Xu Yuan answered and dragged his heavy feet toward the village.
Whatever God King Tang San was scheming, at least for now, Xu Yuan had truly learned these skills.
As he passed the village chief Chen Xiao's house, Xu Yuan saw Chen Xiao sitting on the doorstep, weaving a bamboo basket.
The bamboo strips in Chen Xiao's hands gleamed pale yellow in the morning light. He lowered his head, fingers darting nimbly as the strips gradually formed a tight, intricate pattern in his palms.
Hearing footsteps, Chen Xiao looked up. When he saw it was Xu Yuan, a hint of a smile flashed in his cloudy eyes. "Xiao Yuan, where have you been this morning? You're covered in sweat."
Xu Yuan stopped and straightened his slightly disheveled collar. "I was practicing on the mountain."
Chen Xiao set down the basket and brushed the bamboo shavings from his hands. His gaze fell on Xu Yuan's faintly trembling legs. "Did you push yourself too hard? It's good for young people to be full of energy, but don't hurt your muscles and bones."
He took a coarse ceramic jug from behind the door and held it out. "Have some water and rest a bit."
Xu Yuan took the jug, unscrewed the lid, and drank deeply. The cool water slid down his throat, easing much of his fatigue.
He looked at the basket in Chen Xiao's hands. It was woven tightly, though the rim had been deliberately curved. It looked unremarkable, but could hold far more than an ordinary bamboo basket.
Chen Xiao seemed to remember something. "By the way, Xiao Yuan, you probably haven't eaten yet, have you? There's food at Grandpa's house. Come eat with me."
Xu Yuan froze for a moment. Seeing the genuine smile on Chen Xiao's face, he felt a warmth rise in his heart.
He had lived in the village for a long time, and the village chief had always treated him like his own grandson.
"No, Village Chief," Xu Yuan said, scratching his head with some embarrassment. "I'll just grab something at home. I don't want to trouble you." He had spent the whole morning practicing Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and was sore all over. He really wanted to get home and rest, but even more than that, he didn't want to burden the village chief.
Chen Xiao pretended to glare at him angrily and slapped the bamboo strips in his hand against the doorstep. "Why are you being so polite with your grandpa? There's still warm corn porridge in the pot, and steamed sweet potatoes, too. They'll be cold before long."
He stood up and patted Xu Yuan's arm. "Come on, inside. You've been practicing all morning. You must be starving."
Xu Yuan nodded. "Then... thank you, Grandpa Village Chief."
"What's there to thank me for? Come in." Chen Xiao smiled and turned toward the house. His steps were a little unsteady, but firm.
After lunch, Xu Yuan went home, soaked his feet for a while, then got into bed to rest.
After his nap, Xu Yuan began studying Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Mysterious Jade Hand, and Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons.
While practicing Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons, Xu Yuan thought of something that left him speechless.
After Tang San became a god, he left it to the Tang Sect on Douluo Continent as an inheritance, but removed the sections on making medicines and poisons from the manual.
Xu Yuan remembered Tang San's excuse had been something like, "It's too dangerous"?
He couldn't quite remember. Anyway, it was hard to stomach.
During Douluo II, Tang San had also removed some of the content from Mysterious Heaven Skill, again claiming it was too dangerous.
Xu Yuan thought that if it had really been dangerous, the founder of the Tang Sect would have removed it long ago.
Put simply, Tang San didn't want anyone else to learn it.
Tang San seemed to care a lot about the Tang Sect, but in reality, he didn't care about it at all.
The Tang Sect was merely one of his inner demons. Once he let go of that fixation, he naturally stopped caring about it.
If he had really cared about the Tang Sect, it wouldn't have fallen into decline.
During Douluo II, Daming and Erming protected the Clear Sky Sect. Xu Yuan remembered that Tang San had even given the sect's people Soul Rings.
During Douluo II, Shrek Academy had the Golden Ancient Tree, and in the end, it had become the number-one academy in the universe.
Flender probably never imagined that the academy he had once used to swindle people out of money would become the number-one academy in the universe.
In the blink of an eye, the day to head to Soul Hunting Forest arrived.
For the past few days, Xu Yuan had trained from morning until night, leaving himself utterly exhausted.
"Xu Yuan, have you packed everything?" God King Tang San asked, watching Xu Yuan gather his belongings.
Xu Yuan stuffed the last iron needle into the leather pouch at his waist and looked up at the blue phantom floating in midair. "Almost."
A small bundle lay at his feet. Inside were a water jug, dry rations, and the wound medicine God King Tang San had specifically told him to prepare.
"Let's go." God King Tang San's phantom floated out the door first. "The sooner we go, the sooner we'll be back. Don't waste time."
Xu Yuan slung the bundle over his back and followed him out.
Once outside, Xu Yuan used the flying ability of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone to follow God King Tang San toward Soul Hunting Forest.
The wind from their flight swept past his ears. Looking down, Xu Yuan saw the mountains and forests rushing away beneath him. The power of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone supported him steadily, and he had grown much more practiced at using it than the first time.
Half a day of flying was no short journey, so Xu Yuan deliberately slowed his circulation and maintained a steady pace.
God King Tang San's blue phantom led the way ahead, neither too fast nor too slow, as if deliberately waiting for him.
When they neared the edge of Soul Hunting Forest, God King Tang San's phantom stopped.
"Get in quickly, before the patrol soldiers spot us."
Xu Yuan followed God King Tang San's phantom into a dive, passed through layer upon layer of leaves, and landed steadily on the ground carpeted with fallen leaves.
Looking around, Xu Yuan felt inexplicably nervous.
"My lord, which Soul Beast should we choose for my first one?" Xu Yuan asked God King Tang San curiously.
He remembered that the other man wanted him to follow the path of Life. There was no way the path of Life would involve choosing a Mandala Snake.
God King Tang San's phantom paused in midair. Blue light flickered twice, and his tone remained inscrutable. "No rush. The Soul Beasts in Soul Hunting Forest are more complicated than you think. Let's go farther in and decide when we find a suitable one."
[Tsk... which Soul Beast should I choose...?]
Hearing God King Tang San's thoughts, Xu Yuan felt a little speechless. So after all that, the other man hadn't made up his mind.
Xu Yuan followed God King Tang San deeper into the forest. Fallen leaves rustled beneath their feet, and the light gradually dimmed as the towering ancient trees nearly blocked out the sky.
Every so often, an unknown bird would startle into flight, its flapping wings startlingly loud in the still forest.
They had walked for about half an hour when a rustling sound suddenly came from ahead, as if something were darting through the undergrowth.
Xu Yuan tensed at once, his left hand quietly settling on the leather pouch at his waist.
"Careful." God King Tang San's voice came from beside him. His blue phantom had already floated in front of Xu Yuan, the blue light around him on guard.
Before the words had even faded, a gray blur shot out of the bushes and lunged straight for Xu Yuan's face!
It was a Soul Beast resembling a wild dog. Its fur was dull gray, drool dripped from the corners of its mouth, and its eyes glowed with a fierce red light. It was astonishingly fast.
"It's a Nether Wolf, a Ten-Year Soul Beast. They're cunning by nature and incredibly fast. An ordinary child wouldn't stand a chance of surviving an encounter with one."
Xu Yuan had no time to think. He launched into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his body abruptly veering to the right and narrowly evading the Nether Wolf's bite.
The wolf landed from its missed pounce and, with a swing of its tail, used its momentum to turn again. Its sharp claws swept toward Xu Yuan's side with a gust of wind.
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