Bearish Outlook and Tang San's Eight Spider Hairs!

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Shrek group was searching for a suitable third Soul Ring for Tang San.

Given the importance of this expedition, and to better research Martial Soul Theory, Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had accompanied them.

But the atmosphere that day was rather strange.

Apparently, some unknown conflict had arisen between Xiao Wu and Tang San.

Their relationship had grown quite distant lately.

Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing had both asked Xiao Wu what exactly had happened between them.

Xiao Wu merely covered her face and wept, her eyes red and swollen as she said:

"Third Brother, he's not human. He... he's utterly shameless!"

No one knew the reason. They simply assumed it was a lovers' spat and felt it inappropriate to say much.

Faced with this situation, Tang San's heart was filled with bitterness.

On one hand, he was very relieved that Xiao Wu had not exposed his secret to Grandmaster or the others at Shrek: his account in the Stock Realm had been liquidated, leaving him with an enormous debt.

On the other hand, the fear of his secret being exposed tormented Tang San's mind every moment.

It was like a sharp sword hanging over his head by a single strand of hair, ready to fall and behead him at any time.

Meanwhile, in a treetop not far away, Sun Shan sat enjoying this wonderful performance.

"Although my influence meant Tang San reached level thirty Soul Power at least half a year later than in the original timeline."

"The great hand of fate will probably still make Tang San encounter his destined Man Faced Demon Spider in a while and obtain his cheat, the Eight Spider Lances."

Sun Shan chuckled. "But with me here this time, the script needs some changes."

Just then, something unexpected happened.

Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically. With a low growl, he immediately summoned his Martial Soul, the Great Strength Vajra Bear:

"Quick, run!"

The next instant.

The entire forest stirred.

Countless century-old trees were uprooted and toppled in every direction. Dust flew, and the earth trembled.

Before their eyes, a mountain stood up!

"It's the Titan Giant Ape, the king of the Star Dou Great Forest! Why would a Ferocious Beast like this appear on the outskirts?"

Yu Xiaogang was horrified.

With the force of wind and thunder, the Titan Giant Ape brought down a fist, breaking through the Shrek group's defenses without the slightest effort.

Zhao Wuji spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to fight again.

The remaining members of the Shrek Seven Monsters were all caught in the residual force.

They were sent flying more than ten meters, smashing through several trees as thick as the mouth of a bowl before finally coming to a stop.

At this moment of crisis.

Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang stepped forward and threatened:

"Titan Giant Ape, listen carefully! If anything happens to my students, I will destroy the Star Dou Great Forest at any cost!"

Yu Xiaogang roared:

"I choose you! Go, Luo Sanpao! Defeat the Titan Giant Ape!"

Luo Sanpao looked utterly bewildered. "?"

You want me to deal with the Titan Giant Ape? Seriously?

The Titan Giant Ape could not even be bothered with Gangzi.

In its eyes, someone like Gangzi was the hardest sort to scrape off once he stuck to the sole of its foot.

In strength and threat, he fell far short of the fleas on its body.

Pfft!

The Titan Giant Ape let out a loud fart at Yu Xiaogang, blasting Luo Sanpao far away on the spot.

The sight immediately terrified Xiaogang.

Like an ostrich, he buried his head in the dirt and trembled, a large wet patch spreading across his trousers.

Yu Xiaogang had literally pissed himself in fright!

The Titan Giant Ape reached out its massive hand and snatched Xiao Wu away.

"Xiao Wu!"

Seeing that the Titan Giant Ape was about to carry Xiao Wu off, Tang San flew into a rage and immediately used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to pursue it.

He leaped into the treetops, but after chasing for only a few steps.

A dark thought suddenly surfaced in Tang San's mind.

If Xiao Wu is taken away, then for now, I won't have to worry about anyone revealing the secret that my Stock Realm account was liquidated.

After all, only the dead can keep secrets forever.

In that brief moment of hesitation.

A figure passed Tang San and charged straight toward the Titan Giant Ape.

As he brushed past, Sun Shan mocked him contemptuously:

"Coward!"

At the same time, he activated Stock-Simulating Meow Meow's ability, "Bearish Outlook," on Tang San.

A faint trace of ill fortune attached itself to Tang San.

The other members of Shrek also found Tang San's behavior strange.

They had thought he would risk his life to save Xiao Wu, but for some unknown reason, he had suddenly stopped.

They simply assumed Tang San had been frightened by the Titan Giant Ape and did not investigate further.

The next instant, something even more shocking happened.

The Titan Giant Ape let out a roar.

Roar!

A violent wave of sound rushed toward Sun Shan, yet had no effect on him whatsoever.

After the dual baptism of the Golden Sacred Dragon's Dragon Core and life gold, Sun Shan's physical stats had already transformed to an absurd degree.

He stamped his right foot hard against the ground.

A large section of the ground immediately collapsed.

Using the resulting reaction force, Sun Shan surged forward, his right arm slightly bent, and delivered a punch at the enormous beast before him.

