Hunting Ring Invitation

Zhang Bufan's earth-shattering cry of "Brother-in-law!" echoed through the small woods at Blazing Fire Academy's barracks like a thunderclap, its lingering echoes seemingly lasting for three days... at least, that was how it felt to Huo Wushuang and Huo Wu.

Huo Wushuang trembled with rage, pointing in the direction Zhang Bufan had vanished, his lips quivering as he failed to force out a complete sentence for a long while. His chest felt so tight that even his injuries seemed to worsen. He suddenly turned to his sister, heartbroken and furious. "Wu'er! Did you hear that? Did that sound like something a human would say?! Brother-in-law?! Who does he think he is?! This is outrageous! Arrogant! Shameless! A lecher!"

Huo Wu's face was also flushed crimson, her heart pounding like a drum. Zhang Bufan's matter-of-fact tone and that ambiguous form of address were like a fire, scorching her from the inside out. She was both embarrassed and annoyed by his loose tongue and thick skin, yet deep down, his words, "I'll take good care of her," stirred an indescribable, tingling sensation within her.

"Brother! Y-you can't listen to his nonsense!" Huo Wu stamped her foot, trying to make her tone sound angrier to conceal her unnatural guilty conscience. "H-he's just a smooth-talking bastard! But... but what he taught me just now was genuinely useful!"

She tried to steer the conversation back on track, showing Huo Wushuang the subtle improvement in her Soul Power control to prove that Zhang Bufan was not entirely up to no good.

However, how could Huo Wushuang listen while he was in such a rage? To him, Zhang Bufan was a big bad wolf wearing human skin, coveting his family's precious cabbage. Every inch of him screamed the words "ill intent."

"Useful? What use could it possibly have?!" Huo Wushuang practically roared. "He's just misleading you! Wu'er, you're too innocent! Someone powerful with an unknown background like him is the most dangerous kind! Stay away from him, do you hear me?!"

"Brother!" Huo Wu was getting angry as well. "I can make my own judgments! He isn't a bad person!"

"Y-you've really been fed some kind of love potion by him!" Seeing his sister actually defend that brat, Huo Wushuang's vision darkened with fury. Clutching his chest, he began coughing violently.

Huo Wu's heart tightened at the sight, and she hurried forward to support him. "Brother, are you all right? Your injuries haven't healed yet. Don't get worked up..."

Huo Wushuang panted heavily as he looked at the concern in his sister's eyes. In the end, all his rage turned into a helpless, weighty sigh. He knew that his little sister had grown up and had ideas of her own. And that Zhang Bufan... his strength truly ran unfathomably deep. Even if Huo Wushuang wanted to interfere by force, he probably couldn't...

Over the next few days, Huo Wushuang adopted a strategy of strict vigilance. Whenever he saw even the slightest sign of Zhang Bufan approaching Huo Wu, he immediately transformed into a guardian statue, glaring at him with warning so intense it was nearly tangible.

Zhang Bufan did not care in the least; he even found it rather amusing. Every time he saw Huo Wushuang, he would still smile and call out in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, just enough for the other man to hear: "Brother-in-law, eaten yet?" or "Brother-in-law, you're looking well." It choked Huo Wushuang so badly that he kept rolling his eyes, inwardly raging, Eat your head! I only look well because you've made me so angry!

Meanwhile, under her brother's close surveillance and Zhang Bufan's seemingly casual but consistently incisive guidance, Huo Wu's Soul Power cultivation steadily improved, and her control over her flames became increasingly refined. She could feel that her breakthrough past the level-forty bottleneck was already within reach.

That day, Blazing Fire Academy's Lead Teacher gathered all the Regular Team Members to discuss obtaining Huo Wu's Fourth Soul Ring.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was solemn. The Lead Teacher spread out a map and pointed to an area on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. "Based on our intelligence and Huo Wu's Martial Soul characteristics, the most suitable Fourth Soul Ring for her would come from a Soul Beast known as a Lava Lizard. These Soul Beasts usually have cultivation levels of around three to four thousand years. They possess both fire and earth attributes, have extremely powerful defenses, and their attacks carry burning and shockwave effects. If she can successfully absorb one, it will greatly enhance Huo Wu's strength."

The teachers began discussing the precise route, personnel arrangements, and dangers they might encounter. Huo Wu listened attentively, feeling both anticipation and nervousness. This was the first time she would need to hunt such a high-age Soul Beast.

Just then, her gaze involuntarily drifted outside the window—there he was, leisurely leaning against a tree with a blade of grass between his lips, staring up at the sky with a bored expression.

A thought suddenly surfaced in Huo Wu's heart, impossible to suppress.

