New Residents of the Small World

Zhao Wuji was the first to reflect on his mistakes. He had failed to protect Lu Shi and the others. Then he felt fortunate that they were only injured, with no one dead or missing.

"After we return, I'll tell the dean everything. Also, Xiao Ao, Tang San, you won't be able to obtain your Soul Rings for now. After an accident like this, we'd better head back and recover first."

Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai, whose shoulders were slumped, agreed. They should heal their injuries first.

Even absorbing a Soul Ring had to be done while in good condition, or something could easily go wrong.

"No, Teacher Zhao." Tang San's face was still somewhat pale, but his gaze was resolute. "I must obtain my third Soul Ring as soon as possible."

He had once believed Zhao Wuji to be one of the continent's strongest experts. Titled Douluo were few in number, but that did not mean Soul Saints were as common as stray dogs by the roadside.

There were simply relatively more Soul Saints.

Though he could not compare to Lu Shi, Tang San considered himself exceptionally talented and possessed the Tang Sect's secret arts. Before long, he would be able to stand among the ranks of Soul Masters.

It was only last night that he had discovered that before true power, everything he had been proud of amounted to nothing.

He was like an ant.

The fear he had experienced firsthand had been carved deep into Tang San's bones, leaving him with only one thought—

Become stronger!

The Mysterious Heaven Skill could heal the body to begin with, and he had also taken medicine and eaten Oscar's sausages. He was nearly recovered and could absolutely absorb a Soul Ring.

Oscar said the same. "Teacher Zhao, I don't want to wait any longer. If I had absorbed that Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent back then, would we not have avoided such serious injuries now?

I know everyone is injured and exhausted, and no one wants to enter Star Dou Forest again."

"But Teacher Zhao is a Soul Saint. You should be able to handle a Thousand-Year Soul Beast, right? Just the two of us can go with you. There's no need to bring Lu Shi and the others."

He looked at Zhao Wuji with an almost pleading gaze.

"..."

Zhao Wuji sighed and nodded silently. He had not been born a Soul Saint; he too had risen from a weak Soul Master.

How could he not understand how Tang San and Oscar felt?

"...All right. Rest and adjust tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, I'll take the two of you there again. You won't need to act. I'll handle the Soul Beast."

Oscar said excitedly, "Thank you, Teacher Zhao!"

Tang San relaxed his tightly clenched fist. "Thank you, Teacher Zhao!"

"The rest of you will stay at the inn and rest for now. Wait until we return."

"Meeting adjourned."

After they dispersed, Tang San noticed that Xiao Wu finally stopped approaching Lu Shi. Her attitude toward him was cold, and she was even unwilling to spare him another glance.

Tang San felt joy from the bottom of his heart.

He began imagining Xiao Wu changing her mind under his unrelenting efforts.

Oscar returned to his room to cultivate. Dai Mubai's injuries had not healed yet, so he went back to lie down.

After surviving the danger, Ning Rongrong's relationship with Lu Shi and Zhu Zhuqing grew much closer.

She even dared to hug Lu Shi's arm in front of Zhu Zhuqing.

And Zhu Zhuqing did not dislike that behavior.

That night, Lu Shi inspected the Small World and discovered that the Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger had already pulled the Eight Spider Lances from the Man Faced Demon Spider's body.

They were about the size of a palm and blue-violet in color.

Although he had obtained them, he could not absorb them yet. Before fully merging with them, the Eight Spider Lances might extend out of control.

If anyone saw them, he definitely would not be able to explain.

The next day, Lu Shi went out alone.

He arrived at a forest outside the town.

It was not large and contained some Soul Beasts, but they were all extremely weak. An ordinary Ten-Year Soul Beast from outside would count as a peerless ferocious beast here.

As he wandered through the woods, Lu Shi saw a Weasel-tailed Mouse digging a burrow underground, the dirt it flung aside scattering over the Blue Silver Grass nearby.

This was a Soul Beast that measured only as long as a person's forearm even when fully grown.

Its body was slender and agile. Though its limbs were short, they were strong and powerful, allowing it to move swiftly through complex terrain, especially grasslands. Its body was covered in a fine layer of gray-black fur.

Its head was small, its eyes black, and it possessed sharp senses of smell and hearing.

Lu Shi smiled faintly and released the aura of the Thousand-Year Mandala Snake, frightening the Weasel-tailed Mouse until it collapsed limply onto the ground.

As a Soul Beast less than ten years old, how could it ever have encountered such terrifying power?

Lu Shi walked over and grabbed it. Its fur was fine and soft.

It felt good in his hand.

The next moment, the Weasel-tailed Mouse suddenly vanished and appeared in the Small World where the Mandala Snake was.

?

The Mandala Snake had been lying on a banyan tree, basking in the sun, when it suddenly sensed the aura of a Soul Beast.

Had Lu Shi sent food in again?

It had to go take a look.

Flicking its tongue, it lazily slithered over to inspect it.

It was still alive.

It had merely been frightened limp.

Lu Shi's voice sounded beside it. "The Small World is too dull, so I sent some Soul Beasts in to keep you company."

"Hiss~"

A mischievous idea suddenly rose in the Mandala Snake's mind.

It concealed its aura and lurked in the grass nearby, waiting for the Weasel-tailed Mouse to awaken.

Before long, the Weasel-tailed Mouse's limbs gradually began to tremble, especially its hind legs, which kept kicking as instinct drove its body to flee danger.

At last, the Weasel-tailed Mouse fully woke up, its little black eyes anxiously surveying its surroundings.

This was a completely unfamiliar environment.

But being hidden in the grass still gave it some comfort.

It was just that the faint yet terrifying aura lingering in the air made it afraid to explore.

It could only remain prone on the ground, its two front paws cautiously scraping at the soft black soil.

It tried to dig a hole and hide inside.

Once... twice... five times...

First came a small pit, then a small hole, and finally one large enough to completely contain the Weasel-tailed Mouse's forearm-length body. Soil constantly bulged out from the entrance.

Eventually, two meters underground, it dug out a space where it could move around freely.

Only then did it let out a breath.

But the Mandala Snake waiting nearby was not having it. It had held its jaws wide open for so long, wanting to show the Weasel-tailed Mouse a ferocious giant mouth just as it felt safe enough to explore the grass, and scare it senseless.

What was the point of burrowing into the soil and refusing to come out?

No. Since you won't come find me, I'll go find you.

The Mandala Snake's body, over a meter long, silently slithered through the grass without making a sound, then slipped in through the burrow entrance.

The Weasel-tailed Mouse below curled itself into a ball.

Its tiny head could not tell it where it was, so it could only stay huddled down there for the moment.

Then its pointed little ears heard the rustling sounds the Mandala Snake deliberately made.

"Squeak?"

Where did that sound come from?

Its ears perked up.

It followed the sound, and in the darkness, the freshly dug earthen wall suddenly became hard, smooth, and ridged.

"Squeak squeak?"

How strange.

It used its little paws to feel farther ahead. After touching something even harder, there was suddenly empty space.

It reached downward and touched two thick, long spikes.

It felt dangerous somehow.

An unprovoked sense of danger made the Weasel-tailed Mouse want to leave. When it crawled toward the tunnel, it suddenly discovered that the entrance had been blocked by that smooth, hard thing.

A wave of terror surged through it.

"Squeak..."

Just as it hurriedly tried to dig another hole beside it,

A faint, incomparably terrifying sound rose behind it:

"Hiss hiss~"