Ji Yuan immediately retracted the barbed vine.
The jade stones of Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridge quickly dimmed, but the scraping sound remained, hidden deep within the seventh jade stone, as though something dried up had been stirred by Soul Power.
Tang San was not sleeping deeply. His hand reached for his belt.
"Who's there?"
No one answered in the room.
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 within the hidden layer of Tang San's shoe sole.
The seventh jade stone had once stored dried soul beast meat, but Ji Yuan had long since absorbed it until only scraps remained.
The sound just now had been caused when Tang San's unconscious Soul Power disturbed those scraps.
If Tang San examined it closely, the dark-red powder might be exposed.
Ji Yuan immediately released a thread of drowsiness toxin, sending it through Tang San's ankle and into his meridians.
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 unfurl his vines once more.
He could not delay any longer.
The Rule of Regeneration had just been engraved into the Demon Vine's core. He needed damage to force it to stabilize.
The barbed vine slashed down, severing the extended Demon Vine at its root. It fell into a gap in the bedframe.
Intense pain surged back along the Parasitic Network.
Ji Yuan did not release the slightest Soul Power fluctuation.
Pale-green patterns immediately lit up around the wound. The Demon Vine fibers twisted wildly as fresh tissue poured from the severed end, 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 lay hidden beneath.
Ji Yuan curled up the fallen vine and swallowed it back into his body.
Nothing went to waste.
He severed it again.
It grew again.
By the third severing, the Soul Power consumed for restoration had clearly decreased. The Demon Vine core had already learned to reclaim old fibers before filling the wound with the laws of life.
A chill spread from Ji Yuan.
As long as his core remained intact, he could regenerate.
Fire could not burn him to death.
Poison could not invade him.
Severed limbs could be restored.
These blood bags from 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 bed. It seemed that something had entangled him in his dream, and his fingers clenched the blanket.
Ji Yuan casually drew away the newly generated internal energy of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
A muffled groan escaped Tang San's throat.
In his dream, Blue Silver Grass blanketed the ground behind the mountain. Dark-red vines burrowed out from beneath the blades of grass, wrapped around his ankles, and crawled up his legs.
He wanted to swing the Clear Sky Hammer, but his left hand was so heavy that he could not lift it.
That enormous plant had no face, yet it made him feel hunger.
Boundless hunger.
"Brother?"
Xiao Wu was awakened by the noise. She propped herself up and looked at him.
Sweat beaded on Tang San's forehead as he muttered something under his breath.
Xiao Wu pushed him.
"Tang San, wake up!"
Tang San abruptly sat upright, his chest heaving. His left hand gripped the corner of the blanket, and black light nearly seeped from his palm.
Ji Yuan pressed the Clear Sky Hammer's source 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 dreaming 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 took the cup. When his fingertips touched the water's surface, tiny ripples spread through it.
The perception Ji Yuan had hidden in the water-source spores was 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 was dry.
"The mountain behind the village."
Xiao Wu's movements slowed.
"The mountain behind Holy Soul Village?"
Tang San nodded.
"And a blade of grass."
Xiao Wu's expression changed, but she quickly suppressed it.
"What's so scary about grass?"
Tang San said quietly, "That wasn't ordinary grass."
Ji Yuan listened quietly from within the hidden layer of Tang San's shoe sole. The fresh fibers from the severed-vine experiment slowly stretched out.
Tang San's dream had not come from nowhere.
When Ji Yuan extracted his internal energy, the Parasitic Network had caused a backlash against his mind.
But that was fine.
No matter how real the dream was, it was only a dream.
Tang San could not trace it back to him.
Xiao Wu reached out and patted Tang San's shoulder.
"Stop thinking about it. We still have training tomorrow. If you don't sleep now, you definitely won't have any energy at dawn."
Tang San looked at her.
"Xiao Wu, have you ever had that feeling? There's clearly nothing around you, but you always feel like something is watching you?"
Xiao Wu's hand paused for a moment as she took back the cup. The bottom of the cup touched the table with a very soft sound.
"Did Teacher Zhao beat something wrong with you?"
Tang San gave a bitter smile.
"Maybe."
Xiao Wu tossed the blanket over him.
"Sleep."
Tang San lay back down, but he did not close his eyes immediately.
Ji Yuan did not continue extracting.
Today had already been enough.
His self-healing ability was stable, his fire resistance was stable, and the Parasitic Network had not been exposed.
Tang San's unease would instead make him cultivate even harder.
The harder he cultivated, the more nourishment he would produce.
That was the best cycle.
