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Ma Hongjun, panting hard, managed to gasp, "Boss Ning, you're the real deal. My one and only boss."
Zhu Zhuqing's usual cool detachment had vanished, replaced by concern. Her gaze softened as she looked at Ning Tian. "Are you alright?" When the sword shield broke, he'd taken the hit for her with his own body. It hit her hard, just like it had during the Shrek entrance exam.
"I'm fine. Not dying yet," Ning Tian said, his voice low but steady. His eyes flicked to Xiao Wu, still trapped in the ape's grip.
The ape raised its fist again. Xiao Wu, spotting the blood on Ning Tian's lip, cried out, "Don't!"
It paused, glancing down at her. With a deep grunt, it turned and lumbered off toward the forest's core, vanishing into the trees.
"Xiao Wu!" Tang San's yell was raw, frantic. He staggered forward to give chase but collapsed, too battered to move.
Zhao Wuji wanted to follow, but the ape's speed outclassed him by miles.
Ning Tian let out a quiet breath. The performance wasn't done yet.
He figured Meng Yiran's soul ring hunt had thrown things off. Maybe the Dragon Duke hadn't caught up, or the Serpent Lady had sent Meng Yiran out of the forest for safety. Either way, the Dragon Duke might still be tracking that Man-Faced Demon Spider.
He turned to Ning Rongrong. "Boost me."
"What?" She blinked, then caught his meaning and summoned her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
"Seven Treasures' second skill: Speed!"
A shimmer of light flowed over Ning Tian, his body suddenly lighter. He leaped onto a tree branch, ready to move.
"Wait, Ning Tian, what are you doing?" Zhao Wuji barked, alarm sharpening his tone.
"Xiao Wu's my classmate. If it were any of you, I'd do the same. Even if I can only bring back her body, I won't leave her out there," Ning Tian said, his words resolute but not overblown.
He shot off after the ape's trail.
Ning Rongrong shouted after him, "I've poured all my soul power into you! The boost'll hold for a minute outside my range. Go!"
Zhao Wuji sputtered, caught between frustration and disbelief.
Ning Rongrong, pale from the effort, gave a faint smile. "You heard him, Teacher Zhao. He'd do it for any of us."
Oscar muttered under his breath, "Any of us? Didn't see him bothering with me."
Tang San, steadying himself, turned to Oscar. "Give me a sausage."
Oscar's third soul skill kicked in, granting a minute of Cockscomb Snake speed—enough to rival a speed-type Soul Ancestor.
Tang San burned with rage and shame. He was too weak. If he'd been stronger, he wouldn't be stuck here, useless, while Ning Tian went after Xiao Wu.
He was sick of being powerless.
The forest's beasts scattered from the ape's presence, leaving the path clear. That's why, in the original tale, Tang San only stumbled into the Man-Faced Demon Spider by dumb luck.
Ning Tian pressed on, alone but unfazed.
After a few Km, he slowed. "This should be far enough."
He raised his left hand. A silver orb, about a foot across, formed in his palm. It burst into hundreds of tiny lights, spreading out in all directions.
His second martial soul: the Gold Devouring Beetle. Perfect for sniffing out soul power traces, like the Man-Faced Demon Spider's.
Green light pulsed in his right hand, but he held off summoning his Azure Bamboo CloudSwarm Sword for now.
A system chime rang in his head: [Ding! Host cannot use two martial souls at once. Please bind a target to bear the side effect.]
"Bind Tang San."
With the drawback offloaded, Ning Tian called up his sword and his yellow-purple-purple soul rings. His second ring flared, wrapping him in a sword shield as he moved forward.
A few Km later, his beetles pinged something—a target southwest, about a thousand meters off, moving fast.
He didn't hesitate, racing to intercept it.
Soon, he spotted it: a hulking spider, its black shell glinting, over a meter tall with eight legs stretching three meters each. A white, face-like pattern marked its abdomen, two of its eight eyes gouged out. The Man-Faced Demon Spider.
Through his beetles, he sensed Tang San nearby, closing in at Spirit Ancestor speed—probably from Oscar's sausage. He'd stop soon, resting under a tree.
Ning Tian shook his head. 'Of course it's heading right for him.* '
The Dragon Duke likely didn't know Meng Yiran had her soul ring yet. The forest was vast, and with the spider running wild, the Serpent Lady had probably sent Meng Yiran out for safety before doubling back to find her husband.
With no time to waste, Ning Tian recalled his beetles into a silver orb and launched it at the spider.
The creature clocked him but didn't slow. Its legs churned, charging straight at him with a blur of afterimages.
The orb hit its shell and burst into harmless silver sparks.
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