After the meeting ended, the Team Members scattered to make preparations. Huo Wu hesitated again and again, clenching and loosening her small fists before finally gathering her courage and walking toward the lazy figure beneath the tree.

Huo Wushuang had been watching his sister all along. When he saw her heading toward Zhang Bufan, he immediately hurried after her like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his eyes full of vigilance.

Naturally, Zhang Bufan saw Huo Wu walking toward him, as well as the dark-faced "guardian" behind her. He spat out the blade of grass and curled his lips into an amused smile.

"Yo, Brother-in-law, out for a walk?" he greeted first, his target directly being Huo Wushuang.

A vein throbbed on Huo Wushuang's forehead. Suppressing the urge to throw a punch, he forced a few words through clenched teeth. "Zhang Bufan, what are you trying to do now?"

Zhang Bufan ignored him and turned his gaze to the somewhat awkward Huo Wu, softening his voice. "What is it? Another problem with your Soul Power?"

Huo Wu took a deep breath and raised her head, meeting Zhang Bufan's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through people's hearts. Her voice held a trace of barely perceptible nervousness. "I... I'm about to break through level forty. The academy is preparing to organize a team to go to the Star Dou Great Forest and help me obtain my Fourth Soul Ring."

"Mm, that's a good thing." Zhang Bufan nodded to show that he understood, but did not otherwise react.

Huo Wu bit her lower lip and finally spoke the words that had lingered in her heart for so long. "Y-you... would you be willing to come with us?"

The moment those words left her mouth, Huo Wushuang bristled. "Wu'er! Have you lost your mind?! We're from Blazing Fire Academy, hunting a Soul Ring. What business do we have inviting an outsider?!"

Zhang Bufan raised an eyebrow slightly as well, seemingly surprised that Huo Wu had taken the initiative to invite him. He stroked his chin, looked at her scarlet eyes filled with expectation and unease, and suddenly smiled.

This smile was unlike his usual teasing or lazy grin. It carried an unmistakable hint of delight and... indulgence?

"No problem." His answer was crisp and decisive, without the slightest hesitation, as though it were nothing more than a trivial matter. "Leave it to me."

An opportunity to show off my boyfriend skills has arrived! This is the perfect chance to deepen our relationship and show off my heroic side! A mere few-thousand-year Soul Beast? Wouldn't that be easy? And I can let Brother-in-law see what true reliability looks like!

"Y-you..." Huo Wu had not expected him to agree so readily. For a moment, she was stunned, and the unease in her heart was instantly replaced by a warm current of reassurance.

"Zhang Bufan!" Huo Wushuang was so furious that he nearly passed out. "This is an internal matter for Blazing Fire Academy! We don't need an outsider like you interfering!"

Zhang Bufan finally turned his attention to Huo Wushuang, his eyes carrying a touch of teasing as he spoke earnestly. "Brother-in-law, that's not right. Wu'er's affairs are my affairs. How can that be called interfering? I'm helping out voluntarily, ensuring my Wu'er's absolute safety. Besides, an extra person means extra strength. If you run into any danger you can't handle, I can promptly... well, clean up the battlefield."

He spoke lightly, but the confidence with which he looked down on everything left Huo Wushuang speechless. He wanted to refute him and emphasize Blazing Fire Academy's strength, but when he recalled Zhang Bufan casually killing a Soul Emperor in an instant that day, along with all the other mysteries he had displayed before, those words caught in his throat and refused to come out.

That was right. With this monster around, never mind a Thousand-Year Soul Beast—even a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... Huo Wushuang shuddered violently and did not dare think any further.

"Then... it's settled." Afraid that her brother would object again, Huo Wu hurriedly finalized the matter. A faint blush and a relieved smile appeared on her face without her realizing it. "We leave early tomorrow morning."

Seeing the joy and dependence in his sister's eyes—or so he believed—every word of objection Huo Wushuang had turned into a powerless sigh. He shot Zhang Bufan a fierce glare, his eyes filled with warnings of "You'd better be careful" and "Don't try anything," then turned and left with a belly full of anger.

Zhang Bufan watched Huo Wushuang's furious retreating back, shrugged innocently, and winked at Huo Wu. "See? Brother-in-law is quite reasonable after all."

Huo Wu could not help but burst out laughing. She immediately realized that was inappropriate and hastily put on a stern face, but the smile at the corners of her eyes could not be hidden.

"Don't be late tomorrow." Leaving those words behind, she turned and quickly walked away as well, though her steps seemed far lighter than when she had arrived.

Zhang Bufan watched her departing figure, stroked his chin, and revealed a confident smile.

Hunting a Soul Ring? This was clearly a publicly funded romance trip... ah, no, the perfect journey for building their relationship!