Fully Regenerated, Severed Limbs Restored

Ji Yuan immediately retracted the barbed vine.

The jade glow of the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridge quickly faded, but the sound of friction remained. Hidden deep within the seventh piece of jade, something dry seemed to be stirred by Soul Power.

Tang San was not sleeping deeply, and his hand reached for his belt.

"Who's there?"

No one in the room answered.

Xiao Wu turned over and mumbled, "Brother, stop messing around."

Tang San sat up and picked up the belt to inspect it.

Ji Yuan remained motionless in the hidden layer beneath the sole of his shoe.

The seventh jade piece had once held dried soul beast meat, but Ji Yuan had long since absorbed it until only scraps remained.

The disturbance just now had been caused by Tang San's unconscious Soul Power stirring those scraps.

If Tang San examined it closely, the dark red powder might be exposed.

Ji Yuan immediately released a wisp of drowsiness toxin, sending it into Tang San's meridians through his ankle.

Tang San rubbed his forehead.

"Maybe I heard wrong."

He placed the belt back beside his pillow and lay down again.

Only after his breathing steadied did Ji Yuan spread out his vines once more.

He could not delay any longer.

The Rule of Regeneration had just been carved into the Demon Vine core. He had to use injury to force it to stabilize.

The barbed vine slashed down, severing the extending Demon Vine at its root. It fell into the gap between the bedboards.

Intense pain surged back along the Parasitic Network.

Ji Yuan did not release the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power.

Pale green patterns immediately lit up around the wound. Demon Vine fibers twisted wildly as new tissue poured from the severed surface, rapidly filling the missing portion.

When the new vine grew out, it was thinner than before, yet tougher. Fiery red patterns clung to its outer layer, while green patterns were hidden within.

Ji Yuan curled up the fallen severed vine and swallowed it back into his body.

Nothing went to waste.

He severed it again.

It regrew.

By the third severing, the Soul Power consumed by the repair had noticeably decreased. The Demon Vine core had already learned to recycle old fibers before filling the wound with the law of life.

A cold aura spread from Ji Yuan.

As long as his core remained unbroken, he could regenerate.

Fire could not burn him to death.

Poison could not invade him.

Severed limbs could be restored.

These blood bags at Shrek Academy had finally fed him from a blade of grass that could be trampled to death at any moment into a true monster.

Tang San suddenly frowned in his sleep, as if something had entangled him in his dream. His fingers clenched the blanket.

Ji Yuan casually drew away the newly regenerated internal force of Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill.

A muffled groan escaped Tang San's throat.

In his dream, Blue Silver Grass covered the ground across the back mountain. Dark red vines drilled out from beneath the blades, coiling around his ankles and crawling up his legs.

He wanted to swing the Clear Sky Hammer, but his left hand was too heavy to lift.

That enormous plant had no face, yet it made him feel hunger.

Endless hunger.

"Brother?"

Xiao Wu was awakened by the noise and propped herself up to look at him.

Sweat beaded on Tang San's forehead as he muttered something under his breath.

Xiao Wu gave him a push.

"Tang San, wake up!"

Tang San abruptly sat upright, his chest heaving. His left hand gripped the blanket, and black light nearly seeped from his palm.

Ji Yuan pressed the Clear Sky Hammer's origin back into the depths.

Tang San lowered his head to look at his hand, then looked at Xiao Wu.

"I'm fine. I just had a dream."

Xiao Wu stared at him.

"You've been having dreams a lot lately."

Tang San fell silent.

Xiao Wu climbed out of bed, felt her way to the table, poured a cup of water, and handed it to Tang San.

"Drink some."

Tang San accepted the cup. When his fingertips touched the water's surface, tiny ripples spread through it.

Ji Yuan's senses, hidden within the water-source spores, were stirred by that touch and immediately withdrew to the bottom of the cup.

Xiao Wu did not notice. She merely sat by the bed, hugging her knees as she watched him.

"What did you dream about?"

Tang San took a sip of water, his throat dry.

"The back mountain."

Xiao Wu's movements slowed.

"The back mountain of Holy Soul Village?"

