More Beautiful Than the Starry Sky

"A Dragon-Shaped Soul Beast, preferably one that's ten thousand years old."

Gu Yi put on a thoughtful expression before speaking calmly.

After all, he already had a God-Given Soul Ring. He only needed to find a good opportunity to slip away later.

"A ten-thousand-year Dragon-Shaped Soul Beast... I thought so too, but those Soul Beasts are difficult to find. Not only are they powerful, but their numbers are also extremely scarce." Zhao Wuji frowned.

The Star Dou Great Forest was too vast. Finding such a specific Soul Beast would be exceedingly difficult and would likely take a great deal of time.

Gu Yi naturally understood the difficulty, so before Zhao Wuji could think further, he pretended to be surprised and looked at Tang San, who was off to the side. "Hmm! Looks like we have one more person who needs a Soul Ring."

Hearing that, Zhao Wuji turned to look at Tang San, who had been cultivating nearby. Tang San opened his eyes at that moment as well.

"Tang San, did you break through to level thirty?" Zhao Wuji asked tentatively.

"Yes, Teacher Zhao. It looks like I'll have to stay in this forest for a while longer." Tang San nodded, a hint of joy appearing on his face.

Zhao Wuji felt helpless. Good grief, all these breakthroughs had happened at once. For no reason at all, his workload had doubled twice over.

Still, despite his helplessness, he was happy too. After all, he was the teacher of these little monsters.

"Hey, Oscar, you finally finished absorbing your Soul Ring! Hurry, hurry, tell us—what's your Third Soul Skill?"

Ma Hongjun's excited cry suddenly rang out beside them.

Everyone immediately gathered around out of curiosity, but this put Oscar in a difficult position.

The incantation for this Soul Skill was simply too embarrassing. With so many people watching, especially with girls present, he truly felt too embarrassed to say it.

"Forget it. Don't be so curious. You'll find out eventually." Oscar pushed away Ma Hongjun, who was closest to him, and spoke awkwardly.

"Tch. Don't tell me you got some trash Soul Skill and don't want to say it because you'd be embarrassed?" Ma Hongjun curled his lip and spoke disdainfully.

At those words, Oscar immediately became anxious. His face flushed red as he said indignantly, "Hmph! What do you know? This Soul Skill of mine will absolutely make your jaw drop!"

He did not waste any time. Soul Power gathered in his hand, and he loudly recited his exclusive Soul Skill incantation: "I Have a Mushroom Sausage!"

The next moment, a strangely shaped meat sausage appeared in his hand. Its overall appearance was similar to a Recovery Sausage, but it had an umbrella-shaped mushroom cap at the tip.

"Hahahahaha!"

The instant his words fell, everyone burst into laughter. The incantation was simply too hilarious—even Zhao Wuji was amused.

Oscar was truly embarrassed beyond measure, but he still loudly explained the effect of the Soul Skill.

"Stop laughing! The effect of my Mushroom Sausage is flight! And it lets you fly at the speed of a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent for one minute!"

The moment those words came out, everyone except Gu Yi froze. They could hardly believe their ears.

"What did you just say? A Soul Skill that grants flight?"

"And you can fly at the speed of a Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent for one minute?"

Seeing their reactions, Oscar's vanity was completely satisfied. He proudly nodded.

"That's right! Exactly what you just heard."

"Not bad, Oscar! From now on, your Sausage Martial Soul can be considered among the finest support Martial Souls!" Zhao Wuji said with a delighted laugh.

It was not unheard of for support Soul Masters to gain the ability to fly, but that was usually only possible after becoming Soul Emperors. Oscar had truly exceeded all their expectations.

"Good! Let's keep at it. First, we'll help Tang San obtain his Soul Ring, and then it'll be that kid Gu Yi's turn."

With that, everyone set out once more in search of Soul Beasts. They continued heading deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest, but still found nothing.

This continued until nightfall. They had worked hard for an entire day, yet gained nothing.

They found an open space, set up their tents, and prepared to rest.

However, Gu Yi sat alone beside the campfire, gazing into the distant forest. His melancholy aura, paired with the starlight, made him appear especially lonely.

"It should be coming soon, right?" Gu Yi muttered to himself.

According to the original story, it was on this very night that the Titan Giant Ape sensed Xiao Wu's aura and launched a surprise attack on their camp.

The reason Gu Yi had not gone to sleep was precisely because he was waiting for it to arrive, so he could begin his "performance."

"What are you looking at?"

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly emerged from the tent. She sat beside Gu Yi and asked curiously.

"I'm looking at the starry sky above this forest, wondering which is more beautiful—you or it." Gu Yi smiled teasingly.

"And what's the answer?" Zhu Zhuqing asked calmly.

It seemed she had heard enough of Gu Yi's sweet talk. By now, she was nearly immune to it.

"I discovered that you're beautiful, but beneath the starry sky, you're even more beautiful," Gu Yi answered softly.

A smile appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face. She rested her head against Gu Yi's shoulder and quietly watched the night sky scattered with stars alongside him.

It had to be said that the night sky in this world was beautiful. Every star shone as brilliantly as a diamond, and shooting stars occasionally streaked across it, making the sight breathtakingly beautiful.

"It would be nice if things could stay like this forever," Zhu Zhuqing whispered beside Gu Yi's ear.

She enjoyed this brief moment of peace. At least at this moment, she felt at ease.

When Gu Yi had agreed to the duel today, her heart had pounded uncontrollably. While worrying that Gu Yi might be hurt, she had worried even more that he might leave her because of it.

She hated that feeling. What she liked was only this moment—every minute and every second with Gu Yi by her side.

As if sensing Zhu Zhuqing's emotions, Gu Yi wrapped his right arm around her waist and said softly, "Don't worry. I won't leave. Even if my body isn't here, my heart will be."

As he spoke, Gu Yi began to laugh and teased, "Besides, I'm so strong that even Soul Emperors can't do anything to me. What do you have to worry about?"

Zhu Zhuqing was amused by him as well, and her heart felt sweet.

Yet while the two of them were absorbed in their affection, they failed to notice that a head had poked out from each of the two tents, watching them.

Hmph! Disgusting. Ning Rongrong grumbled inwardly.

After that, she truly could not bear to watch any longer and returned to her tent.

On the other side, however, Dai Mubai's eyes were filled with killing intent. His face twisted viciously as he secretly made up his mind—tomorrow, he would definitely make a move!

But suddenly, a loud crash rang out not far from their camp, especially conspicuous beneath the silent night sky.

Everyone immediately woke up. Zhao Wuji frowned deeply and shot out of his tent, positioning himself in front of Gu Yi.

At that very moment, he had keenly sensed a terrifying aura—the oppressive force brought by absolute power.

"Everyone, get up!" Zhao Wuji roared behind him before immediately releasing his Martial Soul.

Hearing his voice, everyone rushed out of their tents. They stood nervously behind Zhao Wuji and looked toward the forest not far away.

Boom!

Another massive tree came crashing down. Then, a black ape the size of a small mountain emerged from within the forest. It moved on all fours, stood seven meters at the shoulder, and radiated a terrifying aura.

"Th-this is...? The King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape!"