The flight was a brief, exhilarating moment of freedom, a silent glide through the canopy under the silver gaze of the moon. Zhang Tian savored the feeling of the wind, the absolute control afforded by his spirit bone, but he knew it was a luxury he couldn't afford to display. To reveal such an ability now would invite a storm of questions he had no desire to answer. It would unravel the carefully constructed persona of the talented but limited boy with the strange grass spirit.
So, after putting a safe distance between himself and the site of the battle, he descended, landing with a whisper-soft touch on a bed of damp moss. The forest closed in around him, a labyrinth of ancient trees and tangled undergrowth. He was alone, but never truly alone.
'They should be back at the clearing,' he thought, his Blood Silver Domain a passive, subtle extension of his senses, feeling the thrum of life in the forest around him. 'Zhao Wuji is injured, the others are exhausted. They won't have moved far.'
He began to walk, his steps sure and steady, his mind already rehearsing the story he would tell. Every lie was a tool, and every tool needed to be perfectly crafted for its purpose.
After nearly an hour of navigating the darkened woods, he saw the faint, flickering light of a campfire ahead. He stepped into the clearing to a scene of tense, weary silence.
The fire crackled merrily, casting dancing shadows on the exhausted faces of his teammates. Zhao Wuji sat leaning against a massive tree, his breathing heavy, his powerful frame still showing the strain of his brief, humiliating encounter with the Titan Giant Ape. Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun were huddled together, their earlier bravado completely gone, replaced by the grim reality of their own weakness.
But it was the reactions of the two girls that he noted most keenly.
The moment he stepped into the light, Ning Rongrong, who had been anxiously staring into the darkness, let out a sharp, audible gasp of relief. Her hand flew to her chest, and the worry etched on her beautiful face melted away, replaced by a radiant, welcoming smile.
Zhu Zhuqing's reaction was more subtle, but no less profound. She didn't gasp or smile, but the rigid tension in her shoulders visibly eased. She had been sitting ramrod straight, a statue of cold anxiety, and now she allowed herself to relax, her posture softening as she let out a slow, quiet breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
"Zhang Tian!" Zhao Wuji's booming voice was rough with relief. "You're safe! What happened? Where is Tang San?"
The question brought all eyes onto him. Dai Mubai sat up straighter, his concern for his teammate overriding his personal animosity.
Zhang Tian adopted a look of grim exhaustion, his handsome face shadowed with what appeared to be sadness and regret. He shook his head slowly.
"We followed the ape for as long as we could," he began, his voice low and tired, the perfect tone of a weary survivor. "But its speed was too great. We lost it. As we were searching, we stumbled into the region of a Man-Faced Demon Spider."
He paused, letting the name of the dreaded beast sink in. "It was powerful. At least two thousand years old. It ambushed us."
He looked at the group, his gaze lingering on Zhao Wuji. "We were outmatched. Tang San… he insisted on continuing the search for Xiao Wu. He told me to hold the beast back while he went on ahead. He said saving his sister was more important than anything."
He let out a heavy sigh, running a hand through his blue hair. "I fought it. It was a difficult battle. By the time I managed to drive it off, Tang San was long gone. I tried to follow his trail, but in this forest… I lost him. I thought it best to return here and report to you all."
His story was a perfect blend of heroism and tragedy, casting both him and Tang San in a favorable light. It was a lie, but a plausible one, one that protected his secrets while explaining the separation.
A wave of renewed anxiety washed over the group.
"So he's still out there? Alone?" Oscar asked, his voice tight with worry.
"Damn it," Dai Mubai cursed under his breath, clenching his fists in frustration. "We can't just leave him."
"You did well to return, Zhang Tian," Zhao Wuji grunted, pushing himself to his feet with a groan. "You made the right call. We're in no condition to mount a search party now."
"You must be exhausted," Ning Rongrong said, her voice soft with concern as she looked at him. "You fought a two-thousand-year spirit beast by yourself. You should rest. We can't do anything until we've recovered our strength."
Zhang Tian nodded gratefully, though he felt perfectly fine. He walked over to a clear patch of ground, sat down, and closed his eyes, feigning a deep, meditative recovery. In truth, his mind was a whirlwind of activity. He began to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Skill, the energy from his domain flowing into him, refining his spirit power.
