"Yiran, kneel and kowtow to His Holiness!"
After Meng Yiran retracted the Eight Spider Lances, the Dragon Duke spoke in a grave voice.
Kowtow? Qin Xiao shook his head. "There's no need. This was her own fortunate encounter."
In truth, if Qin Xiao hadn't been unable to absorb this soul ring himself, he would have been tempted to try...
Beside them, Snake Granny said, "Your Holiness, please don't refuse. If you hadn't severely wounded this soul beast, who knows how long we would have had to track it? It might have ended up just like that Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent..."
She couldn't continue beyond that.
If not for Qin Xiao, she would have fought Zhao Wuji over the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, no matter what.
Had she succeeded, wouldn't that have put an end to any chance of obtaining an external soul bone?
After hearing Snake Granny's words, a mysterious smile curled Qin Xiao's lips.
Snake Granny was right.
If he hadn't intervened, this Man Faced Demon Spider would have become Tang San's soul ring, and the external soul bone would have fallen into Tang San's hands...
"Your Holiness, without you, given how little my wife and I know, we would never have understood what was happening to Yiran. We would surely have interrupted her absorption of the external soul bone, perhaps even causing her irreparable harm..."
As he spoke, the Dragon Duke turned to Meng Yiran. "Yiran, hurry and thank His Holiness."
At his words, Meng Yiran dropped to her knees with a thump and said to Qin Xiao with heartfelt sincerity, "Your Holiness, I have no way to repay your great kindness. Please accept my bow."
With that, she pressed her forehead hard against the ground, striking it with such force that it made a thud.
At this point, Qin Xiao could only accept it graciously.
Still, his opinion of Meng Yiran improved considerably.
If nothing else, the girl had a sincere heart.
"Your Holiness, are you leaving?"
Just then, the Dragon Duke noticed the intention to leave in Qin Xiao's eyes and hurriedly asked.
What else would I do if I didn't leave? Stay for a banquet? Qin Xiao couldn't help grumbling inwardly.
But then the Dragon Duke added, "Your Holiness, if you ever need anything, you need only say the word. Even if I must climb a mountain of blades or plunge into a sea of fire, I won't so much as furrow my brow."
This was hardly excessive. An external soul bone capable of growing was simply too valuable.
It was priceless!
After hearing the Dragon Duke's words, Qin Xiao merely smiled, turned, and left.
"Your Holiness, if you ever happen to pass by Myriad Beast Academy, please come in for a visit!"
As Qin Xiao was about to disappear from view, Meng Yiran called out sweetly.
"All right."
Qin Xiao's voice drifted back from afar.
"Er Ming!"
"Er Ming!"
Near the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest, Xiao Wu leaned against a large tree, her eyes tightly shut and her brows furrowed as she cried out urgently.
She looked as though she was having a nightmare.
Her cries also startled Tang San beside her.
He hurried to Xiao Wu's side and called anxiously, "Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, wake up."
"Er Ming, don't go!"
Xiao Wu cried out, abruptly waking as though from a dream.
But the first thing she saw was Tang San's unremarkable face.
"Xiao San, where's Er Ming?"
"I just had a dream. In the dream, Er Ming... he died..."
Xiao Wu spoke in a daze.
After hearing her words, Tang San's expression stiffened.
"Xiao San, it was a dream, wasn't it?"
As she spoke, Xiao Wu began looking around. "Where's Er Ming? Where is he? Is he being naughty and hiding again?"
"Enough!"
Tang San could no longer hold back and shouted angrily, "Xiao Wu! Er Ming is already dead."
"That really happened. It wasn't a dream!"
What?
It was actually real?
Xiao Wu felt as though she had been struck by lightning. The image of Er Ming facing the Thunder Emperor Finger surfaced in her mind, along with the despair on his face.
"Xiao Wu, accept reality. Qin Xiao killed Er Ming."
As Tang San spoke, he held his fingers together and pointed them skyward, swearing an oath. "I swear that I, Tang San, will kill Qin Xiao in this lifetime and avenge Er Ming!"
Yet his words not only failed to calm Xiao Wu, they seemed to pour oil onto the flames.
"Enough!"
"Tang San, if it weren't for you, Er Ming wouldn't have died!"
Xiao Wu spoke through her tears.
At that moment, her heart ached, and she was filled with regret.
She regretted letting Tang San persuade her to have Er Ming deal with Qin Xiao.
She regretted letting Er Ming keep fighting Qin Xiao even after realizing he was no match for him.
She regretted listening to Tang San so obediently...
He was only a Soul Grandmaster. How could he understand a battle between Titled Douluos?
"Xiao Wu, I admit I bear some responsibility for Er Ming's death."
"No, you bear a great deal of responsibility. This whole thing started because of you..." Xiao Wu refused to accept Tang San's account.
"Xiao Wu, I..."
Tang San opened his mouth, anger already surging in his heart.
Weren't you the one who asked Er Ming to help in the first place? Now that something's gone wrong, you're dumping everything onto me alone?
He, Tang San, would not shoulder that blame!
But Xiao Wu had already covered her ears with both hands and was shaking her head. "Stop talking. I want to be alone for a while. Leave!"
"Fine, I'll leave!"
Tang San coldly threw out those words, then turned and walked into the forest.
Before long, however, he returned and sat beneath an ancient tree a dozen or so meters in front of Xiao Wu, his expression grim.
Only after walking away did he remember that they were deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, surrounded by terrifying ten-thousand-year soul beasts...
In other words.
Without Xiao Wu, he couldn't get out of the Star Dou Great Forest at all.
White dew clung to the grass as the morning sun began to rise.
In the village outside Shrek Academy.
Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, came to Sword Douluo's side, and the two stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing toward Shrek Academy in the distance.
"Uncle Jian, you didn't sleep all night?"
Hearing this, Sword Douluo frowned. "Sect Master, do you think our earlier guess was wrong? Was that lightning descending before merely a coincidence?"
"I didn't close my eyes all night, yet I never saw that spectacle of descending lightning."
"Haha, Uncle Jian, didn't you bring that on yourself? You insisted on staying here to get to the bottom of things. I told you long ago that we should simply go to Shrek Academy and ask."
Ning Fengzhi shook his head with a chuckle.
"Sect Master, please stop making fun of me. Wasn't I just afraid of stirring the grass and startling the snake?"
Sword Douluo waved helplessly. "If there really is some powerful soul beast lurking in Shrek Academy, it would be an enormous boon for our sect."
Yet as the two talked and laughed, a figure landed behind them.
Neither Ning Fengzhi nor Sword Douluo found this surprising.
The newcomer was one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's covert guards.
"Sect Master, Elder, the young lady has returned to the academy."
The covert guard spoke while kneeling on one knee.
"What? Rongrong is back?"
Before Ning Fengzhi could speak, Sword Douluo exclaimed in delight.
He hadn't seen Ning Rongrong in a long time and missed her dearly.
He immediately said to Ning Fengzhi, "Sect Master, let's go. We'll head to Shrek Academy right now and ask what's going on."
Ning Fengzhi teased him with a smile. "Uncle Jian, I think what you really want is to see Rongrong, isn't it?"
The village was still some distance from Shrek.
But that distance was nothing to Sword Douluo. With Ning Fengzhi in tow, he soon arrived outside the academy.
They happened to run straight into the Shrek group, who were about to enter the academy.
Sword Douluo spotted Ning Rongrong immediately.
Smiling, he was just about to call out. But a moment later, he abruptly stopped himself.
Even the smile on his face swiftly faded, and his sword-like brows drew together.
And all of this was because of a young man.
Before you continue