Assassin

Not daring to delay, he rushed forward at full speed toward the source of the sound, and before long, he saw a man and a spider locked in battle. Tang San had already summoned his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, and sent the Man Faced Demon Spider flying upward from below.

"Tang San, I'm here to help you!"

With a loud shout, Feng Xinglie descended from the sky, his palms like blades stabbing directly into the eyes of the Man Faced Demon Spider. Amidst a shrill, piercing shriek, Feng Xinglie thrust his palms through the eye sockets and into the brain, then curled his hands into fists and pulled back. Having already been severely wounded and battered by Tang San's Zhuge Crossbow and Clear Sky Hammer, the Man Faced Demon Spider ceased all movement the moment Feng Xinglie, the kill-stealer, delivered the final blow.

"Tang San, what are you doing!?"

Shaking off the blood from his hands, Feng Xinglie grabbed Tang San by the collar, pinned him against a tree, and shouted sternly:

"I know you're heartbroken that Xiao Wu was taken, but do you have no regard for your own life? Do you know how worried everyone at Shrek is about you? Are you just going to ignore Teacher Zhao, who is severely injured because of us?"

"I'm sorry..."

Facing Feng Xinglie's moral pressure, Tang San knew he was in the wrong and lowered his head. But he immediately lifted it again, his gaze firm as he said:

"But I promised Xiao Wu that I would protect her."

"What can you do if you chase after them now? Never mind the Titan Giant Ape that could kill Teacher Zhao in an instant; can you even defeat this Man Faced Demon Spider on your own?"

"I..."

Faced with such reasonable questioning, Tang San had no idea how to respond, yet he stubbornly insisted:

"No, I must try. As long as I absorb the soul ring of this Man Faced Demon Spider, I can become stronger. I can definitely do it..."

"Wait, aren't you level twenty-nine? How can you absorb it?"

This time it was Feng Xinglie's turn to be dumbfounded, staring at Tang San in shock. Could it be...

"During the battle just now, my soul power broke through the bottleneck. I am now level thirty."

Damn it... Feng Xinglie almost cursed out loud. He had racked his brains, calculating every move, stretching out time, and building relationships with various factions, yet in the face of Tang San's heaven-defying luck, he felt like a clown.

"Tang San, I'm glad you broke through, but you really can't act on impulse now. Look, this Man Faced Demon Spider is already two thousand years old, exceeding the seventeen-hundred-year limit for a third soul ring..."

Before Feng Xinglie could finish, Tang San interrupted him:

"I know, but I must try. Besides, your third soul ring is even a ten-thousand-year black soul ring. If you can do it, I, Tang San, can definitely do it too."

Feng Xinglie was rendered speechless, having forgotten that he was a living example of someone who had absorbed a soul ring beyond his limit. He sighed, his tone softening:

"San, it's not that I'm intentionally stopping you; my martial soul is special, it's different from yours. And besides, I've already killed this Man Faced Demon Spider, how can you absorb it?"

"No, look, isn't this Man Faced Demon Spider still alive?"

Feng Xinglie was startled and quickly turned back, only to see that the massive soul beast lying on the ground indeed had no soul ring emerging from its body, which left him feeling extremely strange.

"That's not right. I completely destroyed its brain, and it was even coated in the poison from my Poison Hand. How is it not dead?"

Puzzled, he approached and placed his hand on the head of the Man Faced Demon Spider. In an instant, a faint yet irresistible force exploded in Feng Xinglie's mind. For a fleeting moment, it felt as if ten thousand steel blades were slicing through his body, roars and howls shattered his eardrums, and fresh, foul blood flooded his nasal cavity. That wasn't soul power; it was a higher existence, something akin to... a rule.

Thud.

Feng Xinglie stumbled back uncontrollably, tripped over a tree branch, and fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Tang San looked suspiciously at the panicked Feng Xinglie, though the latter no longer had the heart to stop him from absorbing the soul ring.

"No, it's nothing. If your mind is made up, then absorb it. As for Xiao Wu, I'll go ahead and see if I can track them."

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, Feng Xinglie forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart. No longer daring to stop Tang San, he stood up and said to him.

"Alright, I'll leave that to you. I'll chase after you as soon as I finish absorbing the soul ring. I must bring Xiao Wu back!"

Having said that, ignoring Feng Xinglie as he ran into the distance, Tang San pulled out a dagger and ended the life of the Man Faced Demon Spider with a single strike.

I miscalculated. I thought it was the protagonist's halo of the Child of Destiny, but I didn't expect it to be something even more terrifying...

Feng Xinglie wandered alone through the Star Dou Forest. Since the nearby soul beasts had all been stunned by the roar of the Titan Giant Ape, tracking was quite convenient and safe, but his complexion was terrible. His move against Oscar's Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent had been a bit bumpy, but it had ultimately succeeded. However, Tang San's Man Faced Demon Spider was clearly protected by some kind of power. As for where that power came from, Feng Xinglie had a few guesses, but he didn't dare to dwell on them. After all, if it were true, and that existence had personally stepped in to take Tang San's side, even the entire Martial Soul Hall combined wouldn't be enough to withstand a flick of that entity's finger.

This is truly troublesome. My original plan will have to be almost entirely scrapped.

Scratching his head in frustration, Feng Xinglie fell into deep thought, failing to notice the danger gradually approaching.

ROAR!

His train of thought was interrupted by a roar. Feng Xinglie looked up just in time to see a giant claw slamming down toward him. Although his reaction speed was extremely fast and he instantly assumed a defensive posture, he was still sent flying, crashing through a tree that would have taken three men to encircle before he finally came to a stop.

"Cough, cough... what the hell?"

Feng Xinglie forcibly swallowed the metallic taste rising in his throat and stood up to look at the creature that had attacked him. One glance was all it took to leave him stunned on the spot:

"Dark Demon Evil God Tiger? How could this thing appear here?"

This was an extremely rare, near-extinct top-tier soul beast, a monster possessing six attributes: evil, time, space, lightning, power, and wind. According to the plot, it was supposed to appear much later as a stepping stone for Tang San; there was no way it should be here at this time.

Silencing me.

The thought flashed through Feng Xinglie's mind. It seemed the one behind Tang San was quite dissatisfied with his interference. His only advantage now was knowing all of the opponent's skills and moves, but in his current state, he had very few means to threaten the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

However... this monster, which could usually wrestle with hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, was in a very strange state. Its aura was fluctuating, as if its foundation were unstable. Its eyes were glowing with a scarlet, blood-red light, as if it were being suppressed by something and had lost its sanity.

Just as he was contemplating this, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger suddenly charged forward, surrounded by gray, spherical orbs of energy.