The humid air clung to their skin like damp silk. Mist wove through the trees, thick and cloying, but the clearing where Tang San sat remained undisturbed—save for the pulsing violet ring floating before him. Its steady rhythm beat like a second heart.
Five hours had passed since he began absorbing the spirit ring from the Poison Silk Ghost Spider. Time crept forward, slow and suffocating.
The others waited in silence.
Zhao Wuji sat cross-legged, arms folded across his chest. His expression was calm, patient. Beside him, Dai Mubai had dozed off against a tree, while Oscar leaned back, chewing idly on his recovery sausage. Ma Hongjun muttered to himself, drawing idle patterns in the dirt with a twig.
Only Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong remained tense.
Their eyes flicked often toward the treetops—where thick branches hid secrets, where one set of boot-shaped prints marked the beginning of a silent pursuit.
"Do you think he really going alone to catch up to Xiao Wu?" Zhu Zhuqing whispered, her voice low and sharp as a blade's edge.
Ning Rongrong didn't answer at first. Her gaze was fixed on the forest canopy, her fingers clenched her helm of clothes. Then, softly, she said, "If it him, then I think he will really go alone, when he decide something he will stick to it."
Zhao Wuji opened one eye but didn't speak.
"Teacher Zhao," Zhu Zhuqing turned to him, her tone low, deliberate. "You really let him go by himself? When Xiao Wu's being taken by that Titan Giant Ape?"
"I didn't 'let' him," Zhao Wuji replied evenly. "Li Wei makes his own choices. And I trust him."
Zhu Zhuqing frowned. "That's not an answer."
Ning Rongrong stepped forward, her voice more forceful now. "How can you just sit here? That's a Titan Giant Ape. Even Title Douluo would hesitate to face him. And you think Li Wei can just—"
"He can't fight him, he will not fight him" Zhao Wuji cut her off, standing now. "Because he's not that reckless."
A hush fell over the group.
Zhao Wuji's gaze swept across the students. "I've seen how much he grow? How he act. I knew that he is not someone that will charge into certain death. You've all seen how strong he is. You guys also already seen how he fight, the strategy that he use. Even though I do not want to acknowledge it, he can be said to be a one man army. You've also interact with him, do you think someone like that would charge into certain death?"
Silence.
But inwardly, Zhu Zhuqing's mind churned.
She remembered Li Wei's eyes the night before—calm, focused, as though he saw more than anyone else. She remembered the way he always stood apart, always watching. Calculating.
He had vanished the moment Titant Giant Ape appeared. No hesitation. No words.
She bit her lip. "Even so… you're not worried?"
Zhao Wuji's eyes softened. "Of course I'm worried. I am also his teacher. Even if I can say that with certainty he will be able to escape, I am afraid of what might happen to him should he failed rescue her."
Both of them can only stand in silence when Zhao Wuji answer them.
---
But then—rustling.
A whisper behind him.
He tensed, the card vanishing in a flick of his wrist. He turned silently, knees bending, body coiled.
A shadow moved—small, lean.
Not an enemy.
A white owl.
No… a spirit beast. One of the forest scouts.
Its black eyes stared at him. As if judging.
Li Wei didn't breathe.
And then it look around a little as it also just as silently flapped its wings and flew away.
"They're watching," he muttered, rising. He thought that his cover has been blown but after seeing that the owl continue to look at the surrounding, he known that it did not catch him.
He then look at his hand, still colorless. One can see through it as the effect of invisible still working.
No move yet. No time tricks. One wrong ripple in space and Er Ming would sense it instantly. Maybe it's a warning to him so that he did not act recklessly.
Xiao Wu sat cross-legged beside the ancient tree, her body surrounded by a gentle pink light as her third spirit ring slowly condensed. The faint purple glow from the 1,300-year-old spirit ring shimmered in harmony with her delicate frame. Er Ming, the massive Titan Giant Ape, stood guard like an immovable mountain, his immense body sheltering Xiao Wu as if she were his cub. Though his eyes glowed with primal ferocity, his every movement was careful, as though afraid to disturb her.
Even though he couldn't speak — not yet, according to the canon timeline — Er Ming's protective stance and gentle growl toward a passing bird said everything. He was a family to Xiao Wu. That was enough.
High in the branches above, hidden behind a thick canopy of leaves, Li Wei crouched silently. Cloaked in invisibility through one of his Diend card, he kept his breath steady. The consumption is minimal if he did not move a lot. He had remained hidden ever since Xiao Wu began her absorption. Not out of fear—but out of respect. He had seen what most would never believe: Xiao Wu revealing her true form.
She wasn't just a human.
She was also a spirit beast.
Seeing with his own eyes really felt a lot of different than seeing it on the screen.
His heart had raced at first, shocked beyond words. But he had seen her compassion, her loyalty to her friends, and the deep sadness in her eyes. None of that changed because of what she was.
