Chapter 24: External Spirit Bone

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San immediately and asked, "Teacher, what's happening to my brother?"

"Xiao Wu? You're not dead?"

Zhao Wuji hurriedly held her back and said, "Don't disturb him. He's absorbing the third spirit ring."

"But... how did absorbing the third spirit ring turn out like this?" Xiao Wu turned her head to look at the corpse of the human-faced spider beside them.

"This is bad. This human-faced spider's cultivation has already exceeded two thousand years. The Master said that the normal limit for a soul master's third spirit ring is a little over 1,700 years. My brother..." Tears welled up in her eyes, filled with self-blame.

If she hadn't let her aura leak and attracted Er Ming's attention, Tang San wouldn't have ended up like this.

Zhao Wuji also had a shocked expression and asked, "How do you know?"

Realizing her slip of the tongue, Xiao Wu said, "The Master taught us all this." Apparently, it was a good explanation, and everyone stopped questioning. Zhao Wuji wore a bitter smile on his face; Tang San was really in a dire situation this time.

Zhou Hao looked at the panicked and sorrowful Xiao Wu and sighed in his heart: "Too much concern leads to chaos!" But suddenly, he sensed a faint and elegant fragrance, and a small, cold hand slipped into his palm. Surprised, he turned around and saw Zhu Zhuqing with a blushing face standing behind him.

Evidently, the care and concern between Xiao Wu and Tang San had deeply touched her. Zhu Zhuqing, who had just started to accept her feelings, couldn't help but hold onto Zhou Hao.

Zhou Hao gave a slight smile, remaining calm and composed. He gently squeezed her hand with warmth and said, "I won't let you worry. You should take care too." Zhu Zhuqing raised her bright eyes, her moist lips quivered, and she moved a little closer.

By this time, Xiao Wu had already cried her eyes out, but she dared not make a sound. Finally, under everyone's hopeful gazes, Tang San's violent aura, which belonged to the human-faced spider, calmed down and gradually dissipated. The blood droplets on his skin's surface decreased, and a faint layer of gray appeared.

Zhao Wuji finally let out a sigh of relief and joyfully said, "Xiao San has finally made it through. The cleansing and strengthening of his bones and marrow from the spirit ring absorption has already begun, and there shouldn't be any major problems."

Only then did Xiao Wu wipe away her tears and quietly sit beside Tang San, her eyes filled with anticipation.

Zhou Hao looked at everyone around him and realized something. He turned to Zhu Zhuqing and whispered a few words in her ear. The girl's beautiful eyes widened suddenly, looking somewhat surprised and troubled. Zhou Hao softly said, "No rush, there's still time. Take your time to consider."

Zhu Zhuqing tugged at her clothes and nodded.

After about half an hour, Tang San's complexion finally eased, and his aura gradually calmed down. Two yellow spirit rings rose, followed by a splendid purple spirit ring. Xiao Wu finally called out, "Brother!"

The moment Tang San opened his eyes, he saw Xiao Wu by his side, filled with infinite joy. He reached out to embrace her, but felt an intense pain in his back, as if it was piercing his bones, causing him to collapse on the ground.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Tang San was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. Uncontrollable Blue Silver Grass wildly grew, and before he knew it, he fainted again.

Then, eight bulges suddenly burst on his back, but instead of blood flowing out, eight deep purple objects, as thick as fists, drilled out and started rapidly expanding.

Xiao Wu was already frightened. In the astonished gazes of everyone, the purple objects had grown to over a meter long, with joints-like structures appearing at regular intervals on their ends.

"This... what is this?"

The eight dark purple objects continued to expand, surpassing three meters in length. They appeared extremely smooth, with razor-sharp ends that gleamed with a faint cold light.

"Aren't these the spider legs of the human-faced spider?"

As everyone looked at Tang San's appearance, they were astonished to find that these eight objects were indeed spider legs, but they were even more slender and beautiful, exuding a sweet and bloody scent.

Zhao Wuji, who considered himself experienced, had never seen such a phenomenon before and couldn't determine what had happened.

"These are External Spirit Bones!" Zhou Hao spoke up, looking at the spider legs on Tang San's back and continued, "They are a different form of existence from body-part spirit bones. Their value is only second to 100,000-year spirit rings and spirit bones because they can become even stronger as the soul master's cultivation increases."

"That's incredible! But can they be retracted? If not, won't Third Brother become a monster?" Ma Hongjun, as always, didn't choose his words wisely and was fiercely glared at by Xiao Wu.

Zhou Hao answered, "Of course, they can be retracted. We'll have to wait for him to regain consciousness and feel it for himself."

Zhao Wuji looked at Zhou Hao with appreciative eyes. "Zhou Hao, thanks to you, otherwise I wouldn't be able to explain it to the Dean when I return."

"I didn't do much. I just meddled unnecessarily, and in the end, it caused you trouble." Zhou Hao shook his head and sat under a tree.

Once Tang San woke up, they could finally leave. The Star Dou Forest was filled with abundant soul power, and combined with the absorption of the head spirit bone earlier, Zhou Hao could feel that the bottleneck at Rank 36 was on the verge of breaking. Before returning to the academy, he could break through at any time.

It seemed that the day to obtain his fourth spirit ring was not far away.

Zhao Wuji then asked how Xiao Wu managed to escape. He couldn't imagine how a Spirit Grandmaster could find a way to survive from such a monstrous creature.

Xiao Wu hesitated a bit before explaining, "At that time, it was carrying me and running forward. Suddenly, we encountered a huge soul beast with the head of an ox and the body of a snake. It let out a roar towards it. The Titan Giant Ape seemed very nervous and abandoned me to run away."

