41: Chapter 41 Su Ling leads the strike, Yu Xiaogang leaves

Su Ling's single sentence seemed to have turned the tide of the situation.

A Spirit Ancestor punching a Spirit Emperor to death—who on the continent would believe that?

This forced Iron Fist to suspect that their employer had hidden something.

After all, the gold coins for killing a Spirit Ancestor were far too easy to earn.

Dai Mubai said, "He really is a Spirit Ancestor. I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, make him release his Spirit and show his spirit ring."

"Big Brother, don't waste your breath on him. Regardless, Old Six is dead, and we must avenge him. As for this guy, we'll deal with him later."

"Old Three, you're right. We must avenge Old Six. Old Five, you Guard this guy. We'll handle everything else once we're done."

"If you haven't lied to us, I won't blame you. But if you really did lie to us, hmph..."

"Everyone, attack together!"

Just as they were preparing to make a move, Su Ling also moved.

Facing four Spirit Emperors alone—two were level 63, one was level 65, and the strongest, Iron Fist, was level 68.

The four surrounded Su Ling. Two were attack system Spirit Emperors, with Spirits of Iron Fist and Blood-Toothed Boar respectively.

One was an agility-attack system Spirit Emperor, with a leopard Spirit.

The last Spirit Emperor was likely a control system, with some kind of water grass Spirit. This type of Spirit Master was the most troublesome.

Seeing this, Su Ling took out his hundred-refined steel blade.

The next second, vines emerged from the ground, surrounding Su Ling from all directions, while the other three charged at Su Ling through the gaps in the water grass.

After all, they were part of the same mercenary group, so they certainly had some tacit understanding.

Several vines wrapped around Su Ling, trying to control him. Fortunately, Su Ling had already taken out his hundred-refined steel blade; at a time like this, a blade was definitely more useful than fists.

Wielding the steel blade against the water grass vines, Su Ling swung down forcefully. The attacking vines were severed by Su Ling's blade, and he continued swinging the long blade, quickly dealing with all the incoming vines.

However, after dealing with the vines, the other three were already very close to Su Ling.

A massive Iron Fist struck toward Su Ling, and the attacks of the other two Spirit Emperors were also poised and ready.

If Su Ling took this attack head-on, the other two attacks would land on him simultaneously.

Therefore, Su Ling chose not to clash head-on and used his Carefree Travel movement technique to dodge.

Just as he had anticipated, the moment he dodged the attack, the other two's Spirit Abilities landed.

Su Ling had no choice but to dodge again, while simultaneously preventing himself from being controlled by the other Spirit Emperor.

"Dare to kill someone from our Iron Fist Mercenary Group? Even a Spirit Saint will undoubtedly die," Iron Fist said coldly.

This wasn't him bragging. Previously, their Iron Fist Mercenary Group had seven members. One of them had been killed for angering a Spirit Saint, and the remaining six had successfully completed their revenge through coordination.

The four's dense attacks left Su Ling exhausted from dodging, making it difficult to counterattack.

After all, these four were all Spirit Emperors, and they had years of accumulated tacit cooperation.

If it were one-on-one, Su Ling wouldn't fear any of them.

But facing four people besieging him at the same time increased the difficulty by far more than just a little.

"Boss, this kid's movements are too strange. All our attacks have been dodged by him."

"Old Four, use that move of yours," Iron Fist said.

"Alright, Boss! I was just thinking the same thing."

Seeing six spirit rings light up on his body, countless vines began to extend out with him as the center.

This Spirit Ability seemed to be weaving a cage to trap Su Ling inside.

Of course, Su Ling wouldn't sit idly by and wait for death. He took this opportunity to put away his steel blade and release his Spirit, the Five Elements Battle Bow.

Immediately, he fired an arrow at the fastest speed toward the control system Spirit Emperor not far away.

"Crap!"

"Old Four, watch out!"

The three of them definitely couldn't stop Su Ling's arrow in time, because Old Four's sixth Spirit Ability had a restriction: the user could not move.

