Chapter 129: Tang San: I Will Only Hunt Evil Spirit Beasts for My Spirit Rings

Xiao Wu knew it was too difficult to expect Su Ming to solve the conflict between spirit masters and spirit beasts, even with his system. The problem was far too complex to have an easy solution.

She remained silent, her face still a little pale. Su Ming understood how upset Xiao Wu was but didn't offer comforting words, knowing they wouldn't make much of a difference.

Unlike Tang San, Su Ming wouldn't make lofty promises like only hunting evil spirit beasts while sparing the good ones. Tang San's words sounded noble, but he never really followed through. He was the definition of a hypocrite. For example, he labeled the Three Ant Brothers, who had taken over Da Ming and Er Ming's lair, as evil spirit beasts. But by then, Da Ming and Er Ming were long gone, and those three nearly 100,000-year-old spirit beasts had every right to claim the territory as their own.

Moreover, when Tang San sacrificed part of his own spirit rings to revive Xiao Wu, he decimated almost all the 50,000-year-old spirit beasts in Sunset Forest to restore his spirit rings, leaving the forest nearly devoid of high-level spirit beasts.

Zhao Wuji handed a short blade to Oscar and said, "Oscar, stab the Phoenix-Tailed Crest Serpent in the crest. This spirit ring will be yours. Hurry before anything unexpected happens."

Oscar eagerly took the blade. Just as he was about to stab the serpent, a raspy voice shouted, "Stop!"

Su Ming thought to himself, As expected, the Snake Lady and Meng Yiran have arrived.

Oscar froze, his hand stopping mid-air as everyone turned to see the source of the voice.

Two figures approached—a young woman and an elderly lady. The older woman held a snake staff and had six spirit rings glowing around her, indicating she was a six-ring spirit emperor. The younger woman, a beautiful girl around sixteen or seventeen, wore a fitted outfit that accentuated her figure. She, too, wielded a snake staff, though hers had only two yellow spirit rings.

Zhao Wuji recognized the woman's snake staff martial spirit and realized who she was. His voice softened slightly as he asked, "What do you want?"

This change in Zhao Wuji's tone surprised Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the others. When had their teacher ever spoken so politely?

The Snake Lady examined Zhao Wuji and noticed he was a seven-ring spirit saint, making it difficult for her to reclaim the Phoenix-Tailed Crest Serpent.

Still, she decided to try. Perhaps the reputation of her and her husband, the Dragon Duke, would be enough to make Zhao Wuji back down.

Coughing, she respectfully said, "Honorable Spirit Saint, would you mind letting us have this Phoenix-Tailed Crest Serpent? My granddaughter needs this spirit beast to reach the thirtieth level."

Zhao Wuji gestured for Oscar to lower the blade and asked, "Why should we? We defeated this spirit beast."

The Snake Lady pointed to the serpent's abdomen. "Because we found it first. You can see the wounds I inflicted earlier. Otherwise, we wouldn't have shown up here."

The group looked and indeed saw three distinct wounds on the serpent's belly. Oscar couldn't help but speak up, "Even if you found it first, we were the ones who caught it. Without us, this Phoenix-Tailed Crest Serpent would have easily outrun you."

Oscar's words made sense. If the serpent had fully utilized the energy in its crest to flee, the Snake Lady and her granddaughter likely wouldn't have been able to catch up, as neither of their martial spirits specialized in speed.

The young girl next to the Snake Lady added, "Even if what you say is true, we wounded the serpent, making it possible for you to capture it. You just got lucky. Besides, I need this spirit beast for my third spirit ring. Has anyone in your group even reached level thirty?"

Xiao Wu muttered under her breath, "Why not say 'waiting for a snake'? Why drag rabbits into this? What did rabbits ever do to you?"

Su Ming gently rubbed Xiao Wu's bunny ears and couldn't help but laugh at her comment. She was simply too amusing.

Oscar, seemingly oblivious to the Snake Lady's request, looked at Meng Yiran like she was foolish. "You didn't see me preparing to kill this spirit beast for its ring? Of course, I need it. Otherwise, we wouldn't even be discussing this. If no one needed it, we could consider giving it to you."

The Snake Lady's face darkened slightly. "Young man, are you saying you've reached level thirty already? You look no older than fourteen or fifteen."

Oscar grinned smugly. "I'm fourteen and have reached level thirty. This spirit beast is perfect for me, so..."

Zhao Wuji interjected, "I assume you are the famous Snake Lady of the Dragon Duke and Snake Lady duo?"

Zhao Wuji's tone towards the Snake Lady was noticeably more respectful. Part of it was due to his recent humbling experience, but more importantly, he knew that where the Snake Lady was, the Dragon Duke couldn't be far. The Dragon Duke was a powerful high-level spirit saint many years ago, and Zhao Wuji wouldn't be surprised if he had since become a spirit douluo. The Dragon Duke alone was a formidable opponent, and when paired with the Snake Lady, their Dragon-Snake Combination martial spirit fusion skill was almost unstoppable, requiring at least a spirit douluo to contend with.

Thus, Zhao Wuji knew better than to act rashly. If they encountered the duo again while searching for Tang San's spirit ring, things could go very wrong. He had no chance of defeating the Dragon Duke and Snake Lady's martial spirit fusion skill.

The old woman nodded, "Indeed, I am called the Snake Lady, Chaotianxiang. The spirit master community has graciously given me that title. My husband, the Dragon Duke Meng Shu, and I came to the Star Dou Forest to find a suitable spirit ring for our granddaughter."

The Snake Lady's words subtly reminded Zhao Wuji that her husband was nearby, a warning not to take them lightly.

Zhao Wuji understood the implicit threat. If he decided to fight them, he'd have to be prepared to face the consequences.

While he had considered eliminating the two, it would be difficult to kill the Snake Lady, especially if the Dragon Duke arrived. Killing one of them would be manageable, but both together? That was another story.

In a softened tone, Zhao Wuji responded, "Junior Zhao Wuji greets the Snake Lady. As you can see, one of our students has also reached level thirty and needs this spirit beast for their third spirit ring."