Soul Bone, Core Disciple Selection

"Then I'll withdraw too. The poison in my body has started spreading all over, and I'll only be a burden if I stay."

Hearing Ye Xinglan's words, Xue Liushuang also said she wanted to withdraw, since none of the people present knew how to cure poison.

Now that they had run into a top predator as venomous as the Ghostheart Demon Spider, even touching it meant death, and a glancing blow could cost them their lives. Once the two had made up their minds, they spoke up.

"My eject button is in a pocket inside my clothes."

"Mine is in my skirt pocket."

Chen Jianshu hesitated to speak. He had Xue Liushuang tucked under his left arm at his waist, while Weng Daimin was holding on to his right arm.

Wu Bingyu was holding on to Weng Daimin, and Wu Bingyu's other hand held Wu Siduo. The catgirl seemed to be the only one who could reach the buttons, since both Xue Liushuang and Ye Xinglan had lost all feeling in their limbs.

Seeing his predicament, the embarrassed Wu Siduo moved. She swung in the air and, with Wu Bingyu's help, swung herself upward and managed to grab Chen Jianshu's lower leg with both hands.

She climbed up past his waist, arm, and neck until they were face-to-face, looking at each other. The position seemed a little intimate.

There was nothing else she could do, though. The tips of Wu Siduo's ears reddened slightly, but her face betrayed nothing. Holding his shoulder with one hand, she reached into Ye Xinglan's skirt pocket with the other, quickly found the eject button, and pressed it.

Ye Xinglan's body slowly began to fade away. Just before she left, she suddenly opened her mouth and bit down hard on his neck.

"Ah! Why did you bite me?"

Chen Jianshu let out a miserable cry. He had been bitten out of nowhere and had no idea why, while she had done it because he had just said she was heavy.

She was very petty. That guy had actually dared to call her heavy. It was unforgivable, so she bit him as punishment.

Her figure vanished completely at that moment, and she withdrew from the Spirit Ascension Platform. Wu Siduo then deftly moved around Chen Jianshu and soon found a place to brace herself. She reached into Xue Liushuang's clothing and quickly found the eject button.

After the two left one after another, Chen Jianshu's left arm and back were free. To make things easier for him, Wu Siduo nimbly moved around to his back of her own accord.

She held his shoulder with one hand and reached out to Wu Bingyu with the other. Wu Bingyu immediately took her hand and soon moved into the place on Chen Jianshu's left arm.

And so Chen Jianshu carried one Weng Daimin on his right arm, one Wu Bingyu on his left, and one Wu Siduo clinging to his back.

With two fewer people, they were indeed much more comfortable. The four looked down at the Ghostheart Demon Spider, which kept roaring viciously at them as though in impotent rage, and chose to wait quietly for its Spider God Possession to end and leave it weakened.

Five minutes passed quickly. As Spider God Possession was about to end, the ghost-faced spider turned and fled, darting into the forest.

"It's getting away! Quick, after it!"

Wu Bingyu immediately tugged on his coat sleeve, urging him to give chase, but Chen Jianshu had reservations.

"Don't pursue a desperate enemy. Watch out for an ambush."

"But this Ghostheart Demon Spider has already memorized us. Once it recovers, it'll definitely come after us for revenge. The safest thing is to cut the weeds and pull out the roots."

Soul Beasts like demon spiders bore grudges more than any others. Once one set its sights on you, no matter where you were, as long as you appeared in the Star Dou Great Forest, it would hunt you to the ends of the earth forever.

"All right... Let's be careful."

Hearing that, Chen Jianshu could only nod. A gentle breeze stirred, carrying them after the fleeing Ghostheart Demon Spider.

Weng Daimin said nothing, because she too wanted to avenge her good friend Xue Liushuang. The spider had gotten her friend eliminated, so she had to seek justice for her.

Wu Siduo held his waist between her legs and gripped his shoulders with both hands. She said nothing; after all, she felt that hunting down a five-thousand-year-old Ghostheart Demon Spider was quite a challenge.

As they flew, many avian Soul Beasts attacked, surrounding them on all sides.

"Asura Demon Fiend!"

Holding Chen Jianshu with one hand and a white peacock tail-feather sword in the other, Wu Bingyu sent out several streams of Sword Qi, shooting down the many attacking Soul Beasts. Weng Daimin also unleashed numerous Ice Cones, and together they slaughtered the Soul Beasts in the sky like thunderous fighter planes.

"Over there!"

Wu Siduo's black cat ears twitched twice, and she soon spotted the Ghostheart Demon Spider weaving through the forest. She immediately pointed it out. The others looked and saw that the spider had already exited its Spider God Possession state and entered its weakened period.

