The Legend of the Dragon King Chapter 131-140

Chapter 131 – Bind Post Spirit Soul Evolution

Chapter 131 – Bind Post Spirit Soul Evolution

Tang Wulin’s martial soul had already become an extension of his own body, but his control over it during combat wasn’t great—he simply used it like rope.

Wu Zhangkong was able to clearly discern these issues, but he didn’t talk to Tang Wulin about them because he knew just how amazing Tang Wulin’s perception was. He had faith in that Tang Wulin would discover these flaws himself.

Moreover, Wu Zhangkong wanted to see if Tang Wulin’s bloodline power would gain any other effects when he reached rank 20.

But now, he didn’t even need to wait until Tang Wulin reached that rank. The answer had already presented itself.

If it’s like this, then the growth of his martial soul is something to look forward to.

Wu Zhangkong had never believed that Bluesilver Grass was a weak martial soul. After all, the strongest member of the first generation of Shrek Seven Monsters, who was also the strongest Soul Master in history, had

eventually ascended to godhood with Bluesilver Grass at the beginning. It was through using Bluesilver Grass that he had taken one step after another on the path toward godhood.

 In the last 20,000 years, apart from the Spirit Pagoda’s founder, no one else had been able to ascend to godhood.

Thus, Bluesilver Grass wasn’t necessarily as weak as one may think.

The radiance emitting from Tang Wulin gradually dim. Little Goldlight opened its mouth wide as if to yawn before lowering its head, disappearing into Tang Wulin’s body.

With the evolution now complete, Tang Wulin stopped glowing and entered a deep slumber.

The evolution of a spirit soul would lead to many changes both in the martial soul and the Soul Master. An improvement in one’s martial soul also led to gains for the Soul Master as a whole. Whether it be in terms of

strength, speed, soul power, reaction speed, or the tenacity of one’s body; all of them would be increased.

☀

The evolution had taken a long time and left Tang Wulin exhausted.

That was some great sleep! Tang Wulin woke up the next day feeling incredible.

Ever since he broke the first seal on the Golden Dragon King, he felt as if his whole body were swollen. But now, this feeling had disappeared, leaving a pleasant surprise in its place. His soul power had increased a bit, and though it had yet to reach rank 15, this increase was still something that would have taken far longer had he cultivated normally.

It seems I benefited a lot from yesterday’s battle!

“You’re up?” The sudden voice gave Tang Wulin quite the scare. He looked over to discover Wu Zhangkong sitting legs crossed on a chair nearby.

“Teacher, you…” After staring blankly at Wu Zhangkong for a moment, Tang Wulin started to recall the events of the previous evening, and of how

 Wu Zhangkong had watched over him throughout the night. His heart surged with warmth as he quickly got off his bed.

Wu Zhangkong met his eyes and said, “Wash up and go eat breakfast. Your spirit soul has evolved so we can go test the changes that your soul skill gained after that.” Having finished speaking, he got up, patted Tang Wulin on the shoulder, then left.

Spirit soul evolution? A spirit soul evolution! My spirit soul evolved!

Tang Wulin stood there stunned. His spirit soul had always been a sore spot for him. His heart would ache whenever he saw his comrades and their hundred-year spirit souls. He compared them with his own mere ten-year

spirit soul. With his competitive spirit, it had simply been too demoralizing!

When Xie Xie told him about the possibility of a spirit soul evolving in the spirit ascension platform, he hadn’t seriously taken it to heart. After all, it wasn’t something he would even dare dream of.

But Wu Zhangkong wouldn’t lie to him!

With a flash of light, his Bluesilver Grass appeared and a halo rose from beneath him.

The originally white soul ring had been transformed into a soul ring with a gentle yellow glow!

It was yellow! A hundredyear soul ring!

Little Goldlight slithered out onto Tang Wulin’s shoulder. Tang Wulin lifted his hand toward it and it slithered onto his palm. After carefully examining Goldlight, Tang Wulin’s eyes became a bit dull as he reminisced for a moment.

Not too long ago, he had been filled with sorrow to the point of wishing for death due to this little Goldlight. It had been a defective spirit soul that represented three years worth of hard earned money. Amidst his despair at that time, it had only been due to his sheer willpower that he had been able

 to persevere! At last, his source of sorrow had now turned into a source of joy!

Goldlight could no longer be considered trash now that it had evolved. As a hundred-year spirit soul, it could provide him with two soul rings. This meant that he didn’t need to purchase another spirit soul for a while longer.

With Goldlight’s evolution, he could save even more money and buy the spirit items needed to break the second seal.

Tang Wulin released a long sigh as these thoughts crossed his mind. He felt that now, endless possibilities had opened up to him.

“Bind!” With his command, strand after strand of Bluesilver Grass shot out and bound everything in his room.

Along with the evolution of his spirit soul, Tang Wulin discovered that his Bluesilver Grass had grown thicker, become more tenacious, and consumed less soul power than before.

When he used his soul skill, a golden color, the same as Goldlight’s color, appeared in his mind.

This had never happened before. “Goldlight, what’s this? You…”

Without even waiting for Tang Wulin to finish speaking, Goldlight

suddenly sprang forth and sank into the numerous strands of Bluesilver Grass.

Immediately, several strands of Bluesilver Grass turned golden as they were covered by a fine layer of scales .

This is…

Is this a fusion of the spirit soul and martial soul? It is! Little Goldlight isn’t a defective product anymore. He can help me in combat now!

 When Tang Wulin tugged on a strand of golden Bluesilver Grass, he immediately discovered that not only was it tougher than before, it was also stronger than the other normal strands of Bluesilver Grass. This strand of

Bluesilver Grass felt as if it were an extension of himself, like an additional limb. Although it wasn’t nearly as strong as his right arm with the golden

scales, it was still only just slightly weaker than his left arm.

This is a hundred-year spirit soul! With how strong my Bluesilver Grass is now, my Bind will definitely be much more impactful from now on!

Tang Wulin’s face was plastered with a knowing smile as he rushed out of his room, cheering.

It was still early in the morning and the first glimmers of light had just then creeped up over the horizon. After washing his face, he madly rushed over to the training field.

Evolved. My spirit soul evolved! I’m the same as the others now. I have a hundred-year spirit soul too! With a hundred-year soul ring!

Tang Wulin shouted with excitement in his heart as the wind swept past him, seemingly dispersing the haze within him.

This spirit soul evolution didn’t only upgrade his strength, it had also given him peace of mind. He was able to circulate his soul power more smoothly than before, while the power of his bloodline and martial soul seemed to fuse under these bizarre circumstances.

Standing outside the dormitory’s doors, Ouyang Zixin stared at the scene in shock. A youngster was running wildly on the training field with his arms

spread wide.

What’s going on with him? Ouyang Zixin couldn’t help but smile at this scene. This boy is really interesting.

After running for some time, Tang Wulin caught sight of a beautiful figure and slowed his pace at last.

 “Good morning senior sister!” Tang Wulin wasn’t his usual bashful self today and had actually taken the initiative to call out to Ouyang Zixin.

Tang Wulin’s large eyes were shining and his cheeks flushed with wildness, showing off his youthful vigor.

“Why are you so happy junior brother?” Ouyang Zixin curiously asked.

Tang Wulin laughed. “It’s nothing really. I merely made a breakthrough in my cultivation so I’m pretty happy.”

Ouyang Zixin beamed a smile at him. “That’s good then. Fight on! Mn. This is how a kid should act. You shouldn’t always be so depressed, looking like an old man. After all, you’re still only ten years old.”

Child? Tang Wulin was stunned and awkwardness filled his heart. So I’m just a child in her eyes…

Tang Wulin’s body was feverishly hot by the time the sky had lit up and he went to the dining hall. The first window provided nourishing gourmet food that comforted Tang Wulin’s gloomy heart. After all, wasn’t a good frame of mind beneficial to his cultivation speed?

Chapter 132 – Summary

Chapter 132 – Summary

“Tell me about your thoughts on your experiences in the spirit ascension platform yesterday.” Wu Zhangkong stood at the lectern and unenthusiastically told his five students.

Wang Jinxi’s and Zhang Yangzi’s eyes were puffy and dark. Clearly, they hadn’t had a good night’s rest. The difference, though, was that Zhang Yangzi’s restless night was due to depression, while Wang Jinxi’s was

caused by nightmares. Wang Jinxi simply couldn’t forget the chill the Man- Faced Demon Spider instilled in him. That chill had reached to the depths of his very soul. He had felt like he was truly about to die at that moment. It was a terrifying feeling that was permanently etched into his heart.

Xie Xie’s complexion wasn’t too healthy either. After fighting a bloody battle yesterday and receiving countless injuries, his nightmares were filled with wolves throwing themselves upon him, one after another It had been impossible for him to meditate calmly and recover properly under such

circumstances. In fact, he had tumbled onto the ground midway through the night, waking him from his nightmare.

Contrary to the others, Gu Yue was just the same as usual.

Tang Wulin was the only one in high spirits. After all, how could he not rejoice after his spirit soul evolved?

“We’ll go in order of yesterday’s eliminations. Zhang Yangzi, you first!” Seeing that no one wanted to be the first to speak, Wu Zhangkong singled out Zhang Yangzi by name.

 “Yes!” Zhang Yangzi responded in embarrassment and quickly stood up. “My performance yesterday was simply horrible. Teacher Wu, I was

wrong.”

Wu Zhangkong rebuked him with a wave of his hand. “I don’t need you to tell me you were wrong, it’s your own life after all. What you can do, however, is use this chance to acknowledge your errors and improve yourself. If you had really been in a soul beast forest yesterday, then all that would have remained of you would be a corpse. In fact, your skeleton might also have been destroyed. So tell me then, what do you think of your

experience and of yourself in the spirit ascension platform yesterday?”

Zhang Yangzi’s face twitched awkwardly. “The world of the spirit

ascension platform is too realistic. I couldn’t feel anything unauthentic

about it at all! I was really curious about the world when I first entered, so I climbed up a tree to survey my surroundings. With my martial soul’s ability to glide, I thought I would be able to fly in any direction I wanted, so I did.