If the person moved, the sixth Spirit Ability would automatically break.

Seeing the sharp arrow flying toward him.

"Huh, Boss, this arrow's trajectory is off. It won't hit..."

Before he could finish, as the arrow passed by him, it suddenly curved and pierced through his neck.

An arrow that could curve, and it wasn't even a Spirit Ability—where had they ever seen such an attack technique?

A Spirit Emperor's body wasn't made of bronze or iron; being hit in a vital spot by Su Ling was lethal.

Before the others could react, Su Ling quickly retreated, breaking out of their encirclement and running toward Soto City.

"Chase him! We must kill him!" Iron Fist was furious. In just this short while, he had lost two teammates.

"Old Five, if we haven't returned within an hour, kill him."

With that, the three of them chased after Su Ling together.

Su Ling had taken them by surprise, killing two people in one go—one with his fists and one with an arrow.

The opponents likely hadn't obtained much information from Dai Mubai, and Dai Mubai probably thought that six Spirit Emperors were more than enough to kill him, so he hadn't said much more.

And Su Ling understood that after this arrow, the opponents would definitely be wary.

It wouldn't be so easy for him to kill them by surprise again later.

Therefore, when he had the chance to escape, Su Ling ran away immediately.

Clearly, they didn't let Su Ling go and chased him the whole way.

While running, Su Ling fired arrows backward to slow down their pursuit.

Due to the power of that previous arrow, the group was clearly hesitant, and both sides remained in a stalemate at a distance of seventy or eighty meters, neither able to do anything to the other.

Half an hour later, the situation still hadn't changed at all.

"Boss, this guy is too cunning. He's definitely not a Spirit Ancestor, and he has quite a few tricks up his sleeve. We must have been set up by that guy. If we keep chasing, we might be in danger too."

"Chase, keep chasing! I don't believe the three of us can't kill that kid. Everyone just be careful."

"Boss, maybe we should stop chasing. Second Brother is right; if we continue, we might fall into an even bigger trap. I suspect someone is targeting us."

"Think about it. In the middle of the night, there's such a low-difficulty, high-reward mission that we just happened to take. Old Four and Old Six are dead; this mission definitely has something fishy about it."

"Also, we've come so far away. Is Old Five in danger being left alone?"

"This..." Iron Fist hesitated.

However, at this moment, Su Ling, whom they were chasing, suddenly stopped.

Beside Su Ling, another woman appeared.

"Boss, look, they really do have reinforcements."

As for Su Ling, he had just happened to run into Liu Erlong, who had run out of Shrek Academy.

Upon meeting, Su Ling immediately said that someone was hunting him down.

At this moment, the heartbroken Liu Erlong turned her grief into slaughter. The killing intent that had been buried in the Killing Corner for so many years erupted in an instant.

"You dare to hunt down my person? You deserve to die," Liu Erlong said. After releasing her Spirit, seven spirit rings shone brightly in the night.

"A... A Spirit Saint!"

Iron Fist said, "Your analysis was right. This is definitely a trap set for us. Old Four might already be..."

"Boss, let's run!"

"Nowhere to run! All of you go to hell!" Liu Erlong charged directly at them.

Su Ling also held the Five Elements Battle Bow; escaping wouldn't be that easy.

The erupting Liu Erlong went all out from the start, her hands full of lethal moves, not dragging things out at all.

She used her seventh Spirit Ability, Martial Soul Avatar, transforming into a fire dragon and easily killing the three of them. Su Ling didn't even get to fire a single arrow.

Perhaps it was the pleasure brought by the slaughter, but the previously heartbroken Liu Erlong was in a much better mood now.

"Su Ling, you snuck out to kill Dai Mubai, didn't you? These people must be from some mercenary group," Liu Erlong asked.

"Yes, Sister Liu, you are right. It's just that I still lack experience, and I'm not very familiar with Soto City. I didn't find Dai Mubai, but instead, I let him find people to counterattack against me."

