Chapter 15. Fate or a Plan After All?
When the initial joy of obtaining the fifth spirit ring and becoming a Spirit King faded, I felt something strange. Why were we still just the two of us?
"Dean? Where are the others?"
Flander answered only with heavy silence and a furrowed brow.
"Dean?" This silence was unsettling.
"I can't say anything for certain yet. Let's go meet them," he said, and for some inexplicable reason, he decided not to take to the air, instead walking alongside me on the ground.
The forest was unusually quiet. Even the birds seemed to be holding their breath, and this ringing silence brought on a creeping dread.
However, we soon met up with the others.
They were at the very spot where we had parted ways, and now it resembled a battlefield. As if a blind hurricane had swept through—several ancient trees were reduced to piles of splinters. A frightened Ning Rongrong stood off to the side. Ma Hongjun, unlike his usual self, was incredibly quiet. Oscar, though he looked like he had very little energy left, continued to produce restorative sausages. Dai Mubai and Zhao Wuji, although not mortally wounded, sat leaning against a surviving tree, clearly trying not to move unnecessarily. And two were missing from our group.
"What the hell happened here?" Flander exclaimed in shock. "Where are Tang San and Xiao Wu?"
"We were attacked by the Forest King. The Ten-Thousand-Year Titan Giant Ape," Zhao Wuji answered grimly. "That beast took Xiao Wu, and the kid chased after it."
"Chased after it?! Why didn't you stop him?! That's suicide! What will I say to Xiaogang?"
"Why don't you try stopping that brat yourself in my condition. I don't know what treasures he's eaten, but his power far surpasses his level. I..." The man looked at his hands with uncharacteristic uncertainty. "...I'm not even sure I could handle him. It's... absurd."
"Tang San will be fine, but we still need to find him quickly. Knowing him, when it comes to Xiao Wu, he might very well kill the beast and start absorbing its ring right in the middle of the forest if he feels he lacks strength," I voiced my thoughts. Still, I didn't know how much things could have changed. Moreover, Tang San now knew that Xiao Wu was a hundred-thousand-year beast.
"Alright," taking my words with utmost seriousness, Flander addressed the wounded. "Zhao, Mubai, are you ready to move?"
"Of course, ready," Zhao Wuji answered for both immediately, as if afraid to show the slightest weakness.
"In that case, let's move out."
At that very moment, a roar swept through the forest, faintly resembling a bull's, but so loud it was like thunderclaps rolling nearby. And immediately after, we all felt a heavy, oppressive aura that made the earth tremble.
"What the devil is going on in this forest today?" Zhao cursed.
"We need to hurry. It's unsafe to stay here any longer," Flander said with a grim face.
No one argued. And we set off on our way.
Since Flander dared not take to the sky, fearing to attract the attention of any more hundred-thousand-year beasts, I volunteered to scout ahead. After all, my skills were perfectly suited for more than just covert attacks.
Contrary to the others' fears, we encountered no dangers along the entire path. The forest, which should have been teeming with thousand-year and ten-thousand-year beasts this deep in, remained eerily quiet. As if all life here had been crushed by the roar of the Azure Bull Python.
However, I didn't see any reason to fear just yet. I knew this powerful beast was like a brother to Xiao Wu, just like the Titan Giant Ape that had grabbed her. So I was confident that she and Tang San were alright.
Following the trail was easy—the Titan Giant Ape had left a veritable clearing in its wake. It was much harder to find Tang San himself, who, as I suspected, had veered off its path.
I felt a storm of emotions when I saw the boy sitting in a lotus position in front of the corpse of a giant spider, whose age was at least thirty thousand years. And honestly, amidst all this confusion, a vague sense of apprehension prevailed. I didn't know if these were fate's jokes or if the gods had truly chosen him as their pawn from birth.
Watching him now absorbing not just the spirit ring but also the external bone, painfully similar to the one he had originally obtained, I mentally noted: be careful and don't spoil relations with him. Too dangerous. I didn't want to attract the attention of the Asura God, especially in a negative light, if what was happening was indeed part of his plan. The main thing was to simply follow the intended path, and everything would be fine.
Finishing these thoughts, which didn't actually take much time, I quickly ran back to bring the others to Tang San.
When I returned with everyone, he was still in the midst of absorption, which had now entered its final phase. The process was clearly successful, but at the very last moment, the external spirit bone finally manifested. Tang San's body arched in an unnatural curve, and a raspy, pain-filled scream tore from his throat. Then came the sharp sound of tearing fabric. The upper part of his clothing burst open, and eight huge spider limbs grew from his back, with incredibly sharp and, undoubtedly, venomous tips.
"This... Aren't those the legs of the Human-Faced Demon Spider?" exclaimed Zhao Wuji. Judging by his face and the expressions of the others, none of them understood what was happening.
"U-um... Tang San won't become a big spider, right?" Ma Hongjun said with evident apprehension. Meanwhile, hearing familiar footsteps, I couldn't help but smile, turning in the right direction. Someone clearly heard the fatty's words, causing their calm steps to turn into a run. And indeed, Xiao Wu soon all but ran out towards us, who looked around in panic until she saw Tang San.
"Zhuqing, what's wrong with Brother San? He... he will be alright, won't he?" There was genuine panic in Xiao Wu's voice as she turned to me, especially since Tang San was in no hurry to come to.
"Why are you asking me?" Honestly, I knew this wasn't the prettiest behavior. But the whole situation, due to their ignorance, was so ridiculous that I couldn't hold back a slight smile.
"Because you know everything?" the rabbit-girl replied, cutely tilting her head to the side.
"My, you do have a high opinion of me," I shook my head, and her frank tone even slightly embarrassed me. "Well, alright, I'll tell you what's happening."
"Tang San just hit the jackpot, something even a titled Douluo would kill for. He obtained an external spirit bone, which will grow and develop alongside him."
"A spirit bone?!" Zhao exclaimed, and even Flander barely contained his astonishment. Spirit bones themselves were incredibly rare, and they had never heard of an external spirit bone.
"Teacher, didn't you know about this either?" the fatty suddenly asked Zhao Wuji.
"How dare you doubt me?!" the man immediately flared up in embarrassment. However, Flander came to his aid.
"This is Tang San's fortune, and he will definitely be fine. The more important question is," he shifted his gaze to the girl who had just run up. "Xiao Wu, what happened? How did you escape from the Titan Giant Ape?"
"A roar, similar to a bull's, suddenly rang out, and while the Titan Giant Ape was distracted, I seized the moment, broke free, and ran. You know, I really am strong," the girl playfully flexed her biceps. Yet, despite her actual strength, her arms were slender and delicate. From the outside, it was hard to believe they could hide such power.
"This..." Flander hesitated for a moment. "You were truly lucky. Usually, encountering such a beast is tantamount to death for most spirit masters."
"When this boy finishes, you should comfort him. When that beast took you, he seemed to go mad and chased after it. Most likely, on the way, he encountered this spider and had to fight it one-on-one. Even for a Spirit King, that's a real feat."
"I... it's my fault," the girl suddenly became emotional.
"Alright, he's fine after all," I rolled my eyes and pulled her into a hug. And perhaps neither she nor Tang San needed to know that this genuinely brought me quiet joy.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to comfort her for long—Tang San truly wasn't in danger right now. However, his fusion with the spirit bone unexpectedly dragged on, which began to slightly unsettle the others.
And so, we stood guard for twelve long hours.