“In the beginning, I didn’t do anything wrong. My mistake was underestimating my opponent afterward. I was arrogant and didn’t carefully observe my surroundings when I chose to impulsively battle it. In the end, I was besieged on all sides and was quickly eliminated.

“The next time I enter the spirit ascension platform, I will be far more

careful and place preserving my life as the number one priority. That way, I’ll be able to survive even longer.”

Finished with his summary, Zhang Yangzi sat back down.

Without any words of criticism or praise for Zhang Yangzi’s assessment of himself, Wu Zhangkong simply moved on to Wang Jinxi. “How about you?”

Wang Jinxi forced out a bitter laugh. “Teacher Wu, right now I can’t really remember too much about what happened in there, the only thing I remember vividly is that face falling on me from above and the soul freezing chill that followed it. The way it trapped me still gives me

 nightmares. I’m not even sure how I should react if I were to face it again in the future.”

Wu Zhangkong calmly spoke. “You need to relax your mind and take

several days to recover. Your situation is actually a bit special. The Man- Faced Demon Spider is an extremely rare and powerful soul beast. Even at the hundred-year level, it’s able to hunt thousand-year soul beasts. Although there’s no shame in dying to it, you must remember to immediately press the exit button the moment you encounter such a powerful soul beast next time. You actually faced some danger to your real self when it killed you this time.”

Teacher Wu is consoling someone? No way! “Thank you, teacher.”

Wu Zhangkong then turned to Gu Yue.

Gu Yue was prepared and quickly gave her analysis. “The spirit ascension platform is an exceedingly realistic world and I felt that I was truly in an

ancient forest during my stay there. I really like it in there. It’s great. Battles with soul beasts are really realistic, I can’t see a single difference from real combat.”

“Is that it?” Wu Zhangkong made a slight frown when he saw Gu Yue sitting down so quickly.

Gu Yue nodded.

Wu Zhangkong prodded her on. “Then explain to me, how were you able to find Tang Wulin?’

Gu Yue was stunned. “It was just by chance.”

“Chance?” Wu Zhangkong’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Xie Xie running into Tang Wulin can be considered chance since they weren’t too far from each other in the beginning and Xie Xie had only encountered Tang Wulin after running around chaotically. But you, you were quite far from Tang

 Wulin, yet as soon as you encountered the Crystal Bear, you immediately chose a direction to flee in; and this was precisely in the direction of Tang Wulin. Furthermore, the direction you fled would continuously adjust for Tang Wulin’s position when he moved elsewhere. How could you have

encountered him by chance? It’s simply impossible to be that lucky.”

Gu Yue remained silent while Tang Wulin looked at her in shock. How was she able to pinpoint my position?

Tang Wulin didn’t have a complete understanding of all the events that had happened yesterday. All he knew was that Xie Xie had fought a bloody battle against a pack of wolves for him. As for Gu Yue, he had no idea how or why she left.

“I’ll admit it. I have a way of tracking him by controlling the elements. I can place a marker on the bodies of my comrades by manipulating the

elements. This marker let’s me find them easily. I thought that being with Tang Wulin would be the safest decision, so I prioritized finding him first.” Gu Yue finally gave a seemingly far-fetched explanation.

“I see.” Wu Zhangkong didn’t pry too deeply and simply moved on to Xie Xie. “It’s your turn.”

Xie Xie began going over his experience. “I really like it in there too. The feeling of hunting soul beasts in the forest is so invigorating. That sort of forest environment is really suitable for us Agility System Soul Masters,

and my ability to survive increases with the improvement of my speed. My final battle against those Green Wolves felt amazing too. I had to carefully avoid any fatal injuries while fighting a battle of attrition. I learned the theory of such battles before, but that was the first time I had actually

experienced the bitterness of such a bloody fight. I gained a lot of combat experience this time, and I learned the importance of avoiding injuries to vital parts.”

The very last person to go was Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin muttered a few words under his breath, before he began voicing his thoughts. “We were actually really lucky to be able to kill a thousand-

 year Crystal Bear this time. If we made even the slightest mistake, we would have died. Although I knew that the forest is virtual, it was so realistic that I was no longer able to differentiate it from reality. I

subconsciously began treating everything like it were real. Especially the injuries; I could feel all the pains and aches of the injuries I had sustained in there.

The sensation of battling with an actual soul beast is also very helpful to improving my combat abilities. I think that if we could continue to cultivate in such an environment, we will be able to become true Soul Masters.

Furthermore, I feel that we need to strengthen our cooperation as a team, so that we’ll be able to face even stronger soul beasts in the future.”

Wu Zhangkong nodded in approval after hearing their evaluations.

“If I were to score your performances in the spirit ascension platform this time, then: Zhang Yangzi, 0 points. Wang Jinxi, 1 point. Gu Yue, 5 points. Xie Xie, 5 points. And Tang Wulin, 4 points.”

Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi expected that they would receive low scores, but when they all heard Tang Wulin’s score, they were shocked. If Tang Wulin hadn’t killed the hundred-year Horned Dragon and thousand-year

Crystal Bear, then Xie Xie and Gu Yue would have died far earlier!

“Tang Wulin, do you know why you scored less than Xie Xie and Gu Yue?” Wu Zhangkong’s burning gaze locked onto Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin lowered his head and pondered over it. Although he had also been stunned when he heard his score since he thought he’d done the best, Wu Zhangkong challenged him to come up with the reasoning, so he began to consider it seriously. As he continued to mull over the events of the day before, Tang Wulin gradually understood Wu Zhangkong’s reasoning.

“Gu Yue’s score is higher than mine because of the coordination in our joint attack. It was only because of her excellent control over the elements that

we were successful in killing the Crystal Bear. Xie Xie’s score is higher because he risked his life to defend me from the pack of wolves.”

 Wu Zhangkong corrected him. “That’s not all of it. If Gu Yue hadn’t

sacrificed herself to catch you when you were crystallized, you would have shattered into pieces. Although you wouldn’t have died in reality, you

would have suffered from residual effects like Wang Jinxi and experience some dangers. If we count the minor details, then Gu Yue would actually have the highest score out of all of you.

“As for Xie Xie, his score isn’t higher than yours because he saved you, but because of his greater knowledge of soul beasts. You were deducted points because you were crystallized after killing the Crystal Bear. If you had

studied more and had known the traits and features of a Crystal Bear, then you would have known that its soul power explodes when it is on the verge of death, crystallizing everything in a certain radius. You would also have known that the stronger the Crystal Bear, the greater the radius of its soul power explosion. Clearly, however, you were lacking in such knowledge.”

Chapter 133 – Before the Final Exam

Chapter 133 – Before the Final Exam

“If you had been able to kill the thousand-year Crystal Bear without being crystallized, then neither Xie Xie nor Gu Yue would have needed to

sacrifice themselves for your sake, and together, the three of you wouldn’t have had any problem taking out the pack of wolves. Their sacrifices, were all because of you.”

Wu Zhangkong’s words seemed especially cold to Tang Wulin’s ears at that moment. He had been proud of the battles’ results, yet, Wu Zhangkong’s

words were like a bucket of cold water being poured over him. So the battle was actually like that?

That’s right! If it had been a true battlefield, then my mistake would have caused the whole team to collapse and my comrades to die for my sake! How can I consider that a victory then?

Wu Zhangkong continued to speak dully. “You need to strengthen your knowledge and understanding of soul beasts. Don’t think that just because soul beasts are rare nowadays, studying them is useless. On the contrary, a deeper understanding of soul beasts will greatly benefit your future

cultivation. Research has shown that over 90% of the soul skills we Soul Masters possess have belonged to a soul beast at one point or another, so a

greater understanding of soul beasts is the equivalent of understanding your competitors. It will also increase your odds of survival in the spirit

ascension platform.

 “You all should understand by now that the longer you survive in the spirit ascension platform, the greater the benefits are. You all still have a long

ways to go.”

Tang Wulin’s previous joy from having his spirit soul evolve disappeared

completely. That’s right! All because I lacked knowledge, I was a burden to my comrades!

Bitterness encroached his heart the moment he realised this. Gu Yue and Xie Xie died because of me!

“In today’s morning lesson, I’ll be discussing the soul beasts you

encountered yesterday. I will explain any special traits they have and their abilities at each level.” Wu Zhangkong indifferently announced the day’s lesson.

A chill suddenly swept through Tang Wulin’s body. He looked to his side to see Gu Yue giving him a nod.

A drop of cold water slid down his neck. He trembled, which immediately cleared and awakened his mind.

“Thanks,” Tang Wulin whispered.

“What’s up?” Xie Xie looked over and asked.

After their adventures in the spirit ascension platform, the five students tackled studying with renewed vigor, as if their desire to study had gained a soul ability itself. Their desire to improve left no room for Wu Zhangkong to spur them on. In fact, Zhang Yangzi even dropped his grudge against

Tang Wulin’s trio. All that were on their minds were studying and cultivation.

With a strand of Bluesilver Grass connecting them, Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi attempted to dual cultivate at night. As expected, their cultivation

speed was a bit faster than cultivating alone, so both of them found this

arrangement to be very beneficial. Furthermore, Tang Wulin’s cultivation speed was much faster now due to the evolution of his spirit soul. Even if

 he had yet to catch up with the other geniuses, at the very least, the gap between them was rapidly closing. Nevertheless, it was impossible for him to overtake them in such a short period of time considering the large gap between their cultivations.

A bustling life made one feel enriched, or, at least, Tang Wulin felt this way. Tang Wulin would study and cultivate throughout the week and go to the

Blacksmith’s Association to learn from Mu Chen on rest days.

Mu Chen may have seemed kind on the surface, but when he acted as a teacher, he was extremely fierce. He was actually stricter than Mang Tian and, after a day of forging, Tang Wulin would be left even more exhausted than after a week’s worth of studies.

Despite his constant state of exhaustion, Tang Wulin could feel his forging abilities gradually improving under Mu Chen’s tutelage.

Mu Chen’s style of teaching didn’t differ too much from Mang Tian’s. He hadn’t started teaching Tang Wulin about Spirit Forging yet; instead, Mu Chen focused on solidifying Tang Wulin’s foundation and correcting any

mistakes he had. Even for the slightest errors he would force Tang Wulin to practice them until perfection.

