"Rustle, rustle-"
It was noon, and Dai Jinge was making his way through the forest.
Suddenly, he sensed an aura approaching from ahead. He stopped and looked closely, spotting a purple spider hunting amid the dense trees.
"Surely I can't be that lucky..."
Dai Jinge examined the spider carefully and recognized it as a Man Faced Demon Spider, roughly two thousand years old.
How could there be so many coincidences in this world?
Without another thought, Dai Jinge activated White Tiger Possession, followed a moment later by Tiger Roars Through the Forest.
Startled, the Man Faced Demon Spider instinctively dropped its prey, looked around, and slowly backed away.
First Soul Skill-Instant Teleportation!
With several dozen meters between them, Dai Jinge expended a considerable amount of soul power to teleport directly above the Man Faced Demon Spider.
"Bam-!"
Dai Jinge brought down a powerful, crushing punch.
The hardest part of the Man Faced Demon Spider's carapace-its back-abruptly shattered, sending purple blood spraying everywhere.
The Man Faced Demon Spider shrieked in agony, pressed flat against the ground. For a moment, the excruciating pain left it unable to move. Dai Jinge's punch had nearly killed it!
"Pretty tough, aren't you?"
Dai Jinge was rather surprised that the two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider had survived his all-out punch. Then he brought down another heavy blow.
Second Soul Skill-White Tiger Annihilation Strike!
This time, there were no surprises. A large hole opened in the Man Faced Demon Spider's chest, and after twitching for a while, it finally stopped moving.
Just then, a purple soul ring condensed and floated before Dai Jinge.
Dai Jinge studied the purple soul ring before him, then scrutinized the Man Faced Demon Spider's legs.
"Bam!"
Dai Jinge channeled his soul power into a palm strike, shattering the soul ring outright. Its purple radiance gradually dispersed.
He considered the various ways an external soul bone could appear.
External soul bones had two possible origins. One emerged when a soul ring mutated as it merged with the body during absorption; the other could be dug directly out of a soul beast's body.
Dai Jinge raised his tiger claws and tore the Man Faced Demon Spider to pieces, eventually digging a blackish-purple oval bone out of its back.
It radiated powerful fluctuations of soul power, entirely unlike the other bones. It was unmistakably a soul bone.
Four small bumps extended from either side of this oval soul bone.
Dai Jinge examined it repeatedly, smiled in satisfaction, then placed the external soul bone from the Man Faced Demon Spider into the Wishful Hundred Treasure Pouch.
With that, he no longer needed to remain in the Star Dou Great Forest!
Dai Jinge was about to leave the Star Dou Great Forest and return to Blue Tyrant Academy.
Suddenly, he found himself thinking of Xiao Wu. If he could force her to use Soul Sacrifice on him, he would leap straight from the fifty-fourth level through bottleneck after bottleneck, reaching beyond the sixtieth level!
As for the threat posed by Tang Hao...
He had beaten Tang San's face into a pig's head last night, yet Tang Hao had never appeared.
If Tang Hao really had been nearby, his habit of bullying the weak and fearing the strong, coupled with his fierce protectiveness toward his son, would surely have driven him to settle the score. Yet nothing had happened. Didn't that mean Tang Hao wasn't nearby?
Dai Jinge felt that Tang Hao simply trusted Zhao Wuji, Flender, and the others too much. He believed that with these Soul Saints and Soul Emperors helping Tang San, nothing would go wrong even without him guarding his son from the shadows.
And that!
Was precisely what gave him this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!
"Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the others suffered some serious injuries last night, especially Zhao Wuji. They might be recuperating in town."
"If I head back now, I might run into them."
In town, inside the restaurant.
Tang San helped Xiao Wu sit up in bed. Her face was pale, and she was still somewhat weak and listless.
The sight pained Tang San deeply. After eating the sausage Oscar had given him, the injuries on his face had improved considerably, though some bruising remained.
"Xiao Wu, have some porridge."
The rice porridge contained not only Oscar's sausage, but also medicine Tang San had prepared.
Xiao Wu murmured a soft assent and parted her lips slightly.
Xiao Wu's condition wasn't too bad. After all, she had only suffered a backlash.
Dai Mubai's condition, however, was another matter entirely!
In another room, Oscar mixed his sausage into the rice porridge, propped Dai Mubai up, and carefully fed him.
"Boss Dai, have some porridge. It'll help you recover faster."
Dai Jinge had taken the initiative to attack Dai Mubai, using his fifth soul skill-White Tiger Sky Roar. This kind of sound-based mental attack was nearly impossible to guard against.
Dai Mubai was in far, far worse shape than Xiao Wu. Hearing Oscar's words, he opened his mouth with difficulty and accepted the food Oscar fed him.
"Thanks, brother..."
Oscar sighed. "Boss Dai, stop talking. Save your strength."
Meanwhile.
Ma Hongjun was also taking care of Zhao Wuji.
For the moment, their team was almost entirely out of commission. Only Ning Rongrong had nothing to do, and she sat by the window, bored out of her mind as she watched the scenery.
Dai Jinge descended from the sky just then. Seeing Ning Rongrong sitting by the window, he approached her.
At that moment, Ning Rongrong noticed Dai Jinge drawing closer. Frightened, she backed away repeatedly, then lost her footing and fell onto the floor.
"What? Even you get scared?"
Dai Jinge couldn't help chuckling. This was his first time meeting Ning Rongrong. He hadn't expected someone known as the "Little Demoness" to be so timid.
"You... what do you want?!"
Ning Rongrong forced herself to calm down, staring unblinkingly at Dai Jinge.
After what had happened last night, Dai Jinge's savage side had been branded deeply into her mind.
Dai Jinge got straight to the point. "Where are your companions? Where is that other girl named Xiao Wu staying?"
Ning Rongrong's vigilance surged to its peak. She slowly backed away, her red lips pressed tightly together, clearly refusing to answer Dai Jinge's question.
"I admire people who stand by their friends, but..."
Dai Jinge's expression hardened. He suddenly rushed at Ning Rongrong, spread his fingers, and seized her by the throat, pinning her against the wall. His voice was icy. "I suggest you tell me the truth and answer my question!"
Ning Rongrong's little face flushed red, and her feet kicked wildly. Unable to catch her breath, she felt the fear of death envelop her heart. No longer able to worry about anything else, she nodded repeatedly.
Only then did Dai Jinge release his grip.
With nothing supporting her, Ning Rongrong slid down the wall and slumped onto the floor, gasping for breath.
"Next door..."
"Xiao Wu is next door. Tang San is feeding her. Are you satisfied now?"
Hearing this, Dai Jinge looked at the wall before him, raised his fist, and slammed it forward.
"BAM!!!"
A deafening crash echoed through the restaurant. The entire wall before Dai Jinge collapsed, revealing Tang San and Xiao Wu behind it.
At the sight of Dai Jinge once more, Tang San and Xiao Wu's eyes both filled with grave concern.
As though facing a formidable enemy, the two braced themselves for battle.
Before you continue