As the last stream of spirit energy entered Xiao Wu's body and the ring stabilized, she opened her eyes slowly. Her body trembled for a moment—not from pain, but fear. Her gaze darted around until it landed on the spot Li Wei had just stepped from, now becoming visible again.
Xiao Wu gasped. Her body tensed as her widened eyes locked onto his figure. For a moment, she froze — startled, afraid. Her breathing grew shallow.
"You..." Xiao Wu whispered, eyes wide.
Li Wei raised both hands slowly, showing that he meant no harm. "I'm not your enemy."
"How long… have you been there?" Her voice trembled. She rose slowly, hands clenched tightly at her side.
"You saw?" she asked, voice barely audible, like a trembling child caught in a storm.
Li Wei raised his hands, palms open.
"Long enough to know the truth. But I'm not here to hurt you, Xiao Wu. I never would."
Li Wei nodded gently. "I saw everything. And I also understand your feeling and position."
Her shoulders shook as she took a step back, hugging herself. "I didn't want anyone to know. Spirit beasts who turn into humans... We're hunted. Feared. Even killed. If people found out—"
"I won't tell anyone," he said quickly, voice firm. "Xiao Wu, you're not the only one with secrets. Everyone at least has one secret."
She took a step back, her heart pounding in her chest. He knows. He saw. Will he tell the others? Will I have to leave them?
Her lip quivered. "You're going to tell them, aren't you? That I'm... a spirit beast."
Li Wei shook his head. "No. Never. That's your secret to tell — if you ever want to. I'm only here because I want to prove that you're not alone."
Xiao Wu stared at him, eyes filled with disbelief. His sincerity unsettled her even more than his silence. She whispered, "Why?"
She looked up, startled, and Li Wei stand there readying himself. Before it happen by coincidence, now he choose himself to do it. It really felt difference.
As he channel his soul power the spirit rings emerged around him. Not the dull yellow or even basic purple commonly seen in spirit masters his age. No—two shimmering purple rings, followed by two massive black ones, radiating power.
Xiao Wu gasped. "Your... Your spirit ring configuration... That's not possible for someone at your level. This exceed the optimal ring configuration."
"That's one of my secrets. I've never shown anyone these—except one person."
Li Wei nodded. "This combination — I manifested each one myself. Just like you. I didn't hunt down any beast. No blood. No kills."
She looked at him in disbelief.
"How?" she whispered.
He gave her a small smile. "I was born different. The system that guided me — it left after I awakened my spirit, but it left behind a path. I learned how to condense my spirit rings."
"Who else knows about it?" she asked, voice quieter.
"Meng Shu. I helped his granddaughter, Meng Yiran, to get her third spirit ring. It happen by accident, I broke through after the combat so when I gather my soul power and broke through higher rank, my ring manifest it self."
Her expression flickered. Jealousy? Relief? She wasn't sure. But one thing became clear: he was speaking the truth.
Xiao Wu's breathing slowed. Her hands lowered from her shoulders.
"I also know," Li Wei said slowly, "that spirit beasts who become human don't need to kill other beasts to evolve. You can manifest your own rings. Like how humans rely on spirit beasts, you create your own path. A better one, honestly."
Er Ming let out a low rumble behind Xiao Wu, protective, yet non-threatening. Li Wei met his gaze and gave a small nod. "I'm not here to harm her. I just want to help protecting her secret."
Er Ming seemed to understand, turning his gaze back to the forest, continuing his silent guard.
"You helped her…? Why tell me this? Why show me all this?"
Li Wei took a deep breath. "Because you're scared, and I know that feeling. Because you've been hiding who you are for so long you forgot what it means to trust someone. And maybe... maybe I needed someone to trust, too."
He looked at her, eyes calm, no judgment in them.
"I trust you, Xiao Wu. I don't care what you were. I care about who you are right now. For me you're already human."
Her knees gave way, and she sat down hard on the mossy earth. Her shoulders trembled. He knows. He saw everything. Yet… he stays.
Xiao Wu then look down tying to stifles her cry. "You're... different. Thank you." Happy that someone can trust her. Even reveal his own secret, she know how hard it is to keep a secret. It sometimes it crush her as she felt that the people he became friend with seem alien as their understanding differ.
Li Wei smiled. "We all have reasons for hiding who we are. I won't betray yours."
For the first time in what felt like forever, Xiao Wu gave a small, real smile. "Promise?"
"I swear it."
Above them, the leaves rustled gently in the wind. For now, their secrets were safe, and a bond forged in truth was stronger than any spirit ring.
She let out a shaky laugh. "You really are strange, Li Wei."
He smiled. "Takes one to know one."
And under the silent canopy, a quiet bond was forged between two who walked the line between worlds — beast and man, secret and truth, fear and trust.