Regarding the Story of Two Soul Beasts Battling for Supremacy

Inside the Silver Dragon King Palace at the Lake of Life.

The puppet had shed the appearance of Ning Rongrong; she now possessed silver hair cascading to her knees and wore a magnificent silver gown, upon which dragon patterns were faintly visible. Her clear, violet eyes betrayed a hint of worry.

She sat atop the crystal coffin.

Just moments ago, as Ning Rongrong was about to leave, she had acted on her own initiative and secretly fed a drop of Silver Dragon Essence Blood to the Eight Spider Lances. Under the influence of this essence blood, the Eight Spider Lances would evolve; simultaneously, she would be able to observe everything happening to Ning Rongrong and those around her whenever the lances were activated, and she could even use them to communicate with Ning Rongrong on a spiritual level.

Her true goal was to use this opportunity to shorten the distance between herself and the Holy God. This was a form of overstepping, and she did not know if it would incur the Holy God's displeasure.

Should... there be no problem, right?

"Although there were some minor accidents during this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, overall, the harvest can be considered bountiful."

"Following Dai Mubai and Ning Rongrong, our Shrek Academy has added two more Soul Elder-level monsters."

As the group walked back to the academy, Teacher Zhao relaxed his body and mind, lightheartedly summarizing this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu was a bit surprised. She knew Oscar had broken through, but there was another...

She had not seen the scene of Tang San absorbing his spirit ring and only assumed the injuries on his body were left over from fighting spirit beasts while searching for her.

So she asked, "Two?"

Teacher Zhao nodded without looking back as he led the way, saying, "Xiao Wu, just a short time before you returned, Tang San also absorbed the spirit ring of a two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider."

"Man Faced Demon Spider! Isn't that the same as Rongrong's?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened slightly, and she looked toward Ning Rongrong.

She seemed to remember that Ning Rongrong's third spirit ring also came from this spirit beast.

Ning Rongrong was still thinking about how to get involved in the third Saintess Ritual. Seeing Xiao Wu look over, she nodded.

Tang San naturally noticed this scene. Upon thinking that Ning Rongrong's spirit ring age was one thousand years higher than his own, he felt a surge of jealousy, but soon after, the jealousy was pushed out of his mind by envy.

Having absorbed a two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider himself, he knew how difficult it was.

Even now, he still remembered the mutation that occurred on his back during the final stage of absorption.

He touched his spine; nothing had grown there, so that ferocious energy must have been suppressed by him.

As expected, he had managed to overcome the Man Faced Demon Spider by a small margin.

Immediately, the envy was pushed aside by jealousy again.

How could she, Ning Rongrong, absorb a three-thousand-year-old one? It must be because she relied on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind her.

The look Tang San gave Ning Rongrong inadvertently carried a touch of malice.

"Third Brother, what are you doing?"

Seeing the expressions on Tang San's face shifting, Xiao Wu asked with concern.

"Ah, it's nothing, Xiao Wu." Tang San realized his lapse in composure, quickly shook his head, and changed the subject, "Speaking of which, Xiao Wu, how did you and Rongrong come back together?"

Xiao Wu took a deep breath; the question had been asked after all.

She turned her head to look at Ning Rongrong, attempting to seek her opinion.

At this moment, Ning Rongrong was just thinking about the plan to call her father and Bone to her side so the three of them could use that stone to enter the ritual site, and she was still wondering how to explain the origin of the stone to them.

Then, she suddenly sensed Xiao Wu's gaze.

Why was Xiao Wu looking at her again? Ning Rongrong was somewhat bewildered.

In Xiao Wu's eyes, Ning Rongrong's blank reaction meant she had no objections.

Fine, then it was up to Big Sister Xiao Wu's storytelling ability.

Xiao Wu gathered her confidence, turned to the others who were piqued by the question, and said, "I was kidnapped by that Titan Giant Ape, and wasn't Ning Rongrong kidnapped by that sky... that ox-headed, snake-bodied spirit beast? As luck would have it, they started fighting once they reached their destination, and that's how Rongrong and I were saved. It just so happened that there was a spirit beast nearby that had been caught in the crossfire of their battle and was quite weak, and since I had just reached level 30, I killed that spirit beast with Rongrong's help and absorbed the spirit ring."

Ning Rongrong was a little startled. Did she know about these things?

She did not. But it was not a big problem; it saved her from having to explain her own part. As for the Silver Dragon King Palace... she still had her pride, and she couldn't bring herself to talk about being beaten for six hours.

So, she nodded to the group looking at her and said, "That's exactly how it happened."

"Strange, logically speaking, once they reach that level of cultivation, they shouldn't be having internal conflicts."

Teacher Zhao stroked his chin and pursed his lips, clearly puzzled.

"Haha, Teacher Zhao, don't worry about the details. There are conflicts between spirit beasts too, aren't there?"

"They both looked like forest overlords; it doesn't seem hard to understand that they would have a conflict to vie for the title of hegemon. I've seen cases in my sect's library where two heirs to the throne clashed to seize power, and I imagine spirit beasts are the same."

Ning Rongrong bluffed from the side. If this story were debunked, she would face even more trouble.

Xiao Wu gave her a thumbs up.

Her mouth formed the words: "Nice one, Rongrong."

Teacher Zhao's mind couldn't quite wrap around it, so he nodded and accepted the point.

Afterward, he realized something belatedly and said, "Xiao Wu, did you just say you absorbed a spirit ring?"

"That's right, Big Sister Xiao Wu is a Soul Elder now too!"

Xiao Wu tilted her nose up proudly.

"Xiao Wu, you're truly amazing," Tang San praised.

"Hehe."

On the morning of the fourth day, after traveling for an entire afternoon and night, the group finally returned to Shrek Academy.

Ning Rongrong panted lightly, looking at the gasping crowd beside her with a hint of excitement.

One had to know that her current state of fatigue was second only to Zhao Wuji, putting her on par with Dai Mubai and Tang San.

Yet, when they had first set out for the Star Dou Great Forest, she had been the one who tired the most easily among them all.

There was no doubt that her physical fitness had improved, and all of this—

Was thanks to the training.

Ning Rongrong felt a growing curiosity toward the elusive Silver Dragon King and the Holy God behind her.

After Zhao Wuji announced they would have two days off, Ning Rongrong followed Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing back to their dormitory. The two of them fell asleep almost the moment they hit their beds, and she followed suit, lying down as well.

Unlike the other two, however, Ning Rongrong simply lay there; perhaps she had absorbed too much vitality at the Silver Dragon King Palace, for she felt absolutely no sleepiness now.

She rolled over, trying to clear her mind so she could drift off...

It was impossible.

Her brain was filled with the combat training from the Silver Dragon King Palace and the plans to sabotage the third Saintess Ritual.

It was now the morning of the fourth day, leaving her with, at most, about a day and a half.

Ning Rongrong rolled over again.

A while later, she tossed and turned a few more times. Listening to the snoring beside her, she sat up impatiently and scratched at her hair.

"Forget it, I'll just get this matter sorted out first."

Whispering to herself, she rose and left the dormitory.

Her destination: Suotuo City.