On the outskirts of Suotuo City stood a run-down hut.
The air inside was filled with the bitter smell of herbs and the faint scent of blood.
Tang San lay on a hard bed, staring blankly at the low ceiling. The sharp pains coursing through his body constantly reminded him of the utter defeat and humiliation he'd just suffered.
He had been saved in the nick of time by the Clear Sky Sect, barely clinging to life—but the external soul bone Eight Spider Lances had been ripped out of him alive by Chen Yi, robbing him of both his most powerful secret weapon and badly damaging his foundations.
Now, his meridians were stagnant, soul power no longer flowing smoothly—his whole body felt as though it was leaking like a sieve.
Catching up to top geniuses like Chen Yi or Qian Renxue was unthinkable now; he might not even match the cultivation speed of an average soul master.
He wasn't sure he could break through a soul barrier within five years.
Under such circumstances, would the Clear Sky Sect…
Would they keep investing in a "waste" with no great prospects?
Recalling the Fifth Elder's barely-disguised disgust, the attitudes of the others in the clan, Tang San's heart slowly sank into an icy abyss.
In his mind, his father Tang Hao's eyes when he died so tragically, Xiao Wu's desperate look when captured by Chen Yi, and Chen Yi's indifferent, calm face—all these images became a vicious curse, tearing at his nerves and inflaming a deep, twisted hatred in his heart.
Chen Yi!
The Body Sect!
And those so-called "Elders" who didn't lift a finger while he faced death!
Where was his way out?
With crippled foundations and the Clear Sky Sect's attitude uncertain, was he nothing more than a dying beast in a dark hut, waiting for the end?
Bang!
With a loud noise, the already rotting wooden door was flung open from the outside.
Tang San was startled, quickly turning to face the pain.
A figure stumbled in, collapsing heavily onto the cold, filthy floor as if all strength had fled him.
The black cloak was shredded; hideous burned wounds bore down into meat and bone; the man's breath trembled like a candle in the wind, threatening to extinguish at any moment.
This was—the very same Fifth Elder who had just gone to kill Chen Yi!
How could this be...? Hadn't he left to kill Chen Yi? Why…was he so grievously wounded?
A storm of emotion raged through Tang San as he saw the elder's pathetic state. The Fifth Elder struggled to the edge of the bed, veins in his eyes, his left hand trembling as he fumbled to tear a bloodstained soul guide from his tattered garments and forcibly shoved it into Tang San's hands.
"Hurry… uh…"
With every word, black blood and fragments of inner organs spewed from his lips.
"Inside… there… is a Millennium Snow Lotus… hurry… take it…use its medicine's…power…"
That precious millennium-old snow lotus—with its powerful vitality and gentle medicinal effect—it could stabilize his appalling wounds, stop his breath from being extinguished, and let him hold on until rescue from the clan or return to the Clear Sky Sect.
Tang San endured the fierce, splitting pain across his whole body, forcing himself to the elder's side to take the bloodstained ring.
Sweat beaded his forehead as he moved, but his will was more keenly awake than ever.
He didn't immediately follow instructions, but rather focused first on sensing the auras left on the Fifth Elder's body.
A violent and oppressive thunder aura still throbbed at his wounds—one that Tang San was deeply familiar with.
Chen Yi!
There was another overwhelming gun-like soul power—this was the Soul-Breaking Spear!
Yang…Yang Wushuang?
"You… What are you doing… Hurry…Ah!"
The Fifth Elder saw Tang San still clutching the ring, his movements slow, his gaze filled with anxiety and his voice even weaker now.
But Tang San didn't seem to hear, instead raising his head to ask, unusually calm:
"Fifth Elder, those people from the Body Sect… how did things go?"
The Fifth Elder was focused only on the life-saving snow lotus, so he weakly replied:
"No… Not… The old man used the secret technique passed down by the earlier sect master—burned some of my vital origin… Temporarily… severed all breath… Even those at Douluo Peak level... would not think to search for me, at least for a short while…"
After saying this, he stared intently at the soul guide in Tang San's hands, eyes full of longing.
"The snow lotus… quick…"
A strange smile slowly appeared on Tang San's pale face.
