"Brother Shangguan, this is your first Soul Skill?"
Tang San wore a peculiar expression. Compared with Shangguan Hong's second and third Soul Skills, this strange fish looked far too unremarkable! The only thing worth noting was its pure, evil presence, which sent a chill through one's whole body. Yet that evil presence was so weak that Tang San even suspected the fish couldn't beat Luo Sanpao.
"That's right! My first Soul Ring came from a four-hundred-year-old Fallen Vicious Dog. I thought I'd get a powerful Soul Skill, but who could have imagined that the summon would turn out to be just a Void Fish..."
Shangguan Hong wore a bitter smile as he held the Void Fish. It seemed to understand his words and began struggling in displeasure.
What do you mean, just a Void Fish?
If I couldn't evolve, I wouldn't hold that against you. But once I become a Rift Herald, then Baron Nashor, then a Voracious Baron, what will you call me then?
Tang San looked at the somewhat disobedient Void Fish, then at Shangguan Hong. He wanted to speak but stopped himself. So this was why Brother Shangguan had always hidden his first Soul Skill. Thinking it over, it made sense. His second and third Soul Skills were outrageously powerful, yet his first Soul Skill was so weak that it was merely a fish-and a fish steeped in evil at that.
"Still, weak as my Void Fish is, it does have one powerful ability!"
Shangguan Hong abruptly changed tack. Patting the Void Fish, he brought out the explanation he had prepared.
"See this purple ocean? It has the power to break down everything! It can devour anything that isn't alive, ultimately turning it into nutrients to expand this purple dead sea!"
This sounded rather like a Fallen Soul Master's style, but Tang San had no suspicions. After all, who would be mad enough to cultivate a pitifully weak first Soul Skill while abandoning their immensely powerful second and third Soul Skills? Besides, Shangguan Hong had already said that his first Soul Ring came from a Fallen Vicious Dog. That was a very typical evil-attribute Soul Beast, so it was no surprise that it had produced such a Soul Skill.
"Brother Shangguan, you mean..."
"Exactly, Little San. Just watch from the sidelines!"
With an excuse Tang San could find no fault with, Shangguan Hong could carry out the devouring right before his eyes! Besides the food, the Void cheered with delight, and the Void Fish forgot Shangguan Hong's slander against it. It leaped into the purple dead sea, watching the corpses sink into its waters, and devoured to its heart's content beneath the surface. Energy poured in continuously, and the purple dead sea did indeed undergo some changes. Under the scrutiny of Tang San's Purple Demon Eye, its area really did seem to grow a tiny bit.
Within just a few breaths, not a single thing remained in the forest to prove that a battle had taken place there! Even the spilled blood had been devoured by the purple dead sea. It was simply the unrivaled Soul Skill for home and travel, murder and arson!
"Your Soul Skill really is astonishing, Brother Shangguan!"
Tang San marveled as he patted the pale-faced Shangguan Hong on the shoulder. He thought that perhaps disposing of corpses was still too much of a shock for Shangguan Hong. That was only right. How could a kind person face something like this without a change of expression?
"Don't worry, Little San. I'm fine!"
Shangguan Hong forced a smile.
"People only find out what they can do when they're pushed. Once you've done something like this the first time, the second is much easier. Besides, it's something we'd have to face sooner or later, isn't it?"
Tang San nodded, though his expression was a little odd. After all, what Shangguan Hong had just said sounded somewhat...
Mm, he must have meant nothing by it!
Because of what had happened that day, Shangguan Hong and Tang San seemed to have grown closer. They returned to the inn side by side, and along the way, Tang San tried all sorts of topics to ease Shangguan Hong's mood, even recounting every embarrassing incident from his past.
Yet Shangguan Hong had no mind to pay attention to Tang San at all. He kept a smile on his face, but in truth, he was sensing the rise in his Soul Power!
One Soul King and more than a dozen Soul Masters and Soul Grandmasters-most had become resources for the Void to grow stronger. Of course, some had also merged into his body, bringing his Soul Power Level to the peak of level thirty-six!
Now this is the proper way to get stronger. Meditation and cultivation? Far too slow.
When the two returned to the inn, the Shrek group was still seated around the dining table. Though Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu looked bedraggled, Oscar's sausages had helped them recover for the most part. They had clearly just endured a lecture from Zhao Wuji, and the atmosphere at the table was rather subdued. The instant Tang San and Shangguan Hong stepped into the inn, everyone's eyes focused on them.
"Third Brother, those people..."
Xiao Wu looked at Tang San, who had sat down beside her, her face unbelievably pale. At that moment, Tang San once again displayed the bearing of the team's future core. With just a few words, he persuaded everyone. After all, no one wanted a Soul Saint-level expert plotting against them from the shadows.
They had struck so ruthlessly today because Ye Zhiqiu's attack had carried killing intent. Yes, everything was because of Ye Zhiqiu!
The Shrek group took the opportunity to pin all the blame on Ye Zhiqiu. They seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere at the dining table grew harmonious again.
Shangguan Hong gnawed on a chicken drumstick, his expression calm, and said nothing.
A night passed, and the Shrek group seemed to have forgotten everything they had encountered the day before. They officially entered Star Dou Great Forest to seek a suitable third Soul Ring for Oscar.
"Danger lurks on every side in Star Dou Great Forest. Brother Shangguan, sorry for the trouble, but please lead the way. Mubai, Xiao Wu, Rongrong, Little Ao, you four stay in the middle. Zhu Zhuqing will cover the rear!"
Since Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu had not fully recovered, Shangguan Hong took up his shovel and served as their pathfinder. Tang San followed close behind, keeping a vigilant watch on their surroundings.
Following beside the group, Zhao Wuji nodded inwardly. The arrangement was quite sound.
"My teacher once said that when you're in Star Dou Great Forest, you shouldn't kill indiscriminately, even if you encounter weak Soul Beasts..."
Throughout the journey, Tang San displayed his extensive theoretical knowledge. It did help the party avoid quite a few troubles, while also making them more curious about what sort of teacher could have taught such a disciple.
Surely he was a venerable sage with a powerful Martial Soul, extensive experience, and great moral standing?
Finding a suitable Soul Beast was not so easy. They walked from morning until noon and encountered several thousand-year Soul Beasts, but they were either too ordinary or too old. At midday, Zhao Wuji, who had been overseeing the group all along, suddenly changed expression.
Whoosh!
The sound of something cutting through the air came from the distant canopy!
"Something's approaching! Stay alert!"
At Zhao Wuji's command, the Shrek group instantly entered a battle-ready state. What appeared next was none other than that thousand-year Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent!
"Attack!"
A mere thousand-year Soul Beast naturally could not stir up much of a storm. Tang San and the others tried to capture it, but not only were Dai Mubai and Xiao Wu injured, even Ma Hongjun, who could suppress the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, was nowhere to be found.
In the end, Zhao Wuji, the Soul Saint, had to act, taking down the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent in the blink of an eye!
It took far less time than the original story had described.
So much so that only when Oscar began absorbing it did those two uninvited guests finally appear...