Tang San gently ran his fingers over the still slightly scorching Eight Spider Lances, thinking to himself: it seemed the Star Dou Great Forest truly was his land of fortune—what happened with Xiao Wu had just been an anomaly. He had been here less than twelve hours, and through the soul ring of one Soul Beast combined with the blood of another, he had already leapt two entire soul power levels. He was already at the Titled Douluo rank, after all. For an ordinary Titled Douluo, advancing from level ninety-three to ninety-five might take a decade and still not be enough, yet he had accomplished it in such a short span. The whole thing felt almost impossible. But it had happened.
A faint smile crept onto his face unbidden. The Eight Spider Lances gave a gentle push, propelling his body to the side. He sat cross-legged on the ground, gazing at the completely shriveled corpse of the Human-Faced Spider Emperor. He thought to himself: so this is the law of survival—the weak are prey for the strong. If he had been the one to lose, things would have been even worse. He probably would have been devoured outright by that behemoth.
He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill. The black Clear Sky Hammer once again materialized in his grasp. The Sea God's Trident was planted in the ground beside him. Guided by the black light, a stream of dark energy was drawn from the Human-Faced Spider Emperor's corpse, condensing in midair and flying toward the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang San's hand.
Watching the soul ring fly toward him, Tang San vividly recalled the excruciating pain he had endured the first time he had absorbed a Human-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring that far exceeded his level. But for him now, a soul ring with fifty thousand years of cultivation was no longer anything special.
The black light entered his body, and the evil, frigid aura of the Human-Faced Spider Emperor was almost instantly swallowed by the surging currents of his Mysterious Heaven Skill's internal energy, vast as a great river. The tremendous soul power left it no opportunity to wreak havoc, suppressing its energy outright, and the sudden surge in power crushed it completely.
Moreover, this Human-Faced Spider Emperor had lost on the basis of absolute strength. Though it was unwilling to accept defeat, facing Tang San's mountain-like power, it barely struggled before Tang San began absorbing it.
Compared to absorbing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's soul ring earlier, this absorption was far easier. In just a quarter of an hour, Tang San had finished adding the fifth soul ring to his Clear Sky Hammer. All of his soul rings now numbered fourteen. In the Star Dou Great Forest, he needed only three more to complete the objective of this trip.
He rose to his feet once more. When Tang San lifted his gaze to the sky, night had already faded, and the first light of dawn was beginning to appear on the distant horizon. A new day was about to arrive. He retrieved some food from Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night and ate a simple meal before setting out again. During the absorption of the soul ring, the soul power he had previously expended had already been fully restored. And he was now even stronger than before. Even though he had retracted the Eight Spider Lances, that solid, shield-like feeling at his back remained, giving him a profound sense of security. Vaguely, Tang San felt that even if he were to encounter the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger again and be dragged into that strange space, his Eight Spider Lances would be able to break free from the spatial binding and accompany him into that realm.
Still, he doubted he would ever have the chance to experience something like that again. Just thinking about the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's composure and power sent a fresh chill of fear through him. When he had first returned to the Star Dou Great Forest, how could he have imagined he would face a brush with death? Before coming back, he had believed that even if another powerhouse on the level of Da Ming or Er Ming appeared, he would be more than capable of fighting. Even if he couldn't win, he could at least escape. But now he understood—he must not underestimate any opponent, nor give them any opportunity. There were far too many powerful abilities he knew nothing about. If something went wrong and he died, what would become of his parents? What would become of Xiao Wu?
He expanded his Blue Silver Domain once more and found that he was already very close to the center of the Star Dou Great Forest. As his spiritual perception gradually approached the small lake at the heart of the forest, Tang San suddenly detected three powerful auras.
Three targets, all at once? Tang San looked toward the center of the Star Dou Great Forest with puzzlement. At the same time, he narrowed his Blue Silver Domain, directing its detection exclusively in that direction.
As the probing details came back, a look of anger gradually surfaced on Tang San's face, and his fists clenched tighter and tighter. He muttered through gritted teeth: "Cuckoos in the sparrow's nest. Da Ming and Er Ming are gone, and now even their home has been taken over."
