Douluo Dalu: Volume 43: Tang San Battling the Angel

by Tang Jia San Shao

  Tang San’s body shook. He’d won, he’d really won. Not only did he win this battle, he also defeated Qian Renxue’s heart. Compared to this battle, that day and night were even more important for him to judge Qian Renxue’s character and manner. If he’d made the slightest mistake, then now he would only be a corpse.

  “Thank you. Actually, you had a lot of opportunities to kill me. But you always gave me a chance. Even though I don’t understand why, I am lucky. Qian Renxue, if some day you really are defeated by my hand, I will spare your life once.”

  Tang San calmly said to Qian Renxue, his expression extremely sincere. Despite being so weak right now, by his expression, Qian Renxue could clearly sense his intense and true confidence.

  “Think about how you will face my full strength pursuit in three days first. You’re quite clever, even the most brilliant control type spirit master I’ve seen. But, as absolute strength descends, no matter how good your stratagems, they will still be useless. Human strength has limits, but gods do not. Tang San, I’ve let you escape from me twice, but you’ve also taught me many things. Facing the enemy, one absolutely can’t give the opponent any chances. I will still thank you for it.”

  Tang San smiled slightly,

  “There’s one thing you’re wrong on. The strength of gods isn’t limitless, gods are also exhausted at times. Next time we meet, I think I should be able to see your true divine strength. Goodbye.”

  Throwing a glance filled with reluctance at the Seagod Trident stuck in the ground, Tang San clenched his teeth. He knew he had no chance to take back this divine tool, and Qian Renxue wouldn’t let him take it away. What he had done so far had already completely overtaxed his abilities. Turning away, he stooped with some difficulty, resisting the violent dizziness. Urging the Eight Spider Lances to move quickly, he advanced into the distance.

  The moment Tang San left, what he thought about deep down was that, if he had known he’d face such a powerful enemy earlier, he should have asked little Ao for more hairy caterpillars and gold flies.

  Tang San’s silhouette gradually disappeared from Qian Renxue’s line of sight. After a long time, she finally couldn’t help it, and vomited out a mouthful of pure golden blood. With a thump, she sat directly on the ground. Her face revealed a strange smile.

  “Tang San, oh Tang San. You’re so clever, but in the end you were wrong on one point. I think this was definitely your first time using this ability, since you actually didn’t even know its strength yourself. It did indeed pierce through my heart, but my heart is already truly shattered. If you could have condensed a speck more divine power on top of it, maybe you really could have killed me.”

  Guanyin’s Tear passed through her heart, and where it passed, her heart exploded, the arteries shattering. Even a god level power like Qian Renxue basically didn’t have the strength to fight any more. All of her divine power was condensed on her heart, imitating it to keep her body going. Even though gods had great power, the heart was still important. Even with her strength, she was still going to need at least three days to reconstruct it. All of her hesitation before was a show for Tang San, she just didn’t want him to see she was this deeply wounded. The might of Guanyin’s Tear could only be truly understood from experience. Qian Renxue believed that, if she wasn’t a god, it would basically have been impossible to survive the attack. But she also firmly decided to absolutely never give Tang San the chance to use this attack again. Guanyin’s Tear needed time to charge strength, and next time she would definitely wear the Angelic Raiment.

  “Thank you for telling me.”

  Just at this moment, Tang San’s voice suddenly echoed faintly from behind Qian Renxue. Shocked, she sharply turned her head, only to see Tang San had actually appeared standing next to the Seagod Trident at some point. He was already holding it with one hand.

  How could Tang San willingly leave like that? He already saw the Seagod Trident as his best partner. That was the Seagod’s glory. Even if he could survive, if he had to abandon this glory, Tang San knew he would never be able to inherit the Seagod’s position again.

  Therefore, after leaving Qian Renxue’s line of sight, he had released his Vast Sea Barrier and used its stealth ability to sneak back, approaching his divine weapon from behind just in case.