A perfect foundation! Tang Wulin had never thought that having a perfect foundation was important since he was already a third rank blacksmith, but after a month of studying under Mu Chen, Tang Wulin was astonished to find that he could complete third rank Thousand Refinement missions 10% faster now!

As he continued to forge tirelessly, Tang Wulin gradually started to understand the importance of a perfect foundation. The most important aspect of a perfect foundation was that it would rid him of any useless movements.

Put simply, if a hammer strike was perfect, it would possess its full power, but if it strayed even a little bit, then the results would also suffer! This

wouldn’t actually affect the refinement process, but just how many strikes

 did it take to Thousand Refine a metal? If every single strike was perfect, then the Thousand Refinements would be more efficient, thus saving time.

When Tang Wulin told Mu Chen what he felt while forging now, Mu Chen smiled for the first time since he had taken Tang Wulin in as his disciple.

He then explained the differences between Thousand Refinements. These differences lied in the number of hammerings a metal received during the Thousand Refinement process. The less strikes it received, the greater the effects of the Thousand Refinements. A blacksmith’s ability was representative of their efficiency in Thousand Refinements!

After understanding this point, Tang Wulin studied with greater diligence than before.

It became a requirement for class zero to enter the spirit ascension platform once a week. After entering, the five of them were exceptionally cautious

and would only engage soul beasts they encountered after thorough preparations.

However, being cautious did not necessarily mean that they would reap the greatest benefits in the spirit ascension platform. Luck was also essential. If they were unlucky enough to meet an opponent beyond them, then they

would be eliminated quickly and ejected.

One time, as soon as Tang Wulin entered the spirit ascension platform, he met an extremely agile thousand-year soul beast. Before he could even make a move, he was heavily wounded and had no choice but to exit.

In the blink of an eye, the end of the first term approached.

“Teacher Wu, do we also need to take a final exam too?” Tang Wulin asked in astonishment.

The other four students also had surprised expressions.

For their class, the first grade’s final exam was useless. This wasn’t

arrogance, but confidence in how greatly they had changed in the last three months.

 Gu Yue was already at the peak of rank 19 and was only a step away from reaching rank 20.

Tang Wulin had also reached the peak of rank 15 and wasn’t too far off from rank 16. In a short six months, he had improved from rank 11 to rank

15. Tang Wulin hadn’t even dreamt of making such progress before coming to Eastsea Academy.

Most importantly, however, was the increase in their combat abilities. Their experiences in the spirit ascension platform had proved useful as it pressured them to cultivate even harder. At the young age of ten, they

actually had such unbelievable combat ability.

President Yu Zhen had invested greatly into class zero; they were provided with the best teaching facilities and equipment, as well as entry into the

spirit ascension platform. This was the only way for them to raise these little monsters properly.

“Yes, you need to take them,” Wu Zhangkong said with his usual stony expression. “Your final exam will test two things. The first is the spirit ascension platform.”

Spirit ascension platform?

In these last three months, they had already entered the spirit ascension platform a total of eleven times and were already familiar with it. As long as they weren’t unlucky, they would be able to survive for at least one hour

each time. The current record for the longest survival time was actually held by Xie Xie, with his stay of three hours.

The more they experienced it, the more they sensed the changes the spirit ascension platform was had on their combat abilities. Whether it was their

application of soul skills, combat techniques and so on, they had all greatly improved.

As they now understood the benefits of the spirit ascension platform, they began to greatly anticipate their weekly visits there.

 “You must survive for at least an hour to pass the exam. However, this time you will be entering the rebellion spirit ascension platform.”

Xie Xie asked in shock, “Teacher, what is the rebellion spirit ascension platform?” He had never heard of it, but it seemed to be a special type of spirit ascension platform.

Tang Wulin and the others all stared at Wu Zhangkong in shock and curiosity. If the spirit ascension platform had already proved to be

extremely effective at improving their combat ability, then what about the rebellion spirit ascension platform…?

Chapter 134 – Rebellion Spirit Ascension Platform?

Chapter 134 – Rebellion Spirit Ascension Platform?

Wu Zhangkong said, “Twice a year, the spirit ascension platform will rebel. At first, they were caused by the unstable energies that the spirit ascension platform was made of. As the technology progressed, however, they were

able to gain control over the rebellion periods and turned them into a special feature of the spirit ascension platforms. During a rebellion period, the soul beasts will grow excited and become more visible, increasing the danger

within the spirit ascension platform. The Eighteen Pillars of Heaven imposed a limit of 300 people to enter the rebellion spirit ascension platform each time. This time, you five are fortunate enough to be one of those 300 people after the academy spent an enormous amount of resources to secure five quota spaces for you. You should appreciate just how great of an opportunity this is.”

“During the rebellion period, you will be able to enter the spirit ascension platform as a team, but your number cannot surpass seven. Since there are only five of you, so there will be no problems for you to enter together. This will serve to test your coordination as a team. Don’t forget though, in

addition to soul beasts, you might encounter other Soul Masters. They will pose just as much of a danger to you as soul beasts, because if you are

ejected from the spirit ascension platform within the 100 seconds it takes to absorb a soul beast’s spiritual energy, the remaining energy will go to the nearest Soul Master. These are the special rules of the rebellion spirit

ascension platform.”

Zhang Yangzi asked, “So you’re saying that other Soul Masters can steal our spiritual energy, and we can steal their spiritual energy too?”

 Wu Zhangkong spoke dismissively, “If you’re confident you can try, but don’t forget that Soul Masters with up to three rings can enter the

elementary spirit ascension platform, and those that want to enter a rebellion spirit ascension platform have to pay an enormous price. This means that there is a high chance that three ringed Soul Masters will appear and kill as many soul beasts as they can to try to upgrade their spirit soul. If you truly decide to attack them, then you should be prepared to face a powerful opponent.”

Tang Wulin said, “Don’t worry, teacher. We will rely on our strength as a team!”

Zhang Yangzi’s relationship with the others had mended long ago. After all, they were young and had the temperament of children. How could he hold a grudge considering that? Moreover, as Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi grew

closer together, Wang Jinxi had astonishingly advanced two ranks to reach rank 23. On the other hand, both Zhang Yangzi and Xie Xie had only just reached rank 22.

“You will enter the spirit ascension platform in three days. You can take the next three days off as a vacation to rest and prepare.”

Vacation? Ever since they had entered class zero, they hadn’t had any opportunities to rest apart from the one rest day they had every week.

But now they were given three days off! Xie Xie and Zhang Yangzi immediately took the lead to express their joy with cheers.

Tang Wulin turned pensive at the thought of three days of free time. What should I do in these three days? That much time isn’t enough to make any improvements for battle.

After school, they all headed back to the dormitory.

“Wulin, what do you plan on doing in these three days? How about we go out to play instead?” Xie Xie mischievously laughed.

“Play? Play what?” Zhang Yangzi looked over and asked.

 Xie Xie rolled his eyes. “I wasn’t talking to you.”

Zhang Yangzi laughed. “I’ll treat you guys to dinner then, how about it? Will you bring me now?”

Xie Xie said, “I’ll have to consider it then. That’s right, I just remembered

something. Teacher Wu said our final exam has two parts to it, and the spirit ascension platform is only one part! What’s the other part then? What do you guys think?”

After pondering over it, they were at a loss and could only shake their heads.

Wang Jinxi answered with a bitter smile, “The rebellion spirit ascension platform is a wonderful opportunity, but it’s still a bit early for us. I heard that the competition within the rebellion spirit ascension platform is

extremely fierce and there is no room for empathy inside. After all, the chance to evolve your spirit soul is simply too valuable.”

Tang Wulin said, “The academy has invested a lot to give us the opportunity to enter the spirit ascension platform this often. I think they

want us all to evolve our spirit souls to the thousand-year level by the time we graduate. Have any of you measured and calculated the growth of your spirit soul yet?”

When they heard these words, they all froze in place. A thousand-year spirit soul? Just what did that signify?

A thousand-year spirit soul, a thousand-year soul ring! Their first ring would become a thousand-year soul ring!

If their first spirit soul was a thousand-year one, then it would be able to provide them with three soul skills and help them conserve some spiritual power. They could then fuse with another thousand-year spirit soul in the future and not need to worry about obtaining their first six soul rings.

 The number of spirit souls one could support had always been one of the greatest limitations that prevented Soul Masters from reaching higher levels of cultivation.

If one’s spiritual power was insufficient, then any attempts at fusing with a spirit soul would only end in failure. This was one of the reasons why Wu Zhangkong emphasized cultivating spiritual power.

After researching spirit soul fusion for the last 10,000 years, 3000 years ago, the great Soul Master organizations released a report which detailed that a correlation between a Soul Master’s spiritual power level and the number of spirit souls they could fuse with existed.

At the basic Spirit Origin realm, only one spirit soul could be fused with. With spiritual power at the Spirit Origin realm, one could support up to a single yellow spirit soul.

At the Spirit Connection realm, one’s spirit could then communicate with their spirit soul and gain basic control over their spiritual power. By

controlling one’s spiritual power, one could support two yellow spirit souls or even a single purple spirit soul.

At the Spirit Sea realm, one’s spirit became as vast and as boundless as the sea. It was at this realm that one’s spiritual power could be considered high and was a sufficient foundation to become a powerful expert. All Mecha Masters and Souls Masters who reached the apex had reached this level at the very least. At this realm, one could support either five yellow spirit

souls, three purple spirit souls or a single black spirit soul.

When one entered the Spirit Abyss realm, their spirit would act like an

abyssal prison. If the spirit was the world, then the upper boundary would be heaven while the lower boundary would be hell! Should one have such powerful spiritual power, they would also possess a legendary spirit soul that acted as their foundation. One could fuse with any level of spirit soul at this realm; even orange spirit souls and red spirit souls could be fused with.

If one fused with an orange or red spirit soul, then their remaining power would only be at the Spirit Sea realm. However, if one didn’t have an orange or red spirit soul, it was possible to fuse with a maximum of five

 spirit souls of any color. Normally speaking, the Spirit Abyss realm was

considered the limit of humans, but there was still the Spirit Domain realm.

