A 4,200-year-old soul beast—a Thunder Spider. Powerful, and said to be a rare variant species. Even a typical Soul King might struggle against it.
At first, Lin Jie thought it might be a Man-Faced Demon Spider. It was a spider, after all. And if it was the same species as the one from which Tang San obtained his third ring… maybe there was a chance it would drop a spirit bone if killed? Of course, that was just his wishful thinking. Obviously, it wasn't the same creature.
He vaguely recalled someone from Thunderclap Advanced Soul Master Academy having a Martial Soul that was also a Thunder Spider. Maybe this one was related somehow?
Thunder Spiders weren't social creatures. According to his Mind Net, there were no other nearby soul beasts that posed a threat.
Lin Jie was confident he could take it.
After all, his body had been strengthened daily with lightning tempering. Even he didn't know where his physical limits were anymore. And he still had several trump cards he hadn't used yet.
He suppressed his presence and slowly crept toward the Thunder Spider, hoping to land a surprise attack. But before he got close, it noticed him.
"No wonder it's over 4,000 years old. Its senses are sharp."
Shing—Shing—!The Thunder Spider shot toward Lin Jie in an instant, its eight legs glowing with arcs of blue-white lightning. The front two legs slashed down without hesitation—swift, brutal, and clearly aiming to kill.
But would Lin Jie be hit so easily? Obviously not.
Lightning burst from his body as he bent his knees and dropped low. With a powerful push from his legs, he flashed behind the spider in a clean, agile movement.
The Thunder Spider, annoyed that its initial strike had failed, immediately turned to face him. From its mouth, a net of sticky webbing shot out toward Lin Jie.
He dodged again with a flicker of motion, glancing back just in time to see the web hit a tree.
Sssss— The tree began to corrode and dissolve instantly, smoke rising from the bark.
"Damn. Are you forcing me to beat you to death?"
Lin Jie gathered soul power into both hands. Lightning surged and coalesced around his fists like invisible gloves—blazing with raw, untamed energy.
This was an ability Lin Jie developed based on Lightning Release Mode, but localized to his hands instead of his whole body. While not as fast as the full-body version, it greatly enhanced his strength, control, attack power, and defense. He named it Thunder Hands.
He appeared above the Thunder Spider in a flash and slammed his fist down—BOOM!—sending the beast flying.
Before it could recover, he was already beside it again, moving so quickly it was as if he had teleported. Blow after blow rained down, mercilessly pounding the Thunder Spider into the ground. Only when it lay nearly dead did he finally stop.
Turning his head to glance at the tree melted by the spider's web, Lin Jie then looked back down at his defeated opponent.
"Tch. You thought I was some pushover, huh? I was gonna end you quickly, but no—you had to ask for the full combo treatment. Was it worth it?"
He drew the dagger strapped to his waist and delivered the finishing strike. A deep purple spirit ring slowly rose from the spider's body.
Lin Jie didn't rush to absorb it. Instead, he examined his dagger, lifting it into the light.
Not a drop of blood on the blade.
"Nice. I guess it was worth it. Spent a few dozen gold coins, but you get what you pay for."
He had bought this dagger back in Soto City. Initially, he had wanted a sword to look the part, but after searching in vain, he'd settled on this dagger. The price had shocked him—over a hundred gold coins! Lin Jie had nearly flipped the counter in rage. In the end, he showed the shopkeeper his spirit ring and used his smooth-talking skills to negotiate it down to a few dozen coins.
Now that he saw how effortlessly it had sliced through the Thunder Spider's tough carapace—and didn't even get stained—he felt the purchase had been well worth it.
He sheathed the dagger and sat beside the corpse, guiding the spirit ring toward himself and beginning the absorption process.
To his surprise, the process went incredibly smoothly—he didn't feel any trace of resentment from the soul beast.
Lin Jie remembered how, when he absorbed his very first spirit ring—from a 400-year Saber-Toothed Tiger—he had clearly felt a bit of the beast's lingering resentment. But this time? Nothing.
Maybe it's because my body wasn't nearly as strong back then? That must be it.
As he completed the absorption, Lin Jie sensed the new soul skill granted by the Thunder Spider.
"Hm... interesting. Thunder Web—releases a net of lightning with a paralyzing effect. Not bad. It's not quite on the level of my self-created skills, but still decent."
(Some people might say, 'Isn't that just copied from someone else?' And to that, I say: haha. Come on—how could a soul skill be copied? It's obviously self-created!)
He activated his third soul skill experimentally. The effect was solid.
Sigh. Guess I'm being nudged toward the Control System route now. But whether it's Control or Assault, it makes no difference to me.
Just then, the Thunder Spider's corpse began to fade. A brilliant multi-colored light flashed from the center, and an irregularly shaped, roughly thirty-centimeter-long object floated into view.
Lin Jie stepped forward and picked it up—eyes widening.
A spirit bone!
To be more precise, it was a right arm bone. Though oddly enough, it didn't even look like a bone—more like a crafted piece of gear.
Killing soul beasts and getting spirit bones... This really is just like a game dropping loot.
What an interesting world.
A spirit bone over 4,000 years old.
If memory served, Tang San had also obtained a spirit bone from killing a spider-type beast. Could it be that spider-type soul beasts always dropped spirit bones?
No way. That can't be right. Just a coincidence… right?
Whatever. Not taking a spirit bone would just be stupid. Time to see what it could do.
As he held it in his hand and focused, Lin Jie suddenly wanted to shout: "What the—?!"
Seriously? This is turning me into Spider-Man?
Normally, you had to absorb a spirit bone to find out what skill it contained. But for some reason, Lin Jie could already sense its abilities.
Perhaps... a natural talent?
This spirit bone's skill: Web Shot. Once absorbed, he'd be able to eject spider silk from his wrists. The silk could be controlled freely, and had three effects: adhesion, poison, and paralysis. The poison was especially potent. The silk was also tough as steel and sharp as a blade.
Snapping back to reality, Lin Jie stared at the item in his hand.
He couldn't help but wonder how the thing even dropped. The Thunder Spider's body had just... disintegrated, and then this appeared? He didn't intend to absorb it just yet—instead, he wanted to study it further. Maybe he could learn something new from it.
For now, he stored the spirit bone in his soul tool ring.
The sun was still fairly high. If he left now, he could probably make it back to the nearby town before dark.
He definitely didn't want to spend another night out in the wilderness. He'd been in the Star Dou Great Forest for several days now, handling everything—eating, sleeping, even the worst parts—in the open. What he needed now was a real bed.
Activating Mind Net once more to scout the area, he confirmed that there were no immediate dangers nearby. With that, he set off.
Avoiding threats and detouring around any dangerous readings, it took him a few hours to finally leave the forest.
Another half-hour of walking brought him to a nearby town. He tossed a few gold coins at the innkeeper and booked the best room available.
A huge, hearty meal.A long, hot bath.And a good night's sleep.
The next morning, Lin Jie got up early, packed his things, and resupplied with food and necessities.
His next destination: the Balak Kingdom.