Kill It Before They Can Steal the Spirit Ring

Hearing Tang San's thoughts,

Yu Xiaogang's lips curled. Since you said we'd run into the Peerless Dragon and Snake, of course I brought every teacher along.

Of the six of us, three are Spirit Sages and two are Spirit Emperors. Add that sly old fox Flender's brains, and even the Peerless Dragon and Snake will have to think twice.

The group traveled from Shrek Academy to a small town on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest. After resting there for the night, they set off again.

Early the next morning, they entered the forest's outer reaches.

The group followed a barely visible path.

Flender led the way, Zhao Wuji brought up the rear, and Yu Xiaogang stayed in the middle to support either end.

The six teachers kept the eight students protected between them.

After about two hours, Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to stop them and pointed to an ancient tree whose crown blotted out the sky.

"Let's rest here for a while. Have some water before we go on."

The group spread out beneath the tree.

Tang San sat near the edge of the group, his back against the trunk.

Everything from his previous life unfolded in his mind like a scroll.

Oscar's third Spirit Ring. The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent. The Snake Granny arriving with Meng Yiran to fight over it.

He had defeated Meng Yiran in that clash and claimed the Spirit Ring.

If I'm right, we'll soon run into the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, the source of Oscar's third Spirit Ring.

Once Oscar absorbs it, he'll gain a flight-based support ability.

But before he gets the chance, the Snake Granny will bring Meng Yiran to snatch it away.

I defeated Meng Yiran and secured the Spirit Ring last time. What happens in this life?

Who can step forward and beat her?

Yu Xiaogang stood a few paces away drinking water. His hand paused around his flask as he began considering what to do.

"Stay sharp and watch your surroundings. Spirit beasts can appear at any moment in the Star Dou Forest."

Less than ten breaths after Yu Xiaogang spoke, a rapid rustling came from the distance.

The sound drew closer fast, as though something were charging through the undergrowth toward them.

Everyone looked over. The branches shook violently, and a long, slender shape burst from the bushes.

It was a snake-like spirit beast covered in red scales, with a vivid scarlet crest atop its head that stood out in the forest's dim light.

"A Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, around eighteen hundred years old. Just right."

"Oscar, get ready!"

"Your Martial Soul is strong. With luck, you could gain a flight-based support skill. That kind of skill is extremely valuable."

Oscar sprang up from the tree root and pulled out a short knife.

"I'm ready!"

At the sight of the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, Tang San spoke without thinking.

"Snake-type spirit beasts fear avian Martial Souls. If we have Fatty suppress it with his Evil Fire Phoenix, we should save ourselves some trouble."

Yu Xiaogang shot him a look.

"An avian Martial Soul can suppress it, yes, but it could also panic and bolt any way it can."

"Besides, do you think our control-type Spirit Emperor is here for decoration?"

He said nothing more, merely tipped his chin toward Lu Qibin.

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent hissed and raised the front half of its body. Its slit pupils narrowed as it prepared to lunge toward the edge of the group.

Lu Qibin stood still as two Spirit Rings lit up beneath him. His first and second Spirit Rings activated together, and with a turn of his palm, two pitch-black chess pieces appeared from thin air. One landed before the snake's head, the other behind its tail.

Two more pieces dropped to either side.

The four pieces boxed the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent into a square.

Lu Qibin curled his fingers. The four pieces snapped inward, their black light twisting together like invisible ropes and binding the serpent from head to tail.

Its body thrashed twice, but it could not move an inch. Its scales creaked under the pressure.

The entire snake was pinned straight as a rod. It could not even flick out its tongue; only its slit pupils still shifted in defiance.

"Oscar, what are you waiting for?"

Yu Xiaogang's voice was sharp and forceful.

"Drive the knife through its crest and into its brain!"

Oscar snapped out of it and rushed forward, knife in hand.

He crouched, aimed at the back of the head beneath the crest, and raised his knife to strike.

An elderly but powerful woman's voice rang out from deep within the woods.

It cut through the forest air.

Oscar's knife hung in midair, its tip half an inch from the crest.

He froze.

His hand stayed where it was as he turned toward the voice.

Behind him, anger surged through Yu Xiaogang. He lifted his leg and kicked Oscar squarely in the backside.

"Someone tells you to stop, and you stop? If they told you to die, would you do that too?"

Oscar stumbled forward from the kick, and the momentum drove the short knife straight ahead.

With a wet pop, its tip pierced the center of the crest and drove through the brain.

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's tail lashed once, then fell limp. It stopped moving altogether.

A purple Spirit Ring slowly rose from the snake and hovered before Oscar, giving off a gentle glow.

Oscar knelt on one knee, still gripping the knife. For a moment, he could not decide whether to celebrate or feel sorry for himself.

The bushes parted, and two figures emerged.

The one in front was a silver-haired old woman. She was short but stood straight, leaning on a snake-headed staff, her gaze cold.

Behind her followed a pretty young woman in purple, cheeks puffed out as she glared at them.

They were the Snake Granny, Chao Tianxiang, and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran.

Meng Yiran hurried to the snake's corpse and looked down. The knife had pierced the crest on its head, and blood and brain matter had spilled across the ground.

Her face flushed red.

"My snake! Who told you to kill my snake?"

Oscar shrank back half a step at her shout. Blood still dripped from his knife.

He gave her an awkward grin.

"Sorry... I killed it."

Chao Tianxiang stood behind her granddaughter, leaning on her snake-headed staff as her gaze swept over the group.

She was silent for several breaths. Then six Spirit Rings rose beneath her feet—two yellow, two purple, and two black—radiating a heavy pressure in the morning light.

She raised her staff and tapped it lightly against the ground.

"I am Chao Tianxiang. You killed the spirit beast we've been tracking for days. Don't you owe us an explanation?"

The air in the forest seemed to still.

On the other side of the group, Zhao Wuji suddenly let out a snort of laughter.

He spat to the side and lifted his foot. Seven Spirit Rings rose beneath him—two yellow, two purple, and three black.

"We found this snake in the forest. It came straight at us, so we killed it. An explanation? What explanation?"

If I were alone, your reputation might worry me. But did you really think my boss Flender wasn't here?