Doing the Act Properly

Ma Hongjun was similarly shaken with lingering fear. "Oldest Ning, from now on, you're my true boss—my one and only boss."

The coldness on Zhu Zhuqing's face had vanished, replaced by heartache and worry. Her eyes were moist as she looked at Ning Chuan. "How do you feel?" The instant the Sword Shield had been shattered by the black wave of energy, Ning Chuan had used his body to shield her.

It moved her once again, just as he had during Shrek's entrance examination.

"I'm fine. I won't die anytime soon." Ning Chuan put on an extremely weak appearance, but his gaze was fixed on Xiao Wu in the Titan Giant Ape's grasp. Go, hurry up and go. If you don't leave soon, I won't be able to keep this act up.

The Titan Giant Ape still wanted to attack. Seeing blood at the corner of Ning Chuan's mouth, Xiao Wu's heart ached. Thinking he was worried about her, she cried out, "Don't..."

The Titan Giant Ape froze mid-motion. It lowered its head to glance at Xiao Wu in its hand, let out a low roar, then turned and bounded toward the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the jungle.

"Xiao Wu..." Tang San cried out and wanted to pursue her, only to discover that his injuries were too severe for him to do so.

Zhao Wuji also wanted to chase after them, but the gap between his speed and that of the Titan Giant Ape was simply too great. He had no chance of catching up.

Ning Chuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, though he still had to keep up appearances.

Thinking that Meng Yiran had spent quite some time absorbing the Soul Ring, Ning Chuan guessed that perhaps she had failed to find Dragon Lord, or Snake Woman had been worried that the Star Dou Great Forest was too dangerous and had sent Meng Yiran out in advance. Dragon Lord, unaware that his granddaughter had already obtained a Soul Ring, was still pursuing the Man Faced Demon Spider.

He turned to Ning Rongrong. "Rong Rong, give me a boost."

"Ah..." Ning Rongrong did not react at first. But upon seeing Ning Chuan's expression, she seemed to understand something and summoned her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul.

"Seven Treasures Turn Out With Glazed Light, second: Speed!"

As Ning Rongrong's clear voice rang out, a brilliant multicolored light drifted down onto Ning Chuan.

Ning Chuan felt his body grow light. With a tap of his toes against the ground, he swept up onto a tree branch.

"Wait, Ning Chuan! What are you doing?" Zhao Wuji did not want to see Ning Chuan do something foolish and shouted anxiously.

"Sorry, Teacher Zhao. Xiao Wu is my classmate. If any of you had been taken away, I would have chased after you too. Even if Xiao Wu is already dead, I can't let her corpse be left exposed in the wilderness."

After leaving behind those noble words, Ning Chuan sped off in the direction the Titan Giant Ape had gone.

"Ning Chuan, I've given you all my Soul Power. The enhancement will last for one minute after you leave my support range. Go quickly! I fully support you!"

Ning Rongrong shouted in the direction Ning Chuan had left.

"You... you two..."

Zhao Wuji looked at Ning Chuan leaving and Ning Rongrong cheering him on, so angry that he could barely speak.

Ning Rongrong's face was somewhat pale from excessive Soul Power consumption, but a smile appeared on her delicate face. "Teacher Zhao, you heard him just now. Ning Chuan said that if it had been any one of us, he would have risked everything to save us..."

Oscar, however, snorted dismissively. What did he mean, he would save anyone? Why had he never seen Ning Chuan save him?

A moment later, Tang San, having stabilized his injuries, walked over to Oscar. "Little Oscar, quickly, give me a Mushroom Sausage."

The Mushroom Sausage was Oscar's Third Spirit Ability. Its name was the same as in the original work, and it allowed the user to gain the Cockscomb Snake's speed for one minute—roughly equivalent to that of an ordinary agility-attack Soul Ancestor.

At this moment, Tang San felt such hatred—truly, deeply hated it. He was simply too weak. If he had been just a little stronger, he would not have suffered such serious injuries and been unable to even give chase when Xiao Wu was taken by the Titan Giant Ape.

In the end, it was Ning Chuan, that guy, who had gone after Xiao Wu.

He had had enough of his own helplessness.

Although the Star Dou Great Forest contained countless Spirit Beasts of many different kinds, upon sensing the Titan Giant Ape's aura, every one of them kept far away.

This was also why, aside from that Man Faced Demon Spider he had encountered by sheer coincidence, Tang San had not run into any other Spirit Beasts after venturing deep into the Star Dou Great Forest in the original work.

It was also where Ning Chuan found the courage to head in alone.

But to be safe,

after putting roughly seven or eight li between himself and the Shrek group, Ning Chuan slowed down.

"This distance should be about right."

Ning Chuan slowly raised his left hand. A silver sphere about a foot across appeared in his palm. The moment it appeared, it transformed into dozens, then hundreds, of streaks of light that shot outward before scattering into specks of silver radiance in all directions.

This was Ning Chuan's Second Spirit, the Gold Devouring Insect.

It was exceptionally sensitive to Soul Power fluctuations.

It could not have been more suitable for searching for that Man Faced Demon Spider.

At the same time, green light surged around Ning Chuan's right hand, though he did not summon the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword Martial Soul.

Ding! Detected that the Host cannot use two Martial Souls simultaneously. Please bind a recipient to bear the effect.

"Bind Tang San."

After transferring the Side Effect of being unable to use two Martial Souls at once to Tang San, Ning Chuan released the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword without further hindrance, along with three Soul Rings—yellow, purple, and purple.

His Second Spirit Ring lit up. Ning Chuan placed a layer of Sword Shield over himself before continuing onward.

After traveling several more li, the Gold Devouring Insect one thousand meters to the southwest reacted. Moreover, the target was fleeing at high speed.

Without the slightest hesitation, Ning Chuan darted in the target's direction. He intended to intercept it along its inevitable path.

A moment later, Ning Chuan saw the target.

It was a strange giant spider covered in black armor, gleaming brightly. Its body alone exceeded one and a half meters, with eight spider legs over three meters long. The front portions of those long legs were slender, silently piercing the ground with every step, razor-sharp. Its abdomen also bore a human face formed from white patterns.

The human face had eight eyes. Two had been smashed to pieces. It was unmistakably the Man Faced Demon Spider.

At the same time, through the Gold Devouring Insects' feedback, Ning Chuan sensed Tang San several hundred meters away, racing forward at a speed no slower than an agility-attack Soul Ancestor's. It seemed he had consumed Oscar's Mushroom Sausage. Once its effect wore off, he stopped beneath a large tree to rest.

"This can work too?" Ning Chuan was speechless. At the Man Faced Demon Spider's current direction of travel, it was definitely going to crash into Tang San.

As expected, Dragon Lord still did not know that his granddaughter had obtained a Soul Ring. After all, the Star Dou Great Forest was enormous, and the Man Faced Demon Spider was fleeing aimlessly. Snake Woman could not possibly continue taking Meng Yiran on such a dangerous adventure. She had most likely sent Meng Yiran out first, then returned alone to search for Dragon Lord.

Thinking this, Ning Chuan no longer hesitated. He recalled the Gold Devouring Insects, reforming them into a silver sphere, and shot it toward the Man Faced Demon Spider.

The Man Faced Demon Spider also noticed Ning Chuan. Seeing the silver sphere, it seemed to disdain it. Its eight legs moved rapidly as it charged Ning Chuan head-on, leaving a string of afterimages behind it.

Bang— The instant the silver sphere touched the Man Faced Demon Spider's black shell, it turned into specks of silver starlight, seemingly shattered apart.