It wasn't that the Man-Faced Demon Spider was weak—Qian Renxue was simply too strong. Protected her whole life, she rarely had chances to fight, leaving her unaware of her own prowess. Her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, a divine-grade martial soul, combined with her innate level-20 full soul power, made her a prodigy. With enough combat experience and ruthlessness, no one at her level could match her.
Moreover, the spider's attributes were completely suppressed by her holy power, limiting it to less than eighty percent of its strength. Against a divine martial soul like hers, what chance did it have?
The spider realized this too. This human wasn't a soft target but a wolf in sheep's clothing, terrifyingly powerful. Even without attribute suppression, it doubted it could win—let alone now. Its fighting spirit vanished, replaced by the urge to flee.
Having survived countless hunts by stronger soul beasts to reach millennial status, the spider relied on cunning, not recklessness. Facing an unbeatable foe, the smart move was to escape—live to fight another day. Its eight eyes glowed ruby-red, and with a roar, it unleashed a barrage of webbing, arrow-like strands shooting toward Qian Renxue. The webbing unfurled into a massive net, laced with corrosive, deadly green venom that could kill on contact.
Qian Renxue assessed the attack in a second and chose to dodge. The webbing wasn't strong, but its venom was troublesome—touching it could ruin her clothes, leaving her looking like a ragged beggar. She wasn't about to fight a spider only to end up half-naked or disheveled.
Her evasion played right into the spider's plan. It wanted her to dodge, creating distance. Spitting multiple webs, it forced her to keep moving, stretching their gap from ten meters to over twenty. Seeing its chance, the spider abruptly ceased attacking, turned, and fled, vanishing into the dense forest like a black shadow.
The sudden shift caught Qian Renxue off guard. Who could've predicted the spider, so ferocious moments ago, would bolt? Stunned for two seconds, she watched it disappear into the jungle. Reacting, she spread her golden wings, transforming into a streak of golden light to pursue. But wary of a possible ambush—a feigned retreat to strike when her guard was down—she didn't chase too closely.
Her caution, combined with the forest's twisting paths, cost her the spider's trail. "Damn it, it got away!" she cursed, slamming her fist into the air, sensing the faint lingering aura of the spider.
With the spider gone, the immediate danger passed, but a new problem emerged: she was still lost. Stopping to survey her surroundings, she glanced at the pitch-black sky and rubbed her growling stomach, at a loss for what to do next.
In a quiet corner of the forest, Qin Feng gazed into a large blue crystal ball hovering before him, displaying an animated scene. A closer look revealed it was showing Qian Renxue's battle with the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
It was past the 9 p.m. curfew he'd set, and with no sign of her, Qin Feng grew worried. Using the crystal ball to locate her, he discovered she hadn't forgotten the curfew—she was lost in the forest, having wandered into the buffer zone between the outer and inner circles of the Star Dou Forest.
He'd intended to fetch her immediately, but then the ground split, and a millennial Man-Faced Demon Spider emerged. Alarmed for her safety, he feared it might devour her. But realizing the spider's strength was only millennial, comparable to her four-ring Soul Ancestor level, he saw it as a perfect test for her skills.
Instead of rushing to her aid, he observed through the crystal ball, assessing her combat experience and strength. If she were in real danger, his powerful spatial abilities could bring him to her side in a breath. She was safe.
Watching her, he couldn't help but laugh at her antics. Her first instinct was to flee—sensible against a stronger soul beast—but her attempt to fly, ignoring the forest's terrain, led to a comical collision with a tree branch. Her combat experience was abysmal, practically nonexistent. She hesitated, lacking ruthlessness. Despite overpowering the spider, she didn't finish it off, giving it chances to attack and ultimately escape by creating distance.
Her performance was a mixed bag. Her combat experience was poor, but she was clever and cautious, staying alert for a possible ambush during pursuit—a critical instinct. Qin Feng was also surprised to learn her martial soul's holy light attribute perfectly countered the spider's darkness.
The biggest takeaway was her lack of experience. Staring at the crystal ball, Qin Feng devised a plan: daily sparring with soul beasts to train her to strike hard, fast, and decisively.
It was time to bring her home. He stowed the crystal ball, tore open the space before him with a wave of his hand, and stepped through the rift.