What's Still Missing

Oscar sat cross-legged, the purple Soul Ring slowly spinning above his head.

Before long, three Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet—Two Yellow and One Purple. He was now a level thirty-one Soul Elder.

"Congratulations, Little Ao." Zhao Wuji smiled. "What is your Third Soul Ring skill?"

Oscar opened his eyes and proudly puffed out his chest. "Third Soul Skill: its effect is flight."

"Flight?" everyone cried out.

"Flight for one minute, and at the speed of a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent."

Everyone sucked in a breath.

An Chen leaned off to the side. He looked shocked on the surface, but inwardly, he was completely calm.

Of course he knew it was flight.

An Chen's gaze fell on Tang San.

Sure enough, Tang San, who had been recovering his Soul Power just moments ago, opened his eyes with an unusual expression. "Teacher Zhao, after my fight with Meng Yiran, I think... I broke through too."

"What?" Everyone was stunned.

"I've reached level thirty."

Zhao Wuji fell silent for a moment before nodding. "Fine. In that case, we'll stay a few more days and find Third Soul Rings for you and An Chen."

Two days later, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest.

Everyone sat around a bonfire, their faces weary.

Two days had passed, yet they had still failed to find suitable Soul Beasts for An Chen and Tang San.

An Chen leaned against a tree trunk with his eyes closed, resting.

It should be today. Er Ming should be coming to take his Xiao Wu away.

Just then.

An extremely condensed aura suddenly erupted from Zhao Wuji.

"Everyone, gather around me immediately! Hurry!"

Everyone quickly gathered together.

Two massive trees slowly parted, and an enormous figure silently emerged.

Like a mountain, it was covered in black fur from head to toe, its lantern-sized eyes glowing with golden light.

The Titan Giant Ape.

"The king of the forest, the hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape." Even Tang San's voice changed.

Zhao Wuji said gravely, "I'll hold it off. Eat the Mushroom Sausages and leave."

With that, he charged forward.

Four Soul Rings lit up simultaneously.

An Chen did not hesitate and immediately unleashed his Wuhun.

Black Fog burst from the mouth of the pot and surged toward the Titan Giant Ape.

But in the next second, his expression changed slightly.

The Titan Giant Ape's arm gave a faint shake.

The Black Fog could not get anywhere near the Titan Giant Ape. With a casual lift of its hand, it scattered his Black Fog.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was shattered at the same time.

Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Zhu Zhuqing's attacks were all sent flying by the aftershock.

The Titan Giant Ape let out a roar, its huge body descending from the sky.

An Chen retreated at top speed, but the shockwave still blasted him backward. He slammed heavily into a tree, grunted, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"Xiao Wu!"

Tang San's cry rang out.

An Chen looked up and saw the Titan Giant Ape raise one arm, Xiao Wu clutched in its hand.

"No! Let Xiao Wu go!"

Like a madman, Tang San was about to charge toward the direction in which the Titan Giant Ape had vanished.

"Oscar, give me a Mushroom Sausage!" Tang San regained some of his rationality.

Oscar came to his senses. "I've got a Mushroom Sausage!"

Tang San took the Mushroom Sausage. Six illusory wings emerged from his back and carried him into the air.

There's really no need to be this anxious. Xiao Wu and the Titan Giant Ape already know each other.

An Chen shook his head as he watched Tang San's departing back.

An Chen gripped the Iron Pot and looked toward Zhao Wuji.

The others also turned to Zhao Wuji, seeming to ask what they should do.

Zhao Wuji sighed helplessly. "Let's chase after him together."

Oscar then used his Soul Skill, giving everyone a Mushroom Sausage.

Everyone swallowed them and chased after Tang San in the direction he had disappeared.

Naturally, An Chen was no exception.

He knew what Tang San would encounter next. He knew Tang San would obtain an External Soul Bone.

An External Soul Bone—now that was a good thing. He had to see whether he could get his hands on it.

At that thought, An Chen's heartbeat quickened slightly.

After chasing for an unknown amount of time, they finally found Tang San in an open clearing.

Tang San sat cross-legged on the ground. A huge spider lay beside him, and a purple Soul Ring surrounded him.

"Little San!" Zhao Wuji let out a breath of relief.

At least he would not have to face Clear Sky Douluo's massive hammer.

An Chen looked at the purple Soul Ring, his heart stirring faintly.

Looks like I was one step too late. What a pity. The Soul Bone is in the Soul Ring, so there's no chance now.

"Where's Xiao Wu?" Oscar asked anxiously.

After observing for a moment, Zhao Wuji quietly told Oscar, "Don't disturb him. He's at the critical stage of absorbing the Soul Ring. Split up and stand guard around the area. Protect him."

Everyone nodded and scattered.

Not long afterward, crackling sounds like exploding bones came from Tang San's body. His brow was tightly furrowed, his expression full of pain.

Dai Mubai asked worriedly, "Teacher Zhao, is this normal? Tang San won't be in trouble, will he?"