Should one reach the Spirit Domain realm, their spirit sense would become a domain, a world unto itself. Their spirit sense would control the domain and their spirit souls become the foundation of their world. Their mind

would then be boundless, and their spiritual power able to fuse with spirit souls of any level. In theory, the limit was nine legendary spirit souls, just like the fabled founder of the Spirit Pagoda and creator of spirit souls, the almighty Spirit Ice Douluo.

Then, there was the rumored Divine Origin realm. One would transform into the primordial state, while their spirit sense would become omnipotent and change into the primordial spirit. Spiritual power would convert into primordial spirit power; that was the realm of the gods. With a single thought, one would know everything under the heavens and could peek into the realm of the gods. Once one reached the Divine Origin realm, they

could already be considered a demigod. Only a god’s inheritance was missing.

For Soul Masters, the first four spiritual power realms were the most important as Spirit Domain realm and Divine Origin realm were only attainable by pure spirit attribute Soul Masters.

The Spirit Origin realm was something everyone possessed innately as soon as they were born. From there, it wasn’t too hard to cultivate 100 points of

spiritual power and reach the Spirit Connection realm. However, a huge gap existed between Spirit Connection and Spirit Sea, preventing the majority from ever reaching the latter.

The Spirit Sea realm required 500 points of spiritual power. The Spirit Abyss realm required 5000 points of spiritual power.

The Spirit Domain realm required 20,000 points of spiritual power.

As for the Divine Origin realm, it required a terrifying 50,000 points of spiritual power.

 There were rumors that an even higher realm existed: the legendary Godking realm. This was the current extent of Tang Wulin and his classmates’ knowledge.

Among the five students of class zero, Gu Yue possessed the greatest

spiritual power and would easily reach the Spirit Sea realm in the future. Only after reaching the Spirit Sea realm would it be possible for a Soul

Master to have nine rings, assuming these nine rings were all thousand-year rings at most.

As for the other four students, Tang Wulin was second in spiritual power

strength since he was already at the Spirit Connection realm. The remaining three were all at the boundary of the Spirit Connection realm and would

soon reach it.

Even so, with how talented they were, reaching Spirit Connection would be easy, and considering their young age, it was very likely that they would be able to reach the Spirit Sea realm too.

Chapter 135 – Closed Door Forging

Chapter 135 – Closed Door Forging

If they were to actually have a purple thousand-year soul ring as their first ring, then when they reached the Spirit Sea realm, they would be able to have three thousand-year spirit souls. This meant that they would have the chance to become a Title Douluo.

Naturally, this was only a chance. An extremely small chance too, since a Title Douluo with only three thousand-year spirit souls — a total of nine purple rings — had never appeared before; they would be too weak!

Take Wu Zhangkong for example. He currently possessed six rings and had a ten-thousand-year spirit soul. Just how powerful was he?

“It seems like the academy really is planning for that?” Zhang Yangzi gulped. Although his ambitions had always been to become a powerful

expert, his nature was actually that of a straightforward and kind person. It was due to these ambitions that he had acted so arrogantly when he’d first met Tang Wulin’s trio.

Xie Xie said, “That’s probably what they’re planning. If this really is true, then that’ll be great for us. We will definitely have to treasure every chance we get when we enter the spirit ascension platform.”

Tang Wulin said, “I’m not going to go out to play then. I plan on going to the Blacksmith’s Association to temper myself a bit.”

Gu Yue said, “I’m going to meditate.”

Wang Jinxi looked at Tang Wulin with grief-filled eyes, forcing Tang Wulin to laugh. “Jinxi, I’ll be back at night. Don’t worry.”

 “Ahem! Jinxi, when did you become a jealous woman?” Zhang Yangzi poked fun at Wang Jinxi as he patted him on the shoulder.

Everyone knew that Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi complemented one another when dual cultivating.

Wang Jinxi shot him a glare. “If you can help me cultivate an extra half a rank in three months, then I’ll also act like a jealous woman to you too.

Wulin, can I go with you? Or maybe I’ll pick blacksmithing as my secondary occupation too? Do you think I have any talent for it?’

Tang Wulin said, “I still think it’s best if we all have secondary occupations different from one another so that in the future, we’ll be able to help each other out when we start making our own battle armor.”

Xie Xie said, “That makes sense. I’ve already decided on my secondary occupation anyway. I’ll be a mecha maker! A mecha maker doesn’t require too much technical knowledge, but instead focuses on practicing technique. I think it’s quite suitable for me. What about you guys?”

Zhang Yangzi said, “I’m still not sure yet.”

Gu Yue said, “I think I’ll study mecha mechanics.”

“Ah? You want to study mecha mechanics? But you’re a girl! I thought you would choose mecha designing,” said Xie Xie with shock.

Gu Yue coldly said, “Only brainless people would think like that.” “You…”

“Alright, you two hurry up and go back to rest and eat.” Tang Wulin could only helplessly look at his two quarreling friends. He’d already gotten used to their bickering long ago.

☀

 After getting to know the others these last few months, Tang Wulin discovered that Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi had the best relationship, while Xie Xie and Gu Yue were like fire and water. Although Gu Yue

seemed gentle on the outside, her real personality was rather haughty, and she kept a distance from the other three.

The funny thing was, everyone had a good relationship with Tang Wulin, so he acted as the team’s mediator.

Tang Wulin was grateful for having companions such as these. He had been born with a trash martial soul and his cultivation was the weakest among them, yet he was allowed to enter class zero and study together with these geniuses. He couldn’t slack off now that he had found himself in a good

situation. Although his cultivation speed was still the slowest among them, he had improved greatly compared to his old self.

Tang Wulin’s attitude went through an amazing change ever since he’d come to Eastsea Academy. He no longer compared himself against these geniuses, and simply compared himself to himself. As long as his

cultivation speed kept increasing, he would be satisfied.

The final exam was approaching, and it was also a team exam. As the

captain and the one with the weakest cultivation, he carried within him an enormous amount of responsibility.

After eating dinner and doing some light exercises, he started meditating. During his meal, he had already decided on his plan for the next three days.

☀

Early morning of the next day.

Tang Wulin ran out of the academy grounds and headed straight for the

Blacksmith’s Association. He bought a few things from there, then entered a forging workshop and began a three-day period of closed-door forging.

Hammering sounds rang out without pause from within the workshop. For the next three days, Tang Wulin would come here during the day to forge.

 At night he would return to the dorms, beaten and exhausted, to dual cultivate with Wang Jinxi via a strand of Bluesilver Grass.

“Tang Wulin, come over here for a moment.” After he finished forging for the day, he received a call from Mu Chen, summoning him.

“Yes teacher. I’ll head over now.”

When he arrived at the association, he directly walked toward Mu Chen’s office. By now, the association employees already recognized him as Mu Chen’s disciple, but they still didn’t know that this nine year-old kid was actually a third rank blacksmith.

Under Mu Chen’s special orders, all of the tasks that Tang Wulin accepted went through Cen Yue first to hide the fact that he was a third rank blacksmith.

A nine-years-old third rank blacksmith was simply too shocking. Mu Chen instructed Tang Wulin that before he reached the Spirit Forging level, he

wasn’t allowed to cause a ruckus in the outside world. This was the reason why Tang Wulin never wore his blacksmith’s badge, as it would give away his rank.

“Teacher!” The moment Tang Wulin walked in, he saw Mu Chen perusing something.

“Ah, you’re here. Come and take a seat.” Mu Chen was a mild-mannered person outside of the times he taught Tang Wulin forging.

After Tang Wulin seated himself opposite Mu Chen, he was handed a metal card.

Tang Wulin took the metal card and inspected it. It had unusual complex and fine lines on it. Although Tang Wulin hadn’t reached a high enough level yet, he could tell that it likely held a profound soul circuit.

Flipping it over, he saw three familiar words inscribed into it: spirit ascension platform.

 “Spirit ascension platform?” Tang Wulin asked in surprise.

Mu Chen nodded. “The spirit ascension platform is about to enter a period of rebellion, and that will be a great opportunity for you to gain experience. This is an invitation card that will let you enter it. But be careful; a rebellion spirit ascension platform is far more dangerous than normal, and you will be under even greater pressure. Of course, the opportunities are just as great. Go participate in it and temper yourself. Temper yourself well.”

Tang Wulin was well aware of how few slots a rebellion spirit ascension platform had, so when he saw how carefree his teacher was being, he

couldn’t help but feel warm within his heart. Ever since he’d joined the Blacksmith’s Association, this was the very first time he had received aid from his teacher.

“Thank you teacher, but this is too precious. You should just give it to big sister Mu Xi instead.” As he spoke, Tang Wulin returned the card.

Mu Chen revealed a warm smile. “She already has one. You two should look after each other inside there.”

Tang Wulin, somewhat awkwardly, said, “The academy has already

arranged for us to take part in a rebellion spirit ascension platform as our final exam, so I already have a slot.”

Mu Chen was surprised. “Your class zero is actually treated this well? It

seems Eastsea Academy really does value you guys!” Although Mu Chen knew that Tang Wulin had joined a class of geniuses, he also understood that Tang Wulin’s cultivation was only just barely above average. With his young age taken into consideration, however, his cultivation speed certainly couldn’t be considered slow.

For a blacksmith, however, the martial soul wasn’t nearly as important. As long as a blacksmith had sufficient soul power, they would be fine. He hadn’t expected that this class of geniuses that Tang Wulin joined would

actually be treated so well.

 Despite this, Mu Chen didn’t accept the card back. He simply smiled and

said, “You can just keep it then. I obtained two cards anyway. With an extra card, you can go in one more time. After all, a rebellion spirit ascension platform lasts for seven days. Entering it another time will still be a great

experience for you.”

Entering another time? Tang Wulin’s heart stirred at the thought.

“Tomorrow marks the beginning of the rebellion period, So you should hurry back and prepare soon. I don’t have any other warnings to give you since you’re already far more level-headed than your peers, but if you happen to run into Mu Xi, I hope you two will take care of each other.”

“Yes teacher.”

