At the edge of Star Dou Forest's inner ring, the once-violent aura had been washed away beneath the radiance of the Judgment Angel.
Su Yun sat cross-legged, the eight golden Light Wings behind him giving off a gentle yet Soul Beast-quaking aura.
They had originally been Tang San's sinister, poisonous Eight Spider Lances. But after the forced assimilation of Su Yun's divine-grade Martial Soul and the system's top-tier purification, they had been completely reborn into a top-grade External Soul Bone rarely seen even in the Divine Realm.
Tang San still lay unconscious on the ground. His once-handsome face was now swollen like a purple yam, and fresh blood still clung to the corner of his mouth.
Most pitiful of all, his formerly straight spine seemed to have slumped a little. It was the physical manifestation of a certain destiny being forcibly ripped away.
Just then, a flurry of rustling leaves came from the nearby thicket.
"Brother Su Yun!"
A clear, tearful cry rang out.
A moment later, a pink figure stumbled out of the bushes.
Xiao Wu looked rather disheveled. Her trademark scorpion braid was a little messy, a few dead leaves clung to her clothes, and smudges of dirt marked her fair little face. She looked just like a frightened rabbit that had barely escaped the clutches of a demon.
The moment she saw Su Yun, her eyes lit up. Without a second thought, she threw herself into his arms, wrapped her slender arms tightly around his waist, and trembled faintly.
"Waaah... Brother Su Yun! I was so scared! That big monkey... after it grabbed me, it suddenly dropped me halfway there. I ran for ages before I found my way back!"
Feeling the soft, lively girl in his arms, Su Yun's mouth twitched.
What an actress!
If he hadn't already reached an understanding with Er Ming (the Titan Giant Ape), he might really have been fooled by this little rabbit's acting.
That sweet, bashful voice, those perfectly timed shivers, that relief at surviving a close call—if Oscar didn't give her a little golden statuette, it would be a loss for the entire Spirit Master World.
"All right, all right. It's over now."
Su Yun held Xiao Wu close and gently stroked the back of her head, comforting her.
"With me here, even the King of the Forest can't hurt you."
Xiao Wu rubbed her face against Su Yun's chest and secretly rolled her eyes, grumbling to herself:
That idiot Er Ming nearly gave himself away just now. When we get back, I'm making him eat two extra meals of bamboo.
Once he'd comforted Xiao Wu, Su Yun turned and gave Tang San, sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, a cold glance.
With a thought, the system Diary appeared in midair. In the chapter titled "Karma," his pen swept across the page.
[Heh, today's spoils are perfect.]
[The Eight Spider Lances that originally belonged to Tang San are now my "Wings of Judgment." Just look at this sacred radiance, then look at that good-for-nothing on the ground, whose very backbone I've drained dry. I've never felt so refreshed.]
[Tang San, oh, Tang San. You're destined to spend the rest of your life burrowing through the mud in this forest. Without my wings, you'll be nothing but a "groundbound chicken" for the rest of your life. Want to fly? Dream about it in your next life.]
[Come to think of it, Xiao Wu's acting gets better by the day. I'll have to reward her with a Top-Grade Ruby Carrot later.]
The moment the Diary updated, Bibi Dong in Spirit Hall and Qian Renxue in Heaven Dou City both felt the copy grow hot.
Reading the words "groundbound chicken," Qian Renxue burst out laughing. Her eyes were full of indulgence. "This little rascal really knows how to cut to the bone. But I do like his knack for snatching opportunities."
About a quarter of an hour later, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the other end of the forest.
"Su Yun! Xiao Wu!"
Ning Rongrong's anxious voice shattered the silence.
Soon, two figures came charging out of the forest, one after the other.
They were Zhu Zhuqing, who had tracked them all the way here using her Agility Attack advantage, and Ning Rongrong, who was panting heavily and still clutching various Defensive Soul Tools.
When the two girls saw Xiao Wu safe and sound in Su Yun's arms, the weight on their hearts finally lifted.
"Phew... you scared me to death."
Ning Rongrong patted her heaving chest and plopped down on the ground without a shred of grace. Her forehead was covered in sweat.
"Xiao Wu, I'm so glad you're all right! If something had happened to you, Su Yun would've torn Star Dou Forest apart."
Zhu Zhuqing still looked cool and aloof, but when her cold eyes swept over Su Yun, there was a hint of dependence in them that even she hadn't noticed.
She walked up to Su Yun, about to speak, when her gaze was suddenly drawn to the golden afterimages behind him, which hadn't entirely faded away.
The faint golden glow had already receded into his body, but its sacred ripples still lingered in the air like waves.
"Su Yun... just now, was that...?"
