https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-520-The-Ultimate-Puppet-King-The-Web-Weaving-Grey-Spider-/13011232/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-522-The-Cyclic-Mystic-Realm-The-Qin-Tianjian-s-Deputy-/13011240/
Chapter 521: The Toxin King and the Insect King! The Rank Skill!
Chapter 521: The Toxin King and the Insect King! The Rank Skill!
Within the dim and peculiar Five Toxins Cauldron, the only creature still alive was the Web-weaving Grey Spider.
Even Su Ping hadn't anticipated this outcome.
Indeed, among the countless insect and toxic pets that had arrived, the first wave of casualties were all these spider pets.
Spiders are web-weaving pets that wait for opportunities to strike.
In a chaotic battle within such a confined space, spider pets have no competitive edge.
However, to everyone's surprise, at this very moment, the Web-weaving Grey Spider was feasting on the remains.
Even Zhu Hong furrowed his brows>", scrutinizing Su Ping as if seeking an explanation: "Su Ping, did you notice something unusual about this Web-weaving Grey Spider earlier?"
Su Ping's eyebrows rose, and he confidently nodded: "Of course. Do you think I would bet carelessly? We agreed on a Monarch Rank resource each, and no backing out!"
The others didn't pay much attention to this. Liu Fuhai's eyebrows furrowed, and he looked at the spider with suspicion, then nodded: "Indeed, this Web-weaving Grey Spider has something special about it. Typically, wild Web-weaving Grey Spiders struggle to surpass their racial limits.
For this one to have broken through is remarkable, and its wounds heal incredibly fast! I wonder if it's due to its natural talent or the empowerment of the Five Toxins Cauldron."
Everyone had noticed this.
It was evident that everyone had just realized it, but in others' eyes, Su Ping had already figured it out.
Su Ping decided not to dwell on this topic and instead fixed his gaze on the cauldron.
As expected, within the Five Toxins Cauldron, the toxic insects seemed to have an insatiable appetite.
The eerie gas seemed to turn every toxic pet into a glutton.
And now, the Web-weaving Grey Spider, having become the Toxin King, was no exception.
Every remnant on the ground was its food.
Its crimson compound eyes craved nothing but sustenance.
And each time it devoured the corpse of a Toxin Bug, the Web-weaving Grey Spider underwent a noticeable transformation.
Its size was expanding.
Initially, the spider was only the size of a millstone, but within a short while, its body had grown significantly, even surpassing the typical size of insect pets.
Moreover, the newly grown legs, once tender, were now covered in thick, gray, and coarse hair.
The overall enlarged appearance made it seem even more menacing.
Insect pets are undoubtedly the ugliest species in the world, without a doubt.
However, for the majority of those present, practicality took precedence over aesthetics.
Whether it's ugly or not doesn't matter; strength is the most crucial factor.
Undoubtedly, at this moment, an inconceivable scene unfolded in the history of pets.
The Web-weaving Grey Spider, already at its racial limit, broke through its boundaries once again, reaching the Overlord Second Rank.
Yet, it seemed that was all it could achieve.
Was the number of insects insufficient? Or was the quality too low? But gathering high-level toxic insects to nurture Toxin Bugs is no easy task. If thousands of various toxic insects of different ranks fought and devoured each other, and the outcome was merely a single rank increase for the Toxin King, the imagined effectiveness would be significantly lower.
The cost of cultivating the Heart of Insects in the future would also be much higher.
As everyone, including Su Ping, watched with slightly disappointed gazes, the Web-weaving Grey Spider devoured the last Black Sand Scorpion's corpse.
However, just as everyone thought that even with this number of Toxin Kings, the Toxin King would only gain one rank at most, suddenly, a unique light flashed from the spider's body.
It wasn't the Evolutionary Light.
Instead, it was a fleeting glow.
Skill! This was the response to the skill's comprehension.
Su Ping's eyebrows rose, and finally, after half a day, the Toxin King emerged from the Five Toxins Cauldron, revealing itself to the 'audience.'
The cauldron's spatial confinement was released.
