"...That's how it is. I'm going to start now."
After Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finished explaining,
"Wait..."
Huo Yuhao still hadn't fully accepted the reality that a million-year Soul Beast was going to become his Soul Ring,
when Sky Dream Ice Silkworm transformed into a beam of white light, carrying a bone-piercing chill,
and surged into his body.
Just then,
the clear sky suddenly darkened. A thunderous boom rang out high above, and from a tear in space, a stream of gray air descended from the heavens,
reaching halfway to the ground,
then suddenly stopping for a moment,
as though it had sensed something,
before flying in the exact opposite direction.
The Divine Realm,
a magnificent palace.
A man with long, water-blue hair and luxurious robes had a cold glint in his eyes,
his expression suddenly turning sinister.
Who was it?
Who dared to ruin my plans?
He was furious.
Several days ago, Douluo Star, which had been perfectly normal, suddenly underwent a change. The Child of Destiny, Huo Yuhao, had become a phantom in the tides of destiny,
impossible to observe clearly.
That was no good omen.
He had tried to find the reason, only to discover that Douluo Star had grown hazy.
No matter what method he used, he couldn't get a clear view of it.
Even worse,
he, a God King, was actually unable to divine Douluo Star's future.
Everything,
all of it,
seemed to be foreshadowing that the future was about to slip from his control,
making him extremely anxious.
And just a moment ago, he'd suddenly felt another intensely ominous premonition,
one he couldn't investigate either.
Something had definitely happened. He had to deal with it!
But who was behind it?
What had gone wrong on Douluo Star?
Why had this happened now, of all times?
Tang San's face was icy. If the God of Destruction hadn't been watching him constantly,
restricting his movements,
he would have long since sent down a fragment of his consciousness to Douluo Star and taken care of it!
Damn that God of Destruction...
"Third Brother..."
A woman in a pink dress approached. A hint of worry showed on her stunning face. Her long scorpion braid fell lightly to her shapely hips, and her slender waist accentuated her perfect figure.
"Is something wrong?"
The iciness vanished from Tang San's face in an instant. He turned around, smiling warmly,
like a spring breeze in March.
"It's nothing. I was just missing Xiao Qi."
Xiao Wu immediately scowled.
"Then why did you let her sneak down to the mortal realm?"
That was your daughter!
Tang San smiled helplessly,
his voice gentle.
"Xiao Qi has grown up. We have to respect what she wants. Besides, Da Ming and Er Ming are there too."
"Nothing will happen to her."
Xiao Wu sighed and nodded,
though she could only accept it, however reluctant she felt.
Tang San comforted Xiao Wu,
but the sinister look in his eyes didn't fade in the slightest.
That was right.
Da Ming and Er Ming were down in the mortal realm.
It was about time they were of some use.
He schemed silently, wondering how to evade the God of Destruction's watch and pass his orders to the two Soul Beasts.
"So weak. How tragic!"
"But anyway, your big brother is finally free! To all you bastards who treated me like food, goodbye! Wahahaha!"
As Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual power rapidly contracted, several terrifying auras suddenly stirred deep within the Star Dou Great Forest,
surging violently at the same time,
as though sensing something.
But the Star Dou Great Forest stretched for thousands of miles. How could they possibly find it?
They were destined to come up empty-handed.
"..."
Done.
The team continued onward,
Lu Ran's hand intertwined with Jiang Nannan's, the corners of his mouth lifting ever so slightly.
At that moment,
within his spiritual world,
a tiny gray orb of light floated there, so faint it looked ready to go out at any moment,
yet the light it gave off
was unimaginably pure and ancient,
as though it had endured tens of thousands of years.
An old, weary voice sounded in Lu Ran's mind.
"Boy, I'll be staying here for a while..."
Before he could even finish the sentence,
his voice grew fainter and fainter, then disappeared completely.
It was easy to imagine just how weak Electrolux was.
Lu Ran finally let out a long breath.
With Elder Yi's help, things would go more smoothly in the future.
Compared to those fools who claimed to possess peerless wisdom, Elder Yi truly had unmatched wisdom and boundless knowledge. More importantly,
he was completely trustworthy and wouldn't harm him.
"Look over there...!"
