A Small Accident, a Little Dissatisfaction

Primeval forests were always fraught with danger.

Green was everywhere, and it was also the camouflage color of the forest's predators. After a long process of evolution, they had ultimately chosen to blend into their surroundings in order to survive better.

As the saying went, when man and heaven became one, all things became uncontested, and nothing in the world dared defy them. When beasts and nature became one, though they might lack the wisdom to seek nature's ways, they could still follow the tide. Survival of the fittest was plain to see.

"Xiaoyan, keep up!"

"Coming."

Chen Yan curled his lip and followed Gu Yuena's pace.

She was 1.42 meters tall, with silver hair falling to her legs. Walking through the green forest, she looked like an elf born between heaven and earth. Even the vibrant forest seemed to pale beside her at that moment.

Damn, she was only nine! Chen Yan rubbed his brow, deeply troubled.

Where he could not see, the corners of Gu Yuena's delicate lips lifted slightly, relaxed and pleased.

Chen Yan and Gu Yuena walked forward over dead leaves.

"Crack... crack..."

The dry leaves shattered beneath their feet, weathering away before eventually becoming dust in the near future.

But compared to silently returning to dust and earth, Chen Yan felt it would be better for them to add a hint of rhythm to his journey through the Spirit Ascension Platform and give off their final bit of light and heat.

After all, fallen leaves, you didn't want to leave this world so silently, did you? (ω)

Of course, stepping on fallen leaves was not entirely for that reason. There was another reason as well...

A golden glint flashed through Chen Yan's eyes. He clenched his right fist, twisted his body, and threw a punch.

Faint golden scales covered his right arm along with his Soul Power. As Chen Yan punched, the air rubbed against his fist, producing a piercing whoosh.

One punch and one leopard rapidly closed in midair. The Cloud Leopard had nowhere to evade.

Bang!

Chen Yan's fist avoided the Cloud Leopard's jaws and smashed viciously into the left side of its face.

"Crack..."

The enormous force instantly shattered its cheekbone. Like a cannonball, it was sent flying by the blow and crashed heavily into the tree behind it.

Wood chips flew and dust rose. A faint wail came from the Cloud Leopard's mouth, weak and powerless, as though it had suffered some cruel torture. (A burly man pressing down on it... crossed out.)

That punch carried three years of practice, and it looked like it couldn't take it! I didn't even use a Soul Skill, and it went down like that. Am I already this strong?

Just as Chen Yan was feeling full of himself, Gu Yuena's cool voice sounded by his ear.

"Finish it quickly."

Chen Yan shuddered. Slaughtering a Soul Beast in front of the Soul Beast Master—wasn't that another kind of offending someone right in front of her? Would she go easy on him when they sparred in the future?

Remembering how Gu Yuena had kited him around before, Chen Yan felt the pain from being blasted by Dual Heavens of Ice and Fire rise up all over again.

On one side was a freezing world of ice and snow, with biting winds and everything buried under frost; on the other was scorching volcanic lava, blazing flames, and rolling heatwaves. Individually, neither element could do much to Chen Yan, but for some reason, the two could combine in such a bizarre way—and explode, at that. It really made no sense.

Thus, the explosive enhancement left even thick-skinned Chen Yan miserable in his battles against Gu Yuena. He could not hit her at all, though his agility kept shooting upward.

"Okay."

This time, Chen Yan moved swiftly and cleanly slit its throat, trying to spare it some suffering. Besides, he was saving it from taking so many detours in life. Gu Yuena should understand, right?

Chen Yan guiltily glanced at Gu Yuena, only to find her expression as calm as ever. He could not read anything from it.

A woman's heart was a needle at the bottom of the sea!

Once Chen Yan had absorbed the spiritual energy, Gu Yuena turned around.

"Let's keep going. We're already very close to the core region."

The woods grew denser and denser, and sunlight became increasingly scarce. At the same time, the number of Soul Beasts gradually decreased, but their cultivation ages grew higher and higher.

Chen Yan had already killed three thousand-year Soul Beasts. Gu Yuena merely watched quietly, with no intention of acting.

Maybe she just couldn't bring herself to do it, Chen Yan comforted himself.

After killing three thousand-year Soul Beasts, Chen Yan's hundred-year Soul Spirit had long met the conditions for ascension. It only needed Chen Yan to leave the Spirit Ascension Platform for the ascension to be completed. In other words, they only had one final objective left on this trip—the guardian beast's soul bone.

According to internal information, this guardian beast with a soul bone was located east of the forest's core region. It had a cultivation age of two thousand years, and because of the soul bone, it could even fight above its level. Though it was not comparable to top-tier Soul Beasts of the same level, overall, it had reached the very peak among high-level Soul Beasts. (Use the Man Faced Demon Spider as a reference.)

A twenty-thousand-year tail soul bone could also be called an external attached soul bone. Although the cultivation age of Soul Beasts created through technology was only one-tenth of the original, the power contained in their soul bone skills was not greatly affected. While it consumed a great deal for a Soul Beast, it could still serve as a trump card, catching enemies off guard.

But how was he supposed to get this thing out? If it meant growing a scorpion tail, he definitely would not be happy about it. If it were Gu Yuena, though... nope, no way. Dragon-tailed girls were the best!

Gu Yuena naturally had no idea what he was thinking. Otherwise, she would definitely put a little more force into their future sparring sessions.

The forest ahead grew increasingly dim, and the entire area was terrifyingly quiet. There were no birdcalls, no insect chirps. It seemed as though even the air had stagnated in space, no longer moving.

Gu Yuena's expression also became serious for once.

"Xiaoyan, prepare for battle."

The moment he entered this area and sensed danger, Chen Yan had already secretly gone on guard. But when it came to spiritual power, he was still lacking somewhat.

Shadows darted through the surrounding bushes, making rustling sounds.

Suddenly, a distorted ring of light descended from above. It covered an enormous area and briefly illuminated the dim surroundings.

"Damn, going straight for the ultimate move?"

A dazzling red light rapidly approached in Chen Yan's vision. He grabbed Gu Yuena's wrist and prepared to flee left. But just as his left foot stepped out and his right foot was about to push off, silver light flashed, and Chen Yan stepped into empty air.

Chen Yan: ???? What the hell????

Chen Yan was about to contribute a classic scene of face-first contact with the ground!

His head could break, his blood could flow, but his dignity could not be lost!

Chen Yan gritted his teeth, twisted again, and pulled Gu Yuena into his arms.

Gu Yuena's purple pupils abruptly contracted, and her expression froze. She had originally been ready to teleport again, but this directly stalled the Soul Power she had gathered for teleportation. Even her body stiffened for a moment.

Bang—

Chen Yan's back landed safely.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Gu Yuena shook her head and turned her gaze to one side, concealing the ripples in her eyes.

Seeing that the two of them were unharmed, a huge scorpion slowly emerged from the forest. The giant scorpion was snow-white all over, and every joint on its body radiated intense killing intent. A tail formed from nine segments of tailbone was raised high, ending in a fiery red stinger.

Roar!

The King of the Earth let out a shrill cry, venting its displeasure at having missed its attack. This also broke the slightly awkward atmosphere between Chen Yan and Gu Yuena.

Gu Yuena gently climbed out of Chen Yan's arms, a trace of dissatisfaction showing in her eyes.

Whether it was because of the scorpion's insolence or for some other reason...

Ah, I accidentally ended up here again. Sorry. (ω) Even though I have no classes on weekends, it somehow feels like I haven't done anything at all. How strange.