Chapter 39 The Butterfly Effect
The atmosphere became extremely awkward.
Ye Liuyun sat cross-legged on the rock, without opening his eyes.
He was racing against time to circulate the soul power within his body.
In that battle just now, although he had forcibly exchanged a portion of his 800,000-year-old foundation for soul power.
However, his current physical body was still too weak, and the sudden burst of powerful energy had severely damaged his meridians.
Even a slight deficiency in one's vital essence could make the body appear very weak.
If one remained in a weakened state for an extended period, it would also impact future development.
He needed to quickly use his own soul power to slowly replenish his original life force.
Upon hearing Tang San's question, Ye Liuyun didn't even bother to lift his eyelids, simply uttering a few words indifferently.
"Nothing."
"I ran into a bit of trouble, but I've resolved it."
The seemingly casual phrase "resolved it" could have completely different meanings depending on who heard it.
In Ning Rongrong's ears, that was the low-key way of a hero who doesn't leave his name.
But to Dai Mubai and the others, this was a pre-arranged explanation of "a powerful figure passing by".
"Call..."
When Dai Mubai saw that Ye Liuyun didn't mention that they had been deserters, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders.
Since the other party was not saying anything, it meant they had self-awareness and knew that they were lucky to escape.
He was too embarrassed to say it out loud.
Dai Mubai stood up, patted Tang San on the shoulder, and tried to change the subject.
"It's good that you're alright, Little San."
"By the way, on your way back... did you pass by that area?"
Dai Mubai pointed in the direction they had fled from, his eyes filled with a hint of inquiry.
"Are those spider swarms still there?"
Tang San nodded, his expression solemn:
"We've passed by."
"Almost all of them are dead."
Tang San still felt lingering fear when he recalled that scene.
"Thousands of Cave Demon Spiders lay dead everywhere. Even the ten-thousand-year-old Cave Demon Spider King was torn in two. The scene... was horrific."
"It must be that a powerful expert happened to be passing by."
"Even a Soul King, or even a Soul Emperor, might not dare to say that they could survive an attack by thousands of Cave Demon Spiders."
"The most terrifying thing about the beast tide is not the individual strength, but the number. Even ordinary strong people will be worn down to death."
Tang San crossed his arms and began to explain his analysis to the crowd.
"Exactly! You have no idea how terrifying it was. Some senior passing by must have been unable to stand it and stepped in to clear the area."
Ma Hongjun made a deep guess.
"I guess it might be that Dragon and Snake couple. Isn't that Dragon Lord a Soul Douluo?"
As he said this, he glanced at Ye Liuyun, who was meditating with his eyes closed, and his eyes showed a hint of contempt and sourness.
He whispered to Dai Mubai and Oscar.
"As for Ye Liuyun, he must have desperately tried to escape and find a place to hide."
"He was saved by the intervention of that senior."
"Then, after the senior left, he came out and pretended that it was no big deal."
"I have to say, his acting skills are far superior to his actual talent."
Ye Liuyun didn't even lift his eyelids at the sour whispers between Ma Hongjun and Oscar.
A lion would not turn around because a dog barks.
He was carefully repairing his damaged meridians using his Endless Regeneration talent.
Just then.
"Cough cough..."
A weak cough broke the awkward silence.
After being unconscious for a long time, Zhao Wuji finally regained full consciousness.
With Dai Mubai's help, he struggled to sit up, looked at the group of students around him who were disheveled but still relatively well-behaved, and let out a long sigh of relief.
"They're all still alive... that's good."
Zhao Wuji rubbed his chest, which was still aching slightly, and asked in a deep voice.
"Mu Bai, what's going on?"
Dai Mubai quickly stepped forward and vividly described what everyone had just said.
"...It seems that a senior figure intervened and wiped out the group of Cave Demon Spiders, and in the process, rescued Ye Liuyun. Little San just returned as well, saying that he failed to catch up with the Titan Giant Ape."
"As for Xiao Wu..." Dai Mubai's expression darkened, "there's still no news."
After listening, Zhao Wuji frowned and finally sighed helplessly.
"A soul beast of the Titan Giant Ape level is beyond our ability to contend with. Since we couldn't catch up, perhaps it's fate."
"It's too dangerous here. We're all wounded. We can't stay here any longer."
"Prepare to retreat and return to the academy for further discussion."
Just as everyone was feeling heavy-hearted and preparing to leave,
"Cousin, everyone!"
