A Familiar Place

Morning.

Sunlight pierced through dense layers of leaves, casting mottled patches of light.

Squeak!

Climbing out of its nest, the large yellow squirrel stood proudly on a thick branch. With a wave of its little paw, six or seven equally yellow baby squirrels squeezed out of the tree hollow.

However, these cubs clearly had no idea what "taking turns" meant.

So, unfortunately, they got stuck in the rather narrow opening.

Speechlessly shoving two of them back inside with its paws, the remaining cubs were finally able to wriggle free.

But this also reminded the thousand-year-old Yellow-skinned Squirrel that it needed to consider finding a bigger, roomier tree hollow.

Otherwise, once the cubs entered their growth stage, this little nest it had built with its own paws would easily become crowded and uninhabitable.

It was different from the human world.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, there were not that many vacant homes for homeless Soul Beasts to choose from.

They either had to find raw materials themselves and build a home with their own paws.

Or find an ownerless dwelling, clean it out, and take it over.

In short, reality was always cruel.

Still, this large Yellow-skinned Squirrel believed that as long as it worked hard, its days would gradually get better.

Then—

Looking at the familiar human before it, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel's little paws trembled, and it nearly lost its footing and fell from the tree.

Who knew why this damned thing had come back again!

It instinctively wanted to run, then instinctively stopped. Hurriedly driving its cubs back into the tree hollow, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel shook like a leaf, yet stubbornly blocked the entrance.

A large hand reached over and grabbed it.

He was here.

He was here.

A stream of humiliating tears spurted out. This oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel helplessly accepted its fate of being caught and casually toyed with by this hateful human.

Resistance was impossible!

If it did not want to die, it was best not to resist.

As if recalling something horrifying, the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel shivered and exposed its belly.

"You're quite practiced at this, huh?"

A flash of silver light passed by. A finger with neatly rounded nails gently rubbed against the Yellow-skinned Squirrel's belly.

Good, I won't die.

That thought surfaced in the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel's mind. Then, it did its best to cooperate with the finger, putting on an expression of comfort.

Soul Beasts were not impossible to tame.

As long as you first made them feel your sincerity, they would naturally be tamed by you.

Lu Yuan thought so too.

So that was how he had always done things.

Although the methods he used during the process might have been a little extreme, the results were exceptionally good.

Just look at it now. Even though he had been gone for more than a month, this Pikachu was still so obedient when he returned.

This proved from another angle that this Pikachu had already been conquered by him!

Of course, Lu Yuan's thoughts could not possibly be known by this "Pikachu."

Otherwise, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel would definitely spit in its heart: Try acting like a human!

"Do you know where the Man Faced Demon Spiders are?"

Man Faced Demon Spiders?

What kind of spider was that?

Hearing the human's question, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel froze. Its Little Head temporarily crashed.

Human currency could not be used here.

Human rules could not be used here.

Therefore, the names humans gave certain Soul Beasts could not be used here either.

After all, most Soul Beasts could not read. Even if someone threw them an encyclopedia of Soul Beasts, they would not understand it.

However, Lu Yuan quickly realized the problem and hurriedly changed the way he asked.

"A Man Faced Demon Spider is a large spider with a pattern resembling a human face on its abdomen. Have you seen one?"

These things were rare.

Lu Yuan had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for six years, yet the number of Man Faced Demon Spiders he had seen could be counted on one hand.

However, for small Soul Beasts that had lived in the Star Dou Great Forest for years, they had certainly seen Man Faced Demon Spiders more often than Lu Yuan, an outsider.

Therefore, asking them was the fastest way to obtain the location of Man Faced Demon Spiders.

Of course, that was assuming these small Soul Beasts could understand him and were willing to cooperate.

Fortunately.

This "Pikachu" had not only seen one, but was also willing to cooperate. It squeaked and chattered while waving its little paws in the air, clearly trying to explain something.

Unfortunately, Lu Yuan could not understand it.

Still, Lu Yuan's cold gaze softened slightly.