Tang Ya, who was leading the group, suddenly spoke,
then hurried forward.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Right there on the ground ahead,
lay Huo Yuhao, along with the Wind Baboon and a pool of blood.
Bei Bei's gaze sharpened. He exchanged a look with Lu Ran, then stepped forward to examine the Wind Baboon's corpse. The blood on the ground had nearly congealed, and the smooth wound had clearly been made by a sharp weapon.
His gaze shifted to the dagger beside Huo Yuhao,
and he roughly guessed what had happened.
"It's over, it's over, it's over..."
Tang Ya wore a look of deep regret as she crouched beside Huo Yuhao, lamenting,
"It's all my fault. If we'd left together, he wouldn't have died..."
"Waaah... It's all my—"
Bei Bei looked helpless.
"Xiao Ya, he's not dead..."
"Not dead?"
As they spoke,
Huo Yuhao slowly woke up,
opening his eyes to see the four people around him, looking bewildered.
Tang Ya let out a sigh of relief.
"You scared me to death."
Once her senses had returned and taken the reins from her overactive imagination, she noticed something was wrong.
There was no Soul Ring around the Wind Baboon's corpse. It had either been absorbed or dissipated.
Judging by the time that had passed,
it was probably the former.
Then she sensed the Soul Power fluctuations coming from Huo Yuhao. They were stronger than before.
"You couldn't have absorbed the Wind Baboon's Soul Ring, could you?"
Huo Yuhao froze and looked toward the Wind Baboon's corpse. After blinking, his expression settled into calm.
"I did..."
Lu Ran didn't need to guess. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had reminded him.
After a brief daze,
Huo Yuhao examined his hands, then the rest of his body, looking utterly incredulous.
At last, he summoned his Soul Ring—
a gleaming white Ten-Year Soul Ring!
His face lit up with excitement.
Everyone present had noticed the brief fluctuation in spiritual power when he used his Soul Skill.
"A spiritual-type Martial Soul?"
Tang Ya and Bei Bei spoke at the same time.
A legendary, rare spiritual-type Martial Soul?!
After examining him, they discovered that it wasn't just a spiritual-type Martial Soul—it was also a Body Martial Soul!
Once the excitement had passed,
Tang Ya sighed.
"If you'd come with us, you could definitely have absorbed a Hundred-Year Soul Ring."
She spoke with regret.
What a shame. Such a waste.
Even for a spiritual-type Martial Soul, a Ten-Year Soul Ring wasn't much use.
But there was no trace of regret on Huo Yuhao's face. He was all excitement, looking far more spirited than before he'd left.
Tang Ya simply assumed he didn't understand the difference between a Ten-Year Soul Ring and a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
Still...
She pondered.
A child this young had come to hunt Soul Beasts alone, without even knowing the difference between Soul Rings.
"The Star Dou Great Forest is so dangerous. Where's your family? Didn't they come with you?"
At the mention of his family,
the excitement faded from Huo Yuhao's face,
and his mood grew a little low.
"No... It's just me..."
"Hmm?!"
Tang Ya brightened. Clenching her fist, she said, "An orphan? Haha! That's great!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
She had a kind heart, but sometimes she really did speak without thinking.
Bei Bei raised a hand and tapped her on the head,
Tang Ya realized her words were inappropriate too and stuck out her little tongue,
then gave a couple of awkward laughs:
"No, I mean..."
She immediately put on a serious face:
"That really is a shame..."
"But since you're on your own, why not join our Tang Sect?"
She waved her little fist,
"Our Tang Sect is incredibly powerful!"
But after sensing the three gazes beside her, her confidence faltered a little,
and she said meekly:
"We really were incredibly powerful once..."
Lu Ran inexplicably thought of all the research and records about Blue Silver Grass, and found himself agreeing with her to some extent. At least when it came to studying Blue Silver Grass, the Tang Sect really was incredible.
When Huo Yuhao heard Tang Ya mention the Tang Sect,
he grew excited.
He had only heard that the Tang Sect had once been the continent's number-one sect, but had later declined.
He knew nothing else,
but it had once been the continent's foremost sect.
"We have all kinds of amazing things. Have you heard of the Mysterious Heaven Skill? Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon? The Mysterious Jade Hand? We can teach them all to you."
Tang Ya's voice brimmed with temptation.
Before you continue