Eight Spider Lances

The grass on the rear hillside was warm in the sunlight. The three of them had already run the Triangle Cycle through several complete circuits, and their Soul Power flowed more smoothly around it with each pass.

Wang Xingyu had his eyes closed, feeling the Soul Power surging from Tang San and Xiao Wu wash through his meridians, when he suddenly heard a faint rustling.

He opened his eyes and saw that eight spider legs had emerged from Tang San's back again. Their deep purple carapaces gleamed with an icy blue light in the sun. One was carefully drawing back, like a child who had done something wrong and wanted to sneak back to his room while the adults weren't looking.

Tang San looked unusually embarrassed. "They came out again before I knew it. It's fine, I'll put them away."

"Wait." Wang Xingyu raised a hand.

Xiao Wu opened her eyes too and tilted her head, staring at the spider legs with a slight frown.

"Third Brother, I feel like there's something extra in your Soul Bone."

Wang Xingyu didn't answer. He just stared at one of the spider legs.

In that instant, he had sensed it-it wasn't Tang San's Soul Power controlling that leg. His own Soul Power had flowed into it along the Triangle Cycle, and then the leg had moved.

It was a tiny movement, but he was sure it wasn't an illusion.

He focused his mind and tried to touch the spider leg with his Soul Power. Its tip trembled lightly and shifted half an inch to the left.

Tang San turned his head and looked at Wang Xingyu. "Xingyu, you can control it?"

Before Wang Xingyu could answer, another spider leg moved. This time, he wasn't the one controlling it.

Both of them looked at Xiao Wu. Her eyes were wide as saucers, and her finger was still pointing at the spider leg. "Third Brother, how come I can move your spider leg too?"

Wang Xingyu fell silent for a moment, his mind racing.

Three people, a triangular Soul Power cycle, an External Soul Bone, the ability to control it between them-these keywords came together in his mind, slowly forming a bold conjecture.

Normally, only a Soul Master could control his own Martial Soul and Soul Bones, but this was an External Soul Bone.

The Triangle Cycle allowed the three of them to share their Soul Power to a high degree. Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, Tang San had the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline, and he had his own Life System Blue Silver Grass. The nature of their Soul Power had been soaking in the cycle for years, and it had long since become impossible to tell whose was whose.

Could that be the reason?

"Would you say this counts as a Martial Soul Fusion Skill?" Wang Xingyu asked.

Xiao Wu blinked. "A Martial Soul Fusion Skill?"

"Little San turns into a spider." Wang Xingyu opened his fan and gestured with it. "The two of us sit on top and control him. You control the four legs on the left, and I control the four on the right."

Xiao Wu pictured the scene, and her face slowly scrunched up. "Huh? Third Brother turns into a spider, and we sit on him? That would be way too ugly!"

"The looks might be average." Wang Xingyu waved his fan. "But it'd definitely look cool in a real fight."

Tang San was silent for a moment. "Actually, I think it'd look fine too."

Xiao Wu whipped her head around and glared at Tang San, her eyes nearly popping out. "Third Brother, are you serious? Turning into a spider that big would be ugly as sin! It wouldn't even be as handsome as Moon Shadow!"

Tang San gave an awkward smile.

Wang Xingyu closed his fan and tapped it against his palm.

"All right, Xiao Wu and I can each control only one of your spider legs. The other six are still yours to handle. It probably isn't a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, or the three of our Martial Souls should have fused into one. As things stand, maybe the three of our Soul Powers have soaked in the cycle for too long and undergone some strange mutation."

Besides, nothing like this had happened in the original story.

"Good thing it isn't." Xiao Wu let out a long breath and patted her chest.

Tang San looked thoughtfully at his spider legs.

"Since all three of us can move the Eight Spider Lances, why don't we add them to our daily training?" Wang Xingyu opened his fan and waved it. "Even though all three of us have to be connected to control them, so they're not very useful in a real fight, we might be able to use them someday if we get enough practice."

It couldn't hurt to practice.

"Pulling pig bristles?" Xiao Wu froze for a moment and blinked. "That's a strange name."

Wang Xingyu's smile faltered for an instant. He suddenly remembered that in the original story, the thing was called the Eight Spider Lances, a name the Grandmaster had casually given it while explaining Soul Bones to Tang San.

He really couldn't remember whether he had said it before. But who cared?

"Not pulling pig bristles. Eight Spider Lances." Wang Xingyu closed his fan and tapped it against his palm. "That's right, I named them after their appearance."

Xiao Wu thought for a moment, then repeated the name. "Eight Spider Lances." She turned to look at the spider legs swaying slightly behind Tang San. "That's pretty cool."

Tang San looked at the spider legs behind him and felt that the name captured the Soul Bone's sharp edge precisely. He immediately nodded firmly. "All right, from now on, they'll be called the Eight Spider Lances."

Wang Xingyu reconnected the Blue Silver Grass, thinking that if the Grandmaster asked about it in the future, ownership of the name wouldn't be his concern.

When their training ended that afternoon, they could still only move the Eight Spider Lances slightly. Xiao Wu relaxed her concentration, and the left spider leg she controlled sprang back into place.

"We've practiced all afternoon, but it doesn't look like we've made much progress." Xiao Wu shook out her hands, her scorpion braid swaying gently with the movement.

"You want to control someone else's Soul Bone after one afternoon? It's not that easy." Wang Xingyu opened his fan and waved it. "Being able to move it a little is already progress. Take it slowly. This takes a delicate touch."

Tang San retracted the spider legs into his body, stood up, and brushed the grass clippings from his trouser legs. "We'll continue tomorrow."

The three packed up and headed for the dormitory. It was still early, and the insects on the rear hillside had yet to start chirping. Cooking smoke rose from all over the village, and the smell of firewood hung in the air.

Wang Xingyu walked at the back, closing his fan and tucking it into his waistband. Progress in controlling the Eight Spider Lances was indeed slow; after a whole afternoon, they could only shift a spider leg half an inch. But he wasn't in a hurry. This wasn't something they could master in a day.

Early the next morning, everyone gathered on the training ground on time.

The eight of them stood neatly in a row. Zhu Zhuqing still stood as far from Dai Mubai as possible, while Ning Rongrong stood in the middle. The spoiled arrogance had left her face, replaced by a measure of composure.

Flender stood at the very front with his hands behind his back, his reflective glasses perched on his shoehorn-shaped face. He tapped his toe lightly against the dirt, the rhythm considerably faster than usual.

His gaze kept drifting toward the academy entrance.

Ma Hongjun folded his arms and said to Oscar in a low voice, "What's wrong with the dean today? He looks like he's waiting for his wife."

Before Oscar could reply, Flender shot them a glare, and Ma Hongjun immediately shut his mouth.

After a while longer, a figure finally appeared at the academy entrance. The man wore drab, worn cloth clothes, and his hair was piled messily on his head, covering most of his face. A battered cloth bag hung from his shoulder.

A dog followed beside him, purple all over, with drooping ears and an unhurried gait. It was a little plump and stayed close to its master's feet, looking up from time to time to survey its surroundings. It was in excellent spirits, with a curious look in its eyes.

Flender frowned and strode over to block the man's path. "Sir, this is Shrek Academy. Unauthorized people-"

He stopped halfway through. Although the man's messy hair covered most of his face, a closer look revealed the unmistakable outline of his brows and eyes-

Flender seized the man by the shoulders, his voice changing pitch. "Xiaogang? How did you end up like this?"

The man raised his head, revealing a gaunt face beneath his tangled hair, the corners of his mouth turned slightly downward. It was Yu Xiaogang.