Three Thousand Year Man Faced Demon Spider

Bloodstains?!

Flender felt a surge of alarm. To avoid interference from others, he had specifically chosen this time for the mission.

At this hour, only the three of them from the academy should be in the Star Dou Great Forest. Since Oscar had headed toward the right, the origin of these bloodstains was painfully obvious.

The blood was still fresh; Ning Rongrong must have left only a short while ago.

With no time to ponder why Ning Rongrong would leave bloodstains in an area frequented by thousand-year spirit beasts, cold sweat broke out on Flender's forehead as he began to scan the surroundings for her tracks.

Then, he witnessed an unbelievable sight—

A massive spider lay dead on the ground, and upon closer inspection, one could discern the human face on its abdomen.

A Man Faced Demon Spider, a three-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider!

Flender felt a chill crawl up his neck.

If it had been an ordinary spirit beast that had just reached the thousand-year threshold, Flender would have been confident in Ning Rongrong's ability to handle it. But this Man Faced Demon Spider far exceeded his expectations, to say nothing of the fact that it was three thousand years old!

What were the traits of a Man Faced Demon Spider? Speed, poison, and immense strength.

Speed alone would be enough to give Ning Rongrong a hard time, let alone the other two traits.

Yet, looking at the fallen Man Faced Demon Spider, Flender found himself utterly bewildered.

Images began to form in his mind of Ning Rongrong encountering the Man Faced Demon Spider, sustaining heavy injuries, and then managing a counter-kill.

The process... the process was the problem. In Flender's knowledge, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect possessed no weapons capable of slaying a Man Faced Demon Spider—though, of course, the possibility of such a thing existing could not be entirely ruled out.

But clearly, the process was not the priority now. Flender was more concerned about the extent of Ning Rongrong's injuries; if she were truly severely wounded, Shrek Academy would likely have to suspend classes for the next month.

He began to search in all eight directions.

At this moment, Ning Rongrong was wandering aimlessly through the Mixed Zone. She had actually managed to find several treasure chests, and the drop rate was absurdly high. In just this short while, she had opened 3 chests, yielding 3 Experience Potions and 1 Holy Soul Coin.

Then, she saw a familiar figure approaching from the distance: it was Flender.

What was Flender doing here? Could NPCs enter the dungeon too?

Lu Ma was slightly puzzled, but she quickly understood.

Just as Chen Xin had brought her out of the dungeon, Flender must have come to announce the end of the instance.

"Dean, were you looking for me?"

A sweet voice drifted from Ning Rongrong. She wore a smile, and the entire display made Flender feel as though a gentle spring breeze had brushed past him.

Of course, this was primarily because he saw that Ning Rongrong had not sustained any serious injuries.

There were no signs of a struggle, either.

However, Flender had no time to make Ning Rongrong go find another spirit beast. He coughed lightly twice, then put on a seasoned, professional air and asked:

"Rongrong, did you encounter any difficulties along the way?"

Ning Rongrong blinked her clear eyes and asked with an innocent expression:

"Why do you ask?"

"I just saw a dead Man Faced Demon Spider..."

"Oh, I killed it."

"I see... wait, what?"

Flender's eyes widened. Although he had guessed as much earlier, hearing the almost unscathed Ning Rongrong say it herself left him in disbelief.

"You killed it? What method did you use..."

He felt a flicker of fear. If she had truly used a precious weapon from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he would likely go bankrupt.

"I used my martial soul."

Ning Rongrong smiled, her expression innocent and brilliantly radiant.

"That's a relief—wait, your martial soul!?"

Flender's voice rose several octaves. He still couldn't fathom what was special about Ning Rongrong's martial soul.

Could it be... a Twin Martial Souls?

No, he had never heard of such a thing.

"Dean, that's a secret of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"Yes, I understand. I won't pry."

Flender forced himself to remain calm. Since she was unharmed and did not wish for him to know, what reason did he have to press the matter?

"Rongrong, I believe your training has been completed excellently. You should return to the academy first."

"Understood, Dean."

Ning Rongrong nodded. After a brief cutscene, she successfully appeared back at Shrek Academy.

The map flickered a few times, and upon clicking it, she saw that the teleportation points between Shrek Academy and the Star Dou Great Forest had been unlocked.

Flender had also returned to the academy. Although he felt as if he had forgotten something, he dismissed it, deciding that Ning Rongrong's safety was more important, and headed toward Zhao Wuji's residence.

After last night, Zhao Wuji was recuperating in his residence.

"Old Zhao, are you awake?"

Flender knocked on the door symbolically, then kicked it open.

Zhao Wuji had just sat up and saw Flender's rude behavior, wanting to curse, but the pain in his facial muscles stopped him.

"What is it?"

He said weakly.

"What do you think of this girl Ning Rongrong? I took her to the Star Dou Great Forest for auxiliary system soul master training today, guess what?"

"What else could a little princess do? Cooperate seriously, and then survive a hundred-year soul beast?"

Zhao Wuji mustered all his strength to come up with this answer.

He knew Ning Rongrong had a move to borrow strength to hit the enemy, but this move clearly had several flaws.

First, she would still be attacked herself;

Second, the number of uses was limited.

With these two flaws, Zhao Wuji didn't think Ning Rongrong could truly defeat her opponent.

"No, no, no." Flender grinned slyly and shook his head, "She killed a Man Faced Demon Spider!"

"Man Faced Demon Spider? How could you let her come into contact with such a thing without watching her?"

Zhao Wuji sat up straight, then cried out in pain again.

"Alas, you can't say that, this was all my plan." Flender's old face flushed.

"A few hundred years old?"

Zhao Wuji hesitated for a moment and asked tentatively.

"Three thousand years."

"How much?"

Zhao Wuji sat up straight again.

One had to know, generally speaking, a soul master's third soul ring would not exceed around 1800 years. This meant that the individual's level when acquiring a soul ring generally would not exceed the 1800-year standard. To be able to win against a 3000-year Man Faced Demon Spider was truly quite difficult.

"Then... why did she choose a Man Faced Demon Spider?"

Zhao Wuji asked this question, which stumped Flender.

Yes, why?

If Ning Rongrong had such strength, she could have chosen a soul beast suitable for the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and directly hunted it to obtain a soul ring. At most, it would just be far from the upper limit of the soul ring's age...

Wait, what soul ring did Ning Rongrong choose?

Flender finally realized what he had forgotten. He had actually forgotten that Ning Rongrong was level 30, and a major purpose of going to the Star Dou Great Forest was to obtain a soul ring.

So, what soul ring did she choose?

Flender couldn't figure it out, but reason told him that Ning Rongrong had indeed absorbed the soul ring of a Man Faced Demon Spider.

"There must be a deep meaning from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."

Taking a few deep breaths, Flender said slowly.

Meanwhile, Oscar, after seeking Flender's help fruitlessly for a long time, finally exhausted the Wind Wolf's stamina and successfully counter-killed it.

Looking at the yellow soul ring emerging from the Wind Wolf's head, Oscar felt a pang of regret. He had worked so hard to kill it, only to waste it.

But he had paid so much, so Flender should at least get him a purple soul ring when he reached level 30.

"Pah!"

He spat, and walked towards the exit of the Star Dou Great Forest.