This trip had originally been intended as a visit to pay respects to Da Ming and Er Ming. Though the bodies of the two great divine beasts were not here, this was nonetheless the place where they had lived for a hundred thousand years. Having come to the Star Dou Great Forest, how could he not stop by? Before he left, Xiao Wu had specifically urged him to check on that clear little lake. Normally, no Soul Beast would dare venture into that central area. But if any had, he was to drive them away. In Xiao Wu's heart, she refused to believe that Da Ming and Er Ming were truly dead, and the land where they had once lived must be preserved for them. Tang San understood—Xiao Wu was holding on to the hope that one day Da Ming and Er Ming, like her, would experience a miracle and return to the living world.
Though that was almost impossible, it was the anchor of Xiao Wu's heart. Whether for the sake of Da Ming and Er Ming, or for Xiao Wu's sake, Tang San would not allow any Soul Beast to desecrate the territory those two great beasts had once called home.
He shot into the air, his flight speed surging to its limit in an instant. The Blue Silver Domain blazed at full power, and he did not even bother concealing his aura, hurtling straight toward the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Half an hour later, Tang San's mist-like figure finally arrived at the deepest reaches of the forest. His body streaked toward the center like a meteor chasing the moon. The three Soul Beasts had clearly already detected his presence, but just like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger he had encountered before, none of them retreated or fled. Instead, they gathered together, waiting for him to arrive.
With a whoosh, Tang San descended from the sky. Before him lay the clear little lake, its scenery as beautiful as ever. A thin veil of mist drifted across the surface of the water. It was early morning, the air was extraordinarily fresh, and the humidity of the place was deeply comfortable. But Tang San had no mind for scenery—his gaze locked directly onto the targets of this trip.
There were three identical magical beasts, crouching coldly by the lake and watching him. Although his Blue Silver Domain had already probed them, seeing the three Soul Beasts in the flesh still caught Tang San off guard.
This time he had not encountered anything as extraordinary as the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger. Instead, he had found three Soul Beasts that could be seen in virtually any Soul Beast forest: Supreme Ants.
The three Supreme Ants were roughly the same size, each about three meters long. Judging by volume alone, even all three combined fell far short of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's imposing presence—they were even less than the fifty-thousand-year Human-Faced Spider Emperor with its eight enormous spider lances.
Each of the three Supreme Ants, bodies approximately three meters in length, was covered in a layer of dark golden chitin. They each had six thick, powerful legs. Now, facing Tang San, all three had risen to their feet. Atop their heads, each bore six eyes—two large and four small—emitting a dim green glow. These were all characteristic features of the Supreme Ant. Tang San had seen many of this species before and had heard the Great Master give detailed accounts of this common Soul Beast. But he had never seen one this large.
According to the Great Master's teachings, the Supreme Ant was a Soul Beast with extremely tenacious vitality. Its physical defenses were outstanding, its ability to withstand blows was formidable, and its raw strength was astonishing—far exceeding what its body size would suggest.
That, in essence, covered the Supreme Ant's entire profile. As a Soul Beast, it possessed no particular soul skills. In any Soul Beast forest, it frequently became prey for other species. Its defense, while decent, was ultimately limited, and it lacked offensive means. Though its strength was impressive, it was difficult to bring that strength to bear.
Naturally, many Soul Beasts looked down on the Supreme Ant. After all, breaking through their armor just to eat them was simply too much trouble. It was precisely because of their tenacious life force that these creatures managed to exist in such large numbers across Soul Beast forests.
When the Great Master had first introduced the Supreme Ant to Tang San, Tang San had joked that the creature's traits bore a certain resemblance to his own Martial Soul, the Blue Silver Grass—numerous in population, lacking in power. They seemed like a worthless Soul Beast.
However, the three Supreme Ants before him now did not give Tang San any sense of worthlessness at all. What he had observed earlier were only the traits they shared with ordinary Supreme Ants. It was the ways in which they differed that had drawn his attention.
Generally speaking, a ten-year Supreme Ant measured about three inches in length and had only a pair of mandibles at its mouth capable of biting through hard materials. A hundred-year Supreme Ant would not exceed six inches. Only at a thousand years of cultivation could one possibly grow to a foot long. Such specimens were already quite rare, because the species had no powerful means of self-preservation and their own colonies frequently descended into mutual slaughter. Tang San had entered many Soul Beast forests—this Star Dou Great Forest in particular, multiple times—and while he had always seen plenty of Supreme Ants, they had never caught his attention. He had never seen one exceeding a foot in length.
