The three members of the Longgong group didn't leave; instead, they chose to stay.
Just as Flander had said, they were willing to help Meng Yiran find a suitable soul beast. Whether Longgong truly believed it or not, he actually wanted to team up with the Shrek Academy members.
"You've already abducted our Yiran's soul beasts twice. I don't know what's wrong with these soul beasts; they always escape from us and then come to your deaths. This time, we'll go together. I refuse to believe we can't help our Yiran obtain a soul ring," Longgong said.
Actually, the real reason he wanted to join the Shrek Academy members was that Longgong wanted to see these freakish little monsters for himself.
His interest in Shrek Academy was growing. Although the number of students was small, it seemed to have recruited almost all the geniuses on the continent.
He had some ideas vaguely forming in his mind.
Longgong's decision surprised the Shrek Academy members, even Meng Yiran herself was somewhat puzzled, but it was clear that she was willing.
The most surprised was Ma Hongjun.
Actually, this deviates from the original plot. In the original story, the encounter with Long Gong in the Star Dou Great Forest wasn't this amicable. Furthermore, Long Gong and his companions left after Meng Yiran lost to Tang San. However,
unlike the original plot, this time Shrek Academy mobilized its entire force, their overall strength comparable to Long Gong and his companions. Plus, they had shown considerable respect to Snake Granny and Chao Tianxiang during their first encounter.
Therefore, aside from an accident, there was no fundamental conflict between them. Moreover, Meng Yiran had just kissed Tang San, and their relationship, through Meng Yiran, had already formed a closer bond.
Ma Hongjun felt even more strongly that letting Xiao Wu leave was a wise decision, because his transmigration had brought many variables, and things were no longer under his control.
Just like with Long Gong, Xiao Wu might not be able to hide anything from him.
Unlike Ma Hongjun and the other boys who were interested in the arrival of the fully-fledged Meng Yiran, the girls showed some subtle resistance.
This was the ambiguous relationship between beautiful women—always tinged with a faint hostility.
Now, Tang San began absorbing the spirit ring of the Human-Faced Demon Spider.
The blue light emanating from the Blue Silver Grass spirit slowly appeared in Tang San's palm.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring was surprisingly purplish-black, a truly rare occurrence.
In fact, spirit ring colors have subtle differences. Just as absorbing the spirit rings of different spirit beasts alters one's spirit's characteristics, so too does absorbing the spirit rings of different spirit beasts alter one's own spirit.
For example, Ma Hongjun's Dragon Spirit Spear developed blue dark patterns after absorbing the Water Dragon's spirit ring, and Tang San's Blue Silver Grass gained barbs after absorbing the Ghost Vine's spirit ring.
The same applies to spirit rings themselves. While the main colors of white, yellow, purple, black, and red remain unchanged, subtle differences emerge within the main color.
For instance, the Green Bamboo Sound Serpent's yellow spirit ring contains a hint of blue, and the Water Dragon's purple spirit ring contains a hint of blue.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring was purplish-black, a color typically found only in spirit rings of spirit beasts approaching ten thousand or nine thousand years old.
This Human-Faced Demon Spider couldn't possibly be nine thousand years old; otherwise, Ma Hongjun, his two companions, and Zhao Wuji wouldn't have been able to subdue it so easily with a single spirit skill. Furthermore, its size and appearance didn't match its appearance.
That's related to its inherent attributes. The Human-Faced Demon Spider is an evil soul beast, entirely black in nature.
The moment the purplish-black light touched Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, everyone saw a dense purplish-black light instantly envelop Tang San's body. Ma Hongjun was secretly startled by such a strong soul power fluctuation. Just how many years of cultivation did this Human-Faced Demon Spider possess?
Tang San, being the one directly involved, felt it even more clearly. He felt a massive surge of heat suddenly rush into his body, and before he could react, the heat began to burn his body like scorching flames.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider's inherent domineering nature determined the brutality of its formed soul ring. The powerful aura, upon entering Tang San's body, began to forcibly transform his physique.
