No~ Fate!

After finishing their outdoor meal and rest, Wang Chuan and Wang Lie did not return immediately.

Because Wang Chuan lacked real combat experience, he suggested that Wang Lie help him find some Spirit Beasts in Sunset Forest to improve his overall fighting ability.

Wang Lie naturally had no objections.

#

"No~!"

The next day, Wang Chuan let out a mournful cry.

He had been too exhausted yesterday to fully examine his new condition, but after checking himself a little today, he discovered the problem.

First, the good news.

Relying on the immense energy contained within the thousand-year Spirit Ring, Wang Chuan had skipped over a year of hard cultivation and directly broken through to level twelve.

Moreover, Golden Scale's combat organs had not only grown stronger.

The physical transformation ability that should have appeared on Beast Spirit Masters after Martial Soul Possession had also transferred directly from Wang Chuan onto it.

Golden Scale could now shrink to as little as one meter or expand to as large as three meters.

That should have been good news.

But along with the ability that should have belonged to the Spirit Master being taken by Golden Scale, Wang Chuan's long-awaited True Body Armor had gone with it.

That was why Wang Chuan had cried out in despair.

Only then did Wang Chuan remember that True Body Armor was originally the manga's substitute for the beast transformation depicted in the novel, a form of Martial Spirit manifestation.

Now that he had an external Beast Martial Spirit, this ability naturally belonged to Golden Scale as well. Besides, Yu Xiaogang had indeed never displayed that sort of form in the manga.

Thus, filled with grief and indignation, Wang Chuan and Wang Lie once more headed toward the Mixed Zone.

For a time, quite a few ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts in the Mixed Zone suffered disaster.

"Watch my trapezius charge!"

"Ah-da! Crow sits on an airplane!"

"Tornado destroys the parking lot!"

"Yula yula yula!!!"

Watching Wang Chuan shout such bizarre move names while making ridiculous fighting poses.

Even Wang Lie beside him found it hard to accept. Yet every one of Wang Chuan's attacks was remarkably effective, leaving him with no idea what to say as he stood there in utter confusion.

In the end, Wang Chuan hunted two ten-thousand-year Spirit Beasts.

He did not kill them. Instead, he bound them tightly, intending to go with Wang Lie to Soul Hunting Town outside the forest and sell their Spirit Rings.

As for the remaining meat, Wang Chuan naturally accepted it with a smile.

The enormous amount of Bloodline Power fed back to him through devouring the Titan Golden Python had left Wang Chuan extremely satisfied. It was far beyond anything those secondhand goods he ate at home could compare to.

So Wang Chuan had set his sights on these high-level Spirit Beasts.

As for whether selling Spirit Beasts that already possessed the intelligence of seven- or eight-year-old children would make Wang Chuan feel guilty?

Wang Chuan said he felt absolutely nothing. He merely opposed meaningless slaughter. Since humans and Spirit Beasts were enemies locked in a life-or-death struggle anyway, he was killing for the sake of his own stomach and did not think it harmed his morality in any way.

Still, Wang Chuan had some doubts on the journey back.

According to Wang Lie, selling even a single ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast, even just its flesh and blood, could fetch thousands of Gold Soul Coins.

So how had the original Shrek Academy ended up so poor?

They were not some paragons of morality, and they were so close to Star Dou Forest.

But Wang Chuan quickly cast those thoughts aside.

He had never cared much about how the original characters fared.

Or rather, he had never believed this world would follow the novels and manga exactly, because those works all contained a degree of embellishment and the author's subjective views.

If he really insisted on picking things apart, it would become like criticizing Naruto: Third Young Master, what the hell do you know about Douluo?

So now, Wang Chuan only wanted to live his own life well.

Just as Wang Chuan huffed and puffed while dragging two Spirit Beasts along, his mind full of random thoughts.

Wang Lie, who was clearing the way ahead, suddenly stopped. Wang Chuan failed to notice in time and crashed into him.

Shaking his head and putting some distance between himself and Wang Lie, Wang Chuan asked curiously.

"What is it, Grandpa?"

At that moment, Wang Chuan saw a... man? sprawled across a patch of withered yellow leaves not far away, dressed from head to toe in dark green robes.

Wang Chuan examined him suspiciously.

The other man's hair was simply too long, and the rest of his body was obscured, making it hard not to find his gender somewhat difficult to distinguish.

Then, as a foul stench slowly drifted through the air, just as Wang Chuan began to guess the man's identity, Wang Lie hurriedly used Soul Power to blow him dozens of meters away.

"Hold your breath. The air is poisonous," Wang Lie warned urgently.

Wang Chuan thought, As expected. The unconscious man on the ground was Dugu Bo.

Wang Lie then directly used his fifth soul skill, Wind Control, forming a massive vortex of wind around the two of them to block out the poisonous gas before saying.

"I've blocked off the poison. You can breathe now."

Wang Chuan watched the scene enviously. A mage who could command the elements with a wave of his hand was indeed cool, but unfortunately, he apparently had no talent in that area.

Wang Lie did not leave. Instead, he and Wang Chuan stood quietly nearby, waiting for Dugu Bo to awaken.

Wang Chuan thought that was only natural.

After all, the two sides had once been on good terms. Wang Lie should know the secret of Dugu Bo's poison-ridden body, so it was only right for him to stand guard.

Over the next stretch of time, Dugu Bo continuously let out pained groans. His entire body twisted and struggled on the ground, looking utterly miserable.

This allowed Wang Chuan to finally see Dugu Bo's appearance clearly.

Unlike how he had been depicted in the manga side story, Dugu Bo, now in his fifties, already bore all the weathered exhaustion and aging of a middle-aged man on his face.

After nearly half an hour, Dugu Bo's pained moans finally disappeared.

He then fell completely asleep, only slowly opening his eyes in the afternoon and letting out the meaningless groans of someone who had just woken up.

At that moment, Wang Lie said, "Little Poison Snake, long time no see."

Dugu Bo's pupils contracted. The confusion in his eyes rapidly cleared, and he sprang up like a carp before leaping onto an ancient tree nearby.

It could not be helped. In Soul Hunting Forest, Spirit Masters were even more terrifying than Spirit Beasts. Anyone might stab you in the back. For Dugu Bo, who now traveled alone, this was simply an instinctive reaction.

But when Dugu Bo clearly saw Wang Lie's familiar face.

The muscles throughout his body immediately relaxed, and an amused, helpless expression appeared on his face.

After all, if someone truly meant him harm, they would have acted while he was unconscious. Why would they bother greeting him like that?

As Dugu Bo jumped down, he greeted him.

"Long time no see, Second Brother Wang. Have you been well these years?"

Wang Lie responded kindly. The atmosphere between them was harmonious, utterly unlike the tense confrontation when Tang San exposed Dugu Bo's physical condition.

After some small talk, Dugu Bo noticed Wang Chuan as well and asked instinctively.

"Second Brother, who is this little fellow?"

Wang Lie stepped aside so Dugu Bo could see Wang Chuan clearly. Then he patted Wang Chuan on the shoulder, his face filled with reminiscence.

"This is Wang Chuan, Big Brother's grandson. You can call him Little Chuan."

The moment he heard that Wang Chuan was the grandson of his old eldest brother, Dugu Bo immediately became enthusiastic.