  It was also just at the moment he arrived next to the Seagod Trident that he heard what Qian Renxue said and spoke up.

  Qian Renxue looked at Tang San with alarm and fury intermingled. This fellow was already so difficult to deal with without the Seagod Trident, so Qian Renxue really didn’t know what would happen if she let him take it back now.

  “Don’t get excited, absolutely don’t get excited. The heart shattering is a major event. Rely on your divine power to slowly recover. In fact, even though you have enough strength to instantly kill me right now, if you do, you might not be able to persevere. Even if you don’t die, you’ll still be left with an incurable injury. It would be better for you to follow the rules of the bet. We’ll meet again in three days.”

  Tang San’s face revealed a gentle smile for the first time since he met Qian Renxue. Nodding to her, he quietly turned away. This time he truly left.

  He didn’t attack Qian Renxue. Not only because he was weak right now, but even more because he understood that even with her heart already shattered, Qian Renxue still had the ability to kill him. Therefore, at this moment he still kept calm without getting greedy, and then turned to leave.

  Watching Tang San’s back disappear, Qian Renxue spit out blood once again. Meeting Tang San in the Star Dou Great Forest was her second contest with Tang San, and with an even larger difference in strength than last time. But, she still lost. Even though Tang San was also injured, she was still the one who lost! She was unreconciled, truly unreconciled.

  Three Days, Tang San, I want to see how far you can run in three days. Fiercely clenching her teeth, Qian Renxue closed her eyes and began to reconstruct her heart.

  Tang San was very satisfied, eating a few big recovery sausages while moving towards the exit of the Star Dou Great Forest. Right now his body was too weak to fly, but his recovery abilities helped by the big recovery sausages had already started to quickly restore his body. Tang San believed that he could completely recover before long. Three days was enough for him to do many things. With this three day buffer, anything was possible.

  Tightly gripping the Seagod Trident, he had never felt so deeply for this tool as now. Having lost and then regained it, the feeling of harmony had never been so strong. Tang San secretly swore that, no matter how difficult, he definitely wouldn’t let the Seagod Trident leave him again.

  The Seagod Trident seemed to also feel Tang San’s intentions, and a warm feeling spread into Tang San’s body from the dark polearm, nourishing his body. Tang San’s own powerful recovery ability plus the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone’s self recovery, quickly restored his condition.

  Ten hours later, Tang San finally left the Star Dou Great Forest. If he had been at his peak, he would only have needed six. Even shorter if he could fly. But his condition was too lacking. Using ten hours was already sparing no effort.

  Only, in these ten hours, his injuries had already healed by thirty to forty percent, and his spirit power twenty percent or so. Tang San cheerfully discovered that his spirit power had made another leap. Even though he still hadn’t completely recovered yet, he could be practically sure that he successfully stepped past the ninety six rank barrier, entering an all new realm. Inf act, rank ninety five to ninety six, even if it was just a one rank difference, differed in twice the spirit power!

  All his shattered spirit rings needed three days to recover. These three days would also be as he rushed with all his strength. Now discovering that his spirit power had broken through once again was clearly an important balance weight on whether he could escape Qian Renxue’s pursuit in three days.

  Of course, Tang San absolutely wouldn’t confidently believe he could truly stand against Qia
n Renxue. He didn’t know what divine weapon Qian Renxue possessed, but the Angelic Raiment definately existed. Those were six spirit bones in the god level. The power they contained was obvious. After Tang San won the bet, he had already firmly resolved to absolutely not clash with Qian Renxue again before becoming a god. Having taken so much punishment, she absolutely wouldn’t give him any more chances.

  Exiting the Star Dou Great Forest, Tang San moved another ten li or so before stopping, and started to cultivate. This should already be outside of Qian Renxue’s divine sense range. Honing the knife didn’t delay cutting wood, and if he was to avoid getting killed in three days, his current speed wasn’t enough. There was still a long distance from here to the sea. He had to recover his full strength to be able to reach the destination and converge with his companions in three days. If he entered the wide sea, then he could let the fish leap in the ocean, and the birds fly in the sky. Even if she really could find him, then he would have even more of an advantage facing her in the sea than the Star Dou Great Forest. If the Seagod’s successor really was killed by an enemy while in the ocean, then he really didn’t deserve inheriting the Seagod’s position.

