The light within the forest began to dim.
It wasn't that night was falling, but rather that the vegetation was so dense the sunlight could no longer pierce through.
The air grew damp, filled with the heavy scent of greenery.
"Everyone, be careful. My wind birds can't see much here—the plants are too thick," Gu Yue warned softly.
The group slowed its pace. At this depth, recklessly charging forward was no longer possible.
"Fusheng," Xu Xiaoyan whispered, "if we keep going deeper, could we actually reach the Intermediate Spirit Ascension Platform?"
Nan Fusheng already knew the truth, but still shook his head. "I don't know. Teacher Wu never said."
"Yes, it's possible," Gu Yue's voice sounded again.
"Huh? Possible?" Everyone turned to her in surprise.
Gu Yue nodded. "The Spirit Ascension Platforms are interconnected. As long as you haven't reached the fourth ring yet and have the strength to keep advancing, it is possible to enter the Intermediate Platform.
But to cross that barrier, you must first face a powerful soul beast. Only by defeating it can you break through. For us, that's… very difficult. For ordinary Soul Masters, it's nearly impossible. That's why so few ever manage to enter the Intermediate Platform directly from the Primary one."
As a member of the Spirit Pagoda, she naturally knew more about these secrets than the others.
Xie Xie's eyes lit up with excitement. "Then we should definitely give it a try! Who knows, maybe this time we can push into the Intermediate Platform!"
Beside him, Tang Wulin gave a bitter smile. "I doubt it's that easy."
He had once followed Wu Zhangkong into the Intermediate Platform. The soul beasts there were terrifying—far beyond the likes of the Flame Lion King they had just fought. Even the weaker ones were nothing they could compare to.
And since the Spirit Pagoda had built the Ascension Platforms, the barrier between Primary and Intermediate was surely deliberate. Passing through it would come with enormous resistance.
"Let's try," Gu Yue said quietly—for once not shooting down Xie Xie's impulsiveness.
The frequency of soul beasts grew sparser as they walked. The dark, silent forest was tranquil yet unsettling.
Plants thrived with overflowing life-force, but the lack of soul beast sounds—no chirps, no roars—made it feel unnatural.
Class Zero had been in the Primary Platform many times. They knew what this meant: they had stepped into the territory of a very powerful soul beast.
And it was one far beyond the Flame Lion King. The silence itself was a warning—when even insects dared not chirp, danger was near.
They had experienced this once before.
"Xie Xie," Tang Wulin whispered, "remember our first time in the riot-period Ascension Platform?"
"Of course I remember! That time we got so lucky—thanks to the Man-Faced Demon Spider's web, we absorbed tons of spirit energy."
As he spoke, Xie Xie instinctively reached behind him, his face twitching. That memory had almost scarred him for life. For weeks afterward, he had worn specially-made iron underpants for protection.
If not for Wu Zhangkong scolding him that the heavy underpants slowed him down too much, Xie Xie might still be wearing them to this day.
Even now, he kept that ridiculous iron underwear stored away like a precious treasure.
Tang Wulin's expression darkened. "Do you remember how we got out back then?"
A shiver ran through Xie Xie's body. "Wait… you mean this place is—"
"I hope not," Tang Wulin sighed bitterly. "But it feels very similar."
"What are you talking about?" Gu Yue asked softly.
Tang Wulin gave a small nod. Gu Yue's eyes hardened.
The forest seemed to grow darker still. A suffocating pressure pressed in from all sides. Xie Xie's palms grew sweaty, his breathing uneven.
"Maybe… we should turn back?" he suggested weakly.
"Too late," Nan Fusheng suddenly said. "Gu Yue—front!"
She instantly understood. A fireball streaked forward, trailing a glowing tail of flame.
Just before it entered the dense trees, a shadow flickered. The fireball exploded midair into a shower of sparks.
"Hissss… hissss…"
From the darkness, a massive figure emerged.
The sight made Xie Xie suck in a sharp breath. Both his Light Dragon Dagger and Shadow Dragon Dagger leapt into his hands. His body trembled.
