Reunion

"Awoo!!" The Alpha Wolf's pained howl reached the staff outside through the instruments.

From that howl alone, they could almost feel how much damage the Alpha Wolf had suffered. But Yun Chen's movements within the Spirit Ascension Platform did not stop. He was not sparring with the wolf; this was a battle. And in battle, one fought until death. As long as the Alpha Wolf was alive, how could his attacks stop?

His fists rained down heavily upon the Alpha Wolf. As a century-old Spirit Beast, the Alpha Wolf naturally possessed greater vitality than the wolves that had earlier been pierced through by the Blood Spear. It only dispersed into energy after taking nearly thirty punches.

"Whew!"

Having dealt with the Alpha Wolf, Yun Chen straightened up and exhaled a heavy breath. He did not feel exhausted from fighting the wolf pack. Instead, his body was filled with a sense of exhilaration. The energy absorbed after wiping out the entire pack had also significantly enhanced his Soul Spirit.

However, his Blood Rage Lion Tiger was already a century-old Soul Spirit, so completing its ascension would not be easy. Still, the sensation of power gradually filling him felt wonderful. Yet his greatest gain from this battle had been digesting those inexplicably appearing combat experiences. But since he was inside the Spirit Pagoda, he had no time to meditate and investigate where those experiences came from. He could only keep them in mind and study them properly later.

After adjusting his breathing slightly, Yun Chen started walking again, searching for Xu Xiaoyan. Meanwhile, Xu Xiaoyan had already met up with Gu Yue, who had been secretly observing her for quite some time.

After "shadily" killing that Moon-Scar Bear, Xu Xiaoyan had become somewhat lost. She still had some miscellaneous items in her Storage Soul Tool, but she only had that one Soul Guidance Bomb capable of delivering a fatal blow. Once it was used, it was gone.

Just as Xu Xiaoyan was at a loss, Gu Yue appeared before her and invited her to form a team. The two formed a temporary party and began wandering around the outskirts together.

Leng Yaozhu's assessment task for Gu Yue was to survive in the Spirit Ascension Platform for three hours and kill as many Spirit Beasts as possible. The task had never required Gu Yue to enter the depths of the forest, so she decided to walk around the outskirts with Xu Xiaoyan first and find Yun Chen afterward.

As for why Gu Yue had intervened, even she could not figure it out. Originally, she had not wanted to approach Yun Chen and Xu Xiaoyan and had wanted to keep her distance from them. But when she saw Xu Xiaoyan's lost expression, she could not help feeling worried.

This must be an aftereffect left behind by separating that foolish dragon Na'er. Human emotions really are terrifying, Gu Yue thought to herself.

Yet whenever she saw Xu Xiaoyan looking at her with that strange gaze, many emotions and thoughts that should not have belonged to her began to grow within Gu Yue's heart.

"Why do you keep looking at me like that?" Gu Yue suddenly stopped walking and asked Xu Xiaoyan in confusion.

The probing intent in Xu Xiaoyan's gaze made it impossible for Gu Yue to continue pretending nothing was wrong.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." Xu Xiaoyan shrank back slightly.

"I just think you look a lot like a friend of mine, so I kept looking at you. I'm sorry." Xu Xiaoyan had always been somewhat timid, while Gu Yue was the sort of girl who naturally carried an imposing presence. Thus, after being questioned by Gu Yue, Xu Xiaoyan immediately became nervous.

"Uh, it's fine," Gu Yue replied instinctively.

Although she had separated her memories and emotions into the independent personality Na'er, she had actually seen those memories from the Xu Family as well. Therefore, when facing the frightened Xu Xiaoyan, Gu Yue instinctively dispelled the cold pride around her, and her tone became gentler.

But this only left Xu Xiaoyan even more confused. The girl before her clearly was not Na'er, so why did she always feel as though this was Na'er?

It had to be said that a woman's intuition could sometimes be terrifying. Even though Xu Xiaoyan was still just a little girl, that vague feeling allowed her to unconsciously see through the connection between Gu Yue and Na'er.

Gu Yue knew nothing of this and had not even noticed the change in her own attitude. The two set off again, searching for Yun Chen along the edge of the forest.

Before long, Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan heard sounds of battle coming from ahead. They exchanged a glance, then headed in that direction. However, neither rashly revealed herself. After all, they were not the only three people who could enter the Spirit Ascension Platform. If they got caught up in a stranger's battle, it might cause plenty of unnecessary trouble.

But just as they poked their heads out from the bushes and looked toward the distant battle, they discovered a Spirit Beast flying toward them. Judging by its appearance, it seemed to be fleeing in panic?

It was a four-legged Spirit Beast with wing membranes. It used those membranes to glide and did not truly possess the ability to fly. But just as it tried to flee this area and escape the terrifying human behind it, it discovered other humans in its path and immediately let out an angry roar. Century-old Spirit Beasts were not particularly intelligent to begin with, especially those placed within the Spirit Ascension Platform by the Spirit Pagoda. Greater emphasis was placed on energy than on perfectly recreating Spirit Beasts. Thus, it immediately forgot the threat behind it and wanted to tear apart the humans blocking its path.

But at that moment, a Blood Spear tore through the air.

The Blood Spear pierced through the back of the gliding Spirit Beast, pinning its corpse directly to a tree near Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan.

The sight startled both Gu Yue and Xu Xiaoyan. Their gazes turned toward where the Blood Spear had come from, and they saw Yun Chen slowly walking toward them.

"Xiao Yan, and Gu Yue? How did you two end up together?" Yun Chen asked in confusion.

"I ran into a big bear earlier. After I killed it, I met Gu Yue. She protected me the whole way here," Xu Xiaoyan said.

Hearing that, Yun Chen looked at Gu Yue. "Thanks for taking care of Xiao Yan. I'll treat you to a meal after we return to the academy."

"It was nothing, just a small effort," Gu Yue said flatly.

Unlike the way she treated Xu Xiaoyan, Gu Yue's attitude toward Yun Chen was much colder. This was not only because she wanted to stay away from him, but also because Na'er had once felt fear toward Yun Chen. However, neither of them knew where that feeling came from.

Yun Chen was not surprised by Gu Yue's attitude toward him. Ever since Gu Yue had come to Eastsea Academy, joined Class Five as in the original story, yet had not become involved with him or Xu Xiaoyan, Yun Chen had guessed what she was thinking. Since she had already made her stance clear, Yun Chen naturally would not force himself upon her and make himself uncomfortable. Although the underlying code of Douluo Continent was romance, Gu Yue was not the only woman in the world. There was no need to turn himself into a simp.