As Wang Lin was about to attack, he backed off. Tang San was struggling to absorb the spirit ring that reached the limit he could bear.
"Even though you attacked me unwarranted, I can't kill a human just because you tried to kill me," Wang Lin decided against killing a human
Wang Lin looked at Tang San once again to remember his face and then shifted his attention toward the Man-Faced Demon Spider.
The space in his system remained empty, so he stored the corpse of the Demon Spider in his system.
"Thank you for the gift. Next time we meet, I will definitely repay you," Wang Lin spoke, but all that came out were a couple of hisses.
Before he could spend any more time, he heard sounds of activity in the distance. At the speed it was moving toward them, they would reach in a couple of minutes.
He slithered toward the corpse of the Bright Light Deer and stored it in his system.
Wang Lin made a quick escape from the area and moved toward the core of the Star Dou Forest.
**Tang San’s POV**
The Shrek group and Zhao Wujii arrived at the location where Tang San was absorbing the ring.
They sighed in relief upon finding Tang San with no visible harm.
"Teacher Zhao, Xiao San seems to be absorbing a spirit ring, but I don't find any corpse of a spirit beast nearby," said Dai Mubai.
"Even though there is no corpse, look at the purple blood on the ground. There should have been a corpse here," replied Oscar.
"We should be thankful that whatever took the corpse of the beast left Xiao San alone without attacking," said Zhao Wuji. "We will move out from this place as soon as Xiao San finishes absorbing the spirit ring."
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They gathered around Tang San and stood guard while he absorbed the spirit ring. As time passed, Tang San seemed to struggle more.
The nerves on his forehead bulged with pressure, and his skin turned red. As the sun rose in the sky, Zhao Wuji began to worry; Tang San seemed to struggle more.
“What if Xiao San absorbed a spirit ring that crossed the limit?” said Ma Hongjun.
“Mubai, how much time has passed since we separated from Xiao San?” asked Zhao Wujii.
“Teacher, more than six hours have passed since we were attacked by the Titan Giant Ape,” said Oscar.
“We will wait a couple more hours. If Xiao San doesn’t wake up, I will forcefully stop his ring absorption process. It may injure his martial spirit, but it is better than dying,” said Zhao Wuji.
Time passed with no result, as Tang San struggled, his veins bulging and blood streaming down his nose.
"I should stop the absorption; it would be too late to do anything later," said Zhao Wuji as he walked toward Tang San.
There was a rustling sound near their camp. Everyone turned their attention to the source of the noise.
Emerging from the darkness was Xiao Wu, holding the Pink Bone Rabbit in her bosom. She walked with a worried look on her face as she glanced at Tang San.
"Teacher, what happened to my brother, and why is there blood all over his body?" asked Xiao Wu.
Everyone's face reflected surprise upon seeing Xiao Wu alive.
"Xiao San decided to absorb a spirit ring after escaping from the group to rescue you. We think he might have absorbed a spirit ring older than his body could bear."
"We were thinking of forcefully stopping the absorption process. But Xiao Wu, how is it that you are here when the Titan Giant Ape took you into the forest?" questioned Zhao Wujii.
"I don't know, Teacher. One second I was in the grip of the Titan Giant Ape, then I heard a roar from deep inside the forest. The Titan Giant Ape dropped me halfway and ran away by itself," replied Xiao Wu, guilt evident on her face.
"If you heard a roar from the core of the Star Dou Forest, it must be the Great Beast Azure Bull Python; only it could scare away the Titan Giant Ape," said Zhao Wuji.
"Whatever the reason, it's good that you are safe, Xiao Wu. Everyone was worried about you," said Ning Rongrong, embracing Xiao Wu.
"I'm safe, but because of me, my brother is in danger. Please don’t die, brother," said Xiao Wu, tears in her eyes.
Tang San, who was struggling to absorb the spirit ring, began to stabilize and finished absorbing the ring a couple of minutes after hearing Xiao Wu's voice.
When Tang San woke up, he gazed at Xiao Wu the moment he opened his eyes. He rose to his feet and took Xiao Wu in his embrace, frantically apologizing for not protecting her.
Upon seeing that Tang San was safe, everyone came together for a group embrace.
“You bastard! Do you not care for my words? You rebellious student! Why did you run away, and why did you risk absorbing a spirit ring over 2,000 years old?” yelled Zhao Wuji in fury.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. All I could think of in that moment was rescuing Xiao Wu. Please forgive me. How about this: you can keep all the snake meat for dinner,” said Tang San.
“Do you think it’s time for dinner now?” said Zhao Wuji, pointing at the rising sun.
“But, Senior Zhao, where do you think the snake that Xiao San fought is? I also wanted to eat it! Just imagine the taste of a roasted snake with a little spice; just the thought of it is making my mouth water!” asked Ma Hongjun.
“How would I know? It must be buried under all the debris that the Titan Giant Ape flipped over,” replied Zhao Wuji, holding Ma Hongjun's head in his grip.
“The adventures we had in a couple of hours are more than enough for this trip. Let’s pack up and go back to the academy,” said Zhao Wuji as they set out toward Shrek Academy.
Unknown to them, the meal they were talking about was hunting a plump poisonous frog for its next meal.