Tang San's Spirit Bone is Gone

Bang!!

At that moment, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to split into several phantom afterimages, flashing continuously around the Man Faced Demon Spider's enormous body. Her clawed hands, wreathed in black flames, struck relentlessly at the wounds in its carapace. Piercing sizzling and burning sounds rang out as sparks flew everywhere.

Faced with Zhu Zhuqing's high-speed attacks, the Man Faced Demon Spider could only take the beating.

"When did Zhuqing become so strong?!"

Xiao Wu exclaimed in amazement from the side, and Ning Rongrong was equally astonished.

Watching Zhu Zhuqing mercilessly batter the Man Faced Demon Spider, they could hardly believe their eyes.

The ones who found it hardest to believe were Dai Mubai and Tang San.

One was a level thirty-seven Soul Elder who considered himself the strongest among the seven.

The other was Yu Xiaogang's disciple, and through Yu Xiaogang's teachings, Tang San knew full well just how formidable a Man Faced Demon Spider was.

Neither of them believed that Zhu Zhuqing, a Soul Grandmaster who had only just reached level thirty, could defeat a Man Faced Demon Spider over two thousand years old—let alone beat it so mercilessly.

Only after Tang San inspected it with his Purple Demon Eye and noticed some clues did he understand why Zhu Zhuqing could defeat the Man Faced Demon Spider.

"So that's it. I was wondering how Zhu Zhuqing could possibly defeat a Man Faced Demon Spider, one known as a small-scale soul beast slaughterer. It turns out this Man Faced Demon Spider was injured."

Seeing Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the other six simply standing there and watching Zhu Zhuqing fight the Man Faced Demon Spider alone, Zhao Wuji roared, "What are you standing around for? Are you watching a show while Zhu Zhuqing fights the Man Faced Demon Spider by herself? Go help her!"

Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others finally snapped out of it. After awkwardly scratching their heads, they hurriedly joined the fight.

"Rongrong, support us!" Tang San ordered out of habit.

Seeing that Zhu Zhuqing could keep up with the Man Faced Demon Spider through her speed, Ning Rongrong gave her an additional speed boost.

Then Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others attacked together, surrounding and assaulting the Man Faced Demon Spider.

Zhu Zhuqing flashed away and retreated.

Looking at the Man Faced Demon Spider, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Though she had been able to suppress the Man Faced Demon Spider with her speed just now, the expenditure had been enormous.

Now that Tang San and the others had finally joined the battle, she could finally relax a little and take some time to recover.

Bang, bang!! White Tiger Violent Light Wave!!

Blue Silver Grass Entangle!!

Waist Bow!

Phoenix Fire Line!!

Tang San and the others took turns fighting the injured Man Faced Demon Spider.

The Man Faced Demon Spider, which was more than two thousand years old, had already been injured. It had then been severely wounded by Zhu Zhuqing, while her black flames had scorched it without mercy. It was already at the end of its rope, and now, under the group's successive bombardment, it was on the verge of defeat.

At that very moment, Zhu Zhuqing lowered her body slightly and fixed her gaze on the wound on the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen. Black flames rapidly surfaced over her nails.

In the next instant, her entire body turned into a black shadow and flashed to the Man Faced Demon Spider's abdomen. Her flame-wreathed claws repeatedly struck the wound on its belly.

In a single instant, Zhu Zhuqing had already launched more than a hundred attacks.

Seeing Zhu Zhuqing launch her assault and the Man Faced Demon Spider about to die beneath her attacks, Tang San and the others stopped.

But at that moment, a sharp cry rang out. "Stop!!"

Immediately afterward, a beautiful young woman wearing a silver scale-armored dress and carrying a Serpent Cane rushed out.

Beside her stood a ruddy-faced old man and an elderly woman.

The three were Meng Yiran and the Dragon-Snake Couple.

Zhu Zhuqing and the others heard Meng Yiran's shout, but Zhu Zhuqing's attacks did not stop.

After several more strikes, her final heavy blow landed with a boom. The Man Faced Demon Spider was sent flying by Zhu Zhuqing and crashed heavily onto the ground, dead beyond doubt.

"You killed my soul beast!!" Seeing a purple soul ring emerge from the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse, Meng Yiran glared angrily at Zhu Zhuqing.

She and her grandmother had originally been chasing a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, but for some unknown reason, they had lost it in the end. With no other choice, she had gone to meet up with her grandfather.

Not long after, the three encountered a Man Faced Demon Spider. After injuring it, they had intended to let Meng Yiran kill it for its soul ring. Who would have thought that the Man Faced Demon Spider would play dead, then escape using the terrain to its advantage? The three had no choice but to chase after it again, only to find that Zhu Zhuqing had killed it.

