The Cost

The Shrek group entered the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky, blocking the sunlight completely. The air was thick with the moldy smell of decaying leaves mixed with damp earth, so stifling it was hard to breathe.

Tang San walked in the middle of the group, his entire body taut. As he moved, he kept watch for every rustle in the surroundings. The crushing defeat in the previous team battle training still gnawed at him. He was eager to prove in real combat that there was nothing wrong with his control chain; the only one at fault had been the uncooperative Chen Xuan.

Yu Xiaogang walked beside Tang San, occasionally speaking in a low voice about the habits of soul beasts.

Chen Xuan walked at the very back of the group, tossing a dull gray pebble in his hand. It was junk he had drawn just last night. His steps were loose and casual, as if he had come on an outing.

Zhao Wuji cleared the way ahead and glanced back at Chen Xuan twice without saying anything. Zhao Wuji had seen two kinds of freshmen who stayed this relaxed after entering a forest. One was a tough character holding a life-saving trump card; the other was an idiot with a screw loose. Based on Chen Xuan's performance over the past few days, Zhao Wuji temporarily believed he belonged to the former, though his guard was far too lax.

Night fell completely.

They found a relatively dry clearing and set up camp. The bonfire crackled in the woods, casting a dim yellow glow around them.

Ning Rongrong sat beside the fire with her knees hugged to her chest, nodding off.

Tang San sat cross-legged several steps away, eyes closed, his ears constantly alert. He was listening to the sounds around them. He wanted to prove that he was more vigilant than Chen Xuan and better suited to be the core of the team.

The sudden change came swiftly.

The canopy overhead suddenly shook. A gigantic emerald-green snake with a bright red fleshy crest on its head silently pounced down.

A two-thousand-year Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake.

"Watch your heads!" Zhao Wuji roared as he released his martial soul.

Tang San reacted swiftly. He raised both hands, and more than a dozen Blue Silver Grass vines burst from the ground, shooting toward the snake in an attempt to bind it in midair.

Hiss—

The moment the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around it, the venom secreted from the snake's scales corroded huge sections of the vines into charred black. The backlash of soul power traveled along the vines. Tang San grunted and staggered back half a step, his face instantly turning pale.

The control chain broke.

Using the momentum of its descent, the Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake opened its bloody maw and lunged straight at Ning Rongrong, who was closest to it.

Ning Rongrong jolted awake. Her scream caught in her throat, and she completely forgot to dodge.

Zhao Wuji was too far away to save her. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun had only just risen to their feet, their skills still charging.

Tang San gritted his teeth and tried to mobilize his soul power again, but the stabbing pain in his meridians made him half a beat too slow.

Chen Xuan sighed.

He took one step forward from the rear of the group. His hands came together before his chest, fingers interlocked, thumbs pressed together.

"Meditation Seal."

Buzz.

An invisible ripple spread outward from Chen Xuan. Black and white instantly engulfed the entire campsite.

The dancing bonfire froze in midair, sparks suspended without moving. The terror on Ning Rongrong's face completely solidified. The Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake's massive body halted in the air, its emerald scales turned into monotonous gray within the black-and-white world.

Time had stopped.

Chen Xuan walked directly in front of the snake's head. He spread open his right hand, and red light gathered in his palm.

The Flame Bow took shape.

He drew the bowstring, fire elements condensing into a crimson arrow. The bow was nearly pressed against the fleshy crest on the snake's head.

He released it.

The flaming arrow pierced through the snake's head, leaving behind a trail of frozen sparks.

Half a second ended.

Color flooded back into the world. The bonfire continued burning, sparks fell to the ground, and the wind still howled.

Boom!

The Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake's massive body slammed into the ground, crushing the decaying leaves into a deep pit. A charred, transparent hole had been blown through both sides of its head, smoke still rising from it.

The campsite was so quiet that a needle dropping could have been heard.

Everyone was stunned.

One moment, the snake had still been in the air, about to bite Ning Rongrong's head apart. The next, it was completely dead, lying on the ground.

Not a single person had seen what happened in between.

Chen Xuan stood where he was, panting heavily. The Meditation Seal combined with the point-blank burst of the Flame Bow had directly drained more than half his soul power. He dropped to one knee, his forehead covered in sweat.

Energy began to disperse from the Phoenix-Tailed Cockscomb Snake's corpse. A purple soul ring slowly rose into the night sky, spinning as it gave off the unique pressure of a thousand-year soul ring.

Yu Xiaogang was the first to react. He shot to his feet and pointed at the soul ring, shouting, "A thousand-year soul ring! Oscar, hurry and absorb it! This is an exceptional attribute!"

Oscar was about to step forward, but his feet seemed nailed to the ground.

Not just him—Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, even Zhao Wuji were all staring intently in Chen Xuan's direction.