Zhao Wuji's brow remained tightly knit. "Hard to say, but I do know that we absolutely cannot interrupt him now. Let's hope he can pull through."

"Who's there?!" Zhao Wuji shouted, staring in one direction.

Tang San was at the crucial point of absorbing the Soul Ring and could not be disturbed. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Xiao Wu should be back.

An Chen's ears twitched, and he looked in that direction even before Zhao Wuji did.

"Teacher Zhao." A crisp voice rang out as a slender figure appeared.

After Zhao Wuji recognized the newcomer, not only was he stunned, but the others were as well.

The person who had suddenly appeared was Xiao Wu. She looked somewhat disheveled, with several tears in her clothes and her scorpion braid in a mess.

"Xiao Wu, you're not dead?" Oscar blurted out.

"What? Were you hoping I was dead? Where's Little San? This... what happened to Little San?" Xiao Wu snapped irritably, until she saw Tang San nearby, his face twisted in pain.

Xiao Wu hurried over to check on him.

"Don't disturb him. He's at the crucial stage of absorbing the Soul Ring," Zhao Wuji said.

Xiao Wu nodded and said nothing more.

Second by second, time passed. A purplish-black Soul Ring began to emerge from Tang San's body, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Third Brother! How are you?" Xiao Wu asked anxiously when she saw Tang San awaken.

Zhao Wuji, standing nearby, let out a sigh of relief. "Oscar, come give him a Sausage."

Oscar ran over and handed Tang San a Sausage.

"What? You've reached level thirty too? And you found a Soul Ring?" Zhao Wuji looked at Xiao Wu in surprise.

Xiao Wu explained, "At the time, I happened to find a Millennium Soul Beast suitable for me while it was unconscious, so I killed it and obtained my Third Soul Ring."

"That works too?" Little Fatty Ma Hongjun stared with wide eyes.

One day later, in a small town at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Zhao Wuji patted An Chen's shoulder. "It's fine. Once we've rested for a few days and made some preparations, we'll come again."

An Chen nodded.

After Tang San woke up, they rested for a while, then headed toward the outer edge of the forest while searching for a Shadow Attribute Soul Beast suitable for An Chen.

Unfortunately, after searching for an entire day, they found nothing and had no choice but to give up.

Everyone was completely exhausted, so they could only return.

After returning to the academy, everyone was given two days of rest.

On the morning of the third day, after breakfast, everyone headed to the Playground to prepare for class.

Today should be the day Grandmaster came to Shrek to teach them. An Chen was looking forward to it.

He had wanted to meet Grandmaster for a long time, to see this man who had broken through level thirty despite being over fifty.

Once Grandmaster came to teach, he could also avoid dealing with that strange Flender.

On the Playground stood Flender, without his goatee or black-rimmed glasses, wearing a gold-rimmed Monocle instead.

Everyone walked over to assemble, while An Chen quietly edged farther to the side as usual.

Flender smiled and said, "Tang San and Oscar have both obtained their Third Soul Rings. Very good."

Then he looked at An Chen. "An Chen, don't worry. Tomorrow, I'll personally take you to hunt Soul Beasts."

An Chen froze for a moment before stiffly nodding.

Damn, should I run away?

An Chen felt deeply conflicted.

Seeing this, Flender smiled faintly and continued, "Today, I'm introducing someone to you. He is Tang San's teacher, Yu Xiaogang. You may also call him Grandmaster."

"Grandmaster?" Everyone began discussing it.

"Yes, he's my teacher." Tang San nodded and spoke up.

An Chen naturally knew Grandmaster was coming and was not overly surprised. He secretly glanced at Flender and discovered that Flender was looking at him as well, with a touch of anticipation in his eyes.

What is he anticipating?

An Chen quickly looked away.

"He's here. This is Grandmaster." Flender pointed into the distance.

Everyone followed his gaze and saw a figure slowly approaching.

He was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a stern face, dressed in a gray robe.

Grandmaster slowly walked over and stopped beside Flender.

More or less what I imagined.

An Chen thought to himself.

Grandmaster looked at An Chen and smiled faintly, as though he had heard his thoughts. He reached into the air with his right hand, and a silver-rimmed Monocle appeared in his palm. He slowly placed it over his right eye, his tone slightly teasing.

"Just missing this."

...Damn it!

After cursing, An Chen had only one thought in his mind.

Run!

An Chen did not hesitate. He turned and ran toward Shrek's gate.

He did not care what happened to Tang San and the others, nor did he care what Flender and Grandmaster might do. Run!

An Chen was more than twice as fast as usual!

In the blink of an eye, he reached Shrek's gate and turned to look back.

Tang San and the others were still where they had been, while another An Chen now stood in the spot where he had originally stood.

That person looked exactly like him. The only difference was the Monocle over that person's right eye.

An Chen's pupils contracted. Then he saw the three of them slowly turn toward him, faintly smiling with mocking eyes.

Damn it! What the hell is this thing?!

An Chen cursed inwardly again, then turned around and kept running.