Ye Yin cautiously approached the dying Man-Faced Demon Spider. The creature's body thrashed wildly on the forest floor. Blinded and weakened by the curses, it could no longer perceive its surroundings. It only knew that its life force was draining away, and the fear of death, combined with the debilitating effects, sent it into a final, endless struggle.
"I guess this is your bad luck," Ye Yin murmured to himself, watching the spectacle. "Or maybe, it's my good luck. Half of these curses are dealing continuous damage, which saves me a lot of spirit power. Otherwise, I'd have to spend ten resentment points to buy a refill from the system store."
He was always careful about his foundation. He never cultivated in the traditional sense, fearing it would create impurities or imbalances. He wouldn't risk it, not even to recover spirit power, especially when the system store could instantly replenish his energy, stamina, and even heal his injuries.
Casually, Ye Yin kicked a small stone. It bounced off the Man-Faced Demon Spider's hard carapace with a soft tink. Feeling the impact, the spider thrashed even more violently, which only hastened its demise. Finally, with one last shudder, its body went still. A brilliant purple spirit ring slowly rose from the corpse, pulsing with energy.
Ye Yin immediately began to search the spider's body. An external Spirit Bone would either be attached to the spirit ring itself or left behind in the corpse. If it was in the corpse, that would be perfect. He could then find a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast for his third ring. Unfortunately, after a thorough search, he found nothing on the body that contained any spirit power.
"So, it's inside the spirit ring after all," he sighed, looking at the floating purple ring.
There wasn't enough time to sit down and absorb it now. He knew the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple was nearby and would surely discover him. His only option was to store it. He quickly accessed the system store and made a purchase.
[Congratulations on spending ten thousand resentment points to purchase a spirit ring storage spirit tool.]
A small, intricate box appeared in his hand. Following the system's instructions, Ye Yin opened the lid and guided the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring into it with his spirit power. This kind of spirit tool technology wouldn't become common until much later, but here it was, available for just ten thousand resentment points.
No sooner had he closed the lid than he heard the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Who's there!" Ye Yin called out, turning vigilantly toward the sound.
Three figures emerged swiftly from the woods: the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple, Meng Shu and Chao Tianxiang, and their granddaughter, Meng Yiran.
Meng Shu held a gleaming, silver dragon-head staff that was over four meters long. Eight powerful spirit rings—two yellow, two purple, and four black—pulsed beneath his feet, releasing the immense pressure of a Spirit Douluo. Beside him, Meng Yiran wore a dark green, tight-fitting outfit that made her look quite heroic.
"No, how could this be?" she exclaimed, her eyes wide with shock as she saw the dead spider. "Why? Who? Who killed my devil spider?"
Her furious gaze quickly landed on Ye Yin. "It's you! It's actually you, you hateful guy!" The memory of what he'd done to her before, causing her such embarrassing problems, made her blood boil.
[Resentment from Meng Yiran +30!]
Ye Yin offered a slight, unconcerned smile. "It's me."
Meng Yiran glared at him. "You killed my Man-Faced Demon Spider, didn't you!"
Ye Yin calmly shook his head. "Of course not. I just got here myself and found it lying dead."
"If it wasn't you, then who was it?" she shot back, still full of resentment. "You're the only one here!"
Ye Yin rolled his eyes. "Do you honestly think a Support-type Soul Master like me has the power to kill a Man-Faced Demon Spider?"
Meng Yiran paused. What he'd done to her before had been uncomfortable, but not fatal. She had to admit he had a point. "That's true."
[Resentment from Meng Yiran +30!]
Even so, thinking about their last encounter still made her furious.
Chao Tianxiang stepped forward and spoke to her husband. "So, this is the kid who snatched Yiran's Phoenix-Tailed Crested Serpent?"
Ye Yin shook his head again. "Senior, you can't say I snatched it. We had an agreed-upon competition. It was a fair fight."
Meng Shu sneered. "Fair? That's a nice way to put it. If I had been there, do you really think you would have had a chance for a 'fair' competition? Don't think you can just walk away from this."
Ye Yin thought for a moment, then took out a can of surströmming. "Senior, I wonder if this item could serve as compensation..."
"A spirit ring can't be compensated with something like that!" Meng Shu snapped.
Ye Yin then put the can away and took out a black garlic clove. "Senior, this is black garlic. It can increase all of your attributes by fifty percent for one hour, though it has a minor side effect. Would this be enough to compensate you?"
This time, Meng Shu's expression changed to one of genuine interest. Ye Yin tossed the clove to him.
Meng Shu examined the black garlic with suspicion. "Does it really do what you say it does?"
Ye Yin nodded seriously. "I swear on my Spirit. If a single word I've said is false, may I never be able to cultivate another shred of spirit power in my life."
A slow smile spread across Meng Shu's face as he put the black garlic away. "One is probably not enough. I'll need two."
Ye Yin didn't hesitate. "It's a deal!" He threw a second black garlic clove over.
Meng Shu now looked completely satisfied. If he and Chao Tianxiang each ate one, their attributes would skyrocket. The power of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, the Dragon Snake Combined Attack, would at least double. With that kind of power, they wouldn't just be able to fight a Titled Douluo—they could likely defeat one.
Ye Yin was also satisfied. Go ahead and eat it, he thought. The more you do, the more resentment points you'll give me later. This was a win-win situation.
"Since the Man-Faced Demon Spider was killed by an unknown party, there's no reason for us to stay," Meng Shu sighed, turning to his family. "Let's go find another suitable spirit ring for Yiran. The spider died within the last hour. We might still be able to find whoever killed it!"
Meng Yiran shot one last fierce glare at Ye Yin. "You just wait! I'll teach you a lesson sooner or later!"
As the three figures disappeared into the forest, Ye Yin finally let out a breath of relief. But he had no time to relax, because another group immediately arrived, led by Zhao Wuji. Or rather, six students from Shrek Academy arrived. Zhao Wuji himself was nowhere to be seen.
"Ye Yin! We finally found you!" a familiar voice boomed from seemingly nowhere. "Why'd you run off so fast, you brat! How is it? Did you find Xiao Wu?"
Ye Yin sighed. "I didn't find Xiao Wu, but I did just run into the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent's family."
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