Douluo Continent: Beginning with Signing in with Yan Lingji

"Brother Zhao, what's going on here?" Snake Lady asked, puzzled as she watched Zhao Wuji and Zhao Ming. Did Zhao Ming really have a way to quickly locate a suitable snake-type spirit beast?

Zhao Wuji smiled without saying a word, his eyes fixed on Zhao Ming.

Seeing this, Snake Lady decided not to press further. She kept her eyes locked on Zhao Ming, eager to see what he intended to do.

Under the shocked gazes of Snake Lady and Meng Yiran, Zhao Ming released his martial spirit.

The three orange spirit rings floating around him once again shattered their perception of reality.

"What is this?" Snake Lady muttered, unable to contain her astonishment.

"Zhao Ming has always been extraordinary, and naturally, his spirit rings are unlike any other," Zhao Wuji replied with a calm smile, as if saying, "Don't be surprised; this is just a basic move."

Although he didn't fully understand Zhao Ming's martial spirit or his spirit rings, it didn't stop him from putting on airs.

Seeing Zhao Wuji act as if she were inexperienced, Snake Lady quickly composed herself, pretending to understand. "Oh, I see."

But the next moment, she couldn't remain calm.

Right before her eyes, Zhao Ming's third orange spirit ring lit up.

Suddenly, a woman with a human torso and a snake's tail appeared. Her expression was cold and her beauty unmatched. Even as another woman, Snake Lady had to admit this figure was otherworldly. Despite her serpentine lower body, it didn't diminish her aura; instead, it added an exotic allure.

As the serpent-woman appeared, a powerful pressure washed over Snake Lady.

She felt the suppression deep within her martial spirit. Her own Snake Staff, a top-tier serpent martial spirit, seemed insignificant before this presence.

In the depths of her spirit, she sensed a reverence, as if her martial spirit was bowing down to a superior.

This overwhelming bloodline suppression—could this be the queen of all serpents?

Meng Yiran, having a lower cultivation level, felt the bloodline pressure from Medusa even more acutely.

Staring at the elegant, bewitching, and powerful woman, Meng Yiran felt a surge of awe. And then, in the next moment, her eyes widened in shock as the powerful serpent woman approached Zhao Ming and addressed him as "Master?"

"Senior, this is one of my spirit abilities. She is merely a puppet of mine; there's no need for alarm," Zhao Ming said calmly.

But his words only stirred more shock in Snake Lady and Meng Yiran.

They had clearly seen it. After Zhao Ming activated his spirit skill, this powerful serpent woman appeared.

Such a formidable being was just one of Zhao Ming's spirit abilities. How powerful was Zhao Ming's martial spirit?

Snake Lady realized that the serpent entity Zhao Ming summoned likely had the combat power of at least a Spirit Elder. And Zhao Ming had two more similar spirit abilities, which were probably just as strong.

Could Zhao Ming's true strength be that of a Spirit King? Or even higher? The thought sent her mind racing, but eventually, she reached a firm resolution.

A genius of this caliber—having crossed paths with him was a fateful opportunity she couldn't let slip. If she missed this chance, it would be a grievous mistake. While it might be difficult to recruit Zhao Ming into the Beast Clan, she could tie him to their family through marriage.

Her precious granddaughter was in her prime, young and beautiful—what boy wouldn't be moved?

Moreover, she had noticed earlier that Zhao Ming seemed to have some interest in her granddaughter. This gave her confidence that a match was entirely possible.

While she knew the three girls from Shrek Academy had close relationships with Zhao Ming, she didn't mind. In this world, the strong often had multiple wives and concubines, and Zhao Ming certainly had the right to be that kind of man.

The more she observed Zhao Ming, the more satisfied she became. Such an exceptional young man was more than deserving of her beloved granddaughter.

She glanced at Meng Yiran.

Whether it was her beauty or her figure, she was of the highest quality.

At that moment, Meng Yiran remained unaware that her grandmother had already chosen her future husband. Naturally, Zhao Ming was also oblivious to the Snake Lady's thoughts. Otherwise, he would have been overjoyed.

Following Zhao Ming's command, Medusa transformed into her serpent form. A giant, menacing violet snake emerged.

As the queen of the serpent race, Medusa possessed a natural ability to sense other snake-type spirit beasts. Zhao Ming planned to use Medusa's powerful senses to track down snake-type spirit beasts.

After all, these spirit beasts were not part of the snake-people tribe, so Zhao Ming felt no moral dilemma in hunting them.

Once Oscar finished absorbing his spirit ring, Zhao Ming and the group set off again.

He issued orders to Medusa, and they followed her. Zhao Wuji and the others trailed behind as they searched for a suitable snake-type spirit beast for Meng Yiran.

After less than an hour of searching, Medusa had already led them to several groups of snake-type beasts.

However, none of them were suitable in terms of age or quality for Meng Yiran.

As they continued searching, Zhao Ming suddenly halted.

He sensed the presence of three powerful snake-type spirit beasts approaching their location.

The rustling of serpents moving through the grass made Zhao Wuji and the others tense up.

Soon, three snake-type spirit beasts slithered out from the underbrush.

"Hisss—"

The three serpents were dark green and black, their bodies covered in fine scales. Unlike other snake-type spirit beasts, these emitted an extremely fierce aura.

Among the three, two were about seven to eight meters long, while the third was around five to six meters. There was no doubt that all three were thousand-year spirit beasts. In the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, it was rare to encounter ten-thousand-year spirit beasts.

However, Zhao Ming couldn't determine their exact age.

"These are Scaled Taipan Snakes, and they're highly venomous. Everyone, be careful. All students, get behind me and avoid getting hurt," Zhao Wuji called out.

"Scaled Taipan Snakes? I didn't expect to find such a species in the forest's outskirts," Snake Lady's reaction was far more excited compared to Zhao Wuji's.

Meng Yiran's eyes also lit up with excitement as she observed the snakes.

"Teacher Zhao, what kind of snakes are these? Why do you seem so cautious?" Ning Rongrong asked curiously.

"These are some of the most venomous snake-type spirit beasts on the continent. Although they are only thousand-year beasts, their danger level rivals that of ten-thousand-year beasts. Even Spirit Emperors prefer to avoid them because a single scratch, no matter how minor, can result in a swift death from their poison," Zhao Wuji explained seriously.

His words caused Snake Lady to regain her composure. With her snake martial spirit, she was well aware of the dangers posed by Scaled Taipan Snakes.

"Of these three, the two larger ones are around three thousand years old, while the smaller one is about one thousand years—just right for Yiran to absorb."

While they could handle these spirit beasts, they were currently accompanied by a group of students. A single mistake could result in serious injuries. This put them in a difficult position.

"Senior Snake Lady, Teacher Zhao, why don't we each take one? This way, we can prevent any of them from slipping past and attacking Ning Rongrong and the others."

"But these Scaled Taipan Snakes, while only thousand-year beasts, are extremely powerful—equivalent to beasts of five or six thousand years. Why don't we wait for my husband to arrive? That would make things easier," Snake Lady hesitated. With Zhao Ming being the ideal candidate for her grandson-in-law, she didn't want him taking unnecessary risks.

"They won't give us the chance to wait." Zhao Ming pointed at the three serpents. At that moment, they were flicking their tongues, eyes fixed on Medusa. They seemed restless, likely sensing the powerful snake bloodline within Medusa and wanting to devour her.

[•———•——•———•]

𝙥𝗮𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙤𝙣(.)𝙘𝙤𝙢/𝙂𝙤𝙙𝙊𝙛𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧

✨ • 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 𝟲𝟬+ 𝙖𝙙𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.