"Xiao Wu?"
Lin Yan and Zhu Zhuqing both turned toward Xiao Wu at the doorway, their faces showing a hint of panic and confusion.
Xiao Wu walked into the room.
"I woke up and found that none of you were around. What's going on? What are you doing here?"
Zhu Zhuqing thought fast and began lying without batting an eye.
"Oh, Rongrong was missing home and cried so much that she started feeling unwell, so she came to Lin Yan to get some of her strength back."
"Right, Rongrong..."
Then she leaned close to Ning Rongrong's ear and whispered.
"Please, Rongrong. I'll explain later. Just play along for now. Lin Yan and I can't let anyone find out about us yet."
The sun was already high in the sky.
Zhao Wuji led the group through Star Dou Forest.
Lin Yan walked at the very back of the group. As a support Soul Master, he walked alongside Ning Rongrong.
He brought up the system panel, and the favorability ratings of his various targets appeared on the screen before him.
[Xiao Wu's favorability toward the host: 40%.] [Zhu Zhuqing's favorability toward the host: 100%.] [Ning Rongrong's favorability toward the host: 80%.]
Lin Yan's lips curled slightly. He hadn't expected Ning Rongrong's favorability to rise rather than fall after what had happened that morning, jumping from 60% to 80%.
He really couldn't make sense of the Little Demoness's thought process. Maybe that was the charm of being lovestruck.
"Something's out there!"
As he was thinking, Zhao Wuji, at the front of the group, suddenly gave a low shout. Then he turned his gaze to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Zhu Zhuqing, go scout ahead."
No one in the group responded. Seeing this, Zhao Wuji raised his voice and called again...
"Zhu Zhuqing!"
"Huh?"
The girl was walking just behind Lin Yan. She let out a startled cry, as though she'd suddenly snapped awake.
Zhao Wuji said impatiently,
"There's movement to the west. You're an Agile Attack System Soul Master, so go check it out."
"Oh, okay!"
At his words, Zhu Zhuqing completed Martial Soul Possession. Relying on her springing strength, she leaped onto a tree branch in just a few bounds.
"The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent should be coming, right?"
Ning Rongrong suddenly said to Lin Yan,
"You haven't taken your eyes off Zhuqing once."
"Tsk." Lin Yan pursed his lips. "Don't talk nonsense in front of all these people!"
"Heh."
"Men!"
Ning Rongrong rolled her pretty eyes, clearly unimpressed.
"How many days have you even known each other? And you can't even keep up the pretense of acting proper anymore."
"I thought you were pretty innocent before."
"Enough. We can talk about this when no one's around."
Lin Yan turned his gaze away. For some reason, whenever he met Ning Rongrong's eyes, he always felt a little guilty.
Soon, Zhu Zhuqing returned to the group.
"It's a red snake with a huge fleshy crest on its head. It's flying this way at high speed."
"A snake? Flying?"
Tang San quickly thought it over, running through all the Soul Beast illustrations he'd seen over the years at Notting Academy.
"Could it be..."
"It should be a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent!"
Before Tang San could be sure, Lin Yan spoke first.
"It's a rare, flying speed-type serpent Soul Beast. Oscar, it's perfect for your third Soul Ring. You're really lucky."
Oscar was overjoyed. He looked at Lin Yan with excitement.
"Lin Yan, you even know that?"
"You know way too much!"
"More or less. Get ready to fight."
Lin Yan chuckled, completely ignoring Tang San's dark expression.
Then he swept his gaze over everyone.
"Mubai, that thing is fast. When the chance comes, make sure you hit it hard enough to take away its ability to move."
"Tang San, you're the only control-type Soul Master in the group. Don't let everyone down!"
"Fatty, once the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is pinned down, hit it hard."
Lin Yan had identified the Soul Beast, so naturally, he was the one to lay out the battle plan.
Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had no objections. Tang San, however, felt that Lin Yan had stolen his thunder.
He had clearly figured out what kind of Soul Beast it was too. His teacher had clearly said that, as a control-type Soul Master, he was the brain of the whole team. Yet now Lin Yan was the one holding forth.
It left him feeling deeply frustrated!
But the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was fast. In just a few breaths, a rustling sound came from the forest.
The sudden change left Tang San no time to argue. Without thinking, he followed the battle plan.
"It's here! Get ready!"
Lin Yan called out, his eyes fixed on Tang San...
[First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!] [First Soul Skill: White Tiger Intense Light Wave!]
Tang San used Blue Silver Grass to restrain it, while Dai Mubai struck with a powerful attack. The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent hurtling at them had no time to react before the group hit it with a quick combo.
"What are you standing around for? Hurry up and give your teammates some support!"
Lin Yan looked at Ning Rongrong, who rolled her eyes at him again.
"Tch~"
[Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda: First: Strength!] [Second: Speed!]
Then came Ma Hongjun's "Phoenix Fire Line"...
Everyone except Tang San had worked together plenty of times already. So when it came to dealing with the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, they had it in hand before Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing even needed to step in.
The Evil Fire Phoenix's explosive attack left the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent temporarily unable to move. Before Zhao Wuji could say a word, Lin Yan pulled a dagger from his storage ring and handed it to Oscar.
"Hurry up. Don't dawdle—stab it right in the fleshy crest."
Lin Yan knew what was coming. Chao Tianxiang and Meng Yiran were still on their way, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to make sure they acted quickly.
Oscar was visibly excited. With Lin Yan pushing him along, he reached the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.
"Stab it! If it dies now, Fatty gets its Soul Ring!"
Oscar tensed at those words, then stopped hesitating and plunged the dagger into the fleshy crest.
Thud~
The dull sound of metal sinking into flesh rang out. Lin Yan silently breathed a little easier.
Even if Meng Yiran showed up, Tang San would have dealt with the trouble. But Lin Yan didn't want to give Tang San a single chance to show off.
A purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly emerged from the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's corpse. Just as Oscar was about to sit down and absorb it, two figures suddenly appeared from the forest.
"Damn it, we're still too late."
The speaker was Chao Tianxiang!
When she saw that the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent she'd pursued all this way had already become someone else's Soul Ring, she flew into a rage.
"You lot actually dared to snatch my granddaughter's Soul Ring right from under this old woman's nose. You must be tired of living!"
Clearly, with someone else having claimed her spoils first, she wasn't nearly as good-natured as she had been in the original story.
Her Serpent Cane Martial Soul appeared alongside two yellow, three purple, and one black Soul Rings, which pulsed slowly beneath her feet. She looked ready to attack at any moment.
Lin Yan turned to Zhao Wuji.
"Teacher Zhao, you're up..."
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