Lightning flickered all around Bei Bei as his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul erupted with full force, engaging in a fierce clash with that mutated Emerald Demon Willow.
"First Soul Skill, Thunderous Dragon Claw!"
Bei Bei let out a furious shout. His blue dragon claws, carrying blinding arcs of electricity, sliced through the incoming willow branches in unison. To everyone's surprise, however, the severed branches began to writhe slowly upon hitting the ground. First, fine root hairs sprouted, and then they grew rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few breaths, new buds had already germinated from the cut ends.
"I must end this quickly!" Alarm bells rang in Bei Bei's mind.
He clearly realized that if this dragged on, the clearing would soon be occupied by the newly grown Demon Willow branches, and they would be heavily surrounded.
The Emerald Demon Willow also seemed to sense the threat before it. Its emerald-green willow branches danced frantically like venomous snakes, attempting to entwine and trap Bei Bei.
However, with the precise assistance of Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection, Bei Bei could clearly predict the attack trajectory of every single branch. Coupled with the sixty percent speed bonus and crowd-control immunity granted by Furina's cake, his figure moved through the dense offensive as effortlessly as a phantom.
Even when he was occasionally grazed by the barbs on the branches, the paralyzing toxin was rendered useless under the immunity effect of the fruit cake. This allowed Bei Bei to maintain the initiative at all times, preventing him from being trapped by subsequent attacks.
"Third Soul Skill, Thunderous Fury! Second Soul Skill, Thunderous Calamity!"
Bei Bei no longer held back, erupting with his full power. Under the amplification of Thunderous Fury, the power of his Second Soul Skill surged violently. The rampaging lightning, like a furious dragon, struck directly at the main trunk of the Demon Willow.
Blinding arcs of electricity exploded in the forest, and the air was filled with a scorched scent.
The Emerald Demon Willow trembled violently, and its originally emerald branches turned charred and black.
Surprisingly, these damaged branches still stubbornly launched attacks, forcing Bei Bei to retreat continuously. As a mutated plant Soul Beast, its vitality far exceeded that of ordinary Soul Beasts. Even after suffering heavy damage, it was still recovering rapidly.
"Tsk, how troublesome!" Bei Bei gritted his teeth, preparing to launch a second round of attacks.
At that moment, three deafening booms rang out in succession.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Three bowl-sized holes instantly appeared on the main trunk of the Emerald Demon Willow, and emerald juice sprayed out. The originally frenzied branches immediately wilted, and the offensive came to a screeching halt.
Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao all turned their heads in unison. They saw Furina holding a strangely shaped black weapon, with wisps of blue smoke still rising from the muzzle. This pistol from the system mall had its blueprints handed over to the Axis Cult Research Department for study long ago; now, it had come in quite handy.
Furina elegantly blew a gentle breath toward the muzzle and said nonchalantly, "Sorry, seeing you guys fight so slowly, I really couldn't resist stepping in. You don't mind, do you?"
Huo Yuhao wasn't surprised by this; he had long since witnessed this peculiar weapon that could show its power without needing Soul Power. But Bei Bei and Tang Ya gasped, their faces filled with shock.
"My ears..." Tang Ya covered both ears. The gunshots just now were simply too loud, leaving her with temporary tinnitus.
Bei Bei stared fixedly at the weapon in Furina's hand, his mind racing as he wondered what kind of spirit tool it was. He had never seen a small spirit tool with such staggering power.
"What kind of spirit tool is this exactly? The power is just too incredible!" Tang Ya leaned in curiously to observe.
Although she was very averse to spirit tools, she couldn't help but feel a sense of curiosity at this moment.
Furina waved her hand, however. "Now isn't the time to study this. Do you still want your third spirit ring or not? Hurry up and give that Demon Willow the final blow, or else it'll recover very soon."
Only then did Tang Ya snap back to her senses. She hurriedly took out a Hidden Weapons and dashed toward the heavily injured Demon Willow. Bei Bei cooperated with her tacitly, using his lightning power to block the counterattacks from the Demon Willow's remaining branches.
"Swoosh—"
A poisoned Hidden Weapons accurately sank into the main trunk of the Demon Willow. Accompanied by a bout of violent twitching, the Demon Willow finally stopped struggling, and a deep purple spirit ring slowly rose from its corpse.
Tang Ya immediately sat down cross-legged and began to absorb this hard-won third spirit ring. Bei Bei stood guard by her side, vigilantly watching the surroundings. Furina and Huo Yuhao also each took up a position to act as Protectors for Tang Ya.
About half an hour later, Tang Ya slowly opened her eyes, her face beaming with excitement. "I succeeded! And my Soul Power has directly increased by two levels!"
"How is the Spirit Ability effect?" Bei Bei asked with concern.
Tang Ya stood up and released her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. The originally ordinary Blue Silver Grass was now covered in fine barbs, and the toughness and color of the grass leaves had significantly improved. "Third Soul Skill, 'Wildfire Cannot Consume It, the Spring Breeze Brings Life Again,' allows broken Blue Silver Grass to regenerate as quickly as the Demon Willow. Although the new parts are relatively fragile, it consumes almost no Soul Power and can be produced in massive quantities."
She paused, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "If my Blue Silver Grass could be immune to fire, this Spirit Ability would be practically invincible!"
Bei Bei nodded with relief, feeling genuinely happy for Tang Ya's progress.
Furina smiled slightly. "Just as I expected, this Spirit Ability is very suitable for the development direction of your Martial Soul."
Tang Ya looked at Furina gratefully. "I really have to thank you; your suggestion was so valuable." She suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "By the way, what exactly was that weapon you used just now?"
"That's not a spirit tool, but a Firearm called a pistol," Furina explained patiently. "Like Hidden Weaponss, it doesn't require Soul Power to use, but its power is much greater."
"Really?" Tang Ya was half-doubting.
Bei Bei, however, was deeply shaken. If this kind of weapon truly didn't require Soul Power to exert such power, it would surely trigger a revolutionary change!
"Of course it's true." Furina took out an imitation pistol from her storage soul tool and handed it to Tang Ya. "This one is a prototype from the Research Department; you can take it to study. But be careful—never point it at a person, it can kill."
She knew clearly in her heart that in this world where Spirit Masters' defenses were generally low, even Tang San's Godly Zhuge Crossbow was enough to pose a fatal threat to Spirit Masters below Rank 40. If it were an improved version, it could even break through the defense of a Rank 60 Spirit Master.
The power of this imitation pistol she gave Tang Ya was certainly not inferior to the Godly Zhuge Crossbow; killing a few Spirit Kings with a headshot should be no problem at all. Although she hadn't specifically tested its strength yet.
Tang Ya carefully took the pistol as if holding a rare treasure. "Thank you so much!"
"Don't mention it," Furina waved her hand. "Now we should head to Shrek Academy. I can teach you in detail how to use this weapon on the way."
The four of them packed their gear and set off on their journey to Shrek Academy. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting spots of golden light on the path ahead.
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