Its enormous body was patterned in purple and white, each leg over three meters long, glowing with an eerie crystalline sheen.
Beneath its abdomen, a disturbingly beautiful human face stared back at them, only adding to its horror.
"N-no way… It's this thing again!" Xie Xie stammered, voice shaking.
"Man-Faced Demon Spider! And it's a thousand-year one!" Xu Xiaoyan cried out, paling. As a girl, creepy crawlers like spiders and roaches were her worst nightmare. This was her first time seeing one—and it was colossal.
"This looks like… the same one as before. But how did it change like this?" Tang Wulin muttered grimly. Though it looked different, his instincts screamed that this was the very spider they had faced back then.
A normal Man-Faced Demon Spider was black and white. The one they'd seen before had been exactly that.
But this one… this one gleamed purple and white, less grotesque, yet far more unnervingly beautiful.
One thing hadn't changed: it was extremely dangerous.
Its eight crimson eyes locked onto them. With each heavy step of its spindly legs, it drew closer.
"I'll take the front. Support me. If I fall, retreat," Tang Wulin said firmly. He strode forward, each step faster than the last until he broke into a charge—unyielding as ever.
Seeing his back, guilt welled up in Xie Xie. Every time danger came, Wulin stood at the front. This time, he wouldn't hide behind him!
He burst into motion, circling wide to flank.
An ice wheel arced into the air, slicing down toward the spider. Meanwhile, elemental energy stirred violently as Gu Yue prepared her spells.
Class Zero was about to face their strongest enemy yet.
Tang Wulin charged closer. The spider suddenly halted.
The ice wheel fell, striking its head. It didn't even flinch—the frost merely left a thin glaze of ice.
"Hissss!"
It slashed its front claws forward, sending a purple shockwave toward Tang Wulin. Xu Xiaoyan's wheel hadn't slowed it down at all.
Tang Wulin's right arm bulged, golden scales spreading as his Dragon Claw extended. He struck back head-on.
Clang!
The impact rang like colliding steel. Tang Wulin staggered back seven or eight steps before he steadied himself—but he had endured.
Above, ice spikes and fireballs rained down, only to be met by a spray of purple webbing from the spider's abdomen.
The sticky web carried a sickly-sweet scent. Tang Wulin merely inhaled a whiff, and dizziness hit him—followed by a strange heat surging through his body that fought off the poison.
But his face paled. This spider's venom was far more terrifying than before.
The thick webbing withstood ice and fire alike, pressing down toward Gu Yue's position.
"Flash!"
A silver light blinked—Gu Yue used space to dodge aside. Still, her face was grim. This spider was wrong. Something about it unsettled her.
Meanwhile, Xie Xie had already slipped behind. He leapt into the air, his third ring flaring.
The thousand-year soul ring shone purple. His body blurred—and in the next instant, split into three identical Xie Xies, each wielding twin daggers.
The three shadows slashed in unison from different angles, striking just as the spider finished expelling its web—perfect timing.
Ding ding ding ding ding!
Dozens of strikes rained down on its body—yet every single one clanged off the crystalline armor. Not a scratch.
"Hissss!"
Purple light flared from its body, blasting all three shadows away.
Two of them shattered into light instantly. Only the real Xie Xie tumbled back, flipping midair to escape.
His face was grim. That armor was insanely tough—like purple crystal steel.
Just then, a massive blue spear of ice plummeted from the sky, crackling with frigid light. Xu Xiaoyan's second skill!
But the spider planted its eight legs into the ground, springing into the air like a cannonball—straight toward Xie Xie.
It had locked onto him.
Its two front claws slashed viciously, aiming right at his lower body.
"Why is it always me?!" Xie Xie's face went pale. "Spider bro, don't do this!"
Unlike last time, he was facing it head-on.
The enormous arachnid rose from below, its deadly claws gleaming as if preparing to give him a surgical operation.
Don't come any closer!! Xie Xie wailed