Although the energy contained within the soul ring lacked consciousness, it was completely beyond Tang San's control.
With the intense soul power fluctuations of the Human-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring, a layer of fine blood beads began to seep from Tang San's skin, turning into a pale red mist as the soul power evaporated into the air.
The Shrek Academy students' gazes turned grave. Surrounded by them, Tang San, sitting cross-legged in the center, was no longer visible. He was shrouded in a pale red mist.
The red in the mist wasn't the glow of soul power, but Tang San's blood.
Tang San's brows were furrowed, his lips tightly pressed together, and his body was constantly convulsing. The beads of blood seeping from under his skin showed just how intense his pain was.
Everyone looked at Flander, wanting to ask their leader for an explanation.
While Flander was still deep in thought, Long Gong spoke up, saying in a deep voice,
"This Human-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring is too domineering; absorbing it won't be easy. Now, he can only rely on himself. Absorbing a soul ring cannot be done with any external force. Otherwise, it will only have the opposite effect. Now, we can only believe that Tang San can persevere and bring it to his own."
This old man had been watching Tang San closely; he truly considered Tang San his grandson-in-law!
However, Long Gong was also relieved that Meng Yiran hadn't absorbed the Human-Faced Demon Spider's soul ring.
Judging from this, not only is the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring more powerful than those of other spirit beasts, but its age may have already exceeded the limit for a spirit master to absorb a third spirit ring.
From within the mist, the cracking sounds of bones echoed intermittently, each time bringing a heart-stopping feeling to those around. However, the third spirit ring, which should have appeared with absorption, remained unmanifested. This proved that Tang San had not yet fully absorbed the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring.
Dai Mubai whispered worriedly to Flander, "Dean, if this continues, Tang San might be in danger."
Flander's brows furrowed as well. Tang San was Grandmaster's disciple, no different from his own, and he didn't want anything to happen to Tang San.
"I know. But we can't interrupt him now. Otherwise, the consequences will be even more serious. Now it all depends on his willpower.
This Human-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring is probably over two thousand years old, and the Human-Faced Demon Spider's energy is too violent, which is why this happened. Hopefully, Tang San can pull through this. Otherwise..."
Only Tang San himself knew the pain he was enduring. Faced with the energy of the Human-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring, he felt as if his whole body was being cut by countless sharp blades. His internal organs ached everywhere, and the powerful energy was constantly tearing at his body, leaving him in extreme pain.
In fact, Flander was right. Because of the rarity of Human-Faced Demon Spiders, it was difficult to judge their true cultivation level from their appearance.
A Soul Master's third spirit ring could absorb up to 1,700 years of cultivation. Only the fourth spirit ring could absorb a spirit ring with a cultivation level of around 5,000 years. The fifth spirit ring's maximum absorption was around 12,000 years. The sixth spirit ring has an absorption limit of 20,000 years. The seventh spirit ring is between 30,000 and 50,000 years, depending on the different attributes of the spirit master.
Only with the eighth spirit ring is it possible to absorb spirit rings from spirit beasts over 50,000 years old. Only the final ninth spirit ring has the potential to absorb spirit beasts over 100,000 years old.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider that Tang San killed had a true cultivation level exceeding 2,000 years, just over, but still exceeding the limit that a spirit master's third spirit ring can absorb.
Tang San understood why his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, although knowing that the Human-Faced Demon Spider would greatly help Tang San's Blue Silver Grass, did not particularly approve of him searching for such a spirit ring. Because
if he made a misjudgment, as he was now, he could very well be overwhelmed by the power of a spirit ring with an excessively high age.
During the battle, Tang San made a simple estimate of the Human-Faced Demon Spider's strength, but he overlooked one point: the Human-Faced Demon Spider had already been injured by the Dragon Lord. The Dragon Lord was incredibly powerful; the injuries he inflicted on the Human-Faced Demon Spider would naturally have a significant impact on its strength.
