Tian Meng Appears

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, two and a half years had gone by.

Outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

An unnamed small town.

Chen Ming reclined halfway up a tree outside the town, his eyes slightly raised as he looked toward Shrek City.

A young man and woman caught his attention.

"Finally, they're here."

Chen Ming's gaze instantly sharpened as he recognized them.

After all, they had crossed paths before. Chen Ming quickly saw the shadow of eight-year-old Bei Bei in the young man's face, and the shadow of eight-year-old Tang Ya in the girl.

That was right. The ones approaching in plain sight were Bei Bei and Tang Ya of the Tang Sect.

The two chatted and laughed, playfully roughhousing along the way, their youthful vitality drawing envious looks from those around them.

In contrast, the younger boy who had spent two months in the small town, lying in a tree, seemed to possess none of that vitality.

Quite a few people secretly compared the two sides, stealing glances at Chen Ming in the tree.

"I really am no longer a boy."

Chen Ming sighed and jumped down from the tree.

Bei Bei suddenly felt intensely uncomfortable. He looked up and happened to see Chen Ming straighten up after landing.

Looking at that somewhat familiar face, Bei Bei recalled the nightmare from years ago.

There had not even been any suspense—he had been utterly defeated by that child two years younger than himself!

He had been eight that year.

Martial souls awakened at six. At that age, two fewer years of cultivation made an enormous difference, one measured entirely in multiples.

"It's you!"

Tang Ya became agitated even before Bei Bei did.

Like a cat with its fur standing on end, Tang Ya glared furiously at Chen Ming, pointing at him with clenched teeth.

"You're the one who stole my Whale Rubber!"

"Bei Bei, get him! Teach him a lesson!"

Bei Bei snapped out of his daze. Hearing Tang Ya's call, he was about to tell her to calm down and stop making trouble when he suddenly remembered the nightmare this person had brought him. Now that he had encountered him again, perhaps it was time to prove himself anew.

"That's right. I have my great-grandfather's guidance, and my martial soul bloodline has awakened further. I became a Soul Ancestor at fourteen. I'm no longer who I was back then, even if..."

"Even if I damage my origin and force my martial soul to awaken, I will defeat him!"

Bei Bei stepped forward, took a deep breath, and assumed a challenging stance, his expression more serious than ever.

Seeing that the other side was ready to fight from the very start, Chen Ming paid them no attention. His gaze passed over the two of them and fell on the area behind them.

There appeared to be nothing unusual, yet Chen Ming's Spiritual Power could sense two relatively strong fluctuations of Soul Power. They were roughly at the level of Soul Emperors!

At that moment, Tang Ya tilted her head, noticing that Bei Bei was different today.

Whenever she acted willfully in the past, Bei Bei would always come out to stop her in annoyance, lecture her endlessly, then leave her speechless by using his 'good looks.'

Today, Bei Bei had actually changed!

But Tang Ya was not happy about it.

Normally, she might have shouted, 'Bei Bei, get him!' Yet now, she inexplicably did not want to be delayed. She only wanted to hurry to the Star Dou Great Forest and quickly obtain her third soul ring.

"Bei Bei, forget it. We should conserve our strength for hunting soul beasts."

Chen Ming's indifference embarrassed Bei Bei, and Tang Ya happened to give him a way out.

"Hmph, Chen Ming, do you dare fight me again in three months?"

Bei Bei no longer resembled his usual refined self.

Chen Ming curled his lip and ignored them, turning toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

There was only one road here. Given their pace, as long as Chen Ming covered the surrounding three-kilometer area with his Spiritual Power, he would not miss his target.

"Hey! Why are you so rude?"

Tang Ya stepped forward and started berating Chen Ming beside him.

Bei Bei hurried after her as well, worried that Tang Ya might get bullied.

Tang Ya truly was irritating, chattering nonstop.

Fortunately, Chen Ming would not have to put up with her for long.

They had only left the town and walked for half an hour when Chen Ming's senses caught the frail boy.

"It smells so good!"

Tang Ya cried out, looking around as her nose twitched. Then she grabbed Bei Bei and ran toward the source of the aroma.

Seeing Huo Yuhao grilling fish by the river, Tang Ya rushed over, her eyes fixed on the grilled fish in his hands.

"Little brother, are you selling those grilled fish? How did you make them? They smell so good."

Seeing the brightly dressed Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao took two steps back in panic and could only hold out the grilled fish in front of him.

"I-I'll treat you."

His face was slightly flushed, and there was a hint of timidity in his voice.

Bei Bei stepped forward and exchanged a few simple words with Huo Yuhao before beginning to eat the fragrant grilled fish as well.

Huo Yuhao noticed another figure in the distance behind them. After hesitating for a long time, he finally gathered his courage and called out, "Big brother over there, would you like some?"

Chen Ming did not approach.

He continued down the main road, observing the surroundings.

He knew the purpose of his trip. To Huo Yuhao, his goal was no less than robbing him of hope.

However, if everything followed its original 'Fate,' Huo Yuhao would be his enemy. That was why he could make this decision.

Even Chen Ming, who no longer acknowledged the original Fate, could decide to steal Huo Yuhao's opportunity.

He was not a great philanthropist. He had never been one, not even in his first life.

Even now, even though he had the drive to bring down Tang San, it was not for any grand righteousness.

Everything stemmed from nothing more than revenge.

Chen Ming searched the area for half an hour but did not find any trace of Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

Just then, a powerful mental fluctuation erupted in an instant.

Chen Ming's expression changed slightly when he sensed it.

He looked toward the source of the mental fluctuation.

"As expected of a million-year soul beast."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm might have lazed his way to a million years, and all his life essence might have been drained away, but his racial talent—his Mental attribute—had risen alongside him.

Even without his life essence, his mental origin remained just as formidable.

If his Soul Martial Soul had not possessed him so early on, Chen Ming might even have been knocked unconscious by that mental fluctuation.

Elsewhere, Huo Yuhao had gone through great effort to kill the Wind Baboon. As it lay dying, he saw a crack split open in the ground, with platinum light shining through it.

"Brother has finally encountered a human soul master with a Mental attribute! Too bad Brother can't cry, or else I'd definitely be crying my eyes out!"

"Oh no, that's not right. What's happening?"

A blast of Spiritual Power struck Huo Yuhao, instantly shattering his already muddled consciousness and knocking him completely unconscious.

"Who are you? Don't come any closer!"

Before the platinum light could fully emerge from the ground, it suddenly began to shrink back.

Chen Ming's eyes turned cold. In an instant, he teleported forward. Ice and fire swirled around his body, their Extreme Fire and ice auras restraining each other without leaking the slightest bit outward.

Ice Fire Power gathered in his right fist as he smashed it fiercely into the ground. The dragon-like ice and fire power finally collided at the tip of his fist.

Boom!

The ground cracked apart.

Ice Fire Power seeped beneath the earth and dispersed outward, forming a golden lotus wreathed in ice and fire that enveloped the entire patch of ground.

"Hey, hey, hey! Brother just chose not to argue with you, don't push it too far!"

Tian Meng cried out in fury after being scorched by the power of Extreme Fire.

Golden light shone from Chen Ming's eyes as he stared at Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, whose true form had been revealed after the ground shattered.