'The Eight Spider Lances are secure in my storage spirit tool,' he thought, picturing the sinister-looking external spirit bone. He had no immediate plans to absorb it himself. 'Its abilities are powerful, but they don't align with my current path. Poison and physical enhancement are useful, but my focus is on absolute control and devouring. For now, it will remain a valuable asset, a bargaining chip for a future negotiation. Perhaps a gift to a future subordinate...'
His thoughts were a calm, calculated stream beneath a placid exterior.
Zhao Wuji addressed the group. "Rongrong is right. We all need to rest. We'll stay here for a few more hours. At dawn, we'll set out in the direction Tang San went. We will find him."
The next few hours passed in a tense, watchful silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire. As the first light of dawn began to filter through the dense canopy, they set out again, their movements more cautious now, their senses on high alert.
They ran for hours, following the path Zhang Tian had "indicated." The forest grew denser, stranger. Just as despair was beginning to set in, they heard voices.
Bursting through a thicket of strange, vibrant flora, they found them.
Tang San and Xiao Wu stood in a small clearing, looking tired but, to everyone's immense relief, completely unharmed.
"Tang San! Xiao Wu!" Dai Mubai shouted, relief evident in his voice.
The reunion was a flurry of questions and frantic explanations.
"What happened to you, Xiao Wu?" Ning Rongrong asked, rushing forward. "We were so worried!"
Xiao Wu, her eyes still holding a flicker of remembered fear, launched into her well-rehearsed story.
"I also don't know what it was all about," she began, her voice trembling slightly for effect. "That Titan Giant Ape grabbed me and ran deep into the forest. But before it got very far, I heard this strange cow-like roar from somewhere in the distance. The Titan Giant Ape… it seemed scared. It looked at me, threw me aside, and then just ran off."
"A cow roar?" Zhao Wuji asked, his brow furrowed in disbelief. "What kind of cow could possibly frighten a hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape? What happened after that?"
Xiao Wu's eyes widened, her expression one of lingering terror. "As that Titan Giant Ape dumped me, it let out one last howl before it left. I just felt the whole world spin, and then I must have fainted. When I woke up, it was gone. The scene… it was terrifying. All around me, spirit beasts were just… lying on the ground, unconscious. Some of the weaker ones were bleeding from their eyes and ears, dead from the shock. I don't know if my luck was good or bad, but I suddenly realized my spirit power had broken through to the thirtieth rank."
Zhao Wuji's jaw dropped. "What? You reached level thirty just like that?"
Xiao Wu nodded. "I think the fear and the excitement must have pushed me over the edge. And I happened to find a thousand-year spirit beast, one that was perfect for me, still knocked out cold. So… I killed it and took its spirit ring."
"You did what now?" Ma Hongjun stared at her, his expression one of utter disbelief, like a blind cat that had just stumbled upon a dead mouse.
Xiao Wu shivered dramatically. "I had to! I thought I was going to die! I was afraid the other beasts would wake up and attack me, so I had no choice but to kill the ones closest to me. After I absorbed the ring, my strength recovered. I just started walking in the direction I thought we came from, and then I heard your voices."
Her story, while fantastic, was just plausible enough to be believed in a world filled with impossible occurrences.
All eyes then turned to Tang San. "And what about you, Tang San?" Zhao Wuji asked. "Zhang Tian said you went after her."
Tang San nodded, a look of grim determination on his plain face. "I did. I searched for hours. I was getting desperate. Then, I stumbled upon a Purple Veined Viper. It was about sixteen hundred years old, a perfect match for my Blue Silver Grass."
He paused for dramatic effect. "It was powerful, and I was low on spirit power. But I had no choice. I had to get stronger to have any chance of finding and saving Xiao Wu."
He reached into the sash around his waist, the one Zhang Tian recognized as the storage spirit tool Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges, and pulled out a weapon of intricate, deadly beauty. It was a crossbow, but unlike any they had ever seen. It was compact, made of a dark, heavy metal, and its frame was covered in complex mechanisms.
"I used this to defeat it," Tang San announced proudly. "The Godly Zhuge Crossbow."
The name itself was impressive. Oscar's eyes widened, his fascination with strange gadgets instantly piqued. "Wow! That looks amazing! How does it work?"
