The End

Xiao Wu did not answer. She leaned a little closer to Wang Xingyu, prodding him here and poking him there as she looked him over carefully from head to toe, concern in her eyes. "Xingyu, the Blue Silver Grass suddenly broke off. Are you all right?"

Wang Xingyu opened his fan, his tone easy. "I'm fine. I happened to land in a tree and hung there for a while."

Seeing that he was still in the mood to fan himself and did not have a single mark on him, Xiao Wu smiled and gave him a light punch in the hollow of his shoulder. "You're pretty good at hanging around, then. But don't go rushing after me next time. That goes for Third Brother too. I can protect myself."

With that, Xiao Wu finished her sausage and began recounting what had happened.

"Yes. While the Titan Giant Ape was running with me, an ox suddenly bellowed up ahead, shaking the ground. The Titan Giant Ape got so scared that it threw me aside and ran. The bellow also knocked a lot of Soul Beasts unconscious. They were lying all over the ground."

She paused, her tone turning lighter. "So I went ahead and broke through to level thirty, then absorbed one of their Soul Rings."

"Level thirty!" Oscar nearly dropped the sausage in his hand. "You're level thirty too?"

"That's right." Xiao Wu tossed her scorpion braid back, and fluctuations of Soul Power rippled from her body. Her level-thirty Soul Power glimmered faintly in the air.

In fact, like Tang San, Xiao Wu had long been able to break through.

Meng Yiran stood on the edge of the crowd, watching the Shrek members gather around Xiao Wu and ask what her Soul Skill was, all talking at once. She looked at Tang San standing beside the two, his gaze restrained yet unable to conceal his concern. She put away the Soul Breaking Knife, stood silent for a while, then turned and left.

Dragon Duke and Snake Granny exchanged a glance and looked at Zhao Wuji. Zhao Wuji looked back at them, and they nodded to one another. Without a word, they followed Meng Yiran, their figures gradually disappearing into the depths of the woods.

Ma Hongjun could not wait to ask, "Xiao Wu, what's your Third Soul Skill?"

Xiao Wu's lips curled up. "Teleportation."

Before her words had finished, she vanished from where she stood, leaving only a scarlet streak of light. The next second, she was standing in a clearing five meters away, her scorpion braid still swaying slightly.

"Whoosh, and I'm on the other side. I can use it whenever I want within five meters. If I'm under the moonlight, the distance doubles. I can flash anywhere within ten meters."

Wang Xingyu opened his fan and waved it. Aside from grappling Soul Skills like Waist Bow, Xiao Wu's Soul Skills were practically no different from cheating.

What was Invincible Golden Body?

It had the word "invincible" written right into the skill's name: absolute defense against anything below the divine level. It lasted only a few seconds, but even a few seconds was already far beyond the limit.

Still, he had not expected Teleportation to grow stronger under the moonlight.

Xiao Wu looked at the fading scarlet streak and blinked. Then she turned to Tang San, her eyes brimming with undisguised curiosity.

"Third Brother, what about you? What Soul Skill did the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring give you?"

Tang San held out his right hand, and Blue Silver vines emerged from his palm. After he had absorbed the Man Faced Demon Spider's Soul Ring, web-like patterns had appeared along the edges of their leaves, glimmering faintly in the morning light.

He said little, merely concentrating his Soul Power in his palm before flinging it forward. A huge spiderweb erupted from the tip of the Blue Silver vines. Dark purple silk stretched through the air into a giant web more than three meters across. A faint, eerie blue light shimmered over its sticky surface, which gave off a soft hiss.

The web landed squarely on an ancient tree ahead, its trunk thick enough to take two arms to encircle, and fastened tightly around it.

"Spider Web Restraint." Tang San's voice remained steady. "It can spread into a web three to five meters across and restrain an enemy. It's poisonous, and the more the enemy struggles, the tighter it gets."

Xiao Wu leaned closer to examine the web and reached out to touch it. The moment her fingertip touched the edge of a strand, a drop of transparent poison crept up her finger. She hissed and quickly pulled her hand back, blowing on her finger as she muttered, "It's poisonous too."

Her eyelashes lowered slightly, and her voice suddenly grew quieter, carrying undisguised disappointment and a touch of guilt. "Isn't this Soul Skill strong enough? It's all my fault. If the Titan Giant Ape hadn't captured me, you wouldn't have had to rush and pick just any Soul Beast."

