In Tang San's eyes, Xiao Wu was no longer human, but a rabbit. His emotions churned as he thought of his mother. Could Xiao Wu also be a Transformed Soul Beast?
He forced his jumbled thoughts down and spoke with the others without betraying the slightest hint that anything had happened.
Afterward, everyone ate lunch together and went their separate ways. Xiao Wu led the three of them to the dormitory building.
"Xiao San, A Yang, this is your room. Xiao Ping will be staying with me from now on," Xiao Wu said casually.
The new Shrek Academy's student dormitories had four-person, two-person, and single rooms. The first were mostly for ordinary students, while the latter two were reserved for elite students, who could choose according to their preferences.
After the women left, Xiang Yang looked at the silent Tang San. Knowing what he was thinking, he deliberately asked, "What's wrong? What's got you so stumped?"
Tang San hesitated. As someone from a later age, Xiang Yang had seen and heard more than he had, so he ought to have plenty of advice to offer on this subject too... right?
Clearly, as an "ancient"—and a rather "old-fashioned" one at that—Tang San had underestimated modern "open-mindedness."
Tang San first used his Purple Demon Eye to scan the surroundings. Only after making sure no one was there did he say, "Xiao Wu... isn't human... I just saw that she was a rabbit..." Haltingly, he told Xiang Yang what he was thinking.
"I see. No wonder she didn't hunt Soul Beasts with us. She didn't need to at all." Xiang Yang looked thoughtful, as if he had only just learned the truth.
"Mm." Tang San took a comb out of his Soul Tool and examined it again and again. Suddenly, he said, "No matter what, she's family to me." Clearly, he had already convinced himself in that short time. After all, with his parents as shining examples, he had a precedent to follow.
"To us," Xiang Yang corrected him before continuing, "Besides, this sort of thing really isn't a big deal."
Hm? Tang San raised an eyebrow. How could that be no big deal? Curious about Xiang Yang's view, he asked, "What do you mean?"
"Ahem, ahem. Sunflower's little classroom is now in session..." Xiang Yang made a fist and held it to his mouth as he spoke in a slightly comical manner. "Now, on Mount Qingcheng, there was a snake demon who had cultivated for a thousand years. Her name was Bai Suzhen. Having achieved success in her cultivation, she was soon to attain the Dao and ascend to immortality. One day, she came before Guanyin Bodhisattva..."
Xiang Yang vividly recounted the cross-species love stories of the Legend of the White Snake and Nie Xiaoqian. Tang San listened with both astonishment and agreement.
At the end, however, Tang San suddenly said, "But those are obviously made-up stories, aren't they? They're not real." He had never seen any demons or ghosts in his previous life. Most such tales were hearsay, with one falsehood passed from mouth to mouth.
"Hey, I have another one." Seeing that Tang San was only half convinced, Xiang Yang had no choice but to play his trump card. "Five hundred years ago, on Flower-Fruit Mountain in Dongsheng Shenzhou, there lived a Handsome Monkey King..."
When he reached the part where Sun Wukong wreaked havoc in the Heavenly Palace and was pinned beneath Five-Finger Mountain, Xiang Yang paused. He took a sip of water and said with feeling, "Although these are all stories people made up, and none of this happened in actual history, the core and spirit of the tales are beyond doubt."
Tang San nodded. Somewhat immersed in the spirit of the "Great Sage Equal to Heaven," who battled heaven and earth and dared to break every shackle of injustice, he said thoughtfully, "Is that why you people from later ages are so different from those who came before?"
Xiang Yang froze with his cup in hand. "Uh, I guess so." In truth, that wasn't all. Real history was even more enthralling, but also more brutal...
"Thank you, A Yang," Tang San said earnestly. After spending half the day at Xiang Yang's "storytelling session," the gloom in his heart had been swept away, and he no longer felt so weighed down.
"Hey, there's no need for that between us." Xiang Yang raised his right fist, and Tang San met it with his own. Their fists bumped with a soft thud, and the two exchanged a smile.
