Dai Mubai approached Tang San with a hint of "disappointment" in his expression, speaking in a deliberate tone.
"Tang San, congratulations. With two spirit bones added to your arsenal and the enhancements from your twin spirits, your strength is likely the greatest among the Shrek team."
There was a faintly "sour" edge to Dai Mubai's voice, but to Tang San, it sounded unbearably grating.
Congratulations? Congratulations for what?!
Tang San was almost in tears. The Blazing Ape's spirit ring and spirit bone were entirely unsuitable for him!
Regret gnawed at him.
Dai Mubai had advised him earlier, but Tang San had refused to listen.
Now, even if Tang San wanted to blame Dai Mubai, he couldn't find a valid excuse, let alone accuse him of malice.
Blame Dai Mubai for being present, forcing him to absorb the spirit bone prematurely?
That wouldn't make sense. Not at all.
"Boss Dai, you must be joking. This spirit bone is completely unsuitable for me," Tang San said with a bitter smile.
If he could go back in time, he'd have given the spirit bone to Dai Mubai to repay the favor for the Earth Dragon torso bone. Wouldn't that have been better?
Dai Mubai thought to himself, "If this spirit bone were suitable for you, I wouldn't let you absorb it even if I had to fight for it!"
Of course, outwardly, he maintained a facade of surprise.
"What? This spirit bone doesn't suit you? Can you tell me what kind of spirit skill it provides?"
Dai Mubai was overjoyed internally. Unsuitable? Excellent! If it had been suitable, things would have been disastrous!
Tang San hesitated slightly. Dai Mubai seemed genuinely surprised; he hadn't asked about the skill from the Earth Dragon torso bone, but now he was asking.
It seemed Dai Mubai really liked this head spirit bone. Too bad time couldn't be reversed.
After some thought, Tang San decided to share the spirit bone skill with Dai Mubai.
"When activated, the skill boosts fire attributes by 80% for two minutes."
Hearing this, Dai Mubai's lips twitched, and his expression turned peculiar. He clenched his teeth to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out.
Good grief! An 80% boost to fire attributes!
Did Tang San even have fire attributes?
The Clear Sky Hammer's second spirit ring skill might be related to fire, but his Blue Silver Grass spirit could suffer even greater damage when this skill was used!
Fortunately, the spirit bone had a relatively low age and a short activation duration—just two minutes, or 120 seconds. That wasn't long at all.
"Sigh, let's move on and keep helping you hunt for your third spirit ring," Dai Mubai "sighed" dramatically.
Tang San felt a slight pang of guilt, but given his own miserable situation, the guilt quickly faded.
The Next Day
"Tang San, are you certain you want to absorb a ten-thousand-year spirit ring at the Spirit Elder level?"
"Keep in mind, there's a massive gap between thousand-year and ten-thousand-year spirit beasts. No one on the Douluo Continent has ever absorbed a ten-thousand-year spirit ring at the Spirit Elder stage."
Dai Mubai's statement was indisputable. A ten-thousand-year ring was no joke, and a hundred-thousand-year ring was even more absurd.
The ten-thousand-year ring he absorbed had been due to the White Tiger's sacrifice. Without it, Dai Mubai would have only managed a two-thousand-year ring for his fourth spirit ring at best.
"When I absorbed my fifth ring, I distinctly felt an inexplicable force attacking my spirit."
"If I've brought you out here, it's my responsibility to ensure you return safely," Dai Mubai lectured endlessly.
He understood one of Tang San's, and many "protagonists'," greatest flaws—they never listened to advice.
The more you emphasized danger, risk, and difficulty, the more they'd want to try it.
As Dai Mubai spoke, Tang San waved him off and said, "Boss Dai, don't worry. I'm confident I can absorb a ten-thousand-year ring now!"
Two hours earlier, Tang San had already obtained his Clear Sky Hammer's third spirit ring from a 4,000-year Earth Explosion Bear. The ring granted a fairly conventional skill.
"You may be confident, but did you ask whether I can defeat this ten-thousand-year Giant Strength Gorilla?"
Dai Mubai's tone was tinged with mockery.
The Giant Strength Gorilla was the ancestral spirit of the Strength Clan. As a spirit beast, its strength was unparalleled, making it a representative of power-type beasts.
Even without using a spirit, Dai Mubai could easily defeat a newly ten-thousand-year Giant Strength Gorilla.
But as an ordinary "Spirit King," he couldn't reveal such overwhelming power.
Tang San: "…"
Tang San found Dai Mubai's reasoning sound, but something felt off.
An ordinary Spirit King defeating a ten-thousand-year Giant Strength Gorilla in single combat was almost impossible.
The Gorilla's raw strength surpassed even some thirty- to forty-thousand-year spirit beasts.
As a power-attack spirit master, Dai Mubai's strength couldn't surpass the Gorilla's.
But was Dai Mubai an ordinary Spirit King?
"Maybe Boss Dai just doesn't want me taking unnecessary risks," Tang San thought.
Killing the Giant Strength Gorilla wasn't beyond him, though it might force him to reveal some hidden cards.
After some deliberation, Tang San made his decision.
After all, Dai Mubai had seen his hidden weapons before, so there was no need to hide them now.
Reaching into his Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, Tang San retrieved the Zhuge Crossbow.
He'd once used it to kill Tyron, whose spirit was also a Giant Strength Gorilla. To this day, he still wondered why Tyron's grandfather, Titan, had let him off.
Unable to figure it out, Tang San pushed the thought aside. Now wasn't the time for such musings. The priority was to kill this Giant Strength Gorilla.
"Beasts like the Giant Strength Gorilla bully others with their strength. They're too wicked. Even if I didn't need its spirit ring, I'd still kill it!"
Tang San muttered to himself, as if justifying his actions.
Dai Mubai's jaw dropped slightly. Words escaped him as he marveled internally, "As expected of you, Tang San!"
Of course, outwardly, Dai Mubai feigned confusion.
"Tang San, what's this about?"
"Boss Dai, just watch. This wicked Giant Strength Gorilla will be hunted by me alone!"
Tang San declared confidently.
"After I've killed it, don't try to stop me from absorbing its spirit ring!"
With that, Tang San crept toward the Gorilla.
When he was about thirty meters away, Tang San pulled the trigger of the Zhuge Crossbow…
(End of Chapter)