"Hold on tight!"

Chen Jianshu's gaze sharpened. After giving the warning, he shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

A fierce wind carried them charging toward the Ghostheart Demon Spider. Sensing the lethal threat, the demon spider immediately turned and spat out its last great web at them, but Chen Jianshu had anticipated it.

"Spatial Teleportation!"

With a flash of silver light, the four appeared behind the Ghostheart Demon Spider. Then, like divine soldiers descending from the heavens, they crashed heavily onto it.

Wu Bingyu drove her blazing white longsword into the spider with her second Soul Skill. Weng Daimin froze its legs, while Wu Siduo struck it with Hell Stab, knocking it to the ground.

"Silver Dragon Spear!"

Chen Jianshu drove the Silver Dragon Spear straight into its head, then willed it to devour its life force. The Ghostheart Demon Spider began twitching constantly. In her weakened state, she had no ability to resist; her struggles grew weaker and weaker until she died.

Seeing that the Ghostheart Demon Spider had stopped moving, he drove the Silver Dragon Spear a little deeper. The demon spider began struggling again. Sure enough, it had just been playing dead to fool them. How cunning!

After the two sides remained locked in place for a moment, the demon spider completely stopped breathing and turned into specks of spiritual light, leaving behind a peculiar Soul Bone.

Only after it had completely dissipated did they relax. Then they all turned their eyes to the strange object.

"Is that a Soul Bone?"

"And an External Soul Bone at that!"

Weng Daimin and Wu Siduo stared in shock at the Soul Bone before them, which had eight spider legs. But soon, strange looks flashed through their eyes, and both retreated several steps away from it.

"What's wrong with you two? Is something wrong with this Soul Bone?"

Wu Bingyu looked in puzzlement at the two, whose faces were full of distaste. This was an External Soul Bone; it should be very precious. Why were they so disgusted by it?

Seeing her confusion, Weng Daimin glanced at Chen Jianshu with reddened cheeks, then leaned over to whisper in Wu Bingyu's ear. Though she was whispering, Chen Jianshu heard her clearly.

After absorbing this Soul Bone, every time someone used it, their clothes would burst apart. After all, the Soul Bone extended from the back and would naturally tear through clothing and the like. That was why the Eight Spider Lances Soul Bone was notorious.

Over the past ten thousand years, because of the principles established by the First Generation Spirit Transmission Douluo, endangered Soul Beast species had become protected animals.

These included the Man Faced Demon Spiders and Cave Demon Spiders, among other Soul Beasts, that Little Scumbag had nearly exterminated back then.

Through human breeding, the sole remaining fifty-thousand-year-old Man Faced Spider Emperor and seventy-thousand-year-old Cave Spider Emperor had each grown their own populations.

With Di Tian's mediation and imposing presence, both Spider Emperors had agreed to cooperate. Over these ten thousand years, members of both their populations had naturally died in the great war against the Abyss.

Man Faced Demon Spiders and Cave Demon Spiders also possessed the ability to devour, making them well suited to fighting the Abyss. Their progress was slow, however, mainly because there were too few demon spiders and too few new kings had been born over the ten thousand years.

During that time, the External Soul Bone Eight Spider Lances had naturally dropped as well. But after it was absorbed, eight spider legs would grow from the user's back every time it was used, bursting through their clothes.

At the time, it happened to have been awarded by the Spirit Pagoda to a powerful woman. Afterward, she never used the Eight Spider Lances again.

Thus, the Eight Spider Lances Soul Bone was notorious among women, which was why Weng Daimin and Wu Siduo had shown such disgust.

After all, they were no exhibitionists. They didn't want their clothes to explode when they released the Soul Bone in the middle of a fight.

According to unofficial histories, Sea God Tang San had solved the problem of the Eight Spider Lances by wandering around the world with his back exposed every day.

Hearing that it would tear her clothes, Wu Bingyu hurried away from the Eight Spider Lances as well, her eyes full of distaste. Clearly, she didn't want to touch the Soul Bone either.

"Uh... Is that really necessary? You're exaggerating a bit..."

Chen Jianshu hesitated, but still reached out and picked up the Eight Spider Lances. He didn't intend to absorb it either, though. Instead, he planned to see whether he could project it as a Noble Phantasm for use, and immediately began analyzing it.

"You want it? Then go ahead and absorb it. I'm certainly never touching that Soul Bone."

Wu Bingyu shook her head like a rattle drum. The main thing was that the Soul Bone was just too ugly! How frightening would it be for eight spider legs to suddenly grow from her back in battle? She couldn't accept it, at any rate.

"All right, I'll take it."