The relationship between Tang Wulin and Mu Xi had never been particularly good because in Mu Xi’s heart, she still harbored some rejection toward Tang Wulin. Mu Xi would often say that Mu Chen treated Tang Wulin even better than her, rousing her competitive spirit.

While she went through the hard labor of forging, she was able to control, to some degree, the temperature with her martial soul, which was a skill she had inherited from Mu Chen. She was gifted in forging and had a firm foundation, and was now preparing for the Thousand Refinements. Mu Xi

still needed some time, however, before she could reach the third rank.

Chapter 136 – Thousand Refined Cloud Titanium Vests

Chapter 136 - Thousand Refined Cloud Titanium Vests

After returning to the dormitory, Tang Wulin didn’t return to his room first. Instead, he knocked on someone else’s door.

“You’re back. What’s up?” After Xie Xie opened the door and saw Tang Wulin, he said these words somewhat discontentedly. He hadn’t seen

anyone around these last few days so he had no one to go out and play with. In the end, he could only cultivate in boredom.

“Come over to my room. I have something to tell everyone.” Tang Wulin waved, then proceeded to the next room.

It was already late into the evening and everyone had just returned from dinner, so they were all resting in their rooms. It didn’t take long for Tang Wulin to round them up and assemble them in his room.

“Mr. Captain, what did you call us all here for?” Zhang Yangzi said in a teasing manner.

Tang Wulin said, “I have something to give all of you. Here, try it on and tell me if I need to adjust it.” As he spoke, a pile of metal objects poured out of his storage ring. He then proceeded to distribute them.

“This is…” When they saw the items that Tang Wulin handed out, everyone was shocked.

They were vests, vests forged from metal. This metal vest was made from numerous thumb-sized silver metal disks linked together in an ingenious

 manner to form a chainmail.

What was even more astonishing was how flexible and light the vest was. It was made in the style of chainmail, and if one inspected it closely, they

would discover faint cloud patterns sprawling across the pieces of metal, exuding an exotic aura.

“It’s so light. What is it made of?” Zhang Yangzi curiously asked.

Tang Wulin said, “It’s made from an uncommon metal called Cloud Titanium. I used the Thousand Refinements to purify it then forged

chainmail from it. Although it’s light, it’s still extremely tough. When we enter the spirit ascension platform, we’re scanned and everything on our person will be brought inside, so if we wear this vest when we enter, we’ll be able to use it inside and it’ll increase our chances of survival.

Wang Jinxi spoke slowly. “Is this considered cheating...?”

Zhang Yangzi said craftily, “How could this be considered cheating? We’re just taking advantage of the rebellion spirit ascension platform to improve ourselves.”

“Although it doesn’t fit perfectly, it doesn’t hinder my movements either. It doesn’t encumber my agile movements. Jinxi, try punching it.” Zhang

Yangzi said eagerly.

“Okay.” Wang Jinxi punched straight at Zhang Yangzi’s stomach. With a ‘bang’, Zhang Yangzi was knocked onto his butt.

“Ouch, you should have taken it easier!” Zhang Yangzi complained.

Wang Jinxi cooly said, “What use is there in going easy? Captain really made these well. When I hit it, it felt as if I was striking solid armor or an iron panel. Technically, you were only pushed over by my force, you

weren’t knocked down.”

Zhang Yangzi got up and rubbed his stomach. That’s right! My stomach doesn’t hurt at all.

 Gu Yue looked at Tang Wulin. “Is this the reason you were gone the last three days?”

“Yea. It’s just making some preparations before the battle. Jinxi and Yangzi were both correct, this can be considered cheating in a way, but at the very least, we can ensure that everyone won’t be as fragile when faced with those soul beasts anymore. As long as we can survive even a minute longer in the spirit ascension platform, it will be considered an achievement in our exam and allow us to hunt even more soul beasts.”

Xie Xie looked at the Thousand Refined Cloud Titanium vest in his hands. He then shifted his gaze to Tang Wulin, a hint of shame filling his eyes. So this is what that guy was doing…

“Hurry up and try them on!” Tang Wulin urged them on.

Everyone started experimenting with their vests. Though Tang Wulin had little experience with making clothes, a vest was simple enough for him to make.

He had also taken Wang Jinxi’s martial soul transformation in consideration and made his vest a bit larger.

“Alright, that’s all. Let’s all do our best tomorrow.” Tang Wulin stretched out his right hand. Xie Xie was the first one to pick up on Tang Wulin’s intent and quickly placed his own hand atop Tang Wulin’s. Afterward,

Wang Jinxi, Zhang Yangzi and Gu Yue took their cue and added their own hands underneath his palm.

The five of them cheered in unison, “Let’s do it!”

Early morning. A heavy fog had enveloped Eastsea City during the night, hindering visibility and making it seem like everything were just hazy figures.

Despite the usual lack of cheer haunting the city at this time, the Spirit Pagoda was bustling with excitement. As one of the Spirit Pagoda’s

 Eighteen Pillars of Heaven, it was one of the entrances into the rebellion spirit ascension platform.

A single entry card for the rebellion spirit ascension platform auctioned for over 100,000 federal coins and it had no set market price. The Spirit Pagoda organized the distribution of these cards every year. Even though the chance to achieve spirit ascension was miniscule, everyone would go crazy for that chance.

The moment that the first glimmers of dawn peeked over the horizon, Wu Zhangkong and the students of class zero had arrived at the Eastsea Spirit Pagoda. The earlier they entered, the less likely they were to encounter any competitors.

“You all must remember that at its peak, the spirit ascension platform will be filled with many other people, of whom many will be your enemies. You only have one mission inside of there: survive! Anyone who doesn’t pass the final exam will be penalized.”

After hearing Wu Zhangkong’s warning, Xie Xie couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Teacher Wu, what’s the penalty?”

Wu Zhangkong shot him a glance. “Your vacation days will be cancelled.” After every term was a month-long vacation, so when he heard that their vacation might be cancelled, Xie Xie immediately went wide-eyed in

shock. He had been looking forward to the month-long vacation for so long already.

The others also exchanged looks of panic, while only Tang Wulin maintained a calm expression. Even Gu Yue had frowned at the prospect of losing her vacation.

“Let’s go.”

After the five students handed over their entry cards, they were lead by a staff member to a familiar room. As Eastsea City’s only intermediate

academy, not only did Eastsea Acaademy have tremendous influence, they also maintained a cordial relationship with the Spirit Pagoda. If not, they

 wouldn’t necessarily have been able to secure spirit ascension platform spots even if they had money.

Eastsea Spirit Pagoda had set up this room especially for them, which allowed Wu Zhangkong to monitor them. This wasn’t normal but was actually preferential treatment.

“The spirit ascension platform is highly dangerous during the rebellion period. You have all entered the spirit ascension platform numerous times now and understand what it’s like inside, so I don’t need to give you any more warnings. Just remember to immediately hit the exit button the moment you are in danger.” The staff member gave them a few words of warning.

The more times one had entered the spirit ascension platform, the less

chance one would encounter danger like Wang Jinxi had during his first time.

The five students separated and entered their own metal boxes. Under the staff member’s control, the boxes closed and the light disappeared. The

scan initiated, preparing to send them into the spirit ascension platform.

The staff member inserted five cards into a slot then pressed a big red button. This was a part of the safeguard system for the rebellion period. These cards allowed one to enter into the spirit ascension platform, as well as the designation of the coordinates one would appear at.

After a moment, the five of them them awoke from their daze and were greeted with the sight of a boundless great forest. The forest was no different from the one they were used to, but this time, the five of them had entered together.

The air was fresh and the plants a vibrant green, just like how they remembered it. They couldn’t see any difference from the normal, peaceful spirit ascension platform.

Tang Wulin ordered, “Into formation.”

 He took a few steps forward to stand as the vanguard of the group while Wang Jinxi took position behind him, facing the opposite direction. Zhang Yangzi and Xie Xie were arranged on the left and right. They were all facing outward, while Gu Yue was situated right in the center.

A gentle green light flickered, covering the five of them. It was precisely Gu Yue controlling the wind elements to lighten them and increase their agility.

Tang Wulin raised his right hand, releasing two strands of Bluesilver Grass as a yellow soul ring appeared beneath his feet. The two strands of grass

were like snakes as they slithered forth and sweeped the surrounding shrubbery, creating a path for them.

“Our number one priority is to survive for at least an hour to pass the final exam, while our second priority is to hunt as many soul beasts as we can. Be careful everyone.” Four strands of Bluesilver Grass spread out from underneath his feet, connecting him to his four comrades by their waist.

This way, he would be able to save them at a moment’s notice.

Zhang Yangzi released his spirit soul, and a little black eagle soared into the sky. Beside the boost to his combat abilities his little black eagle gave him, it was also able to share its vision with him as long as it was within ten meters of him. Like this, they would have another set of eyes with a broader view.

Chapter 137 – Rebellion Spirit Ascension Platform

Chapter 137 – Rebellion Spirit Ascension Platform

They weren’t naive and released their martial souls as soon as they entered.

☀

Inside the Spirit Pagoda’s monitoring room.

The staff member turned to Wu Zhangkong and said, “These kids are pretty good. Teacher Wu really is very good at teaching.”

Wu Zhangkong gave a humble nod. “Let’s see how they do first.”

Although he had always been the type to suppress his emotions and keep a stony expression, he couldn’t help but feel pleased with his disciples.

As he watched them undergo their trials, a 20,000-year-old motto popped into his mind: Shrek Academy only accepts monsters, not ordinary people.

Regardless of the time period, Shrek Academy had never failed to uphold that motto. This motto was engraved into every single student of Shrek, instilling them with a sense of pride.

I wonder how far these brats will be able to go.

In order to become a monster, other than having first-class talent, one also needed unyielding perseverance. From his observations, all five of his

students possessed talent, with Gu Yue being the most talented among them. There were no records of her martial soul or anything similar within Shrek

 Academy and the Spirit Pagoda’s history. Miraculously, she was able to control five elements, and despite the fact that her soul skill could only

increase how effectively she utilizes her soul power to control the elements, she was still able to combine the five elements into a variety of attacks.

What need did she have for extra soul skills then?

