The mountain path of the Devil's Trail is rugged and difficult to traverse, with loose stones that hurt the soles of the feet.
But what's more disheartening than the hardships underfoot is the subtle sense of alienation and scheming within the team.
Compared to the mutual help and support among the Shrek Seven Devils in the original story, now that they have been reborn, that pure friendship is long gone, leaving only their own calculations and selfish desires.
What's more, the addition of Fu Qin, a spoiler, has caused the originally close-knit team to gradually fall apart.
Carrying heavy loads and traversing this 400-kilometer-long devil's path was indeed a considerable challenge for Tang San, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar.
After all, they had long been accustomed to a peaceful and comfortable life, and their reborn bodies could hardly withstand such high-intensity physical exertion.
For Fu Qin, this was not a challenge at all, not even a warm-up.
Fu Qin's clothes had long been reforged by the Alchemy Gloves Martial Soul, turning them into genuine rudimentary magical artifacts.
Not only can it protect against scratches from thorns, but it can also greatly reduce the pressure from carrying heavy loads.
Those seemingly heavy stones pressing on his back were as easy as carrying a few pounds of cotton for Fu Qin.
Moreover, Fu Qin had already successfully stolen Tang San's Xuan Tian Treasure Record, and had even cultivated the Xuan Tian Skill to the peak of the third level. His internal strength and soul power complemented each other, making his physique far superior to other soul masters of the same level.
If Fu Qin hadn't wanted to avoid revealing the secret of his soul bones too early, he would have already refined the soul bones he had stockpiled in his soul tool into a complete set of auxiliary magical artifacts to equip himself with.
Even if the load were several times heavier, he could still complete the journey with ease.
On their journey through the Devil's Path, Fu Qin, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong chatted and laughed together, while Zhu Zhuqing struggled to carry the stone she was about to bear in order to temper herself.
Xiao Wu linked arms with Fu Qin, and every now and then she would pick wildflowers from the roadside and put them in Fu Qin's hair, her eyes crinkling with laughter.
Ning Rongrong stood on the other side of Fu Qin. Although she was not carrying any weight, she still complained about how difficult the mountain road was, but she never complained of being tired.
Zhu Zhuqing, standing not far away, formed a stark contrast to Fu Qin and his group.
She carried heavy stones on her back, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat, and her face was somewhat pale, but her eyes remained firm as she moved forward step by step with difficulty.
It's clear she really wants to become stronger.
Tang San's situation is not bad.
With the foundation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, even carrying a heavy load, one can still move forward steadily.
The way he looked at Fu Qin still carried that innocent trust, as if Fu Qin was still the "good brother" who was willing to risk his life to save him.
Little did he know that Fu Qin had already thoroughly investigated his Xuan Tian Gong and his Xuan Tian Bao Lu.
Dai Mubai is doing alright, after all, he is a powerful offensive Soul Master, his Soul Power has reached level 39, and his physical strength and endurance are excellent.
Dai Mubai's physical strength is indeed impressive; the physique of a power-attack type battle spirit master is no joke.
However...
A lecherous tiger is a lecherous tiger.
His gaze towards Zhu Zhuqing was filled with complex emotions and resentment, causing his steps to falter.
He was probably still thinking about how to win Zhu Zhuqing back and have her perform a martial soul fusion technique with him.
Ma Hongjun, at the back of the group, had Dai Mubai and Tang San to help him, but Oscar was in a terrible situation.
Ma Hongjun is quite opportunistic. Along the way, Dai Mubai and Tang San helped him share a lot of the load. Although he was panting heavily, he was still able to keep up with the group.
But Oscar, on the other hand, was truly helpless, with no one to turn to for help.
Earlier, when everyone was facing the Ten Thousand Year Soul-Devouring Spider King, he pushed Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun out to take the blows.
As a result, one of them had one kidney removed, and the other had half of his manhood cut off.
This led to Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai completely ignoring him.
Thinking of this, Fu Qin couldn't help but give him a mental thumbs up.
He never expected that this kid would be so heartless as to push his own companion out to take the blow in order to protect himself.
Dai Mubai lost a kidney, which greatly affected his strength.
Ma Hongjun suffered an even worse fate; half of his manhood was removed, rendering his life utterly ruined.
With such deep-seated hatred, how could Ma Hongjun and Dai Mubai possibly forgive him?
It was already more than enough that they didn't secretly sabotage him along the way.
Although Tang San didn't want to pay attention to him, it wasn't the right time to break up. After sharing the stones with Ma Hongjun, his own burden had reached its limit.
But he was, after all, using the banner of "uniting the team," and he didn't want to strain the relationship right now.
He had already helped Ma Hongjun with a lot of the burden, and his own burden had already reached its limit. He simply didn't have the extra strength to help Oscar anymore.
Fu Qin also helped the two girls share all the weight, which was already hard enough for him. Oscar couldn't let the girls carry the weight for him, could he?
As for Fu Qin, he naturally helped Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong share all the burdens, and they only needed to stay by Fu Qin's side and enjoy their leisure time.
Even if Oscar was in a sorry state, he couldn't bring himself to ask Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong, the two girls, to help him.
Moreover, he hated Fu Qin to the core, and even if he starved or worked himself to death, he would never ask Fu Qin for help.
So in the end, Tang San only offered Oscar a few perfunctory words of encouragement like "Keep going" and "Hang in there," and there was no other substantial help.
And just like that, it was noon in the blink of an eye.
Oscar was nearing exhaustion. Seeing Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun seemingly oblivious to his predicament, a surge of hatred and anger welled up within him.
As the sun gradually rose higher overhead, its scorching rays baked the earth, making the mountain path increasingly difficult to traverse.
Oscar's steps grew heavier and heavier, each step feeling like he was draining his life force. His face was as pale as paper, and his lips were cracked and bleeding; he was clearly nearing exhaustion.
He staggered to a stop, looking at the backs of Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun who were still walking steadily ahead, and seeing that they were oblivious to his predicament, a strong sense of hatred and anger surged into his heart.
He hated Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun's ruthlessness, hated Tang San's hypocrisy, and hated Fu Qin for taking Ning Rongrong away, and hated Fu Qin for leaving him in such a helpless and isolated situation.
I was only trying to protect myself at the time, and I didn't cause them to lose their lives.
They only ruined half their lives and destroyed one kidney because of their own actions, why should they treat themselves like this!
Fu Qin watched Oscar's resentful expression from afar, feeling incredibly satisfied.
Because all of this is his own fault. He should have thought of this outcome when he pushed someone to take the knife for him.
Xiao Wu noticed Fu Qin's gaze, followed it, and pouted.
"Tsk, Oscar is so pitiful, but he deserves it!"
Ning Rongrong nodded, her tone carrying a hint of disdain.
"It's all his fault for being so bad in the past. Now no one's helping him; he brought it all on himself!"