20+ Advance chapters on Patreon
Tang San was fuming. He hadn't eaten anything odd, yet his stomach had turned against him at the worst possible time. What he'd assumed was just a bit of gas ended up being a full-on catastrophe.
Ning Tian suppressed a grin. 'Now that Meng Yiran has her third soul ring, the Dragon Duke will give up chasing that two-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider. Tang San's Eight Spider Lances? History.'
Handing the soul ring to Meng Yiran had been a snap decision. Oscar's stubborn loyalty to Tang San marked him as a problem, and while the Eight Spider Lances were a prize worth considering, soul bones weren't a sure thing. Better to play it smart and kneecap Tang San now. Without those lances, he'd struggle to punch above his weight, and after a few setbacks, he might rush to train his Clear Sky Hammer earlier than planned.
Oscar's third soul ring was a bust, and Tang San, despite breaking through to level thirty had become a laughingstock after his little… mishap. Even Xiao Wu steered clear, her nose wrinkled in disgust.
The group's cohesion started to fray under the pressure.
Zhao Wuji, oblivious to the shifting tensions, decided to relocate the camp. He wasn't about to stick around and tempt the Dragon Duke's revenge after the soul ring incident with Meng Yiran. They trekked over ten Km before settling in for the night.
The next morning, they set out to hunt soul rings for Tang San and Oscar.
It didn't take long to find a decent fit for Oscar—a thousand-year Cockscomb Snake, a weaker cousin of the Phoenix-Tailed Crest Serpent. Its soul skill gave a speed boost, letting the user match a speed-type Spirit Ancestor for a minute. No flight, and it was a far cry from the original serpent's ability. It'd be next to useless later on, but Oscar didn't see that yet, he was just happy to have something to show for it.
Tang San, sticking to Yu Xiaogang's spider-beast obsession, struck out. After a day of nothing, Zhao Wuji resolved to take them deeper into the forest tomorrow.
Night fell. It was Tang San's turn on watch. Zhao Wuji and Ning Tian had already taken their shifts earlier in the trip.
But Ning Tian didn't sleep. He knew tonight was going to be anything but peaceful.
He stepped out of his tent just as Zhao Wuji and Tang San were chatting about soul masters overhunting beasts. Ning Tian almost snorted—'Tang San preaching about overhunting? The hypocrisy was rich.'
"Teacher Zhao," he said, cutting in.
"Why're you up?" Zhao Wuji asked, frowning.
"Need to step out for a sec," Ning Tian replied casually.
"Don't wander far. Be quick."
Ning Tian nodded and slipped away. Not long after, a massive presence descended on the camp, silent but overwhelming.
He timed his return just right. As he stepped back into view, Zhao Wuji, fully transformed in his martial soul true body came flying through the air like a cannonball.
The Titan Giant Ape let out an earth-shaking roar, unleashing a surge of black energy.
Under the moonlight, Ning Tian saw Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and Tang San get flung back by the blast. His yellow-purple-purple soul rings flared to life. His third ring glowed, splitting him into three azure shadows. His real body caught Zhu Zhuqing, while his clones grabbed Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu.
Oscar, who'd lunged to catch Ning Rongrong, clutched at empty air.
The ape swatted the clone holding Xiao Wu, snatching her up in its massive fist.
"No! Let her go!" Tang San shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. He unleashed a flurry of hidden weapons at the ape's eyes.
It blinked, deflecting them with its eyelids like they were nothing.
Tang San reached for more, but another roar sent a black wave crashing over him, hurling him and his weapons into a tree with a sickening thud.
Ning Tian braced himself against the shockwave. His second clone had already pulled Ning Rongrong to safety beside him and Zhu Zhuqing. His second soul ring lit up, conjuring a sword shield to blunt the impact. The three of them came out with minor scrapes, and Ma Hongjun, close by, got lucky too.
Oscar wasn't so fortunate.
"What's happening? Why's the Titan Giant Ape here?" Ning Tian asked, feigning ignorance. The shield shattered under the strain, and the backlash combined with the energy wave, left a trickle of blood at his lip. He shifted the injury to Tang San, who spat out a mouthful as he hit the ground.
"We don't know," Ning Rongrong said, her voice shaky. "It just… appeared out of nowhere."
She looked at Ning Tian, gratitude and something softer flickering in her eyes. He'd pulled her out of danger–again.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━━━━━━
patreon.com/DUKE3500 for advance chapters for all the novels i translate for 2$.