Absorbing Spirit Power

Wang Jinxi looked at the Man Faced Demon Spider he had killed in the distance, and the shadow it had cast over him finally faded away.

Outside the Spirit Ascension Platform, the Spirit Pagoda staff stared dumbfounded at everything displayed on the screen, completely speechless.

Even Wu Changkong unconsciously leaned forward, a rare smile appearing on his Ice Cold face.

At first, when the Spirit Pagoda employee saw the children simply standing there as the Man Faced Demon Spider continuously spun webs and compressed their living space, he had been somewhat disappointed. After all, Su Hao and the others had performed exceptionally well in the previous battles, and he had wanted to see how these children would fare against a Man Faced Demon Spider.

The best response would have been to run immediately. That had been the staff member's initial thought, because although the Man Faced Demon Spider was fast, it did not particularly enjoy pursuing prey over long distances. As long as they escaped its initial pursuit, they would have a chance of surviving. The second option was self-sacrifice: sacrifice one person to hold back the Man Faced Demon Spider while the others escaped. That would minimize the losses.

But what he had never expected was for Su Hao's team, through a series of coordinated maneuvers, to kill a Man Faced Demon Spider that even Third- and Fourth-Ring Soul Masters would not dare face alone.

Even Shrek would not dare claim that, when a group of First- and Second-Ring Soul Masters encountered a Man Faced Demon Spider, they could kill it without a single casualty.

Yet Su Hao's squad had truly done it. With the strength of a group of First- and Second-Ring Soul Masters, they had killed a century-old Man Faced Demon Spider without suffering the slightest injury. Calling them geniuses was no longer enough; they were practically even more monstrous than Shrek's monsters.

Looking at the slain Man Faced Demon Spider before them, Zhang Yangzi said with heartfelt admiration, "We actually killed the Man Faced Demon Spider here. It's truly hard to believe."

Seeing that everyone had expended too much energy, Su Hao said, "Everyone, rest where you are for a while and recover your Soul Power.

"There are Man Faced Demon Spider webs here, so this area is safe for now. There's no need to scout."

After saying that, the group leaned together and began meditating.

As for safety? Just as Su Hao had said, the area around them was filled with the Man Faced Demon Spider's highly toxic webs. Whether human or Soul Beast, anything that approached would come to no good end. They could rest here in peace.

If a Soul Beast or Soul Master really dared approach and broke through the Man Faced Demon Spider's web, then Su Hao and the others could only run. No amount of scouting would be useful then.

Thus, while Su Hao and the others meditated, some ten-year Soul Beasts with poor senses slowly wandered into the web. Other Soul Beasts, moving too fast to stop, also crashed into it.

The moment these Soul Beasts touched the web, they usually lasted only a few seconds before the poison coating the Man Faced Demon Spider's web killed them on the spot. They then released large amounts of Spirit Power, which Su Hao and the others absorbed as they meditated.

At first, the ten-year Soul Beasts released only thin traces of Spirit Power. But later, large numbers of Soul Beasts were drawn in by that Spirit Power and crashed into the web one after another, releasing even more Spirit Power, which in turn attracted still more Soul Beasts to die upon the Man Faced Demon Spider's web.

The ages of Su Hao and the others' Soul Spirits slowly increased. Su Hao was the first to awaken. Sensing the dense Spirit Power around him, he checked briefly and found that his Soul Spirits had already reached this body's limit, their ages now exceeding two thousand one hundred years.

Having reached his limit for absorbing Spirit Power, Su Hao stayed nearby and watched over Tang Wulin and the others as they absorbed the surrounding Spirit Power.

As everyone gradually woke up, they stared at the dense Spirit Power around them with disbelief. Su Hao explained the situation to them.

Tang Wulin was the last to wake. Seeing the situation around him, he asked what was going on.

Wang Jinxi, who rarely spoke, took the initiative to explain that it was caused by the Man Faced Demon Spider's deadly poison.

Tang Wulin quickly understood Wang Jinxi's words. The Man Faced Demon Spider truly lived up to its name as a Soul Beast Killer. Its venomous webs had killed large numbers of ten-year and century-old Soul Beasts, and all that Spirit Power was being absorbed by them. Under such circumstances, their Soul Spirits would naturally keep evolving.

Then Tang Wulin looked at his Soul Spirit, Little Golden Light, and discovered that it had grown a full circle larger. He said excitedly, "If this continues, won't our Soul Spirits be able to evolve?"

Hearing Tang Wulin's words, Wang Jinxi gave a bitter smile. "No. Unless you have physical fitness and Spiritual Power like the Captain's.

"But our bodies definitely can't handle it. Those of us with Two rings certainly can't, because Spirit Power is absorbed evenly.

"With my Spiritual Power, I can't withstand two Thousand-Year Soul Rings appearing at once. I estimate that when my two Soul Rings each approach five hundred years, that will be my limit.

"Yangzi's situation should be about the same, at most allowing him to absorb a little more than me.

"Perhaps only you and Gu Yue, who have not yet reached Two rings, might have a chance of obtaining Thousand-Year Soul Rings."

Just as Tang Wulin and Wang Jinxi were talking, Gu Yue's voice came from the other side. "Don't dwell on that. The Man Faced Demon Spider's venomous webs are about to fail. We need to prepare to leave."

The group looked toward the outer webs. Sure enough, the webs that had originally been a rich yellowish-green had now faded considerably, while their toughness and strength had greatly declined. Signs of breaking had begun to appear as well. Though the Man Faced Demon Spider's venom was potent, its total amount was still limited. Without the protection of the outer webs, this would no longer be a safe place. After all, they were also afraid of touching those venomous webs!

Then Tang Wulin looked at everyone and asked, "About how many years of Spirit Power have you all absorbed?"

Su Hao frowned and thought for a moment before replying to Tang Wulin, "You all absorbed around four to five hundred years of Spirit Power, which averages out to about two hundred years each.

"My two Soul Spirits each absorbed around six hundred years of Spirit Power.

"And there is still at least another three to four hundred years' worth of Spirit Power around us, but absorbing it would take longer. After we leave this place, we'll likely need to be more wary of other Soul Masters than Soul Beasts.

"Besides, we have already completed the Final Exam. From here on, we can take it a little easier."

Hearing Su Hao say this, everyone perked up. Then Su Hao led Tang Wulin and the others carefully out of the web-covered area.