Awakening

Just now, Yuan Qing had run into a Thousand-Year Long-Armed Ape. As a pure Support Soul Master with no attack power whatsoever, he had never imagined that he could get separated from his teammates on this trip.

Relying on speed boosts for himself, ordinary Thousand Year Soul Beasts could hardly touch Yuan Qing, but unfortunately, this dense fog cut off his vision.

By the time Yuan Qing noticed the Long-Armed Ape, it was already too late. He could only watch helplessly as its sharp claws lunged toward his head.

He even closed his eyes in fear. To his surprise, after waiting for a long while, he only felt himself being grabbed and forcibly displaced.

When he opened his eyes, the sharp claws from his memory did not appear. Instead, standing there was an old man with graying hair.

Seeing the purple soul ring slowly emerging above the Long-Armed Ape's corpse in the distance, how could Yuan Qing not know that this old man before him had saved him?

"Many thanks, Senior, for stepping in to save me."

"No need to be so polite. Since my grandson dragged you over here, this old man will naturally keep you safe."

Yuan Qing naturally agreed again and again. Whether the person before him was really Xu Mingxi's grandfather or not, if he said he was, then he was. Right now, in this Mist-Shrouded Land, Yuan Qing still had to rely on him for protection.

The First Elder brought Yuan Qing along, following closely behind Xu Mingxi. He wanted to temper him, but he did not truly want him to encounter mortal danger.

Even if this child was disappointing, at the very least, becoming a Super Douluo was almost guaranteed. With Mingguang as well, the Star Crown Sect would at most maintain its current state and would not decline.

Xu Mingxi had no idea that his grandfather was disappointed in him. He continued walking forward with an uneasy heart.

The fog grew thicker and thicker, and visibility grew lower and lower. Xu Mingxi, who had been maintaining Star's Protection the whole time, felt his Soul Power draining rapidly.

It was still daytime. Xu Mingxi's first soul ring lit up, but only faint starlight gathered. It could replenish a little of his consumption and expand his visible range slightly, better than nothing.

"No, this can't go on. I have to get out of here quickly. Who knows how many soul beasts are inside this place?"

Xu Mingxi subconsciously wanted to look for his grandfather, but after taking a few steps, his body suddenly stopped. He looked at his own hands, his expression dazed.

When exactly had he become like this? No matter what he encountered, his first thought was always to rely on his grandfather and the sect elders.

How had this happened? Xu Mingxi suddenly realized that he seemed to have become the kind of person he had once hated most.

In his previous life, Xu Mingxi had started boarding at school from third grade in elementary school all the way until he graduated from university. Back then, he had somewhat looked down on people who made a fuss about wanting their parents while living at school.

To his surprise, after arriving on the law-of-the-jungle Douluo Continent, he had started looking for his elders instead. Memories of the past flashed through Xu Mingxi's mind.

Thinking of how lax he had been every weekend, how he had slacked off on ordinary days, and how even during training he had hidden at the very back and muddled through, infinite fear suddenly surged in Xu Mingxi's heart.

Was this really me?

Xu Mingxi sank into deep self-doubt. It was not until his Soul Power output weakened, Star's Protection dimmed slightly, and the surrounding fog spread inward that he finally came back to his senses.

He adjusted his Soul Power output again, and Star's Protection shone brightly. Xu Mingxi's gaze gradually grew firm. Choosing a direction, he walked on without looking back.

Behind him, the First Elder watched Xu Mingxi go from moving forward, to confusion, and then to determination. His heart was filled with relief. This grandson of his had finally grown a little.

But immediately afterward, the First Elder's expression grew solemn. Outside Xu Mingxi's Starlight Guard, a Wolf-Shaped Soul Beast suddenly appeared. Even he had not noticed exactly when it had shown up.

Xu Mingxi was startled outright as well. Forcibly steadying his mind, he activated Starlight Guard to its maximum, and Star Light Ray shot toward the Wolf-Shaped Soul Beast.

What he had not expected was that Star Light Ray caused it no harm at all. It was not that the speed or power was insufficient, but that it passed straight through the soul beast's body. The place where it was struck by Star Light Ray directly turned into smoke and dispersed, then returned to normal after the attack passed.

Even the First Elder was surprised by this. He had never seen this type of soul beast before, and there was no record of it even in the sect's Soul Beast Encyclopedia.

For a moment, Xu Mingxi had no way to deal with this soul beast at all. Fortunately, its age did not seem high, and it could not break through his Star's Protection for the time being.

"Isn't this just a weakened version of the Smoke Fruit? Douluo Continent doesn't have Sea Stone or Haki either."

He tried weaving the starlight into a ribbon, but his control was lacking, and there were always gaps in the middle of the ribbon for it to escape through.

The man and the wolf began a long tug-of-war. Xu Mingxi stopped attacking as well, fully maintaining Star's Protection while tempering his control over starlight.

It lasted until night. The stars in the sky twinkled, and Xu Mingxi's first soul ring lit up. Starlight was drawn down, directly piercing through the layers of dense fog and illuminating his surroundings.

Strangely, after fighting for so long, that Wolf-Shaped Soul Beast showed no sign of fatigue. And this attack power was far too low, wasn't it?

At night, it was the Star Crown Martial Soul's home field. If his control was insufficient, then he would make up for it with quantity.

A large amount of starlight gathered, weaving into a beautiful curtain that directly wrapped around the Wolf-Shaped Soul Beast.

The curtain kept contracting. Although it encountered some resistance in the middle, the creature seemed completely unable to break through the curtain, until it vanished.

Xu Mingxi's expression turned strange. Was it really that weak? And it actually did not produce a soul ring. Could that thing just now not have been a soul beast at all?

Unable to figure it out, he could only take advantage of the fact that it was still night and continue walking in the direction he had been heading before.

By now, it was already far too late to turn back. His surroundings had long since been covered by thick fog, and Xu Mingxi had already lost his sense of direction.

Yuan Qing followed behind the First Elder. His companions had already increased to four people. The only ones still in the dense fog now were Xu Mingxi, the two Chen Family brothers, and two Soul Saints.

The First Elder carried them like a man grabbing chicks. With the slightest lapse in attention, someone would get lost.

Xu Mingxi walked for who knew how long before seeing the shadow of a building ahead. He sped up and ran over.

What entered his eyes was not a building, but a stretch of Ruins. This place seemed to have suffered an invasion. The broken walls were covered in traces of blade cuts and fire.

Suddenly, he heard a series of footsteps. He hid behind the ruins of a building, Star Light Ray condensing in his hand.

Only after seeing that it was Chen Qingting and his brother did he let out a breath of relief and walk out from behind the ruins.

"Mingxi, we finally found you. Did you see Xiao Rui and the others?"

"No. Ever since I entered the fog, I've been alone."

"Is that so? Then this is going to be troublesome."

Xu Mingxi saw that although the two Chen Family brothers did not have any real injuries, their clothes were ragged and torn, and there seemed to be streaks of white scratches across their bodies.

It seemed there was more than one Smoke Wolf. He really wondered how they had been created. Xu Mingxi sat to the side and recovered his Soul Power, waiting for the other companions to arrive.