Spirit Hall's Suspicion

[Immediately condense the first Soul Ring?]

Xu Zhou stared at the words on the Black Ancient Book.

Outside, the three Mandrake Snakes charged at the same time.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was torn apart strand by strand. Yu Xiaogang retreated to the iron fence with Luo Sanpao in his arms, while the people from Spirit Hall blocked the exit. No one was prepared to save them.

At a time like this, it was asking whether he wanted a Soul Ring.

The system really had no sense of timing.

"Condense it."

Xu Zhou gritted his teeth and selected it.

The Black Ancient Book turned a page.

[Soul Ring condensation conditions confirmed.]

[Host's current Soul Power: Level Ten.]

[Available Soul Ring sources:]

[One, Four-Hundred-Twenty-Three-Year Mandrake Snake. Soul Ring structure damaged; absorption risk extremely high.]

[Two, Millennium Mandrake Snake. Exceeds current tolerance range.]

[Three, unknown Soul Beast aura. Source cannot be confirmed.]

[Please choose.]

After reading it, Xu Zhou nearly laughed out loud.

Three choices.

The first might blow him into a cripple.

The second would most likely kill him outright.

As for the third, he did not even know what it was.

This was not a multiple-choice question.

It was asking him to pick one of three pits and bury himself in the one he found most pleasing.

"None of them are suitable."

Xu Zhou spoke.

[Host may choose to postpone.]

"Postpone."

[Soul Ring condensation terminated.]

[Host has reached Level Ten but has not obtained the first Soul Ring.]

[Current status: Prospective Soul Master.]

"Prospective Soul Master?"

The Black Ancient Book trembled lightly.

[Multiple people believe the host cannot condense a Soul Ring at Level Ten.]

[Judgment correct.]

There was no Soul Power reward.

Xu Zhou froze for a moment.

This was the first time that when someone had guessed correctly, he received nothing at all.

It seemed Cognitive Bias could only collect mistaken judgments.

That made sense.

And it was infuriating.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake had already pounced in front of him.

Xu Zhou shifted half a step to the side, and the snake's jaws snapped past his shoulder.

"Tang San!"

"Got it!"

Blue Silver Grass burst from the ground again and wrapped around the snake's body.

This time, Tang San did not try to restrain it completely. He merely desperately held it back for three breaths.

After three breaths, the Blue Silver Grass would break.

But three breaths were enough.

Xu Zhou raised the Black Ancient Book.

"Script Projection."

Black light rippled across the pages.

A figure identical to Xu Zhou appeared ahead of him.

The projection had no Soul Power.

Yet it was enveloped by a pale yellow ring of light.

The ring looked exactly like a Soul Ring.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake immediately changed direction and lunged at the projection.

The Spirit Hall captain outside the iron fence widened his eyes.

"He has a Soul Ring?"

"Wasn't he said to have Innate Zero Soul Power?"

"What kind of soul skill is that?"

"Can a Black Book Martial Soul automatically condense a Soul Ring?"

Voices rose one after another.

Xu Zhou's scalp tingled as he listened.

Script Projection had originally only been able to deceive some targets.

Now that it had the appearance of a Soul Ring, its effect had clearly expanded.

All three snakes had been deceived.

At least, the four-century one had been.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake still stared at the real Xu Zhou, but it did not attack immediately.

It was judging the situation.

Soul Beasts that lived longer were usually not stupid.

"Tang San, restrain the Millennium Snake."

"Me?"

"You're the protagonist."

Tang San gritted his teeth.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"It is."

Tang San did not ask again. The Blue Silver Grass turned toward the Millennium Mandrake Snake.

Blue vines coiled around the snake's tail.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake drew back, and the Blue Silver Grass immediately went taut.

Tang San was dragged several steps forward.

He did not let go.

But the strength of a Millennium Soul Beast was too great, carving two furrows into the earth beneath his feet.

"Teacher!"

Tang San shouted.

Yu Xiaogang understood and set Luo Sanpao on the ground.

"Luo Sanpao, give us your last breath."

Luo Sanpao lay prone in the mud, lifting its head several times without success.

"Luo luo."

"I'll give you another piece of meat."

Luo Sanpao raised its head.

It could not fly.

It could barely even stand steadily.

But it still opened its mouth.

A mist carrying sparks shot toward the Millennium Mandrake Snake.

When the poisonous mist met the flames, a path was immediately burned through it.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake released Tang San's Blue Silver Grass and retreated.

Tang San fell to the ground.

Xu Zhou seized the chance to rush toward the exit.

The guards outside immediately raised their weapons.

"Stop!"

"Open the gate."

"Can't."

"Do you want to watch three snakes eat us?"

"Tang San still hasn't obtained a Soul Ring."

Xu Zhou pointed at the projection.

"He already has one."

The guard looked up.

The yellow ring around the projection was still slowly rotating.

In appearance, it was no different from a real Soul Ring.

"That doesn't count."

"Then go inside and inspect it."

The guard took half a step back.

No one dared go in.

The three Mandrake Snakes were fighting around the projection and Tang San.

Whoever entered would become a new target.

Xu Zhou picked up a stone from the ground and smashed it at the lock.

He had no Soul Power.

The stone could not break the lock.

But the Black Ancient Book turned another page.

[Proofreading has discovered an obvious contradiction.]

