogang had no way to explain.

Because those records did exist.

And every point Su Chen had written came with records, sources, and examples.

That article hadn't contained a single insult, yet it had completely dismantled the reputation Yu Xiaogang had built over the years.

"Someone from Spirit Hall."

Yu Xiaogang's voice was somewhat cold.

Su Chen looked at the two of them.

"The forest is this big, yet you still recognized me?"

"The emblem you're wearing isn't something an ordinary deacon can wear."

"Good eye."

Tang San stood beside Yu Xiaogang without speaking.

Yet his gaze fell upon the Winged Snake's corpse on the ground.

Several dark-purple vines grew near that Winged Snake.

The vines bore traces of snakes slithering across them.

Tang San recognized them.

His teacher had been searching for a Mandala Snake these past two days.

Mandala Snakes were fierce by nature and highly venomous. The control ability their Soul Rings provided was also well suited to Blue Silver Grass.

And wherever Winged Snakes appeared, Mandala Snakes often moved nearby as well.

He and his teacher had followed the traces here. They had been about to find their target, only for this Spirit Hall child to barge in ahead of them.

The corpses of several hundred-year soul beasts on the ground had clearly died not long ago.

Tang San's eyes turned faintly cold.

"Did you kill all these soul beasts?"

Su Chen nodded.

"Is there a problem?"

"We found this area first."

Su Chen looked at Tang San.

"Does your family own this forest?"

Tang San's expression darkened.

"Hunting soul beasts should follow a first-come, first-served rule too."

"Then did you catch them?"

"No."

"Then whoever catches them first gets them."

Tang San clenched his fists.

Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to stop him.

"Tang San, don't be impulsive."

Then he looked at Su Chen.

"Child, the Spirit Hunting Forest isn't a place you should come to alone. Where are your elders?"

"They're busy."

"You're too young. Killing a few hundred-year soul beasts doesn't mean this place is safe."

"You're not young either. Why are you still taking a student who just awakened his martial soul around everywhere?"

Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened.

Tang San stepped forward.

"Teacher is helping me obtain a Soul Ring."

"Oh."

Su Chen nodded.

"Then good luck to you."

With that, he turned and left.

Tang San stared at Su Chen's retreating back, his gaze growing colder and colder.

That indifferent attitude made Tang San deeply uncomfortable.

Ever since awakening his martial soul, he had always believed that although Blue Silver Grass was ordinary, with the Mysterious Heaven Technique and the Tang Sect's secret arts, he would eventually stand ahead of everyone else.

But this Spirit Hall child before him looked even younger than he was and didn't even seem to possess a proper Soul Ring.

Yet with a single sword, he could easily kill hundred-year soul beasts.

What Tang San found even harder to accept was that the other party hadn't placed him or his teacher in his eyes at all.

Yu Xiaogang spoke quietly.

"Tang San, find the Mandala Snake first."

"Teacher."

"Don't cause trouble. The people of Spirit Hall aren't someone you can touch yet."

Tang San didn't answer.

A small mechanism slid from his cuff into his palm.

It was a Sleeve Arrow.

A hidden weapon of the Tang Sect; it needed neither Soul Rings nor soul skills.

As long as the distance was right and the vital point was aimed at, it could kill with a single strike.

With his back to the two of them, Su Chen was bending over to inspect the snake tracks on the ground.

The distance between them was less than ten paces.

A trace of ruthlessness flashed through Tang San's eyes.

"Teacher, there are fresh tracks here."

Yu Xiaogang looked along the ground.

"Where?"

"Over there."

Tang San raised his arm.

The Sleeve Arrow fired without a sound.

Three cold flashes passed through the gaps between the branches, shooting straight for Su Chen's heart.