Even Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, who had witnessed Zhang Tian's firearms, leaned in, their curiosity captured by the crossbow's elegant, mechanical design.
Tang San's chest puffed out with pride. He felt a surge of satisfaction seeing his companions so impressed by a weapon from his past life, a creation of the Tang Sect. He shot a quick, subtle glance towards Zhang Tian, a look that was clearly meant to say, 'See? My weapons are just as impressive as yours.'
Zhang Tian met his gaze with an expression of polite, placid indifference, which only served to irritate Tang San more.
The excitement, however, was short-lived.
"A powerful tool indeed," Zhao Wuji grunted, cutting through the awe. "But what about the spirit ring? What new ability did you acquire?"
With a hint of reluctance, Tang San put the Godly Zhuge Crossbow away. "My third spirit ability is called Miasma Pulse Root. My Blue Silver Grass can now pulse a weak toxic wave through its vines. It's not lethal, but at close range, it can cause slight nausea and blur an enemy's vision."
"Hmm, a debuffing ability," Zhao Wuji nodded approvingly. "Very useful for a Control Type Spirit Master. It will synergize well with your binding skills."
"That's not all," Tang San said, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "The viper also gave me... this."
He focused his spirit power, and with a soft 'click,' two sharp, glistening fangs, like those of a serpent, descended from his upper jawline, resting just outside his lips. They looked both menacing and strangely out of place on his plain face.
Zhao Wuji gasped, his eyes wide with shock and undisguised envy. "An external spirit bone! By the heavens, boy, your luck is absurd! A priceless treasure! It will grow with you for the rest of your life!"
"An external spirit bone?" Oscar breathed, staring at the fangs. "What does it do?"
"Its ability is Venom Absorption," Tang San explained. "When I'm hit with a poison-based attack, these fangs can absorb the toxins. I can then channel that absorbed poison through my Miasma Pulse Root, turning a weak debuff into a potent poison attack."
He then added, a touch of frustration in his voice, "There is a major disadvantage, however. While absorbing the poison, I have to endure its effects myself. I tried to absorb the remaining venom from the dead viper, but the pain was too much. I couldn't handle it."
'So he's still a selfish bastard,' Zhang Tian thought, a feeling of deep, weary contempt washing over him. 'He splits from me, claiming his highest priority is saving his sister. But the moment he finds a convenient spirit beast, he stops his desperate search to hunt it for his own gain. Selfish to the core. But...'
He analyzed the new abilities. 'A weak nausea pulse and fangs that require him to poison himself to be effective? Compared to the Spider Web Restraint and the Eight Spider Lances he should have gotten... this is a significant downgrade. His luck, it seems, has taken a turn for the worse. Good.' He felt a cold, satisfying sense of victory. His interference had borne fruit.
"And my spirit power," Tang San announced, unable to hide the pride in his voice, "after absorbing the ring and the spirit bone, I am now Level 34."
"And I'm Level 33!" Xiao Wu added happily. "My Third Spirit Skill is Teleportation! As long as it's within a five-meter radius, I can instantly arrive at any location"
The news of their rapid advancement sent another ripple of shock through the group.
With everyone accounted for and newly empowered, the tense atmosphere finally lifted. The return journey to Shrek Academy was much lighter, filled with chatter and the renewed bravado of the students.
Two days later…They arrived back at the ravaged gates of the academy late in the afternoon. The scene of destruction was a grim reminder of their first day. As they walked towards the dormitories, a figure emerged from the Dean's office.
He was a man of average height, with a stiff, almost rigid posture. His face was sallow, his expression perpetually gloomy, and his eyes, hidden behind a pair of plain spectacles, seemed to hold the weary knowledge of the world. He wore simple, academic robes that had seen better days.
Zhang Tian felt a familiar sense of dread wash over him. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced since his past life, the feeling of having to engage with a willfully ignorant superior who believed himself to be an infallible genius.
He let out a quiet, internal sigh.
Yu Xiaogang. The Grandmaster. The armchair theorist.
He had arrived.
'The arguments are about to begin,' Zhang Tian thought, steeling himself for the wave of flawed logic, plagiarized theories, and insufferable arrogance that was sure to follow. 'And I will have to deal with his legion of blind, devoted followers. This is going to be… tiresome.'
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon