Absorbing a Man-Faced Demon Spider was much like Zhuqing's absorption of the Magic Dragon; such superior spirit beasts often left a trace of their residual soul within the spirit ring. In the original story, Tang San suffered greatly from this, but he was only twelve. As a Spirit Master grows, their physical strength and skeletal development naturally improve.
This was especially true for a girl like Meng Yiran, who underwent daily hidden weapon and physical training. Her physical fitness wasn't much weaker than the original Tang San's, but her mental strength was a different story—it might not hold up against the Man-Faced Demon Spider's mental erosion.
"Brother Fu Ye, do you think Meng Yiran can succeed?" Zhu Zhuqing, being a kind-hearted girl at core, felt a pang of sympathy seeing the pain and endurance written all over Yiran's face.
"She'll be fine. I checked earlier; her physical strength is high. As long as she can withstand the mental assault of the residual soul, there won't be any problems."
Hearing their conversation, Duke Long and the Snake Grandmother broke into a cold sweat. "Your Excellency, my granddaughter..."
Duke Long couldn't sit still. Soul Vibration was usually something that only appeared with ten-thousand-year spirit beasts! "Don't worry," Fu Ye reassured them. "The soul backlash from a thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider is nowhere near as potent as the vibration from a ten-thousand-year beast."
An hour later, Meng Yiran was drenched in sweat, a puddle forming around her. Her brow was furrowed, and her face was deathly pale.
Inside her Sea of Consciousness: A massive, grotesque spider loomed. It had eight spindly legs, each over three meters long and sharp as spears. Its black carapace gleamed like metallic armor, reflecting an eerie purple light. On its underbelly, white markings formed a hideous human face.
The spider was furious. It had been knocked unconscious out of nowhere, only to wake up and find someone trying to absorb it! I'm more wronged than Dou E! it seemed to hiss.
Meng Yiran's spirit form was currently trapped in a web as strong as steel wire. She had lost the struggle. Sensing this through his own methods, Fu Ye stood up and walked toward her.
"Tsk, this little thing is quite stubborn," he muttered, placing a finger on Yiran's forehead.
Hum! A streak of nine-colored radiance surged into her spirit sea like a dragon crossing a river.
Inside the spirit sea, Yiran felt a terrifyingly majestic gaze locking onto her just as the spider's fangs were a fraction of an inch from her neck.
"ROAR!!!"
A majestic dragon roar filled the space. Yiran witnessed a sight she would never forget: a dragon so massive it blotted out the sun, looking down with pure arrogance and disdain. It felt as if her entire spirit sea was being held in the palm of this nine-colored dragon.
With a sudden flash of light, the spider's residual soul was incinerated into ash. The dragon vanished, and the spirit sea returned to normal.
In the outside world, Fu Ye withdrew his finger. Behind Meng Yiran, three rings emerged: Yellow, Yellow, Purple! The 1,750-year ring was successfully absorbed.
"Phew~ cough, cough!"
As her consciousness returned, Yiran panted heavily. "That... was that dragon in my mind your doing?" she asked, stubbornly forcing herself to stand.
"Mhm. Your willpower is decent—I'd give it an 85. But in my team, you'll need to focus on training that weak mental power of yours."
Fu Ye looked at her. In terms of mental power (if compared to the Dragon King Legend era), she was probably around the 300 mark. He couldn't help but think about how low the combat power scaling seemed in the third era. Tang Wulin, who had the Golden Dragon King bloodline, nearly wiped out against a hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider with a team of seven!
Man-Faced Demon Spider (Era 3): "Tsk, line up and come at me one by one!"Era 1: "I think I can counter-kill it." Era 2: "Can't win, but I can escape." Era 3: "Just destroy me already; I can't fight it and I can't run."
"Thank you!" Meng Yiran said with lingering fear. "If not for you, that spider would have eaten my soul."
"It's fine. I'm your lead instructor now. If you're ready, say goodbye to your elders. It's time for us to leave."