Wu Zhangkong, Are You Sane?

In a world where immortals were as numerous as hemp stalks, recovering a Dark Ring put some mental pressure on Juggler, but it was still within his limits.

At least Juggler had already been tormented by Asuka Shin and that queen. He could handle a pack of donkeys and dogs whose strength was inferior to his own, even if there were immortals as numerous as hemp stalks.

But if, in that same world, he had to recover Dark Rings in batches—and while each Dark Ring might be weaker than the original, every person who possessed one had astonishing wisdom and a unique skill, with fighting spirit and endurance that left everyone amazed, not to mention secret weapons that could bring endless surprises...

Juggler wanted to haul the Tree of Life and Lan Kai away overnight, just as he had once fled the Storage Facility under cover of darkness.

Unfortunately, this time he couldn't run.

Juggler really wanted to deny Lan Kai's theory, but the words had barely left his mouth before he fell silent.

Because that Man Faced Demon Spider had indeed been affected by the Dark Ring's power. After enduring Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi's Martial Soul Fusion Skill, it had transformed into a monster. This wasn't simply a Soul Beast breaking through to a higher age category.

Fortunately, in this era, wild Soul Beasts had all but gone extinct, with the exception of Sea Soul Beasts. Even Wu Zhangkong, who had come from Shrek Academy, didn't understand much about this kind of transformation in Soul Beasts.

That was why he, like the ordinary employees of the Spirit Pagoda, had simply assumed that the Man Faced Demon Spider's transformation was a breakthrough. At most, he would marvel, "I never thought the Spirit Pagoda's technology had reached such a level."

If the Dark Ring hadn't been split into multiple pieces, then its bearer had to be somewhere in the Spirit Pagoda, hidden so well that even Juggler, who loved the Dark Ring dearly, couldn't find him.

But if the Dark Ring's power had also been divided into many parts, each one pushed close to the limit of what the Douluo Continent could withstand, then it was easy to explain why Juggler had found nothing all this time.

Of course, Lan Kai had another possibility in mind. A terrible one.

One of the Dark Ring's bearers might be a member of the Tang family.

He didn't mean Tang San, of course. Tang San would probably have a Dark Ring clone, but he had disappeared along with the Divine Realm, which had been swallowed by a black hole. Right now, he could barely protect himself, let alone use the Dark Ring to influence the Douluo Continent.

By the time he could return with the Dark Ring and try to influence the Douluo Continent, Lan Kai would have grown much stronger, and Juggler would have gathered the Dark Ring's power. The pure and noble Tang Buddha would learn what it meant to get pummeled by both the power of light and the power of darkness.

Lan Kai was worried about Tang Hao, the Plane Master whom Tang San had arranged to remain in the Douluo Plane ahead of time.

That guy had always hidden himself well. He hadn't shown up to reap the rewards until after the Abyssal Sage King made his move.

Lan Kai didn't know whether Tang Hao could keep tabs on the entire Douluo Continent and intervene whenever he wanted, or whether his reach was limited to when Tang Wulin was in danger, along with Tang San's plan for him to appear after the Abyssal Sage King arrived and finish things with a single hammer blow.

Lan Kai didn't think Tang Hao and his son were strong enough to do the former, but he couldn't afford to take the risk.

"Fine. I'll investigate, but you need to work hard to improve your strength too. There are more enemies than either of us imagined."

Juggler rubbed his hair in distress. He had never faced such a complicated situation before. He'd rather take on Gilbaris or Greeza than deal with the Douluo Continent again.

"Mm, I understand!"

Lan Kai nodded firmly, feeling even more urgency to gain greater strength.

A semester passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for the final exams.

This time, however, Lan Kai didn't need to take the first test: entering the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform during its riot period and surviving inside.

After all, ever since Class Zero had just been established, Lan Kai had already shown that he was evenly matched with Wu Zhangkong at full strength.

Wu Zhangkong had successfully broken through during that time and become a Soul Saint. But Lan Kai had also fused with a second Soul Spirit, a fire-type one with a high-purity phoenix bloodline, and become a Soul Elder. Wu Zhangkong had a feeling that the next time he fought Lan Kai at full strength, he might be the one who lost.

Sending someone with that kind of strength into the Primary Spirit Ascension Platform—even during its riot period—wouldn't be an exam. It'd be a vacation.

Even if Lan Kai were forbidden from entering the transformed state that made even Wu Zhangkong feel pressured, he could still tear through the entire Primary Spirit Ascension Platform with his bare hands, pinning every Soul Beast and Soul Master inside to the ground and grinding them into the dirt.

That included, for example, the students who looked familiar to Wu Zhangkong and might already have been accepted into Shrek Academy, as well as people who seemed to be members of the Star Luo Empire's royal family or hidden clans.

Of course, that didn't mean Lan Kai couldn't enter the riot-period Spirit Ascension Platform. Wu Zhangkong simply wouldn't assign him a task for that part of the final exam.

The Fifth Spirit Envoy of the Spirit Pagoda, Juggler, was far more qualified to handle that sort of thing than Wu Zhangkong.

However...

"What? The second test is to go to the Tang Sect's Eastsea City branch and fight the previous generation of the Shrek Seven Devils inside the Tang Sect's unique virtual space, the 'Hall of Heroes,' where they've been recreated from records?"

When Wu Zhangkong kept Lan Kai behind and told him about the second part of the final exam, Lan Kai nearly turned into a Yamanaka squad member and blurted out, "Are you sane?"

After all, the Spirit Pagoda's "brand" on Lan Kai was even more obvious than the one on Gu Yue. Getting him to leave the Spirit Pagoda and join the Tang Sect would be incredibly difficult.

But Lan Kai soon guessed what the Tang Sect really wanted: to obtain his physical data.

Once he entered the virtual space, its owner would collect his physical data. Then the Tang Sect could study it.

Still, since Wu Zhangkong dared to make the request, Juggler must have agreed. Otherwise, if Wu Zhangkong's Tang Sect branch in Eastsea City had dared to ask for something like this on its own, the Snake Heart Sword would have given them a fatal stab through the heart in the next instant.

Juggler had indeed been very busy lately. Searching within the Spirit Pagoda for the bearer of the Dark Ring took up most of his time, and he rarely even got to see Lan Kai.

However...

"Virtual space? Right, he wants me to probe the Tang Sect's virtual space instead, doesn't he?

"And if it's a virtual space built from data, then I might be able to use this card too."

Recalling another card that had appeared in his card case, its color extremely faint, Lan Kai immediately understood. He accepted the second part of the final exam without hesitation.