Soul Hunting Forest!
A rustling sound came from the woods.
Tang San's ears twitched.
He had trained in locating things by sound and had keen hearing.
At the sound, he immediately grew alert.
"Teacher, wait. There's movement up ahead."
Yu Xiaogang stopped and looked into the depths of the woods, half believing and half doubting.
He hadn't noticed any movement himself. How had Tang San noticed it?
"Luo Sanpao, go take a look!"
Yu Xiaogang's purple-skinned pig waddled toward the woods, swaying its fat, round rump.
With this disturbance from Luo Sanpao,
the Soul Beast hiding in the woods revealed itself.
It was a great snake four or five meters long, its whole body a dark, inky green. An unusual fragrance wafted over from afar.
"It's a Mandala Snake!"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes widened, and even his heart trembled with fear.
If he'd known, he wouldn't have shown off. Who the fuck could have imagined a Mandala Snake appearing on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest?
If he'd brought Nuoding Academy's dean along, they could still have put up a fight.
With just him and Luo Sanpao, they were simply delivering themselves into the Mandala Snake's mouth.
"Little San, let me teach you a rule of the Soul Master World!"
"More rings, more bones-go all out with skills and strength!"
"Fewer rings, fewer bones-take to your heels and run!"
"You have no Soul Rings, and I only have two. Run!"
Yu Xiaogang grabbed Tang San, swiftly turned, and ran.
The Mandala Snake had initially been somewhat wary, but when it saw its prey take flight and expose their backs, the wariness in its eyes turned to greed.
Flicking its tongue, it chased after them as fast as lightning.
Cold sweat poured from Yu Xiaogang's forehead as he cursed nonstop in his heart. Fucking bad luck! Bad luck! Bad luck! How could anyone be this unlucky?!
When he'd left home that morning, he'd lost his Storage Soul Tool.
Now that he'd entered the Soul Hunting Forest, he'd encountered a Mandala Snake over four hundred years old.
Yu Xiaogang's heart brimmed with grief and indignation.
The Mandala Snake was about to catch up.
Yu Xiaogang glanced back, his gaze turning vicious as his first Soul Ring rapidly lit up.
"You damned Mandala Snake! If I, Yu Xiaogang, don't show my might, do you really take me for a sickly cat?!"
"First Soul Skill, fart like thunder, Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"
Upon receiving the command, Luo Sanpao's belly rapidly swelled. It stuck up its rear and, with a thunderous boom, blasted out great clouds of shit-yellow gas.
The Mandala Snake had a sense of smell. The fart blast did little damage, but it was extremely insulting.
The Mandala Snake was thoroughly disgusted.
In its frenzy, it lunged forward and sank its teeth into Luo Sanpao's rump.
Luo Sanpao let out a pained howl, then dissolved into a wisp of smoke.
At the same time, the skin around Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned bluish-purple. The Mandala Snake venom afflicting Luo Sanpao had also been reflected onto his body.
His vision swam, and he fell face-first into the dirt.
"Little San, save me!"
Yu Xiaogang didn't want to die yet. He stretched out a hand, grasping forward as he screamed in terror.
Holy freaking Gangzi, this Gangzi really was a useless piece of trash!
Tang San realized he might have misjudged him.
How was this Yu Xiaogang so useless? He couldn't even beat some random Hundred-Year Soul Beast, and he'd even been poisoned. He was nothing but dead weight.
With so little strength, he'd still brought me to the Soul Hunting Forest alone.
Tang San's expression shifted back and forth. Should I run? Or save him?
While Tang San hesitated, the Mandala Snake had already caught up.
Luo Sanpao had blasted it with a fart earlier, and it remembered that Luo Sanpao's scent was exactly the same as Yu Xiaogang's.
The Mandala Snake's eyes were scarlet. It was furious, utterly furious. It opened its huge mouth and actually swallowed Yu Xiaogang from head to toe.
For a Mandala Snake of its size, swallowing a living Yu Xiaogang left its entire belly bulging, and its movements grew sluggish.
"What a perfect chance!"
Purple light flashed in Tang San's eyes. His Purple Demon Eye had already seen through the Mandala Snake's movements. After swallowing a Gangzi, its speed had dropped dramatically.
Relying on the ghostlike speed of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Tang San darted and dodged around the Mandala Snake.
The Mandala Snake's movements were sluggish, and it could no longer keep up with Tang San's pace.
It lunged forward several times, missing every time.
Seizing his moment, Tang San fired his Silent Sleeve Arrow. An almost imperceptible cold glint flashed, and the Silent Sleeve Arrow blinded both of the Mandala Snake's eyes.
"Hiss..."
The Mandala Snake let out a vicious, agonized hiss.
"Now it's my turn!"
Tang San summoned the Clear Sky Hammer and hurled it using the technique of Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.
Originally, this hammer strike had been aimed at the Mandala Snake's vital spot, seven inches down its body. Tang San intended to hammer it to death in a single blow.
But whether it was Tang San's bad luck or not, the hammer struck the Mandala Snake's stomach and intestines. Its guts churned, and it rapidly emptied its bowels.
Just behind its rear, a head emerged first, followed by a body. Finally, the whole of Yu Xiaogang was excreted.
Yu Xiaogang had undergone a complete cycle of reincarnation, from being eaten to being shat out.
The Mandala Snake's anus had suffered too. After passing such a huge lump of Yu Xiaogang, its body swayed a few times before it collapsed to the ground and stopped moving.
The Mandala Snake died of a prolapsed anus.
Seeing this, Tang San sighed in relief, his expression shifting as he looked at the freshly excreted Yu Xiaogang.
Had I misjudged him?
How could this Yu Xiaogang be so useless?
Whatever the case, a teacher for a day was a father for life. Tang San gritted his teeth, disregarding the fact that Yu Xiaogang had just been shat out and reeked all over.
He ran over to examine Yu Xiaogang, then cut several wounds into his body to release the poisoned blood that had invaded it.
As the poisoned blood drained away, Yu Xiaogang's originally bluish-purple face returned to its normal color, though it looked extremely pale.
His body trembled, and he opened his eyes and woke up.
That terrifying scene still lingered in his mind.
He had been fully conscious when the Mandala Snake swallowed him in one gulp. The feeling of watching himself being swallowed had planted a nightmare in Yu Xiaogang's heart.
"I... I'm still alive..."
Tang San sighed. Looking at the terrified Yu Xiaogang, he could only console him.
"Teacher, you're still alive."
"The Mandala Snake ate you just now. After eating you, it slowed down, and I seized the chance to kill it."
"I rescued you and just drained your poisoned blood. You're very weak. We can't stay here long, so let's leave first."
Trembling, Yu Xiaogang looked toward the Mandala Snake's corpse and the Yellow Soul Ring floating above it. Suddenly, a sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
"According to my Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, animal Martial Souls aren't necessarily unable to absorb plant Soul Rings, and plant Martial Souls aren't necessarily unable to absorb animal Soul Rings."
"Little San, hurry and absorb the Mandala Snake's Soul Ring. The Mandala Snake has a tough body and potent venom, and it's around four hundred years old. It's precisely the most suitable first Soul Ring for you."
"With this Soul Ring, you'll be the strongest One-Ring Soul Master. It looks like our luck is about to turn. This Mandala Snake Soul Ring delivered right to our doorstep is clear proof."
"Little San, hurry. Trust your teacher. Your teacher would never deceive you."