Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong hadn't absorbed their Soul Rings. They were choosing the ones they wanted within the barrier Flender and Liu Erlong had raised.
Jiang Huai had already put away his Emperor Heart Pill. Gu Yue stood beside him, keeping a wary eye on the Soul Beasts outside.
Tang San pointed at the eight-thousand-year Cave Demon Spider beside the Earth Cave Demon Spider Emperor's leg and called out, "Dean Flender, I want that eight-thousand-year Cave Demon Spider!"
Flender cursed Tang San's ancestors in his heart. Tang San was asking him to snatch food from a tiger's mouth.
Liu Erlong and Qin Ming's mouths twitched, while Yu Xiaogang nearly fell over.
What kind of sane person would send a Soul Douluo to kill a young one right in front of its ancestor? Jiang Huai, Gu Yue, and the others could only rub their foreheads in exasperation. They really had no idea how Yu Xiaogang, that good-for-nothing, had managed to teach Tang San.
Suddenly, a gigantic emerald-green serpent flew across the sky. Jiang Huai looked up and immediately knew who had arrived.
Dugu Bo went straight into his Martial Soul Avatar, then unleashed the Jade Scale Soul-Bewildering Array and Time Stasis. Flender's eyes widened. If only he could unleash Soul Skills one after another like that.
Dugu Bo grabbed the Soul Beast Tang San wanted and brought it inside the barrier. Jiang Huai stared at Dugu Bo's now-younger face and said helplessly, "Do you know you'll provoke that Earth Cave Demon Spider Emperor by doing this?"
Dugu Bo replied nonchalantly, "So what? No Soul Beast can compare to my poison."
"Get lost. Take Tang San to absorb his Soul Ring. We'll handle things here."
Jiang Huai snapped at Dugu Bo, who didn't take offense. He took Tang San to the back to absorb his Soul Ring.
Soon, Zhu Zhuqing pointed at the thousand-year Ghost Tiger. "I want that one."
Ning Rongrong pointed at the Four-Eyed Scaled Beast. "Brother Huai, I want that one!"
Jiang Huai nodded at that and exchanged a glance with Liu Erlong. He went after the Ghost Tiger, while Liu Erlong attacked the Four-Eyed Scaled Beast, whose scales were exceptionally tough.
It didn't take long for the two Soul Beasts to be dragged inside the barrier. Jiang Huai had Gu Yue and Xiao Wu stay with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing while they absorbed their Soul Rings. He needed to drive away the Soul Beasts now.
Jiang Huai took out another kind of poisonous pill: a top-grade poison he'd refined using Blood Swan Kiss. The furnace had melted when the pill was finished, and somehow, it had produced five pills.
Jiang Huai told everyone to cover their mouths and noses with something airtight. They did their best to find anything they could use.
Jiang Huai covered his mouth and nose with his own mask, then, still not satisfied, took out four more masks and layered them over it until he had five layers.
Soon, Jiang Huai loaded the poisonous pill into the Deadly Void hand cannon on his wrist and fitted it into the magazine. His wrist began to charge up, and everyone held their breath.
Then, with a BOOM, the Earth Cave Demon Spider Emperor was hit. Terrifying poisonous gas began seeping into its body.
Before long, the Earth Cave Demon Spider Emperor had dissolved into a puddle of slime, leaving behind only a Hundred Thousand Year Earth Cave Demon Spider Emperor Right Arm Bone.
The poison had contaminated its Soul Ring, draining it of all Soul Power. Seeing this, the Human-Faced Demon Spider Emperor immediately fled. The other ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts scattered as well, though some failed to escape and were consumed by the poisonous mist.
Flender was shocked. He immediately told Liu Erlong and Qin Ming to increase their Soul Power output, and they began resisting the terrifying poisonous mist with all their strength.
Jiang Yi, who had been hiding nearby, hurried away. She'd nearly had her face ruined by that brat's pill.
A Spirit Hall Titled Douluo who was searching for Dugu Bo nearby held a chrysanthemum in his hand. He accidentally wandered into the area where the poison was drifting and was startled into fleeing at once. His moment of carelessness had cost him a finger, which the poison had corroded away.
The Titled Douluo immediately left Sunset Forest and returned to Spirit Hall to report. He was never going to enter that place again.
Before long, Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong had finished absorbing their Soul Rings. Tang San's fourth Soul Skill was the single-target control skill Blue Silver Cage. Zhu Zhuqing's fourth Soul Skill was Nether Shadow Clone, while Ning Rongrong's fourth Soul Skill boosted defense.
After absorbing their Soul Rings, Tang San's Soul Power reached level forty-two, while Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing both reached level forty-three.
Dugu Bo used his Martial Soul and the poisonous mist he'd released to wipe them out. Jiang Huai went to the puddle left by the Hundred Thousand Year Earth Cave Demon Spider Emperor and picked up the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone: its Right Arm Bone.
Meanwhile, Qin Ming and the others also entered the poisonous mist to search for treasures. They found another Soul Bone, a Gale Demon Wolf Left Arm Bone, roughly forty thousand years old. There was nothing else in the remaining puddles of slime.
It seemed Soul Bones really were quite rare. The poisonous mist had killed at least a hundred Soul Beasts. Soul Beasts over a hundred thousand years old were guaranteed to drop a Soul Bone, while those below that age only had a chance of dropping one. In the end, only a single ten-thousand-year Soul Bone had dropped.
A few days later...
Everyone gathered at the back of Shrek Academy. Yu Xiaogang was explaining the tournament rules. The preliminary rounds would determine which academies went on to compete in Spirit City. The two empires and Spirit Hall each had a guaranteed spot, reserved for their imperial academies and Spirit Hall Academy.
Spirit Hall Academy was the top academy on the continent. Dugu Bo had already told Yu Xiaogang that Spirit Hall would have three Soul Kings competing in the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament.
There was no telling whether another competitor might break through to Soul King rank before the tournament. One of the students on the Spirit Hall Academy Team was already level forty-nine.
Before long, Yu Xiaogang announced the team's title: "Shrek Nine Devils." But only seven of the nine could compete at a time, so they needed to work out the lineup.
Jiang Huai and Gu Yue were the hidden aces among the nine, because they had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. Next came Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, who also had a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
The Shrek Team's starting lineup consisted of Jiang Huai, Gu Yue, Dai Mubai, and Xiao Wu. The reserve lineup consisted of Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar. The substitute lineup consisted of Tai Long, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, and Jiang Zhu.
The thirteen of them had to work on their teamwork. Jiang Huai was the Shrek Team's captain, with Dai Mubai and Gu Yue as vice-captains.
Before long, two weeks passed. Liu Erlong and Zhao Wuji left the academy to hunt for their Eighth Soul Rings, then returned. Both of them had made a huge leap in strength.
During the final month, Jiang Huai and the other twelve began training as if their lives depended on it. They needed to hone their combat experience and coordination.
They trained until the dead of night every day before finally returning to their dorms to rest. Most of them stayed up late and got up early. Oscar remained as lazy as ever and hated getting up early, while Ma Hongjun began cultivating rapidly after the boost from his fourth Soul Ring.
Dai Mubai often had to drag Oscar down the dormitory stairs to train. The others frequently bickered while working on their coordination.
But the next day, they would forget whatever had upset them the day before. Their teamwork kept growing more and more seamless.
Everyone's Soul Power rose by one level. Jiang Huai's improvement was the biggest surprise for the team, because his growth meant the entire team's combat strength would rise.
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