Intercepting Luck, Tang San's First Spirit Ring is Locked

"If there is even half a lie, This Seat will go to Notting City in person."

Inside the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong left behind these words, and Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo immediately withdrew.

On the amethyst desk, the diary copy lay open quietly.

Bibi Dong did not turn the page again.

Yu Xiaogang.

Tang San.

Su Hang.

These names were already intertwined.

She had originally only wanted to investigate Su Hang, but now, she had to thoroughly investigate what Yu Xiaogang had taken from Spirit Hall back then.

Notting Academy, Xiao Chenyu's small courtyard.

Su Hang closed the Dark Gold Diary, and the oil lamp on the table flickered twice.

Xiao Wu was still sleeping on the soft bed by the window, covered tightly by the quilt, with only half her head exposed.

She was not sleeping soundly; as she turned over, she even nudged her pillow closer to Su Hang's side.

Just as Su Hang was about to put away the diary, the system notification arrived.

[Ding! Detected that Bibi Dong has developed substantial suspicion toward Yu Xiaogang; diary influence has expanded.]

[Ding! Detected that Qian Renxue's attention toward the Soul Hunting Forest incident has deepened; the probability of subsequent observation has increased.]

[Ding! Detected that Xiao Wu's state of reliance on the host is stable; current favorability is solidified.]

[This diary settlement is complete.]

[Reward: Small increase in soul power.]

A warm current flowed through his meridians.

The soul power within Su Hang's body completed a cycle, and the energy that had been somewhat restless after he just absorbed the God-Given Soul Ring became much smoother.

His level did not jump by a large margin, but his foundation had become much more stable.

This reward was not exaggerated, but it was very practical.

The system panel then unfolded.

[Level 1 Shop has been reorganized.]

[Basic Antidote Pill: Can neutralize common soul beast toxins; requires 50 diary points to redeem.]

[Low-Tier Soul Guidance Storage Belt: Contains storage space; requires 80 diary points to redeem.]

[Current diary points: 60.]

Su Hang looked at the shop, his fingers tapping on the tabletop a few times.

"Good grief, I have to save up points myself."

"I thought the system was going to give everything away for free."

Both items in the shop were quite good.

The storage belt was convenient; he could carry quite a few things when going out to hunt souls.

But he was going to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow, and the target was the Mandala Snake.

Poison was the most troublesome point right now.

Su Hang did not hesitate.

"Redeem Basic Antidote Pill."

[Redemption successful.]

A thumb-sized pill fell into his palm, its outer layer emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.

Su Hang put the pill away.

Tang San had the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Tang Sect detoxification methods, and Yu Xiaogang also brought plenty of preparations.

He had Xiao Wu on his side.

Xiao Wu was a 100,000-year-old soul beast in human form. If she were to be grazed by the Mandala Snake's poison, while it might not be fatal, having an extra layer of insurance was always safer.

Rustling movements came from the bed.

Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes and sat up, her hair a bit messy from sleep.

"Brother Su Hang, you haven't slept yet?"

She hugged the quilt and moved forward, her gaze falling on the tabletop before quickly shifting away.

She was very smart.

She didn't ask about things she shouldn't.

Su Hang put the diary back into the system space, stood up, walked to the bedside, and casually ruffled her hair.

"If you're awake, go back to sleep."

"We have to head to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow."

Xiao Wu immediately perked up.

"Were you just thinking about Tang San's first soul ring?"

Su Hang glanced at her.

"You're quite the guesser."

Xiao Wu hummed softly.

"I'm not stupid."

"Ever since that Tang San showed up, I've felt a tightness in my chest."

"The diary says he'll harm our family in the future, so I definitely have to keep a close eye on him."

Su Hang sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Stay close to me tomorrow."

"Don't wander off, and don't expose your soul beast aura."

"If something actually happens, just stand behind me."

Xiao Wu nodded quickly.

"Got it."

"I'm responsible for clinging to your leg, not for playing the hero."

Su Hang chuckled at her words.

"Your awareness is very high."

Xiao Wu wrapped the quilt around herself.

"Staying alive is what matters most."

"Brother Su Hang, if you snatch that Mandala Snake, won't Tang San's takeoff be ruined?"

Su Hang did not answer immediately.

He moved his consciousness.

A grey-gold card appeared in his palm.

There were no words on the card, only constantly shifting patterns.