Speaking of this, Su Ling felt a bit ashamed; he had still thought of things too simply.

"It's okay. If it weren't for that sentence from Yu Xiaogang, I think you definitely would have killed Dai Mubai on the spot. Sigh... you shouldn't have listened to him. If anyone comes to hunt you down in the future, I will help you block them," Liu Erlong said with a serious expression.

"Then thank you, Sister Liu. One of them is still left guarding Dai Mubai. I'll go back and kill him now," Su Ling said.

"I'll go with you."

Su Ling set off, and Liu Erlong followed behind.

Half an hour later!

When Su Ling and Liu Erlong returned to the forest where they had fought earlier, they found three corpses on the ground.

Two of them had been killed by Su Ling.

The other one wasn't Dai Mubai, but the Spirit Emperor who had been left behind to Guard Dai Mubai.

"Sister Liu, he still managed to escape," Su Ling said with some regret. There was no need to pursue him at this time.

Liu Erlong said, "Let's go, we're going back. It's not too late to kill this Dai Mubai later."

With that, the two could only return to Shrek.

"Sister Liu, you seem very unhappy. Is there something on your mind?" Su Ling said.

"No, nothing!" Liu Erlong responded.

"If there is, why not tell me? Sometimes, unhappy things feel much better once you pour them out. Sister Liu, you can give it a try. I'm all ears," Su Ling said.

Then, while speaking, Su Ling activated the Listen to Advice skill.

The theoretical probability was thirty percent.

It was also possible that Liu Erlong herself felt that Su Ling was right, and Su Ling actually succeeded in activating the skill with a thirty percent probability.

"Alright, I'll tell you a story. This story was from over twenty years ago."

"That year, I met Flender and Yu Xiaogang in the Spirit Beast Forest."

...

As they walked, Liu Erlong narrated the story of the three of them.

Unknowingly, Liu Erlong changed how she addressed Yu Xiaogang, from the original Xiaogang to Yu Xiaogang.

Finally, Liu Erlong also revealed the heartfelt confession Yu Xiaogang had made that evening.

Speaking of this, Liu Erlong stopped, tears falling uncontrollably, and she actually leaned directly onto Su Ling's shoulder.

"Sister Liu, let the past be the past. At least it has unlocked the knot in your heart from these past twenty-plus years. Instead of being sad about the past, it's better to look toward the future."

"The future?" Liu Erlong hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Do I still have a future? I'm over forty; I'm no longer young."

Speaking of this, Liu Erlong fell silent.

Su Ling said, "Sister Liu, so what if you're forty? Forty is the prime age for striving. Many Titled Douluo only achieved their titles in their sixties or seventies. You still have twenty or thirty years. You are only at level 75; there is still a lot of room for improvement."

"Sister Liu, I have a gift for you. I hope it will be of some help to you."

After saying this, Su Ling took out a 30,000-year fire-attribute left arm bone.

"This is? A Spirit Bone!"

Liu Erlong naturally knew the rarity of Spirit Bones; even the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect didn't have many. The Spirit Bone that Su Ling had just taken out radiated a faint fire-attribute energy.

The fire-attribute energy of this Spirit Bone was very pure, and looking at the Spirit Bone itself, it was definitely a top-quality Spirit Bone.

"Su Ling, you... you really want to give this to me?" Liu Erlong looked at Su Ling in surprise.

"Yes! This Spirit Bone is the most suitable for you, Sister Liu, and I can't think of anyone else to give it to," Su Ling nodded.

"But you could absorb this Spirit Bone too. Your Five Elements Battle Bow encompasses all Five Elements, so you could use the fire attribute as well," Liu Erlong said.

"No, let's give it to you, Sister Liu. I believe I can obtain better ones in the future, as long as you don't mind it. Besides, didn't you say you wanted to protect me? Because of my mistake, I missed the best opportunity to kill Dai Mubai. With this Spirit Bone, you will be able to protect us better," Su Ling said.

