At the edge of the Lake of Life, in the heart of Star Dou Forest.
This was a sacred place for Soul Beasts. The air was so rich with life energy that it was nearly liquid, drifting above the lake in a faint green mist.
At that moment, the mountain-sized Titan Giant Ape crouched by the lake, looking utterly aggrieved. Its hundred-ton body curled up like that of an enormous child who'd done something wrong.
"Er Ming, you were far too reckless this time!"
Xiao Wu stood beside Er Ming's millstone-sized toes, one hand on her hip as she tilted her head back to scold him.
"If Big Brother Su Yun hadn't been so easygoing, someone with a shorter temper would've plucked every last hair off your body today!"
"Ugh... Roar..."
Er Ming let out a low growl, its massive head drooping. Its lantern-sized eyes were filled with meekness.
It was actually quite frustrated.
It had only wanted to come out and bring Sister Xiao Wu home, but then it had run into a man whose aura was as terrifying as a god's.
The divine pressure that had burst from Su Yun moments earlier had triggered an instinctive urge to kneel, even in the King of the Forest.
Even more outrageous, this human wasn't just unafraid of it—he had dared to sit on its shoulder and tell it what to do.
Su Yun was now lounging on a stone bench by the lake, watching the harmonious scene before him as he casually pulled out his signature Black Notebook.
[Checking in at the Lake of Life. Er Ming the big dummy is even more 'simple-minded' than I imagined.]
[Probably because of Xiao Wu, this big guy treats me more like a blood brother than its own kin. But since I've made it to the core, I can't leave empty-handed.]
[If I remember right, near the border between the core and inner regions, that nearly two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider should already be waiting.]
[It's the source of one of Tang San's most important cheats in this life—the External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances. Tang San is a good-for-nothing with only two Soul Rings right now, but with that damned protagonist's luck from the original story, he might very well absorb the Soul Ring beyond his limits and activate his 'Spider-Man' mode.]
[Heh. Since I'm here, I'll take this disgusting cheat into my custody as a 'messenger of justice.']
Xiao Wu came over and, seeing what was written in the Black Notebook, asked curiously:
"Big Brother Su Yun, are you going to kill that spider? Those Soul Beasts are vicious and cruel. They're butchers in the forest, and I hate them too."
Su Yun closed the notebook and patted Xiao Wu's head, his gaze deep and thoughtful.
"Killing it isn't just about delivering justice. It's also about putting an end to certain people's hopes once and for all. A cheat tainted with evil shouldn't exist in this world—unless I'm the one who purifies it."
"Come on, Er Ming. Take us to catch crabs... I mean, spiders."
Meanwhile, in a forest in the inner region of Star Dou Forest.
Tang San was tearing through the undergrowth like a madman.
His clothes were in tatters, his face crisscrossed with bloody scratches from thorns. His eyes, once so bright and lively, were now bloodshot, burning with an almost maniacal determination.
"Xiao Wu, you have to wait for me! That bastard Su Yun can't protect you. Only my Hidden Weapons, only Tang Sect techniques, can keep us alive in this forest!"
As he ran, Tang San instinctively touched Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.
Suddenly, an intensely cold and sinister aura came from ahead and to the side.
"Whoosh—!"
A purple-black blur streaked through the treetops.
Alarm bells rang in Tang San's mind, and he instantly activated Purple Demon Eye.
A giant spider was staring coldly at him.
Its body was pitch-black, with a grotesque human face on its abdomen. Eight spear-like legs gleamed with a poisonous green light, and every step left a shallow, corroded pit in the ground.
"Man Faced Demon Spider!"
Tang San didn't retreat. Instead, a feverish delight spread across his face.
"Judging by its size, it must be at least two thousand years old! That's beyond the limit a Soul Elder can absorb, but if I can kill it—if I can absorb its Soul Ring..."
Su Yun's arrogant figure flashed through Tang San's mind, and his jealousy turned into boundless strength.
"Then I'll become stronger! Then I can take Xiao Wu back from that pretty boy!"