Her spiritual power had also reached unprecedented heights, especially when compared to her peers. Just the fact that she was able to reach the Spirit Connection realm at her age, combined with her speed of

improvement, meant that by the time she graduated in six years, she might actually reach the Spirit Sea realm. If she actually managed such an unprecedented feat, then her future potential would be limitless, rocking the Soul Master world.

Xie Xie was undoubtedly the second most talented individual. His twin martial souls were a rare and amazing gift, regardless of era, and though his twin martial souls were artificial rather than natural, they were still beneficial for him. No one could say for certain, but in the future, Xie Xie might just be able to…

As for Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi’s talent, it could only be considered as decent. Neither the Bone Dragon King nor the Shadow Phantasm Eagle

could be considered as peak level martial souls, but the two were

compatible. If they could one day perfectly control their fusion skill, their combat strength would then be on the same level as a peak genius.

Although, only time could tell whether or not they perfect their soul fusion skill. After all, their grasp of their fusion skill was still at a rudimentary level.

Lastly, there was Tang Wulin. Wu Zhangkong had appointed him as the team captain because he saw a quality in Tang Wulin’s character that

couldn’t be found in his peers. He was tenacious, his so-called trash martial soul having never discouraged him from cultivating hard. He slowly followed behind his classmates, step by step. He also had innate divine

strength, making him the strongest one amongst them and could make up for the deficiency of his martial soul at these lower ranks.

 What was even more notable, though, was that he had a variant martial soul and possessed the peculiar Golden Dragon Claw. Out of the five individuals, he was possibly the strongest,, but it was still too soon to tell. If his martial soul continued to mutate, then there was a high chance he would become a super genius like Gu Yue.

Tang Wulin’s steady temperament made him the best choice for a leader, and he was also a natural at taking care of everyone at his side. The most important point, however, was that he was brave enough to shoulder this responsibility. Wu Zhangkong’s greatest hope for Tang Wulin was for him to mature and become one of the geniuses of this generation.

The Thousand Refined hammers also made it clear to Wu Zhangkong that Tang Wulin was a first class genius in the art of forging and that he would not stray in his secondary profession.

Although blacksmithing wasn’t as popular as the three great Mecha Master professions, fifth rank blacksmiths and higher were one of the scarcest talents on the continent. Although battle armor designing and crafting were extremely high level skills, blacksmithing was the foundation they built upon. With excellent materials, the designs could be even better and the

workmanship of even higher quality, allowing the battle armor to reach the peak.

Wu Zhangkong truly wished for Tang Wulin to travel as far down this path as possible. If he had to choose which of the five students to take the exam to enter his organization, then Tang Wulin would definitely be the most

suitable. He couldn’t make heads or tails of Gu Yue, but he could tell that she carried many secrets and would have to keep a close eye on her.

☀

Tang Wulin used his Bluesilver Grass vines to part the grass in front of them and create a path, allowing them to advance slowly and carefully.

As this was their end-of-term final exam, their number one priority now was to survive. As such, hunting soul beasts was a secondary priority placed at the back of their minds.

 Finding a safe area to occupy was their most important objective now. “No signs of souls beasts at the rear or sides,” reported Zhang Yangzi.

As Tang Wulin nodded in acknowledgement, a Heavy Silver hammer

appeared in his left hand with a flash of light. His right hand was empty in case he needed to use his Golden Dragon Claw.

Suddenly, a low growl came from ahead of them, announcing the arrival of a large beast as it leapt out.

It was a giant ape as tall as a human. A faintly fishy odor wafted from its ash-black furred body as it glared at them with crimson eyes.

After his first experience in the spirit ascension platform, Tang Wulin

earnestly studied the various species of soul beasts. That, combined with his experiences in the spirit ascension platform, increased his understanding of soul beasts to a level incomparable with before.

With a single look, he identified this ape to be a hundred-year Ironarm Ape, a type of human-like soul beast. It was both quick and strong and possessed arms like steel. The most troublesome aspect, however, was its crowd skill, Threaten. If someone with weak spiritual power was hit by its Threaten, then they would receive its full effect and may even lose their desire to do battle immediately. Thus, the best method of dealing with an Ironarm Ape was to strike first and gain the upper hand.

Whoosh!

Tang Wulin instantly threw his hammer, sending it flying in an arc toward the beast. As it flew through the air, Tang Wulin took large strides forward and charged. Golden scales crept up his right arm as he launched his frontal assault. As he did so, a strand of Bluesilver Grass slithered along the ground, twisting around the Ironarm Ape and binding it.

Xie Xie had also acted the moment Tang Wulin made his move. He dashed forward and stuck behind Tang Wulin. Tang Wulin grabbed one of the

strands of Bluesilver Grass tied around his waist and swung it upward,

 launching Xie Xie into the air. Xie Xie somersaulted beautifully over the Ironarm Ape’s head. His Light Dragon Dagger flashing as he stabbed toward the back of the ape’s head.

As a humanoid soul beast, the back of the Ironarm Ape’s head was a weak point.

A pair of small fireballs with faintly discernable green glows pierced through the air like arrows. This might seem unremarkable, but wind

accelerated the fireball. Although the fireballs may have been weak, they were blazingly fast. A silver light appeared in front of the Ironarm Ape at that moment, blocking its view of Xie Xie soaring through the air and over it.

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue’s coordination was amazing. It had reached a point where it could be said that they were a hair’s width away from reaching the peak.

Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi hadn’t launched their own attacks. Instead, they had gathered together quickly and observed their surroundings. Even though their fusion skill hadn’t yet been completed, it would still be a formidable option should they encounter a powerful foe. Their current goal was to guard against any other soul beasts that might appear while the other three took care of the Ironarm Ape.

The hundred-year Ironarm Ape could do nothing in the face of the quick little fireballs; it couldn’t even raise an arm in time to protect itself. All it could do was lower its head and knock them away with its hard forehead, sending sparks flying everywhere. At the same time, it swung its arm and met the Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammer head on.

Bang!

The hammer flew backward, but the Ironarm Ape had also been shaken. After all, that hammer had carried over five hundred kilograms of force. It wouldn’t have been easy to receive such an attack, even if the ape had innate divine strength.

Chapter 138 – Meeting Mu Xi

Chapter 138 – Meeting Mu Xi

Tang Wulin was the last to arrive in front of it, yet he suddenly stopped in place and raised the retrieved hammer while a yellow ring emerged from beneath him.

Strand after strand of Bluesilver Grass climbed up the ape’s body like ivy, binding it completely. Even with its tremendous strength, the Ironarm Ape was unable to break free.

A light flashed behind its head as Xie Xie took advantage of its reaction to the fireballs to quickly stab it in the head.

“Hou!” The hundred-year Ironarm Ape released a roar as its red eyes flashed with an ominous glint. It moved to sweep an arm at the back of its head.

Before it could even raise its arm halfway, however, the glimmer of life in its eyes disappeared, and its large, two meter tall body toppled over with a loud thud.

Xie Xie’s first soul ring pulsed with light as a ball of gentle light floated over from the hundred-year Ironarm Ape and circled around him. This was undoubtedly the spirit energy of the Ironarm Ape.

Just as they were told, the spirit energy absorption rate during the rebellion period was far slower than usual. Fortunately, it had only been a hundred- year beast, so it wouldn’t take too long to digest.

When Xie Xie had stabbed the Ironarm Ape with his Light Dragon Dagger, he hadn’t been able to kill the beast immediately, as after all, the ape’s skull

 was extremely hard. What he did to make up for it, however, was use his first soul skill while his dagger was still in the ape’s head. Like that, he was able to shoot his dagger forward into the ape’s brain, destroying it.

Tang Wulin gave a thumbs up to Xie Xie and proceeded to recall his Bluesilver Grass when Zhang Yangzi called out from behind him,

“Reporting on the left side, it’s safe for now.”

Tang Wulin did not hesitate in leading the others to the left side. They didn’t dare stay in one place for too long after killing a soul beast.

From the moment the Ironarm Ape had appeared to the moment it was killed by the trio, only a dozen or so seconds had passed. During the battle, Gu Yue’s only role had been to confuse it, yet it was crucial in allowing them to achieve such an amazing and neat victory with their low

cultivations.

This was the result of their three months of combat experience in the spirit ascension platform.

An individual’s strength wasn’t solely dependent on their cultivation and soul skills; their application and techniques mattered just as much.

There were many gifted Soul Masters, but the ones who lacked combat

experience wouldn’t be able to display their full power in a battle. As such, Wu Zhangkong’s actions had all been for the sake of laying a good foundation for the students of class zero. With the growth of their combat experience, they would be able to display 120% of their strength!

In his experience, combat Soul Masters were meant to battle, not serve as decorations. Thus, the best way for them to improve was through combat!

For example, Xie Xie had used his Light Dragon Blade soul skill while his dagger was stabbed into the ape’s head, allowing him to puncture the ape’s brain. Only through combat experience could this type of decision making skill be cultivated.

 After running to their left side for several hundred meters, they hadn’t

encountered any other soul beasts, so Tang Wulin ordered, “Stop! We’ll rest here for a bit. Yangzi, you’re responsible for scouting this time.”

“Yes!” Zhang Yangzi affirmed before nimbly climbing up a nearby tree to a vantage spot. From there, he observed one side while his black eagle spirit soul observed the other, allowing him to keep an eye out in all four directions.

Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were seated cross-legged, intently recovering the soul power consumed in the previous battle.

Although they hadn’t used much soul power in that one battle, it was best to maintain their peak conditions in the spirit ascension platform. Only like this could they survive for even longer.

“There are three people approaching in our direction. Two males, one female. They seem to be about 15 or 16-years-old. One of them has three rings while the other two have two rings. One of the ones with two rings seems to be absorbing spirit energy right now.”

Zhang Yangzi succinctly reported his evaluation of the approaching group.

Without any warning, a red light streaked across the horizon, shooting straight towards the branch Zhang Yangzi was perched on.

I’ve been discovered!

Zhang Yangzi immediately leapt off the tree and spread his wings while Tang Wulin and Xie Xie shot forth like a bullet.