Tang San nodded.

"And a blade of grass."

Xiao Wu's expression shifted, but she quickly forced it back under control.

"What's so scary about grass?"

Tang San said softly, "It wasn't ordinary grass."

Ji Yuan listened quietly from the hidden layer in Tang San's shoe. The newly grown fibers from the severed-vine experiment slowly stretched out.

Tang San's dream had not come from nowhere.

It was the backlash on his mind caused by the Parasitic Network when Ji Yuan drained his internal force.

But it did not matter.

No matter how real the dream was, it was only a dream.

Tang San would never find him.

Xiao Wu reached out and patted Tang San on the shoulder.

"Stop thinking about it. We still have training tomorrow. If you don't sleep, you definitely won't have any energy when morning comes."

Tang San looked at her.

"Xiao Wu, have you ever felt like there was clearly nothing around you, yet you always felt like something was watching you?"

Xiao Wu's hand, which was reaching for the cup, paused for a moment. The bottom of the cup touched the table with a faint sound.

"Did Teacher Zhao beat something wrong into you?"

Tang San smiled bitterly.

"Maybe."

Xiao Wu tossed the blanket over him.

"Sleep."

Tang San lay down again, but did not close his eyes immediately.

Ji Yuan did not continue draining him.

Today had been enough.

His regenerative ability had stabilized, his fire resistance had stabilized, and the Parasitic Network had not been exposed.

Tang San's unease would instead make him cultivate even harder.

And harder cultivation would produce more nourishment.

That was the best cycle.

Just as dawn began to break, Flender's whistle sounded outside.

"Assemble!"

Xiao Wu covered her head at once, irritated by the noise.

"Does this lousy academy not let people sleep?"

Tang San got up and dressed, his face even paler than it had been the night before.

When Xiao Wu saw that he was unsteady on his feet, she immediately reached out to support him.

"You're still training like this?"

Tang San shook his head.

"I can't fall behind."

Ji Yuan casually fed a little vitality back into him, making him look merely exhausted rather than unable to stand.

On the training ground, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun had already arrived.

Oscar squatted on the ground clutching his stomach, looking as if hunger had driven him half-mad.

Ma Hongjun teased him with half a steamed bun.

"Little Ao, call me big brother and this half is yours."

Oscar looked up at him.

"Fatty, shake that thing one more time and I'll bite your hand off."

Ma Hongjun quickly stuffed the bun into his mouth.

"You're scarier than I am right now."

When Ning Rongrong saw Tang San, she raised an eyebrow.

"Why does your complexion look worse again?"

Xiao Wu immediately replied, "What's it got to do with you?"

Ning Rongrong crossed her arms.

"I'm just worried he'll collapse later and make all of us do extra training."

Dai Mubai stepped forward to smooth things over.

"Enough. The dean is here."

Flender walked up to the group with his hands behind his back. Zhao Wuji followed beside him, the injuries on his face not yet fully faded.

When Zhao Wuji saw Tang San, he snorted.

"Kid, sleep well last night?"

Tang San cupped his hands in salute.

"Teacher Zhao."

Zhao Wuji waved a hand.

"Cut that out. You'll have plenty to suffer later."

Flender adjusted his glasses.

"Today's lesson will be at the Soto Great Soul Arena."

Everyone's expressions changed.

Ma Hongjun was the first to speak.

"Dean, are we really going?"

Flender looked at him.

"Isn't your fire burning strong? This is the perfect place for you to vent it."

Ma Hongjun immediately shut up.

Oscar pulled a miserable face.

"Dean, does a food-type Soul Master like me have to go too?"

Flender looked at him.

"You won't need to participate in one-on-one soul fights, but you will provide supplies for them. And while you're at it, train your recent condition back up."

Oscar muttered quietly, "My condition was trained out of me."

Zhao Wuji glared at him.

"What did you say?"

Oscar immediately stood straight.

"I said I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

Ning Rongrong frowned.

"The Great Soul Arena is real combat, not an academy assessment. What if we get hurt?"

Flender looked at her.

"That's exactly why we're going."

Ning Rongrong choked on her words, her expression darkening.

