Chapter 26: Zhuge Crossbow

Zhou Yu sat cross-legged, closed his eyes to concentrate, and, following the breathing method of the Qi Refining Technique, began to absorb the thousand-year Spirit Ring of the Lightning Leopard.

As the purple light ring wrapped around him, his bones began to emit a dense series of crackling sounds.

Sweat trickled down his skin, quietly mixed with a gray mist—a testament to the soul ring's power ruthlessly expelling impurities from within his body.

The energy of the Lightning Leopard was performing a rebirth baptism on Zhou Yu's body in an extremely domineering manner.

The intense pain contained within was truly unimaginable.

—Ugh! "Tang San, I will definitely take everything from you, leave you with nothing, and make your life worse than death!"

Relying on his firm belief in revenge, Zhou Yu finally conquered the wild power within his body, and the two began a process of mutual absorption and transformation.

Shortly after, the blood-sweat seeping out like a fine beaded curtain gradually stopped overflowing.

The tightly furrowed brows between Zhou Yu's eyes slowly relaxed a bit; a faint, indescribable white light quietly brewed within his body, finally breaking through the constraints of his skin and gently spilling outward.

This light was pure and mysterious, like the dawn under the first snow—both warm and carrying a touch of freshness, instantly dyeing the surrounding air with a faint hue of holiness.

His body, illuminated by this light, appeared even more transcendent, as if undergoing a metamorphosis and stepping into a brand-new realm.

"It succeeded!"

Zhou Yu, filled with joy, had finally advanced to become a Soul Elder.

Two yellow and one purple, three Spirit Rings rose leisurely from beneath his feet, lightly circling his body, as if the best witness and reward for his efforts.

Next, it was time to witness the third soul skill he had just acquired, 【Flowing Light Phantom】.

Moving with his will, only a faint white figure remained at Zhou Yu's original standing position, while his true body, already moving as fast as flight like a streak of flowing light, appeared in an instant a hundred meters away.

"..."

Zhou Yu was even surprised by himself: "This movement technique is much faster than that good-for-nothing's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"

His Beast Spirit, the Chameleon, excelled at changing form and hiding tracks, but appeared weak in both offense and escape.

Acquiring this third soul skill would not only provide powerful assistance in combat but also help him withdraw quickly in critical moments, ensuring his own safety.

"It is time for me to return to the academy!"

Zhou Yu summoned his Beast Spirit, the Chameleon, again; after attaching it, he perfectly blended into the forest, as if becoming part of nature itself.

At the same time, he used his keen Perception talent to remain constantly alert to the surrounding environment.

As he moved through a certain spot in the forest, he suddenly heard a burst of sudden cheers.

Relying on the concealment properties granted by the Chameleon, Zhou Yu silently followed the sound, moving through the tree shadows like a ghost.

"So it's them..."

Zhou Yu saw the crowd gathering not far ahead; it was Zhao Wuji of Shrek Academy and students like Tang San.

They came to the Star Dou Great Forest, on one hand to hunt the third Spirit Ring for Oscar and Tang San, and on the other hand to train teamwork.

By now, Tang San had already killed the Man-Faced Demon Spider, not only obtaining the third Spirit Ring but also unexpectedly acquiring an External Spirit Bone.

Just as Zhao Wuji gave the order to prepare to lead the team back to the academy, Tang San said, "Teacher Zhao, wait a moment before leaving; I almost forgot something."

Zhao Wuji stopped his steps, looked at Tang San, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Hmph, there's still one more show-off move to pull!"

Zhou Yu couldn't help but complain inwardly; using his martial soul talent, he changed his body color to blend with the surrounding environment, and no one present, including Zhao Wuji, detected his existence.

Tang San was seen taking out a Zhuge Crossbow from the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

He raised his hand, aimed the Zhuge Crossbow at a large tree nearby, and then pressed the trigger. —Click-clack! A series of mechanical sounds rang out sharply; everyone felt a flash before their eyes, followed by a succession of pfft-pfft sounds.

Among everyone present, the fastest was undoubtedly the Quick-Attack-type Soul Master Zhuqing, yet she secretly marveled; facing the extreme firing speed displayed by the Zhuge Crossbow, she absolutely could not dodge it either.

On that large tree, which required three people to embrace, two rows of fine small holes were clearly left, totaling sixteen, each hole eye resembling a finger in size.

Zhao Wuji couldn't help but ask, "Tang San, what is this thing?"

Tang San held the Zhuge Crossbow up before everyone and said loudly, "I call it the Zhuge Crossbow; it is a very domineering Mechanical Hidden Weapon. Anyone can use it; it contains forty-eight crossbow bolts, and after each cocking of the mechanism, sixteen can be fired instantly via the trigger."

"The ones just fired were crossbow bolts?" Dai Mubai asked, full of confusion; among everyone present, except for Xiao Wu, others knew little about Tang San's Hidden Weapons.

Tang San nodded and replied, "The power of the Zhuge Crossbow is very strong, specifically breaking soul power defenses. If the defense is not extremely formidable, one will be instantly killed."

Everyone couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath at such formidable penetration power.

Everyone present, except Zhao Wuji, knew they could not block it.

"Tang San, did you research and manufacture this Zhuge Crossbow yourself?"

Ning Rongrong, greatly surprised, hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

Tang San nodded with a confident expression and said, "Yes!"

Hearing this, Ning Rongrong lightly bit her pearl teeth and said, "I would like to talk to you alone; is that okay?"

Tang San replied without hesitation, "Of course!"

Having said that, the two moved toward a nearby grove, right near Zhou Yu's location.

Ning Rongrong asked tentatively, "Tang San, can you sell this thing to me? Name any price you want; you also know that we Support-type Soul Masters have little self-defense capability."

Tang San asked back, somewhat puzzled, "Rongrong, don't you have the Desert Eagle Lin Yu gave you? I think that item's killing power seems even stronger."

"That's right; the Desert Eagle indeed possesses super-strong killing power."

"However, the difficulty of manufacturing bullets is truly too great; up to now, it is still impossible to mass-produce them."

Ning Rongrong truthfully reported the situation she knew.

Tang San smiled slightly and said, "Between us, there is no need to talk about selling; I'll give you one later. However, the materials needed to make this thing are very expensive; you must cover the material costs yourself."

"Really? Thank you, Tang San!"

"Also, I want to make a deal with you."

Ning Rongrong hesitated slightly before finally stating her true purpose.

Tang San gazed intently at the beauty before him; her expression was very serious, with a bit of excitement.

He had already roughly guessed the other party's intention, so he said, "Rongrong, just say whatever it is directly!"

Ning Rongrong nodded with a serious expression: "Although our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is one of the seven great sects of the current age, our direct disciples are all Support-type Soul Masters."

"The martial soul of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda possesses strong support capabilities, yet it cannot protect our own lives."

"Once we encounter an enemy, we are always the first targets they attack."

"I believe your Mechanical Hidden Weapons would be of great help to us; at the very least, they could give my clan members some ability to defend themselves."

"Therefore, if possible, I hope to place an order through the sect for a batch of Mechanical Hidden Weapons from you."

As Tang San had correctly predicted, Ning Rongrong truly intended to order a batch of Zhuge Crossbows for the sect.

(End of this chapter)