Xu Zhou Dies, or Everyone Dies Together

"Don't let Tang San absorb it. It isn't four hundred and twenty-three years old."

The note fell into Xu Zhou's hand.

Tang San stared at the words, his fingers slowly tightening.

"This snake isn't four hundred and twenty-three years old?"

"The wooden tag said four hundred and twenty-one years," Xu Zhou said. "Those people said it was around four hundred years old. No one actually confirmed it."

Yu Xiaogang had already crouched beside the Mandrake Snake.

He examined the scales on its body, then looked at the Yellow Soul Ring still forming.

"The age should be around four hundred years."

"Specifically?"

Yu Xiaogang did not answer.

His fingers lightly pressed above the snake's tail as his Soul Power probed through its scales.

The next moment, Yu Xiaogang withdrew his hand.

"Its Soul Power fluctuations are unstable."

"It was stimulated by drugs," Xu Zhou said.

Although the tracking needle had been pulled out, the drug had already entered its flesh. The Mandrake Snake had kept ramming the iron cage earlier, consuming a great deal of Soul Power. Now it had been injured by the Millennium Mandrake Snake, and the Soul Ring emerging above it flickered along with it.

The yellow halo had only just formed when one corner scattered apart.

Tang San's expression changed.

"The Soul Ring will disappear?"

"After a Soul Beast dies, its Soul Ring will not vanish because of its injuries."

Yu Xiaogang stared at the Yellow Soul Ring.

"But if the Soul Beast's Soul Power is too chaotic, the Soul Ring will be affected as well. Forcibly absorbing it may cause the Soul Power inside the body to lose control."

"What would happen then?"

"The meridians would be damaged, and the Martial Soul would suffer backlash."

Yu Xiaogang paused.

"In the worst case, the Martial Soul would shatter."

Tang San looked at the Soul Ring and did not step any closer.

But the people outside the iron fence grew anxious.

"Grandmaster Yu, you can't just talk nonsense!"

"This is a Four-Hundred-Year Soul Ring. Tang San can absorb it without any problem!"

"It was four hundred and twenty-three years in the original story. How could there possibly be a problem?"

"You haven't even measured its age. What gives you the right to say it's four hundred and twenty-three years?"

Xu Zhou turned to look outside.

"Who said it was four hundred and twenty-three years old?"

The man holding the Amplifying Soul Tool went pale.

"I didn't say that."

"You did just now."

"I said it was around four hundred years."

"But your betting slip says four hundred and twenty-three years."

Xu Zhou picked up a crumpled sheet of paper from the ground.

It was the betting slip the owner had dropped when they entered the Captive-Breeding Ground earlier.

Tang San's first Soul Ring had three options listed on it.

Four-Hundred-Twenty-Three-Year Mandrake Snake.

Ghost Vine.

Other.

The option with the lowest odds was the Four-Hundred-Twenty-Three-Year Mandrake Snake.

"You knew its age all along?"

Tang San raised his head.

The man backed away half a step.

"Someone else wrote the betting slip."

"Who?"

"The bookmaker."

"Who is the bookmaker?"

No one answered.

A nearby academy teacher coughed.

"This can wait until after we leave before we investigate it."

Tang San turned to look at him.

"Teacher, were you involved too?"

"I was responsible for maintaining order."

"Then why aren't you opening the gate?"

"The person in charge on site doesn't have the key. We can open it once they return."

"Will they come back?"

Xu Zhou looked into the distance.

Those gray-clothed merchants had long since disappeared.

One of the guards responsible for the lockdown lowered his voice. "The key is on the owner."

Xu Zhou looked at the man Tang San had bound with Blue Silver Grass earlier.

He was still lying on the ground.

A ring of keys hung from his waist.

"Then drag him over here."

The guard entered the Captive-Breeding Ground. Just as he approached the man, a muffled boom came from the ground.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake's tail swept through the gaps in the iron cage toward the guard.

The guard stumbled back several steps, and a bloody gash was scraped across his chest.

Blood fell to the ground.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake immediately turned its head.

Its fleshy crest spread open.

"Don't bleed!"

Yu Xiaogang shouted.

But it was already too late.

The blood flowed across the ground toward Xu Zhou.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake raised its head as well.

Both snakes stared at Xu Zhou at the same time.

Xu Zhou lowered his head and looked at his palm.

The Soul Power left behind by the resonance was still there.

Both snakes had taken him for the most obvious target.

"Now I really am bait."

Wang Sheng's voice came from beyond the iron fence.

"I bet he'd come back alive. Should I change my bet now?"

"Didn't you bet earlier that he wouldn't make it back?"

"You can place bets repeatedly."

Wang Sheng hugged his ledger, his face utterly serious.

Xu Zhou had no time to deal with him.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake moved first.

It slithered along the edge of the iron cage, its body scraping across the ground and leaving broad streaks of mud behind.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake did not pursue.

It was waiting for the Four-Century Mandrake Snake to attack first.

It was also waiting for Xu Zhou to reveal an opening.

"Tang San, stand on my left."

"Alright."

Tang San hurried over.

"Yu Xiaogang, how many more times can Luo Sanpao be used?"

"Twice."

Luo Sanpao lay sprawled inside a wooden crate, its wings drooping. It could not even lift its head.

"Can it breathe fire?"

"Barely."

"Wait for my signal."

Xu Zhou picked up a shard of iron from the ground and crouched beside the Black Ancient Book.

The shard was stained with Snake-Luring Potion.