"Su Ling, alright. Since that's the case, I'll accept it."

"You're right. My heart's knot is now untied, and I haven't wronged anyone. I should look toward the future and aim for a Breakthrough to the Titled Douluo rank."

"Su Ling, thank you! From now on, you are my own younger brother. If anyone dares to touch you, I will risk my life against them," Liu Erlong said with a serious expression.

[Ding... Liu Erlong favorability +10, obtained white treasure chest *3, yellow treasure chest *3, purple treasure chest *1]

With just this one act, Liu Erlong's favorability directly broke through to over 70.

New skills were also reorganized.

[Ding... Goddess binding to Liu Erlong successful!]

[Bound Goddess: Liu Erlong]

[Goddess Comprehensive Value: 93]

[Current favorability: 74 (somewhat like)]

[Binding Effect: The host can obtain 20% of the bound Goddess's daily Cultivation effect without reducing the bound Goddess's Cultivation speed.]

[Binding Skill 1: Listen to Advice (Can be activated once per day; the bound Goddess has a 40% chance of following the host's advice)]

[Binding Skill 2: Guard (Passive skill; when the host encounters danger and Liu Erlong is nearby, her combat power can increase by 100%)]

The new skills seemed quite good. This was the first time skills specifically for Goddesses had been reorganized, and Su Ling could not use them directly yet.

Increasing combat power by 100%—wouldn't that be comparable to the Support of a Titled Douluo-level Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Spirit?

It could instantly allow the level 75 Liu Erlong to reach the Spirit Douluo level.

Liu Erlong took the Spirit Bone, and the way she looked at Su Ling changed; she was very fond of him.

Just ask, who else could gift her a Spirit Bone? Such a precious item.

"Sigh... It's a pity I'm older; otherwise, I would really want to pursue this."

No, at this moment, Liu Erlong seemed to understand that sentence Yu Xiaogang had once said.

Starting a new relationship could indeed heal her wounded self.

Thinking of her age, and the relationship between Su Ling and Zhu Zhuqing, Liu Erlong felt that it was impossible for her; her relationship with Su Ling should just be that of siblings.

"Right, it must be a sibling relationship."

"I was just overthinking earlier. How could I possibly like a child who isn't even half my age?"

On the way back, Liu Erlong kept reminding herself.

Yet, as she kept denying it to herself, she was also emphasizing it to herself even more.

Consequently, Liu Erlong's favorability toward Su Ling increased again.

[Ding... Liu Erlong favorability +2, obtained yellow treasure chest *1, purple treasure chest *1]

Liu Erlong's change also confirmed his hypothesis: for someone who already has a person they like, increasing favorability is difficult; the deeper the love, the greater the difficulty.

But once the relationship breaks, this difficulty drops sharply, which is why Liu Erlong's favorability increased so quickly.

Of course, it was still because Su Ling had brought out the Spirit Bone; after all, who wouldn't be dazzled by such a Spirit Bone?

After the two returned to the academy, there was only a little over two hours left until dawn. Liu Erlong told Flender and immediately went into seclusion for two days to absorb the Spirit Bone.

Su Ling returned to his room and also began to Cultivate. After accepting the accumulated Cultivation effects from the Goddesses over these three months, by dawn, his Soul Power had successfully risen to level 46.

Through the events of the evening, Su Ling also decided that he must first raise his Soul Power.

He could already easily handle fighting above his level, but he still couldn't handle fighting a group of people above his level. Soul Power was the foundation.

The more Goddesses followed him in the future, the more dangerous it would be. The strong are respected, and only the strong can Guard their own women. He and the Goddesses should mutually achieve one another.

The Goddesses make him stronger, and then he, in turn, nurtures the Goddesses.

"Goddesses, I cannot just bind randomly. It is best if we can become gods together; I cannot let a tragedy like Bai Chenxiang's happen."

[Ding... Congratulations to the host for unlocking a new System function: Unbind Goddess. After unbinding, the Goddess's favorability drops directly below 60.]

