On the afternoon of their third day in Sunset Forest, Tang Feng followed the party, his thoughts churning. Sunset Forest was so vast-how was he supposed to find that treasure land?
The more Tang Feng thought about it, the more anxious he became. He had been restless over this for all three days.
At that moment, the party was passing through a dense stretch of woods.
Suddenly, Tang Zheng stopped short and sharply clenched his right fist, signaling a warning. "Three hundred-year soul beasts on the left."
Tree shadows swayed, and three pairs of eerie green eyes lit up in the bushes. They belonged to three Ironback Azure Wolves.
They were the size of calves, their backs covered in pitch-black, iron-armor-like bristles, their fangs exposed. The largest stood in the middle, with a vertical silver stripe on its forehead and around five hundred years of cultivation. The two flanking it were also close to four hundred years old.
At the sight, Tang Lan could not help feeling playful. He teased, "Ironback Azure Wolves. Pack soul beasts, very cunning in battle. They're hundred-year ones. Want to try your hands against them...?"
Hearing this, Tang Feng set aside his thoughts and focused on the present. Eager to try, he said, "Uncle Lan, I'd like to. Ever since I began cultivating, I've only sparred with my older clan brothers in the sect. I've never experienced a real battle."
"All right. Remember, retreat to us the moment you can't hold your own." With that, Tang Zheng prepared to watch with folded arms, looking interested.
"Thank you, Uncle Zheng."
Tang Feng took a deep breath. His first soul ring blazed yellow as he activated King Kong's Wrath. His muscles swelled, his strength surged by fifty percent, and he charged straight at the pack, taking on the four-hundred-year wolf on the left.
Seeing this human boy actually dare to attack it first, the Ironback Azure Wolf on the left let out a furious howl. "Awoooo!!!"
Then its four paws tore at the earth, and it became a black shadow as it lunged straight for the back of Tang Feng's neck.
The eerie green, poisonous gleam on its fangs traced an arc of death through the gloom, so fast that only an afterimage remained.
Tang Feng swung his Clear Sky Hammer, smashing its head straight toward the wolf's skull.
The wolf fought cunningly. It tilted its head left, swiftly evading the hammerhead, then extended its sharp claws toward Tang Feng's right arm.
The corners of Tang Feng's mouth lifted slightly. Rather than retreat, he advanced, twisting his wrist. The Clear Sky Hammer traced a strange arc through the air, its handle reversing to strike the reaching paw with precision.
Clang! The sharp claws collided with the hammer.
Amid the ringing clash of metal, the tremendous force sent the wolf stumbling back several meters, its forepaws plowing deep furrows through the ground.
Tang Feng pressed his advantage without mercy. With a light push from his toes, he pursued relentlessly, his Clear Sky Hammer tracing dark-gold streaks through the air. It was the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!
Hammer shadows wove together, pouring down on the wolf like a raging storm.
Seeing this, the wolf on the right and the wolf king flew into a rage and leaped up at the same time as the wolf on the right, one on either side, aiming straight for Tang Feng's back and flank.
"Your opponent is me!" Tang Yun roared, darting across to intercept the wolf king's pounce.
The two boys and three wolves instantly became locked in battle. Hammer winds collided with wolf claws, sending waves of air surging. The wolf on the right circled around Tang Yun, baring its fangs as it prepared to ambush Tang Feng from behind and to the side.
Tang Feng kept watch over the other two wolves' movements at all times. Catching the approaching wolf out of the corner of his eye, he remained calm and swung his hammer to block it.
This was Tang Feng's first true battle. His nerves burned, and his flesh and blood roared. He drove his soul power without holding anything back, wielding the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer as though by instinct. Each successive strike grew heavier, its force building stronger with every turn!
As time passed, Tang Feng's presence grew increasingly savage, but his gaze became ever calmer. The two wolves were battered senseless, great patches of hard bristles falling from their iron backs as blood stained their black fur.
A sharp light flashed in Tang Feng's eyes. He deliberately exposed an opening, letting his movement falter slightly. Sure enough, one wolf took the bait and lunged at his throat with a roar.
Tang Feng followed through with a hammer strike. The force accumulated over thirty-two swings smashed into the wolf's head, and it crashed to the ground, dead.
At the sight, fear finally appeared in the other wolf's eyes, and it actually turned to flee. But Tang Feng pushed off, shooting forward like an arrow. His Clear Sky Hammer flew from his hand, spinning through the air to catch the wolf and strike its spine precisely.
Crack! The wolf collapsed, twitching, with no strength left to fight.
Meanwhile, Tang Yun's battle with the wolf king had reached a stalemate. Far more cunning than the other two lesser wolves, the wolf king used its superior speed to keep moving around him. Though Tang Yun was also proficient with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, he struggled to hit this slippery opponent, expending enormous amounts of stamina and soul power.
"Brother Yun, I'll help you!" Seeing this, Tang Feng shouted and hurried over with long strides, Clear Sky Hammer in hand.
Sensing that things had turned against it, the wolf king abandoned Tang Yun. Its paws tore at the ground as it fled into the depths of the woods.
