Human, You Smell So Good

Qin Yue had already achieved his goal for this trip into the Star Dou Forest. Only the other young Soul Masters who had yet to find suitable Soul Rings remained. He was in no hurry to return to Shrek Academy, silently cultivating while continuing to search the forest with the Shrek group for suitable Soul Beasts.

The only regrettable thing was that, because of Di Tian, Qin Yue had not carried the Dragon Core with him. He had entrusted it to Ning Tian before setting out, so his cultivation speed had returned to its tortoise-crawling pace.

Mu En, who also possessed a Dragon Core, was another matter, but Qin Yue was certain that if he cultivated with the Dragon Core in the Star Dou Forest, Di Tian would absolutely sense its presence. If he came out and discovered it was in the hands of a mere Soul Ancestor, disaster would inevitably follow.

Over the next dozen or so days, Ling Luochen suddenly returned to her frosty beauty persona. She remained in camp every day, focused wholly on cultivating her Soul Power, as though she had forgotten all other trivial matters.

Qin Yue, meanwhile, was growing irritated by his tortoise-slow cultivation speed. He simply began following the main group into the forest each day to explore. While helping the others, he also hoped to test his luck and see whether he could find a Soul Beast suitable to become his next Soul Ring.

It was worth mentioning that after his battle with the Wind-Thunder Giant Ape, Qin Yue's First Soul Ring had absorbed a considerable amount of Thunder energy once again. It had leapt from three thousand years to roughly six thousand years, and the power hidden within it had become increasingly terrifying.

At dusk, not long after Qin Yue returned to camp, he saw another soul-hunting team led by Oolong Douluo Qian Duoduo return as well. Their captain, Qian Duoduo, was in a fine mood, an obvious smile on his face.

Sure enough, upon seeing that Qin Yue's team was already in camp, Qian Duoduo cleared his throat twice to draw everyone's attention and said beamingly, "We got lucky this time. Zhang Jie found a suitable Soul Ring as well. Rest for the night, and tomorrow we'll set off back to Shrek Academy!"

Qin Yue understood. The mission had finally been completed perfectly. Someone like Qian Duoduo, who never forgot to test Soul Tools even while away on business, had probably long started missing his laboratory at Shrek Academy.

Just then, Qin Yue suddenly felt a gaze land squarely on him. It made no attempt to hide itself. Frowning, he turned to look, yet saw no one—only one enormous, flourishing tree after another standing silently beyond the camp.

The sensation of being secretly watched vanished instantly, as though it had been nothing more than an illusion.

Qin Yue withdrew his gaze and inconspicuously moved a little closer to Qian Duoduo. His heartbeat slowed slightly as he prepared to call for help at any moment. As one of the academy's geniuses, he was fully confident that Qian Duoduo would not stand by and do nothing.

That gaze had felt almost tangible. It could not possibly have been an illusion. And not seeing anyone was precisely the biggest problem. What kind of place was this? Besides humans, what else was there? This was the Star Dou Forest—the Douluo Continent's renowned gathering place for Beasts of Calamity!

It would have been one thing if he had been watched back when only Soul Douluo teachers were stationed here. But Qian Duoduo had just returned and was speaking in the center of camp. Yet at such close range, he had detected nothing unusual. That only made the hidden watcher seem all the more terrifying.

Nothing happened that night. When Qian Duoduo's voice urging everyone to prepare for departure quickly spread throughout the camp, Qin Yue, who had cultivated through the entire night, rose as well and began packing his belongings at an unhurried pace.

The night had been utterly peaceful, but the more peaceful it was, the more vigilant Qin Yue became. Soul Beasts had wandered around the camp every night before. Whenever they approached too closely, the two Soul Douluo teachers and Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan would take turns intimidating them. Yet last night, not a single Soul Beast had come near the camp.

The moment he stepped out of his tent, Qin Yue felt that familiar gaze settle upon him again. Looking at Qian Duoduo in the middle of camp, completely absorbed in tinkering with a Soul Tool and unaware of anything, Qin Yue felt mentally exhausted. Pretending not to notice, he continued packing up his tent.

As time passed bit by bit, Qin Yue felt that gaze grow ever more scorching, as though it had discovered some peerless treasure rarely seen in ten thousand years. Sensing trouble, Qin Yue slung his luggage over his back and immediately joined the other Shrek members who were already prepared.

Ling Luochen only felt that Qin Yue seemed somewhat strange today. She did not know whether it was just her imagination, but he had not seemed this serious even when he had fought the Wind-Thunder Giant Ape that day.

The others, including Qian Duoduo and Zhang Lexuan, were not as familiar with Qin Yue, so none of them noticed anything unusual.

About another ten minutes later, once everyone had finished packing, Qian Duoduo swept out an arm and pointed toward Shrek Academy. His voice surged with heroic spirit as he declared, "Set off! Back to Shrek!"

Just then, Qin Yue suddenly felt something establish a connection with him. A muddled, childish voice surfaced in his mind. "Human, you smell so good~"

A thunderclap exploded in Qin Yue's mind. A mental connection, no Soul Beasts daring to approach... He seemed to realize who that watchful gaze belonged to. But didn't it only like eating the brains of Soul Beasts with light attributes? Why had it secretly set its sights on him too?

Perhaps because it had waited too long without receiving a reply, or perhaps because the Shrek group at the edge of the formation was about to leave the Core Zone, the voice sounded again. "Human, you smell so good~"

Qin Yue immediately realized that he could not delay any longer. The Imperial Auspicious Beast was still young. It was entirely possible that, after waiting so long without a response, it might directly appear with Scarlet King and block their path. That would be a real problem.

After briefly organizing his thoughts, Qin Yue followed that connection and tried asking in his mind, "Who are you?"

"I'm the Auspicious Beast!" Perhaps because it had received a response, the Auspicious Beast's voice could not hide its delight. "You smell so good~"

I smell good? Qin Yue raised a brow. The Auspicious Beast could not go three sentences without saying he smelled good. Even an idiot could tell something was wrong. He immediately tried asking, "You say I smell good? Why can't I smell it myself?"

"Um..." The Auspicious Beast scratched its head in confusion, somewhat unsure how to describe it to Qin Yue.

It was not until Qin Yue's group had reached the middle of the Mixed Zone that its voice rang out again. "Much, much better than the smell of food. It makes me feel very close to you, like... like... another me?"

Its voice was filled with uncertainty, and it had even begun wondering whether it was still half-asleep.

Everyone knew that two Imperial Auspicious Beasts could never exist at the same time. How could he possibly be another one of it? Besides, although he smelled wonderful, he was clearly not a transformed Soul Beast. He was undeniably human...

Qin Yue was equally astonished. The Auspicious Beast felt that he, a human, was an Auspicious Beast? What kind of bizarre development was this?