In the following days, Tang Hao led Tang San through several nearby soul beast forests, where Tang San voraciously consumed the flesh and blood of soul beasts, reveling in the pleasure of his rapidly increasing strength. In just one week, Tang San's power level soared from rank 31 to rank 34—a remarkable and almost unbelievable rate of progress. However, as a result of this rampant and unrestrained consumption, the changes in Tang San's body became increasingly pronounced.
Now, Tang San's head had developed noticeable, sharp protrusions at the top. His body grew more muscular, but his mouth also widened significantly, and the muscles around his jaw became unusually prominent. His appearance had gone far beyond being just slightly out of proportion—it had taken on an outright grotesque quality.
Yet, the most significant change was not in his appearance, but in his martial soul. Under the influence of his dark and depraved consumption, his Blue Silver Grass underwent a complete mutation. It no longer retained its original characteristic of being faintly blue with a hint of gold; instead, it had become entirely purple-black with faint crimson patterns coursing through it.
Previously, Tang San's martial soul possessed dual attributes: poison and life. Now, however, his Blue Silver Grass exuded a faint yet palpable aura of evil and bloodlust. This was a fundamental alteration in the very essence of his martial soul.
Although these changes were unnatural, Tang San completely ignored them in favor of the raw power he gained. The Blue Silver Grass had grown stronger, its toughness greatly enhanced. When its blades pierced an enemy's body, they could now absorb the enemy's blood and soul power while releasing potent toxins. Its strength had reached a level comparable to advanced martial souls with poison attributes, making it almost an entirely different species from the original Blue Silver Grass.
Having heard about the Dark Blue Silver Grass from the Ghost Vine Soul Master back in the Spirit Hall, Tang San naturally assumed that his martial soul was mutating into the Dark Blue Silver Grass due to his unique cultivation methods. Even Tang Hao believed this explanation after hearing it.
However, in reality, Tang San's martial soul was not evolving into the Dark Blue Silver Grass. Instead, it was taking on a completely separate path of corruption—one distinct from the Dark Blue Silver Grass. If it had to be given a name, it could be called Spider Blue Silver Grass or Evil Blue Silver Grass.
After all, while the Dark Blue Silver Grass did indeed possess evil, poisonous, and devouring attributes, at its core, it still retained the life attribute that defined the Blue Silver Grass. The other attributes were merely secondary.
In contrast, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had completely abandoned its life attribute, shifting its focus entirely to other aspects. This was a path never before taken by plant-based martial souls—one that entirely discarded its foundational essence.
As Tang Hao and Tang San continued their spree of devouring soul beasts, the remains they left behind—large numbers of soul beast corpses, discarded after their brains and internal organs had been consumed—were discovered by soul masters hunting in the forests, who quickly reported this to the Spirit Hall.
When it came to dealing with the corrupt, the Spirit Hall had a zero-tolerance policy, striking with an iron fist.
To put it bluntly, the Spirit Hall could tolerate incompetence and even greed among its members. However, any sign of compromise or negligence in dealing with the corrupt would result in swift and severe consequences from the higher-ups.
After all, combating evil soul beasts and corrupt soul masters was the Spirit Hall's founding mission.
In this era, using soul beasts for cultivation was not technically against the rules. However, one could not use the soul beasts specifically raised in soul hunting forests for low- and mid-level soul masters. These beasts were considered the property of the two great empires. If one wanted to use soul beasts for cultivation, they were expected to capture them from the three major wild soul beast zones.
Even then, there were limits. Killing one or two soul beasts was understandable—after all, many people did it. Killing five or six might raise some eyebrows but would still be tolerated as eccentric behavior.
But if you went on a rampage, slaughtering dozens of thousand-year and ten-thousand-year soul beasts in a single forest, selectively consuming only their brains and internal organs while leaving the rest of their bodies discarded—this went far beyond cultivation. It was outright depravity.
As a result, several Soul Emperors and one Soul Sage from the Spirit Hall were dispatched to investigate the signs of corruption. At the same time, intelligence was relayed to Platinum Bishop Kaos, the Spirit Hall's chief representative in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Originally, the bishop of the Heaven Dou Empire was Salas, a Soul Douluo who had been stuck at rank 89 for many years. However, due to the Spirit Hall's recent acquisition of several soul bones, Salas was granted one and, with guidance from the Spirit Hall's elders, broke through to become a Titled Douluo. After his breakthrough, he applied to return to the main Spirit Hall as an elder, leaving his position vacant. Kaos, who had been Salas's deputy, was promoted to Platinum Bishop.
Compared to the rank 89 Salas, Kaos was weaker, being only rank 85. His talent made it unlikely he would ever reach the Titled Douluo rank. However, inspired by Salas's breakthrough, Kaos became determined to improve himself in hopes of catching the attention of the Spirit Hall and perhaps one day achieving a breakthrough of his own.
Upon taking office, Kaos worked tirelessly, traveling across the Heaven Dou Empire with his team to build his reputation. During the earlier manhunt for Tang Hao, Kaos had already been scheming about how capturing Tang Hao or providing information on his whereabouts could bring him a favor.
Ordinarily, the task of hunting the corrupt would not require the personal involvement of a Platinum Bishop. The position represented the Spirit Hall's authority in the empire, and most corrupt individuals were not significant enough to warrant such attention.
However, eager for achievements, Kaos saw no task as too small if it meant building his reputation. Along the way, he had already eliminated numerous corrupt individuals, wiped out bands of bandits, and dealt with nobles collaborating with the corrupt. Though he had only recently assumed his position, his popularity among the common people and low-level soul masters had already surpassed that of his predecessor.
When he received news of large-scale blood sacrifices in the soul-hunting forest, Kaos, bloodthirsty for glory, pursued the trail like a hunting dog scenting blood.
While Tang Hao and Tang San were hunting in the forest, Kaos and his team caught up with them and cornered them in the soul hunting forest.
To conceal their identities, Tang Hao and Tang San were both dressed in black robes, their faces hidden behind masks. As a result, their identities were not immediately revealed.
"Spirit Hall lackeys, get lost. I don't want to kill you today!" Tang Hao growled, shielding Tang San behind him as he eyed Kaos and his group warily.
"Corruption must be eradicated," Kaos replied coldly.
Seeing the bloodthirsty aura emanating from the two figures before him, Kaos immediately grew cautious upon realizing he could not discern the power level of one of them. He summoned his martial soul, and eight soul rings—two yellow, two purple, and four black—emerged around him. Without hesitation, he activated his seventh spirit ability.
"True Fire Dragon Form!"
With a roar, Kaos's seventh soul ring lit up, and his body rapidly expanded.
Kaos's martial soul was a Fire Dragon, though not a pureblood four-legged, two-winged True Dragon. Instead, it was a two-legged, two-winged draconic beast—a wyvern-like subspecies of the Fire Dragon.
Technically, his Fire Dragon was a downgraded version of the pureblood Fire Dragon, retaining the top-tier dragon bloodline despite its regression. If Kaos were to break through to the Titled Douluo rank, his martial spirit might evolve into a true Fire Dragon, permanently enhancing his bloodline.
This was one of Kaos's motivations for pursuing advancement so fervently.