According to the Great Master's estimates, if a Supreme Ant's cultivation reached ten thousand years, its body would likely grow to about two feet. It would take thirty thousand years to exceed one meter. The Great Master had studied this powerful but otherwise limited Soul Beast carefully in his research. The largest Supreme Ant he had ever known was roughly one meter long, with a cultivation of just over thirty thousand years—that was the basis of his judgment. And that thirty-thousand-year Supreme Ant had become the eighth soul ring of Titan, the patriarch of the Strength Clan, purely because of its power-related traits. The Great Master had learned this from a chance conversation with Titan. Titan had described it as having hunted down an Supreme Ant King, and that the soul ring had drastically increased his strength.
Thirty thousand years of cultivation to reach one meter—and yet the three Supreme Ants now before Tang San each exceeded three meters in length. Tang San was certain that all three of these were Supreme Ant Kings—no, they should be called Supreme Ant Emperors. Their cultivation likely approached ninety thousand years. They were not far from breaking through the final threshold into the hundred-thousand-year class.
If the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had difficulty growing because its danger was too great and it risked being attacked in droves by other Soul Beasts, then the Supreme Ant's difficulty in growing stemmed from being too weak in the first place. Tang San understood that for Supreme Ants to cultivate to this level, the effort required would far exceed what the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had invested to reach ninety thousand years. After all, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger had acquired the ability to protect itself once it reached a certain level—but the Supreme Ant could not say the same. How had he ended up in this place, encountering such a peculiar trio of Soul Beasts? Even his earlier Blue Silver Domain probe had failed to accurately assess their cultivation, detecting only that they exceeded fifty thousand years.
Facing three ninety-thousand-year Soul Beasts simultaneously did not worry Tang San. What astonished him was their species. Moreover, all three Supreme Ant Emperors had undergone physical mutations. Each of them possessed a pair of large, translucent wings on its back, clearly capable of flight. Their mandibles were also remarkably prominent. In addition, each had two thick forelimbs somewhat resembling the pincers of a scorpion, though not quite identical—more like three sharp spines fused together. They swayed these forelimbs from side to sides, and in addition to the dark golden glow, they bore a peculiar layer of green.
"Who gave you permission to invade the territory of the Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape?" Tang San spoke coldly, the Sea God's Trident in hand.
No matter how lowly the Supreme Ant might be, once it cultivated to the Emperor level, its intelligence would rise to a corresponding degree.
Tang San's speculation was correct. These three Supreme Ant Emperors had reached their current state through tremendous difficulty. They were three brothers—within the Supreme Ant colonies, they had been elite warrior ants. During a battle against another Supreme Ant colony, the three brothers had performed brilliantly and caught the attention of the Queen Ant, becoming leaders of the warrior ants. From there, they had waged campaigns across the Star Dou Great Forest, surviving death more times than they could count, gradually growing in strength.
As their power increased, the Queen Ant had grown wary of them and decided to eliminate them. This was one of the key reasons why Supreme Ants rarely grew powerful. Within the colony, the Queen Ant issued commands and was responsible for reproduction. But the Queen herself possessed no offensive capability—she could only birth offspring. Once a warrior ant appeared beyond her control, problems could arise. Therefore, the Queen never permitted any warrior ant to grow too strong. The moment a warrior ant's cultivation reached a thousand years, it would immediately be attacked by other ants dispatched by the Queen and utterly destroyed.
But the three warrior ant brothers had been fortunate. Their fierce combat prowess and formidable strength had earned them the admiration of the other warrior ants. When the Queen ordered the other warriors to attack them, they were warned in advance, and the three brothers managed to escape.
They had been loyal to the Queen, yet had received such a treatment. With their cultivation already at a thousand years, they possessed a degree of intelligence and were naturally furious. Rather than fleeing far, they used their intimate knowledge of the colony to infiltrate the Queen's nest during a battle between their own colony and another group of Supreme Ants. They killed the Queen and devoured her corpse before fleeing.
After escaping the territory of their original colony, they were delighted to discover that their bodies had grown significantly larger and their strength had greatly increased. Consuming the Queen had caused their cultivation to surge. This discovery gave the three warrior brothers an idea. From that point on, they traveled far and wide, seeking out other Supreme Ant colonies, finding opportunities to secretly infiltrate, assassinate the Queen, and devour her. They used the Queen's nutritional essence to nourish their bodies and grow rapidly.