Tang San's situation differed from most Soul Masters because he possessed twin Martial Souls and cultivated the Xuan Tian Gong recorded in the Xuan Tian Treasure Record. His physical resilience far surpassed that of ordinary people. Logically, if it were a common Soul Beast, absorbing a Soul Ring of around two thousand years wouldn't be a problem for him. After all, his physical advantages were undeniable.
However, the Human-Faced Demon Spider was no ordinary Soul Beast. Its inherent ferocity and power made its Soul Ring extremely domineering, plunging him into a tremendous crisis.
At this moment, besides physical strength, willpower and conviction could further elevate one's limits.
Tang San thought of Ma Hongjun. Ma Hongjun had absorbed all three Soul Rings beyond the limits of a Soul Master. With this example in mind, he suddenly felt a surge of motivation. If Ma Hongjun could do it, he wanted to do the same.
Tang San had learned of Ma Hongjun's twin Martial Souls when they fought Ye Zhi Qiu in the town.
He himself also possessed twin Martial Souls, sharing the same advantages as Ma Hongjun. He refused to believe he couldn't absorb a Soul Ring several hundred years old.
While he couldn't quite match the 7,000-year spirit ring that Ma Hongjun absorbed for his third spirit ring, he at least needed to acquire this 2,000-year one.
He also thought of Xiao Wu; he wanted to see her again, and to do so, he needed to reach the strength of a Title Douluo as soon as possible.
He wanted to protect Xiao Wu; what kind of man wouldn't be ruthless to himself? Actually,
Ma Hongjun was the one who could best understand Tang San's feelings at this moment. Back when Tang San was absorbing the 900-year-old Green Bamboo Serpent spirit ring, Ma Hongjun was in the same situation . He couldn't have held on then. If it weren't for the dragon soul within the Dragon Soul Spear, he might have become the shortest-lived transmigrator. Because of the dragon soul, Ma Hongjun wasn't worried about the spirit ring's age being too high. "Yiran, you should thank Tang San for saving your life!" Long Gong looked at Tang San, shrouded in blood mist, and said to Meng Yiran in a deep voice. With Long Gong's keen eyesight, although he couldn't accurately determine the age of the Human-Faced Demon Spider from its appearance, he could sense from the energy released by its spirit ring that it was over 2,000 years old. The spirit ring of a two-thousand-year-old human-faced demon spider is even more difficult to absorb than the spirit ring of a three-thousand-year-old crested phoenix-tailed snake. It could be said that if Meng Yiran had absorbed this spirit ring, she would already be a corpse. There was even a possibility that not a corpse would remain. "Grandpa, will Tang San be alright?" Meng Yiran asked with concern, her large, watery eyes fixed on Tang San. "It depends on his willpower. If he can pull through, this child's future is limitless. His future achievements could reach the level of a Title Douluo, or even surpass it!" Long Gong exclaimed. Chao Tianxiang sighed softly, saying, "A golden carp is no ordinary fish; it transforms into a dragon when it encounters wind and clouds. Not just Ma Hongjun and Tang San, I think those children are all quite good. I really don't know where Flander found such talented children. Flander, this Shrek Academy, I've never heard of that name before?" At this moment, Tang San's complexion had eased, the fine beads of blood had stopped flowing, and his tightly furrowed brows had relaxed somewhat; the crisis had passed. Long Gong was the first to notice, and a pleased smile appeared on his face. He was indeed biased from the start; the more he looked at Tang San, the more pleasing he became. He turned to Meng Yiran. "Yiran, what do you feel about Tang San?" Meng Yiran was already sixteen years old, the age when love first blossoms, and she was extremely intelligent, just like Ning Rongrong—an open-minded young woman. Upon hearing Long Gong's words, Meng Yiran naturally understood what he meant. Her face immediately flushed.
"Grandpa, are you trying to play matchmaker? I'm more than three years older than him, and he's still a little brother. How can we be together?"
She had just turned sixteen, and was indeed more than three years older than Tang San. Grandpa Long
, being a shrewd man, could naturally glean something from Meng Yiran's reaction. He chuckled and said,
"Age isn't a problem. A woman three years older is like holding a gold brick."