"System, I was just thinking about it. You actually have this function!"

"Brother Su, are you up? It's time for class!" While he was thinking, Zhu Zhuqing's voice came from outside the door; she was there to remind Su Ling that it was time for class.

Su Ling got up and opened the door, saying, "Zhuqing, good morning. Whose class is it today?"

"It's Great Master's class. He has been teaching us for the past few months," Zhu Zhuqing said.

"His class? Is it weight-bearing Cultivation in the morning?" Su Ling asked.

"Yes, it is weight-bearing Cultivation," Zhu Zhuqing nodded and said.

"Zhuqing, I won't be going to his class. You all should go."

"Oh, Brother Su is already a Spirit Ancestor, so there is indeed no need to be like us. However, if Brother Su isn't going, then I won't go either," Zhu Zhuqing said.

"Zhuqing, why aren't you going?" Su Ling asked with a curious expression.

Zhu Zhuqing said, "I feel that you really dislike him, Brother Su. Moreover, he previously said your talent was lacking and that he wanted to focus on cultivating Tang San and have you Support Tang San. I don't agree with that viewpoint."

"So, if Brother Su isn't going, I won't go either," Zhu Zhuqing said with a smile.

Zhu Zhuqing now had a new life and no longer had any burdens. In front of the person she liked, Zhu Zhuqing was very natural and didn't have a trace of her usual coldness.

"Zhuqing, why aren't you leaving yet?" Ning Rongrong had also arrived.

"Rongrong, Brother Su and I have decided not to attend that so-called Great Master's class. He has absolutely no skill," Zhu Zhuqing said.

"Is that so? Then I won't go either!" Ning Rongrong decided immediately. The little witch was still the same little witch, joining the three of them in skipping class.

Therefore, when they gathered in the morning, there were only four people in class: Tang San, Xiao Wu, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang didn't say much and just taught the four of them.

Flender also found Yu Xiaogang very unpleasant at this moment and allowed the three of them to skip class.

But Su Ling didn't slack off; he brought Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong to Cultivate together. By the next day, Ma Hongjun and Oscar didn't come either, and in the end, only Tang San and Xiao Wu were left.

It was so awkward that Yu Xiaogang couldn't even keep a straight face.

On the playground, Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San and said, "Little San, Shrek can no longer accommodate me. I plan to leave this place and go to a new high-level Spirit Master academy. Are you willing to go with me?"

"Teacher, I... are you really leaving?" Tang San asked.

Yu Xiaogang nodded and said, "What else can I do if I don't leave? If you are unwilling, I won't force you!"

Over these past two days, Yu Xiaogang had been regretting everything. He regretted how he had laid out all his true thoughts that night, and in front of Liu Erlong and Flender no less.

He no longer had the face to see these two. On top of that, he could no longer manage Su Ling, that troublemaker; there was simply no place for him here.

What else could he do but leave! Was he supposed to stay and be humiliated?

These past few days, Tang San had also thought a lot, including the issue of his Blue Silver Grass following the life attribute path.

However, this Great Master had indeed been very good to him and had taught him a lot.

In his view, the Blue Silver Grass was actually not useless. Wasn't poison exactly what he was good at? Why follow this path of the life attribute?

"Alright, Teacher, wherever you go, I will go. I will go with you," Tang San decided.

"Brother, wherever you go, I will go too," Xiao Wu said quickly.

Although Xiao Wu was somewhat reluctant to leave Shrek, her heart was currently leaning toward Tang San.

"Good, very good. As expected of my Disciple. Don't worry, I will definitely give everything I have to help you grow," Yu Xiaogang was very happy that Tang San and Xiao Wu still chose to go with him.

"Teacher, when are we leaving?" Tang San asked.

Yu Xiaogang said, "Let's make it today. I have also thought of a good place. I'll give you one hour to go and say goodbye to the others."

"Alright!"

... One incense stick of time later, at the place where Su Ling was bringing Zhu Zhuqing and the others to Cultivate.

