Xiao Wu's kick was nearly the pinnacle of what could be achieved without using soul power.
Her original form was a rabbit, so her leg strength was naturally overwhelming. For an ordinary person, even if they weren't directly hit by her leg, the mere force of the wind generated would be enough to knock them to the ground.
With a loud bang—
That textbook whip kick landed squarely on the back of Tang San's head. His cross-legged body toppled forward, and he immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Pu..."
He never imagined he'd be ambushed!
Tang San had been in the Sunset Forest for quite some time now, and he'd never been attacked.
It had made him develop a habit—kill the soul beast, then immediately begin devouring and refining it. As for the surrounding environment, he simply didn't worry about it.
Ten-thousand-year soul beasts rarely left their territory, nor did they intrude into others'. Direct refining was relatively safe.
With the rules on Douluo Continent altered by Kong, hardly any powerful individuals visited the Sunset Forest anymore.
Only a few herb collectors worked around its outer edges.
For a powerful soul master, this kind of ambush wasn't a light injury.
What made it worse was that Tang San had been channeling energy to devour and refine the soul beast when the strike hit—he was instantly gravely wounded!
Before he could recover, another fierce gust of wind slammed toward him—targeting his head once again!
It happened in a flash. Tang San's eyes sharpened, but because of the injury to the back of his head, he couldn't immediately move his body.
Indeed, the back of the head is a critical part of the human body. Taking heavy damage there rendered Tang San momentarily immobile.
Another long leg struck his head again. Tang San was flung several meters like a rag doll, only stopping when his head slammed into a tree.
His mind buzzed. A strange impulse told him to sleep.
But Tang San knew—if he fell asleep now, he might never wake up again!
He couldn't sleep!
He didn't dare sleep!
Even now, he still didn't know who had attacked him!
The assailant made no attempt to speak. She took three quick steps to stand before him, then another powerful kick followed.
"Hmph, still alive after that?"
The voice was incredibly pleasant to the ear. If not for the situation, just this voice alone might have made Tang San fall in love.
His attacker was a woman!
Tang San couldn't figure it out—who had he ever offended this badly?
Suddenly, he felt something grab his head—and in the next moment, he was sent flying into the air. The figure appeared up there as if she had teleported, and another brutal kick slammed into his abdomen.
"Explosive Kill – Eightfold Slam!"
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Hiss...
Hidden in the shadows, Gui Mei gasped. This girl was brutal!
What kind of grudge did she have against Tang San?
Why would she go straight for the kill like this?
Gui Mei couldn't understand. He could sense that the girl's self-created soul skill, "Explosive Kill – Eightfold Slam," grew stronger with every successive hit.
"Eightfold... Eightfold..."
"Could Tang San really be beaten to death like this?"
Gui Mei muttered internally. If this girl completed the entire Eightfold Slam, Tang San might truly not survive.
"His Majesty only told me to watch him, not to protect him. So if he dies, he dies."
With that thought, Gui Mei stopped worrying.
Suddenly, a different realization struck him.
"No, I shouldn't keep addressing him as 'His Majesty' anymore..."
He smiled bitterly.
The Spirit Hall was once all-powerful. If the Spirit Empire had been established, it would've been ideal.
But alas...
"Ai, maybe it's for the best. For commoners, the Douluo Federation is where they truly belong. Even if the Spirit Empire were founded, it wouldn't match what the Federation is today."
"Such is fate, such is destiny."
"Once this Tang San mission is complete, Yue Guan and I will find a quiet place and open a Spirit Awakening center..."
At that moment, Gui Mei was already daydreaming about the future.
Right now, he was merely a member of a Spirit Awakening institution—just an "ordinary" figure within the Federation.
Though he no longer held his previous status, he felt no attachment to it.
After years of bloodshed, both he and Yue Guan were tired of it. It would be better to find a quiet place and apply to the Federation to establish a Spirit Awakening center.
Gui Mei had already discussed this with Yue Guan. It was, in a way, their contribution to the Douluo Continent.
Bang...
With the final slam of the Eightfold Slam, Tang San felt as if every bone in his body had shattered.
As for who the attacker was—based on the familiar sensation—he already knew!
"Xiao Wu!"
"Soft techniques..."
"Eightfold Slam..."
At that moment, Tang San felt something stirring in his bloodline—something struggling deep within.
It was very weak…
No—that wasn't right. It wasn't truly weak; it felt more like it had been tainted. It had lost its purity, which made it appear fragile.
Sigh...
A lifeless sigh echoed in his heart, making Tang San feel a sense of emptiness. This bloodline felt familiar, yet somehow distant.
He couldn't recall ever devouring such a bloodline. That meant—it had originally belonged to him!
Realizing this, Tang San became confused and lost.
The next instant, it felt like something within his bloodline had shattered. The mottled, chaotic blood was suddenly tinged with a layer of blue-gold. But it was too weak, too fragmented—it could only go that far.
"???"
Tang San became even more bewildered. He vaguely sensed he had lost something extremely important—but at the same time, his body was miraculously healing.
"Was this... brought on by the Blue Silver Grass spirit?"
Tang San froze, lost in thought.
From Gui Mei and the others, he had learned a secret—
That he, Tang San, was not a pure human being, but the son of a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Empress and Tang Hao.
In that case, he was the crown prince of the Blue Silver Clan!
His bloodline was that of the supreme Blue Silver Emperor!
With such royal blood, how could it be anything ordinary?
"What... what have I done!"
Because he hadn't known the truth before, he had recklessly devoured the bloodlines of countless soul beasts, trying to strengthen himself through brute force.
But this method had damaged his original bloodline—tainting what was once pure...
And just from the explosion of a tiny sliver of his pure Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, he had already recovered from the majority of his severe injuries.
One could imagine how powerful he would be if he fully awakened the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline!
You could even call it an undying body.
Yet he had given up this bloodline—for the sake of a bit of external power...
(End of chapter)
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