At the first light of dawn, Flender's whistle sounded outside.
"Gather!"
Xiao Wu covered her head at once, awakened by the noise.
"Does this lousy academy just not let people sleep?"
Tang San got up and dressed, his face even paler than it had been the night before.
Seeing that he was unsteady on his feet, Xiao Wu 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 to him, making him appear merely exhausted rather than too weak 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 half-crazed with hunger.
Ma Hongjun teased him with half a steamed bun.
"Little Ao, call me big brother and I'll give you this half."
Oscar looked up at him.
"Fatty, shake that 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."
Ning Rongrong spotted Tang San and raised a brow.
"Why does your complexion look worse again?"
Xiao Wu immediately replied, "What does that have to do with you?"
Ning Rongrong crossed her arms.
"I'm just afraid he'll collapse later and make all of us do extra training."
Dai Mubai stepped in to smooth things over.
"Enough. The dean is here."
Flender walked over 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.
"Teacher Zhao."
Zhao Wuji waved him off.
"Cut it out. You'll have plenty to suffer later."
Flender adjusted his glasses.
"Today's class will be at the Soto Great Soul Arena."
Everyone's expressions changed.
Ma Hongjun spoke first.
"Dean, are we really going?"
Flender looked at him.
"Aren't you full of fire? It'll be a good place for you to vent it."
Ma Hongjun immediately shut up.
Oscar looked miserable.
"Dean, does someone from the food system have to go too?"
Flender looked at him.
"You don't need to participate in one-on-one spirit battles, but you'll provide supplies for them. While you're at it, get your recent condition back into shape for me."
Oscar muttered under his breath.
"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 task."
Ning Rongrong frowned.
"The Great Soul Arena is actual combat, not an academy assessment. What if we get hurt?"
Flender looked at her.
"That's exactly why we're going."
Ning Rongrong was left speechless, her expression turning ugly.
Zhu Zhuqing asked only one question.
"Are we leaving now?"
Flender nodded.
"We'll leave after breakfast."
The words "actual combat" made Tang San's heart burn instead.
He needed battle to prove himself.
He also needed to figure out whether the recent abnormalities in his body were really caused by repeated overexertion.
Ji Yuan unfurled newly grown vines within the hidden layer of his shoe sole.
The Great Soul Arena.
More soul masters.
More wounds, blood aura, Martial Soul clashes.
This was not a training ground.
This was a slaughtering block 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.
"No."
Yet Tang San said at the same time, "It can."
Xiao Wu glared at him.
"Brother!"
Tang San looked at her, softening his tone.
"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 decision, don't regret it."
Tang San nodded.
From the shadows, Ji Yuan siphoned away the hesitation that had just arisen in him, leaving behind only a restless craving for battle.
Go on.
Fight for your life.
The more you wanted to prove yourself, the more you would push your body to its limits.
And everything gained beyond those limits would belong to him.
At breakfast, Oscar was asked to make extra sausages.
The moment he began reciting the incantation, his face turned a little paler.
This time, Ji Yuan did not steal in great gulps. He merely scraped away the lingering regenerative fluctuations at the edge of the Martial Soul core.
Oscar frowned.
"Again."
Flender immediately looked at him.
"Where do you feel unwell?"
Oscar held a sausage and lowered his head to sense himself.
"It doesn't hurt. I just feel a little empty."
Ma Hongjun swallowed his porridge.
"Little Ao, you've been feeling empty these past few days. How about letting Tang San massage you?"
Tang San had just started to look up when Ji Yuan made the 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 breakfast table immediately descended into chaos.
Flender could not be bothered with them and merely rapped on the tabletop.
"Gather at the village entrance in half an hour. Anyone late will run tonight until their legs break."
No one dared continue arguing.
Ji Yuan, however, had already drawn the entire spore network tight.
Once they left the academy, the well node would become more distant and the connection would weaken.
But the parasitic points inside the Shrek Seven Monsters had already taken shape.
As long as they gathered together, he could continue controlling the entire area 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 noticing 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 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 behind them, her gaze falling on Tang San's shoe soles.
Ji Yuan gave her no fluctuations to detect.
Zhu Zhuqing watched for a while, then suddenly quickened her pace and passed Tang San at his side.
As she brushed past him, the newly grown vines hidden in the shoe sole automatically contracted, but the green markings at the break still retained a trace of brightness 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 by his feet.
There, a small strip of severed vine skin that Ji Yuan had not managed to consume completely was being turned over by the morning breeze.
The remnant was charred black, yet fresh dark-red buds sprouted from its edges.
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