Chapter 64: Tang San's Third Soul Ring
At this moment, Yang Xiong was also dumbfounded because the scene before him was really quite perplexing.
All the members of Shrek Academy were present, and on the other side, there were Long Gong, She Po, and Meng Yiran, the three of them, and it seemed like they were once again fighting over a soul beast.
This soul beast was only about one meter in length, its body entirely covered in emerald green, with its entire body composed of green armor. It also had a pair of wings on its back.
Yang Xiong observed carefully. It was a huge praying mantis. This mantis looked extremely special, especially its pair of front legs, which were like two gigantic scythes. They accounted for more than one-third of its total length.
This was a Hurricane Mantis, one of the predators in the forest. Although it belonged to the insect class and its flight distance wasn't very long, its front legs were incredibly sharp, serrated, and the mantis-type soul beasts were extremely fast in short bursts, typically capable of killing enemies in an instant.
However, at this moment, the Hurricane Mantis was severely wounded. Its armor had been shattered, its wings torn apart, and even one of its eyes was blinded. Its body was drenched in green blood.
Tang San saw Yang Xiong and hurriedly asked, "Yang Xiong, how is Xiao Wu?"
Yang Xiong shook his head. "I'm not sure. I encountered Teacher Lin on the way earlier. I had him help me track for a while, but Xiao Wu should still be relatively safe."
Tang San was immediately shocked. "How is that possible? Why didn't you go rescue Xiao Wu when you were chasing? The one who took her is the extremely fierce Titan Giant Ape!"
Yang Xiong sighed. "Actually, Teacher Lin almost caught up with them, but at the last moment, we encountered someone else. That person should be a senior of one of our classmates. Although we didn't meet him, he should be able to ensure Xiao Wu's safety. He also warned us not to pursue."
The others around them exchanged glances, and Tang San quickly asked, "Who exactly is it? How is Xiao Wu now?"
Yang Xiong looked at Zhao Wuji. "We didn't meet this person, but Teacher Zhao should have met him. It was the person who fought with Teacher Zhao the night we arrived at the academy."
Tang San immediately turned to Zhao Wuji. "Teacher Zhao, who is this person? Can he protect Xiao Wu?"
Zhao Wuji had a brief moment of confusion, but immediately understood who it was. "Don't worry, Xiao San, this is a very powerful senior of ours. His strength far exceeds mine. With his abilities, Xiao Wu's safety is definitely not a problem."
Tang San was slightly relieved upon hearing this. "Teacher Zhao, who exactly is this person? What kind of strength does he have?"
Zhao Wuji glanced around at everyone before shaking his head. "I'm not entirely sure, but it seems like it should be one of your seniors."
Tang San looked confused. "My senior? How is that possible? My father is just an ordinary blacksmith, and I've never even met any other relatives."
Tang San seemed to have thought of something, and he fell silent. Regardless of whether this person was his senior, at least this person was strong enough to protect Xiao Wu's safety.
...
At this point, Long Gong suddenly shouted angrily, "Lin Gong, it's you again! Are you bullying us too much?"
Yang Xiong and Lin Gong exchanged confused looks. Clearly, they had no idea what had happened here.
Zhao Wuji helplessly spoke, "Sorry, Senior Long Gong. We didn't know that this Hurricane Mantis was one you were chasing. Xiao San just killed it."
Long Gong immediately became furious. "You keep snatching our soul beasts one after another. Do you think we're easy to bully?"
The others looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what to say. After all, Long Gong was the most powerful here, having reached the rank of a Soul Douluo.
Lin Gong, however, sneered. "Old Dragon, that's where you're wrong. You're saying your soul beast was snatched, but it didn't have your name written on it. Besides, as a Soul Douluo, you couldn't even handle a thousand-year soul beast. Saying that out loud is quite embarrassing."
Long Gong became furious. "Bamboo stick, we haven't fought in decades. I want to see if you've improved at all while hiding in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."
Lin Gong completely ignored Long Gong's words. "This is the Star Dou Great Forest. Are you sure you want to fight here? And take a closer look at the age of this Hurricane Mantis. You don't believe I'm right, do you? I think you're misleading your disciples."
Long Gong took another look at the Hurricane Mantis and his face turned a bit dark. Finally, he showed a trace of reluctance. "Bamboo stick, next time we'll have a proper fight outside the Star Dou Great Forest."
Lin Gong smiled. "I'm always ready. Let's just hope you don't remain blind next time."
Long Gong snorted coldly and then left with the two others.
After they left, Zhao Wuji spoke, slightly puzzled. "Yang Xiong, why did Senior Long Gong and the others give up on the Hurricane Mantis so easily?"
Yang Xiong pointed to the Hurricane Mantis. "Normally, for mantis-type soul beasts, the age is determined by the shell and markings on their back. This Hurricane Mantis is over 1,900 years old, very close to 2,000. If Meng Yiran were to absorb its soul ring, she would definitely explode."
"We've already completed the soul ring hunt. What's happening now? Why did we have a conflict with Long Gong?"
