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Zhu Zhuqing struggled to absorb the spirit ring, but it wasn't a major issue. She had consumed two high-quality whale glues, significantly enhancing her body. Li Luochen estimated that her third spirit ring could handle around 3,500 years of cultivation—this 2,000-year-old Human-Faced Demon Spider was more than sufficient.
The Human-Faced Demon Spider was known as the "Soul Beast Killing Machine," with incredible speed and a life-saving technique called "Spider God Possession," which was quite formidable. This soul beast was of the dark and poison attributes, making it somewhat compatible with the Shadow Spirit Cat.
As long as there was a spirit bone involved, compatibility wouldn't be an issue. With the Eight Spider Legs boosting all attributes by fifty percent, it was already incredibly powerful.
Zhu Zhuqing worked hard to absorb the spirit ring, but her face turned pale. Despite being only a 2,000-year-old soul beast, it was proving difficult to absorb. Suddenly, Zhu Zhuqing's back burst open, and four pairs of spider legs sprouted from her back.
Seeing those spider legs, Li Luocheng couldn't help but smirk like a crooked-mouthed dragon king, almost laughing out loud with a maniacal cackle.
However, Zhu Zhuqing's figure was truly impressive—her back was so smooth; it was a shame not to cup it.
In the end, Li Luochen pulled Oscar and Ma Hongjun away, leaving Ning Rongrong to watch over Zhu Zhuqing. After all, she was just over eleven years old, and it wouldn't be appropriate for them to stay.
About fifteen minutes later, Zhu Zhuqing emerged after changing her clothes. Her face was flushed, while Ning Rongrong grinned mischievously. Just moments ago, Ning Rongrong, under the guise of being a fellow girl, had playfully teased Zhu Zhuqing, rubbing her back affectionately.
Afterward, Ning Rongrong still felt unsatisfied, even wanting to bury her face in Zhu Zhuqing's back and sleep. Zhu Zhuqing, now dressed, felt uncomfortable with the four pairs of spider legs on her back, unsure of what they were.
"Zhuqing, how do you feel?" Li Luochen asked.
"Mm, my third spirit skill is called 'Shadow Spider God Slash,' a powerful single-target attack skill. As for the things on my back, they seem to boost all my attributes by fifty percent."
Zhu Zhuqing felt the immediate changes within herself. Her spirit power had risen to level thirty-two, thanks to the remaining effects of the whale glue and absorbing a higher-level spirit ring.
"The thing on your back is an external spirit bone—one of the rarest types of spirit bones. Once fused into your body, it grows alongside you as a spirit master and won't drop upon your death. Understand?
But since you haven't fully fused with it yet, it can still fall off. Come here, I'll use my spirit pressure to help you fuse with it."
As Li Luochen spoke, he placed a hand on Zhu Zhuqing's head and began applying spirit pressure—starting at level twenty-seven, then twenty-eight, twenty-nine… thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven.
Finally, when the pressure reached level forty-two, Zhu Zhuqing completely fused with the Eight Spider Legs and gained the ability to retract and extend them at will. Half of the task was complete. The next step was to help Ma Hongjun obtain a ten-thousand-year King of the Earth.
However, finding a lone King of the Earth in the Star Dou Great Forest was challenging. These soul beasts usually lived in groups with creatures like Pink Empress scorpions and rarely wandered alone.
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Three Days Later
Li Luochen continued leading the group in their search, using battles with several thousand-year soul beasts to train their teamwork.
At this point, Shrek Academy could be said to have split into three factions: one led by Li Luochen, another consisting solely of Dai Mubai, and a third comprising Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the soon-to-arrive Gang Zi.
{T/N: Gang Zi = Yu Xiaogang. It also means an*s}
Ma Hongjun and Oscar were firmly aligned with Li Luochen, Zhu Zhuqing had just joined, and Ning Rongrong was still in the process of being won over. However, life-and-death trials were sure to deepen their bonds.
Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing grew closer to Oscar, though Ning Rongrong hadn't yet revealed her mischievous side. Li Luochen was eager to see what kind of "little devil" she could be—it would make teaching her much more interesting.
As they battled more soul beasts, their coordination improved. Zhu Zhuqing had adapted to her third spirit skill and the Eight Spider Legs.
Ning Rongrong was fortunate. While constantly providing support, she also consumed Recovery Big Sausages, causing her spirit power to break through to level twenty-seven. Her Three Aperature Governing Heart technique became more refined, and she was close to reaching the Four Aperature Constant Heart stage.
Li Luochen was satisfied with their progress. He felt their training in the Star Dou Great Forest was nearly complete—it was time to obtain spirit rings.
After searching for half a day, they finally discovered a lone King of the Earth, just over ten thousand years old, perfectly suited for Ma Hongjun. This particular King of the Earth was slightly different—its coloration suggested it might be a partially mutated variant.
It wasn't as thoroughly mutated as the variant King of the Earth Li Luocheng had encountered before. This one seemed to be halfway mutated, but it remained unclear how potent its flames were.
"You all stay here and protect yourselves. I'll be back shortly."
As Li Luochen spoke, his spirit rings appeared—one yellow, two purple, three black—and he pulled out a deep purple staff. Without hesitation, he charged forward.
With a single strike, Li Luochen shattered the King of the Earth's skull and broke its limbs, effortlessly disabling it.
"Hongjun, come finish it quickly. Be careful—it's about to die."
Upon hearing this, Ma Hongjun immediately spread his Phoenix wings and flew over, pulling out a dagger and plunging it into the King of the Earth's head. A black spirit ring emerged.
Just as Ma Hongjun was about to absorb it, Li Luochen suddenly spoke up.
"Hongjun, ten-thousand-year soul beasts possess intelligence. The resentment from their deaths can create soul shockwaves. Be cautious, though it shouldn't be a problem for you."
Li Luochen's words made Ma Hongjun take extra care. He knew that both spirit power and mental strength were crucial for spirit masters. Thanks to his head spirit bone, his mental strength had been greatly enhanced.
Ning Rongrong watched Ma Hongjun absorb the spirit ring with a strange expression. No, she had felt something was off ever since Li Luochen and the others released their spirit rings. Li Luochen's second spirit ring was a thousand-year one, and his fourth was ten thousand years. Oscar's fourth spirit ring was a thousand-year one, but now Ma Hongjun's fourth spirit ring was also ten thousand years.
This was hard to imagine. She knew that attempting to absorb a spirit ring beyond one's level could result in death from a body explosion, yet they had clearly succeeded. This made Ning Rongrong question the limits of spirit ring absorption.
She remembered a certain "Master" who had meticulously recorded the limits of spirit ring absorption, but these examples before her completely defied those rules.
It was utterly insane. As the future leader of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, she was confident in her own talent, yet these geniuses were far stronger than her. Moreover, Oscar, an auxiliary spirit master like herself, possessed combat abilities and could easily defeat beast-type spirit masters like Dai Mubai.
Ning Rongrong desperately wanted to uncover the secrets of Shrek Academy, but as someone from the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, she realized such confidential information wouldn't be handed over willingly. What kind of foolish faction would give away such secrets freely?
Ning Rongrong was conflicted. She felt a growing fondness for Oscar, an auxiliary spirit master, though she didn't know why. Since entering the Great Star Dou Forest, Oscar had been protecting her, and she found his presence comforting.
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