Oscar's face was thick with remorse, but his heart remained unmoved.
In his eyes, as long as he could survive, what did sacrificing two "brothers" matter?
With his talent, all he needed was to cling tightly to Tang San's coattails.
Meanwhile, Tang San sat cross-legged, giving his all to absorb the 3,800-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider Soul Ring. The deep purple ring spun around him as powerful energy poured into his body, stretching his meridians until they ached.
But drawing on the experience of his previous life, he forcibly suppressed the turbulent energy inside him, a confident smile tugging at his lips.
He believed he could absorb this over-age-limit Soul Ring and make a qualitative leap in strength.
Once he became a god in the future, the entire continent would kneel at his feet.
Flender and Zhao Wuji stood to one side, watching Tang San with grave expressions, their hearts filled with worry.
They had no idea where Tang San had found the confidence to take such a reckless risk.
If he failed to absorb it, he would not only lose all his Soul Power; he might even lose his life.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing stood at a distance, watching the chaotic scene before them, their feelings a tangled mess.
Oscar's selfishness chilled them to the bone, Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's plight filled them with pity, and Tang San's madness left them feeling that he was a stranger—and afraid of him.
"It'd be nice if Big Brother Fu Qin were here," Ning Rongrong muttered, her eyes full of worry.
Zhu Zhuqing nodded too, her fondness for Fu Qin growing a little more.
After all,
Fu Qin's fearless selflessness stood in stark contrast to Oscar's selfish, despicable nature.
As the seconds ticked by, the Soul Power fluctuations around Tang San grew stronger and stronger, and the deep purple Soul Ring gradually merged with his body.
But just as it was about to be fully absorbed, his face suddenly turned deathly pale, and a trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.
"Bad! His Soul Power's rebounding!" Flender cried. He wanted to rush over and help, but didn't dare disturb Tang San in his current state.
Tang San clenched his teeth. The energy inside him was like a wild horse that had broken free, crashing violently against his meridians.
He hadn't expected this 3,800-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider Soul Ring to be even more overbearing than he'd imagined.
"Why... is this happening..." Tang San's consciousness began to blur, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair.
He was the reincarnation of a God King. How could he be defeated by a mere 3,800-year-old Soul Ring?
"No, I won't die. I absolutely can't die!"
"Save me! Whoever you are, save me!"
Tang San sat cross-legged on the ground, his face white as paper. Soul Power churned chaotically around him, and the deep purple Soul Ring spun wildly against his skin, yet it couldn't enter his body. Instead, it kept battering his meridians and Sea of Consciousness.
Through his mental power, Fu Qin could clearly see the devastation inside Tang San's body.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's violent energy rampaged through his meridians, while its web-like venom had already spread to his internal organs.
Worse still, the remnant soul of that 3,800-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider had burrowed into his Sea of Consciousness and was slowly devouring his divine soul.
"If this were an ordinary Soul Master, they'd have been reduced to ashes long ago." Fu Qin mused to himself, forced to admit that the resilience of a child of destiny was truly terrifying.
But that very resilience only made him more certain that he had to dig Tang San a bottomless pit.
"Fu Qin, Xiao San's condition is extremely dangerous. Is there any way you can save his life?" Seeing this, Flender rushed forward as if he'd found a lifeline, his voice more urgent than ever.
He knew Tang San was Tang Hao's son. If this only son of that mighty figure died at Shrek, the academy wouldn't be the only thing they lost. The few of them would likely be ground to bone and ash by Tang Hao.
Fu Qin pretended to ponder. His gaze swept over Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, both frantic with worry, before finally settling on Xiao Wu's anxious face. Then he slowly spoke.
"I can save him, but I need something: a hundred-year-old Plant-type Soul Beast. It must be completely incapable of resisting, and the more ordinary it is, the better."
"A hundred-year-old Plant-type Soul Beast?" Flender froze for a moment, then was overcome with joy.
"Easy! I'll find one right away!" The outer reaches of the Star Dou Forest were full of low-age Plant-type Soul Beasts. Before he'd even finished speaking, his wings spread, and he vanished into the depths of the forest in a streak of black light.
Ning Rongrong hurried to Fu Qin's side, clutching his sleeve tightly with her small hand, worry in her voice.
"Big Brother Fu Qin, can you really save Tang San? Could it be dangerous?" Though she disliked Tang San, she didn't want Fu Qin getting hurt while saving some good-for-nothing.
[Ning Rongrong's Favorability +10, Current Favorability: 227 points]
Xiao Wu rose onto her tiptoes, concern in her eyes. "Fu Qin, you need to be careful too. Don't push yourself too hard."
[Xiao Wu's Favorability +30, Current Favorability: 1080 points]
[Xiao Wu's thoughts: Little Brother Fu Qin is always so kind, always so good to everyone. I have to protect him properly!]
Fu Qin chuckled inwardly. Kind? He wasn't that generous.
He patted their hands and spoke gently. "Don't worry. I may not be a hundred percent certain, but I'll do everything I can to save Third Brother!"
Before long, Flender returned, carrying a verdant bamboo stalk.
The bamboo was about ten meters tall, dew still beading on its leaves, and it gave off faint fluctuations of Soul Power. It was a Solitary Bamboo that had just reached one hundred years. "Fu Qin, I found the Plant-type Soul Beast you wanted!"
Fu Qin nodded and took the Solitary Bamboo. Soul Power burst from his body at once.
Silver-white light rose from both his hands as his Martial Soul, the Alchemy Gloves, slowly appeared, the alchemical patterns on them shimmering with a faint glow.
"First Soul Skill, Hundred Refinements: Materialization!"
At his low shout, the Solitary Bamboo rapidly disintegrated in his hands, turning into strands of pure Plant-type energy that the Alchemy Gloves bound tightly.
Right after that, he activated his second Soul Skill. "Divine Mechanism: Object Manipulation!"
The Plant-type energy came alive, gathering in midair into a green ribbon of light.
"Third Soul Skill, Heavenly Eye: Construction!"
Fu Qin closed his eyes. His mental power surged like a rising tide. Through his Heavenly Eye Soul Skill, he saw every one of Tang San's meridians and every injury to his divine soul with perfect clarity.
He drew a deep breath and shaped his mental power into a fine needle, slowly sending it into Tang San's Sea of Consciousness.
Inside, it was a wreck.
The Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's remnant soul had taken the form of a pitch-black spider, viciously tearing at the source of Tang San's divine soul, while Tang San's consciousness continued to resist with stubborn determination.
Even on the verge of collapse, this reincarnated God King still refused to give up.
"Still hanging on?" Fu Qin's spiritual avatar appeared in the Sea of Consciousness. Looking at the scene before him, he curled his lips into a cold smile.
Without the slightest hesitation, he controlled strands of his mental power and sent them winding toward the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's remnant soul.
"Intruder! Get out!" Sensing the threat, the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's remnant soul let out a shrill shriek. It abandoned its attack on Tang San's divine soul and pounced at Fu Qin's spiritual avatar.