If Tang San wanted to hunt a thousand-year Spirit Beast, he had countless methods. His father felt at ease letting him cultivate alone precisely because he had witnessed the might of Tang Sect Hidden Weapons.
Under Tang San's merciless slaughter, no matter how fast these Soul Masters fled or how strong their Martial Soul defenses were, none could escape. As screams rang out one after another, blood rain filled the sky.
Bodies shattered mid-sprint—these hunters had arrived brimming with confidence, intending to kill and plunder as predators. Now they had become the slaughtered prey.
In the blink of an eye, all those who sought to ambush Tang San were exterminated. Blood dyed the earth crimson, corpses littered the ground—a complete massacre.
Then wisps of Slaughter Aura drifted from all directions, pouring into his Slaughter Martial Soul.
"Hmm? Killing humans counts too." Tang San was momentarily stunned, though upon reflection it made sense. While the Slaughter Martial Soul was a Martial Soul, slaughter never distinguished between Spirit Beasts and humans. Moreover, killing humans seemed to yield more Slaughter Aura.
This wasn't surprising. Had Tang San known the rules of Slaughter City, he would've understood that killing humans was the norm there.
The previously noisy forest fell into absolute silence, as if even birds and insects had gone mute.
After glancing around and at the purple Soul Ring beside him, Tang San knew he needed to absorb it quickly. "Come out," he ordered. "Dispose of these corpses. I'm going to absorb the Soul Ring—keep watch."
Instantly, several Soul Emperors from the Clear Sky Sect appeared. Swallowing hard at the carnage, they'd wanted to eliminate these blind hunters earlier but had to wait for Tang San's command.
Now they saw—their intervention hadn't been necessary at all!
"Yes, Third Young Master!"
With guardians in place, Tang San could proceed without concern. Raising his right hand, a glow of Soul Power from his Clear Sky Hammer Spirit materialized in his palm. Taking a deep breath, he channeled Soul Power to summon the Mountain Moving Goblin's Soul Ring.
The purple light seemed to have been waiting for this moment. The instant it sensed the Clear Sky Hammer Spirit's pull, it surged toward the hammer like rivers converging into the sea.
An immense wave of Soul Power suddenly flooded Tang San's body. Before he could react, his left hand's Slaughter Martial Soul also shone. From the purple Soul Ring, a torrent of Slaughter Aura diverged, forming a scorching current that began searing his body like blazing flames.
"This is Slaughter Aura!" Tang San suddenly realized. No wonder he hadn't sensed any Slaughter Aura when the Mountain Moving Goblin died—it had been stored within the Soul Ring!
He never expected that the Slaughter Aura gained from a life-or-death battle far exceeded that from ordinary Spirit Beast kills. Moreover, this Slaughter Aura was incomparably more domineering.
The ferocity of Slaughter Aura reflected the intensity of the creature's life-or-death struggles—the more brutal the battle, the more concentrated the Spirit Beast's Slaughter Aura.
The overwhelming Slaughter Aura surged into Tang San's body the moment it entered, rampaging through his limbs and bones as if without end. Although the energy within the Slaughter Aura lacked consciousness, it was utterly beyond Tang San's control.
Under the violent assault of the Slaughter Aura, Tang San felt as though his body was on the verge of exploding.
While using his Slaughter Martial Soul to absorb the Slaughter Aura, Tang San simultaneously controlled the Clear Sky Hammer to absorb the Mountain Moving Goblin's Soul Ring—both processes occurring simultaneously through his divided focus.
Even Tang San himself hadn't anticipated that the Mountain Moving Goblin's Soul Ring, which he had assumed would be extremely difficult to absorb, had its violent energy stripped away under the influence of the Slaughter Martial Soul.
Generally, when a Spirit Beast was killed, negative energies such as resentment, fury, and rage would remain, making the absorption of its Soul Ring challenging. Yet the Slaughter Martial Soul seemed tailor-made to devour such energies.
With this ferocity neutralized, the absorption of the Mountain Moving Goblin's Soul Ring proceeded astonishingly smoothly. None of the expected difficulties or excruciating pain beyond his limits materialized.
No obstacles, no suffering, and the process was remarkably brief—less than an hour later, Tang San had fully absorbed the Mountain Moving Goblin's Soul Ring.
"So... effortless?" Tang San was dumbfounded. Back when his granduncle Bai He had helped him hunt the Earthshaking Yellow Ox's Soul Ring, the absorption had been far more arduous!
After all, that Earthshaking Yellow Ox had over four hundred years of cultivation, pushing the limits of what he could handle, making the absorption naturally difficult. Never had he imagined that absorbing a Spirit Beast he'd slain himself would be this simple!
An outsider might have mistaken it for the Spirit Beast willingly sacrificing itself.
With a thought, one yellow and one purple Soul Ring began rhythmically orbiting Tang San's body. The purple ring stood out vividly, its luminous violet hue accentuating the gleam of his Mithril Fiber Armor.
"Why has my Soul Power only reached level 23? This thousand-year Soul Ring gave surprisingly little."
Tang San assessed the Soul Power within him. Not only had his depleted reserves been replenished, but even his wounds had begun healing.
"Even though I suppressed my Soul Power for a while, absorbing a freshly thousand-year Soul Ring only raised me by three levels? Is it because of my second Martial Soul?" After some consideration, Tang San dismissed the idea that it was due to his second Soul Ring being millennium-grade. His second Martial Soul might have absorbed some of the Soul Ring's energy.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—Tang San raised his left hand, where the sigil of his Slaughter Martial Soul flickered increasingly faster, as if growing impatient.
A faint smile crossed Tang San's lips. "Seems it's time to head to Slaughter City to complete the Martial Soul awakening."
Though Tang San didn't understand why this Slaughter Martial Soul couldn't awaken normally or what else it required, it was clear that reaching Slaughter City alone wouldn't suffice for its full awakening. A Soul Master needed to kill—enough slaughter was the first step.
By sheer coincidence, he had fulfilled the prerequisite for the Martial Soul's awakening. Now, all that remained was to go to Slaughter City and complete its final awakening.
Tang San rose slowly, hefting his Clear Sky Hammer. "The hammer's weight has increased, and my physique has grown significantly stronger."
He had heard that his father, Tang Hao, could pummel a level 70 Soul Saint without using his Martial Soul or Soul Power—relying solely on his physical strength, akin to a humanoid Spirit Beast!
Although the Clear Sky Hammer is not a Beast Spirit, as one of the top-tier Martial Souls, its strength lies not only in its destructive power but also in its passive ability to enhance the physique of the Soul Master with each advancement. Simply put, all members of the Clear Sky Sect are muscular men and women.
"It's time to head back. I've been out for nearly half a month. I wonder if Father has made preparations for our trip to Slaughter City." Tang San stepped out of the smoke and began walking toward the exit of Sunset Forest.
(End of Chapter)