"What kind of soul beast is that, to make the Titan Giant Ape so afraid? What happened next?" Zhao Wuji furrowed his brow, deeply feeling that the Star Dou Great Forest hid dragons and tigers.

"At that time, it ran very fast, affecting many soul beasts along the way. There were probably more than twenty. I was scared, feeling dizzy and disoriented, and somehow my soul power broke through Rank 30. Fortunately, there was a thousand-year Thunderbolt Rabbit that hadn't died nearby, so I absorbed it as my third spirit ring."

"This is also possible?" Ma Hongjun stared at Xiao Wu in astonishment, wearing an expression of a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.

Others also marveled at Xiao Wu's luck, except for Zhou Hao, who knew what Xiao Wu had done.

Seeing Xiao Wu, still looking traumatized, Zhao Wuji didn't want to think too much about it and briefly explained the situation behind Tang San. Xiao Wu's eyes turned red again.

The sky went from darkness to gradually brightening, and the sun completed its journey across the sky. Night fell once more. Several boys stayed outside, keeping watch, while Zhou Hao set up the tent and asked Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong to rest inside. Xiao Wu remained by Tang San's side, never leaving his side.

She prayed softly, and suddenly, a low moan startled Xiao Wu. Tang San slowly opened his eyes, and the spider legs behind him quickly retracted and disappeared.

Xiao Wu rushed into his arms, crying inconsolably. Tang San looked at Xiao Wu returning to his side and didn't care about how she had come back. He just smiled foolishly and comforted her.

Suddenly, he felt a cool breeze, and the surrounding brothers looked at him with teasing expressions.

Tang San's clothes had already been torn and stained with dried blood during his previous battles, especially when he absorbed the spirit rings. When he moved slightly, all the blood scabs on his body fell off.

Blushing, Xiao Wu turned her head away and quickly stood up. Zhou Hao looked back to make sure Zhu Zhuqing hadn't come out before focusing his gaze on Tang San. Well, fortunately, I'm safe.

After changing his clothes, Tang San seemed to look even more handsome than before, and his muscles were more prominent.

In terms of physique, Zhou Hao was the best among everyone, with strong but not overly bulky muscles and perfect body proportions. The system and his martial soul endowed him with the strength of a soul beast and the best physique.

Tang San gratefully nodded at everyone, gently embracing Xiao Wu. "I'm not dreaming, am I? I won't let you leave me again. It's my fault for not being capable enough to protect you."

Xiao Wu, still teary-eyed, was about to speak when coughing from Zhao Wuji interrupted them. The cough brought the two emotionally overwhelmed individuals back to reality.

Zhao Wuji smiled as he looked at the children, feeling greatly relieved. "Although we encountered many troubles and dangers this time, we made it through in the end. Oscar, Tang San, and Xiao Wu all successfully obtained their spirit rings. Our gains go beyond that. Trust and affection have grown between all of you. Alright, let's go home!"

Everyone cheered in unison. After several near-death experiences, they longed for their previous lives and truly gained trust in each other. An invisible understanding spread in their hearts. What they wanted most now was to return to Shrek Academy, lie on their own beds, and have a good night's sleep.

Ning Rongrong also started to miss home a little. She had been running around alone for so long, wondering how her father and two grandfathers were doing.

Due to Zhao Wuji's previous fight with the Titan Giant Ape and the activation of his martial soul true body, he was still weak. Oscar prepared sausages for everyone, and they lined up cautiously.

Although there were no dangers along the way, Zhou Hao still stood attentively on the outside of Zhu Zhuqing, providing an immense sense of security with his tall figure and broad shoulders.

It wasn't until they approached the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest that they encountered mostly 10 and 100-year soul beasts, which posed no threat. Only then did everyone's tense nerves truly relax.

Suddenly, Tang San remembered something and took out the Zhuge Divine Crossbow from his waist. With a slight movement of his hands, he released the trigger.

"You killed the Human-Faced Demon Spider with this before?" Xiao Wu recognized what it was and suddenly understood.

The others finally realized that they had been too nervous and hadn't paid attention to how the Human-Faced Demon Spider had died. Now, Xiao Wu's words made them remember the terrifying existence of the Human-Faced Spider, and they became highly interested in the iron box in Tang San's hands.

Next, Tang San confidently pressed the mechanism lightly, and the crossbow shot flying, piercing the big tree hugged by the three of them, even Zhao Wuji was speechless in surprise. Tang San's introduction moved everyone's hearts, and Ning Rongrong looked at Tang San like a treasure.

After Tang San promised to help make one for everyone, they continued on their way.

It was now noon, and the sunlight was warm, bathing their bodies. Zhu Zhuqing's pretty face finally didn't look as cold as before. She tilted her face, enjoying the warmth and comfort of the sunlight. Her expression was calm. Zhou Hao couldn't help himself and lightly pinched her cheek, feeling the soft and tender touch from his fingertips.

Zhu Zhuqing widened her eyes and looked over. Zhou Hao instantly withdrew his hand, satisfied, and looked straight ahead.

Zhu Zhuqing pouted in dissatisfaction, thinking that she had softened her heart a little, and this bad guy was taking advantage of her kindness. She simply turned her head away, her face frosty, and walked ahead on her own.

Zhao Wuji, watching this scene from behind, chuckled and also walked briskly.

The sunshine was bright, the gentle breeze blew, and the Star Dou Great Forest stood tall on this continent, bidding farewell to the departing group.

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