Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 502: A Terrifying Opponent

This opponent faced Tang San in human form, which was clearly not his strongest state. However, being in human form had its advantages. In this state, his body was smaller and more agile. If he transformed into a Behemoth's true form, his massive body would be at a disadvantage against the nimble human. What if the human got close? Even with his tough defense, he didn’t believe he could withstand the palm strike that had felled a Golden Mammoth.

Therefore, upon discovering who the opponent was, he decided to fight in human form. The strength of his physique would be somewhat lower, but he had confidence in his speed and reflexes.

The distance between them closed instantly. The Behemoth had no choice—his strength lay in close-quarters combat. Otherwise, he really didn't want to engage in a brawl with someone as powerful as Tang San.

He stomped heavily on the ground with his left foot, leaping into the air. Well, perhaps "leap" was not the best word; his sheer power propelled him forward at breakneck speed, as if he had been blasted forward by an explosion.

Tang San knew that in terms of strength, he couldn't compare to this opponent, just like how he couldn't compare to the Golden Mammoth. Thus, he had to rely on other things.

While the Behemoth was still in mid-air, he swung his claws. The energy extensions of his claws grew to several meters, and they crisscrossed in the air, leaving deep space cracks in their wake.

Mei Gongzi could also tear the space apart and create rifts, but that was because her power allowed her to control space directly. Meanwhile, the Behemoth had managed to slash space open purely through power and sharpness. With his claws projecting light blades forward and leaving space rifts behind, he effectively blocked every path that Tang San could take to advance. A flash of silver light appeared as the teleportation array disc was activated, but instead of teleporting forward, Tang San actually moved backward. In the next instant, he appeared at the back near the edge of the competition platform.

At the same time, his Sky Shatterer had already shot out. He was using the same Meteor Hammer technique as last time; the hammer was connected to a Blue Silver Emperor vine. It drew an arc as it flew, bypassing the energy claws, and then veered off-course in mid-air, flying directly at the Behemoth contestant's head.

The Behemoth contestant landed steadily, the energy claws leaving long, deep grooves on the ground.

Without even looking at Sky Shatterer, he waved his left hand and slashed out, sending glimmering energy blades toward Tang San.

Suddenly, something weird happened. The sharp lights he had unleashed froze in mid-air. And as Sky Shatterer collided with them, it was flung back. Meanwhile, the Behemoth’s right hand slashed out, generating even more energy blades and this time targeting the Blue Silver Emperor vine connected to Sky Shatterer.

The ability to create concrete forms from one’s bloodline energy, like these blades that could remain suspended in the air, was called Bloodline Trace. It was an ability only available to those with extremely high cultivation and bloodline power of a high enough level to condense outside the body without dissipating.

Just based on this move alone, Tang San judged that this opponent was likely the strongest he had faced so far.

What he didn't know was that this direct descendant of the Sky-Splitting Demon Emperor was also the true seed contestant of their group, deemed by the Ancestral Court to be someone who could advance from the group stage.

As Sky Shatterer was deflected, Tang San tugged at the Blue Silver Emperor vine, pulling back the hammer. However, the Behemoth’s position and timing were simply too good, and the energy blades were so large that the Blue Silver Emperor vine couldn't avoid them.

The Blue Silver Emperor vine was instantly cut into several pieces. Fortunately, Sky-Shatterer still flew back to Tang San, thanks to its momentum.

The moment he grasped Sky Shatterer, Tang San activated the array disk again, this time teleporting directly to the position where the Behemoth had originally entered the stage.

From the previous few indirect encounters, he understood that without using his divine consciousness, he had no chance in a direct confrontation. This guy's attack, defense, and explosive power were simply too perfect. The Behemoth's claws were something he couldn't withstand head-on. Maybe Big Cat, with the Lion-Tiger Golden Force, could face the Behemoth directly, but he himself was only at the peak of the eighth order and couldn't do it!

Such an opponent was truly troublesome. To defeat someone like this, he would have to find another way. It was clear that he couldn't avoid revealing some of his abilities.

Tang San let out a helpless sigh. His eyes lit up with a faint golden glow, and the next moment, a pair of golden wings spread out from his back.

In the stands, Cheng Zicheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Golden Roc Transformation?"

She had never known that Tang San could use the Golden Roc Transformation. How was this possible? This was the only thought in her mind at that moment. What exactly was his bloodline?

When he first arrived, Tang San used the Wind Tiger Transformation[1]. Yet now that she thought of it, he hadn’t really used abilities related to the Wind Tiger for a very long time. And now, he revealed the wings of the Golden Roc! How could Cheng Zicheng and the other companions not be surprised?

Previously in battle, Tang San had always shown the Lion-Tiger bloodline, which was recognized as a powerful bloodline. Its exact nature was unknown, but whatever it was, it was just one bloodline power. Now, these wings unquestionably came from a second bloodline!

A human with a dual bloodline inheritance! This was the thought that all the spectators had at this moment.

Dual bloodlines were not uncommon on the Daemon Continent, but generally, having two bloodlines meant both would be relatively thin. Unless the bloodlines themselves were extremely powerful, the end result was usually very weak. There were cases where two bloodlines could mutate together, but the results were mostly failures, sometimes even leading to early death.

Successful cases did exist, such as the Sunborne Nymph Emperor and the Earthshade Nymph Emperor. Among the nymphs, the success rate of bloodline fusion was relatively high due to their inherent trait that allowed them to combine bloodlines with a lower rejection rate. For demons, however, having two bloodlines could easily lead to conflicts, and these conflicts were often deadly—like with the Lion-Tigers.

At this moment, Tang San clearly displayed a second bloodline, and it was obvious that the two bloodlines coexisted without any conflict.

"ROAR!!!"

A blinding white light erupted from behind Tang San, and the massive white silhouette of a Lion-Tiger appeared, letting out an ear-splitting roar.

The sound waves caused the Behemoth contestant to pause slightly.

Lion-Tiger? The Lion-Tiger bloodline!

If Big Cat wasn't in this competition, no one might have recognized the Lion-Tiger Golden Force. But Big Cat had used the same ability in the first match, and it had a strong bloodline intimidation effect on powerful opponents. This had caused a massive stir within the Ancestral Court, especially among the various clans of the lion and tiger races.

They weren't fools; how could they not see that the Lion-Tiger warrior had resolved the bloodline conflict and truly integrated the two bloodlines, creating a new and powerful one? Moreover, it was very likely a first-tier bloodline!

This caused many different opinions to arise within the lion and tiger races, and especially after the second match, when Big Cat used his formidable strength to confront and defeat a Golden Mammoth. This practically confirmed that his bloodline was first-tier.

Now, the same Lion-Tiger Golden Force was being used by a human competitor. Although he had to be a noble to participate, this implied that he was originally a vassal of the Lion-Tiger Beast lineage. Of course, Tang San wasn’t worried about that. Even if an investigation was done later on, they would only discover that he had registered together with Big Cat.

1. It was the Wind Wolf Transformation, but the author has since retconned this. ☜