It was exactly the Tang San Luck Deprivation Card.

The system interface popped up accordingly.

[Do you wish to use the Tang San Luck Deprivation Card?]

[You may lock onto one of Tang San's recent major luck nodes.]

[Option 1: Apprenticeship node.]

[Option 2: First soul ring node.]

[Option 3: Hidden weapon fame node.]

Su Hang leaned back in his chair, staring at the options.

The apprenticeship had already occurred.

Acting now would yield little benefit.

The hidden weapon fame would take some time.

The first soul ring was the true starting point.

The Mandala Snake deserved much of the credit for allowing Tang San's Blue Silver Grass to follow a control-type path.

It provided poison, toughness, and synergy with his binding abilities.

Only after obtaining this ring could Tang San officially step onto that protagonist's path.

Since he was going to intercept, he would cut it off at the root.

Su Hang directly selected the second option.

"Lock onto the first soul ring node."

[Selection confirmed.]

[Note: The Luck Deprivation Card cannot cause the target to die out of thin air.]

[This card can only change the ownership of an opportunity, reduce the quality of the opportunity, or transfer a portion of the gains.]

[The host must personally enter the fray to drive the event.]

[If the host does not enter the Soul Hunting Forest, the card's effect will be significantly weakened.]

Su Hang looked at the prompt, though he was not disappointed.

This was reasonable.

If he could just sit in his room and click a button to make Tang San's opportunities vanish automatically, it would lack a certain flavor.

Only by entering the game himself could he conveniently dismantle Yu Xiaogang's theories on the spot.

He would also take the chance to let Tang San experience what it meant for a protagonist's treatment to go offline.

Xiao Wu sat on the bed; though she couldn't see the system interface, she could sense that Brother Su Hang was about to do something big.

She scooted toward the edge of the bed.

"Brother Su Hang, are we really going to snatch it tomorrow?"

Su Hang held the gray-gold card between his fingers.

"Snatch is such a tacky word."

"We call it rational redistribution."

Xiao Wu blinked and nodded immediately.

"Got it."

"If Tang San takes it, he'll just drag us down, so we can't let him have it."

"This is called preemptive loss prevention."

Su Hang flicked his finger.

The gray-gold card dissipated in the air, turning into specks of light before vanishing into the void.

[Luck Deprivation Card activated.]

[Tang San's first soul ring luck has been marked.]

On the other side.

Notting Academy teacher dormitory.

The light was still on in Yu Xiaogang's room.

Several sheets of paper were spread across the table, covered in notes about soul ring age limits, soul beast species, and martial soul development paths.

Tang San sat opposite him, listening intently.

Yu Xiaogang pointed to the words "Mandala Snake" on the paper.

"The greatest flaw of the Blue Silver Grass is its insufficient strength."

"If you can absorb a soul beast that is both poisonous and tough, you can compensate for this."

"The Mandala Snake is very suitable."

Tang San nodded.

"Teacher, I will follow your arrangements."

No sooner had he spoken than his chest suddenly felt tight.

Tang San raised a hand to press against his chest, his body freezing for a moment.

Yu Xiaogang immediately put down the paper.

"What's wrong?"

Tang San adjusted his state.

"Just some discomfort."

"Perhaps I'm tired from the journey."

Yu Xiaogang studied him carefully for a few breaths, then picked up a cup of water and handed it over.

"We are going to the Soul Hunting Forest tomorrow, so get some rest early tonight."

"A soul master's first ring is critical; we cannot afford any mishaps."

Tang San took the cup and took a sip.

He didn't say anything more.

Yet, that feeling of unease remained, weighing heavily on his heart.

Tomorrow's hunt, he feared, would not be as stable as he had imagined.

Xiao Chenyu's small courtyard.

The final line of the system prompt stopped before Su Hang.

[Target destination: Soul Hunting Forest, Mandala Snake.]

Su Hang closed the panel and turned to look at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu was hugging her quilt, having already incorporated the plan to follow him out tomorrow into her actions.

She had even placed her shoes in the most convenient spot by the bedside.

Su Hang blew out the oil lamp.

The room grew dark.

Xiao Wu spoke in a low voice.

"Brother Su Hang, will that snake really appear tomorrow?"

Su Hang lay back down on the bed, his words steady.

"The Mandala Snake is still out there, but who it bites tomorrow, and who it fulfills, is not necessarily set in stone."