Zhu Zhuqing asked only one question.

"Are we leaving now?"

Flender nodded.

"We'll go after breakfast."

The words "actual combat" made Tang San's chest burn instead.

He needed battle to test himself.

He also needed to find out whether the recent abnormalities in his body were truly caused by repeated overexertion.

Ji Yuan unfurled newly grown vines within the hidden layer of his shoe soles.

The Great Soul Arena.

More soul masters.

More wounds, blood aura, and martial soul collisions.

This was not a training ground.

This was a slaughterhouse that delivered prey straight to him.

Flender swept his gaze over everyone before finally stopping on Tang San.

"Tang San, can your body hold up?"

Xiao Wu spoke first.

"It can't."

Yet Tang San said at the same time, "It can."

Xiao Wu glared at him.

"Brother!"

Tang San looked at her, his tone softening.

"I'll be careful."

Xiao Wu turned her face away in anger.

"You say that every time."

Flender did not try to persuade him further.

"Since you've made your own choice, don't regret it."

Tang San nodded.

From the shadows, Ji Yuan siphoned away the hesitation that had just surfaced in him, leaving only a restless desire for battle.

Go on.

Fight for your life.

The more you wanted to prove yourself, the more you would push your body to its limit.

And everything gained beyond that limit would belong to him.

At breakfast, Oscar was told to make extra sausages.

The moment he began reciting the incantation, his face turned a shade paler.

This time, Ji Yuan did not steal in great gulps. He merely scraped away the residual regenerative fluctuations at the edge of Oscar's martial soul core.

Oscar frowned.

"It's happening again."

Flender immediately looked at him.

"Where do you feel uncomfortable?"

Oscar held a sausage and lowered his head to sense himself.

"It's not discomfort. I just feel a little empty."

Ma Hongjun swallowed a mouthful of porridge.

"Little Ao, you've been feeling empty for days. How about letting Tang San give you a massage?"

Tang San had just started to raise his head when Ji Yuan made a flame node inside Ma Hongjun's body twitch.

Ma Hongjun's expression changed, and he hurriedly pressed a hand to his chest.

"Forget it. Massage me first."

Xiao Wu slapped the table.

"Are you two ever going to stop?"

The dining table immediately descended into chaos.

Flender could not be bothered with them and merely tapped the tabletop.

"Gather at the village entrance in half an hour. Anyone late will run until their legs break tonight."

No one dared continue arguing.

But Ji Yuan had already tightened the entire spore network.

Once they left the academy, the well node would grow more distant and the connection would weaken.

Yet the parasitic points inside the Shrek Seven Monsters had already taken shape.

As long as they gathered together, he could continue controlling the entire network through Tang San, the main root.

Half an hour later, everyone arrived at the village entrance.

Flender walked at the front.

Dai Mubai knew the route and was responsible for leading the way.

Xiao Wu supported Tang San for several steps. Only after seeing that his complexion had improved considerably did she let go.

Ning Rongrong noticed and suddenly spoke.

"Tang San, did you eat Oscar's sausages again last night?"

Tang San shook his head.

"No."

Ning Rongrong stared at him.

"Then you recovered rather quickly."

Xiao Wu immediately stepped in front of Tang San.

"What are you trying to say now?"

Ning Rongrong looked away.

"Nothing."

Zhu Zhuqing walked at the back, her gaze falling on Tang San's shoe soles.

Ji Yuan gave her no fluctuations to detect.

Zhu Zhuqing watched for a moment, then suddenly quickened her pace and passed Tang San from the side.

As she brushed past him, the newly grown vines in the hidden layer of his shoe soles automatically contracted. Yet the green patterns at the severed ends retained a faint glimmer from the earlier self-healing experiment.

Zhu Zhuqing stopped.

Tang San turned back.

"Zhu Zhuqing?"

Zhu Zhuqing did not look at him. She only stared at the dirt beside his feet.

There, a small piece of severed vine skin that Ji Yuan had not managed to fully devour was being turned up by the morning breeze.

The remnant was charred black, but fresh dark-red buds grew along its edges.