Xiao Qing had been waiting nearby, and as soon as the Toxin King appeared, the colorful toxic gas was instantly absorbed into Xiao Qing's body by her Toxin Wood Heart.
Simultaneously, the massive Web-weaving Grey Spider crawled out of the Five Toxins Cauldron and returned to its original size.
The previously triumphant Web-weaving Grey Spider, now free from the mind-altering toxic influence, found itself in its original world, under the intense gaze of prehistoric giants.
The newly crowned Toxin King trembled, its compound eyes scanning the surroundings until it locked onto a figure that felt incredibly familiar.
"Beep, beep, beep..."
Among the spiders, a weaving grey spider the size of a wolfhound was undoubtedly a large one.
Ignoring the illuminated 'Weaving Grey Spider' catalog in his soul, Su Ping used his Soul Eye to lock onto the approaching spider, searching for its differences from ordinary spiders:
【Weaving Grey Spider (Wild)】
【Age: 2 years, 4 months, and 11 days】
【Attribute: None】
【Current Level: Overlord Second Rank】
【Racial Realm: Overlord Second Rank】
【Racial Skills: Puppet King (Entry), Strengthened Web (Perfect), Corrosive Web (Proficient), Rapid Healing (Perfect), Active Web (Perfect), Swift Walk (Proficient)】
The simple skills, compared to the five intimidating skills that followed, were not enough to make Su Ping anxious, even though they had high skill levels. Instead, he focused all his attention on the first skill.
Puppet King?
He had indeed witnessed similar skills before, specifically Old Sha's Wolf King Dignity. But he wasn't sure if there was any connection.
Instantly, the skill's ability manifested:
【Puppet King (Entry): A special rank skill that can only be acquired through extremely cruel and unique breeding selection. It provides a weak enhancement to all of one's skills and exerts a subtle suppression over other competing insects.
Additionally, it serves as a prerequisite for the special rank skills 'Insect King' or 'Toxin King'. By winning more Puppet King contests and becoming the Puppet King multiple times, one can consume other insects' abilities based on their own inclinations, evolving into either the Insect King or Toxin King.】
Hmm? Su Ping narrowed his eyes.
Among them, Zhu Hong, who also possessed the True Eye, had a similar reaction.
However, Zhu Hong's reaction was more pronounced than Su Ping's. Everyone present clearly heard a sharp intake of breath from Master Zhu.
"A rank skill!"
Zhu Hong's exclamation drew the attention of many.
Including Su Ping, who could guess what this meant, recalling the example of Old Sha.
But to be honest, he had never encountered such a situation before.
"Master Zhu, what is a rank skill?"
Qin Xiaoxue voiced the question on everyone's mind.
Zhu Hong nodded:
"A rank skill is a special type of skill within a specific domain. These skills are rarely documented in Dragon Nation or any other human beastmaster countries.
The reason is simple: this skill cannot be cultivated by human breeders.
No matter how many resources or methods are employed, it is extremely challenging for a contracted beast to acquire such a skill. The only chances are a one-in-a-million occurrence or the inheritance of a small portion by the offspring of high-ranking contracted beasts.
This is also why some beastmen's restricted zones remain as solid as gold."
No one interrupted, and after a brief pause, Zhu Hong continued:
"As for the capabilities of rank skills, as the name suggests, they exert tremendous suppression within a specific domain over other contracted beasts in the same domain.
This suppression is not merely an energy suppression like domain skills but a more unique effect! It's as if it suppresses both the genes and the spirit of the opponent. Simultaneously, it provides a substantial beneficial effect to the user.
Often, contracted beasts with such rank skills can almost overwhelmingly dominate opponents who lack them.
Of course, acquiring these skills is extremely rare, and many times, beastmasters' contracted beasts are not limited to just one type, so although they are powerful, they also come with significant drawbacks.
Generally speaking, attribute-oriented rank skills are the most potent. However, it's incredibly challenging to acquire rank skills within attributes. According to rumors, even legendary-grade contracted beasts possess only a few."
