With the inclusion of hidden weapons, there was no doubt about the significant boost to their small team's strength. As they walked, Tang San discussed with them how to use these weapons, especially when coordinating with each other to maximize their effectiveness at the right moment.
Ice Nymph Transformation, Celestial Fox Transformation, Chrono Croc Transformation, and Golden Roc Transformation—these four major bloodline powers each allowed for unique enhancements to hidden weapons. Combined, they could result in a deadly formation.
Cheng Zicheng returned every half hour to meet up with them. It was only during the second half-hour of reconnaissance that she obtained results.
"I've spotted them. Seven people, about five kilometers away from us. I only took a distant glance, I didn't dare to get too close for fear of being detected," Cheng Zicheng reported.
The Golden Roc's visual prowess was incredible, a necessary quality for such a high-speed flier.
"Alright. senior sister, maintain this distance and follow them. If they move away from our direction, come back, inform us, and do the same if they approach. As long as we keep a certain distance from them, we need not fear an encounter," Tang San instructed Cheng Zicheng.
Having located the people from Kali Academy, Tang San inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. His most important mission in this venture was to covertly protect Mei Gongzi, no matter what...
As they proceeded, on the first day of their journey, Tang San and his team didn't even encounter any demons. He wondered if it was due to their good fortune following Du Bai's advancement of the Celestial Fox Vision.
At the same time, Tang San's Celestial Fox Vision was also advancing. With the dual Celestial Fox Visions, they could definitely be considered a super-luxurious lineup. Even the top teams of the demon race would find it hard to have two beings possessing the Celestial Fox bloodline.
As evening approached and the day darkened, Wu Bingji initially wanted to find a place for everyone to rest. However, based on the message from Cheng Zicheng, Kali Academy was still on the move. Tang San suggested they continue marching as well to maintain the same distance from the Kali Academy team. They would rest when the Kali team settled for the night.
About an hour later, Cheng Zicheng reported back that the Kali Academy had chosen a place to camp.
Tang San and his team also stopped, settling down in a spot with higher terrain for a break.
After dinner, everyone rested and took turns on guard.
Tang San told Wu Bingji, "Senior brother, I'm still a bit uneasy. I want to go have a look at Kali Academy. No worries, I’ll just observe from a distance."
Wu Bingji thought momentarily and said, "Isn't that too risky?"
Tang San replied, "No, we have senior brother Du Bai, right? Du Bai, give me a bit of luck as part of your practice today."
Because they were deep in the Kali Mountains, Du Bai naturally had to reserve his full use of the Celestial Fox Transformation. He did not fully enhance Tang San as he usually did during their practice sessions.
"Okay," Du Bai agreed. The light in his eyes flickered, and a faint white halo formed above his head into the shape of a vertical eye. An invisible white light enveloped and fell upon Tang San.
Instantly, Tang San felt as if everything would work out just fine.
Wu Bingji, Gu Li, and Cheng Zicheng watched in amazement. It was their first time witnessing Du Bai exert his Celestial Fox Vision intentionally to such an extent.
"I need to rest for more than three hours to recover," Du Bai said, visibly weakened. Although he hadn’t overdone it, the exertion was still pretty serious.
Under normal circumstances, the Celestial Fox Transformation naturally carried the power of fortune. Du Bai could sense the level of luck around him, and he naturally attracted good fortune and repelled incidents. Even a slight application of this luck could affect those around him. However, specifically enhancing someone's luck to such a large extent was a significant drain, consuming both spiritual power and bloodline power. It required a longer time to recover.
Yet, this kind of exertion stimulated his bloodline, benefiting his cultivation of the Celestial Fox Vision.
Being a human vassal, his bloodline naturally couldn't compare with the purebred Celestial Fox demon race, so the extent to which he could cultivate the Celestial Fox Vision was unknown. Therefore, he needed to continuously stimulate his bloodline, maximizing the use of his bloodline power in order to dig up its potential and strengthen it.
Another method to enhance one's bloodline was to immerse oneself in the fresh blood of the related demons, increasing the concentration of one's bloodline. But capturing a high-order Celestial Fox or a direct descendant of the Celestial Fox Demon Emperor was nothing but a fool's dream. Therefore, Du Bai's enhancement could only come from stimulating his abilities.
Wu Bingji said, "Go and return quickly. If you encounter danger, send a signal, and we'll come to support you."
With his ability to conceal himself, the chances of being discovered were extremely slim. He was going to recon—to see if Mei Gongzi was really among the Kali Academy team, first and foremost, and also to observe the situation of the others.
Watching Tang San disappear into the night in a few moments, Gu Li said, "Senior brother, don't you find it strange how Tang San seems to be paying extra attention to the Kali Academy team this time?"
Wu Bingji responded, "He must have his reasons. You guys rest now; I'll take the first watch."
He chose to trust Tang San unconditionally. Since joining the Redemption Society, the changes brought about by Tang San had been immense. Almost everyone benefited substantially from him, yet he never asked for anything in return.
Well... that was so far as Wu Bingji knew.
This expedition felt very different from the last one, most directly due to the vast difference in their strength.
If they encountered a seventh-order Winged Tiger again, Wu Bingji was confident that they could put up a good fight and retreat unscathed even if they couldn’t take it down. The seventh order no longer seemed so frightening. The last time they had ventured out, it had been with trepidation!
Tang San activated the Discerning Eye of Heaven, sensing the changes in various energy signatures around him. Following the direction previously indicated by Cheng Zicheng, he rapidly approached.
With the lucky enhancement of the Celestial Fox Vision, he wasn't worried about not finding the opposing camp; the drive of good fortune could assist him in achieving that.
Five kilometers was naturally a short distance for him. In just a few minutes, Tang San had already sensed the presence of the distant Kali Academy team.
Their aura was so intense that it could be seen with the Discerning Eye of Heaven, with clear fluctuations of various elements on their side.
Quickly approaching to about a hundred meters, Tang San used the Discerning Eye of Heaven to mask himself with the elements, rendering his aura completely silent.
The opposing team surely had members responsible for reconnaissance, so he had to be careful.
Therefore, after approaching this close, he began to use Leopard Flash to leap forward. Simultaneously, a faint dark purple halo glowed in his eyes and his skin turned dark purple. In an instant, his aura blended in with the surrounding vegetation.
This was an application of the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline imprint—assimilating with plants. Tang San himself had created the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline imprint. The direction of its evolution and the characteristics it had were all within his control.
Gradually nearing, Tang San concealed himself in the shadow of a large tree, focusing on his perception.
Regarding cultivation level, he was certainly not as advanced as the Golden Lion Dog. Within the Kali Academy team was the eighth-order Golden Lion Dog, and the other members were at least sixth-order; he could even sense two at the seventh order. This team's strength was much greater than their own.
However, in terms of spiritual power, Tang San was confident he surpassed them.