First Encounter with Huo Yuhao

At dawn, when the first rays of sunlight pierced through the treetops and fell upon the forest path, the woods quietly awakened. The leaves swayed gently in the morning breeze, while sunlight streamed through the gaps, casting dappled shadows across the ground.

As time passed, the light in the forest grew brighter and brighter. Sunlight streamed through the treetops, forming a golden sea across the ground. The forest had already awakened from its morning tranquility and was now filled with vitality and life.

A pinecone rolled down, followed closely by a squirrel. It fearlessly came onto the path, and just as it was about to pick up the pinecone, this peaceful and harmonious scene was suddenly shattered.

"Creaaak..."

The sound of wheels crushing dead leaves and branches rang out, followed by the echo of hoofbeats. As the nearby animals scattered, a Soul Tool Carriage emerged beneath the shade of the trees.

"Young Master, the Star Dou Forest is just ahead."

When his voice faded, three figures stepped down from the carriage.

They were Chen Junting, Ning Tian, and Wu Feng, who had come from the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect to the Star Dou Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring.

Since there was still some time before freshman enrollment, they would have more than enough time to head to Shrek Academy after helping Ning Tian hunt for her Third Soul Ring.

"Xiao Liu, thank you for your trouble along the way. Once we finish hunting for the Soul Ring, we'll head straight to Shrek City, so you don't have to wait here for us. Go back to the Sect."

After crossing this stretch of forest, they would reach the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest. Thus, Chen Junting and the others planned to continue on foot.

With their current cultivation, this short distance was nothing worth mentioning anyway.

"Yes, Young Master Chen."

At that moment, not far from them—

"Beibei, look."

A girl who appeared to be fifteen or sixteen spotted the Soul Tool Carriage ahead of them with her sharp eyes. She hurriedly called out to the blue-haired boy of about the same age following behind her.

They were Tang Ya and Beibei.

"Xiao Ya, that's a Soul Tool Carriage."

Beibei was clearly much more cautious than Tang Ya. After carefully observing it with his Purple Demon Eye, he did not shout excitedly like Tang Ya. Instead, he deliberately lowered his voice.

Tang Ya, who was standing nearby, was carefree but not foolish. Seeing Beibei lower his voice, she instinctively crouched down halfway.

But after realizing what she had done, she first complained in a low, annoyed voice, "I know it's a Soul Tool Carriage. Also, you should call me Teacher Xiao Ya." Then, with a hint of confusion, she asked, "Soul Tool Carriages aren't rare. Beibei, why are you being so cautious?"

"All right, all right, Teacher Xiao Ya." Beibei hurriedly changed the way he addressed her in an indulgent tone, after which his eyes were replaced by calmness.

"I'm not being cautious, and that's not an ordinary Soul Tool Carriage, either." As Mu En's great-grandson, Beibei naturally had broader horizons. "If I'm not mistaken, that Soul Tool Carriage should be top of the line. It's even much better than the academy's."

"That rich!?"

Even though she had lowered her voice, Tang Ya still cried out in surprise.

"This isn't just a matter of money. More importantly, it's whether one has the ability to obtain something like that." Beibei did not dare observe any longer. He took Tang Ya's hand and turned to leave. "Xiao Ya, let's enter the Star Dou Forest from another direction. It would be bad if we ran into that group of Soul Masters while hunting for a Soul Beast and ended up in a conflict."

"Okay."

At that moment, Tang Ya naturally obeyed Beibei without question. She let him lead her by the hand toward another direction.

The wings of fate slowly began to flap at this very moment...

"Hm?"

After parting with the disciple of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Chen Junting seemed to suddenly sense something. He abruptly looked toward Beibei and the others, but only caught sight of two figures hurrying away.

"That was..."

"Brother Junting, what's wrong?"

Their conversation stopped, and Ning Tian looked at Chen Junting with concern.

Wu Feng, meanwhile, directly rose onto her tiptoes, bringing her line of sight level with Chen Junting's. She looked toward the direction he had been staring at, but found nothing. "There's nothing there?"

"I only saw two figures."

He pressed one hand onto Wu Feng's head and forcefully pushed her down. Ignoring her indignation, he smiled at Ning Tian.

"They probably have the same purpose as us."

At that, Ning Tian did not think much of it.

Instead, she took a map of part of the Star Dou Forest from her Storage Soul Tool. It recorded ten areas where the Soul Beasts suitable for the Third Soul Ring of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda gathered.

After identifying their direction, the three of them headed deeper into the forest.

Before long, a stream came into view.

"Hm? What's that smell?"

Wu Feng suddenly seemed to notice something and sniffed the air. Immediately afterward, an enticing aroma also entered Chen Junting and Ning Tian's noses.

"That smells so good." Even Ning Tian, who had tasted all kinds of delicacies, could not help but brighten at the sight of this aroma.

"It smells like Grilled Fish."

Chen Junting instantly understood. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through the bushes before him and lock onto someone's back.

"The smell is coming from ahead."

Wu Feng pinpointed the direction of the scent and charged ahead!

Before Ning Tian could stop her, Wu Feng hurriedly pushed through the bushes, revealing a boy not much younger than them, but clearly much thinner, to their eyes.

At that moment, the boy was sitting seriously beside the fire, holding a branch with both hands. A Grilled Fish that looked crisp on the outside and tender within was skewered onto it. However, when Wu Feng barged in, his eyes filled with panic.

Chen Junting's gaze swept across the empty space nearby.

There seemed to be a bottle containing salt, as well as perilla leaves on the ground.

"Huo Yuhao. So it really is him."

Staring into Huo Yuhao's slightly flustered eyes, Chen Junting muttered inwardly. Then he inconspicuously scanned the surroundings, as if searching for something, but ultimately found nothing.

"Hm? Where are Tang Ya and Beibei?"

Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind.

Could the two figures he had seen leaving earlier have been Tang Ya and Beibei?

If so, had they become the wings of a butterfly?

At the same time, an even deeper doubt welled up in his heart.

Could it be that Huo Yuhao joining the Tang Sect wasn't specially arranged by God King Tang? Instead, as the Child of Destiny, was it originally one of the opportunities destined for him? And now...

Just as Chen Junting was caught up in his mental storm—

"Big Brother, I'll treat you to some Grilled Fish, too."

A tempting fragrance suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

When he came back to himself, he discovered that Huo Yuhao had already brought a piece of Grilled Fish to him. After glancing around, he found that Wu Feng and Ning Tian had actually started eating already.

"Sword Man, aren't you going to eat this Grilled Fish? It's so good!"

Seeing that Wu Feng was about to swallow the Grilled Fish in her hand whole, Ning Tian immediately stopped her with a reproachful look. At the same time, she looked toward Chen Junting, who was staring at her in astonishment, her pretty face slightly flushed.

"Brother Junting, Huo Yuhao's Grilled Fish is pretty good."

"You girls!" Seeing that Ning Tian and the others had already introduced themselves to one another, Chen Junting could not help feeling both amused and helpless.

Then his attention was drawn to the Grilled Fish as well.

Could this Grilled Fish really be that delicious?

Although he was doubtful, Chen Junting did not refuse Huo Yuhao's kindness. As he accepted the Grilled Fish from him, a gentle smile also appeared on his stern face.

"Yuhao, you don't mind if I call you that, do you?"