Chapter 65: Survival of the Fittest
"Yiran, since His Excellency has granted you this Phoenix Tailed Crest Serpent, you should hurry and absorb it." Not wanting any unexpected changes or for Ye Cheng to change his mind Serpent Grandmother quickly urged her granddaughter.
"Understood."
Meng Yiran nodded, then, holding her Serpent Staff Martial Soul, she swayed her slender waist as she approached the unconscious Phoenix Tailed Crest Serpent.
Seeing her walk over, the Shrek group, who had been standing around the serpent, immediately stepped aside. Not a single one of them dared to utter a word.
After all, Ye Cheng the ultimate powerhouse had already spoken and given the serpent to Meng Yiran.
What could they say? Were they tired of living?
Meng Yiran stopped before the serpent, raised her two meter long Serpent Staff, and thrust it down into the beast's vital point.
Squelch!
The sharp Serpent Staff pierced through the defenseless Phoenix Tailed Crest Serpent with ease. Its body twitched instinctively a few times before, without ever waking up, it died painlessly.
A purple soul ring slowly formed above its lifeless body.
Meng Yiran glanced at her grandmother, who gave her an approving nod. No longer hesitating, she sat down cross legged, placing her Serpent Staff across her lap.
With a gentle pull of her soul power, the purple soul ring floated toward her, gradually merging into her body.
Oscar watched bitterly as his soul ring the one that was supposed to be his became hers. He clenched his teeth in frustration but was powerless to do anything.
Now that everything was settled, Ye Cheng saw no reason to stay any longer.
Since the soul ring was already being absorbed, there was no way Zhao Wuji would risk offending Dragon Duke and Serpent Grandmother by interfering.
That meant it was time to move on and continue their real hunt.
"Let's go."
Ye Cheng gave Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing a glance, signaling for them to follow. Without another word, he turned and left.
Seeing Ye Cheng's departure, both Serpent Grandmother and Zhao Wuji subtly exhaled in relief.
Even though Ye Cheng had been cordial and non threatening, simply standing near a man powerful enough to erase them with a flick of his finger was an intense psychological burden.
"Farewell, Your Excellency!"
Serpent Grandmother and Zhao Wuji called out in respectful unison.
Ye Cheng gave no response, only leaving them with a deep, unfathomable silhouette as he walked away.
Wherever he stepped, the forest itself parted before him bushes and vines instinctively withdrew, clearing his path without a single ripple of soul power.
It was as if the entire forest could sense his dominance and chose to yield.
As they watched the one man, two woman group disappear into the distance, everyone's expressions were different.
Serpent Grandmother, Zhao Wuji, and the Shrek students marveled at Ye Cheng's overwhelming strength.
Dai Mubai, on the other hand, was seething his jealousy burning hotter than ever as he watched Zhu Zhuqing's departing figure.
Meanwhile, Tang San
Saw himself in Ye Cheng's shadow.
Because he, too, possessed twin martial souls.
As long as he could overcome the backlash of conflicting spirits, then, when he reached Titled Douluo, he would be able to attach nine 100,000 year soul rings to his second martial soul just like Ye Cheng.
Those rings would grant him immense soul power, allowing him to skip years of training and ascend directly to the peak.
His future was limitless.
"Madam Zhao, now that the soul ring has found its owner, we won't stay any longer."
Zhao Wuji, watching Ye Cheng disappear into the distance, turned toward Serpent Grandmother and clasped his fists. "We take our leave."
Serpent Grandmother nodded slightly, secretly relieved that they were leaving on their own.
Truth be told, even though it was unlikely Zhao Wuji would risk provoking her and her husband, she still preferred not to take any chances.
With the Shrek group gone, she could finally relax and focus on guarding her granddaughter as she absorbed the soul ring.
"We're leaving."
Zhao Wuji gave Meng Yiran one last glance before waving his hand, signaling the students to follow.
He deliberately chose a direction opposite to Ye Cheng's path leading his students away from trouble.
Once the Shrek group had completely disappeared, Serpent Grandmother let out a deep breath.
Looking at her granddaughter still absorbing the soul ring she reflected on everything that had happened today.
We were lucky.
Had things gone differently, acquiring this soul ring could have been a far greater ordeal.
Meanwhile, in the Shrek group
Zhao Wuji walked at the front, while Tang San and the others followed behind.
The atmosphere was heavy no one spoke a word.
Finally, after holding it in for too long, Ma Hongjun couldn't resist.
"Zhao laoshi, are we really just letting this go?"
Zhao Wuji rolled his eyes.
"What else do you want to do?"
Ma Hongjun hurriedly explained, "I mean, that soul beast was ours! We were chasing it! And then that old hag just just took it! Feels like a huge loss!"
Zhao Wuji sighed, shaking his head.
"Whether it feels like a loss or not doesn't matter. This world runs on one simple rule the strong prey on the weak."
"Today, we lost because we were weaker. That's all there is to it."
"Unless… you're planning to interfere with that little girl's soul ring absorption?"
Hearing that, Ma Hongjun immediately nodded.
If he couldn't have the ring, then at the very least, he didn't want Meng Yiran to get it so easily.
Zhao Wuji slapped the back of his head
Smack!
The loud, crisp sound echoed in the forest.
Ma Hongjun clutched his skull, dazed by the force of the hit.
"You little brat."
"Doing something like that would gain us nothing nothing at all."
"The only thing it would accomplish is provoking the wrath of Dragon Duke and Serpent Grandmother."
"If you can't learn to endure, you'll never amount to anything."
Zhao Wuji's words sank into the minds of Tang San and the others, leaving them in deep thought.
Elsewhere, Ye Cheng led Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing deeper into the forest.
Wherever they went, the dense vegetation parted to clear their path then closed again behind them, leaving no trace of their passage.
As he walked, Ye Cheng called upon his system activating its search function.
The system could track any being that had been marked by the Q&A system whether human, spirit beast, or other creatures as long as their intelligence was above a certain threshold.
And the soul beast he sought?
It was highly intelligent without a doubt, it met the search criteria.
All he had to do was search, and he would find it instantly.
(End of chapter.)
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