Riot Spirit Ascension Platform

After Wu Zhangkong finished speaking about the Riot Spirit Ascension Platform, he immediately announced a three-day break.

Tang Wulin, unsurprisingly, intended to head to the Blacksmith Association to prepare armor for everyone.

Xiao Mu was completely indifferent to this armor; he could counter, perform a half-baked intangibility, and even negate most incoming damage.

It was a pity, however, that he was still suppressed by suffocation effects.

The mechanics were still too rigid.

Still too easy to be countered.

As for the others, as long as they could use their skills while controlled by the force field, it would be fine.

Early morning, three days later, at the East Sea Spirit Pagoda.

Eight people stood in the center of the lobby, metal pods lined up in a row like eight coffins waiting for burial.

Xiao Mu stood on the far left, his fingertips toying with a silver coin, flipping it in the morning light. Na'er stood by his side, excitement in her eyes; finally, she didn't have to go looking for teammates.

Gu Yue stood beside Na'er, her gaze as cold as ever, carrying an air of "keep away."

Xie Xie leaned against the wall, and Tang Wulin stood to the side.

Zhang Yangzi and Wang Jinxi stood shoulder to shoulder, their auras blending, though it seemed somewhat incomplete at this moment.

"Teams are limited to no more than seven people. You eight, split into two groups," Wu Zhangkong said.

"Me, Na'er, Gu Yue, and Wei Xiaofeng in one group," Xiao Mu spoke up suddenly, his tone flat. "The others can do as they please."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhangkong couldn't help but say, "Xiao Mu, you are a team; this distribution of strength is uneven."

"It's fine, isn't Wei Xiaofeng here to balance the combat power?"

Hearing this, Wei Xiaofeng suddenly understood his purpose.

Wu Zhangkong didn't know what else to say, so he continued, "Let it be then. Remember to rendezvous."

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 foliage denser, and the air was filled with a certain sweet, decaying scent, like overripe fruit fermenting.

Low beast roars echoed from afar—not just one, but a pack, responding to each other in the darkness.

"Brother, this Spirit Ascension Platform seems to have become quite different, doesn't it?" Na'er gripped her Silver Dragon Spear tightly, sensing that things had become chaotic here.

"I know." Xiao Mu's first soul ring lit up, and a force field expanded around him.

Gu Yue mobilized seven elements, her perception spreading into the surroundings.

"There are soul beasts, many of them, and quite a few people as well."

Xiao Mu nodded. "If you encounter danger, remember not to hold back."

Wei Xiaofeng stood at the back, the Green Shadow Snake coiled around his shoulder. He swallowed hard, looking at the dense vegetation around him, feeling as if eyes were hidden behind every bush.

"Boss, there seem to be soul beasts nearby."

Before he could finish, the bushes in front of them suddenly shook. Not just in one spot, but from all directions, as if something were closing in.

The rustling of leaves merged into a single sound, like some ancient incantation whispered in the dark.

"Soul beasts. They should be ape-type soul beasts."

The shadows of the trees parted, revealing several pairs of blood-red eyes.

Five Iron-Arm Apes.

Standing nearly ten feet tall, their grey-black fur shimmered with a metallic luster in the gloom, and their arms were unnaturally thick, like two pillars cast from refined steel.

They did not pounce immediately, but spread out in a fan shape, surrounding the four of them, emitting low growls from their throats—

Issuing a threat.

In an instant, Wei Xiaofeng felt his blood congeal in his veins, his breathing becoming heavy, as if something were strangling his throat.

"Seriously? Why are you affected by this soul skill?" Xiao Mu was speechless; he hadn't felt a shred of the skill's effect.

Humans were at the top of the food chain now—had that pride shattered so quickly?

"The weakness is similar to that of humans."

Na'er did not hesitate. She spun the Silver Dragon Spear half a circle in her palm, the tip carving a silver arc as she struck directly at the Iron-Arm Ape's throat.

The ape crossed its arms to block, the crisp sound of metal colliding tearing through the air as sparks flew.

The spear tip pierced directly through flesh.

The fine scales on the shaft of the Silver Dragon Spear hummed upon contact, the tip puncturing the metallic skin, piercing through muscle, and erupting from the back of the ape's neck.

The Iron-Arm Ape's eyes dimmed instantly, its massive body crashing to the ground.

"So weak!"

Na'er did not stop. With a shake of the spear, she flung the corpse aside, her silver eyes locking onto the second Iron-Arm Ape.

The giant ape was still roaring, its aura surging under the stimulation of its companion's death, but Na'er's footsteps did not falter in the slightest.

Suddenly, cyan light condensed in Gu Yue's palm. A blade of wind broke through the air, exploding in front of the second Iron-Arm Ape and whipping up a sky full of fallen leaves. The ape instinctively raised its arms to protect its eyes, leaving its defense wide open.

In the next instant, Na'er's spear arrived. A flash of silver light pierced directly through, exiting from the front of the throat. The second Iron-Arm Ape didn't even have time to shriek before it collapsed limply to the ground.

"Three more to go," Na'er said, flicking her spear, sending a fan-shaped spray of blood droplets flying.

The remaining three revealed their fear, shrieking as they retreated. However, Xiao Mu's force field had already expanded beneath their feet, and gravity suddenly doubled, rendering them completely unable to move.

"Wei Xiaofeng, stop being a coward!" Xiao Mu said.

"Huh?"

"Green Shadow Devour, restrain the one on the left."

Wei Xiaofeng gritted his teeth as his second soul ring lit up.

The Green Shadow Snake launched from his shoulder, its body suddenly expanding in mid-air to transform into a massive green phantom. With its maw wide open, it descended upon the Iron-Arm Ape on the left.

The Iron-Arm Ape swung its arms to block, but the phantom of the Green Shadow Snake coiled around its limbs, its fangs leaving shallow indentations on the metallic skin.

The attack power was still a bit lacking.

Xiao Mu's figure shot out from within the force field, his speed as fast as a blurred afterimage. Dark-gold patterns emerged beneath the skin of his right hand, and five sharp blades popped out from his knuckles—Dark-Gold Dread-Claw.

"Third one!"

The blades pierced in from the back of the neck, penetrating the bone as if it were tofu. Xiao Mu flipped his wrist, severing the entire head.

The fourth one tried to flee, but Gu Yue's rock spikes had already burst from the ground beneath its feet, tripping it up. Na'er's spear arrived immediately after, the silver light piercing through the back of its skull.

The last Iron-Arm Ape had just broken free from the Green Shadow Snake's coils when it shrieked and fled toward the depths of the forest.

"Did I say you could run?"

"Railgun."

Xiao Mu's coin was already spinning between his fingers, electric arcs spiraling upward as an orange-red beam of light pierced through the air.

The orange-red stream of light transfixed the final Iron-Arm Ape, its energy instantly reducing the creature's corpse to ash.

All five Iron-Arm Apes lay dead.

Wei Xiaofeng slumped to the ground, his soul power exhausted, gasping for air. Although his soul power had improved, he was considered the weakest of the eight in terms of ability.

Because compared to the others, he had no advantage whatsoever.

Just as the four of them finished the battle, a fireball shot toward them.

The fireball tore through the void like a meteor, smashing straight toward Xiao Mu. A heatwave surged behind them, igniting the surrounding fallen leaves, and the smell of burning filled the air.

Xiao Mu appeared to have no reaction, but a force field expanded behind him like an invisible film, suddenly slashing the fireball's speed. The thermal energy was stripped away, the kinetic energy was absorbed, and the flames were extinguished in an instant.

"An old acquaintance again. What a coincidence."