Byakugan Unleashed, the Golden Hawksbill Turtle King Discovered

For the Soul Beasts that tried to flee, Lin Chen used Flying Thunder Flash to appear right in front of them, then unleashed a Getsuga Tenshō.

He moved like a phantom through the forest, darting and weaving. Wherever he passed, century-old and thousand-year-old Soul Beasts were cleaved in two by pitch-black crescent slashes before they could even react.

It looked just like Musou Grass-Cutting.

The bodies of the Soul Beasts Lin Chen hunted kept piling up. In the end, he heaped them all together.

Tang Ya happily released her Blue Silver Grass. Dark-purple Blue Silver vines coiled around the Soul Beast corpses on the ground, devouring their life essence with abandon.

Her strength soared at a visibly astonishing rate. Even after absorbing her third Soul Ring, she had barely reached level 31.

Yet in just a few hours, Tang Ya's cultivation shot up four levels, bringing her straight to level 35.

She felt a little unsteady, but it was exhilarating!

Tang Ya was even more excited than Lin Chen. She was the one reaping the benefits.

"Let's keep killing for a while. This feels amazing! So being an Evil Soul Master feels this good—and I don't even have to kill people."

Lin Chen merely rolled his eyes at her.

"Very few Evil Soul Masters can grow stronger without killing people. As far as I know, Zhang Peng is the only one.

Even those who only need to hunt Soul Beasts to grow stronger can't stop themselves from craving blood, killing people, and eating them.

That's the reality of the Holy Spirit Cult."

"Then is my Martial Soul special?"

"No. It's because you have me.

Without the Soul Candle Flame to drive out evil, you would've gone mad long ago from devouring so much evil energy."

"Because I have you?

That's right. I have you."

Tang Ya murmured the words again. For some reason, that simple sentence from Lin Chen put her at ease.

Perhaps it was the brand, or the candle flame in her sea of consciousness, or everything Lin Chen had done to help her.

She had already come to rely on Lin Chen far more than Bei Bei, who had been by her side for over a year.

"Then let's kill a little longer. I feel like I can still get stronger."

"I think so too.

But didn't you say you were afraid of being found out? That you were worried they'd be concerned?

Why the sudden change...?"

"That was then. This is now.

I've figured it out. I have power of my own now, so why should I have to worry about what anyone else thinks?"

"All right, all right. With that attitude, back in my hometown, you'd definitely be Uncle Xiaohong's top dog."

"What's that?"

"You don't need to know.

Anyway, the first step to reaching shore is cutting loose the one you love."

He was not even pretending anymore!

"What's this about reaching shore?

And the one I love?

Why are you bringing up Bei Bei again?"

Tang Ya was utterly baffled!

"You're the one who told me to stop thinking about him, and now you're saying this!"

"All right, it's getting late. Best not to get caught. Besides, you've devoured plenty already. Know when to stop. There'll be lots of chances to devour higher-level energy later."

"All right. I'll do as you say."

Tang Ya had come to see Lin Chen as her anchor. Whatever he told her to do, she would do.

Lin Chen was about to take Tang Ya back the way they had come when an unremarkable cave off to one side caught his attention.

His instincts were sharp. He could faintly sense an immensely powerful aura within the cave.

For such an aura to appear on the very outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, there had to be either trouble or a story behind it.

Either way, it meant an opportunity.

He smiled faintly, then focused all his Soul Power into his eyes.

The next moment, veins bulged around his eyes, and his black irises turned pure white.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Lin Chen had switched to the Byakugan, which he had obtained with High-Tier Points.

Only the High-Tier Shop in the system store offered items from other worlds. With enough points, one could even obtain bloodlines.

Unfortunately, they were expensive as hell.

Even now, he had only obtained one bloodline. It was a rather useless one, but the system had offered it at a flash-sale price. It had been so cheap that passing it up would have been a terrible loss.

He simply could not afford any of the other bloodlines.

Still, after saving up for so long, he would be able to obtain a Sharingan as soon as he finished this job for Tang Ya.

With the Byakugan active, he could see straight through the cave, taking in everything inside at a glance.

Lin Chen's brow furrowed at once.

The cave held an incredibly powerful life energy.

Yet that vast life energy was blanketed and suppressed by an aura of decay.

Withering and flourishing, decay and life—two utterly opposing forces coexisted within the cave in a way that felt deeply strange.

Interesting!

Without another word, Lin Chen headed straight for the cave.

Though Tang Ya was full of questions, she followed without hesitation.

The two ventured deeper into the cave. The farther they went, the stronger the aura grew, until Lin Chen stopped at its deepest point.

At the end of the cave,

there was a turtle—an enormous turtle.

It lay motionless in a pool at the back of the cave. A faint golden glow played across its shell, which looked heavy and ancient.

It was a Golden Hawksbill Turtle, and its cultivation was anything but low. Its aura was terrifying.

"Two human brats at the Soul Elder level dare trespass in this king's territory? You must have a death wish!"

The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was startled when it saw Lin Chen and Tang Ya. Only then did it put on an arrogant expression.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

Seeing the Soul Beast speak, Tang Ya immediately recognized what it was and nearly jumped out of her skin.

Lin Chen only smiled. He pressed a firm hand to Tang Ya's trembling shoulder, signaling her not to panic, then said with a smile:

"Did you see that?

We startled him just now.

If two children can scare him, that means he's hiding here—and he's been afraid of something all along.

A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast appearing on the very outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest is strange enough on its own.

Add that decaying aura and the deathly air around him, and this is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast on the verge of death. He's hiding from something terrifying, too."

"Shut your mouth, brat!

Who says this king is dying?

This king is alive and well!

Besides, this king is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Who could possibly make me afraid?"

Lin Chen's words had struck the Golden Hawksbill Turtle King right where it hurt. As he spoke, the aura of ultimate life he had tried so hard to conceal leaked out.

Lin Chen sensed that aura. How could he not know who the turtle was now?

Did the turtle think he had read the original story for nothing?

This was the one and only turtle in the entire story with the guts to snatch a huge chunk of Gold of Life right out from under Di Tian's nose—the Golden Hawksbill Turtle King.

What a treasure to stumble upon.

It made sense. The Golden Hawksbill Turtle King had been hiding all this time, so of course he would want to get as far from Di Tian as possible. Finding him here was only natural.

If Lin Chen had not had the Byakugan and such keen senses, he would never have found him.

"Stop pretending. You're dying, and now you're angry because I called you out."

Lin Chen kept taunting him.

"Even if I am dying, I'm still a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! Killing two mere Soul Elders like you would take no more than a flick of my finger!"

"You're still provoking him?"

Tang Ya's face had gone pale. Lin Chen really had no idea who held the upper hand here.

She admitted he was strong, but could he possibly be stronger than a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

All she wanted now was for Lin Chen to take her away. She wanted no part of something that could get them killed.

But Lin Chen showed no sign of panic. His expression did not even change.

"True. A flick of your finger would be enough. Unfortunately for you, you ran into me."

"And what difference does that make?

You think you can turn the heavens upside down?"