Encountering the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, Stopping Tang San's Showboating!

"Xiao Wu?"

Lin Yan and Zhu Zhuqing simultaneously turned their gazes toward Xiao Wu at the doorway, their faces revealing a hint of panic and confusion.

Xiao Wu walked into the room as if it were natural.

"I woke up and found you all gone. What's the situation? What are you doing here?"

Zhu Zhuqing thought quickly, lying without a blush or a skip in her heartbeat.

"Oh, oh~ Rongrong was homesick and felt a bit unwell from crying, so she came to find Lin Yan to restore her stamina."

"Right, Rongrong..."

She then leaned in close to Ning Rongrong's ear and whispered.

"I beg you, Rongrong, I'll explain later. Just play along for now; my business with Lin Yan can't be exposed yet."

The sun was high in the sky.

Zhao Wuji led the group through the Star Dou Forest.

Lin Yan was at the very back of the formation; as a support-type spirit master, he walked alongside Ning Rongrong.

He pulled up his system panel, and the favorability ratings for each target appeared on the light 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 raised the corners of his mouth slightly. He hadn't expected that after this morning's incident, Ning Rongrong's favorability would increase rather than decrease, jumping from 60% to 80%.

It was truly hard to fathom the thought process of this little demoness; perhaps this was the charm of a love-struck brain.

"Something's coming!"

As he thought this, Zhao Wuji at the front suddenly let out a low shout, then fixed his gaze on Zhu Zhuqing.

"Zhu Zhuqing, go and scout ahead."

No one in the team responded. Seeing this, Zhao Wuji raised his voice and shouted again...

"Zhu Zhuqing!"

"Ah?"

The young girl was walking right behind Lin Yan and let out a startled cry, as if suddenly jolted awake.

Zhao Wuji said impatiently.

"There's movement to the west. You're an agility-attack spirit master, go and scout the situation."

"Oh, right!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing completed her Martial Soul Possession and, relying on her jumping power, leaped onto a tree trunk in a few bounds.

"It should be the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent coming, right?"

At this moment, Ning Rongrong suddenly said to Lin Yan.

"You haven't taken your eyes off Zhuqing once."

"Tsk~" Lin Yan curled his lip. "Don't talk nonsense in front of so many people!"

"Heh~"

"Men!"

Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes beautifully, expressing her disdain.

"How many days have you even known each other? You can't even keep up a facade of decency anymore."

"And here I thought you were quite innocent."

"Alright, let's talk about this when there's no one else around."

Lin Yan shifted his gaze elsewhere, because for some reason, he always felt a bit guilty when meeting Ning Rongrong's eyes.

Soon, Zhu Zhuqing returned to the team.

"It's a red snake with a huge fleshy crest on its head, and it's flying toward us at high speed."

"A snake? Flying?"

Tang San thought rapidly, running through every spirit beast encyclopedia he had seen during his years at Notting Academy.

"Could it be..."

"It should be a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent!"

Before Tang San could confirm, Lin Yan spoke first.

"This is a rare speed-type flying spirit beast. Oscar, it's perfect for your third spirit ring. You're really lucky."

Upon hearing this, Oscar was overjoyed and looked at Lin Yan with an excited expression.

"Lin Yan, you even knew that!"

"You know way too much!"

"Just so-so. Get ready to fight."

Lin Yan chuckled, completely ignoring the gloomy look in Tang San's eyes.

Immediately after, he swept his gaze across the group.

"Mubai, that thing is fast. You must find the right moment to incapacitate it completely."

"Tang San, you're the only control-type soul master in the team. Don't let everyone down!"

"Fatty, once the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent is pinned down, hit it with everything you've got."

Since Lin Yan was the one who identified the soul beast, it was only natural that he would dictate the tactics.

Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had no objections, but Tang San felt his thunder had been stolen by Lin Yan.

He had clearly deduced the information about the soul beast himself, and his teacher had always said that as a control-type soul master, he was the brain of the team. Yet, here was Lin Yan holding court and laying out the plan.

It made him feel very displeased!

However, the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was incredibly fast; within a few breaths, a rustling sound echoed through the jungle.

The sudden change left Tang San no time to argue, and he instinctively chose to follow the tactical arrangement.

"It's here! Get ready!"

Lin Yan shouted in a low voice, fixing his gaze on Tang San...

[First Soul Skill: Blue Silver Entanglement!]

[First Soul Skill: White Tiger Intense Light Wave!]

Tang San used his Blue Silver Grass to control it, and Dai Mubai struck with a heavy blow. The speeding Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent didn't even have time to react before it was hit by a sudden combo.

"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and buff your teammates."

Lin Yan looked at Ning Rongrong, who rolled her eyes at him.

"Tch~"

[Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda: First, Power! Second, Speed!]

Following that came Ma Hongjun's "Phoenix Fire Line"...

Except for Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Lin Yan had coordinated many times before. Thus, in dealing with this Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, the group had already taken it down before Xiao Wu or Zhu Qing even had to move.

The burst of the Evil Fire Phoenix left the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent temporarily incapacitated. Seeing this, Lin Yan didn't wait for Zhao Wuji to speak; he pulled a dagger from his storage ring and shoved it into Oscar's hand.

"Hurry, don't dawdle, stab it right into its fleshy crest."

Lin Yan had the advantage of foresight; he knew that Chao Tianxiang and Meng Yiran were still coming. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they had to act as quickly as possible.

Oscar's expression was one of excitement, and under Lin Yan's urging, he arrived in front of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent.

"Stab it! If it dies now, it'll become Fatty's soul ring!"

Hearing this, Oscar tensed up, then stopped hesitating and drove the blade straight into the crest.

Puff~

A dull sound of metal sinking into flesh echoed, and Lin Yan breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although Tang San would have resolved this trouble even if Meng Yiran had arrived, Lin Yan didn't want to give Tang San any chance to show off.

A purple thousand-year soul ring slowly emerged from the corpse of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. Just as Oscar was about to sit down to absorb the ring, two figures suddenly emerged from the jungle.

"Damn it, we were a step too late after all."

The person who spoke was none other than Chao Tianxiang!

Seeing that the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent she had painstakingly tracked all the way had already become someone else's soul ring, her anger flared instantly.

"You lot actually dared to snatch my granddaughter's soul ring right under my nose. I think you're truly tired of living."

Clearly, with her spoils of war snatched by others, she no longer possessed the good temper she had in the original story.

Six soul rings—two yellow, three purple, and one black—appeared alongside her Serpent Cane martial soul, pulsing rhythmically at her feet, looking every bit like she was about to strike.

At this moment, Lin Yan looked at Zhao Wuji.

"Teacher Zhao, it's your turn..."