Gains and Losses of Tang San

Star Dou Forest.

The Shrek group was gathered, with Tang San sitting cross-legged in the center, absorbing the spirit ring of the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Notably, the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple and their granddaughter, Meng Yiran, were also present.

Just like in the original story, the Shrek group was helping Oscar obtain the thousand-year-old Phoenix Tail Crest Serpent, which led to a conflict with the Snake Woman(Chao Tianxiang) and Meng Yiran. Neither side would back down, and they eventually decided to settle it with a duel to determine the ownership of the spirit beast.

Tang San vs. Meng Yiran: unsurprisingly, Tang San won.

However, unlike the original story, without Xiao Wu around, Tang San and Meng Yiran sparked a bit of chemistry during their fight and developed mutual feelings for each other. In his two lifetimes, Tang San had always longed to be loved due to the lack of it in his early life. 

Though he couldn't quite understand why he couldn't forget about the girl Xiao Wu, now that a new love was in front of him, he cherished it.

As Tang San and Meng Yiran exchanged lingering glances, the Shrek group and the Snake Woman parted ways. Soon after, they encountered the Man-Faced Demon Spider from the original story, which Tang San killed using his Zhuge Divine Crossbow. The Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple, along with Meng Yiran, then reappeared.

This time, Meng Yiran didn't challenge Tang San to a flying knife contest like in the original. Instead, she asked her grandfather to let Tang San go. 

Seeing the mutual affection between Tang San and Meng Yiran, and hearing the Snake Woman praise Tang San's exceptional talent, the Dragon Duke decided to let Tang San have the Man-Faced Demon Spider and even offered to protect him during the process. 

Zhao Wuji and the others, sensing the situation, didn't object either, aiming to support the budding relationship.

Everyone's expressions became grave as they surrounded Tang San. Sitting cross-legged at the center, his entire body was shrouded in a faint red mist, hiding his figure.

The red mist wasn't a glow of spirit power but rather Tang San's blood.

Not long ago, Tang San's skin had started to ooze tiny beads of blood due to the violent fluctuation of spirit power. The spirit power evaporated into the air, forming this faint red mist.

Tang San's brow furrowed tightly, his lips pressed together, and his body convulsed uncontrollably. With the blood oozing from under his skin, one could only imagine the excruciating pain he was enduring.

From within the mist, the sound of bones cracking could be heard intermittently, giving everyone around a sense of foreboding. The third spirit ring that should have appeared upon absorption remained elusive, indicating that Tang San had yet to fully absorb the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring.

Among the onlookers, Meng Yiran was the most concerned about Tang San.

Worriedly, she whispered to the Dragon Duke, "Grandfather, if this continues, Tang San might be in danger."

The Dragon Duke's brows furrowed as well. "I know, but interrupting him now would be even more dangerous. We can only rely on his willpower. The energy in this spirit ring is something he can absorb, but his physical condition is not at its best. Moreover, the energy of the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring is too violent, leading to this situation. I hope Tang San can endure it, or else..."

Beside them, the Snake Woman's brows also furrowed. Although not as strong as her husband or Zhao Wuji, she had good insight. She said to the Dragon Duke, "Old man, do you think this Man-Faced Demon Spider is not just over a thousand years but over two thousand years old?"

Hearing this, the Dragon Duke examined the corpse of the Man-Faced Demon Spider again and was shocked. "Not good! We misjudged it. The legs of this Man-Faced Demon Spider exceed three meters in length, a sign of over two thousand years of cultivation. This spirit beast is definitely over two thousand years old."

"What? How can this be?" Meng Yiran shed helpless tears. Why did it turn out this way? She had found her first love, reached level 30 for the first time, and just when happiness seemed to be in her grasp, it was overshadowed. Why did she let Tang San absorb this spirit ring?

Seeing their granddaughter in such despair, the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple sighed at the cruelty of fate. They also lamented for Tang San: such a genius, not yet married into their Unrivaled Dragon Serpent family, and he was already on the brink of death. What a pity.

Even Zhao Wuji and the other Shrek members felt sorry for Tang San. Though Tang San had distanced himself from them recently due to the clan matters, they still cared for him in this life-and-death situation.

