Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 381: The Crystal Mirror and The Egg

Tang San hesitated momentarily and said, "I'm not too sure, actually. My ability is to take bloodline powers. I can absorb and store other bloodlines, but the number and cultivation level depend on my own cultivation level. My ability is nowhere near as powerful as Your Majesty's."

"Interesting. See, though I am called omnipotent, there are aspects of your bloodline power that I can't fully understand. You can even directly harness spiritual power to launch attacks. That is not a bloodline power but an application of spiritual power. It's been a long time since I've seen a creature as intriguing as you, if I ever did. You are impressive."

Tang San kept silent; it was wiser to say less.

The Crystal Demon Emperor said calmly, "Your ability needs training, but your cultivation method with multiple bloodlines can easily draw the attention of other clans. Today, I bestow upon you two tokens. In the future, when you travel outside and anyone questions you, they will protect you. However, you must come to the Crystal Palace when you’re ready to break through to the god level. I will personally guard you during ascension."

Hearing this, Tang San finally breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that the Crystal Demon Emperor did not mind his abilities, and perhaps he was the only one who could understand someone with multiple abilities like Tang San. However, for some reason, he always felt that this top-ranked Demon Emperor was too easygoing; why would he not inquire more into Tang Sang’s abilities?

"One more question," the Crystal Demon Emperor suddenly said.

Tang San's heart tightened. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The Crystal Demon Emperor said calmly, "How could you suddenly control my water attack just now? That was the Universe-Flooding ability. Do you possess this bloodline power as well? And even if you have water control, it should not be able to strip me of my own control over water, but only to generate water as well. How did you achieve this?"

Tang San replied, "I seem to have a natural talent for controlling the water element to some extent."

"Just to some extent?" the Crystal Demon Emperor asked coldly.

"Yes."

This question was tough to answer!

Fortunately, the Crystal Demon Emperor did not press further. He just looked at Tang San with a strange gaze, waved his right hand, and two items flew toward Tang San.

The first item that flew to him was a round mirror. It was palm-sized, carved from crystal, and had an illusory glow on its surface, as if it possessed a unique divine quality.

"This is my Crystal Mirror, of which there are only nine. It represents the prestige of my Crystal Palace and is an important token. If anyone questions you, show them this. The Crystal Mirror, when activated by spiritual power, can replicate a bloodline power, but it can only be used once. Use it wisely."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Being able to replicate a bloodline power? This was beyond what an array could achieve; it likely contained the true power of the Crystal Demon Emperor.

The second item had also flown in front of Tang San. It was a sphere, perfectly round and crystal clear. Its surface was adorned with intricate patterns resembling ice flowers, emitting a radiant, translucent glow.

It was about one foot in diameter and felt heavy in his hands, weighing almost like Tang San's Sky Shatterer.

The Crystal Demon Emperor said, "This is an egg, a peculiar existence cultivated by me. It is also your second trial. When it hatches, your task is to protect it from harm. You must bring it back when you break through to the god level."

A trial involving an egg? Tang San stared in confusion at the egg in his hand, not knowing what kind of creature it was.

The Crystal Demon Emperor warned him, "Whatever it requires, you must fulfill its needs to the best of your ability. If it suffers any harm, not only will your trial fail, but you will also face certain death, with your soul scattered. So, you must guard it as if your life depended on it... because it does."

Tang San's mouth twitched slightly. He didn't understand why the Crystal Demon Emperor had assigned him such a task. But since the emperor now knew many of his secrets and had not acted against him, he had no right or ability to refuse.

"Understood," he replied earnestly.

"Go now."

With a wave of the Crystal Demon Emperor's hand, everything around Tang San became surreal. When his vision cleared again, he found himself at the foot of the Crystal Sacred Mountain.

Everything above the stairs still looked full of mystery. At this moment, it was completely empty, with not a single climber in sight.

Tang San felt as if he were in a dream. If not for the real existence of the egg and the Crystal Mirror in his hand, everything that had happened would seem to be an illusion.

Quickly storing the two tokens the Crystal Demon Emperor gave into his storage bracelet, Tang San took a deep breath. Today's climb had indeed been quite thrilling!

He no longer intended to climb any other Sacred Mountains, at least not before the group battle in the Great Beast Fighting Arena. With the tokens from these three Sacred Mountains, he believed the arena wouldn't dare trouble them.

As he exited the entrance of the Crystal Sacred Mountain, Gu Li was already waiting for him outside.

At this moment, Gu Li's face showed an indescribable excitement. He looked at Tang San with glee and said, "I won, I won! Haha, Little Tang, you lasted longer. Did you win too? How many rounds did you win?"

Tang San smiled and asked in return, "And you?"

Gu Li said, "Two rounds. I won two rounds in a row, defeating myself twice. Didn't you remind me to think about my strengths and weaknesses? In the first round, I figured it out. My biggest advantage is appearing before the replica. So, I rushed to it, using Time Acceleration, and I attacked it immediately, not giving it any chance to fight back. I won by suppression. When it used time control, I did the same. I won by taking the initiative.

"In the second round, it was still a replica. I figured it would have a countermeasure. Instead of just jumping it this time, I used Time Acceleration to speed up the Disorder Wind Splitting Hammer before it appeared. By the time it emerged, I had already spun seven or eight times, so I had enough power. Then, I used my own time control to prevent it from manipulating time and I just smashed it directly.

"There was a third round after that, but I was too exhausted. The power stacking of the Disorder Wind Splitting Hammer had issues, and the opponent seized the opportunity to counter and took me down... It's such a pity, I almost cleared the third round. I don't know how many rounds there are after that, but if it keeps going like this, it’s really tough. The consumption is too much! How many rounds did you reach?"

Tang San smiled and said, "Actually, it won't go on indefinitely. If you can win three consecutive rounds, you'll reach the halfway point of the mountain. Then, you'll face three versions of yourself."

"Three? How can there be three? How do you even fight that?" Gu Li looked at Tang San, stunned.

Tang San shrugged and said, "That's why I came back too."

He didn't mention meeting the Crystal Demon Emperor because he couldn't explain how he had defeated the nine replicas in the last round. For Gu Li and their companions, facing three replicas was already their limit.

"This is terrifying. No wonder no one climbs the mountain! But I have to say, battling with the replica over time control has really benefited me. I feel like I understand time manipulation a lot better," Gu Li said sincerely.

Tang San smiled and said, "Then keep up the good work. Next time, aim to meet the three versions of yourself."

Gu Li scratched his head. "It's still a bit difficult. In the third round, the replica's time manipulation was clearly better than mine, almost as if it was a level higher. I need to train more."