"Trying to run?" Tang Feng snorted coldly. He drove his soul power without reservation, pouring all of it into his right arm, then hurled the hammer!
Whoosh!!! The Clear Sky Hammer became a streak of dark-gold light, pursuing the wolf king.
But the wolf king was faster. In the blink of an eye, it had run dozens of zhang away. Darting left and right, it dodged Tang Feng's Clear Sky Hammer and vanished into the woods!
There was nothing either boy could do about it, and the battle ended just like that.
Tang Feng leaned on his Clear Sky Hammer, gasping for breath as sweat dripped from his hair. Clearly, he had consumed more than half his soul power, and his physical strength was already overdrawn.
Tang Zheng came before the two boys, sweeping his gaze over the other two wolf corpses. "Not bad. Both of you wielded your hammer techniques like flowing clouds and running water. It's clear you've trained hard."
Then his tone shifted. "But your combat awareness still has a long way to go."
Hearing this, Tang Yun and Tang Feng exchanged a glance, each seeing confusion in the other's eyes.
Seeing them focus and prepare to listen, Tang Zheng patiently explained, "Without understanding your enemies, you used an enhancement soul skill and the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer the moment you encountered them, without making even a single probing attack. That's how a reckless brute fights."
He paused, then continued, "Fortunately, these were only hundred-year soul beasts. Their intelligence hasn't awakened, and they fight entirely on instinct. If you were fighting people instead, or facing ten-thousand-year soul beasts in the future, do you know what would happen?"
Naturally, neither Tang Feng nor Tang Yun knew, and both shook their heads.
Tang Zheng continued explaining, "Ten-thousand-year soul beasts are no less intelligent than humans. They observe and assess, and even set traps. If they see you unleash your big moves right from the start, they won't clash with you head-on at all. Instead, they'll choose kiting tactics, using their superior speed to keep their distance. Once your soul power is spent and your stamina exhausted, they'll harvest your lives at their leisure."
"When that happens, no matter how proficient you are with the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, what use is all that strength if you can't hit your target? You'll only be wasting soul power and stamina."
After listening, Tang Feng and Tang Yun broke out in cold sweat and nodded, wholeheartedly convinced.
Tang Feng understood that the road to becoming truly strong involved far more than piling up soul power and soul skills. It also lay in the wisdom of combat and the composure to judge the situation.
"But it's all right," Tang Zheng said, a hint of a smile flashing through his eyes when he saw their solemn expressions.
"These principles can only be fully understood through countless life-and-death battles in the first place. Defeating three Ironback Azure Wolves today was already tremendous progress for you. As long as you keep that fighting spirit and willingness to reflect on yourselves, you'll surely become truly strong in the future."
With that, Tang Zheng waved his hand. "Let's go. The smell of blood will draw more soul beasts. We need to move somewhere else. The real soul hunting has only just begun."
Five days later, somewhere along the western outskirts of Sunset Forest, in a miasmic swamp.
The sky was gloomy, heavy clouds hanging low and shrouding the swamp, which stretched dozens of li across, in deathly silence.
At that moment, a giant python covered entirely in blue-black scales lay lazily coiled on a huge rock at the swamp's edge, enjoying a rare moment of peace.
The python was a full seven or eight meters long. Thick scales covered its barrel-thick body, each one gleaming like metal.
"That's a seventeen-hundred-year Iron-Armored Giant Python!" Tang Zheng lowered his voice.
Tang Lan frowned. "This Iron-Armored Giant Python has tremendous strength and defense. Ordinary attacks will struggle to break through its scales. We must wear down its stamina and look for an opening."
The two youngsters, Tang Feng and Tang Yun, volunteered once more. "We'll attack. Please cover us, uncles."
Hearing this, Tang Zheng gave a low shout. "All right! Move!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Feng and Tang Yun charged toward either side of the python like arrows loosed from a bow. Battle erupted in an instant!
Startled by the sudden attack, the python's enormous body sprang up. Its thick tail swept across like a steel whip, smashing toward Tang Feng with a howl of wind.
Rather than retreat, Tang Feng advanced, dodging like a phantom. At the same time, his Clear Sky Hammer whistled out to meet the python's tail head-on.
Clang! The clash of metal was deafening, sparks flying everywhere. The python's scales were as hard as iron. The impact actually drove Tang Feng back five or six steps, leaving his arm numb.
"Such strength! Such hard scales!" Tang Feng's expression shifted slightly.
The python was knocked back but remained uninjured, only growing more enraged. It twisted, its enormous body as nimble as a slender snake, instantly changing direction and lunging at the others with its bloody maw wide open.
"Watch out!" Tang Feng shouted. He shot forward like an arrow, his Clear Sky Hammer whistling out to smash viciously at the python's vital spot seven inches below its head from the side.
Clang! The python's scales were as hard as iron. Tang Feng's Clear Sky Hammer left only a white mark where it struck. Pained, the python's eyes flashed with a savage gleam, and its thick tail swept toward him again.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The ringing clash of metal sounded without end.