Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 346: Allies?

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint shivered slightly as if he was recalling something painful. He subconsciously said, "What can be done? This is fate, the fate of our kind. They all say we are an unnatural existence, a race that shouldn't have appeared. It is a curse from the heavens."

Tang San shook his head and said, "This has nothing to do with any curse. It is simply something caused by your bloodlines interfering with each other. Lions and tigers are related anyway, so their genes are not entirely incompatible. However, if you only rely on natural mutations to fuse these bloodlines, who knows how many generations it’ll take? Moreover, you can't pass on these mutations. The offspring born from lion and tiger demons are likely to die young, right? And even those who survive don't live long."

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint took a deep breath and said fiercely, "Why are you telling me this? What's the point? Can you solve it or something?"

"I can," Tang San said calmly.

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was shaken, and he exclaimed, "What did you say?"

Tang San said irritably, "Why don’t you say it louder so those listening from outside can hear you?"

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint's chest heaved violently, and his voice trembled. "Can you really? Can you really do it? You..."

"I have a way, but I need your cooperation."

"How do I cooperate?" the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint asked eagerly.

"It's difficult and there’s a heavy price to pay. Why should I help you solve this problem?"

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint turned stiff for a moment. Suddenly, he resolutely said, "If you can help my clan solve this problem, my life will be yours. I'll be your slave and servant without hesitation."

Tang San shook his head and said, "I don't want you."

"Then what do you want?" the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint asked angrily.

Tang San glanced at him and said, "If you can't even control your own emotions, you'll never reach the god level."

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint growled lowly, "What exactly do you want?"

"If I can help your clan solve this problem, it means the Lion-Tiger clan will have a chance to reach the pinnacle, and you yourself have the possibility of becoming a Demon Emperor. Isn't that a huge favor?"

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint didn't reply, but the answer was obviously yes.

Tang San said, "I don't need you to be my slave or servant, but your clan must be my ally forever, ready to respond whenever called upon."

"Ally? Just an ally?" The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was stunned. He had thought Tang San wanted them to submit to him.

Tang San’s voice was calm. "Of course. Just being allies is enough."

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint said decisively, "No problem, as long as you can do it. I can promise this on behalf of my clan. I am the strongest of our clan, and the elders would agree anyway."

Tang San asked, "How many members exist in your Lion-Tiger clan now?"

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint hesitated for a moment before saying, "Less than two hundred are still alive."

Tang San nodded and said, "Take me to them. Words alone aren't enough; I'll show you proof."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand and struck the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint's chest with his palm.

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was pushed back a step, but in the next moment, a light flickered around him as the seal was lifted.

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was stunned. He hadn't expected Tang San to remove his seal just like that.

After a moment of silence, he growled, "Let's go!" and started to walk out.

Tang San moved quickly, blocking his way. "Where are you going? Are you afraid they won't notice?"

"Huh?" The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint was puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"Follow me." As he spoke, Tang San turned and walked toward the next room.

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint, somewhat confused, followed behind him.

This room looked completely ordinary, but as the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint entered, he felt a strange sensation—something was affecting his spiritual power.

Tang San waved his hand at that moment, and light seemed to flicker from it. Instantly, the scenery changed, and the room's original arrangement disappeared, revealing strange array patterns on the floor.

Tang San gestured for the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint to come to his side. Before the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint could say anything, light flashed and both of them vanished into thin air.

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint felt as if he was caught in a whirlwind. When he steadied himself, he was astonished to find himself standing on a mountaintop with Tang San beside him.

"This... how did you do this?" the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint asked in shock.

"A medium-distance teleportation array, that's all," Tang San said naturally.

"That's all?" The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint looked at the disappearing array patterns beneath his feet. This unheard-of device was just "that's all"?

Remembering how Tang San's companions used short-distance teleportation to gain distance on the battlefield, however, he couldn't help but feel that this human was even more capable than he had thought, and more mysterious at the same time.

"Where are your clansmen? Since you're here to compete in Kali City, they should live nearby, right? This is the Kali Mountain Range," Tang San said.

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint nodded and said, "We are just west of Kali City."

Tang San asked, "Kali City doesn't allow you to enter? Even if most of your kind don't live long, the adult Lion-Tiger demons should still be strong in battle, right?"

The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint smiled bitterly and said, "What good does that do? The lion and tiger races don't accept us. Under the intimidation of these two powerful races, who would dare to take us in? Moreover, most of our people have to stay in the village to care for those who are unwell. There's not much else we can do. I compete in group battles in Kali City to earn money to support them."

Tang San said, "Lead the way, I'll follow you. Tell me about your clan on the way."

"Alright, let's go." The Lion-Tiger Sword Saint leaped into the air, and Tang San followed him.

As the Lion-Tiger Sword Saint explained, Tang San gradually understood their clan's situation.

In a sense, the Lion-Tiger clan was exiled. According to legend, the first Lion-Tiger was born from a forbidden love between a lion demon and a tiger demon.

The probability of offspring being born from the union of lion and tiger demons was only about two percent, and even then, nine out of ten cubs would die young. Thus, such an union had hardly anything to do with reproducing. However, lions and tigers were very faithful to one another once they chose a mate, and since they would always stay by each other’s side, offspring would eventually be born.

If the surviving Lion-Tiger cubs were lucky enough not to die young, they could become very strong, much stronger than ordinary lion and tiger demons. However, the biggest problem was that their lives would be very short. The conflict between their bloodlines would kill them early and suddenly when they reached adulthood.

Actually, when the first Lion-Tiger appeared, the lion and tiger races were pleased. Both races were strong, and their offspring should theoretically be even stronger.

Unfortunately, when the bloodline conflict occurred, nobody was able to find a solution. There were talks of a curse, one caused by forbidden love going against nature, and that eventually led the lion and tiger demon races to put a blanket ban on intermarriage. It also led the pureblooded lion and tiger demons to consider the offspring of Lion-Tiger couples as abominations..

However, the problem was that Lion-Tigers already existed, and some lion and tiger demons continued to interbreed due to some circumstances or others. This continued for thousands of years, so although Lion-Tigers were rare, they always existed.

These Lion-Tigers were ostracized; as soon as a Lion-Tiger appeared, it would be driven away from both of its clans, and that was if a particularly tyrannical clan head didn’t simply kill them directly.

Therefore, the Lion-Tigers bore a cruel inheritance.