Seeing that none of them wanted it, Chen Jianshu turned his hand over, producing a card, and put the Eight Spider Lances away.

At the same time, a purple four-star weapon, the Demon Spider Eight Awls, appeared in his equipment inventory.

[Demon Spider Eight Awls]

Attack +50

Armor penetration +30%

Physical lifesteal +10%.

That wasn't all. It also had a poison effect that could weaken enemies. With a thought from him, eight long, awl-like objects floated around him.

"Huh? Why aren't they growing out of your back?"

Weng Daimin looked at the eight black awls, each about three to four feet long, puzzlement flashing in her eyes.

"It's an ability of my Martial Soul. It can convert items into Noble Phantasms or project them."

As Chen Jianshu spoke, he waved his hand, and the Light-Splitting Sword, Stargod Sword, and White Feather Sword appeared before them.

"Is it like that Soul Skill of Shrek's Food God Douluo from twenty thousand years ago?"

Everyone examined the weapons he had projected. Wu Bingyu compared them and found that they seemed to possess only fifty percent of her own weapon's might.

"More or less, but I can't copy Soul Skills."

"It's already very powerful. If you could copy Soul Skills too, how would anyone else stand a chance?"

Weng Daimin complained helplessly. If he could copy Soul Skills, no one else would even need to play—they might as well declare him the winner.

"Not at all. Mine's only average, really."

Chen Jianshu smiled modestly, thinking to himself that the Mirror Shadow Beast really was underhanded beyond all bounds. In the Divine Realm legends, it could even copy the Asura Blood Sword.

He put the Noble Phantasms away and was just about to take everyone somewhere to recuperate when another resonant beast roar rang out, its might shaking the heavens. Startled, they hurriedly turned to look and saw a dark-gold, five-clawed flash coming at them.

"Watch out!"

Wu Siduo reacted first, tackling Chen Jianshu to the ground without hesitation. Wu Bingyu and Weng Daimin failed to dodge in time and were eliminated on the spot.

The two rolled twice across the ground. When they stopped, Wu Siduo was pressed against him. A faint fragrance reached his nose, and a few strands of red hair fell across his cheek.

The soft sensation was unmistakable, but now wasn't the time to pay attention to it. Trees fell one after another in the distance with heavy thuds, and a giant bear as large as a small hill slowly appeared.

Both raised their heads and looked at the figure in the distance. A thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear was staring at them with bloodthirsty eyes.

"A thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear!"

"Damn it! Did that Ghostheart Demon Spider deliberately lead us here because it wanted to drag us down with it?"

Chen Jianshu understood at once. That Ghostheart Demon Spider must have deliberately led them here to use the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear against them. How cunning!

But was that right? Wasn't the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear in the original story around a hundred years old? Besides, that five-thousand-year-old Ghostheart Demon Spider had dropped a Soul Bone too, which meant it was also a guardian of the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform.

That demon spider's lethality was comparable to a Soul King's, and once it activated Spider God Possession, even a Soul Emperor wouldn't dare provoke it lightly. Of course, the demon spider's strength lay in its poison, so its defenses were somewhat fragile.

This thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, however, was truly comparable to a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse. It was definitely beyond their ability to handle.

"Let's retreat!"

Chen Jianshu immediately pushed himself up. Once Wu Siduo got off him, the two turned and ran. Behind them, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear roared and gave chase.

With Wu Siduo's speed boost and his teleportation, the two managed to escape their pursuer, though it took some effort.

They had sacrificed a team of Soul Masters who had volunteered to be sacrificed, but who could blame them when that team had seen that there were only two of them and tried to rob them of their spiritual power?

"Tang Wulin, are you all right?"

Chen Jianshu and Wu Siduo were resting in a cave. The two sat against the wall, and Wu Siduo looked over and asked.

"...Hm? I'm fine. It's a shame that Bing Yu and Little Min were both eliminated when the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear ambushed us."

He shook his head slightly. They had been tired after killing the Ghostheart Demon Spider, which was why it had managed to ambush them.

"That couldn't be helped. The demon spider was too cunning. Luckily, Liu Shuang, Xinglan, Little Min, and Bing Yu all performed very well. They might all earn places as core disciples of the Spirit Pagoda."

Wu Siduo reassured him, but he froze for a moment when he heard about the core disciple places.

"Core disciple places?"

Seeing his bewilderment, she looked puzzled and asked in return:

"Didn't you know? These three days are the Spirit Pagoda's annual assessment for selecting core disciples. During this time, the Spirit Ascension Platforms are combined into one great battlefield for us to fight and show what we can do."

P.S. The second and third updates for July 14, combined into one long chapter.