"You're the ones who forced me into this! Deathgod Domain, activate! Ultimate Art: Great Sumeru Hammer!"
Tang Hao, in his final frenzy, unleashed his Deathgod Domain. The Clear Sky Hammer grew several times larger out of nowhere. All the debuffs and control-type skills that had been applied to Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Hammer were shattered by the overwhelming explosion of soul power. Without hesitation, Tang Hao swung what might be the final hammer strike of his life directly at Kaos.
"Third Soul Skill: Taunt! Fourth Soul Skill: Invincible Shield! Hold it!"
The Black Tortoise Shield Soul Master, in his Martial Soul True Body state, desperately used his Taunt soul skill to redirect Tang Hao's attack, attempting to take the blow in Kaos' stead with his martial soul. However, due to the vast difference in soul power, all it did was slightly delay Tang Hao's attack.
Under the threat of death, Kaos pushed himself to the limit, unleashing his soul skills with all his might. His first six soul rings lit up repeatedly like flashing lights, while his eighth soul ring was pushed to its extreme. A thick layer of flame enveloped his body, two pairs of illusory dragon claws sprouted from his chest, and his overall appearance became more like that of a true dragon.
Two massive forces of soul power collided in mid-air, and the resulting shockwave echoed throughout the entire Soul Beast Forest. Tang Hao and Kaos were both sent flying backward like ragdolls. Those near the center of the explosion were flung away by the violent shockwave.
Among them, Tang San—being the weakest and closest to the explosion—suffered the most. His body was sent hurtling as if hit by a speeding truck. In the final moments before losing consciousness, Tang San barely managed to summon his external soul bone and wrap himself in Blue Silver Grass. Then, he blacked out and plummeted into a fissure in the ground created by the collision.
The Child of Rebellion is not a protagonist; they're more like a bug in the world. However, this bug is incredibly difficult to fix, often producing sacrificial cancer cells to take the damage instead. Moreover, the special intervention of the Asura God bestowed Tang San with protagonist-like traits, ensuring that great disasters would always lead to fortuitous encounters for him.
From a karmic perspective, it seemed inevitable that Tang Hao and Tang San would encounter such a powerful team. Tang Hao, as Tang San's biological father, had long been transformed into one of these sacrificial cancer cells. Thus, it was only natural for him to take the blow on Tang San's behalf and even leave him with a fortuitous encounter in the process.
For normal protagonists, those who block fatal blows for them or provide treasures are usually rewarded in some way. But for the Child of Rebellion, those who sacrifice themselves typically die without any recompense. The world's consciousness might even commend their death as a positive outcome.
Thanks to fate's intervention, Tang San fell into the fissure and, after several impacts, landed in a natural underground cave. Though his body was covered with wounds, and his recently repaired soul bone was shattered again, leaving him bruised and battered, at least he wasn't reduced to pieces.
While unconscious, Tang San felt a wet sensation on his face, along with a soft touch on his lips.
The touch, though different from the kiss he once shared with Dai Mubai, gave Tang San an indescribable feeling.
Under the persistent wetness and itchiness on his face, Tang San slowly opened his eyes. As his consciousness returned, he noticed a shadowy figure above him. Due to the cave's near-total darkness, Tang San couldn't immediately make out the face of the figure.
"Xiao Wu, is that you? Or Mubai? Am I... dead?" Tang San murmured instinctively. Hearing his voice, the figure above him tilted its head slightly and made a curious sound.
"Woof? Woof woof?"
The sound, clearly not human, made Tang San's heart skip a beat. He activated his Purple Demon Eyes, using its unique vision technique to illuminate the cave's interior and finally see what was above him.
It was the head of a gigantic black-and-white canine soul beast. Its pair of blue eyes radiated a clear, foolish innocence.
"Huh?" Upon realizing that the creature that saved him was actually a canine soul beast, Tang San froze in disbelief, letting out a stunned exclamation.
The black-and-white canine soul beast, seemingly unimpressed by the foolish-looking human, lost interest in Tang San. It gave his clothes a couple of licks, sniffed the blood seeping from his wounds, and, upon confirming that this peculiar creature neither had much meat nor smelled good, displayed a human-like expression of disgust. Opening its mouth wide, it yawned lazily, glanced at Tang San indifferently, then turned around and kicked some dirt toward his face with its hind legs. Afterward, it sauntered back to its den made of bones and minerals.
In Tang San's horrified gaze, the black-and-white giant dog casually crunched through hard minerals as if chewing on small bones. It swallowed the fragments before engaging in its usual antics amidst the mineral deposits—crashing, biting, and rolling around.
Though the black-and-white canine soul beast seemed silly and its actions were hard to categorize, its body exuded terrifying destructive power. It easily dislodged massive chunks of rock and mineral fragments, carving out a significant space in the process, much like a pangolin digging through the earth.
"This is… the top-tier soul beast, the Black-White Dog? I've read about this kind of soul beast in my teacher's books. It's said that these creatures have low intelligence but possess incredible destructive power and tenacious bodies. Their most notable trait is their seemingly boundless energy—they never seem to tire."
"Although their intelligence is lacking and they have an intense desire to destroy, they are a rare type of soul beast that is naturally non-hostile toward humans."
"I, Tang San, have somehow managed to survive."
Tang San sighed inwardly, grateful for his stroke of luck.
If Chen Ming had been present, he would have immediately recognized that this so-called Black-White Dog was essentially an oversized husky. Its eyes radiated the same clear foolishness as Earth's huskies, but its larger size and more destructive power made it far deadlier.
...
Over the next few days, Tang San noticed that this Black-White Dog seemed to be guarding a specific herb. Although its destructive tendencies were apparent, it was exceptionally careful when near the herb, occasionally licking it gently with its tongue before returning to its mineral-bone nest to digest the herb's medicinal properties.
Perhaps due to being licked by this hyper-energetic soul beast, Tang San's wounds stopped bleeding after a short while. Eventually, after an unknown amount of time, he managed to gather a trace of soul power and opened his storage soul tool.
Tang San intended to retrieve food, water, and pre-prepared medicine, and then use Blue Silver Grass to pull these items toward him. However, due to his insufficient soul power, he only managed to complete the first step before losing the ability to move again.
Noticing the commotion, the Black-White Dog, which had been lying on the ground, curiously lifted its head. It moved closer to Tang San and began sniffing the items he had taken out.