[Exit registration: the lock is held by the person in charge on site.]

[Person in charge on site: three gray-robed merchants.]

[Three gray-robed merchants: have fled the scene.]

[Guards have no authority to close the exit.]

Xu Zhou looked at the Spirit Hall captain.

"You don't have the authority to close the gate."

"The writ says we can."

"Who signed the writ?"

"The academy."

"The academy only approved Soul Beast hunting, not locking students inside a beast enclosure."

The guard fell silent.

Xu Zhou took the opportunity to produce the archive verifier's wooden badge.

"Open the gate now."

The guard looked at the badge, then at the three snakes inside the enclosure.

"After I open it, who's responsible?"

"I am."

Xu Zhou pointed at himself.

"You, a child with Innate Zero Soul Power, will take responsibility?"

"You don't have to believe me."

The Black Ancient Book trembled lightly.

[Guard believes the host cannot bear the consequences.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

Soul Power flowed into his body.

The guard stared at Xu Zhou for a moment before finally taking out the key.

The iron gate opened.

The people outside hurriedly backed away.

Drawn by the commotion, all three Mandrake Snakes turned their heads.

The projection had already begun to fade.

Two breaths remained.

"Tang San, go!"

Tang San did not hesitate and rushed toward the exit.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake happened to be blocking the way.

It did not spray any poisonous mist.

It merely lowered its head and stared at the Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's hand.

A note was still wrapped around that stalk of Blue Silver Grass.

"Give me the note."

Xu Zhou shouted.

Tang San flung the Blue Silver Grass over.

After Xu Zhou caught it, words immediately appeared in the Black Ancient Book.

[Information transmitted through the Blue Silver Grass network:]

[The Four-Hundred-Twenty-One-Year Mandrake Snake is not the target.]

[The true Four-Hundred-Twenty-Three-Year Mandrake Snake has already been taken to the northern river valley.]

[Target status: Healthy.]

[No lure drugs used.]

Xu Zhou looked toward the Four-Century Mandrake Snake that had been drawn in by the projection.

Good.

The original route was still intact.

Only the snake before them had been fake.

The original-story fans had not been entirely wrong.

They had merely caught the wrong snake in their attempt to restore the original story.

"Tang San, ignore this one."

Xu Zhou stuffed the note into his hand.

"The real Mandrake Snake is in the northern river valley."

After reading it, Tang San immediately turned and left.

"You're not absorbing this Soul Ring?"

"There's something wrong with it."

"You're already level ten."

"I'd rather wait a little longer."

After saying that, Tang San dashed toward the exit.

Xu Zhou followed close behind.

Yu Xiaogang picked up Luo Sanpao and brought up the rear.

The moment the three of them ran out through the iron gate, the projection vanished completely.

The Four-Century Mandrake Snake lost its target.

It turned and bit at the nearest Spirit Hall captain.

"Save me!"

The captain raised his spear to block it.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake turned around at that moment as well.

It did not pursue Xu Zhou.

Instead, it charged toward the black bag containing three snake eggs.

The Spirit Hall group descended into chaos once more.

Members of the Soul Beast Protection Faction rushed over from behind, and their first words were not to save anyone.

"Put down the snake eggs first!"

That captain was being forced back again and again by the Four-Century Mandrake Snake. How could he spare the attention to explain?

Just as the Millennium Snake was about to pounce on him, a blue figure leaped out of the woods.

It was an enormous Blue Silver Grass.

A straw hat sat atop its leaves.

It extended its vines and snatched away the black bag at the captain's waist.

The three snake eggs fell to the ground.

The Millennium Mandrake Snake stopped at once.

The straw-hatted Blue Silver Grass delivered the snake eggs before it, then turned to look at Xu Zhou.

"It's looking at you."

Tang San said.

Xu Zhou raised a hand and rubbed his numb arm.

"Don't look at me. I'm busy too."

The Black Ancient Book opened again at his side.

[Prospective Soul Master status confirmed.]

[Thirty-day mission completed.]

[Public Script: Burden of the Soul Hunting Forest, completed.]

[Reward: Script Projection Enhancement.]

[New ability: Can project the Martial Soul appearance and Soul Ring information known by the host.]

[Restriction: Projections do not possess real soul skills and cannot inflict actual damage.]

Xu Zhou looked at those lines and finally let out a breath of relief.

At least all that work had not been for nothing.

Just as he turned to leave, the Spirit Hall captain behind him suddenly shouted:

"Don't let him leave!"

"Xu Zhou has abnormal Soul Power!"

"Take him back to Spirit Hall for inspection!"

Several deacons blocked the way.

They did not care about Soul Beasts.

Nor did they care about Tang San's first Soul Ring.

What they wanted to know now was why a child with Innate Zero Soul Power had managed to survive in front of three Mandrake Snakes.

They wanted even more to know what exactly Xu Zhou's Black Ancient Book was hiding.

Xu Zhou looked at the people blocking his path as the Black Ancient Book in his hand slowly turned to its final page.

[New Public Cognition detected.]

[The majority of targets believe: Xu Zhou has concealed powerful Soul Power.]

[Public Script about to form.]

Xu Zhou fell silent for a moment.

He had only just completed one Public Script.

Now another one had come.

And this time, the audience was no longer ordinary students.

It was Spirit Hall.