Xie Xie’s figure blurred for a moment and then reappeared in the shadow of a tree. Meanwhile, the other four stood together, waiting for Xie Xie to alert them of their opponents’ arrival.

Three people, two male and one female, approached, giving Tang Wulin a shock when he saw them.

 There stood one girl in the middle with the two boys to her side. Tang Wulin didn’t recognize the boys, but he recognized the girl. It truly was a coincidence; that girl was Mu Xi.

Floating above Mu Xi was a fireball as fiery as the sun. Clearly, she had been the one to shoot that fireball earlier.

Mu Xi’s Shining Sun martial soul was powerful and excelled in long distance artillery, with firepower that Gu Yue couldn’t even hope to

compare with. The truly shocking thing was the fact that Mu Xi now had three soul rings. She actually had three soul rings now!

“It’s you?” Mu Xi was equally shocked when she saw Tang Wulin, and her Shining Sun’s radiance weakened a bit.

“Senior disciple sister.” Tang Wulin hastily took two steps forward and loudly greeted her.

“Mn.” Mu Xi nodded at him. “We’re going.” She immediately turned around and took large strides forward.

Tang Wulin had long since become accustomed to Mu Xi’s cold indifference towards him, but what he didn’t see was the proud look in her eyes after she turned around to leave. She was quite proud of herself after seeing Tang Wulin’s reaction to her third ring, and she also noticed that

Tang Wulin still only had one ring.

Aren’t you a genius? Weren’t you born with innate divine strength? Yet, your soul power is so lacking. You’re making quick progress in the early stages of forging, but just wait until you reach Spirit Forging. Then you’ll understand the importance of soul power. I’ll definitely surpass you when that time comes!

“Senior disciple sister?” Zhang Yangzi gave Tang Wulin an astute look. “So it’s like that! Your senior disciple sister is so pretty! Why haven’t you ever introduced us to her before? Senior disciple sister, won’t it be better if we go together?” His final words were shouted at the departing Mu Xi.

 Mu Xi didn’t even bother to look back and simply left with the two boys, soon vanishing into the forest.

With her current strength, she was definitely one of the strongest Soul

Masters in the elementary spirit ascension platform, so it wasn’t worth her time to babysit Tang Wulin’s group of one rings and two rings. And besides that, she didn’t really want work together with Tang Wulin either.

Tang Wulin said somewhat helplessly, “She’s the daughter of my teacher. I don’t think she likes me all that much, so we haven’t really interacted much.”

Xie Xie let out a mischievous laugh. “This senior sister of yours sure is cruel. Yangzi, you can try getting to know her better if you’re interested. We’ll support you as your classmates.”

Zhang Yangzi shook his head earnestly. “Forget about it. I’m not into being subdued, and we’re too young for this stuff anyways. We should focus on

studying and cultivating right now.”

Xie Xie raised an eyebrow at this. “Just what are you thinking? I only said you could try getting to know her better. Stop thinking about it too much. You’re only a brat in her eyes anyways.”

“Hmph!” Zhang Yangzi proudly raised his head. “Just wait until this big brother is in the fifth grade. I’ll definitely have three rings, too.” With his current cultivation speed, it wasn’t impossible for him to reach three rings by the time he was 14.

Gu Yue asked Tang Wulin, “What are we going to do next?”

Tang Wulin didn’t hesitate at all with his answer. “Wait. There aren’t too many soul beasts in this area, so we should be able to survive in this area until we pass. After that, we can go hunt soul beasts, so there’s no need to be so anxious right now.”

The five of them once again moved into position and with the large trees surrounding them, they were able to to maintain a perfect defense.

 During the rebellion period, the number of soul beasts in the spirit

ascension platform was far higher than normal, and they were also much more aggressive. In a short timespan of twenty minutes, they had

encountered over ten soul beasts. Most of them were at the ten-year level, so they were able to make quick work of them. There were also some hundred-year soul beasts, and though they weren’t particularly strong, they required more effort to kill. Everyone shared the spirit energy, not for the

sake of being fair, but for the sake of quickly absorbing all of it.

Xie Xie had taken about ten minutes to absorb the spirit energy from the hundred-year Ironarm Ape, gaining about five years each for his two soul rings.

Evolving a spirit soul to the next level was a gradual process, and it would be a long time before Xie Xie’s spirit soul reached the thousand-year level.

They had already survived for half the necessary time to pass their final exam and were relatively relaxed as they hadn’t encountered any strong soul beasts yet.

“The rebellion period isn’t that bad after all.” Zhang Yangzi had loosened up a lot from his previous nervousness since they had only encountered weak soul beasts until now.

The most dangerous situation for them was to encounter a powerful soul beast that they had no choice but to flee from. In their panic, they may run into one powerful soul beast after another and die.

Although their current course of action restricted the number of soul beasts they could hunt, it was a safe, defensive plan that maximized their survival time.

Chapter 139 – Reencounter with the Man-Faced Demon Spider

Chapter 139 – Reencounter with the Man-Faced Demon Spider

“Captain, should we take the initiative to attack?” Zhang Yangzi asked Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin calmly replied, “There’s no need to be anxious, we’ll see after one hour passes. All we need to do in this first hour is survive.”

Just then, Zhang Yangzi suddenly paled and his body swaying in shock. “Not good, Little Black…”

The five of them simultaneously looked up to see a yellow-green net descending from the sky.

At the same time, they were faced with the shocking scene of Little Black being impaled by numerous limbs. He immediately disintegrated. When a Soul Master’s spirit soul was killed, they would suffer from recoil and it would take them a very long time to restore their spirit soul. In a flash, Zhang Yangzi’s cultivation dropped by a third.

A violent gale appeared within the formation of the five students. Gu Yue was the quickest one to react with her immense spiritual power.

Yet, against all expectations, that yellow-green net didn’t even sway in the face of her fierce gale and directly cutting through it.

“Retreat!” Tang Wulin decisively ordered as dozens of strands of Bluesilver Grass shot up to obstruct the net. However, Tang Wulin was aghast to see

 that the moment his Bluesilver Grass touched the net, it started smoking from corrosion.

If Little Black hadn’t been flying up in the sky, the net would have

ambushed and trapped them. It was likely their trials in the rebellion spirit ascension platform would have been cut short there.

A massive figure descended from the sky after Little Black’s figure disintegrated completely. Eight long legs were extended like eight spears, surrounding the five.

The five of them took advantage of the few seconds the Bluesilver Grass bought them to escape the range of the net. In their rush to escape, however, their formation had been broken.

Apart from Zhang Yangzi being deathly pale, Wang Jinxi also started trembling once he saw that beast.

Black and white lines ran along a body as large as a millstone. Every single one of its legs were over two meters in length, while its body emitted a

strange splendor. They had clearly seen a beautiful human face on its

abdomen when it had descended, which only served to increase their fear. “Man-Faced Demon Spider!” The five of them shouted in unison.

That was right! It was the same Man-Faced Demon Spider that had nearly destroyed Wang Jinxi’s mind. Wang Jinxi could even sense that this was the same one that had ambushed him before.

Even with Little Black’s extra vision, it hadn’t been able to discover this Man-Faced Demon Spider and had been swiftly killed. The Man-Faced Demon Spider truly was a terrifying killer in the world of soul beasts.

Gu Yue shot out a fireball which exploded on the face of the Man-Faced Demon Spider while the others quickly assembled.

Tang Wulin’s heart sank. It’s a hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider. Even though it’s only at the hundred-year level, it’s far stronger than other

 beasts of the same level! This guy is going to be really difficult to deal

with! Even if I use my Golden Dragon Claw, it would be impossible for me to approach it with those eight legs acting as defence. Its body is also highly toxic and the slightest contact could wipe out my whole team!

Although the battle had yet to truly begin, Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi were already shaken. It might not be a good idea for them to fight this battle.

They had originally thought that they were lucky to not have met a powerful foe in their first half hour, but it seemed that their fortune had come to an end.

“Are we running?” Xie Xie asked Tang Wulin.

They had learned a lot about the Man-Faced Demon Spider since their first entry. They knew that even if its cultivation was only at the hundred-year level, it was still a terrifying existence that could hunt thousand-year soul beasts! Moreover, they were currently in the spirit ascension platform, so

even if they killed it, they would only gain the spirit energy of a hundred- year soul beast. Simply said, the potential profits did not outweigh the risks.

In their moment of hesitation, the hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider revealed it’s might. Two of its legs flashed, destroying all of the fireballs Gu Yue had shot out with lightning speed. All that was left of the fireballs were drifting sparks. The Man-Faced Demon Spider wasn’t guarded against them at all; rather, it slowly circled around them, a yellow-green thread of silk dragging along from its spinnerets. Anything that touched this silk would immediately wither.

“We’re not running! We’re defeating of it!” Tang Wulin ordered without the slightest hesitation.

They had already been here for a while now and had some understanding of the area, so they knew that if they carelessly ran around during the rebellion spirit ascension platform, it would be likely that they would meet some powerful soul beasts. In that situation, it would be very hard to survive for another half hour.

 Moreover, Wang Jinxi’s fate was linked to the Man-Faced Demon Spider’s now. If he didn’t kill it, then it would continue to influence him. They had happened to run into it today with their full team of five; if they didn’t take advantage of this opportunity to kill it, then a chance as good as this one

wouldn’t come again.

These were the reasonings that ran through Tang Wulin’s mind when he made his quick decision. No matter what, they had to kill the Man-Faced Demon Spider before them now.

Strand after strand of Bluesilver Grass slithered along the ground while he grasped his two hammers tightly. His mind went over all that he had learned of the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Man-Faced Demon Spider. Excels in quick and toxic attacks. Has a strong defense, but not particularly strong physically.

It’s the killer of the forest. Whenever it appears, fear strikes the hearts of its prey.

Tang Wulin’s greatest advantage was his strength. The best plan would be for him to land attacks on its weak points, so he didn’t even think about utilizing his Golden Dragon Claw. In this situation, his Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammers were the best choice.

“Everyone, stick together, we’ll face the enemy head on. Gu Yue, provide

assistance. Xie Xie, look for an opening. Yangzi, Jinxi, observe for now and wait for an opportunity to strike.”