Zhu Zhuqing asked hesitantly.
Ning Rongrong also came to her senses. After all, she was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had seen plenty.
She'd seen the forest blazing with golden light from a hundred meters away. That sacred power had even stirred a strong resonance with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda inside her Martial Soul.
She sprang to her feet and circled Su Yun three times, her eyes glittering.
"Su Yun! I think I saw wings behind you just now? Golden, all sparkly... did you fly here?"
Su Yun let go of Xiao Wu and rose to his feet, gracefully dusting off his hem. His handsome, godlike face wore a perfectly measured, maddeningly humble smile—the sort people in later generations would call humblebragging.
"Oh, that."
Su Yun's tone was as casual as if he were talking about what he'd had for lunch.
"I got pretty lucky while rescuing Xiao Wu. Some ugly, long-faced spider tried to sneak up on me. I took care of it, and luck was on my side. Just before it died, it must've been so awestruck by my righteousness that it dropped an External Soul Bone."
"An External Soul Bone?!"
Ning Rongrong let out a shriek that could pierce the clouds, her mouth wide enough to fit an egg.
Zhu Zhuqing had gone completely still, shock filling her usually placid eyes.
What did an External Soul Bone mean?
It was the treasure every Soul Master dreamed of, second only to a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
It was a miracle countless Titled Douluo sought in vain for their entire lives!
"It... it dropped one?"
Ning Rongrong stammered.
"So the thing on your back just now was the evolved External Soul Bone?"
Su Yun turned around and stirred his thoughts.
"Whoom!"
Eight pure white, sacred Light Wings unfurled slowly behind him, covered in fine golden patterns.
Every feather was made of the purest light element. Sunlight refracted through them, scattering dazzling, multicolored radiance.
This wasn't a Soul Bone. It was a miracle!
"Here, this is the thing."
Su Yun pursed his lips and waved his wings with an air of disdain.
"They look a little too much like actual wings, and they're too flashy. I can barely use them to fly, boost my movement speed a tiny bit, and purify things. Barely usable, barely usable."
"..."
The air fell into deathly silence.
Ning Rongrong felt like crying.
Her sect was known as the richest under heaven, with treasures piled high in its vaults. But an External Soul Bone?
That was something even her father, Ning Fengzhi, wouldn't dare dream of!
And Su Yun was saying this thing was barely usable?
Zhu Zhuqing felt utterly helpless.
She'd trained desperately, escaped death by a hair, and worked so hard to grow stronger.
Yet Su Yun had gone into the forest, killed a spider, and obtained a divine piece of equipment capable of changing a Soul Master's fate—only to complain that it was too flashy?
"Su Yun, do you have any idea that if those words got out, every Soul Master on the continent would unite to hunt you down?"
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth.
"You call that barely usable? Then what are our Martial Souls? Fire pokers?"
Su Yun innocently rubbed his nose.
"It really is barely usable. They're not even real wings, after all."
All three girls were speechless. Even Xiao Wu, the one who'd set the whole thing up, couldn't help wanting to pinch him.
That humblebrag was just too infuriating.
Just then, the purple yam on the ground—the one everyone had ignored—stirred.
Tang San had actually woken up slowly the moment Su Yun summoned his Light Wings.
He was in agony all over, but his mind was still clear.
He'd thought he was already in hell. But when he opened his eyes, the first thing he heard was Su Yun saying how lucky he'd been to get an External Soul Bone.
Then he saw those eight sacred Light Wings.
As a disciple of the Tang Sect and a transmigrator bolstered by the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Tang San knew all too well what they meant.
They were his!
Deep down, he'd sensed that they could turn the tables for him, a supreme weapon that would let him fight enemies of higher rank!
But now, they had grown from Su Yun's back.
And Su Yun was calling them barely usable?
"Barely usable?"
Tang San murmured those words over and over. His overwhelming resentment and humiliation turned tangible.
It felt as if an invisible hand had clenched his heart in a crushing grip. The sensation of having his most precious treasure ripped away left him in unbearable agony.
"Blegh—!"
Tang San spat out another mouthful of blood, his face turning from deathly pale to ashen.
The sheer humiliation and rage snapped the last thread of reason in his mind.
His eyes rolled back. His body spasmed twice, and he passed out again, overcome with fury.
Su Yun shot a glance at Tang San, who was once again lying there like a corpse. A faint smile curled his lips. He put away his Light Wings and beckoned to the three girls.
"See? I told you the conditions in Star Dou Forest were terrible. Come on, I'll take you to find a clean lake in the core area so you can wash your faces."
As for Tang San on the ground?
Sorry, Su Yun couldn't even be bothered to spare him another glance!
Before you continue