At the same time, he silently considered whether to give this "Pikachu" a permanent position.

Naturally, the Yellow-skinned Squirrel had no idea what kind of Ghost Idea Lu Yuan was harboring.

Otherwise, it would definitely have wept and said: I'm doing work for you, sir. I truly don't want anything in return.

"Point the way."

Placing Pikachu on his left shoulder, Lu Yuan gave the order indifferently. Then, with a casual swipe, he encircled the tree beneath his feet from bottom to top.

If the double Draw Ground as Prison could not stop them, then it made no difference whether Pikachu's cubs ran or not.

Taking one last look at its cubs, determination flashed in the oversized Yellow-skinned Squirrel's eyes. With a wave of its little paw, it pointed toward the front left.

Lu Yuan's figure silently vanished from where he stood.

The predator had returned.

Some old friends had to be informed.

Didn't they?

An Elite Squad came to a stop in the Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

The reason it was called an "Elite Squad" was mainly because its members were generally above Rank Seventy.

In other words, most members of this squad were Soul Saints!

Unfortunately, not all of them were.

Two Rank Forty Quasi Soul Ancestors and one Rank Thirty-Nine Soul Elder severely dragged down the Elite Squad's average combat strength.

Fortunately, the addition of two Titled Douluo forcefully raised the average combat strength again.

He wore a gorgeous elder's robe adorned with countless gemstones, as though afraid his noble status would not be obvious enough.

If he had been an ordinary person, these Soul Saints would have cursed this show-off into oblivion long ago. Unfortunately, he was a Titled Douluo.

Yue Guan—the Titled Douluo known as "Chrysanthemum"!

Unlike the flamboyant Yue Guan, the other figure draped in a Black Robe was clearly much more low-key.

Not only did he wear no accessories, but beneath his Black Robe, he even wore black Light Armor embedded with blue gemstones. He had practically carved the creed of "caution" into his instincts.

Gui Mei—the Titled Douluo known as "Ghost"!

If word spread that two Titled Douluo had personally set out, it would certainly cause a Great Disturbance in the Soul Master World.

The forces hostile to Spirit Hall would definitely be on high alert.

However, no one would likely imagine that the reason these two powerful Titled Douluo had come was merely to escort and protect someone.

"Na Na, the Star Dou Great Forest is ahead. Are you tired? Should we stop and recover some Soul Power?"

Xie Yue helplessly held his forehead and turned his face away as he walked to the side.

Although he had a good relationship with Yan, Yan was being so shamelessly flattering that even Xie Yue, as her brother, found it hard to handle!

Even if he wanted to give Yan an assist, there was definitely no way to do so right now.

Unless something unexpected happened, his little sister would certainly reject and rebuke him.

Sure enough, just as Xie Yue expected, Hu Liena spoke coldly.

"First, please call me Hu Liena, not Na Na. Thank you."

"Second, I'm not tired, and I don't need to recover Soul Power. If you can't keep going, you may say so yourself."

"Thank you for your concern, but there's no need next time."

After a brief exchange, the group set off again.

Yan chased after them with delight on his face and bumped Xie Yue with his shoulder. Xie Yue helplessly slowed down a little, keeping pace with Yan.

"Na Na said 'thank you' to me. Do you think I have a chance?"

Yan beamed, seemingly unaware that Hu Liena's words had actually been meant to create distance.

Xie Yue's face darkened, and without saying a word, he picked up his pace.

Pig teammates!

Hopeless!

Even an assist could not save him!

No one was asking him to become some battle-hardened wolf. Could he at least understand what people were saying first?

Please recommend, bookmark, and comment.

Hu Liena made her appearance.

Xie Yue, Yan, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Pikachu appeared as supporting cast.

I skipped the travel process from Shrek to the Star Dou Great Forest, and I also skipped the greeting process before hunting the Man Faced Demon Spider. I went straight into the next part of the plot in the fastest and most convenient way. I wonder whether you all think the transition was too abrupt.

But I think writing those parts would just be pointless filler unrelated to the plot, so I did not write them.

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