“I’m fine!” Wang Jinxi’s gloomy voice shouted.

Tang Wulin turned to look at him. Although Wang Jinxi was still trembling, his eyes burned with the will to battle.

As he and Tang Wulin cultivated together, Wang Jinxi gradually became influenced by him. His cultivation speed had increased and he had also felt slight changes to his martial soul under this influence.

 Dread had filled his heart when he had seen the Man-Faced Demon Spider, but when he heard Tang Wulin say, “We’re not running! We’re defeating of it!”, a surge of courage replaced the dread in his heart.

Tang Wulin’s words had caused his blood to boil and fill him with valiance. He felt that as long as Tang Wulin was at his side, he would be able to face any trials that came his way. In a sort of special state, he locked eyes with Tang Wulin, expressing complete trust in his gaze. Rather than trembling from fear, he was actually trembling from excitement.

Even before they had cultivated together, he had felt an affinity with Tang Wulin, but it had never been this strong. This time, faced with the Man- Faced Demon Spider, he felt as if he was about to explode.

Defeat it!

It’s merely a hundred-year soul beast. What’s there to be afraid of?

The Man-Faced Demon Spider was still circling around them, its silk thread continuously trailing from its spinneret to form a ring.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider was naturally cold, cruel and extremely patient. In fact, it was its patience that made it so terrifying. It would quietly stalk its prey for hours, all the way until an opportunity presented itself.

The five students weren’t anxious at all. They would wait for it to slow down. Besides, it had already used up quite a bit of its silk.

Instantly, its thread was wrapped around a large tree. Although the tree began to wither, it still stood tall.

Gu Yue launched a variety of elemental attacks at the spider, but they proved to be uneffective. Toxic spider threads protected it. Even flames had little effect.

“It’s creating a prison for us and when it’s finished, it’ll shrink the prison until we’re trapped.” Xie Xie said grimly.

Chapter 140 – Team Battle Against the Demon Spider

Chapter 140 – Team Battle Against the Demon Spider

“Mn! Wait for a chance.” Tang Wulin sternly ordered. From below his feet, strands of Bluesilver Grass arranged themselves into a formation as he

continuously supplied them with soulpower. The Man-Faced Demon Spider is giving us a chance, how could he not take it?

Gu Yue silently sat cross-legged in the middle, meditating to restore her soul power. Wang Jinxi stood next to Zhang Yangzi, trembling with

excitement. The two were prepared to use their fusion skill at any moment.

Coordination didn’t matter anymore in the face of the Man-Faced Demon Spider. What was important, however, was whether they had the power to defeat it.

Tang Wulin’s Golden Dragon Claw possessed immense power, but the problem was he didn’t know how to approach this gigantic poisonous spider.

“Xie Xie, if I’m unable to break free, then you’ll be the acting captain.” Tang Wulin warned Xie Xie.

Considering the toxicity of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, the possibility of all of them to constantly evade its attacks were small.

None of them were anxious to attack as this was their final exam. Their

chances of passing were more uncertain now that they had to face the Man- Faced Demon Spider, but they still had to fight for as much time as they

 could get in order to pass their exam. After all, they couldn’t truly die in the spirit ascension platform. As long as they were able to persevere for one hour, they would pass their exam.

Naturally, none of them wanted to pass the exam that way.

Tang Wulin’s eyes shrunk in shock. Suddenly, he threw the hammer in his right hand straight at the Man-Faced Demon Spider. With a strand of

Bluesilver Grass connected to it, it streaked through the air like a shooting star.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider’s legs powerfully launched its massive body out of the the web it had weaved.

The hammer smashed into the spider webs, stretching it backwards. The webs were too resilient and elastic though, so not only was the hammer unable to break through them, it even became glued onto the web.

Tang Wulin forcefully pulled to retrieve his hammer but the spider webs

caved in and were dragged along with it. The area that the hammer touched the webs had already turned pitch-black. Fortunately, the hammers were Thousand Refined and its internal structure denser so it hadn’t been

corroded just yet.

These webs… are really strong.

Tang Wulin had only thrown his hammer as a probing attack, yet he had already lost it to the webs. It seemed that the Man-Faced Demon Spider’s nimbleness and cunning was far higher than they first thought.

They all knew that it was waiting for just the right moment to pounce on them, and the moment it did, its assault would be as swift as lightning and as powerful as thunder.

The ball of webs tightened continuously around the five students and restricting their movements. Of course, there was a silver lining to their situation. At the very least, other soul beasts could not attack them right then.

 “We’re still not attacking?” Xie Xie asked in a hushed voice. “Patience.” Tang Wulin sternly said.

Xie Xie didn’t utter another word when he saw that Tang Wulin’s gaze was intently fixed on the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Ten minutes later, the original hundred meter radius of webbing shrunk only about a dozen or so meters in radius.

Squatting down next to Gu Yue, Tang Wulin whispered a few words into her ear, to which she nodded in agreement. With their plan settled, the two stood up.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider halted in place when it noticed Gu Yue

stand up. With icy eyes that seemed to possess a wisdom far beyond a soul beast, it watched the five while its abdomen began to swell.

“It’s preparing to attack.” Xie Xie shouted.

On Tang Wulin’s signal, Gu Yue’s eyes narrowed as a wave of soul power surged from her body and a soul ring rose from beneath her. This was her first soul skill: Elemental Tide!

Pew!

The hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider suddenly turned around and shot a yellow-green net from its abdomen straight at them. After shooting out this net, it screeched and charged straight at them.

This net was far bigger than the first one, and was large enough to cover all of the class zero students this time. They quickly retreated in this cramped space and narrowly avoided the net. There was no room for them to

maneuver at all, especially since the walls were toxic. One wrong move and they would meet their end. Now that its net had failed to ensnare the

students, the Man-Faced Demon Spider brandished its eight legs as if they were sharp blades.

 At that moment, however, Gu Yue stood up and released a yellow radiance from the center of their formation. From this radiance, a giant obelisk with a diameter of approximately a foot long skyrocketed out of the ground and pierced into the sky.

The spider webs that had been woven into a net were extremely strong, but fortunately for the students, it possessed no attacking power. The obelisk

shot at just the right spot, piercing through the peak of the toxic spider web dome.

At that moment, the Man-Faced Spider was finally upon them.

Xie Xie rapidly climbed up the obelisk while Zhang Yangzi used his first soul skill, covering him in a pitch-black fog.

The strongest point of Zhang Yangzi’s Curtain of Darkness was the fact that it could differentiate between friend and foe, so it only obstructed those he was hostile towards. Moreover, its coverage was directly proportional to the amount of soul power he expended.

As soon as the Curtain of Darkness descended, the Man-Faced Demon Spider lost all traces of the five students. It had no choice but to slow its pursuit.

Suddenly, a strand of Bluesilver Grass shot up from the ground toward Man-Faced Demon Spider while a figure valiantly flew into the sky.

Astonishingly, Wang Jinxi had been thrown into the air by Tang Wulin.

A pair of soul rings shined brightly on Wang Jinxi’s body. Using his first soul skill, Bone Dragon Claw, his right arm quickly transformed while the rest of his body also transformed to a lesser degree under the effects of his

second skill, Bone Soul Transformation. His transformation finished just in time for him to smash into the Man-Faced Demon Spider midair.

It was at this moment that the Man-Faced Demon Spider was forced to reveal the grace of a super soul beast.

 Faced with the Bluesilver Grass shooting up from below, it spun its body while unfolding its eight blade-like legs.

Although Tang Wulin’s Bluesilver Grass was tenacious, it was no match for the Man-Faced Demon Spider and was promptly cut into pieces. It didn’t have a the slightest chance of binding the spider.

As Wang Jinxi descended upon the Man-Faced Demon Spider, it spun

around and shot out a yellow-green spider web at him. The web this time was smaller than before, but it was still more than enough to cover Wang Jinxi.

They exploded into battle, starting at the climax from the very beginning. Victory or defeat would be decided at any moment.

Suddenly, the Bluesilver Grass tied around Wang Jinxi’s waist pulled him back toward the ground.

Meanwhile, a single strand of Bluesilver Grass had managed to wrap itself around the Man-Faced Demon Spider. Right then, it turned gold. The

corrosion and toxicity of the spider was no longer effective against it, while the spider’s body abruptly became sluggish. The binding of the Bluesilver Grass was finally beginning to bear fruit.

At that instant, a golden whirlwind appeared out of nowhere. Its target was the Man-Faced Demon Spider’s rear!

Clang!

The golden whirlwind of light ferociously landed a sharp blow on the spider’s rear, issuing an ear-piercing screech as an explosion of sparks showered from the collision.

The Man-Faced Demon Spider shrieked in pain as it shook the figure off of its back. Yellow-green blood oozed from where its carapace had been cut open.

 The second figure who had appeared was precisely Xie Xie with his Light Dragon Storm!

Wang Jinxi had used his two soul skills for the sole reason of catching the Man-Faced Demon Spider’s attention and drawing its second attack. After taunting it to use up its spider web, he was pulled back into the Curtain of Darkness by Tang Wulin.

Xie Xie took advantage of that moment to launch his assault. Although his Light Dragon Storm wasn’t strong enough to tear the Man-Faced Demon Spider to shreds, its powerful penetrating power could still wound the

spider. Bang!

The golden Bluesilver Grass finally snapped from the Man-Faced Demon Spider’s frantic struggles. To be more precise, however, it snapped after it had lost its golden color.

Suddenly freed from the restrictive force, the Man-Faced Demon Spider was unable to adapt. Its eight legs which were using their utmost power suddenly felt no resistance, causing them to slip outwards, and its whole body to sink down. Two lumps of earth opportunely shot out, knocking

against two of its legs and setting it off balance, creating a small crack in its defense.

A figure quietly passed through the crack in its defenses, thrusting a golden claw at the human face underneath its abdomen.

Pu!

The Golden Dragon Claw stabbed into its abdomen, causing yellow-green blood to gush out.

A layer of ice rapidly covered Tang Wulin’s body, preventing the blood from touching him. He used his Bluesilver Grass to bind the Man-Faced Demon Spider once more while he retreated back into the darkness.