"Tang San, Xiao Wu, are you really going to leave?" Su Ling asked.

"Yes, Brother Su, thank you for taking care of Xiao Wu and me. Teacher is leaving, so we have no choice but to leave with him."

"Since that is the case, we respect your choice. It's just that when we meet again in the future, we might be opponents on the competition field," Su Ling said.

"Brother Su, I definitely won't hold back," Tang San said.

"Neither will I!" Su Ling said.

It wouldn't be a pity for Tang San to leave, but it would be a great pity for Xiao Wu to leave. Su Ling was currently considering whether to give her the Yearning Heartbroken Red.

At this moment, Xiao Wu's favorability was only at 27 points, still far from 60. After all, Xiao Wu only had Tang San in her heart right now.

Was he just going to give up on Xiao Wu like this?

After a while, Su Ling gave himself an answer: absolutely not.

"Xiao Wu, is it convenient to chat alone?" Su Ling asked.

"Brother Su, is something the matter?" Xiao Wu asked. At the same time, Tang San also looked at Su Ling; what could he possibly have to talk about with Xiao Wu?

Xiao Wu was still somewhat naive and said, "Brother Su, sure."

Bringing Xiao Wu with him, Su Ling went to a remote area of the academy.

"Xiao Wu, don't get excited about what I'm about to say. Control your heart," Su Ling said.

"Brother Su, go ahead. My heart can withstand anything," Xiao Wu said, patting her rather well-developed chest.

Su Ling directly took out the Yearning Heartbroken Red and said, "Xiao Wu, keep this on your person from now on. With it, even a Titled Douluo won't be able to see through your true identity."

Instantly, Xiao Wu's face turned pale; she was clearly frightened.

"Brother Su, you knew?"

Su Ling nodded and said, "I knew a long time ago. And you are friends with that Titan Giant Ape, aren't you?"

"Yes!" Xiao Wu nodded, looking embarrassed.

"Brother Su, can this really cover my aura?" Xiao Wu asked curiously.

Su Ling said, "It definitely can. However, you must promise me not to tell Tang San, and you cannot let Tang San see this item either. Consider this item borrowed from me; you must return it to me in the future. Can you do that?"

"I can!" Xiao Wu said with a serious expression. This concerned her life safety; she couldn't afford to be careless.

"Alright, that's all I have to say. Protect yourself well in the future," Su Ling said.

"Thank you, Brother Su!" Xiao Wu said.

[Ding... Xiao Wu favorability +8, obtained white treasure chest *4, yellow treasure chest *1]

Xiao Wu had just walked a few steps when she turned back and asked, "Brother Su, you aren't plotting anything against me, are you?"

Su Ling said, "Why would I plot against you? If I wanted your Spirit Bone, do you think you would still be alive? Cultivate well in the future and strive to reach maturity early."

"Brother Su, you are the best person to me in this World besides Mom and Brother. From now on, I will call you Big Brother, hee hee!"

[Ding... Xiao Wu favorability +7, obtained white treasure chest *3, yellow treasure chest *1]

After packing the Yearning Heartbroken Red, it was in a pouch Su Ling had taken out for Xiao Wu to carry on her person.

Without any worries, Xiao Wu looked very happy. This kind of happiness was something Tang San had rarely seen on Xiao Wu.

Watching Xiao Wu return, Tang San was puzzled. What exactly had Su Ling said to Xiao Wu?

A strong sense of curiosity surged in his heart, but he was too embarrassed to ask directly.

He could only bury it in his heart and wait until they left Shrek Academy to talk about it.

At noon that day, Yu Xiaogang left with Tang San and Xiao Wu.

Meanwhile, Liu Erlong had successfully absorbed the 30,000-year Spirit Bone Su Ling had given her.

Because the quality of the Spirit Bone was truly excellent, and Liu Erlong had been stuck at level 75, accumulating for a long time.

This time, it successfully allowed her to break through to level 76.