"What! You ran into the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent family?" Zhao Wuji exclaimed, his disembodied voice filled with alarm. "What happened?"
Under the moonlight, a dark shadow swayed in front of Ye Yin. It looked like a person-shaped hole in the world, a flat black silhouette that absorbed all light. Because he reflected nothing, Zhao Wuji now looked exactly like a paper cutout.
Ye Yin quickly recounted the events of the confrontation. Zhao Wuji listened with growing apprehension.
"So, what really happened to that Man-Faced Demon Spider?" Zhao Wuji asked, his voice laced with suspicion. He had a strong feeling that the spider's death was connected to Ye Yin. Although the corpse had injuries, none of them looked fatal. It was as if the creature had died from some complex, internal failure—almost as if it had killed itself. Among all the people he knew, only Ye Yin could inflict such strange and debilitating effects.
Ye Yin just smiled slightly without saying a word.
Zhao Wuji understood instantly. It was Ye Yin's doing. He grinned back at the boy, a look of silent understanding passing between them. The only problem was, Ye Yin couldn't see his expression at all.
Just then, a rustling sound came from some nearby bushes. Ye Yin's gaze snapped toward the noise.
A moment later, Xiao Wu emerged. Her clothes were tattered and she looked completely disheveled, but her complexion was rosy and healthy. She even seemed a little more mature than before.
"Xiao Wu!" Ye Yin cried out. He rushed over and pulled her into a tight hug. "You're back!"
Xiao Wu hugged him back, burying her face in his shoulder. "Yin Ge, I'm so sorry. I made you worry."
"It's okay, it's okay," Ye Yin said, sighing in relief. "All that matters is that you're back safely."
Xiao Wu then explained to everyone how she escaped. Her story about the Titan Giant Ape treating her like a friend and letting her go sounded completely far-fetched, but no one could think of a more reasonable explanation.
"Huh?" she said, looking around. "Where's Teacher Zhao?"
Ye Yin pointed to the empty space right beside him. "He's right here."
"I don't see him," Xiao Wu said, blinking. She stared carefully at the spot, but still couldn't find him.
Zhao Wuji let out a long, frustrated sigh through his nose.
[Resentment from Zhao Wuji +30!]
It was all because of that stupid black garlic! Otherwise, he wouldn't be in this ridiculous situation. When he got back, he decided, he was definitely going to find a way to trick Flender into eating one.
"Teacher Zhao ate some black garlic, and it turned him completely black," Ye Yin explained. "That's why you can't see him. If you look for the spot where the background is blocked, you'll find him."
Finally, by focusing on the silhouette against the trees, Xiao Wu spotted him. "Teacher Zhao, you're really, really black. I've seen black people before, but I've never seen anyone this black."
[Resentment from Zhao Wuji +40!]
His brow furrowed and his face twisted into a scowl, but since he was a void of darkness, no one could see it. He couldn't even see it himself.
"It was a close call, but no real harm was done," Zhao Wuji said, quickly changing the subject. "The important thing is that everyone is here. Ye Yin, my suggestion is that we head back for now. Next time, the Dean and I will come out with you to get your third spirit ring."
Ye Yin agreed. "Let's go back, Teacher Zhao. I haven't absorbed my third spirit ring yet, but I already have it with me."
Zhao Wuji froze. "What?! You can carry a spirit ring? Since when could spirit rings be carried around? How come I've never heard of that?"
Everyone else's eyes went wide as they stared at Ye Yin, their faces masks of disbelief.
"We don't know either," Ning Rongrong said, looking baffled. "My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda clan specializes in identifying treasures. We have a whole vault dedicated to collecting rare items, but I've never heard of anything like this."
Ye Yin looked at them. "You all don't know?"
They all shook their heads. "None of us know."
"Well," Ye Yin said with a smirk, "I know."
[Resentment from Ning Rongrong +20!]
[Resentment from Ma Hongjun +20!]
[Resentment from Zhao Wuji +20!]
Ye Yin activated the spirit ring storage tool. A purple spirit ring flew out of the small box, pulsing with power. It was the one from the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
"This is a spirit tool made specifically to store spirit rings," he explained. "It can preserve one for up to a month, ensuring its power doesn't dissipate."
Everyone stared in awe at the novel sight. Hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it with their own eyes was another entirely.
Ye Yin stored the spirit ring again. "Let's leave quickly, before the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent family comes back."
"Go!" Zhao Wuji commanded, leading the group out of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The next day, even under the bright sun, Zhao Wuji's body remained a patch of night. He was still a living paper cutout. If you looked at him from above, you might think there was a person-shaped piece of black paper lying on the ground.
Ma Hongjun sighed. "That black garlic really makes you black!"
Zhao Wuji's mouth twitched uncontrollably. "Little Fatty, when we get back to the academy, you and I are going to have some one-on-one combat training!"
"Ah!"
[Resentment from Ma Hongjun +20!]
[Resentment from Zhao Wuji +20!]
When night fell once again, Zhao Wuji finally saw his own body. He was so excited he was almost in tears.
"I'm not a paper cutout anymore!" he cheered. "My body, it's finally back!"
A few days later, the group successfully returned to Shrek Academy.
"Finally back," Oscar shouted dramatically. "There's no place like home!"
Zhao Wuji glared at him. "Keep it down. It's already late. Alright, all of you head back to your dorms and rest. I'm going to find the Dean and report on this trip."
Ye Yin returned to his dorm and immediately took out the spirit ring storage tool. The Man-Faced Demon Spider's ring flew out and hovered before him.
"Time to see my first external Spirit Bone," he said to himself, "and my third Spirit Ability!"
The purple spirit ring swiftly enveloped his body. The explosive and fierce aura of the Man-Faced Demon Spider descended upon him, but Ye Yin's face remained expressionless. To him, this level of power was still too weak.
Half an hour later, the absorption was complete. Eight long, sharp spider legs—four white and four black—erupted from his back, anchored to his spinal column. It was the external Spirit Bone: the Eight Spider Lances.
The legs were about one and a half meters long, incredibly sharp, and as tough as steel. Ye Yin tested one, piercing it into a wooden post. It sank in as if the wood were tofu, effortlessly and smoothly.
Looking at the menacing appendages on his back, Ye Yin smiled. "A human with spider legs… It's actually quite eerie."
He focused on the abilities of his new Spirit Bone. When Tang San had acquired the Eight Spider Lances, they came with a potent poison attribute but no specific Spirit Ability. Ye Yin's, however, had no poison. It was imbued purely with his own attributes. He wondered if it came with a Spirit Ability.
After carefully sensing its power, his eyes lit up. It did have an ability, and it was one that came at the perfect time. It was exactly what he needed to make up for his greatest weakness.
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