Tang San roared, pushing Mysterious Heaven Skill to its limit as he unleashed the Godly Zhuge Crossbow and a storm of Hidden Weapons.
It was a brutal struggle.
The Man Faced Demon Spider was powerful, but Tang San was fighting as if he didn't care whether he lived or died. He threw out one Hidden Weapon after another, even trading wounds with his opponent.
After nearly half an hour of fierce combat, Tang San had paid the price of several broken ribs and a spider leg piercing his shoulder. At last, a poisoned Sleeve Arrow pierced the spider's compound eye.
"Shriek—!"
The Man Faced Demon Spider let out a piercing scream and crashed to the ground. Its eight legs twitched involuntarily as a faint purple Soul Ring began to take shape above it.
Tang San collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath. Though covered in blood, he wore a savage grin of triumph.
"I won! Su Yun, did you see that? This is Tang San's resilience! Once I absorb this Soul Ring, you're as good as dead!"
He forced himself to move, trembling as he reached out to claim the Soul Ring that could change his fate.
But then—
Just as his fingertips were about to touch it—
"Vmmm—!"
A beam of pure, holy golden light plunged down from the heavens like a divine sword, instantly sweeping away every trace of evil within a hundred meters.
The sudden shockwave sent Tang San flying. He slammed into a tree trunk, and his already gravely wounded body spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Who?!"
Tang San looked up, furious and desperate.
Beside the purple Soul Ring, Su Yun had somehow landed on the ground without a sound.
He was still dressed in spotless white robes, and even had the gall to swish a folding fan. Behind him, Xiao Wu watched Tang San with the pitying gaze one might give a pathetic worm.
"Well, well. If it isn't Little San."
Su Yun's lips curled into a smile that sent a chill through Tang San's bones.
"What happened to you? Tsk, tsk. Nearly lost your life just to kill a little spider?"
"Su Yun! That's my Soul Ring!"
Tang San's eyes bulged as he roared.
"That's my opportunity! Are you trying to steal my Soul Ring?!"
Su Yun smiled, his expression full of the arrogance of someone looking down on an insect.
"Steal it?"
Su Yun slowly raised his right hand, and the Judgment Angel's Soul Power instantly enveloped the Man Faced Demon Spider's corpse.
"Tang San, you've got one thing wrong. In this world, an opportunity without the strength to back it up is called suicide."
Su Yun didn't even look at the Soul Ring. His gaze was fixed on the spider's spine.
As golden light seeped into the corpse, a cluster of eight rib-like objects glowing with a deep blue light slowly peeled away from it.
The External Soul Bone, the Eight Spider Lances!
"You..."
Looking at the glowing cluster, Tang San felt a pain in his heart like nothing he had ever experienced. It was as if a part of his own body had been torn out by force.
"This thing is too vicious. You can't handle it."
Su Yun beckoned, and the deep blue cluster obediently flew into his palm. Under the purification of his divine Soul Power, its sinister aura gradually faded, transforming it into a clear, sapphire-like pendant.
"Since you went to all that trouble to cripple the spider for me, I won't kill you. I'll leave you your miserable life. Take your time crawling back through this forest."
Su Yun turned around, took Xiao Wu's hand, and shot into the sky in a flash of golden light.
"No—!! Su Yun!! I'll kill you!! Aah—!!"
Only Tang San's anguished howls remained in the forest.
He stared at the empty Soul Beast corpse, feeling the throb at his back that should have belonged to him—but was gone forever. For the first time, he understood what despair meant.
[ Ding! Due to the host's exceptionally brutal and precisely timed snatching of the Eight Spider Lances.]
[Tang San's Luck Value has decreased by 3000 points! Reward obtained: Soul Power increased to Level 48! Special skill obtained: Angel Wings evolved into Eight Wings of Judgment!]
Su Yun soared through the air, listening to the system notification. His heart felt wonderfully clear.
"Keeping a diary really is the only proper way to get stronger!"
Before you continue