The pale human face appeared once more before Xu Zihuang's eyes. From the abdomen of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, those pale eyes suddenly shot out two beams of white light.
Xu Zihuang, already prepared, had golden patterns shimmering around his pupils. Relying on the powerful martial soul instinct of dynamic vision, he captured the trajectory of those two beams in advance and dodged them with ease.
Ever since the qualitative change in his spiritual power, his perception had become sharper than ever.
With a deafening boom, the two beams slammed into the golden soul tool barrier, rippling outward in waves.
The collision stirred up a violent gust of wind, whipping Xu Zihuang's black mid-length hair behind him as his body shot backward.
The Silver Shadow Beast he had previously absorbed was already a soul beast adept at both spirit and agility. After obtaining its soul ring, his own speed had also improved considerably.
But this ten-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider was extremely cunning. It halted its rapid movements, its grotesque eight legs stilling, while its mouth spewed out masses of black silk. The strands densely covered the center of the arena, attempting to block all of Xu Zihuang's escape routes. It was avoiding all risks.
Previously, Xu Zihuang's second soul skill, Shattering Mirror, had restricted it for a full second. That moment had left it with a faint sense of danger.
Though the Great Arena was spacious, it was ultimately limited. In such a setting, the spider held the overwhelming advantage.
This was also one of the reasons why Du Weilun had strongly advised Xu Zihuang to challenge a different ten-thousand-year beast.
The second soul ring around him flared, forming a closed spherical crystal barrier in front of him, blocking out the spider's silk.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider was feared even among soul beasts. Its armor was nearly impenetrable, its speed astonishing, its eight legs not only immensely sharp but also carrying lethal poison. But the most terrifying thing of all was its web.
The web carried a fearsome neurotoxin.
Xu Zihuang could, in theory, condense a crystal surface midair using his second skill to leap away and avoid the web-covered ground. But that would only turn him into a stationary target.
The Man-Faced Demon Spider possessed a powerful innate soul skill called Web Binding.
If it used Web Binding, it wouldn't spit out scattered silk as it was now, but would spray an extremely sticky and unbreakable web directly—still carrying that same neurotoxin.
As time passed, only the space centered on Xu Zihuang's crimson crystal barrier remained free of webs.
At this moment, the spider moved again. Yet it still didn't rush him directly. Instead, it spat out a massive black web over thirty meters wide, blotting out the sky and enveloping Xu Zihuang.
Thanks to the crimson crystal, he didn't touch the web, but it seemed he had no way out.
On the viewing platform, most of the second grade Class One and Class Two students held their breath. The terror instilled by the ten-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider was too great. Even with the soul tool barrier and with Dean Yan Shaozhe, Director Du Weilun, and over twenty martial soul teachers shielding them, they felt suffocated.
Dai Huabin and Wang Dong's expressions were equally grim. If they were in Xu Zihuang's place, they likely wouldn't even withstand its first strike.
Rather than gloating, what they desired was to surpass Yu Tianhuang in cultivation and strength.
The only one harboring malicious thoughts was Wu Feng.
If only the teachers can't save him in time, and the spider kills him here… she thought viciously.
The teachers present, as well as Ma Xiaotao, frowned slightly. Yu Tianhuang's tactics seemed like trapping himself. With such a vast difference in cultivation, and no attribute advantage, there was no way he could break free from the web's confinement.
The proper strategy should have been to unleash his most powerful attack before being restricted.
Had this been the wide Star Dou Forest, he might not appear so passive. But here, in an arena less than two hundred meters across, there was no place to run—forcing a head-on clash.
No wonder none of them held much hope for him.
Even Gong Changlong at the edge of the arena had his brows twitching madly.
"This kid doesn't strike me as reckless. If he keeps this up, he's asking for death."
In the arena, the ten-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider circled Xu Zihuang slowly, as if searching for a weakness, its six blue eyes brimming with killing intent.
Seconds ticked by. Its sharp legs scraped against its silk, producing a grating screech.
Inside the crimson sphere, Xu Zihuang rotated with it, his gaze indifferent as he locked eyes with the spider.
At last, as though deciding after long hesitation, malice and determination flashed in its six eyes. The monstrous human face on its abdomen spewed a dense white mist, covering its body as it lunged forward, eight venomous legs stabbing toward Xu Zihuang.
The white mist was a power only a Man-Faced Demon Spider of ten-thousand years could wield. Even as it spread, the air hissed as if corroded. The granite flooring melted instantly into white liquid upon contact.
The toxicity was beyond doubt.
Gong Changlong's face changed. He waved both hands, pulling open a gap in the golden soul tool barrier. A low dragon's roar echoed behind him as fiery red soul power surged, driving the white mist back.
The barrier blocked spiritual perception, and now sight too was obscured. To guarantee Yu Tianhuang's safety, he had no choice but to intervene.
Such mist was powerful, but the spider required nearly a month to recharge it. It had last used it the day Gong Changlong captured it.
He hadn't expected it to expend its very essence just to release it again. But the reason was obvious: it wanted to devour Xu Zihuang.
