Tang San's Adventures [Bonus Story]

At the border of the Dou Ling Empire, in a mass graveyard.

Wild grass rose past the ankles. The stench of rot mingled with blood on the cold wind, while crows cawed from dead trees, watching the nameless corpses strewn across the ground.

A young man lay motionless atop a half-collapsed burial mound.

Blood stained his short gray-blue hair. His tattered blue fighting clothes were almost unrecognizable, and a dark red hole pierced straight through his chest. His eyes were unfocused; he had long since gone cold.

Suddenly, a pale blue orb streaked across the sky and shot into the young man's brow with a whoosh.

The corpse convulsed, then sat bolt upright, its joints cracking.

"Hmph. Destruction and Life will never expect this God King to descend to the mortal world like this."

The young man opened his eyes. A flash of brilliant blue divine light vanished from their depths, and a God King's arrogance filled his voice.

He was Tang San's Divine Sense clone, Tang San.

He had barely enjoyed his triumph for two seconds when he frowned. A wave of weakness swept through him.

Looking down, he saw the hole straight through his chest. Black blood was still seeping from it.

"This is bad! This body's already dead? Do I have to use my Origin Divine Sense the moment I descend?" Tang San's face darkened, and he cursed his original self furiously in his mind. Tang San, Tang San, you've really done me in! You couldn't even find a suitable body. You've already earned yourself a path to death!

He and the original Tang San were alike in some ways and different in others.

The same arrogance, the same need for control, the same catchphrase: "You've already earned yourself a path to death."

But he considered himself far more clearheaded. The original was hamstrung in the Divine Realm and could not even protect Xiao Wu. Tang San was different. He had come to endure humiliation and hardship, to defy the heavens and change his fate.

He had even drawn up an ambitious plan called "Tang San Saves Wu": build his strength in the mortal world, gather followers, become a god, then fight his way back to the Divine Realm and rescue Xiao Wu from her "suffering."

And now the very first step had fallen apart.

Before his campaign could succeed, he lay dead; enough to soak a hero's robes with tears!

"Fuck!"

Feeling his life force drain away at terrifying speed, Tang San swore under his breath and gritted his teeth.

Scarlet killing intent flashed in his eyes, and a faint red glow spread over his body. His Divine Sense coursed through his meridians and wrapped around the wound in his chest.

Flesh writhed and knitted together before his eyes. Within a few breaths, the hole had vanished completely, leaving only a faint scar.

As the sensation of his life force draining away faded, Tang San let out a long breath and wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. A defiant, crooked grin returned to his face. "Hmph. You're not entirely useless, Tang San. At least you left me the Asura inheritance when I needed it."

"If I were in your position, I'd never make those idiotic mistakes." He flexed his wrist, his eyes brimming with conceit. "Once I've built up my strength, I'll be the one calling the shots in the Divine Realm."

"First, I'll find a nearby village and have my Martial Soul awakened at a Spirit Hall Branch." He jumped down from the burial mound, got his bearings, and headed toward the faint cooking smoke in the distance.

He was a God King's clone, after all. Surely he could manage a Martial Soul Awakening.

Half an hour later, at a small village below the mountain.

Tang San had barely reached the village entrance when his face darkened.

Villagers' bodies lay scattered across the entrance, old people and children among them, all dead in horrific fashion. The houses had burned to blackened shells. The air reeked of char and blood, and not even a living dog remained.

"Where is everyone?! They're all dead?!" Tang San's voice shot up, his gaze turning frighteningly vicious. "Doesn't Shrek Academy care? Doesn't Spirit Hall care either?! On the mighty Douluo Continent, Evil Soul Masters can slaughter an entire village unchecked?!"

"Tang San! Shrek! Spirit Hall! Every last one of you has earned a path to death!!" He clenched his fists until his nails dug deep into his palms, trembling with rage.

As far as he was concerned, the blame lay entirely with his original self and Shrek. They had governed a perfectly good continent into this wretched state. They deserved to die ten thousand times over.

"Heh, heh, heh... A little mouse slipped through the net?"

A sinister chuckle sounded behind him. An Evil Soul Master in a black cloak appeared without a sound, gripping a dark red staff. It swept toward Tang San's back with a reeking gust, aimed straight at his shoulder blade!

Thud—

The staff struck his back squarely. The sharp crack of breaking bone rang out.

"Aaaah!!!"

Pain sent Tang San's vision black. He staggered forward two steps, then whipped around, eyes bloodshot and breathing like a bull. He glared at the Evil Soul Master as though he wanted to swallow him whole.

"Damn you! You've earned a path to death too!! I'll wipe out your soul and spirit!!"

In his fury, Tang San disregarded the cost to his Origin Divine Sense. His Divine Sense became an invisible blade and crushed the man in an instant.

The Evil Soul Master did not even have time to scream before he exploded into a cloud of blood with a bang. Not a scrap of bone remained.

"Cough, cough..." Tang San covered his mouth as he coughed. Blood seeped between his fingers, and his body grew weaker still.

He cursed through eyes brimming with tears, like a madman who had suffered the greatest injustice in the world. "Tang San! Shrek! Spirit Hall! You're all useless! You've all earned a path to death!! Waaaah..."

A God King's clone had descended to the mortal world and taken two beatings in half a day. Anyone would have cracked.

"Well, look at that. There's a little brat still alive."

Several sets of footsteps approached from the village entrance. The man in front wore rust-streaked armor and an expression of arrogance and impatience. Three or four armored soldiers followed him. He glanced over the corpses littering the ground, then at the bedraggled Tang San, his voice thick with disgust—

As if to say, Why didn't you die too? Now you're making trouble for us.

"Who are you?" A gleam flashed in Tang San's eyes. He instantly stopped crying, lowered his head, and let his shoulders tremble slightly, playing the part of a helpless orphan to perfection.

No... It was hardly an act. He really was an orphan.

"We're border troops of the Dou Ling Empire." The soldier in front forced a stiff, false smile and beckoned to him. "Come with us. We'll take you to an orphan camp. There's food there."

"Thank you, sir!" Tang San hurriedly bowed, calculation flickering in his eyes.

Perfect. He would slip into the empire's system first and build up his strength from there.

He had taken only two steps forward when the soldier's smile twisted into a savage grin. A long blade appeared in his hand, and a white Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet as he slashed at Tang San's head!

"First Soul Skill: Evil Wind Slash! Die, Sun Moon Empire spy! Your head will count toward my military merits!"

The blade reflected Tang San's blank face.

He was stunned.

He had never imagined soldiers of the Dou Ling Empire could be this outrageous. Without asking a single question, they went straight for the kill, planning to claim military merit with a civilian's head.

No wonder the Dou Ling Empire was the least threatening of the Douluo Three Kingdoms.

It was rotten from top to bottom. The nobles indulged in every pleasure, common soldiers murdered innocents and claimed the credit, and military discipline had all but collapsed. How could a country like that be anything but weak?

As the blade descended, boundless rage surged into Tang San's eyes.

Fine. Very fine.

Dou Ling Empire, you've earned yourselves a path to death too!!