Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Chen Ming's wanton slaughter of the Man-Faced Demon Spiders had indeed drawn the attention of some significant beings in the Star Dou Forest. After all, the large-scale deaths of a particular soul beast species over the course of just two days was something that even the most ordinary soul beasts could sense was unusual. However, upon discovering that the victims were exclusively Man-Faced Demon Spiders and that the unknown perpetrator only targeted this species, the initially curious and concerned soul beasts simply chose to ignore the matter.

After all, the Man-Faced Demon Spiders were universally despised among soul beasts. Sadistic by nature, they killed and tortured for sheer enjoyment, often slaughtering indiscriminately even when they had no intention of eating their prey. Moreover, due to their devouring attribute, they grew at an alarmingly fast pace, making them a significant menace in the soul beast world.

Frankly, many soul beasts wouldn't hesitate to kill a Man-Faced Demon Spider on sight, provided their strength was sufficient. The death of such creatures wasn't just overlooked—it was welcomed. Many soul beasts even hoped for the complete eradication of the Man-Faced Demon Spiders from the Star Dou Forest.

In the original story of Douluo Dalu, Tang San had many controversial moments, but nearly exterminating the Man-Faced Demon Spiders in the Star Dou Forest was one of the few universally praised actions. These soul beasts were excessively bloodthirsty, and their penchant for torture made them a devastating force against smaller soul beasts.

The soul beast world had no issue with predators, as hunting and killing were natural in their ecosystem. However, they drew the line at creatures that killed indiscriminately, leaving behind toxic corpses that even other soul beasts couldn't consume.

By the fifth day, Chen Ming had slain over five hundred Man-Faced Demon Spiders, including the initial 70,000-year-old spider that Ah Yin had detected and another 50,000-year-old spider. The 70,000-year-old one yielded a torso bone, while the 50,000-year-old one dropped an external spirit bone—Eight Spider Lances. The remaining thousand-year and ten-thousand-year spiders contributed 37 thousand-year spirit bones and 8 ten-thousand-year spirit bones in total. Though the drop rate of spirit bones had declined compared to the second day, it was still remarkably high.

In just a few short days, Chen Ming had wiped out the majority of the Man-Faced Demon Spider population. The surviving ten-thousand-year spiders were now cowering underground, too terrified to emerge. Even the 100,000-year-old Man-Faced Demon Spider King had been alarmed, desperately burrowing deeper into the ground to escape.

When Chen Ming left the Star Dou Forest, he had obtained two sets of 90,000-year-old Eight Spider Lances, one set of 50,000-year-old Eight Spider Lances, and an assortment of other spirit bones produced by the Man-Faced Demon Spiders. These included arm bones, leg bones, and torso bones, though he only managed to acquire a single head bone. Interestingly, it seemed that the drop rate for head bones from Man-Faced Demon Spiders was even lower than that of external spirit bones.

However, these details were secondary. During the process of hunting the Man-Faced Demon Spiders and refining their bodies and bloodlines, Chen Ming discovered that their bloodline contained a unique and sinister power. This power seemed to originate from an evil deity, though it wasn't the same as the dark god energy found in Dark Devilgod Tigers. According to Chen Ming's assessment, the source of the Man-Faced Demon Spiders' power was a spider-like divine beast whose strength was roughly equivalent to a second-tier god. While it was unclear whether this being had a godly seat, it undoubtedly possessed the attributes of an evil god.

That said, with the updated version of Douluo Dalu, soul beasts had become incapable of ascending to godhood. The divine attributes in their bloodlines had significantly diminished, even for dragon clans with ancestral ties to divine dragons. As a result, while the Man-Faced Demon Spiders' bloodline carried the remnants of their ancestor's evil power, only a select few high-aged spiders could tap into this strength. Even then, each use of this power inflicted nearly irreversible damage to their source.

For Chen Ming, who wielded the divine position and power of the God of Sin, this ability was an excellent supplement to his arsenal. It provided significant enhancements, and he didn't need to worry about the self-damaging effects. He was already contemplating how to fuse one of the Eight Spider Lances pairs with his external soul bone.

After all, scorpions and spiders shared a common ancestry, with similar leg structures. Since Chen Ming already had a scorpion-tail external soul bone attached to his spine, adding spider legs to his external soul bone seemed perfectly logical, didn't it? Furthermore, with the various Man-Faced Demon Spider soul bones he had obtained—for every body part, no less—he was eager to experiment with creating a soul bone set. Soul bone sets were incredibly rare, mentioned only a few times in the Douluo series, and he suspected they held unique mysteries that could serve as a reference for crafting future divine equipment.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Ming left the Star Dou Forest and returned to Soto City, where he stayed in a modest inn and resumed monitoring Tang San and Tang Hao. During his Man-Faced Demon Spider hunt, he hadn't forgotten to have Ah Yin keep an eye on Shrek Academy. After all, he remembered that shortly after Tang San's enrollment—two or three days later, at most—Oscar would break through, prompting the group to venture into the Star Dou Forest for soul rings.

However, upon observing Oscar, Chen Ming realized he had miscalculated. In the original timeline, Oscar's cultivation speed had been somewhat disappointing for someone with innate full soul power. This was partly due to Shrek Academy's lack of resources and partly because Oscar's soft personality caused him to slack off in his training.

But since Chen Ming had severely disrupted Shrek Academy years earlier—crippling Dai Mubai, wasting Ma Hongjun, and leaving Flender disabled—Oscar, despite his reluctance, had been forced to train diligently out of fear. Even when he wanted to relax, Shao Xin wouldn't allow it, dragging him back and pressuring him to cultivate. With Shrek Academy's survival hanging by a thread, no one was willing to let their last hope, Oscar, waste his potential. As a result, Oscar's cultivation speed had significantly improved, showcasing the talent of an innate full soul power food-type soul master.

This butterfly effect led to Oscar breaking through to the Soul Elder rank and obtaining his third soul ring before Tang San's enrollment. Consequently, the events following Tang San's admission were reduced to mundane activities like running laps around Shrek Academy.

While observing, Chen Ming also noticed something absent from the original story—an interaction between Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing. Zhu Zhuqing, disillusioned by Dai Mubai's condition, hadn't enrolled in Shrek Academy. Instead, she stayed in a Souto City inn, seemingly contemplating her future. Dai Mubai, on the other hand, secretly sought out information about Zhu Zhuqing through his network of unsavory friends. After much deliberation, he finally remembered that Zhu Zhuqing was his fiancée—something he only pieced together after subconsciously connecting her name and martial soul.

Dai Mubai began pestering Zhu Zhuqing, trying to persuade her to join Shrek Academy and become his partner for their martial soul fusion technique. However, his current androgynous appearance made it difficult for Zhu Zhuqing to take him seriously. On the second day of Chen Ming's return to Souto City, Dai Mubai abandoned his female attire and forced himself to act more masculine in an attempt to win over Zhu Zhuqing.

Initially, Zhu Zhuqing only wanted to distance herself from Dai Mubai and think about her future. However, Dai Mubai, in his warped perspective, interpreted her attitude as an insult to his pride. His unstable mental state, exacerbated by his physical changes, led him to view Zhu Zhuqing's rejection as a personal attack.