Soul Skills: National Highway and Dragon-Riding Strike

Lu Yuan also gained two soul skills: National Highway and Dragon-Riding Strike.

Delighted, Lu Yuan hurriedly checked the interface for their descriptions.

National Highway: Summons a stretch of concrete road that instantly covers the battlefield, trapping enemies in its cracks and leaving them unable to move. While on National Highway, your speed doubles.

Dragon-Riding Strike: Soul Power transforms the front of the truck into a dragon's head for a full-force collision. The strike doubles your power and carries draconic pressure that suppresses enemies above level twenty.

After reading the descriptions, Lu Yuan couldn't stop grinning.

"Good, good, good..."

"I'll drive this Big Luck across Douluo Continent and smash a path for myself."

By the end, determination filled Lu Yuan's eyes. His voice rang with bold confidence.

The next morning.

Beams of sunlight fell through gaps in the sparse trees.

On the official road outside Fallen Soul Village, a carriage rolled along at an unhurried pace. Its wheels creaked monotonously over the gravel.

The driver was a dark-skinned, middle-aged man who looked as though he spent his life on the road.

Inside sat a boy of about six or seven.

He wore a clean, coarse-cloth shirt. His face was still young, but his eyes held a steadiness and sharpness far beyond his years.

He sat cross-legged with his hands forming a seal, his eyes narrowed slightly. A faint purple light swirled deep within them.

Tang San.

He had been an outer disciple of the Tang Sect before crossing over to Douluo Continent.

Since childhood, Tang San had lived in seclusion with his father, Tang Hao, in the neighboring Holy Soul Village.

At six, he had awakened his Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, and possessed Innate Full Soul Power. He had become Yu Xiaogang's disciple.

His grasp of theory was so deep that many adult soul masters felt ashamed by comparison.

At that moment, he was cultivating Purple Demon Eyes.

It was a secret art of the Tang Sect. By absorbing the purple energy of the rising sun each morning, a practitioner could eventually master it.

Tang San never neglected his training. Even while traveling, he practiced right on schedule.

In that respect, Tang San truly worked hard.

As the carriage neared a mountain hollow, Tang San extended his Purple Demon Eyes' perception through the window and scanned the surroundings.

Suddenly, he frowned.

Strange traces of energy lingered in the distant woods.

They were violent and chaotic, mixed with a strong smell of blood.

"Stop for a moment."

Tang San spoke quietly.

The driver pulled on the reins and looked back in confusion. "Young Master Tang San, what is it?"

Tang San lifted the carriage curtain and leaped down.

He strode toward the woods beside the road and pushed Purple Demon Eyes to its limit. His gaze pierced the layers of leaves and branches, taking in the scene deep among the trees.

His pupils contracted sharply.

The forest floor ahead was a wreck. The earth looked as though some enormous creature had plowed through it, churning up soil and flattening the vegetation.

Three ancient trees, each so thick it would take three or four people to encircle it, had snapped near their roots and lay scattered across the ground. The torn wood fibers at the breaks made it clear that a terrifying impact had smashed through them.

Tang San sucked in a breath.

He stepped farther in and found a pit several meters wide. Stones lay scattered all around it.

The soil at the bottom was dark red, clearly stained by a large amount of blood that had seeped into the ground.

Tang San crouched, rubbed some soil between his fingers, then brought it to his nose and sniffed. His expression changed.

"This is an Ironclad Rhinoceros's blood! It must... it must have been ten thousand years old."

He murmured in disbelief.

At the academy, Yu Gang had taught Tang San about Ironclad Rhinoceroses.

Ironclad Rhinoceroses were earth-attribute Spirit Beasts known for their defense.

An adult Ironclad Rhinoceros had thick hide and armor as tough as refined steel. Even other thousand-year Spirit Beasts would struggle to break through its defenses.

A Ten-Thousand-Year Armored Rhino was more terrifying still. Even a Soul King would have to think twice before taking one on.

Yet the scene before him plainly showed that someone had crushed the Ten-Thousand-Year Armored Rhino in a one-sided fight...

Tang San sucked in another breath.

He rose and swept his gaze over the ground, searching for more clues.

He found strange marks imprinted in the earth. They bore a patterned tread and stretched deep into the woods.

Their width and depth were remarkably consistent, like tracks left by some large vehicle.

But no carriage or war chariot he knew could have made them.

"What made these tracks? A vehicle? But they don't look like hoofprints, or claw marks left by a Spirit Beast..."

Tang San frowned, growing more puzzled by the moment.

He followed the tracks a little farther.

At last, he reached the edge of the woods and stopped.

The tracks vanished on a relatively flat patch of ground, but a sharp smell left by Big Luck still hung in the air.

Tang San breathed it in. He had never smelled anything like it.

It was certainly no ordinary oil or fluid secreted by a Spirit Beast.

"What is this thing? A new Spirit Beast? A new Martial Soul? Or even something from another world?"

Tang San muttered to himself, his eyes turning grave.

But Tang San's powers of deduction were formidable. He had already come close to the truth.

He looked in the direction the tracks had been heading and made up his mind.

Whatever lay ahead, something capable of killing a Ten-Thousand-Year Armored Rhino was no ordinary thing.

If he let such an unknown factor roam along his route, who knew what might happen?

"Turn around. We're going this way."

Tang San pointed in the direction the tracks led and gave the driver his order.

The driver looked troubled. "Young Master Tang San, this way won't be easy. It's wilderness up ahead, and I've heard there are plenty of Spirit Beasts..."

"I said we're going this way." Tang San's tone was calm, but left no room for argument.

Helpless, the driver turned the horse and drove the carriage in the direction of the flattened woodland.

As Tang San saw it, the best outcome would be to get his hands on whatever had crushed the Ten-Thousand-Year Armored Rhino.

If I can get hold of that thing, this trip will be a huge win! A glint flashed in Tang San's eyes, and he couldn't help smiling.

Whether the driver might be dragged into danger and lose his life never crossed Tang San's mind...

The carriage traveled through the woods for about half an hour.

Suddenly, the view ahead began to open up.

Beside a stream, Tang San and the driver spotted a figure at the same time.