You're Being Irresponsible to Yourself

When Huo Yuhao heard someone calling him in this godforsaken place, his whole body stiffened, and he instantly tensed up like prey caught in a hunter's sights.

But then Huo Yuhao thought the voice sounded familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere before.

He slowly turned around, his gaze falling on two figures flying toward him. When he recognized the familiar figure with its cool, silver-blue aura, he first stared in a daze, then gradually relaxed his tense shoulders and neck.

"Senior... Senior! What are you doing here?" Huo Yuhao asked, feeling a little guilty, like a student who had just been caught doing something wrong by a teacher.

He didn't know why Senior had come here. He only knew that he had sneaked off to the Far North without telling anyone.

"I came here to hunt for a Soul Ring. But you still haven't answered me. What's a level-20 Soul Master like you doing here all alone?" Jiang Che replied honestly. He wasn't afraid of Huo Yuhao finding out; he had nothing to fear from anyone now.

"Uh..." Huo Yuhao was at a loss for words. He couldn't exactly say he had come here to obtain a Second Martial Soul, could he?

As Huo Yuhao wondered how to answer Jiang Che's question, he suddenly realized something. Senior had said he came to hunt for a Soul Ring, but he already had eight. Didn't that mean...

"Se-Senior, you... you've broken through to Titled Douluo!" Huo Yuhao asked in shock.

"Not bad. You put two and two together?" Jiang Che said with a cheerful smile.

Huo Yuhao was so stunned his jaw nearly hit the floor. At this point, he was nothing more than a good-for-nothing who had left the Duke's Mansion less than a year ago. Although he had met the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and studied at Shrek Academy for a year, he hadn't seen much of the wider world. Now, faced with a Titled Douluo ten years older than him, he felt like his brain couldn't keep up.

A Titled Douluo at twenty-two?

What did that even mean?!

All kinds of legends about the original Shrek Seven Devils from ten thousand years ago flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind. But even Sea God Tang San, the foremost of the Seven Devils, hadn't reached such a peak at that age. And now, a living legend stood right in front of him.

"Enough staring. You still haven't told me why you came here. What, are you afraid your senior's going to eat you?" Jiang Che asked Huo Yuhao again.

Huo Yuhao jolted. The shock on his face was instantly replaced by a trace of panic. His gaze darted away, and he didn't dare meet Jiang Che's eyes.

"Well... Senior, I just... came out to get some experience. I wanted to see if I could run into any unusual Soul Beasts and broaden my horizons. And, while I was at it, look for a Soul Beast that might suit me." His voice grew quieter and quieter, until the last few words were barely audible. Even he could hear how unconvincing he sounded.

That excuse was full of holes. Almost no one would believe it, and Jiang Che certainly didn't.

Huo Yuhao wasn't stupid. He knew the excuse he had hastily come up with wasn't very convincing, but he couldn't tell the truth.

At worst, Jiang Che would scold him, and he'd obediently admit his mistake. That was still better than letting him find out there was a million-year Soul Beast inside his head.

"Ridiculous!"

Jiang Che's expression darkened, and his sharp, cold rebuke rang out with solemn authority. To Huo Yuhao, it was like a thunderclap. He jolted and lowered his head even further, not daring to breathe too loudly.

Jiang Che reacted just as Huo Yuhao had expected. But he wasn't happy about it. He was actually a little disappointed. Now that Jiang Che had seen him, his plan to act alone had gone completely up in smoke.

"Brother Sky Dream! Brother Sky Dream! Wake up! What am I supposed to do now?" Huo Yuhao called to the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, who was sleeping in his Sea of Consciousness.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, asleep deep within the Sea of Consciousness, was roused by the urgent calls. Still drowsy and sluggish, he drawled, "Stop yelling, stop yelling. You're so noisy. I've barely been asleep at all..."

"Stop sleeping! Something terrible happened! Someone found me. Hurry up and think of something!" Huo Yuhao was frantic.

"What are you panicking for? With me here in the Far North, how could I let you get into danger? I'd like to see who dares cause trouble for my little Yuhao..." The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't take it seriously. He instinctively released a thread of spiritual power to probe the world outside. But the moment he did, his previously relaxed aura froze. All traces of drowsiness vanished, replaced by extreme tension and utter disbelief.

Huo Yuhao felt his Sea of Consciousness suddenly fall silent. The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's presence seemed to have been cut off, leaving not a sound.

"Brother Sky Dream! Brother Sky Dream! What's wrong?" Huo Yuhao heard the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stop midsentence and called out to him a few more times in confusion. But no matter how often he called, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't respond.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was staring blankly at the graceful figure beside Jiang Che. He had been asking Huo Yuhao what was going on while probing the outside world, and there he'd seen her: the Ice Empress, the one he had longed for day and night, standing right before him.

"Now that you've broken through and want to hunt for a Soul Ring, you should have told the academy. They would've arranged for a senior or teacher to accompany you." It seemed as though Huo Yuhao and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had been talking for a long time, but only a few breaths had passed outside.

"Look at you. You came all the way to the Far North by yourself, and you're only level twenty. Don't you know that even Soul Saints avoid setting foot in the Far North unless they have no other choice?"

"You're a student of Shrek Academy. If your request is reasonable, we have a duty to help you. Besides, I remember you're a spiritual-type Soul Master, right? Spiritual-type Soul Beasts may be rare, but they're not nonexistent in the Star Dou Great Forest. Why did you have to come all the way here? You're being irresponsible to yourself."

Jiang Che didn't know how long he scolded Huo Yuhao. When he finally finished, he said, "Forget it. Since I've run into you, I guess it's fate. Come on."

Huo Yuhao abruptly raised his head, his eyes full of confusion. "Come on? Where are we going?"

Jiang Che glanced at him. His silver-blue robes snapped in the cold wind, and his tone was firm, leaving no room for argument. "Where do you think? Didn't you say you wanted to hunt for a Soul Ring? Now that I've found you, do you think I'm going to let you hunt one by yourself?"

"Oh, right." Knowing there was no way out, Huo Yuhao readily agreed.

As soon as he did, Jiang Che grabbed him by the clothes. Before Huo Yuhao could react, Jiang Che carried him into the air. The Ice Empress followed them.

"Senior, are we going to fly around and search for one?"

"Obviously! My spiritual power covers a wide area. If a spiritual-type Soul Beast enters its range, I'll find it. Did you think I was going to walk around with you, searching inch by inch?"

Huo Yuhao realized that his own horizons had been too narrow. He simply couldn't understand how the strong thought.