Xiang Yang continued, "It's already dark. Let's go eat at the dining hall. We still have to go to Sunset Forest tomorrow."
"Okay, let's go."
At noon the next day, the Shrek party was ready to set out. Ning Rongrong was among them, having received word and returned early that morning to absorb the aromatic silk beauty. Led by the two Soul Saints Flender and Zhao Wuji, along with the Food System Soul Emperor Shao Xin, the eight students headed for Sunset Forest.
Sunset Forest was much smaller than the Star Dou Great Forest, and its climate was also quite different. It was the main place where Soul Masters from Heaven Dou City and the surrounding area obtained Soul Rings. However, because of its small size and unchecked exploitation, the overall strength of its Soul Beasts generally remained within the thousand- to ten-thousand-year range, which was still enough for their needs.
Although Xiang Yang and Tang San had spent some time at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, they had rarely ventured out, so they didn't know much about the local Soul Beasts.
Fortunately, although Liu Erlong had kept Yu Xiaogang from leaving, Flender had brought plenty of information from the two of them. Among the Soul Beasts listed, quite a few were compatible with the students' Martial Souls.
On top of that, the two had agreed from the start—in fact, everyone understood—to use a one-two punch: the poison formation surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, plus the aromatic silk beauty to attract Soul Beasts. That way, they wouldn't have to search for them one by one.
The three teachers led the students charging straight through, taking them across the poison formation thanks to the pills they had been given beforehand. Tang San then set out the bait, and all that remained was to sit back and wait for the Soul Beasts to take it.
Before long, the earth trembled slightly. Attracted by the scent of the aromatic silk beauty, a great number of Soul Beasts came thundering toward them.
"Rongrong, that Golden-Armored Earth Turtle is just the right age for you." Oscar immediately spotted a turtle Soul Beast covered in golden armor plates. It moved more slowly than the other Soul Beasts, but it could retreat into its shell and roll rapidly, whether to flee or fight. Quite a few Soul Beasts had already set their sights on it.
Unfortunately for them, although this kind of Soul Beast had no special abilities, its shell was exceptionally hard. Its smooth, rounded surface made it difficult for most Soul Beasts to get their jaws around it. With none of them able to do anything to it in a short time, they simply left it where it was and stopped bothering with it.
Ning Rongrong looked in the direction Oscar was pointing. "Mm, it really is. According to Brother Yang, my Martial Soul has a natural affinity for both metal and earth. This Golden-Armored Earth Turtle happens to have both attributes too, so its compatibility is high."
Xiang Yang overheard them and felt gratified. "All right, we'll take this one. Watch me!"
He summoned his Martial Soul, chanting under his breath as he did so, "Draw light into a heart, like a rainbow, like a silken stream!
"Turn Qi into a bowstring, blazing through the clouds!"
Over the course of a dozen seconds, the Sunflower first blazed with golden light, then drew it in until almost none remained, as though someone were adjusting its brightness.
Pfft!
A thin ray of golden light flashed and vanished, striking the Golden-Armored Earth Turtle's shell with pinpoint accuracy. After a soft impact, the Soul Beast briefly thrashed about, but fell still within seconds.
The turtle beast's defense was undeniably formidable, but in the end, it was a motionless target.
Xiang Yang's strike had consumed more than half his Soul Power and all the Sunlight Energy within his Martial Soul. The strength of that Sunlight Energy had long since become comparable to a Soul Ancestor's Soul Power. With the extreme compression achieved through rotational force and the countering attributes added to it, the single strike had brought the turtle to the brink of death.
Seeing this, Tang San waved his hand and seized it firmly with the Blue Silver Emperor. Dai Mubai followed up, ready to stop the other Soul Beasts from snatching it. After drawing a deep breath, he let out a tiger's roar that shook heaven and earth.
Roar!
Fourth Soul Skill, Shaking Heaven and Earth!
Driven by his level forty-six Soul Power, the tiger's roar spread outward in waves of light visible to the naked eye. Plants, earth, and stones were stripped from the ground layer by layer like the skin of a melon or fruit, then hurled into the other Soul Beasts.