Boom!

At first, the Titan Giant Ape thought nothing of it. What was there to fear from this tiny human Soul Master?

He was not even a Titled Douluo.

But as the punch approached, its wild instincts as a Ferocious Beast screamed a warning.

The Titan Giant Ape immediately smashed its right arm forward.

Bang, bang, bang!

The two figures, one large and one small, were driven backward simultaneously.

The Titan Giant Ape retreated ten steps.

Sun Shan retreated four steps.

The Titan Giant Ape's calf-sized eyes filled with astonishment at this dreamlike scene.

Yet the waves of soreness, numbness, swelling, and pain coming from its right arm were very real.

All of it reminded the ape that this was no illusion.

Even more incredulous were the members of Shrek who had witnessed everything from the side.

"Grandmaster, are there really Soul Masters in this world who can clash head-on with a hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape using flesh and blood alone?" Zhao Wuji hurriedly asked.

Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "I've never heard of such a thing!"

Dai Mubai exclaimed:

"This guy is even fiercer than a crazed tigress!"

"He's practically Superman!" A trace of admiration flashed through Ning Rongrong's beautiful eyes.

She suddenly remembered an ironclad rule of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect that her father had told her when she was little.

As support-type Soul Masters, they lacked the necessary means of attack.

Thus, he had warned Ning Rongrong that she must find a powerful combat-type Soul Master as her spouse.

Now, seeing that the youth before her was both powerful and dashingly handsome, and best of all, around her own age.

She could not help developing a few girlish thoughts.

Only Tang San, standing nearby, had turned livid, his nails digging deep into his palms and drawing beads of blood.

Him again!

"Hm, wait a minute." Sun Shan suddenly realized something.

He had not come to challenge the Titan Giant Ape.

Wasn't he here to put on a tragic performance for Xiao Wu?

At that thought, Sun Shan deliberately left an opening.

"Oops, my foot slipped!"

The Titan Giant Ape seized the opening and attacked.

Sun Shan obligingly tilted his head and pretended to faint.

Seeing Sun Shan pass out, the Titan Giant Ape stopped attacking.

As though it had heard someone's instructions, it picked Sun Shan up and headed deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Beside the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Xiao Wu sat upright on the Titan Giant Ape's broad shoulder, with the "unconscious" Sun Shan lying beside her.

Looking somewhat worried, Xiao Wu said:

"Er Ming, you were too reckless. They're all my friends. You shouldn't have hit them so hard."

The Titan Giant Ape felt terribly wronged:

"Sister Xiao Wu, this kid's Soul Power Level might not be high, but his brute strength is seriously impressive!"

"He's practically a humanoid Ferocious Beast!"

Er Ming shook the right arm that had exchanged blows with Sun Ge. Even now, it still ached faintly.

"If he weren't lacking in actual combat experience, I might not have been able to take him down."

The Titan Giant Ape greatly admired Sun Shan's sheer strength.

Titan Giant Apes were Soul Beasts known for their strength to begin with, and a hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape could be called a grandmaster of brute force.

Soul Masters whose strength could earn its admiration were exceedingly rare!

Xiao Wu was also utterly astonished.

"That filthy pervert... is that powerful!"

The Sky Azure Bull Python beside them teased:

"Sister Xiao Wu, you really have a good eye for people. This human is very dependable."

"Of all those Soul Masters just now, he was the only one who risked his life to save you. He must be that Tang San you're always mentioning, right?"

Xiao Wu shook her head, looking somewhat embarrassed:

"Actually, the boy I told you about before was the one standing in the treetops in a daze."

"He's Tang San? No, I object!" Da Ming opposed the romance without the slightest mercy.

"Me too!" Er Ming agreed.

"Sister Xiao Wu, you saw it yourself."

"When you were in danger just now, who risked his life to save you? And what was that Tang San doing?"

"Luckily, it was Er Ming this time, and you weren't really in danger."

"If you really encounter danger in the future, can you count on that Tang San kid?"

The Sky Azure Bull Python spoke as it twisted its massive, hundred-meter-long body.

"That Tang San kid looks like his heart is full of darkness to me. For all we know, he's plotting to turn you into his Soul Ring, Sister Xiao Wu!"

"I heard it from the other Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest," Er Ming urged anxiously.

"That kid wasn't worried at all when he saw you get captured. Right now, he's even absorbing a Soul Ring to improve his cultivation with a clear conscience."

"Da Ming, Er Ming, stop. Please, don't say any more. I know. I know all of it!"

Xiao Wu covered her ears, two trails of clear tears running from the corners of her eyes.

After hearing Da Ming and Er Ming's words.

Xiao Wu's heart became an even greater jumble of conflicting feelings, her emotions constantly battling one another.

They tore her into pieces.

He looked at the "unconscious" Sun Ge beside him and recalled how he had risked his life to save him earlier.

A faint trace of tenderness showed in his eyes.

