Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 491: Lion-Tiger Versus Mammoth

After a period of meditation, Tang San's condition improved significantly. The yin-yang energy played a significant role in neutralizing the fire energy that was practically poison to Tang San.

Indeed, rather than the burns he had suffered, the main issue was actually the invasion of extreme yang flames; once that was resolved, he was in much better shape despite his rather disheveled appearance. Naturally, he wanted to watch Big Cat's match.

A handsome man sat in the higher corner of the VIP seats, closely following the matches. When he saw Big Cat enter the arena, his gaze focused. He narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Asura, Lion-Tiger Sword Saint."

This man was none other than Mei Gongzi's father, the Peacock Great Demon King.

After meeting Asura and Big Cat and learning they were from Kali City, he immediately had their backgrounds and situations investigated. He discovered they had faced off in the Great Beast Fighting Arena in Kali City. The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was famous enough for even the city lord to hear of him; naturally, the Peacock Great Demon King had heard that he had lost to a human. As it turned out, it was precisely the human accompanying him here.

That human had caused a stir among the human race by continuously winning team battles in the Great Beast Fighting Arena. He had come to the Ancestral Court to participate in the Great Beast Fighting Arena as well—the Peacock Great Demon King wondered why there was no information about that—and seemed quite close to his daughter.

How could he not pay attention to this human?

Thus, he had been following Asura and Big Cat since the first round. When Asura faced the Golden Mammoth youth, he wasn’t terribly optimistic about the boy’s chances. The Golden Mammoth clan's Emperor was once nicknamed No Weak Points[1]; it had an invincible defense and never gave his opponents any chance. How could a human break through its descendant’s defense?

He couldn't imagine Asura winning, yet against all chances, Asura won. And the Peacock Great Demon King had no idea how. Despite being a god-level powerhouse, he couldn't use divine consciousness to probe the contestants during the Ancestral Court Elite Competition—this was a major taboo. He even asked Mei Gongzi afterward, but she didn't know how Asura had won either.

Big Cat's match had also shocked him; he had not expected such a decisive kill and such absolute force. The explosion of power brought an intense visual impact. The Peacock Great Demon King didn't need to ask his subordinates about it; he understood that this Lion-Tiger Sword Saint had undergone some transformation, becoming stronger in a way that a second-tier bloodline couldn't achieve. He knew about the bloodline conflict of the Lion-Tiger clan, but from Big Cat, he didn't sense this conflict.

What does this mean? Has their bloodline mutated and evolved into a first-tier bloodline?

That would be an incredible development. Moreover, had Big Cat evolved independently, or had the entire Lion-Tiger clan found a solution to their bloodline conflict? It would be a game-changer for the lion and tiger races if it were the latter. Neither race had a first-tier bloodline inheritance; the White Tiger Demon Emperor had only reached that level due to a bloodline mutation.

If the Lion-Tiger clan’s bloodline evolved into a first-tier bloodline, it would significantly alter the dynamics of the lion and tiger races. This made the Peacock Great Demon King pay more attention to Big Cat than Tang San. After all, Asura's victory was somewhat inexplicable.

He had also watched the doubles match featuring his daughter and Asura.

In that doubles match, the battle ended quickly. His daughter's combat prowess was unquestionable; even he couldn't find fault with her mastery of space. After the ancestral inheritance, she seemed wholly merged with space, rapidly progressing and mastering it to an extraordinary degree. But what about that Asura? He still couldn't understand how the young human had won. The attacks of the Corpse-Devourer Nymph had simply vanished. Compared to the Spider Tree Nymph, the Corpse-Devourer Nymph, which specialized in poison, was more difficult to deal with, yet he had still won.

Then today, Asura once again defeated the descendant of an Emperor, this time from the mighty Scorching Sunflower clan. The battle lasted a long time, and he managed to withstand the Scorching Sunflower's powerful attacks, eventually defeating his opponent. His hammer was notable, but the victory wasn't just about the hammer.

This Asura is quite interesting. If the first win was a fluke, then were the other two victories flukes as well? In the two solo matches, his opponents were top-level fighters with first-tier bloodlines; how could they possibly make rookie mistakes at this level?

At this moment, Big Cat entered the arena again, and the Peacock Great Demon King's attention naturally focused on this match.

The opponent also appeared. To the Peacock Great Demon King's surprise, Big Cat's opponent was also from the Golden Mammoth clan. With a similarly robust physique and wielding dual hammers, this opponent was clearly at the same level as Mao Wenwu.

As a top-tier clan, the Golden Mammoth clan naturally had more than one participant. There was one in Tang San's third group and one in the Big Cat's sixth group. It seemed his luck wasn't much better than Tang San's, since he met such a formidable opponent in the second round.

When Tang San and Mei Gongzi saw Big Cat's opponent, their expressions turned grave. The Golden Mammoth clan was not easy to deal with.

Although Tang San's battle with Mao Wenwu hadn’t lasted long, the opponent's formidable defense had left a deep impression on him. He had barely managed to break through using a combination of various bloodline abilities and sending his yin-yang energy inside to mess with Mao Wenwu's heart. Otherwise, the battle would have been as difficult as today's.

Big Cat didn't have as many bloodline abilities as Tang San. So, how would he handle this opponent?

Tang San hoped Big Cat could prove himself to the lion and tiger races through this Elite Competition. Naturally, losing in the second elimination round would not be ideal.

"Let the match begin!"

On the battlefield, as the referee announced the start, yet another battle of titans officially began.

The Golden Mammoth contestant pounded its chest with its twin hammers, emitting a dull thud, before charging at Big Cat.

Big Cat gripped his heavy sword. To the spectators’ surprise, he showed no intention of dodging and instead charged directly at his opponent! Stimulated by the improved Lion-Tiger bloodline power, his physique began to swell, reaching over four meters in height within moments, with muscles bulging powerfully. The dazzling white Lion-Tiger Golden Force burst forth.

However, compared to his opponent, his stature was dwarfed. The Golden Mammoth contestant was a towering giant, nearly twice Big Cat's height and with bulging muscles all over. The golden flames wrapping its body soared as it swung its massive hammers and charged forward. The impressive momentum from both sides immediately captivated the spectators.

When thirty meters remained between them, Big Cat stomped the stage, causing it to cave in. He shot forward, and a furious roar echoed in the sky—a massive Lion-Tiger head phantom appeared behind him, unleashing a terrifying and mighty roar.

The Golden Mammoth’s charge seemed unstoppable, yet upon hearing that roar, it actually paused for an instant, and its movements stiffened momentarily.

Ordinary spectators might not have noticed this brief change, but many noble spectators in the VIP section turned pale. This was especially true for the lion and tiger race powerhouses.

They knew very well how strong the Golden Mammoth clan was—an unquestionably formidable first-tier bloodline, the ruler clan of the elephant race, and their mightiest warriors.

However, the Golden Mammoth contestant's body instinctively reacted to Big Cat's roar.

What does this mean?

In their minds, only two words appeared: bloodline suppression.

Yes, the Golden Mammoth's bloodline was suppressed by that roar of the Lion-Tiger.

1. The original here, 无缺点司令 (literally “flawless commander-in-chief”), happens to be the moniker of a fairly famous Korean StarCraft player who retired circa 2007. Is TJSS a fan? Who knows. ☜