He used his finger to draw three lines on the ground.

"This is the four-hundred-year snake."

"This is the feeding hatch."

"This is the thousand-year snake."

Tang San glanced at them.

"You want them to attack each other?"

"The thousand-year snake won't move first."

"Then force it to move."

Xu Zhou looked at the guard outside the iron fence.

"Carry that injured guard to the riverbank."

The guard's eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

"The blood on you will draw the Millennium Mandrake Snake over. It is watching me now only because my Soul Power aura is more obvious. Put yourself by the riverbank. The potion is there too."

The injured guard clutched his wound.

"You want me to be bait?"

"You already are bait."

Xu Zhou pointed at the blood on him.

"The difference is, if you stay here, the Millennium Mandrake Snake will attack everyone at once."

No one wanted to move.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake's tail slammed into the iron cage again.

One of the iron bars bent inward.

The sound made everyone jump.

"Carry him away, now!"

The injured guard gritted his teeth.

Two companions supported him and retreated toward the riverbank.

As expected, the Millennium Mandrake Snake turned its head.

Seizing the chance, the Four-Century Mandrake Snake lunged at Xu Zhou.

Tang San raised his hand and flung out Blue Silver Grass.

The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around the snake's neck.

But the Four-Hundred-Year Soul Beast was too strong, dragging Tang San forward as he slid across the ground.

Xu Zhou grabbed Tang San's clothes and braced his feet against an iron bar.

"Xu Zhou, let go!"

"If you let go, I'm done for."

"Then run first!"

"I can't run."

Xu Zhou was telling the truth.

He was only a six-year-old child who appeared to have no Soul Power. His physical strength was far inferior to Tang San's.

The Black Ancient Book flipped open beside him.

[Many people believe the host cannot break free from the Mandrake Snake's control.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

Soul Power surged into his body.

Xu Zhou pressed all of that Soul Power into his feet.

A surge of force rose from the ground.

His feet did not move.

Tang San used that force as well, yanking hard on the Blue Silver Grass.

The snake's neck was constricted.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake's head jerked to one side, its venomous fangs grazing past Xu Zhou's shoulder.

His clothes tore.

Two bloody marks appeared on his skin.

The wounds were not deep.

But the venom had already entered his body.

Xu Zhou's arm began to go numb.

"Xu Zhou!"

Tang San's voice changed.

"I'm fine."

"You've been poisoned!"

"Then tie it up quickly."

Xu Zhou took out the antidote herb he had obtained from the medicinal garden a few days ago.

It was meant for low-level snake venom.

He did not know whether it could cure Mandrake Snake venom.

But there was no second choice now.

He stuffed the antidote herb into his mouth, chewed it up, and pressed it directly onto the wound.

"Will that work?"

Tang San asked.

"It has to."

This was not medicine.

It was the only thing Xu Zhou could do right now.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake exerted itself again.

The Blue Silver Grass snapped one strand after another.

Sweat beaded on Tang San's forehead.

"My Soul Power is running out."

"Back away."

Xu Zhou raised a hand and pressed down on the snake's neck.

The Black Ancient Book and the Mandrake Snake's Soul Power resonated once more.

This time, Xu Zhou did not suppress it himself.

Soul Power surged from his palm into the snake's body.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake stopped moving.

Its forked tongue brushed past Xu Zhou's face.

It did not bite again.

Someone outside cried out in alarm.

"He really can control Soul Beasts!"

"This is a special Martial Soul!"

"Xu Zhou belongs to the Soul Beast Protection Faction!"

The misunderstanding instantly spread.

The Black Ancient Book trembled continuously.

Soul Power flowed into his body.

Xu Zhou nearly collapsed beneath that power.

The auras of two Mandrake Snakes pressed down on him at once.

One was four hundred years old.

The other was a thousand years old.

His Soul Power had not even reached level ten yet. There was no way he could withstand both at once.

The Black Ancient Book turned to a new page.

[High-intensity Soul Power Resonance detected.]

[Duration: ten breaths.]

[If it exceeds ten breaths, the host's Soul Power will collapse in reverse.]

Xu Zhou looked toward the riverbank.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake had already bitten the injured guard.

The guard's scream rang out.

Blood splattered across the riverbank.

The millennium snake's body began to swell.

It no longer stared at Xu Zhou.

Nor did it look at the Four-Century Mandrake Snake.

It spread its fleshy crest and spewed a vast cloud of purple venom mist toward the iron fence.

The venom mist crossed the river, bearing down on everyone.

"Retreat!"

Yu Xiaogang picked up Luo Sanpao and ran backward.

Tang San grabbed Xu Zhou's arm.

But Xu Zhou could not move.

He was still resonating.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake was pinned beneath his hand, its body no longer struggling.

But the Millennium Mandrake Snake had already charged over.

The venom mist pressed close to the iron fence.

Wang Sheng and the others hurriedly retreated.

The guards outside began to flee as well.

Those who had just been shouting about restoring the plot now ran faster than anyone.

Xu Zhou watched the purple venom mist as the numbness in his arm spread to his shoulder.

Three breaths remained.

Two breaths.

One breath.

The words in the Black Ancient Book began to turn red.

[Resonance is about to lose control.]

[If the host ends the resonance, the Four-Century Mandrake Snake will immediately retaliate.]

[If the host continues the resonance, the millennium venom mist will cover the entire area.]

Two paths.

Let go, and he died.

Hold on, and everyone died together.