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Tang San happened to encounter a suitable Soul Beast.

After a fierce battle, he successfully killed the Man Faced Demon Spider.

He was absorbing the Man Faced Demon Spider as his third Soul Ring.

Yet no one noticed that the formless, intangible black Qi around Tang San was growing increasingly dense.

At the critical moment of absorbing the Soul Ring, all sorts of illusions appeared in Tang San's mind.

"Tang San, to think I treated you as my own, yet you repaid kindness with ingratitude and tricked me into signing such a vicious Soul Power contract! You vile wretch who betrays his master and ancestors!"

Yu Xiaogang pointed at his nose and cursed him furiously.

"If I'd known, I would've shot you onto the wall back then! What the hell did I father? I have no son like you!" Tang Hao said contemptuously.

"Even if I sewed it shut, I'd give it to a dog before I'd give it to you, my pure-as-ice-and-jade Buddha Tang!" Xiao Wu turned and left.

All sorts of fantasies surfaced and shifted.

Finally, Sun Shan's huge face appeared before Tang San's eyes and sneered:

"Trash!"

Tang San's mental state completely shattered.

Pfft!

He violently spat out a large mouthful of black blood, his presence weakening.

"Xiao San, what's wrong?" Yu Xiaogang stepped forward in concern.

Remembering the illusion from just now, Tang San did not dare face Yu Xiaogang for the moment. He could only lower his head and murmur:

"Something went a little wrong while I was absorbing the Soul Ring, but it wasn't a major problem. I still absorbed it successfully."

As he spoke, the Soul Rings attached to the Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's palm appeared.

White, yellow, purple.

Just then, Tang San's expression suddenly changed drastically:

"It itches! It itches so much!"

Tang San kept scratching his back, but the strange itching sensation did not diminish in the slightest.

Eventually, Tang San simply stripped off his clothes.

He rubbed himself against the tree bark like a brown bear.

"A m-monster!"

Ning Rongrong, who was less able to withstand psychological shocks, seemed to have seen something utterly terrifying and fainted on the spot.

At some unknown point, fine hairs like those on a spider's legs had suddenly sprouted from Tang San's back.

They grew in clumps, eight patches of spider hair in total. These black hairs were long and soft, giving off waves of a strange, nauseating odor.

Just getting close made people want to retch.

"Grandmaster, what exactly is going on?" Zhao Wuji asked in confusion.

"It seems to be a mutation caused by absorbing the Soul Ring."

"I don't know whether it's because something went wrong during the absorption process or because Xiao San was unlucky."

"This mutation was clearly a failure," Yu Xiaogang sighed, his eyes lowered. "Luo Sanpao was the same back then."

"A mutation?"

Hearing this, Tang San broke down completely.

He staggered over to a puddle and could just make out his current appearance in the reflection.

"I've turned into a monster! No!!!"

Tang San tore desperately at the spider hairs on his back, refusing to stop even when his flesh was mangled and blood streamed down.

Yet every time he tore out a spider hair, a dozen or even more grew from his back, as though there were no end to them.

Tang San howled in agony and struggled madly until he finally passed out from losing too much blood.

"Congratulations on successfully using Bearish Outlook on Tang San at a major fate juncture!"

"Reward: Soul Power increased by 6 levels!"

"Reward: the Tang Sect's secret manual, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record!"

"Reward: one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!"

"Reward: the Externally Attached Soul Bone, Eight Spider Lances!"

"Yes!" Sun Shan grew a little excited and could not help humming softly.

He had nearly forgotten that he was still pretending to be unconscious.

He was currently draped over Xiao Wu's back, his head resting naturally against the girl's neck.

The delicate fragrance of a maiden filled his nostrils.

Carrying Sun Shan on her back, the girl walked toward the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Xiao Wu was filled with self-reproach and murmured:

"It's all my fault that you suffered these injuries for nothing."

After finding a safe place.

Xiao Wu carefully laid him on the grass, then set up a few concealment tricks to hide Sun Shan completely.

After looking around and confirming that no one was there.

Xiao Wu cupped Sun Shan's cheeks and gently kissed his forehead.

"My heart is a mess right now, too. I don't know what to do."

That brief moment of tenderness set the imagination running wild.

Xiao Wu's little face flushed crimson. Like a child who had sneaked a bite of the New Year's treats, she fled the scene.

"Sun Shan, the next time we meet, let's settle things once and for all!"

A moment later, Sun Shan opened his eyes, looked in the direction Xiao Wu had left, and let out a quiet sigh.

Suddenly, Sun Shan whipped his head around.

He saw a tall, thin man standing atop a treetop, with dark-green hair and beard and a plain gray robe.

Especially striking were his slit pupils, which shone with a fluorescent green light.

Like a venomous snake, he radiated a sense of lethal danger.

The man complained:

"What a wishy-washy couple. Do young Soul Masters these days all drag things out this much when they're in love?"

Sun Shan was immediately startled.

"Could he be Dugu Bo?!"