Revenge on the Bone-Shaking Ape

"A Soul Ring?" Tang Ya paused, then patted her chest. "Sure! Bei Bei and I came to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for Soul Rings anyway. Leave your second Soul Ring to Sister Xiao Ya!"

Bei Bei nodded gently. "Xiao Ya needs her third Soul Ring, so it's on our way. We can look out for one another."

"Then thank you both." With the matter settled, Gu Mingyuan did not turn down their offer.

The group set off again. Along the way, Tang Ya gave Huo Yuhao a handwritten copy of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record and a storage belt inlaid with twenty-four jade stones. It was a replica of Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, the belt once worn by Tang San, founder of the Tang Sect.

She seized the chance to give him another lecture on gratitude. The Tang Sect's kindness was greater than the heavens!

Before they had gone far, a faint sweet, bloody scent drifted through the forest air.

The bushes ahead flattened, and a huge dark-green snake raised its triangular head. It flicked its tongue and hissed.

"A Mandala Snake!" Tang Ya's eyes lit up. "That's the one I want!"

Bei Bei wasted no words. He stepped forward, and his Martial Soul instantly possessed him.

Dazzling blue-violet lightning flared between his brows, forming a lightning mark. His right arm swelled rapidly, splitting his sleeve. Fine blue-violet scales spread across it, and his right hand became a thick dragon claw.

The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!

Huo Yuhao was still admiring that imposing claw when Yu Xiaogang's voice suddenly rose several octaves in his Sea of Spirit.

"I told you so! Yuhao, do you see that? It's the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon! He's a direct descendant of my family!" Yu Xiaogang paced excitedly through the Sea of Spirit. "I'm his ancestor! As my nominal disciple, you're his ancestor too!"

"Pfft—"

Huo Yuhao had been awed by the power of Bei Bei's Martial Soul, but Yu Xiaogang's claim that he was Bei Bei's ancestor shattered his composure. He burst out laughing.

In the Sea of Spirit, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm rolled over lazily. His beady eyes followed the gesticulating Yu Xiaogang as he watched in silence, his intentions unclear.

Outside.

At some point, Gu Mingyuan had moved beside Huo Yuhao. He tilted his head toward him. "You seem happy."

Huo Yuhao coughed twice and waved a hand awkwardly. "N-no. I'm just happy Sister Xiao Ya found a suitable Soul Beast..."

Gu Mingyuan smiled without a word. He needed no guess to know that Yu Xiaogang was making trouble in Huo Yuhao's head.

Up ahead, Bei Bei's battle with the Mandala Snake had reached a stalemate. The thousand-year-old snake was fast, and its venom kept Bei Bei from meeting it head-on. Neither side could gain the upper hand.

"Brother Gu, let's help too," Huo Yuhao suggested.

"Of course."

A pale white Soul Ring lit up beneath Huo Yuhao's feet. Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing!

In an instant, a three-dimensional field of vision with no blind spots covered the area. Bei Bei and Tang Ya, fighting up ahead, and Gu Mingyuan beside him all saw the surrounding terrain in their minds, along with predictions of the Mandala Snake's slightest movements.

They all felt firsthand how remarkable the Soul Skill was.

With that advantage, Bei Bei's movements grew faster, and he evaded the venom with ease.

Gu Mingyuan did not stand idle either. The Mandala Snake's poison posed no threat to him. It was simple: My Golden Jade Body makes me immune to poison!

He stepped into the fray. His Golden Jade Hand struck with a gust of wind, hitting the snake below its vulnerable point as it twisted to escape and forcing it back into Bei Bei's attack.

"Thunderclap Dragon Claw!"

The dragon claw struck the snake's head, and Tang Ya stepped forward to finish it. The battle was over.

Half an hour later, Tang Ya successfully absorbed the Mandala Snake's Soul Ring and officially became a Soul Elder.

"Junior Gu, your turn." In high spirits, Tang Ya clapped her hands. "Do you have a target in mind for your second Soul Ring? Leave it to Sister Xiao Ya!"

Gu Mingyuan pointed in the direction he had come from. "I do. A Bone-Shaking Ape."

"A Bone-Shaking Ape?" Tang Ya thought for a moment. "That does suit your Body Martial Soul. Where is it? Let's go!"

The group followed Gu Mingyuan's directions.

After some searching, they finally found the burly Bone-Shaking Ape.

Bei Bei eyed the bony spurs protruding from its arms and frowned. "Junior Gu, that Bone-Shaking Ape looks to be around nine hundred years old. That's beyond the limit for a second Soul Ring. Should we find another?"

"It's fine." Gu Mingyuan shook his head. "This one and I have a history. Senior Bei, could you cover me?"

Bei Bei froze. Gu Mingyuan intended to challenge a nine-hundred-year-old Soul Beast alone?

He was about to speak, but Tang Ya nodded eagerly. "Sure! Bei Bei and I will keep you safe." She wanted to use this chance to see Gu Mingyuan's true strength.

The Bone-Shaking Ape had spotted the intruders by then.

When its gaze fell on Gu Mingyuan, it visibly paused. It remembered tearing this human open. How was he alive again?

Enraged by the sense that it had been toyed with, it roared, pounded its chest, and charged like a runaway truck.

Gu Mingyuan's eyes narrowed as his Martial Soul instantly possessed him.

A yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet. His first Soul Skill activated: Golden Jade Barrier!

The golden patterns on his skin blazed. His defense and strength doubled, while the hardness of his body tripled. Gu Mingyuan did not dodge. He drew back his right fist and drove it straight into the ape's descending fists.

Bang!

The Bone-Shaking Ape cried out in pain, its thick arms numb from the impact. Gu Mingyuan, meanwhile, stood firm, barely troubled by the force that rebounded through his fist. The Golden Jade Body's greatest strength had never been its power, but its absurd defense.

Stung by the exchange, the Bone-Shaking Ape opened its huge jaws and lunged at Gu Mingyuan again.

A gleam flashed in Gu Mingyuan's eyes. With Spiritual Detection aiding his Purple Extreme Emperor Eyes, he instantly read every movement of the ape's muscles.

He took a series of strange steps, moving like a wisp of smoke. He slipped past the ape's jaws by a hair's breadth and circled behind it.

The instant the Bone-Shaking Ape missed, Gu Mingyuan slammed his right fist into the back of its head.

Crack.

The ape's massive body went rigid, and it fell unconscious. Gu Mingyuan followed with another heavy punch, ending its life.

A yellow Soul Ring slowly rose from the corpse.

Not far away, Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged a look. Shock filled both their eyes.

There had been no drawn-out struggle, only complete domination. Coupled with his uncanny footwork and sharp eyes, the display left them more convinced than ever that Gu Mingyuan was a "descendant of the Tang Sect."