Tang Lie, the son of the Seventh Elder Blazing Sun Douluo, belonged to the same generation of Clear Sky Sect disciples as Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. Once regarded as a prodigy with high hopes from the sect, he ultimately couldn't shine as brightly as the Twin Stars of the Clear Sky Sect. Nevertheless, he still reached the level of an eighty-eight-ranked Soul Douluo. His Clear Sky Hammer primarily utilized fire-attribute Soul Rings, making his attacks explosively violent.
The object Tang San had just thrown to Liang Yao was a positioning Soul Guidance Device—an extremely rare artifact discovered by Clear Sky Sect disciples in an ancient ruin. These devices came in sets, allowing precise tracking of their locations. Talented disciples who performed exceptionally well in the Soul Duel Arenas were given such devices for emergency purposes, such as calling for reinforcements.
Once activated, the nearest Clear Sky Sect expert would rush to the signal's location—a protective measure the sect employed for its most promising disciples.
Tang San had originally intended for Clear Sky Sect experts to capture these Insect Soul Beasts alive, but he never expected them to be far stronger than he imagined, with shockingly high intelligence. Not only could they use Soul Guidance Devices, but three ten-thousand-year-level beasts had even appeared.
Tang Lie couldn't afford to wait for reinforcements and had no choice but to deal with these Insect Soul Beasts himself.
BOOM!!!
Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from the mountain behind Tang San and Liang Yao. Terrifying shockwaves and tongues of fire surged outward.
"Self-destruct?!" Tang San's heart jolted. This bizarre testing ground actually had a self-destruct function?!
He had planned to send Clear Sky Sect disciples in later to investigate what these Insect Soul Beasts were doing.
Realizing something, Tang San and Tang Lie abruptly looked toward the sky. The flames from Tang Lie's Soul Skill hadn't completely dissipated yet—a massive fireball still burned fiercely above them.
"Watch out!"
A sharp, metallic arrow pierced through the flames, trailing a long tail of fire as it shot toward them. With a loud clang, Tang Lie swung his Clear Sky Hammer horizontally, deflecting the arrow with sheer force.
Both of them immediately turned their gazes toward the source of the attack. The next moment, a powerful gust of wind dispersed the fireball, revealing the situation inside.
The three ten-thousand-year Insect Soul Beasts showed no signs of serious injury—only minor scorch marks—and their auras remained stable, as if completely unharmed.
Tang Lie's expression darkened in shock. "Could these three Spirit Beasts have reached fifty-thousand-year cultivation? My Soul Skill actually had no effect on them?"
Tang San narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head. "No, it's more likely they combined their strength to block Uncle Lie's Clear Sky True Body Soul Skill. Their injuries are evenly distributed, meaning they shared the damage to withstand your attack."
Tang Lie was, after all, an eighty-eight-ranked Soul Douluo. Though not yet a Titled Douluo, no Spirit Beast below fifty-thousand-year cultivation should have been able to withstand a single strike from his Clear Sky True Body.
Hummm!
One of the Insect Soul Beasts suddenly dove down—but instead of attacking, it snatched up the near-dead Insect Soul Beast that Tang San had critically wounded and retreated.
Tang San and Tang Lie did not launch another attack, because aerial combat was one of the greatest weaknesses of human Soul Masters. Even though some Soul Masters could use Soul Skills to compensate for this shortcoming, the fact remained that humans could not fly.
Although Tang Lie also had anti-air capabilities that allowed him to fight temporarily in the air, aerial combat weakened his strength. If it really came down to an aerial battle, it was uncertain whether he could win, let alone against three opponents. His most important task was to protect Tang San.
With a screech, the severely injured Insect Soul Beast's mandibles split open, revealing rows of sharp teeth as its gaze fixed intently on Tang San.
"Next time... I'll kill you."
!?
Tang San's pupils contracted as he stared at the Insect Soul Beast that had just spoken human words. He asked in shock, "You can talk?!"
The Insect Soul Beast bared its teeth in a grin but did not answer Tang San's question—whether it didn't know how to respond or was deliberately keeping silent remained unclear.
With a hum, the three ten-thousand-year Insect Soul Beasts finally vanished into the night sky, taking the severely injured one with them.
Watching the departing Insect Soul Beasts, Tang Lie also lost his earlier composure, his expression turning grave. "Xiao San, the information from your Soul Guidance Device was correct. The Insect Soul Beasts may have undergone mutations beyond our imagination."
Tang San's initial plan, relayed via his Soul Guidance Device, had been for Tang Lie to wait for other Clear Sky Sect experts to arrive and attempt to surround and capture the creatures alive. However, the sudden appearance of the ten-thousand-year Insect Soul Beasts had rendered this plan unfeasible.
"High intelligence, formidable strength, aggressive nature, and conducting some kind of experiment using unknown Soul Guidance Devices... This is bad." There was one thing Tang San didn't voice—the Insect Soul Beast he had severely injured seemed to have just gained the ability to speak. He suspected it might have been born not long ago!
If it truly possessed such strength and intelligence right after birth, the danger these Insect Soul Beasts posed would be even greater!
Tang San's mind raced as he analyzed the situation. "Although some powerful Spirit Beasts give birth to offspring with innate strength, I've never heard of any being born with such high intelligence. This... it's almost like they're human."
Before long, a series of whooshing sounds came from the direction of the mountain range as Clear Sky Sect disciples, clad in their sect's attire, arrived swiftly.
Though the Clear Sky Sect's heritage lay in the Clear Sky Hammer, its influence was vast, with many outer sect disciples and businesses spanning both empires. This was the fundamental reason why the Clear Sky Sect stood as the leader of the Upper Three Sects—much like the Spirit Hall, which had branches in every city.
"Greetings, Third Young Master, Protector Lie." The leading Clear Sky Sect disciple cupped his hands in salute. A glance at the basin's surroundings told him a battle had already taken place—they had arrived too late.
Tang San nodded. "You've come at the right time. Retrieve everything from that destroyed cavern—every bone, every piece of metal—and bring it all back. This matter is of utmost importance."
"Understood."
Tang San had originally come to complete a sect mission smoothly, boosting his reputation to secure his position as the future sect master. He hadn't expected to encounter something like this.
Several days later, in the main hall of the Clear Sky Sect...
"Such Spirit Beasts exist in this world?" Upon hearing Tang San's account, the elders present and Tang Xiao were all stunned. Had it not come from Tang San himself, they would never have believed it.
A newborn Spirit Beast could fight evenly with a monster like Tang San, even forcing out his Second Spirit, and could speak human language while using a Soul Guidance Device!
You must be joking—there's no such Spirit Beast!
Tang San nodded solemnly and said, "This is absolutely true. Those Insect Soul Beasts seem to be using ancient Soul Guidance Device technology to conduct some kind of experiment on the Wolf Raiders, as if trying to transform them into Insect Soul Beasts."
Seventh Elder Tang Lieyang frowned and said, "Transforming other Spirit Beasts? That's impossible. There has never been any record of such a thing happening since ancient times."
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