Red-Level Core Disciple

Silk Spitting, the Man Faced Demon Spider's innate Soul Skill, allowed it to fire spiderwebs from a distance three times a day.

"Go!"

Watching the enormous web descend to engulf him, Chen Jianshu immediately projected six Iron Swords with a thought and sent them flying toward it.

The Iron Swords collided with the web with a metallic clang, only to be corroded and shattered. The web fired by the Man Faced Demon Spider was as hard as steel and highly corrosive.

Chen Jianshu had nowhere to dodge. The web covered too large an area, and there was no cover nearby. Left with no choice, he raised the Silver Dragon Spear in his hand.

"Break through it!"

Whoosh!

He launched the Silver Dragon Spear, which struck the web down and shattered it. But the spear he had gone to such trouble to project fell to the ground wrapped in the web, leaving it unusable.

At the same time, the Silver Dragon Spear slowly dissipated. The web's poison seemed to have corroded the Soul Power inside it, causing it to disintegrate.

Seeing the weapon that had injured it disappear, the Man Faced Demon Spider sprang out of the grass again and pounced, its legs and fangs bared.

Before Chen Jianshu could project a second Silver Dragon Spear, the spider closed the distance. He had no choice but to change tactics and project Iron Swords to fend it off.

Clang! Clang!

Iron Swords clashed repeatedly with spider legs, and many of the projected swords were knocked down. Scratches appeared on his body, and the wounds quickly turned purple. With him still fighting, the poison spread extremely fast.

His consciousness soon began to fade. Seeing that the moment was ripe and its prey was about to fall, the spider immediately stood on four legs and sprayed silk from its rear, intending to bind him.

Just as the Man Faced Demon Spider thought it could capture another victim, the two-legged creature before it began to radiate a silvery-white light.

His black hair turned silvery white, and his unfocused black pupils became a purple that made the spider's soul tremble.

"I've been waiting for you to show an opening! Die!"

Resolve flashed in Chen Jianshu's purple eyes. The True Silver Dragon Spear appeared in his hand in an instant, and he drove it through the Man Faced Demon Spider.

Standing upright, the spider had no way to evade the blow. The spear ran it straight through, and green blood sprayed onto him.

The poisonous blood began to corrode his body, but Chen Jianshu's consciousness was already growing hazy. The poison had dulled and numbed his nerves, so it did not hurt much.

Thud!

The enormous spider fell to the ground, and he collapsed helplessly as well. His Soul Power was draining rapidly. If it ran out and he exited his Character Card possession form, the poison would kill him instantly.

"The eject button..."

Chen Jianshu struggled to remain conscious and shakily tried to find the eject button on his body, but the poison had already spread throughout him, and his limbs no longer obeyed him.

After twitching a few times, the Man Faced Demon Spider beside him turned into spiritual power and entered his body.

Before his consciousness faded, Chen Jianshu thought he saw a white ape-like Soul Beast climb down from a tree. It seemed to be... a Godslayer Wind Baboon.

Am I going to be killed by a Godslayer too?

That was the last thought in his mind before he lost consciousness. The Wind Baboon had been hiding in the tree, too frightened to breathe loudly after sensing the Man Faced Demon Spider's presence.

Only now, seeing that both sides had suffered grievous injuries, did the Godslayer Wind Baboon dare come down. He approached the unconscious Chen Jianshu and opened his mouth to feed.

Then he bit down... A piercing scream rang out. The Wind Baboon's body went rigid, and he fell to the ground, turning purple all over. In less than five seconds, he stopped breathing and turned into nine points of spiritual power that entered Chen Jianshu's body.

The Godslayer had failed to slay a god. Tragic...

Before long, Chen Jianshu exhausted his Soul Power and exited the character possession state. He, too, turned into data and slowly disappeared.

In the virtual pod, the hatch opened, and he slowly sat up, feeling somewhat dizzy.

The Spirit Pagoda staff then sent him to a recovery room to recuperate. During his stay, a Spirit Transmitter came to see him and handed him a form.

"Little Chen Jianshu, based on your performance during your first visit to the Spirit Ascension Platform, the Spirit Pagoda has reassessed you and will increase the cultivation resources you receive as a core disciple of the Spirit Pagoda."

"Huh? Core disciples can be promoted too?"

Puzzled, Chen Jianshu took the form and glanced at his detailed information.

Name: Chen Jianshu.

Gender: Male.

Martial Soul: Cards.

Martial Soul quality: Overall rating, top Black Level.

Soul Power: Level eleven.

Bone age: Six years and one month.

Physical aptitude: A

Spiritual power: 121 points, S++

Combat aptitude: S

Evaluation: Following a comprehensive assessment, Red-Level Core Disciple status is granted, with priority cultivation.

Approved by: Di Tian.

When he saw the name of the person who had approved it, he froze. Who had approved it? Di Tian? That Di Tian? It couldn't be Beast God Di Tian of Star Dou, with nine hundred thousand years of cultivation, could it...?

"That's right. There are different ranks among the Spirit Pagoda's core disciples: yellow, purple, black, and red. All statuses are granted after approval by the Spirit Pagoda's upper echelons."

"Red-Level Core Disciple status has only appeared three times in ten thousand years. Young man, your future is boundless. Get some rest for now. If you feel any discomfort, you can press the help button, and dedicated medical staff will take care of you."

With that, the Spirit Transmitter withdrew. Chen Jianshu needed quiet rest now, while he stared at his overall rating on the form, lost in thought. Was his aptitude really that good?

He had been forced to give his all just to kill one Man Faced Demon Spider... As he puzzled over it, he had no idea that even some ordinary Soul Ancestors did not dare provoke a hundred-year Man Faced Demon Spider.

Yet he had killed one with only one-ring cultivation, so his high rating was only natural. Although he had ultimately been eliminated, it was enough to prove his potential.

Afterward, bored as he lay in his hospital bed, Chen Jianshu looked up information, such as the ranks of the Spirit Pagoda's core disciples.

The Spirit Pagoda generally kept around a hundred core disciples in each generation. Yellow-level disciples were at least guaranteed to become Titled Douluo, while purple-level core disciples were guaranteed to become Super Douluo.

Black-level disciples were guaranteed to become Limit Douluo. Xiao Yi, the current Pagoda Master of the Spirit Pagoda, had once been a black-level core disciple, while Qiangu Dongfeng and Leng Yaozhu had been purple-level.

If not for the resources the Qiangu family had invested in him, Qiangu Dongfeng could never have broken through to Limit Douluo.

As for the three powerhouses in history who had been Red-Level Core Disciples, all had ultimately reached the peak of the Quasi-God realm. Unfortunately, they had all died fighting the Abyss.

After looking all this up, Chen Jianshu sank into thought. He had never intended to draw so much attention. He had only gone into the Spirit Ascension Platform to increase the age of his Soul Power, so how had he become a Red-Level Core Disciple of the Spirit Pagoda?

How was he supposed to play the old six and catch someone off guard now?

P.S. The first update for July 7.