After Wu Zhangkong finished explaining the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform, he immediately announced a three-day break.
As expected, Tang Wulin was going to the Blacksmith Association to forge armor for everyone.
Xiao Mu didn't care about the armor at all. He could parry and counterattack, use a crude form of phasing, and ignore most attack damage.
Unfortunately, he was still suppressed by suffocation effects.
The mechanics were still too rigid.
He was still too easy to counter.
As for the others, they just needed to use their skills when they were controlled by the force field.
Three days later, at dawn, they arrived at the East Sea Spirit Pagoda.
The eight of them stood in the center of the hall. A row of metal pods lined the floor like eight coffins awaiting burial.
Xiao Mu stood at the far left, toying with a silver coin between his fingertips, flipping it in the morning light. Na'er stood beside him, excitement shining in her eyes. At last, she wouldn't have to look for teammates.
Gu Yue stood next to Na'er, her eyes still cool, her manner warning others to keep their distance.
Xie Xie leaned against the wall, while Tang Wulin stood nearby.
Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi stood shoulder to shoulder. Their auras blended together, but at this moment, the union seemed incomplete.
"Teams can have no more than seven people. There are eight of you, so split into two groups," Wu Zhangkong said.
"Na'er, Gu Yue, Wei Xiaofeng, and I will be one group." Xiao Mu spoke up, his tone calm. "The rest can decide among themselves."
Hearing this, Wu Zhangkong couldn't help saying, "Xiao Mu, you're one team. Splitting the strength this unevenly isn't a good idea."
"It's fine. I brought Wei Xiaofeng along to balance out the team's strength, didn't I?"
Hearing that, Wei Xiaofeng suddenly realized what his role was.
Wu Zhangkong wasn't sure what to say, so he continued, "All right, then. Remember to meet up."
The metal pods closed, and light flashed.
Xiao Mu opened his eyes to find himself standing in an unfamiliar forest. The trees were taller, the branches denser, and the air carried a sweet, rotting smell, like overripe fruit left to ferment.
Low beastly roars sounded in the distance—not from one creature, but from a whole pack, calling back and forth through the darkness.
"Brother, this Spirit Ascension Platform seems really different now, doesn't it?" Na'er gripped the Silver Dragon Spear. The place had become rather chaotic.
"I know." Xiao Mu's First Soul Ring lit up, and a force field spread around him.
Gu Yue summoned seven elements, her senses spreading in every direction.
"There are Soul Beasts. Lots of them. And quite a few people, too."
Xiao Mu nodded. "If you run into danger, don't hold back."
Wei Xiaofeng stood at the rear, the Green Shadow Snake coiled over his shoulder. He swallowed and stared at the dense vegetation around them, feeling as though eyes lurked behind every bush.
"Boss, there seem to be Soul Beasts nearby."
Before he had finished speaking, the bushes ahead suddenly shook. It wasn't just one patch—they were surrounded on all sides, as if something were closing in.
The rustling of leaves ran together, like an ancient incantation whispering in the darkness.
"There are Soul Beasts. They look like apes."
The shadows between the trees parted, revealing several pairs of blood-red eyes.
Five Iron-Arm Apes.
Nearly a zhang tall, their gray-black fur glimmered like metal in the gloom. Their arms were unnaturally thick, like pillars cast from tempered steel.
They didn't charge at once. Instead, they spread out in a fan, surrounding the four of them as they let out low growls—
A warning.
In an instant, Wei Xiaofeng felt his blood freeze in his veins. His breathing grew labored, as if something were squeezing his throat.
"Wait, why are you affected by this Soul Skill?" Xiao Mu asked, speechless. He couldn't feel its effect at all.
Humans were at the top of the food chain now. Had their confidence shattered that quickly?
"Their weaknesses are similar to those of humans."
Na'er didn't hesitate. She spun the Silver Dragon Spear halfway around in her palm, its tip tracing a silver arc as she thrust straight for the Iron-Arm Ape's throat.
The Iron-Arm Ape crossed its arms to block. The sharp clang of metal on metal tore through the air, sparks flying.
The spearhead pierced straight through flesh.
The fine scales along the Silver Dragon Spear's shaft hummed on contact. Its tip pierced the metallic skin, tore through muscle, and emerged from the Iron-Arm Ape's neck.
The light in the ape's eyes abruptly dimmed, and its massive body crashed to the ground.
"So weak!"
Na'er didn't stop. She shook the spear, flinging the corpse aside, then fixed her silver eyes on the second Iron-Arm Ape.
The giant ape was still roaring. The death of its companion made its aura surge, but Na'er's steps didn't falter.
Suddenly, green light gathered in Gu Yue's palm. A wind blade shot through the air and burst before the second Iron-Arm Ape's eyes, whipping up a storm of leaves. The ape instinctively raised an arm to shield its eyes, leaving its defenses wide open.
In the next instant, Na'er's spear struck. Silver light flashed as it drove straight through the ape's throat. The second Iron-Arm Ape crumpled to the ground before it could even roar.
"Three left," Na'er said. She flicked her spear, scattering a fan of blood droplets.
The remaining three showed their fear and backed away with growls. But Xiao Mu's force field had already spread beneath them, doubling the gravity. They couldn't move at all.
"Wei Xiaofeng, stop being a coward!" Xiao Mu said.
"Huh?"
"Green Shadow Devour. Hold down the one on the left."
Wei Xiaofeng gritted his teeth, and his Second Soul Ring lit up.
The Green Shadow Snake sprang from his shoulder. Its body abruptly swelled in midair, turning into a huge green phantom. Its jaws gaped as it swooped down over the Iron-Arm Ape on the left.
The Iron-Arm Ape swung its arms to block, but the Green Shadow Snake's phantom coiled around them. Its teeth left shallow dents in the ape's metallic skin.
His attack was still a little too weak.
Xiao Mu shot through the force field, moving as fast as a blur. Dark-gold patterns surfaced beneath the skin of his right hand, and five sharp blades extended from his knuckles—Dark-Gold Dread-Claw.
"The third one!"
The blades stabbed into the back of the ape's neck, piercing bone as easily as tofu. Xiao Mu twisted his wrist and sliced off its entire head.
The fourth tried to escape, but stone spikes burst from the earth beneath its feet, tripping it up. Na'er's spear followed, silver light piercing through the back of its head.
The last Iron-Arm Ape had just broken free of the Green Shadow Snake's coils when it roared and fled into the depths of the forest.
"Did I say you could run?"
"Railgun."
The coin flipped between Xiao Mu's fingers as arcs of electricity spiraled upward. A streak of orange-red light shot through the air.
The orange-red streak pierced the last Iron-Arm Ape, and its corpse was reduced to ash.
All five Iron-Arm Apes lay dead.
Wei Xiaofeng slumped to the ground, his Soul Power exhausted as he gasped for breath. His Soul Power had improved, but in terms of abilities, he was still the weakest of the eight.
Because compared with the others, he had no advantage at all.
Just as the four of them finished their battle, a fireball shot toward them.
The fireball tore through the air like a meteor, hurtling straight at Xiao Mu. Heat surged up behind him, setting the surrounding leaves alight as the smell of burning filled the air.
Xiao Mu seemed not to react at all. The force field spread behind him like an invisible film, abruptly slowing the fireball. Its heat was stripped away, its momentum absorbed, and the flames went out in an instant.
"Well, look who it is. What a coincidence."