It had sensed the boy's potent soul power and bloodline. Consuming him would greatly benefit its cultivation.
As the mist dissipated, the spider appeared at Xu Zihuang's last position, having pierced his crimson barrier with its front legs—only to find him gone.
Gong Changlong was unsurprised, having sensed it. At that instant, a green glow flashed atop the barrier. Xu Zihuang's figure emerged from the crack, his four rings—purple, purple, purple, black—shining together.
What he had used was Chu Qingtian's sixth soul skill, Netherworld. Back when they left the Star Dou Forest, Chu Qingtian had used it several times, and Xu Zihuang had imprinted it with his fourth skill.
This had been his confidence all along.
The spider had sought his weakness—but hadn't he been waiting for its?
He had deliberately baited its attack, ready to strike the moment it relaxed.
He knew from the start that dragging things out in such a confined space would only worsen his situation. Hence, this planned all-out explosion.
Feign weakness, strike unprepared.
With a whale's song, the phantom of the Silver-Scaled Whale swam around him. His first skill, Whale's Chant, boosted his spiritual power by ten percent, pushing it higher still. Golden pupils glimmered faintly with violet-gold light.
A flood of golden radiance followed—his third skill, Time Disorder, burst forth.
Under the strange glow, the spider's body froze stiffly.
Xu Zihuang waved his right hand. Five massive crimson crystal cones, each ten meters long and denser than before, instantly formed in the air. With the spiritual boost from his first skill, his control over the second skill had risen sharply.
The more soul power poured into Shattering Mirror, the heavier and harder it became. Had he used more earlier, the spider wouldn't have been bound for just one second.
This skill from the Demon Whale transformed intangible soul power into physical substance.
His will surged, and the five crystal cones, accelerated by Time Disorder, shot forward at impossible speed, slamming into the spider's black armor.
Speed was strength. Their immense weight, combined with such velocity, unleashed terrifying force.
With a thunderous crash, cracks spread across its shell. A piercing screech echoed through Shrek Academy as pieces of armor shattered, spilling foul-smelling white fluid everywhere.
But Xu Zihuang wasn't done.
His dimmed fourth ring lit once more. This time, not the Netherworld skill copied from Chu Qingtian.
Behind him, a phantom silver moon rose, turning black save for a thin silver rim.
A black light flashed—the moon released a straight pillar that engulfed the spider's massive body.
A deafening blast followed. The golden aura receded. When the dust cleared, a gaping half-meter hole marred its back.
Its eight legs thrashed wildly, then drooped lifelessly.
Dots of black light gathered on its body. A deep black soul ring drifted upward.
Killed.
From start to finish, less than three seconds had passed.
Everyone was stunned.
A Soul Ancestor had slain a ten-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider head-on.
Xu Zihuang gasped violently, his soul power utterly drained. He lacked even the strength to conjure a crystal step, his consciousness blurring.
Such an outburst placed immense strain on his body. Were it not for his extraordinary physique, his meridians would have collapsed.
Gong Changlong hurriedly pulled him down with soul power, his expression complex. He had imagined many scenarios, but not this.
The second-grade students stared as though at a monster.
The boys were filled with awe, the girls with adoring gazes.
Ning Tian, arriving midway, had witnessed his finishing blow. Her blue eyes brimmed with mist, her face flushed.
In the soul master world, strength was everything.
Dai Huabin clenched his fists tightly. Xu Zihuang's words resurfaced in his mind:
"Enemies defeated by my hand are never my opponents. I give you time to catch up—until you can no longer see my back."
He hadn't said it arrogantly, only as a fact—which made it harder to bear.
Wang Dong bit his lip, gripping his wrist. Only that gave him the courage to face Yu Tianhuang.
So what if you're ahead of me now? I'm a twin martial soul. My future achievements will surpass yours.
He whispered it in his heart, unsure if it was self-deception or resolve.
Even Ma Xiaotao gasped softly, lips parted.
"Teacher, how could his fourth skill unleash two different abilities?! The last one was just like Senior Sister's!"
Yan Shaozhe's shock was no less. Yet he soon smiled warmly. Rather than answer, he strode forward, voice ringing out:
"For this advancement assessment, Yu Tianhuang receives full marks. Weilun, continue the exam with the students."
He floated down gracefully, taking the unconscious Xu Zihuang from Gong Changlong and infusing him with gentle light soul power.
Seeing Gong Changlong's odd expression, he teased cheerfully,
"What's wrong, old Gong? You're not asking me to compensate you for that spider, are you?"
"Compensate my ass! Quit your nonsense and get out of here!" Gong Changlong snapped.
"Tell that boy, when he wakes, that he's welcome to visit me anytime. Forget his previous request—I'll grant him another in the future."
Yan Shaozhe only smiled, gesturing to Ma Xiaotao on the platform, and together they left the arena.
The second-grade assessments continued, but after such an event, the mood was dead.
How could their test soul beasts compare to that ten-thousand-year spider?
On the platform, Ning Tian's turbulent heart finally calmed as she watched Ma Xiaotao's red figure fade into the distance.
By a woman's intuition, she felt an overwhelming sense of threat.
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