The Star Dou Forest.
A faint, gloomy aura lingered in the forest, especially after Di Tian absorbed his third soul ring. The forest seemed even more ancient and bleak.
Xiao Ge and Duoduo exchanged a glance. Neither spoke, and the two quietly watched Di Tian absorb his soul ring in the middle of the clearing.
Xiao Ge knew his strength was inferior to Duoduo's, so he didn't want to speak up and invite trouble. Duoduo, meanwhile, had a much sharper intuition.
Di Tian was only a short distance from the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. With the speed of a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast, he could reach the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest in no time.
And with the time he'd had, Duoduo's name had already appeared in Xiao Ge's journal. That was why she'd caught the attention of the two of them, making her a target.
Compared with Di Tian's astonishing gains, Duoduo's soul power had increased only a little. Still, Huo Yuhao was quite pleased. Her soul power had already reached the twenty-sixth rank, bringing her a step closer to becoming a Soul Emperor with three soul rings. She was also a step closer to being able to accompany Xiao Ge as his soul master.
That was why Duoduo was grateful to Xiao Ge.
But...
In the past two days, she'd clearly sensed that Xiao Ge treated her differently from Huo Yuhao. There was even a hint of ambiguous intimacy between them.
Especially when they were in bed, Xiao Ge would sometimes act in strange ways. He'd casually pull her into an embrace, then help Di Tian absorb the soul ring as though nothing had happened.
At that moment, a hint of emotion appeared in Di Tian's eyes.
She could see it clearly.
A sense of danger arose in her heart... but she was powerless to do anything. All she could do was watch the white-haired young man.
The feeling was unbearable.
Xiao Ge didn't notice the bitterness in Duoduo's heart, nor did he know that she was quietly nursing a painful crush. At that moment, he was looking around the Star Dou Forest.
[This is my first time coming to the Star Dou Forest. Aside from the ocean, it really is the largest gathering place for soul beasts... The only regret is that the soul beasts suited to Di Tian's absorption were too weak. Now that Di Tian has finished absorbing the soul ring, the next thing I need to consider is how to keep my soul power...]
[This is so frustrating!]
[Wait, the Star Dou Forest is so big. Where should I go to find Mo Yu? I can't help thinking that if I draw Mo Yu's soul fragment, Yilakus will come for me. I really can't help but worry...]
[It looks like I can only go back to my old tricks...]
[No, why do I feel like someone in the Star Dou Forest is secretly watching me? Could there be some suspicious character hiding nearby and spying on me? I hope I haven't attracted Tang San's attention...]
[That makes sense! After all, I've already drawn the soul skill Skyfire Divine Light, and Guo Nian has clearly told me I can sense Tang San...]
[So... who exactly is secretly watching me?]
Xiao Ge's thoughts raced, and he began to look around cautiously.
It stood to reason that the person hiding in the dark should be someone sent by the Divine Beast Emperor to protect Di Tian. After all, Di Tian was the Divine Beast Emperor's cherished subordinate. Even if Xiao Ge was an outsider with only two soul rings, the emperor wouldn't be careless enough to let him complete the soul-hunting ritual without any precautions.
Someone was definitely watching from the shadows.
But Di Tian felt that something was off. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
If this person had been sent by the Divine Beast Emperor to protect Di Tian, then their attention should have been focused more on Di Tian than on him.
Could it be that Xiao Ge had made a move, and the people in the shadows had noticed something unusual?
Thinking of how the Divine Beast Emperor had personally brought him to the Guo Family estate with Di Tian, Xiao Ge suddenly understood.
[I get it!]
[It must have been the incident at the Divine Beast Emperor's place that aroused the emperor's suspicion. And the deputy commander's attack on me only strengthened that suspicion...]
[Since I've already drawn that kind of attention, I may as well eat the tiger meat... The rewards I've gotten lately are pretty good. I can't let myself fall behind again!]
[Then, starting now, if anyone's already dead, the next one to fall will be me—no, wait, I'm not going to eat human flesh!]
Noticing the contents that had surfaced in the journal, Duoduo twisted around and looked at Xiao Ge. The expression in her eyes grew even more complicated.
Guo Nian's expression briefly turned solemn.
The mention of the gem-eyed white tiger in Xiao Ge's journal—could he be talking about Di Tian?
It was her father, the Divine Beast Emperor, who had ordered Di Tian to enter the Star Dou Forest. According to the journal, there was a grudge between Di Tian and Duoduo. Before Di Tian set foot in the forest, her father had already sent three people to keep an eye on him.
He'd made his move long ago, right under her father's nose.
She hadn't expected that Xiao Ge, who seemed so ordinary, would be able to detect her father's attention...
Guo Nian was a little worried, but she soon found the situation amusing.
If the Divine Beast Emperor knew Xiao Ge had described him as a tiger, wouldn't that guy be in for a miserable time?
Of course, the thought of it was just that—a thought.
No, even thinking about it was too much.
With the journal as a warning, Guo Nian couldn't reveal its existence to Di Tian, let alone tell him what Xiao Ge had written.
If she let it slip, the journal might directly set off a fight between the Divine Beast Emperor and Xiao Ge... Her body couldn't take another punishment from the journal.
Besides...
The guess that Di Tian was the person Xiao Ge had drawn was also interesting to Guo Nian.
The whole process was complete, so the result was complete, too.
In the end, this person wasn't omniscient or all-powerful.
He thought the help he'd gotten from the soul ring had been worth it...
Thinking of that, Guo Nian's mood lifted considerably.
The Three-Eyed Golden Monkey raised a tiny paw and scratched her little bag. She noticed the strange expression on her master's face, but couldn't figure out what she was thinking. Her little ears drooped, and she looked confused.
She'd already gotten used to it.
Ever since the journal appeared, she'd stayed by her master's side. She'd gotten used to her master's moods shifting between happiness and anger.
Her master's emotions seemed to be influenced by what was written in the journal.
Just like her, her master didn't understand most of what was written in the journal. Sometimes she didn't even understand the soul beasts mentioned in it. She couldn't figure out why her master's emotions were so complicated.
Still...
That was probably just how it was.
By her master's side, aside from sleeping, she didn't seem to have anything else to do.
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