The moment Tang San, Zhao Wuji, Dai Mubai, and the others saw Meng Yiran and the Dragon-Snake Couple, they became alert.

Within the Star Dou Great Forest, soul masters could sometimes be even more dangerous than soul beasts.

As soon as Meng Yiran spoke, Zhu Zhuqing looked at her and said coldly, "That soul beast attacked me. Was I not allowed to kill it?"

"You!" Meng Yiran flared up and was about to retort when the Dragon Duke tugged at her hand and stepped forward.

After glancing at Zhao Wuji, he said, "I am Meng Shu. I had been pursuing this Man Faced Demon Spider for quite some time. If it had not cunningly escaped for a moment, it would have long since become my granddaughter's soul ring."

The moment Meng Shu announced his name, Zhao Wuji was instantly startled. Looking at the elderly woman beside the Dragon Duke, Meng Shu, he immediately guessed who she was.

Dragon Duke Meng Shu and Snake Woman Chao Tianxiang were renowned experts in the soul master world. It was said that their Martial Soul Fusion Skill possessed the strength of a Titled Douluo.

Thinking of the gap in strength between the two sides, Zhao Wuji immediately forced a smile onto his face. "So it is the Dragon Duke. I am Zhao Wuji. This matter with the soul beast was entirely a misunderstanding. I had intended to bring my students here to rest, but this Man Faced Demon Spider suddenly attacked us. Under those circumstances, we had no choice but to kill it to ensure our safety. Please forgive us for any offense we may have caused."

Zhao Wuji's politeness surprised Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others.

After all, in their eyes, this teacher of theirs was hardly a kind man.

Now that Zhao Wuji was being so deferential before these three, could they possess some special status?

Tang San, Dai Mubai, and the others watched the Dragon Duke and Snake Woman with grave expressions.

Meng Shu smiled. "So it's you, Zhao Wuji, the Immovable Bright King! But you killed the soul beast my granddaughter needed. How should this matter be settled?"

Although he had heard of Zhao Wuji's reputation and knew that the other man was a Soul Sage, he had no reason to fear him, so naturally, he did not speak too politely.

Hearing the accusatory tone in the Dragon Duke's voice, Zhao Wuji fell silent for a moment.

Tang San looked at the Dragon Duke and Snake Woman, then at the silent Zhao Wuji. A sense of danger suddenly rose within him. His mind raced, and after thinking for a moment, he stepped forward and said, "Senior, are you saying this Man Faced Demon Spider was the soul beast your granddaughter needed?"

"Correct," the Dragon Duke replied calmly.

"Then does that mean your granddaughter has already reached level thirty?"

"Of course." When it came to his granddaughter's talent, the Dragon Duke believed that few in the world could compare to her.

After considering his words, Tang San smiled confidently. "If that is the case, Senior, then you should be thanking us for killing this Man Faced Demon Spider."

"What do you mean by that?" As soon as Tang San said this, the Dragon Duke fixed him with an unfriendly stare.

Tang San quickly explained, "This Man Faced Demon Spider is over two thousand years old. Please think about it, Senior. The limit for a Soul Master's third soul ring is one thousand seven hundred and sixty years. No one has ever been able to absorb a soul ring beyond that limit. If your granddaughter absorbed this Man Faced Demon Spider, which exceeds two thousand years, as her soul ring, what would the consequences be?"

Tang San's words made the Dragon Duke frown. After examining the age of the Man Faced Demon Spider's soul ring, he found that Tang San seemed to have a point.

If Gu Ye had been here, he would definitely have noticed that something was wrong.

In the original story, the Dragon Duke, a Soul Douluo, had chased a two-thousand-year soul beast for several days. Yet as a Soul Douluo, he did not even know the age of a Man Faced Demon Spider, and he had even intended to let his granddaughter use it as her soul ring.

There were all sorts of inconsistencies here. The more one thought about it, the stranger it became.

Now, after hearing Tang San's explanation, Tang San went on to reveal his identity.

When the Dragon Duke learned that Tang San was actually the disciple of Yu Xiaogang, the fairly well-known theoretical Grandmaster of the Soul Master world, he was somewhat surprised.

Then, when he learned that Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing had both broken through level thirty at such young ages, he was even more astonished.

To possess such strength at their age, even if they did not come from great clans, their backgrounds could not be simple.

Moreover, with a Soul Sage like Zhao Wuji protecting them, he began to consider befriending them.

The two sides chatted for a while, set aside their differences, and agreed to search together for suitable soul beasts within the perilous Star Dou Great Forest.

Because Zhu Zhuqing had broken through level thirty early, altering some developments of the original story, and Tang San had not yet reached level thirty, Tang San ultimately lost the Man Faced Demon Spider soul ring and, at the same time, the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances.

(This week's bonus chapter)