Oscar, worried, asked Zhao Wuji, "Teacher Zhao, is there no hope for Tang San after absorbing a spirit ring beyond his limit?"

Among the group, he was the closest to Tang San and the most concerned about him.

Zhao Wuji shook his head helplessly and sighed, "You heard what the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple said. Now, we can only hope for a miracle."

At this moment, deep within Tang San, despite the unbearable pain, a resolute belief kept him going: Meng Yiran. She was the first person, besides his father Tang Hao, to give him love.

Holding on to this belief, he endured wave after wave of pain.

The intense energy fluctuations around Tang San grew stronger, and the blood mist around him became more pronounced. Within the mist, a faint stench began to permeate, possibly impurities from Tang San's body or poison from the Man-Faced Demon Spider.

Finally, Tang San succeeded.

With unwavering determination, he integrated the energy of the absorbed spirit ring with his body and his Mysterious Heaven Skill. His spirit, Blue Silver Grass, merged as well. Tang San's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, and a faint blue light began to seep from his body.

Seeing this, Oscar quickly fed Tang San a prepared recovery sausage.

Tang San finally regained consciousness.

The Dragon Duke Meng Shu's eyes lit up, "He did it!"

Meng Yiran, who had been crying, forgot her shyness and threw herself into the bare-chested Tang San's arms.

"Tang San, I thought you.."

Feeling the softness in his arms, Tang San smiled slightly. The feeling of being alive was wonderful, especially when he could still see Yiran.

Tang San comforted, "Alright, alright, it's over."

The Unrivaled Dragon Serpent couple didn't mind Tang San's bare chest. Seeing him successfully absorb the spirit ring against the odds and his affectionate relationship with their granddaughter, they exchanged a smile, believing the future of the Unrivaled Dragon Serpent family looked promising.

"Aaaaaaaah!" Suddenly, Tang San's relaxed expression turned tense. He pushed Meng Yiran away and let out a scream. Eight fist-sized protrusions suddenly emerged on his back.

Everyone was startled.

Just as they thought something was about to burst out, a gentle breeze blew by, and Tang San's back returned to normal. Nothing appeared.

Tang San stood up, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss, as if something that rightfully belonged to him was forcibly taken away. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling; he had felt it when he was six years old. At the same time, the image of that person he had loathed for nearly six years—Zuzong—flashed in his mind.

Clenching his fists, Tang San thought, "Hmph, next time, no matter what, I'm going to teach him a lesson."

Shrek group (angry): At least put some clothes on before posing!

Meng Yiran (starry-eyed): So handsome!

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[Ding, congratulations host for stealing the "Eight Spider Lances," an external spirit bone of Tang San from the world of Douluo Continent. Tang San's hatred towards the host has increased to 50%, and the host has gained 2000 hatred points. Tang San is now on his way to beat you up.]

Zuzong smirked. "He wants to beat me? With his Blue Silver Grass or his so-called Zhuge Divine Crossbow?"

"Come on, bring it on. Let's see how I'll crush him. But these Eight Spider Lances are really something!"

Zuzong clearly remembered the original story where the Eight Spider Lances possessed three main skills:

Enhancement: Boosts all statuses by 50%.

Devour: Absorbs the opponent's spirit power and replenishes one's own by 100%, with poison absorption capabilities.

Speed Boost: Increases movement speed by 50%.

Additionally, they provided great jumping power (enabling leaps up to a hundred meters in the original when Tang San was a Soul King), climbing abilities, sharpness with reverse barbs, and potent attack capabilities. They were also highly toxic and could evolve with the host.

"System, fuse the Eight Spider Lances with me."

[Ding, fusing the Eight Spider Lances...]

Zuzong frowned, nearly crying out in pain.

"Whoa, this hurts so much! So this is the pain Tang San had to endure? If he finds out he suffered all this for nothing and the benefits were taken by me, he'll probably curse in rage! Hahaha."

With this thought, Zuzong sat cross-legged on his bed and began to absorb the external spirit bone, Eight Spider Lances, using his Nine Yang Divine Skill.

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