"Go!"
Feng Ling and Feng Li shouted in unison, gathering their courage as they lunged forward.
One grabbed Dugu Feng's arm, the other his leg.
With the rest of the students joining in, they heaved together, tossing him high into the air.
"Dugu Feng!"
"Dugu Feng!"
The cheers roared louder and louder until the entire Heaven Dou Royal Academy boiled over with excitement.
Suspended midair, Dugu Feng couldn't help but let out a wry laugh.
Ge Ying, you really know how to stir things up.
But he understood. Everyone had been holding in their frustration for far too long.
For two months straight, the Academy, and even the whole Heaven Dou City had been humiliated, crushed beneath the shadow of Spirit Hall's might.
Now, with his victory over Yan, it was as if the sun had finally broken through the clouds.
To them, Dugu Feng wasn't just a student. He was a hero!
After quite some time, the crowd finally let him down.
By then, Xie Yue, Hu Liena, and Yan had long since departed.
Only Qian Renxue remained.
When Dugu Feng and the others stepped down from the stage, she approached him, her praise warm and sincere.
Then, surrounded by cheering classmates, Dugu Feng and his group went to meet the three Education Committee members.
There, he was introduced to Qin Ming.
"This is Teacher Qin, leader of the Emperor Team," Ge Ying said with a smile. "He's in charge of preparing for the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament."
Qin Ming looked unassuming. His presence calm, almost ordinary.
But Dugu Feng knew better. He was a prodigy among commoners, the second youngest Soul Emperor on the continent.
"Student Dugu," Qin Ming said, his eyes glinting sharply, "with your strength, if you joined the Heaven Dou Imperial Battle Team, I'm certain the Academy could reach the finals and perhaps even win the championship!"
Dugu Feng smiled faintly.
"I'm still young. Maybe it's better if I join the next tournament instead."
A polite refusal.
Qin Ming was momentarily taken aback, regret flashing across his face.
If Dugu Feng joined the team, everything would change.
As it stood, their strongest fighters were Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, Shi Mo, and Shi Mo's brother. Qin Ming believed he could lead them to the finals, but victory? That was another matter entirely.
Meng Shenji, Zhi Lin, and Bai Baoshan all shared the same thought with regret - what a pity!
But with Dugu Feng's current status, no one could press him.
They could only hope that, in time, he might change his mind.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Dugu Feng returned to his private cultivation grounds to resume training and to quietly review the gains from his battle against Yan.
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy in Soto City—
Inside Tang San's dorm room, his upper body was bare as Yu Xiaogang carefully examined him.
The longer he checked, the darker Yu Xiaogang's expression became.
His pupils constricted slightly, and deep sorrow and frustration clouded his eyes.
After a long silence, he forced his voice to remain calm.
"Xiao San," he said quietly, "this was indeed the work of an evil soul master. To survive this ordeal at all… it's already a miracle."
He let out a long sigh.
Tang San's expression tightened. "Teacher, how bad is it? What about those eight spider legs...what exactly were they?"
Yu Xiaogang's fingers pressed along Tang San's back a few times before replying, "Your recovery is progressing well. Your Blue Silver Grass's third spirit skill has given you exceptional resilience and vitality. Give it a few months, and your body should be fully healed."
He noted how Tang San's eight fragile ribs were already regrowing. A proof of his extraordinary regenerative power.
"The spider legs," Tang San pressed, eyes burning with hope. "Can they grow back?"
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened.
He stood, exhaling slowly. "Xiao San, among all the soul masters I've met, you are the most gifted...not just in cultivation, but in temperament, discipline, and wisdom.
The higher one climbs, the more vital an unyielding will becomes.
It's that same willpower that allowed you to defy limits and absorb the Man-Faced Demon Spider's spirit ring… granting you a priceless opportunity."
His voice trembled. "But heaven is jealous of genius. The same opportunity that blessed you… has now cursed you."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes grew moist.
He understood exactly how much Tang San had lost.
Tang San's fists clenched. "Teacher, just tell me. I can take it."
He already knew how precious those spider legs were.
Even if the pain was unbearable, he needed to understand what he had lost and how he might regain it.
Yu Xiaogang's tone grew grave. "Do you remember what I told you about spirit bones? In our world, they are the rarest treasures a soul master can possess.
They not only grant unique abilities, but also greatly enhance every attribute."
He paused. "And your eight spider legs… were something even rarer—a spirit bone that grows outside the body. An external spirit bone."
Tang San's breath caught. He had guessed as much, but hearing it confirmed still hit like a hammer.
"What's an external spirit bone?" he asked quietly.
"If normal spirit bones appear in one out of a thousand soul beasts, then an external spirit bone appears in not even one out of ten thousand."
"Unlike normal bones, an external spirit bone can grow and evolve.
A regular spirit bone remains fixed in strength, tied to the age of the beast it came from.
But an external spirit bone evolves along with the soul master's own power. Each evolution granting stronger skills and enhancements!"
Tang San's heart twisted in agony.
A growing, evolving spirit bone… and he had lost it.
His teeth ground audibly.
Yu Xiaogang continued, "Normally, external spirit bones can't be taken away, even if the host is killed.
When a soul master dies, their internal bones may drop, but external ones die with the body.
However…", He sighed heavily. "There's one exception—right when the bone is newly formed. Before it has fully fused with your body.
You, Xiao San… were attacked during that exact window."
His voice grew bitter. "What cruel luck—possessing a one-in-ten-thousand miracle, only to meet an evil soul master at the worst possible time."
Yu Xiaogang's anger had long since burned away, leaving only weary resignation.
If Tang San had just been given a little more time, if the fusion had completed, no one could have taken it.
Tang San's voice trembled with frustration. "But the spider legs appeared during my spirit ring absorption and my third ring is still intact! Doesn't that mean they can… grow back?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head slowly.
"That's the true horror of an evil soul master. He didn't just steal your external spirit bone's energy—he devoured it completely!
Even your rib marrow was consumed. If Xiao Wu hadn't arrived in time to save you, your entire body would've been drained dry."
Tang San bit down hard, his jaw trembling.
He remembered the nightmare...the endless darkness, the suffocating terror.
That must've been when the evil soul master was devouring him.
He hated himself for his helplessness.
Why couldn't he have woken up...just once to see that man's face?
To remember it.
To hunt him down.
And return everything, drop by drop, in blood.