The Burden on His Heart and the Hunting Ground

Under Bibi Dong's gaze, Xuan Hao's heart skipped a beat.

His eyes darted away from hers. He pressed his lips together and said nothing.

"Yue Guan, leave us." Bibi Dong looked away.

"Yes." Yue Guan did not dare ask questions. He hurried out, closing the hall doors behind him.

The room fell quiet again, save for Hu Liena's steady breathing.

"Xuan Hao."

Bibi Dong looked at him. "Someone saved you, didn't they?"

Xuan Hao kept his head down, picking at the bedsheet without realizing it. He remained silent.

He was no fool.

He knew any lie he told now would fall flat before this sharp woman.

His silence gave Bibi Dong her answer.

The boy might talk nonsense most of the time, but on matters like this, his silence was as good as an admission.

That Shapeshifting Soul Beast had indeed saved him.

He might even know who she was... and be protecting her this way.

"Enough."

Bibi Dong did not press him further or blame him for keeping it from her.

"Get some rest."

She gave Xuan Hao one long look, then rose and left the hall.

Outside the hall, in the corridor.

Yue Guan was pacing anxiously. When Bibi Dong emerged, he hurried to meet her.

"Your Excellency..."

"What did you find?" Bibi Dong asked.

"I was too late, Your Excellency." Yue Guan looked frustrated. "They were extremely wary. I searched for dozens of miles around the Mixed Zone and found nothing. That aura has vanished completely. I'm afraid they've retreated into the Core Zone."

"The Core Zone..." Bibi Dong frowned slightly.

"Yes. Before taking human form, Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts rule the Core Zone. But once they transform and begin cultivating again, they need contact with humans to grow. The Mixed Zone lets them approach people from the towns near the forest's edge, while giving them a quick escape back to the Core Zone if danger comes," Yue Guan explained.

"It's the best hiding place for a Shapeshifting Soul Beast. I just didn't expect it to flee so quickly."

Bibi Dong thought for a moment, then turned to him. "Yue Guan, let me ask you again."

"Are you certain the aura you sensed belonged to one that had only recently taken human form?"

"Absolutely!" Yue Guan answered without hesitation. "The aura was extremely faint and unstable, like a newborn unable to contain its own energy. If that Soul Beast had transformed long ago, I couldn't have sensed it from so far away."

"Newly transformed... That would make it the equivalent of a young human child, with only around ten levels of Soul Power." Bibi Dong murmured to herself, her frown deepening.

To pull someone out of that raging Beast Tide and retreat through the chaos was more than an ordinary Spirit Emperor could necessarily manage.

It would take at least a Soul Sage, and one with unusual abilities at that.

How could a newly transformed "cub" with only ten levels of Soul Power have saved Xuan Hao from the Beast Tide?

It made no sense.

Unless...

Bibi Dong's pupils contracted sharply.

A newly transformed cub could not have saved him.

But the one who had saved him possessed strength beyond that of a Soul Sage.

And the one whose aura had leaked was a newly transformed cub.

That could only mean one thing.

Bibi Dong spun toward Yue Guan. "Yue Guan, you may have failed this time, but you've stumbled upon a great secret."

"Your Excellency? What secret?" Yue Guan looked bewildered.

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes. "The one who saved him and the one whose aura you sensed aren't the same Soul Beast!"

"There are two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts there!"

Two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts meant two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and two top-grade Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones guaranteed to drop!

For Bibi Dong, who was at a crucial stage in cultivating her Twin Martial Souls and desperately needed high-quality Soul Rings to fill the gaps in her Second Martial Soul, it was a perfect gift from heaven.

"Yue Guan! Summon Gui Mei at once!" Bibi Dong ordered.

"Even with the Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape, those two Forest Kings, guarding the Core Zone, we will take them this time!"

"If you and Gui Mei use the Two Poles Stillness Domain to hold those two beasts still for a moment, I can capture both Shapeshaping Soul Beasts!"

"Especially the little one that only just transformed!"

If the older one could rescue someone from a Beast Tide, she might have recovered the strength of a Soul Sage or even a Soul Douluo. Capturing her could prove difficult.

But the younger one had only recently transformed. She was no different from a five- or six-year-old human child. There was no way she could escape Bibi Dong!

"We leave immediately!" Bibi Dong ordered.

"The little one's aura is still unstable. This is our best chance to track her. Wait a few more days for it to stabilize, and finding her in the vast Star Dou Great Forest will be nearly impossible!"

"Yes! I'll fetch Lao Gui at once!" Yue Guan knew they could not miss this chance. If they captured the two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, his failure would be forgiven, and he might even earn great credit with the Pope.

Just then, the heavy hall doors slowly opened.

Still pale and dressed in thin sleepwear, Xuan Hao emerged with one hand braced against the doorframe and the other pressed to his aching chest. Every step looked difficult.

"Wait..."

Bibi Dong frowned and hurried over. "Why are you out of bed? I told you to rest. Your body can't take this right now."

Xuan Hao lifted his head. His sky-blue eyes fixed on Bibi Dong as he asked hoarsely:

"Sister... can you take me with you?"

Bibi Dong froze. "What did you say?"

"I said I want to go too." Xuan Hao took a deep breath. "Will you let me come along?"

Beside them, Yue Guan stamped his foot in alarm. "Oh, Xiao Zu Zong! This isn't a picnic! We're going into the Core Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest to fight the Forest Kings!"

"I want to go." Xuan Hao cut Yue Guan off, his eyes locked on Bibi Dong's. "Sister, take me with you."

Bibi Dong fell silent.

She studied the stubborn boy before her, her thoughts racing.

The mission was extremely dangerous. Even the shockwaves from a battle in the Core Zone could kill a Soul Grandmaster, and Xuan Hao was already injured.

The sensible choice was to leave him here to recover.

But when Bibi Dong saw the conflict in his eyes, she thought she understood.

That Soul Beast had saved him.

Now his teacher was going to hunt down his savior.

Perhaps he wanted to repay her. Perhaps he wanted to plead for her. Or perhaps... he simply wanted to see how it all ended.

Bibi Dong did not know what Xuan Hao was thinking. But she knew that if she forced him to stay, the boy might carry this burden for the rest of his life.

"Do you know what we're going there to do?" Bibi Dong asked, holding his gaze.

"I do." Xuan Hao nodded. "To capture... them."

"And you still want to come?"

"That's why I have to go." Xuan Hao lowered his head. "Whatever else they are, they're... Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. I want to see them for myself."

Bibi Dong watched him for a long time before finally sighing.

"Very well."

She turned and strode away, her voice cool as it drifted back:

"If you want to come, then come."

"But once we get there, you stay right beside me. If you wander off and the shockwaves kill you, don't say I didn't warn you."