Chapter 64: Tang San's Third Soul Ring

At this moment Yang Xiong was also stunned, because the sight before him was truly beyond words.

At this moment all the Shrek group were present, while the other side consisted of Dragon Lord, Snake Matron, and Meng Yiran, and the two sides seemed to be fighting over a Soul Beast.

The Soul Beast was only about one meter long, its whole body a vivid green, covered entirely with green carapace, and it had a pair of wings on its back.

Yang Xiong examined closely and saw a gigantic mantis, an especially unusual one, particularly its front legs, which resembled two massive scythes and accounted for more than one third of its total length.

It is a Hurricane Mantis, one of the forest's predators; although it is an insect and cannot fly far, its front legs are extremely sharp and serrated, and mantis‑type Soul Beasts move at lightning speed, essentially killing enemies in an instant.

But now the Hurricane Mantis was gravely wounded, its carapace shattered, its wings torn, even one eye blinded, and green blood oozed everywhere.

Tang San, seeing Yang Xiong, hurriedly asked, "Yang Xiong, how is Xiao Wu?"

Yang Xiong shook his head: "I'm not sure either; just now I met Teacher Lin on the road and asked him to help chase for a while, but Xiao Wu should still be relatively safe."

Tang San was instantly shocked: "How could that be? Why didn't you go rescue Xiao Wu after half the chase? The one who took him is the extremely ferocious Titan Giant Ape."

Yang Xiong sighed: "Actually Teacher Lin almost caught up, but at the last moment he ran into someone else, who should be a senior of one of our classmates; we didn't see him, but that person should be able to ensure Xiao Wu's safety, and his presence deterred us from continuing the pursuit."

The surrounding people glanced at Yang Xiong, and Tang San hurriedly asked, "Who exactly is it? How is Xiao Wu right now?"

Yang Xiong looked at Zhao Wuji: "We haven't met that person, but Teacher Zhao should have met him once—the person who fought Teacher Zhao on the night we enrolled."

Tang San quickly turned to Zhao Wuji: "Teacher Zhao, who exactly is this person? Can he protect Xiao Wu's safety?"

Zhao Wuji was initially puzzled, but at that moment instantly understood who had arrived: "Xiao San, don't worry; this is a very powerful senior of ours, whose strength far exceeds mine. With his power, Xiao Wu's safety is absolutely assured."

Tang San, hearing this, felt a little relieved: "Teacher Zhao, who exactly is this person? What kind of strength does he have?"

Zhao Wuji glanced at the surrounding people before finally shaking his head: "I'm not exactly sure, but it looks like he's your elder."

Tang San, with a puzzled face, said, "My elder? How could that be? My father is just an ordinary blacksmith, and I haven't even met any other relatives."

Tang San seemed to recall something and fell silent; whether or not he's his elder, at least this person is formidable enough to protect Xiao Wu's safety.

……

Here, Dragon Lord suddenly roared, "Lin Gong, why is it you again? Have you been too overbearing?"

Yang Xiong and Lin Gong both wore puzzled expressions, clearly not understanding what was happening.

Zhao Wuji, somewhat helpless, said, "Senior Dragon Lord, I'm sorry; we didn't know you were chasing this Hurricane Mantis, and Xiao San was the one who killed it."

Dragon Lord instantly became furious: "You keep repeatedly taking our Soul Beast; do you think we are easy to bully?"

Everyone stared at each other, unsure what to say, since Dragon Lord's strength was the strongest on the scene, already at the Soul Douluo level.

But Lin Gong sneered: "Old Dragon Head, that's your mistake. You claim your Soul Beast was snatched, yet it doesn't bear your name, and as a proper Soul Douluo you can't even handle a thousand‑year Soul Beast; it's quite embarrassing to admit."

Dragon Lord instantly roared, "Po Bamboo Spirit, we haven't sparred for decades; I want to see what progress you've made hiding in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect all these years."

Lin Gong completely ignored Dragon Lord's words: "This is the Star Dou Great Forest; are you sure you want to duel here? Also, take a closer look at this Hurricane Mantis's age; if you claim you're unlearned you still don't believe it, I think you're misleading disciples."

Dragon Lord, after hearing that, examined the Hurricane Mantis again, his face darkening, and finally showed a hint of resentment: "Po Bamboo Spirit, next time we'll have a proper duel outside the Star Dou Great Forest."

Lin Gong laughed, "Always ready, just fear that you, Old Dragon Head, will still be so short‑sighted then."

Dragon Lord snorted coldly, then left the place with the two of them.

After they left, Zhao Wuji finally spoke, a bit puzzled: "Yang Xiong, why did Senior Dragon Lord and his group give up this Hurricane Mantis so easily?"

Yang Xiong pointed at the massive mantis and said, "Normally mantis‑type Soul Beasts are dated by the carapace and patterns on their backs; this Hurricane Mantis is over 1,900 years old, nearly two thousand. If his granddaughter Meng Yiran were to absorb it, she would definitely explode her body and die."

"Haven't we already completed the hunt for the Soul Ring? What's happening now? How did we end up clashing with Dragon Lord and his group?"