A clear and melodious voice suddenly came from deep within the woods.
Everyone was shocked and turned around in disbelief.
A girl dressed in pink hopped and skipped out of the bushes.
Although she was a little dirty and her hair was a bit messy, she looked to be in great spirits and showed no signs of injury.
"Xiao Wu?"
Tang San suddenly turned around, the gloom in his eyes instantly vanished, and he rushed forward despite his injuries, grabbing Xiao Wu's shoulders and looking her up and down.
"You... you're alright? That's wonderful! That's so good!"
"I'm so worried about you."
"I'd rather be the one arrested."
"At that time, I chased after it without hesitation."
Xiao Wu was surrounded by the crowd, who all asked her what was going on.
Xiao Wu blinked her big eyes, having already prepared a set of words.
"I don't know what happened. That big guy grabbed me and ran for a while, then suddenly I heard a sound like a cow mooing. It seemed very scared, so it threw me off and ran away."
"I was lucky; I fell into a haystack and wasn't hurt."
As she spoke, Xiao Wu gave an embarrassed smile, and a bright purple soul ring slowly rose from beneath her feet.
"Moreover, there happened to be a thousand-year-old soul beast next to me that had been stunned. So I killed it and absorbed its soul ring."
"I'm a Great Soul Master now!"
The entire audience was stunned.
Then came a burst of exclamations.
"My God! This luck is unbelievable!"
Oscar was so envious his eyes turned red.
"To be captured by a Titan Giant Ape and still return unscathed, even getting a third spirit ring for free? This is truly..."
"That's what they call good fortune coming your way!"
Tang San was so excited that he was almost incoherent. He also released his martial soul, with three soul rings, yellow, yellow, and purple, shining brightly together.
"Xiao Wu, look! I also broke through to level 30 on my way to find you, and I was lucky enough to find a dying soul beast. We are truly destined to meet!"
He even raised his hand and unleashed his third soul skill, Blue Silver Bind - Spider Web, to give everyone a performance.
Dai Mubai and the others around him also offered their blessings, and the atmosphere instantly changed from dead silence to enthusiasm.
However.
Amidst this joyful laughter.
Ye Liuyun, who had been resting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
Those deep, dark eyes looked past the crowd and landed on the purple spirit ring at Tang San's feet.
Things were different now.
Ye Liuyun's sensitivity to the aura of soul beasts far surpassed that of ordinary people.
In the original story, the human-faced demon spider that Tang San absorbed was an extremely ferocious mutant that had devoured countless of its own kind.
It was precisely because of the spider's uniqueness and its extraordinary age that Tang San was endowed with the external soul bone, the Eight Spider Lances, which was the biggest advantage in the early stages.
But now, Tang San's aura was stable, and although his spirit rings were not produced by the Human-Faced Demon Spider, their quality was mediocre.
Ye Liuyun sneered inwardly.
He understood.
With a little deduction, he understood the cause and effect.
In the original story, Oscar obtained the spirit ring of the Phoenix Tail Crested Serpent, which enabled him to create the Rapid Flight Mushroom Sausage.
Tang San relied on his flying ability to chase in a straight line at top speed, which is how he collided with the injured human-faced demon spider at that specific location and time.
But what about now?
Because of his previous intervention, Oscar failed to obtain the Phoenix Tail Crested Serpent, and naturally, he also lost his flying soul skill.
Tang San could only run on two legs.
The speed was too slow, and the route was off course.
He never even had a chance to encounter that mutated spider.
What he encountered was merely an ordinary remnant of a defeated army that had been missed during the massacre of the spider swarm.
One step behind leads to another.
This was what's known as the butterfly effect?
Ye Liuyun's gaze deepened.
Whether in the original story or now, whenever Tang San encountered a suitable spirit beast while pursuing Xiao Wu, his first reaction was to stop and absorb its spirit ring.
He kept saying, "Xiao Wu, if you die, I won't live on alone."
In reality, at the most critical moment of the rescue, he chose to improve his own capabilities first.
This subconscious selfishness was laid bare at this moment.
Perhaps he felt that only with power could he better save people.
In Ye Liuyun's opinion, it was simply a choice made after weighing the pros and cons.
He cared more about the soul ring that had been offered to him than about Xiao Wu's safety.
Ye Liuyun closed his eyes again, no longer looking at the people who were pouring out their hearts to each other.
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[end of the chapter]