Tang San shook his head. His voice was still steady, but a little gentler than usual. "There's more."

He closed his eyes, and with a thought, eight dark purple spider legs burst from his back. Each was over a meter and a half long, its surface covered in fine barbs that gleamed with an eerie blue chill in the morning light.

The spider legs slowly spread out in the air.

"This-" Xiao Wu's eyes widened. She jumped back a step, her mouth forming an exaggerated O.

She walked halfway around Tang San and pointed at him, unable to keep the curiosity out of her voice. "Wow, Third Brother, did you turn into a spider?"

"This thing-" Oscar poked his head out of the crowd, his peach-blossom eyes full of curiosity. He could not resist reaching out a finger to poke one of the spider legs on Tang San's back, which gleamed with an eerie blue chill.

A fan snapped in front of his fingertip, stopping it half an inch from the barbs on the spider leg. Wang Xingyu held the fan by its handle, his tone flat. "It's poisonous. Don't touch it."

Oscar sheepishly withdrew his hand and blinked his peach-blossom eyes, still a little reluctant. "I just wanted to touch it and see what it felt like."

"Xiao Wu touched the edge of the web just now and hissed for ages." Wang Xingyu closed his fan. "The Eight Spider Lances are the source. Their poison is at least as strong as the web's. If you touch them, it won't be a matter of just hissing."

Oscar shrank back and gave up the idea entirely.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Ma Hongjun's voice suddenly came from the ground.

Everyone looked down. At some point, Fatty had ended up lying flat on the ground, stiff as a board, as though all his bones had been pulled out. Only his lips were still trembling.

While Wang Xingyu had been stopping Oscar, he had secretly reached out and poked it. Now the poison was spreading merrily through his body.

"Fatty!" Dai Mubai shouted, and everyone rushed over and gathered around him. Zhao Wuji came over too, frowning.

"It's all right. Don't panic." Wang Xingyu turned to Tang San. "Little San, use the Eight Spider Lances to suck the poison out."

Tang San nodded and crouched down, exerting himself to control one of the spider legs and press it gently against Ma Hongjun's arm.

A faint blue light glowed along the spider leg. Several extremely fine strands of poison seeped out through Ma Hongjun's skin and were drawn away along the leg. His complexion visibly improved, going from deathly pale to rosy again in the blink of an eye.

Ma Hongjun scrambled up from the ground, moved his arms and legs, and grinned. "I really am fine! This thing can draw out poison too. Amazing!"

Dai Mubai punched him in the shoulder. "That'll teach you to fool around."

Ma Hongjun clutched his shoulder, baring his teeth in pain. Zhao Wuji shook his head and muttered, "This bunch of little brats."

"All right." Zhao Wuji clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back. His face was still swollen, but his voice had regained its usual roughness.

"Discuss your Soul Skills when we get back. We're going back to the academy first. We've been out long enough. Who knows what excuse that old miser Flender will come up with to dock my pay this time?"

Ma Hongjun leaned over to Oscar and lowered his voice. "Teacher Zhao got beaten up by the Titan Giant Ape, and he'll get an earful from the dean when we get back. He's really come out behind on this trip."

Before Oscar could reply, Zhao Wuji's palm landed on the back of Ma Hongjun's head. "Move out!" Ma Hongjun held his head and did not dare make another sound.

Oscar raised his right hand, and a purple Soul Ring lit up. "I, your daddy, have a Mushroom Sausage."

A strange-looking Mushroom Sausage appeared out of thin air in his palm. Ma Hongjun snatched it and took a large bite. A pair of translucent wings immediately spread from his back, and he whooshed into the air, shouting excitedly, "Hahahaha, I, your daddy, can fly again!"

Everyone ate their Mushroom Sausages. Wings spread from their backs, and they rose into the air one after another.

Morning had arrived, and sunlight fell on each of them, their translucent wings reflecting a faint golden glow.

Zhao Wuji was the last to take off, still muttering, "I'll get an earful when we get back." But as he watched the figures flying ahead of him, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly despite himself.

Though he had taken a beating on this trip, Oscar was level thirty, Xiao Wu was level thirty, and Tang San had not only reached level thirty but gained an External Soul Bone as well. It was worth it.