Besides the purple soul ring, another stream of pure wood-attribute energy drifted from the snake's corpse. Instead of merging into the soul ring, it took a turn and burrowed directly into Chen Xuan's body.

The Wood Shadow Stone in Chen Xuan's dantian shone brilliantly. Its formerly dim gray shell completely faded away, its surface now flowing with a rich green radiance.

The soul power fluctuations around Chen Xuan began rising wildly.

Level eleven.

Level twelve.

Level thirteen.

Level fourteen.

Level fifteen!

He had not absorbed a soul ring. There had been no sacrificial ritual from hunting a soul beast. Right before everyone's eyes, he had directly risen four levels.

Oscar's mouth fell open as he pointed at Chen Xuan. "He... what did he absorb?"

Zhu Zhuqing took half a step back, her eyes filled with wariness as she looked toward Chen Xuan.

Zhao Wuji's brows twisted into a knot as he strode forward. "What the hell kind of method is this?"

Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment. Ignoring the snake corpse, he staggered forward, reaching out to grab Chen Xuan's shoulder.

The instant his fingers touched Chen Xuan's clothes, he jerked his hand back as if electrocuted—an energy completely unlike soul power surged out of Chen Xuan's body, icy cold to the bone.

Yu Xiaogang's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the damp mud. He looked up, his lips trembling violently as his entire body went limp.

"Impossible... This is absolutely impossible!" Yu Xiaogang's voice cracked, unable to conceal his panic. "Once soul power reaches level ten, one must absorb a soul ring to continue breaking through! That is the iron law of the soul master world! An iron law!"

He pointed at Chen Xuan, his finger shaking uncontrollably. "What exactly are you hiding on you?!"

Tang San stood several steps away, his face deathly pale.

He lowered his head to look at his corroded Blue Silver Grass. He had to calculate every soul ring carefully and struggle at the edge of life and death for each one. His teacher had always taught him that this was the only proper path, that the evolution of a martial soul had to rely on soul rings.

Yet Chen Xuan had just leveled up without warning.

Tang San said nothing, his fists clenched tight. He searched through all the cultivation knowledge from both his past and present lives, but could find no theory that explained this phenomenon.

Chen Xuan ignored the gazes around him. He lowered his head and looked at his right palm.

Others could not see the Light-Shadow Stones within him, but he could see them clearly.

The Wood Shadow Stone had indeed lit up, brighter than it had ever been before. But he had discovered a problem.

A tiny crack had appeared on the stone's surface. It was so fine that one would not notice it without looking carefully.

Chen Xuan tried to mobilize the newly absorbed wood-attribute power. His soul power flowed smoothly, and its strength had indeed increased.

But when that power passed through the crack, a sharp stabbing pain shot through his meridians—as though a needle were piercing outward from inside his dantian.

Chen Xuan's pupils narrowed slightly. In his previous life, he had seen too many "overdraft-type cultivation arts." Any power that surged without conditions always carried an unseen cost. This crack had appeared too quickly to be accidental. It was more like a warning—this path had a limit.

Every time he absorbed the source energy dispersed by a soul beast, the corresponding Light-Shadow Stone would develop a crack. Once those cracks accumulated to a certain extent, the stone would likely shatter on the spot.

He lowered his head and glanced at the five stones deep within his dantian—the Fire Shadow Stone was normal, the Water Shadow Stone was normal, the Earth Shadow Stone was normal. Only the newly activated Wood Shadow Stone already bore a clear crack.

And this was only the first time.

Chen Xuan clenched his right hand into a fist, hiding his palm in the shadows. Bracing himself on his knee, he slowly stood and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

No one else could be allowed to discover this. Once they learned that this method of leveling had a fatal flaw, Yu Xiaogang would regain his sense of superiority.

"Can we go now?" Chen Xuan's voice was slightly hoarse. "It's dead. The soul ring is still here. Whoever wants it, take it."

Zhao Wuji stared at him for several seconds before forcibly swallowing the countless questions in his stomach. This was not the time for an interrogation.

Flender pushed up the glasses on his nose without saying a word. When he looked toward Chen Xuan, it was no longer mere curiosity in his eyes. There was now something immensely heavy there. The secrets this student carried were far greater than he had imagined.

Just then.

A world-shaking ape's roar suddenly erupted from the depths of the forest.

The sound pierced through layer after layer of canopy and slammed against everyone's eardrums. The ground began to tremble violently. The bonfire flickered under the force of the sound waves, sparks scattering everywhere.

Zhao Wuji's face instantly went pale, even the arm covered by his martial soul trembling.

"Oh no... It's the Titan Giant Ape."

Flender grabbed Yu Xiaogang's arm and roared sharply, "Run! Everyone retreat east! Hurry!"

Chen Xuan remained where he was, still gripping the cracked Wood Shadow Stone tightly in his palm. He raised his head and looked toward the pitch-black depths of the forest.