A Sudden Pang of Dread

Li Changqing spread out his spiritual senses and found that every Soul Beast nearby had fled in terror. Nothing capable of moving freely remained, not even ordinary birds.

Only the plant-type Soul Beasts remained, rooted to the earth and unable to move. Sensing the Titan Giant Ape's crushing presence, they all pressed themselves low to the ground, not daring to stir.

Li Changqing drove the Thunderblade Sword straight into the Titan Giant Ape's skull. Its body shuddered a few times, then collapsed completely. The light in its eyes went out.

A brilliant red Soul Ring slowly rose from the Titan Giant Ape's body. It was the Titan Giant Ape's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.

Red light bathed the small valley, while the ring's overwhelming pressure made even the air seem sluggish, as though it had congealed.

Beside the Titan Giant Ape's corpse, Li Changqing found a Soul Bone. As in the original story, it was a left arm bone. He put it into his storage ring.

After putting away the Soul Bone, Li Changqing took a deep breath and sat cross-legged beside the corpse. With a thought, he drew the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring around himself and began absorbing it as the Thunderblade Sword Martial Soul's eighth Soul Ring.

It was late at night in Dorm Seven of Nuoding Academy, in Nuoding City, Fasinuo Province, far away in the Heaven Dou Empire.

This was Nuoding Academy's dormitory for work-study students. Everyone slept soundly.

A closer look would have revealed two people sharing one bed in Dorm Seven, a boy and a girl who appeared to be about nine years old.

The boy was plain-looking and rather thin.

The girl had delicate, doll-like features and was adorable. It was easy to see that she would grow into a great beauty.

They were Tang San, an Otherworlder from the Tang Sect, and Xiao Wu, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit in human form.

A sudden pang of dread woke Xiao Wu. Cold sweat covered her body, and she was breathing heavily.

She sat up and pressed a hand to her heart. The dread pierced her to the core, as though something precious had left her. She was not crying, yet tears kept streaming down her face.

Xiao Wu's ragged breathing woke Tang San. A violet gleam appeared in his eyes as he looked at her, a sign that he had activated the Tang Sect Secret Art, Purple Demon Eye.

Though faint moonlight spilled through the window, Dorm Seven was still so dark that one could not see a hand held before one's face.

With Purple Demon Eye, however, Tang San could make out Xiao Wu's face. Her expression was vacant and grief-stricken, and tears would not stop falling.

"Xiao Wu, what's wrong?" Tang San asked anxiously.

Xiao Wu did not understand it herself. "Brother San, I don't know what happened either. I feel so sad, as if something I cherish has left me forever." As she spoke, she threw her arms around Tang San.

"Brother San, I'm scared."

Tang San did not know what had happened, but seeing her like this made his heart ache. "Xiao Wu, I'm here. It'll be all right. I'll protect you. Remember what I told you? You're my little sister. If anyone wants to hurt you, they'll have to step over my corpse first."

Tang San's reassurance helped Xiao Wu a little, but the dread lingered.

She clung tightly to him and did not fall into a deep sleep until much later.

Even asleep, she did not let go of Tang San.

Her face still looked sorrowful.

Tang San gave it no further thought, assuming she had had a nightmare.

Tang San had no shame. Xiao Wu looked only nine years old, yet he, with the soul of an adult, was perfectly happy to keep sleeping beside a little girl. It was downright wicked. These days, that could get him the electric chair.

Xiao Wu had even less shame. She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form. She might not actually have lived a hundred thousand years, but she had certainly lived several hundred.

She was a centuries-old rabbit pretending to be young, yet she had no qualms about cuddling a boy who looked only nine. That was even worse.

In the small valley of the Star Dou Great Forest, Li Changqing was absorbing the Soul Ring.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Titan Giant Ape's form appeared. It was the ape's lingering resentment.

Once a Soul Beast's cultivation passed ten thousand years, resentment would take root.

To absorb a Soul Ring older than ten thousand years, a Soul Master had to withstand the assault of that resentment.

Failure meant damage to the soul and, at best, becoming an idiot. At worst, it meant death.

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Titan Giant Ape roared in fury. "Human, I'll drag you to the grave with me!"

The Titan Giant Ape charged at Li Changqing with a roar. Li Changqing did not panic in the slightest.

A Kun Peng appeared in his Sea of Consciousness, Lunar and Solar Power flowing around it. One moment, it became a golden Divine Peng and gave a piercing cry; the next, it became an enormous ink-black Kun and let out a deep call.

The instant the Kun Peng appeared, the raging Titan Giant Ape began trembling with fear.

The Divine Peng spat a mouthful of Sun True Fire, setting the Titan Giant Ape ablaze.

The Titan Giant Ape howled in agony. "What is this thing? Why won't these flames go out?"

Soon, the Titan Giant Ape's resentment had been burned away completely. With nothing left to hinder him, Li Changqing absorbed the Soul Ring much more smoothly.

An hour later, Li Changqing opened his eyes and breathed out. He stretched and moved his body, producing a series of sharp cracks, then stood up.

The Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring granted Li Changqing two Soul Skills.

The first was Titan Annihilation. It unleashed eight fearsome arcs of Sword Qi in succession, each carrying the Titan Giant Ape's unstoppable power to smash through anything. Each arc was also razor-sharp, as though it could sever all things.

The other was Titan Sword Aura. It greatly increased his attack power and explosive strength, while coating his blade in the power of the earth. Each strike delivered a tremendous impact capable of shattering an enemy's defenses with ease.

Looking at the Titan Giant Ape's enormous corpse, Li Changqing smiled faintly. "Forget it. I won't trouble Boss Wu with this. I'll leave the corpse here."

With that, he cut off several pieces of meat with the Thunderblade Sword, put them in his storage ring, and left.

No sooner had Li Changqing gone than large numbers of Soul Beasts followed the scent of blood to the corpse and began devouring the Titan Giant Ape's massive body.

As he reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, Li Changqing sensed several human Soul Masters coming his way.

They were split into two groups. Ahead was a boy of about twelve, with Soul Power in the twenties, a full head of golden hair, and a striking pair of wicked eyes. His body was covered in wounds, and he looked utterly battered.

Behind him were six black-clad figures, all with Soul Power around level thirty. They were clearly pursuing the boy.

"What a coincidence." Li Changqing frowned, at a loss for words.

Those wicked eyes, that golden hair, and the fact that he was being hunted...

The boy with the wicked eyes had to be Dai Mubai, Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire and leader of the Shrek Seven Devils in the original story. The people behind him had probably been sent by his elder brother to kill him.

Li Changqing shrugged. "Not my problem."