Zhao Wuji said, "During the recent battle with the Titan Giant Ape, Tang San's soul power level also broke through, and now he needs a Soul Ring. Earlier Tang San followed you to chase the Titan Giant Ape, and then encountered this Hurricane Mantis. Tang San thought it better to first absorb the Soul Ring, so he would have greater strength to rescue Xiao Wu."

Yang Xiong nodded: "Tang San has always been quite opinionated; it seems he thinks this Hurricane Mantis is very suitable for him."

Zhao Wuji, unusually worried, addressed Tang San: "Tang San, you no longer need to worry so much about Xiao Wu's safety, nor rush to absorb a Soul Ring. We can keep searching in the Star Dou Great Forest and will definitely find a Soul Beast that suits your Blue Silver Grass perfectly."

"Although the Hurricane Mantis is relatively rare and its attack power is formidable, it may not be suitable for your Blue Silver Grass."

Tang San showed no hesitation: "Teacher Zhao, I think this Hurricane Mantis is very suitable for me. According to my teacher's analysis, if I absorb the Hurricane Mantis's Soul Ring, my Blue Silver Grass's speed should increase, its attack power become stronger, and even its burst power should improve."

Zhao Wuji said, "But this Hurricane Mantis is over 1,900 years old, far older than the normal age for a Third Soul Ring; I'm afraid your body can't endure it."

Tang San, with a serious expression, replied, "Teacher Zhao, I have great confidence in my body; absorbing this Soul Ring is absolutely no problem."

Even though everyone kept analyzing the drawbacks, Tang San persisted in absorbing this Hurricane Mantis's Soul Ring.

Among the group, Yang Xiong's theoretical knowledge was not inferior to Tang San's; he was originally eager to have Yang Xiong persuade him.

But Yang Xiong shook his head: "Teacher Zhao, Tang San, absorbing a Soul Ring is a personal matter; I can't give advice or take responsibility. I can only say that one must be aware of the risks."

Tang San merely nodded, then directly used the Zhuge Crossbow to kill the Hurricane Mantis, sat cross‑legged beside it to absorb the Soul Ring, with Zhao Wuji guarding him, while the others formed a circle to protect all directions.

Ning Rongrong then approached Yang Xiong and Lin Gong: "Teacher Lin, hello. Xiao Xiongzi, how did you meet Teacher Lin in the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Lin Gong seemed a bit embarrassed, cleared his throat: "Classmate Rong Rong, I have some matters to handle in the Star Dou Great Forest. I just saw Xiao Xiongzi, no, Yang Xiong was in danger, so I happened to rescue him."

Ning Rongrong was a bit puzzled: "Teacher Lin, I recall you're only a Soul King, yet you dared to chase the Titan Giant Ape?"

Lin Gong looked somewhat helpless, but couldn't openly state he was a Soul Douluo, since he still secretly guarded a few children: "I am better at tracking and surviving in the forest; don't forget I am a Plant Martial Soul."

In the Star Dou Great Forest, for a Plant Martial Soul, it's a natural Simulated Environment; not only does cultivation speed increase, but perception also improves greatly.

All eyes were drawn to Tang San; at this moment his complexion looked very grim, even somewhat feral, with his skin oozing tiny blood beads that, after detaching, formed patches of blood mist, looking extremely eerie.

Especially, Tang San furrowed his brows, his teeth clenched, and even his bones seemed to emit strange sounds, like a pain deep in the marrow.

But now Tang San had already absorbed half of the Soul Ring, and no one could stop him; otherwise Tang San might be lightly injured and crippled, or severely explode his body and die. Before the Soul Ring's age limit was established, many common Soul Masters suffered body explosions from over‑level absorption due to poor theoretical knowledge.

In a sense, Yu Xiaogang indeed contributed to common Soul Masters, but unfortunately his compiled knowledge belongs to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family and the Spirit Hall's private holdings, or rather to major powers and major sects, so it is naturally rejected by the entire Soul Master community.

However, common Soul Masters have little voice in the Soul World; only a few can approach the age limit for Soul Ring absorption. Most common Soul Masters are content just to have a Soul Ring, like Dragon Lord and Lin Gong who can only have the Fifth Soul Ring of the Thousand‑Year, showing that the so‑called Soul Ring age limit has limited effect for them.

Just like this Hurricane Mantis, even Dragon Lord and Zhao Wuji almost misjudged its age.

Everyone looked at Tang San with worry; Lin Gong quietly asked Yang Xiong: "Yang Xiong, do you think this kid can successfully over‑level absorb the Soul Ring?"

Yang Xiong seemed unusually calm: "I may not know about others, but if it's Tang San, there should be no big problem; his physical quality should be the best among the Shrek seven, even the best among Soul Masters of the same level."

Lin Gong sneered, "The same‑level Soul Masters you refer to shouldn't include yourself, right? You're already twenty."

Yang Xiong laughed, "Sorry, I'm now Level 27, just broken through in the past two days; the Third Soul Ring is still far from me, so I haven't thought about it much yet."

Although their voices were low, the others heard them clearly, and were taken aback; after all, Yang Xiong's Innate Soul Power was the weakest among them, yet now he had even caught up with Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing, and reaching Level 7 of Innate Soul Power is a real threshold.

(End of Chapter)