Lin Yang caught his breath, then stood up, feeling the greater strength of his body and the soul power surging more fiercely than ever.
The evolution of his Sharingan had enhanced him in every respect. His body, spiritual power, and soul power had all received an enormous boost.
His vision was also clearer and more detailed. He could even make out the grain of a tree several meters away. As he was now, he could probably thrash his former self with one hand.
Eight hundred and seventy-two years. That was the age of his first soul ring, far beyond the theoretical limit Grandmaster had proposed.
Just then, perhaps drawn by the smell of blood, a dozen dark shapes rushed toward him as the ground trembled faintly, surrounding him.
They were over a dozen white wolves. Their leader stood as tall as a person, with a crescent mark between his brows. Even through his fur, the contours of his powerful muscles were visible.
The Wolf King's cold, slit pupils fixed on the human before him. His instincts told him this opponent was extremely dangerous. He scraped the ground uneasily with his forepaws, hesitating to advance.
Lin Yang turned his head and met the Wolf King's gaze. The tomoe in his scarlet Sharingan instinctively began to spin, releasing an invisible ripple.
The Wolf King's body abruptly stiffened. His amber slit pupils gradually turned scarlet, and two black tomoe quietly appeared.
The other wolves noticed something was wrong with their leader. They gathered around, baring their teeth at Lin Yang and letting out threatening growls.
Lin Yang felt strange, as though he had gained another consciousness inside the Wolf King's body. Seeing himself from another angle was a novel experience.
Under Lin Yang's control, the Wolf King slowly raised a forepaw, then slammed it down on the head of a wolf in front of him.
That wolf had been glaring viciously at Lin Yang, never imagining it would be ambushed. The blow smashed it straight into the ground, its eyes instantly turning into dizzy spirals.
The surrounding wolves turned back, their eyes full of confusion. The Wolf King raised his forepaw again, but just as he was about to move, his body suddenly froze, and the scarlet rapidly faded from his eyes.
Lin Yang abruptly shut his eyes. A fiery sting spread through his eyeballs, like someone had dripped chili water into them-and made it with Xiaomi Peppers, at that.
As expected, forcing control with a two-tomoe Sharingan was still too much of a strain. But at least he had proven that brief control was possible. No one could take a sudden hit like that in battle.
When he opened his eyes again, not a single wolf remained. Even the Blazing Fire Ape's corpse was gone.
Lin Yang deactivated his Sharingan and shook his head. His vision still felt a little dark.
After making sure there were no living creatures nearby, he leaped away.
When he returned to Tang San, the latter had already finished absorbing his soul ring and was sitting cross-legged on the ground, settling his condition.
Grandmaster's eyes lit up when he saw Lin Yang, and he took a few steps forward.
"How did it go? Everything went smoothly?"
Lin Yang gently rubbed his temples and nodded in response.
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. Absorbing the soul ring drained my spiritual power a little."
He brushed the question aside and looked at Tang San, who had also opened his eyes and was meeting his gaze.
"Teacher's theories really do work. I feel like my martial soul has undergone a fundamental change."
Tang San smiled and nodded at him.
"Teacher? You became his disciple?" Lin Yang froze for a moment.
"Yes, just now. Anyway, what's your first soul skill? If it's a support ability, you've lost your wager. The two of you will soon be senior and junior brothers."
Grandmaster took over the conversation, his tone suggesting he was certain Lin Yang had already lost.
"Grandmaster, don't speak too soon. Why don't you try it yourself?"
The corners of Lin Yang's mouth lifted as he activated his Sharingan. A stab of pain made him instinctively close his eyes for a moment, but channeling soul power into them eased it considerably.
Grandmaster stroked his chin and glanced at Tang San, as though something had occurred to him.
"I won't bully a youngster. How about this? Have a spar with Little San."
"Me?" Tang San pointed at himself.
"Yes. Little San absorbed his first soul ring according to my theories, so he's well suited to putting them to the test. Well? Do you dare?"
Grandmaster's face was full of confidence.
"Fine. Come on." Lin Yang looked at Tang San.
Tang San stood up and was just about to take his opening stance when he suddenly noticed the change in Lin Yang's eyes.
"Your eyes..."
"Oh, a minor mutation. Enough talk. Come on."
Lin Yang brushed it off, his Sharingan fixed firmly on Tang San.
After evolving to two tomoe, his Sharingan's perceptive abilities had improved dramatically. He could clearly see the flow of soul power inside Tang San's body.
"All right. Be careful, then."
Seeing that he did not want to explain, Tang San wasted no more words. After giving that warning, he immediately activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, intending to finish the fight quickly. He had no desire to experience those eyes' bizarre ability.
Lin Yang watched Tang San charge. In his eyes, Tang San's ghostlike movements played out in slow motion. A simple tilt of his head was enough to evade the hand reaching toward him.
Tang San was not surprised when his palm strike missed. He immediately drove his knee forward, drawing his hand back in the same motion.
But Lin Yang merely pushed his palm against Tang San's knee, sending him stumbling back two meters and breaking up his follow-up moves.
Tang San took several quick steps before he managed to dissipate that force. He looked at Lin Yang gravely, deliberately avoiding his eyes.
"That strength... it's comparable to a power attack system soul master with a beast martial soul. No, it's even stronger."
Grandmaster watched their brief exchange, his eyes full of surprise.
"Use your full strength, or you won't even make me move."
Lin Yang spoke calmly as he watched Tang San, his tone as matter-of-fact as if he were stating a simple truth.
At those words, Tang San's gaze sharpened, and he hunched slightly.
"Then watch closely!"
Before his words had faded, he had already become a string of afterimages rushing toward Lin Yang.
His attacks grew fiercer, and a faint, lustrous jade hue appeared on his hands. Lin Yang's Sharingan spun rapidly as he kept dodging.
The longer Tang San fought, the more frustrated he became. He could not even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes. Lin Yang did not seem particularly fast, yet every dodge was timed to perfection.
Just then, Lin Yang stopped dodging and met him with a palm strike. Tang San immediately poured more strength into his hand.
The next second, a crisp impact rang out, and Tang San retreated three steps. But none of that mattered. He stared at Lin Yang's hand in disbelief.
Lin Yang's palm carried a faint jade hue, exactly like Tang San's. It was none other than Mysterious Jade Hand, one of the Tang Sect Secret Arts.
"Y-you... how could you possibly know..."
Even Tang San's eyes were trembling. Countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
"Oh, I just learned it."
Lin Yang withdrew his hand and offered the explanation casually.
The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched, and a vein pulsed on his forehead.
The next instant, without warning, countless thick strands of blue silver grass burst from the earth on all sides, surging toward Lin Yang.
"Entanglement!"
Lin Yang had noticed the moment Tang San's soul power began circulating. By the time the blue silver grass broke through the earth, he had already leaped high into the air.
His hands rapidly formed several hand seals. His cheeks bulged, and he spat out a scorching fireball half the size of a person.
Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique.
The fireball slammed down. With a thunderous boom, all the blue silver grass instantly turned to ash.
Tang San was briefly startled, but he reacted quickly, immediately mobilizing his soul power. More blue silver grass erupted from every direction, blanketing the sky and earth.
Seeing this as he landed, Lin Yang rapidly formed hand seals. A deep-yellow soul ring appeared behind him, glowing faintly.
More than half the soul power in his body vanished in an instant as a ninjutsu took shape in his throat.
Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!
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