  Sitting down cross legged, this time Tang San didn’t stab the Seagod Trident into the ground next to him like usual, but rather placed it across his knees. He would feel his partner’s existence at all times.

  Closing his eyes, Tang San directly entered a cultivation state. When he looked into his body, he couldn’t help showing a wry smile. Without carefully observing, he hadn’t discovered that his body was actually broken to this degree. If not for the god level Eight Spider Lances on his back as well as the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone and the Seagod Trident’s strength, he might have already collapsed.

  Today was the first time Tang San detonated spirit rings, and he had fully enjoyed the terrifying might it gave, but the side effects had also completely shown up. First of all was weakness. Never mind that his spirit power recovery rate was only a fifth of normal, the constant feeling of weakness almost drove him insane.

  Without the numerous spirit rings, the attributes of his body had also weakened substantially, and this influenced his recovery speed. And right now the magnitude of the injuries to his energy channels, especially after just absorbing the three Fifteen Ton Ant Emperor brothers’ spirit rings, at least three fifths of his energy channels showed varying degrees of damage. Due to his now insufficient spirit power, even though the effect of the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone’s Wildfire Burns Unending, Spring Wind Blows New Life ability was powerful, its speed was still very slow.

  Carefully sensing the conditions of his body, while Tang San started to focus on cultivating, his heart rate also slowed. He knew that with his current injuries, recovering to his peak condition would take at least a day and a half. And in the remaining day and a half, even if he flew at top speed, it was still impossible to reach the sea. In other words, no matter what, there was a chance Qian Renxue would catch up to him.

  Indeed, the Vast Sea Barrier’s hiding ability really was extraordinary, but Tang San still knew that the reason he could sneak up behind Qian Renxue before was because her heart was smashed, weakening her. And when she pursued him once again, she would fully use the divine tool and strength belonging to the God of Angels. At that time, whether he could hide from her pursuit was difficult to say. Tang San could be practically certain that Qian Renxue would have some way of tracking him.

  Even so, he had no other choice right now but to sit down and slowly cultivate. He was telling himself one thing right now, the closer he got to the ocean in three days, the better.

  Tang San was very intelligent, but Qian Renxue’s evaluation of him neglected one thing: Tang San’s calm. As a person of two worlds, his actual age should already be past fifty, and his attitude was far beyond that of people of a similar age.

  After Grandmaster took Tang San as a disciple, the first thing he taught him was the word ‘calm’. As a control type spirit master, if he couldn’t maintain a calm heart, then he would never succeed.

  Therefore, the greater the crisis Tang San faced, the more calm he was, Mt. Tai collapsing couldn’t make him change expression. He could pull strongly against the tide in a crisis, doing things others couldn’t creating miracles.

  Consequently, even in such a discouraging situation, Tang San was still calm, cultivating quietly and doing the best to adjust his condition, healing his body bit by bit instead of being anxious for quick results. Because he knew that at this moment the worst thing he could do was make mistakes, or he would really be finished, losing even his last chance.

  [1] Guanyin - (观音) The Boddhisattva of Compassion.

  Chapter 300: Sacred Sun Sword

  To ordinary people, ruptured energy channels was a fatal injury. But to Tang San it was basically nothing. Even if all his energy channels burst, as long as he had one breath left, he absolutely wouldn’t die. Among all Tang San’s spirit rings and spirit bones, the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone was the only one without attack power. But it was still a hundred thousand year level.

  The flight ability really was amazing to lower ranked spirit masters, but with Tang San’s present cultivation, he could fly even without using spirit bone abilities by coordinating his spirit power. Just like what he saw Seagod Douluo Bo Saixi do.

