Back into the Star Dou Great Forest

"Mmm... ngh..." Griseo let out a cute little hum, rubbed her eyes, and sat up. She immediately noticed Lang Lei sitting cross-legged beside the bed, cultivating.

"L-Little Sheep!" Griseo called softly, and a World-Painting Creation emerged from the floor of the room.

"Brother Lang Lei... did you sit here all night?" Griseo asked, tilting her head.

Little Sheep nodded before disappearing again.

Griseo tilted her head, threw back the covers, and hopped out of bed. She had not taken off her clothes last night anyway, so naturally, she did not need to get dressed~

The noise caught Lang Lei's attention. He stopped cultivating and looked toward the sound.

Griseo stood there, looking adorably proper.

"Hm? Little Griseo is awake." Lang Lei smiled and reached out to straighten her slightly rumpled clothes. "Shall we leave now?"

"Aren't we waiting for that old grandpa?" Griseo asked, tilting her head.

"No, we won't wait for him. Our routes are a little different, so there's no need." Lang Lei smiled.

"Then... Brother Lang Lei, let's go." Griseo held out her little hand.

"Mm." Lang Lei took Griseo's hand, his gaze involuntarily falling on her cute little bare feet.

"Griseo, do you really not need to wear shoes?" Lang Lei asked.

"Do I need to?" Griseo touched her lips with a finger. "But Brother Lang Lei seems to like them..."

"Wah, wah, wah! You can't just say things like that! Little Griseo should put on some shoes!" Lang Lei hurriedly covered Griseo's mouth.

"Mmm... okay." Griseo nodded, and a pair of blue-and-white knee-high boots appeared on her feet.

Then, Lang Lei quietly led Griseo out of the guest room and slipped into the Star Dou Great Forest.

As for what would happen once Snake Lance Douluo realized...

Hehehe...

"We're back again..." Lang Lei sighed as he walked along the outermost edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"The scenery here is very pretty. I like it." Griseo seemed to be in a good mood.

"It really is pretty..." Lang Lei noticed that they seemed to have taken a different path this time. All around them were plants in every sort of color.

They were currently on the outskirts of the forest. Even for the still-weak Lang Lei, this place could hardly be called dangerous.

"Brother Lang Lei, why have we come back here again?" After Lang Lei led Griseo along for a while, she could not help asking.

"Because Brother is already level twenty and needs to find a Spirit Ring to break through. There are the most spirit beasts here, so we came here~" Lang Lei said with a smile.

"Spirit Rings, spirit beasts, breaking through levels? I don't understand..." Griseo turned to look at Lang Lei and shook her head.

"In this world, every soul master needs a Spirit Ring every ten levels to break through their limits and gain a soul skill. As for Spirit Rings, they are obtained by killing spirit beasts. Do you understand now, Little Griseo?" Lang Lei patiently explained.

"Killing spirit beasts..." Griseo lowered her head in thought. "But to this great forest, and to the big creatures living inside it, we are the invaders, aren't we..."

Achieving one's own goals by killing other innocent living beings—no matter how long Griseo had lived, she still could not understand such behavior.

After all, her power had come when, in a desperate situation, her elders made one final gamble and pushed her from a place of certain death into one where survival was barely possible.

Still young at the time, she endured pain and trials that even adults could scarcely bear. Only then, under the protection of the Goddess of Fortune, did she gain the power she possessed now.

As for the "Golden Spirit Ring" on her body, it was merely this world's crude manifestation of her power after she arrived here.

"..." Lang Lei fell silent. Everyone had their own answer to this question, but soul masters instinctively avoided it.

Because they had no other choice but to avoid it. They told themselves that it was only natural, just like wolves eating sheep...

"Little Griseo, you're right." Lang Lei crouched down and stroked Griseo's head. "It's just... perhaps Brother isn't all that noble or righteous either, and for now, I'm powerless to change this situation."

"Griseo understands. These are the rules of this world..." Griseo shook her head. "Brother Lang Lei can do whatever Brother Lang Lei wants to do. I'll always stay by Brother Lang Lei's side and support Brother Lang Lei. My eyes tell me that Brother Lang Lei isn't a bad person."

"Ha, Griseo is such a good girl." Lang Lei smiled knowingly. "Let's go. Brother promises you that I'll spare innocent spirit beasts."

A good person... Lang Lei thought. I probably don't count as one...

At the very least, if he encountered a spirit beast suitable for him, he would kill it without mercy, just like any ordinary soul master.

As for innocent spirit beasts~

If a spirit beast blocked their path and attacked them while they were walking through the Star Dou Great Forest, then it could hardly be considered innocent...

He did not possess the compassion to feed himself to tigers or cut flesh from his body to feed eagles.