Ahhhh! Noooo!!!
Though Xie Xie's body wobbled mid-air, out of the corner of his eye he caught the Man-Faced Demon Spider's incoming attack. His expression instantly shifted from relaxed confidence (ˇˇ) to pure terror Σ(д|||).
Those massive spider spears—there was no way those were fitting in there! If one of those pierced him from that angle, he wouldn't just die… he'd become a literal skewered meat kebab.
And what a way to die! The pain would be unimaginable, marking the end of his life physically, mentally, and socially.
Unfortunately, he couldn't adjust his posture mid-air. If he could've chosen, he'd rather take a clean hit to the chest than… this.
Just as the tip of the spider's leg approached Xie Xie's defenseless backside—
WHAM!
The Man-Faced Demon Spider froze mid-attack and collapsed to the ground. A Thousand-Forged Heavy Silver Hammer, propelled with incredible force, had smashed it away!
It was a coordinated strike from Nan Fusheng and Tang Wulin. Fireballs followed, forcing the spider back—Gu Yue had joined in too. Meanwhile, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi rushed toward Xie Xie's position.
"Everyone, adjust formation! A hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider can only launch three webs per day, and it's already used all three.
Xie Xie, fall back and guard me.
Gu Yue, continue harassment.
Wulin, control it with your Blue Silver Grass.
I'll look for an opening to restrain it.
Zhang Yangzi, Wang Jinxi—prepare for your Martial Soul Fusion Skill. We'll end this in one strike."
Nan Fusheng calmly and precisely issued orders from the center of the group.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider, having just been sent flying, seemed to regain its senses. It hissed violently at the six students now regrouped, rage flashing in its eyes.
Its eight spear-like legs scraped the ground, the body tensing and lowering, as if it was about to lunge again.
"It's coming."
Class Zero tightened formation and focused completely.
And then—the unexpected happened.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider suddenly sprang backward and… fled.
"It ran?! It ran away?!"
Everyone froze in disbelief. None of them had expected the ferocious creature to just… run.
"Yangzi, Jinxi—stay alert. Everyone else, rest," Nan Fusheng ordered immediately.
No one objected. As for why not give chase—well, no one was foolish enough to do that. The Man-Faced Demon Spider was nicknamed the 'Assassin of the Forest' for a reason. Pursue it blindly, and you could easily become its prey.
"Whew… that scared the life out of me. Fusheng, Wulin—thank you. I owe you both a meal!"
Xie Xie slumped down, breathing heavily, still shaken. Even now, thinking back on that almost-tragic moment, his backside clenched involuntarily.
"Hey, hey, hey—what's with just treating the two of them?" Wang Jinxi, still on alert nearby, teased.
"We're a team. Don't hog all the gratitude."
After the recent battle, Wang Jinxi's deep fear of the Man-Faced Demon Spider had noticeably weakened. In time, he believed he'd overcome it completely.
Truthfully, seeing Xie Xie nearly suffer a fate worse than death made him reevaluate his own past trauma.
Xie Xie had almost... lost his innocence in the most horrific way imaginable.
Compared to that, Wang Jinxi's own past encounter, though scarring, now seemed almost… bearable.
"Relax, your big bro's loaded. Once the finals are over, this young master is treating everyone to a big feast!"
Maybe it was the adrenaline of survival, but Xie Xie seemed unusually open and carefree—wearing an expression like "Everyone eats free today, courtesy of Young Master Xie!"
Though, whether his wallet could survive Tang Wulin's appetite… was another question entirely.
Meanwhile…
"Whew…"
The entire staff of the Spirit Pagoda, including Wu Zhangkong, collectively exhaled in relief.
Class Zero's actions had been displayed in real-time through the soul-guide projection screen, and when Xie Xie nearly got 'thousand-year-killed' by that Man-Faced Demon Spider, everyone tensed up.
The Spirit Pagoda staff had already prepared for emergency medical intervention. After all, death inside the Spirit Ascension Platform came in many forms—but that kind of death? That would've been a first.
And since the platform replicated pain to a high degree, even veteran soul masters could suffer life-threatening shock from such an experience.
Even surviving it might have left lasting scars, both mental and physical.
If Xie Xie had actually died in that way, he would've gone down in the history of the Spirit Pagoda—for all the wrong reasons.
Thankfully, that disaster had been narrowly avoided. Thanks to the exceptional coordination of Class Zero, the tragedy was averted.
Looking back, even the seasoned staff couldn't help but praise Nan Fusheng and the others.
That was a hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider, after all. Even four-ring or five-ring soul masters would've hesitated to face one head-on.
But these kids—average strength barely at two rings—had miraculously forced it to retreat.
Had the spider not fled, Class Zero might have even defeated it. It was almost unbelievable.
"Teacher Wu, have these children ever considered joining the Spirit Pagoda? If we submit footage of that battle, they could be accepted as exceptional recruits.
Their potential is immense."
One of the Spirit Pagoda staff members finally broke the silence, their eyes full of awe.
As someone who had seen countless battles and analyzed the strengths of many soul beasts, even he had been completely stunned by the ingenuity and improvisational brilliance of Class Zero's strategy.
"That Man-Faced Demon Spider… something was off about it. It was too intelligent."
Wu Zhangkong didn't answer the invitation. Instead, he asked a question of his own.
The staff member paused, ready to refute—but couldn't help replaying the earlier footage in his mind.
In the beginning, the spider had compressed the team's space—a typical hunting method. That wasn't strange.
But when Tang Wulin launched his killing strike, the spider should've had no time to react.
Yet somehow, it had anticipated the attack and conserved enough strength to block it.
And those slashing attacks from earlier? That wasn't something a typical Man-Faced Demon Spider could do at all.
Given their known temperament, the spider should've fought to the death once surrounded.
Instead, it chose to retreat—something completely out of character.
"Maybe…" the staff member slowly replied, "Maybe it was a mutant variant. That would explain the differences."
Soul beasts occasionally experienced mutations during evolution. These mutant individuals were often far stronger than others of their kind—because the weak ones simply didn't survive to adulthood.
Maybe so, Wu Zhangkong muttered.