  Therefore, flying wasn’t the most valuable ability of the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone. Its strength was practically all on Wildfire Burns Unending, Spring Wind Blows Life Again.

  If there was any doubt, then the fact that even shattered limbs could be restored showed how powerful it was. As long as Tang San still drew breath, he practically couldn’t die. Only the recovery speed would be different based on the severity of the injuries.

  Just like now, when Tang San’s energy channels ruptured in battle, the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone’s energy instantly intervened, controlling the damaged channels and directly sealing the damaged cross sections, keeping him from bleeding all over. The blood Tang San spit out was all from the moment the violent shock just damaged his energy channels. Otherwise, with the degree of damage caused by using Great Sumeru Hammer, he would already be done for.

  And after he left the battle, the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone’s energy would first condense the shape of the energy channels within his body, connecting each fractured channel to form the normal connections, making his blood circulate once again. Then through this power, it would pull the fractured veins and gradually heal them. This was also an important reason why Tang San’s spirit power could recover so quickly.

  Right now, Tang San was completely quiet. The instant he was soaked into the beauty of cultivating, his entire body entered a perfect cultivation state. Profoundly sensing the recovery process of each damaged vein. As a power, the first one had to do was familiarize oneself with one’s body. If one couldn’t promptly grasp one’s state after each time one’s attributes changed, it was impossible to use one’s condition well in battle. Especially someone who possessed a tyrannical yet dangerous ability like Tang San’s Great Sumeru Hammer. He had to grasp the limits of his body even better so he wouldn’t break them in the middle of combat, so preserving his life.

  Completely soaked in cultivation, his body was recovering at its fastest. In this battle with Qian Renxue, Tang San could be said to have exhausted his ingenuity. He’d never been as exhausted as now. Even though he had faced a lot of powers stronger than him in the past, the gap had never been as wide as this time. Don’t be fooled by the apparent five rank gap with Qian Renxue. Just like Qian Renxue said, their difference was that between man and god. If not for Tang San exploiting all kinds of circumstances to force Qian Renxue not to use her divine weapon, even if she didn’t start with her full strength, he wouldn’t stand a chance of survival.

  That he could finally win the bet with Qian Renxue was even more due to his Seagod Trident. The mental efforts far exceeded that of his physical strength. Especially that last st
rike, using Guanyin’s Tear for the first time, practically drew out all the hidden potential he had. It seriously hurt Qian Renxue, but he himself was also a lamp at the end of its wick. Fortunately he had the support of Oscar’s big recovery sausage, and could so leave the Star Dou Great Forest.

  The reason Tang San insisted on leaving the range of Qian Renxue’s divine senses before string to cultivate wasn’t because he wanted to hide the direction he left in, but rather in order not to let Qian Renxue see the state of his body. If he cultivated inside the Star Dou Great Forest, he’d be caught by Qian Renxue’s divine senses. Then she could roughly assess Tang San’s injuries through his cultivation and recovery time, as well as how far he could escape after recovering.

  In order to win the bet with Qian Renxue, Tang San had already exhausted the cards in his hand. Qian Renxue already understood his strength extremely well. The only thing worth being happy over was that his spirit power level rose, making his spirit power superior to before, giving him an advantage in Qian Renxue’s pursuit. Three days wasn’t a short time to powers, but three days was far too short for Tang San right now. He could be certain that, no matter how he left, Qian Renxue had a chance of catching up to him. Only the time it took was in question. Therefore, the game had already begun the moment Tang San left Qian Renxue’s divine sense range and started to cultivate.

  Using a full sixteen hours, Tang San’s veins were completely recovered. Just as he expected, he really had advanced in rank. After his channels were completely restored, rank ninety six spirit power immediately showed its effect. With each cycle of Mysterious Heaven Skill, the spirit power recovery speed was at least thirty percent higher than before. In a few cycles, his spirit power was already sixty percent recovered. Sixty percent spirit power was enough to let Tang San fly at full speed. As for the remaining spirit power, he could recover it while flying.