At this point, Zhu Hong seemed to recall something and turned to Su Ping:
"By the way, during the ancient tribal wars, the Fire Lord should have possessed a fire-attribute rank skill, and its rank was not low! However, the recorded historical knowledge in Dragon Nation about this aspect is also limited.
After all, in the present world, there are very few powerful contracted beasts or beasts with influential rank skills. The most famous should be the old wolf lord in the wolf country of the northwestern grasslands.
But I don't know much about him either. I haven't been to the northwest much. If you're interested, you can go to the northwest and meet the Wolf Saint."
Su Ping understood, at this moment, he somewhat grasped the origin of the 'Ten Thousand Bird Faith' and 'Tao of Fire Totem' that Xiao Huo had been babbling about earlier.
So, that one belonging to the Fire Lord must be quite advanced.
As for the legendary Wolf Lord, he wondered what he was like, but now, Su Ping finally understood what Lao Sha's 'Wolf King Dignity' skill truly was.
It should also be a type of Rank Skill, he thought, recalling how Lao Sha had faced Qin Xiaoxue's wooden puppet, which had almost no resistance against Wolf King Dignity.
However, Wolf King Dignity seemed a bit different from the true 'Wolf King' Rank Skill.
He wondered, would Lao Sha's ability advance further as his strength evolved in the future?
"So, this Toxin Vessel's Puppet King trial has given this spider a Rank Skill?" Liu Fuhai exclaimed in surprise, belatedly realizing the significance. He looked at the Web-weaving Grey Spider with a hint of regret, feeling that such a powerful skill bestowed upon an insignificant spider was a bit of a waste.
Zhu Hong, however, was unconcerned. He turned to Su Ping:
"Su Ping, you can guide the spider towards evolving into a Toxin Type. If it can become the Rank Skill title of 'Toxin King', it should be better than 'Insect King', right?"
Su Ping shrugged:
"No need to rush. I'll take my time to review the evolution materials for this type of Contracted Beast. I'll decide later. After all, Toxin Type isn't as common as other elemental attributes, but Insect Type Contracted Beasts might be more helpful to me."
Zhu Hong nodded in agreement:
"Yes, that makes sense. But if the effects of the Toxin Vessel were to be made public, I'm afraid many Cultivators around the world would pay attention. I wonder how Situ Feng managed to refine it back then."
"Then let's keep it quiet. It's best not to let others covet something that can't be replicated. Let's keep it to ourselves and make our fortune."
Su Ping hurriedly hugged the Toxin Vessel, no longer showing any signs of melting it down as he had considered earlier. He now looked like a miser hoarding his treasure.
Zhu Hong laughed at Su Ping's behavior:
"Don't be so stingy. It's fine for others, but I also know some Beastmasters in the Dragon Nation who specialize in Insect Contracted Beasts. If the situation with the Puppet King stabilizes, you can even use this thing to make a profit. Rank Skills are unique and powerful, and they can also contribute to national strength."
Su Ping's eyes lit up at these words.
Indeed, Zhu Hong's suggestion made sense.
Aside from the obvious financial gains and resources, it could also create opportunities for him to research Toxin Insects, the Puppet King, and the further applications of the Toxin Vessel. With this in mind, Su Ping nodded:
"Alright, I'll make arrangements when I get back. I'll also look for places to experiment and ensure everything goes smoothly."
As he spoke, Su Ping patted the body of the Web-weaving Grey Spider. It was fuzzy, not particularly hard, and although Su Ping still couldn't get used to its appearance, he found it somewhat endearing in its own way.
Thinking for a moment, Su Ping opened his mouth to speak, but just then, a deafening roar erupted not too far away.
The ground, and even the valley they were in, shook from the impact.
Everyone looked up in confusion, trying to locate the source of the thunderous sound.
It was coming from the mountain where they had just parked the Pride.
Before Su Ping and the others could react and understand what was happening, Su Ping's satellite phone rang, and Long Er's voice came through:
"Su Cultivator, there's been an accident here. The Pride has been damaged, and we're still assessing the extent of the damage!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