"Fine then—let's do it…bring it out."
Shortly, a chill swept through; light flashed in Tang San's hands, and a snow lotus carved like ice appeared—at a glance, it held at least three thousand years of medicinal power.
"Yes… that's it… hurry… give it here…let me use it…"
At the sight of the snow lotus, a trace of brilliance flickered in the elder's dim eyes; his voice trembled with excitement as if clutching the only straw that could save him.
As long as he swallowed it, he could live!
Yet, what Tang San did next instantly froze the brilliance in the Fifth Elder's eyes, pitching him into utter despair.
Tang San didn't hand over the snow lotus; without hesitation, he jammed it into his own mouth, swallowing it before he could even chew.
"Wha—?!"
The Fifth Elder's mouth hung open, a strange sound choking in his throat, unable to believe what he was seeing.
Once the snow lotus entered Tang San's stomach, an icy pure energy rushed forth, slowly regenerating his injured body and damaged foundation. A faint blush of happiness rose to his face—soon, though, it turned to outright madness.
He looked up at the Fifth Elder, eyes cold but voice oddly gentle.
"Indeed, Fifth Elder, it should be used, soon."
"You little… bastard! You dare—"
The Fifth Elder's eyes nearly burst; the violent surge of emotions caused copious fresh blood to spew from his chest wound.
He stared at Tang San, eyes filled with monstrous killing intent and disbelief.
This brat—who he had barely paid attention to—had the gall to cut off his final retreat, to snatch away his only hope at life!
Tang San met the gaze, and rather than fear, reflected only insanity in his eyes.
"Ha! What is there that I, Tang San, cannot do?!"
He broke into wild laughter, the sound echoing hideously through the ruined hut.
"You… you…"
The Fifth Elder trembled with rage but couldn't speak, only fixed Tang San with a death glare.
Soon, Tang San's face flushed, his body shook slightly; the explosion of medicinal energy from the ancient snow lotus overwhelmed his injured, low-soul-power body.
He couldn't absorb it fast enough.
Tang San took a deep breath, fixing his cold gaze one last time on the now lifeless Fifth Elder.
"Fifth Elder," came his now soft and ghostly voice.
"You gave me the snow lotus… lend me a hand, too, in refining its medicine!"
"Wha—?!"
The Fifth Elder didn't understand at first; but the next moment, realization dawned.
A black, twisted glow erupted blood-like from Tang San's body—one the elder knew all too well.
He himself had broken through his bottleneck and earned the title of Douluo using this very light.
After the Great War, he'd devoured the flesh and blood of many of the Clear Sky Sect's top disciples, consuming the blood of the gravely injured and recently slain to enhance his soul power.
"A secret method for devouring origin and returning through the same path?! You… How did you learn it?!"
His voice broke; anger surged past reason.
"Tang Xiao! Yes… It was that bastard!"
At last, the Fifth Elder realized why Tang San had always looked at him so strangely—it was not just resentment or surveillance, but…a predator eyeing its prey.
This bastard…wanted to eat him!
"You…you dare try this on me?!"
His voice shook with terror.
"Dare touch me, and the Clear Sky Sect will never let you go! Not even Tang Xiao can shield you!"
"Clear Sky Sect?"
The curve at Tang San's lips grew ever wider, though his eyes were still cold and dead.
"No need, Fifth Elder… you worry too much."
He slowly lowered his head toward the elder, his voice as cold as wind from the nine netherworlds.
"I'll simply let the clan master know—
'It was all the Fifth Elder's fault. He coveted Chen Yi's soul bone, blocked him alone and was tragically killed by the Body Sect, with not a single bone left behind!'
He bared bloodstained teeth, grinning.
"Now the feud between the Clear Sky Sect and the Body Sect grows ever deeper!"
"Nooo—!"
In the Fifth Elder's desperate shriek, Tang San's black-glowing, ravenous body pounced upon him like a starving beast, slamming into his shattered body.
Gnawing… Crunch…!
Within the small room, the Fifth Elder's short, miserable wailing abruptly ceased, replaced by nothing but a chilling sound of devouring and crunching.
...
Bonus chapter at 100 PS