Zhao Wuji replied, "During the fight with the Titan Giant Ape, Tang San's soul power level also broke through. Now, he needs a soul ring. Tang San followed you to chase the Titan Giant Ape, and he encountered this Hurricane Mantis. Tang San decided to absorb its soul ring first, so he could have stronger abilities to rescue Xiao Wu."
Yang Xiong nodded. "Tang San is usually very decisive. Looks like he thinks this Hurricane Mantis is very suitable for him."
Zhao Wuji looked extremely worried as he spoke to Tang San, "Tang San, you don't need to worry about Xiao Wu's safety anymore. You don't have to rush to absorb the soul ring either. We can search a bit more in the Star Dou Great Forest. We can definitely find a soul beast that's more suitable for your Blue Silver Grass."
"The Hurricane Mantis is rare, and it has a strong attack, but it might not be the best fit for your Blue Silver Grass."
Tang San did not hesitate. "Teacher Zhao, I think this Hurricane Mantis is very suitable for me. According to my teacher's analysis, if I absorb the Hurricane Mantis soul ring, my Blue Silver Grass will become faster, its attack power will increase, and even its explosive power will be much stronger."
Zhao Wuji said, "But this Hurricane Mantis is over 1,900 years old, which is much higher than the normal age for a third soul ring. Your body might not be able to handle it."
Tang San's expression was serious. "Teacher Zhao, I'm very confident in my body. There's absolutely no problem absorbing this soul ring."
Despite the repeated warnings and analysis of the risks, Tang San insisted on absorbing the soul ring of this Hurricane Mantis.
Among the group, Yang Xiong had theoretical knowledge that was not weaker than Tang San's. Initially, he had been eager to persuade him otherwise.
But Yang Xiong shook his head. "Teacher Zhao, Tang San, absorbing a soul ring is a personal decision. I can't give advice on this, nor do I want to take responsibility. All I can say is that you need to be careful about the risks."
Tang San nodded, then directly killed the Hurricane Mantis with the Zhuge Divine Crossbow. He sat down nearby to absorb the soul ring. Zhao Wuji guarded beside him, and the others formed a circle to guard in all directions.
Ning Rongrong approached Yang Xiong and Lin Gong. "Hello, Teacher Lin. How did you end up in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Lin Gong seemed a little awkward, coughing lightly. "Rongrong, I had some matters to deal with in the Star Dou Great Forest. I happened to see Yang Xiong... no, I mean, I found Yang Xiong in danger, so I helped him."
Ning Rongrong was a bit confused. "Teacher Lin, I remember you're just a Soul King. How did you dare to go after the Titan Giant Ape?"
Lin Gong appeared helpless but didn't want to reveal that he was a Soul Douluo. After all, he still had to secretly protect several students. "I'm good at tracking, and I'm good at surviving in the forest. Don't forget, I'm a plant-type spirit master."
In the environment of the Star Dou Great Forest, plant-type spirit masters had a natural advantage, and their cultivation speed and perception abilities were much stronger.
Everyone's attention was drawn to Tang San. At this moment, Tang San's face looked extremely grim. His skin was seeping tiny drops of blood, and the blood formed a mist in the air, giving an eerie vibe.
Especially his furrowed brows, as if gritting his teeth, and his bones creaking, giving the impression of deep, bone-crushing pain.
But at this moment, Tang San had already absorbed half of the soul ring. The others had no way to stop him. Otherwise, Tang San would either be severely injured or possibly even explode. Many common soul masters had died from absorbing a soul ring with a higher age limit than their body could handle.
In a certain sense, Yu Xiaogang had made a contribution to civilian soul masters, but the knowledge he had summarized was specific to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the Spirit Hall, or rather, large powers and sects, making it naturally rejected by the rest of the soul master world.
But civilian soul masters had little say in the soul master world. Only a few soul masters could approach the age limit when absorbing a soul ring. Most civilian soul masters were just happy to have any soul ring, and people like Long Gong and Lin Gong could only aim for a fifth soul ring at a thousand years old. This shows that the age of the soul ring didn't have as much of an impact on civilian soul masters.
Just like this Hurricane Mantis, even Long Gong and Zhao Wuji almost made a mistake in determining its age.
Everyone was looking at Tang San with worried expressions. Lin Gong quietly asked Yang Xiong, "Yang Xiong, do you think this kid can succeed in absorbing the soul ring despite the age difference?"
Yang Xiong replied calmly, "I may not know about others, but with Tang San, it shouldn't be a big problem. His physical condition is probably the best among the seven of us at Shrek, even better than many soul masters of the same rank."
Lin Gong smirked. "Are you saying that other soul masters of the same rank don't include you? You're already at level 26. Your second soul ring's age should be pretty high by now."
Yang Xiong smiled. "Sorry, I'm actually level 27 now. I just broke through a couple of days ago. My third soul ring is still far away, so I haven't thought much about it yet."
The others were all astonished. They knew that Yang Xiong's innate soul power was the lowest among them, but now he had already caught up to Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing. The seventh-level innate soul power was a significant threshold.
(END CHAPTER)
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