"...That's how it is. I'm going to begin now."
After Sky Dream Ice Silkworm finished explaining,
"Wait..."
Huo Yuhao still hadn't fully accepted the reality that a million-year-old Soul Beast was about to become his Soul Ring,
Sky Dream Ice Silkworm transformed into a streak 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 abruptly paused,
as though it had sensed something,
before flying in the completely opposite direction.
The Divine Realm,
a towering palace.
The water-blue-haired man in a luxurious robe had a cold glint in his eyes,
his expression suddenly turning ominous.
Who was it?
Who dared to ruin my plan?
He was furious.
Several days ago, Douluo Star, which had been perfectly normal, suddenly underwent a strange change. The Child of Destiny, Huo Yuhao, had become indistinct in the flow of destiny,
difficult to observe.
This was no good sign.
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.
Worse still,
as a God King, he was unable to divine Douluo Star's future.
Everything,
was vaguely foretelling that the future was about to slip beyond his control,
leaving him unbearably restless.
And just a moment ago, he'd suddenly felt another deeply ominous premonition,
one he couldn't investigate either.
Something had definitely happened. He had to deal with it!
But who was behind it?
What unexpected trouble had arisen on Douluo Star?
Why had it happened at this exact moment?
Tang San's expression was icy. If God of Destruction hadn't been keeping him under constant watch,
restricting his movements,
he would have sent down a fragment of his divine consciousness to Douluo Star long ago and taken care of it himself!
Damn God of Destruction...
"Third Brother..."
A woman in a pink dress approached, worry showing 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 coldness in Tang San's face melted 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 lower 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,"
"Nothing will happen to her."
Xiao Wu sighed and nodded.
Though she was reluctant, she had no choice but to accept it.
Tang San comforted Xiao Wu,
but the darkness in his eyes didn't fade in the least.
That was right.
Da Ming and Er Ming were in the lower realm.
It was about time they became useful.
He plotted in his mind, thinking of how to evade God of Destruction's attention and pass an order to the two Soul Beasts.
"So weak. That's just tragic, isn't it?"
"But no matter what, your brother's finally free! To all you bastards who treated your brother 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 all at once,
as if they were sensing something.
But the Star Dou Great Forest stretched on for thousands of miles. It was far too vast to search,
and they were destined to return empty-handed.
"..."
Done.
As the team moved forward,
Lu Ran's hand was clasped with Jiang Nannan's, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
At that moment,
within his spiritual world,
a tiny gray ball of light floated, so faint it seemed ready to go out at any moment.
Yet the light it gave off,
was unimaginably pure and ancient,
as though it had endured ten thousand years.
An old but exhausted voice rang out in Lu Ran's mind.
"Boy, this old man will stay with you for a while..."
Before he could even finish the sentence,
his voice grew fainter and fainter, then disappeared completely.
Electrolux's weakness was plain to see.
Lu Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With Elder Yi's help, things would go more smoothly in the future.
Compared with those fools who claimed to possess peerless wisdom, Elder Yi truly had unparalleled wisdom and boundless knowledge. More importantly,
he could be trusted completely. He wouldn't harm Lu Ran.
"Look over there...!"
Tang Ya, walking at the very front of the group, suddenly called out,
then hurried over.
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed.
On the ground ahead,
Huo Yuhao lay beside a pool of blood and the Wind Baboon.
Bei Bei's gaze sharpened. He exchanged a look with Lu Ran, then went forward to inspect the Wind Baboon's corpse. The blood on the ground had nearly congealed, and the clean-cut wound clearly came from 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 looked remorseful as she crouched beside Huo Yuhao, her face full of grief.
"It's all my fault. If I'd gone with him, he wouldn't have died..."
"Waaah... It's all my fault..."
Bei Bei looked helpless.
"Xiao Ya, he's not dead yet..."
"Not dead?"
As they spoke,
Huo Yuhao slowly woke up.
He opened his eyes to find four people around him and looked confused.
Tang Ya let out a breath of relief.
"You scared me to death."
Once reason had reclaimed the high ground, she realized something was off.
There was no Soul Ring around the Wind Baboon's corpse. Either it had been absorbed or it had dissipated.
Judging by the timing,
it was probably the former.
Then she sensed the Soul Power fluctuations around Huo Yuhao. They were a little stronger than before.
"Don't tell me you absorbed the Wind Baboon's Soul Ring?"
Huo Yuhao froze and looked at the Wind Baboon's corpse. After blinking, his expression became natural.
"I did..."
Lu Ran didn't need to guess to know that Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had prompted him.
After a brief daze,
Huo Yuhao examined his hands, then his entire body, looking utterly incredulous.
At last, he summoned his Soul Ring.
A glowing white Ten-Year Soul Ring!
His face lit up with excitement.
Everyone present noticed the brief spiritual fluctuation when he released his Soul Skill.
"A spiritual-type Martial Soul?"
Tang Ya and Bei Bei spoke at the same time.
A rare spiritual-type Martial Soul, like those in the legends?!
After examining him, they discovered that it wasn't just a spiritual-type Martial Soul. It was a Body Martial Soul, too!
Once her excitement passed,
Tang Ya sighed.
"If you'd come with us, you definitely could've absorbed a Hundred-Year Soul Ring,"
she said regretfully.
What a shame. Such a shame.
Even for a spiritual-type Martial Soul, a Ten-Year Soul Ring wasn't much use.
But Huo Yuhao showed no regret on his face, only excitement. He seemed far more spirited than before he'd left.
Tang Ya assumed he simply didn't understand the difference between a Ten-Year Soul Ring and a Hundred-Year Soul Ring.
Still...
she wondered,
a child this young had come Soul Hunting 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 family,
Huo Yuhao's excitement faded,
and his mood sank.
"No... I came alone..."
"Hm?!"
Tang Ya's eyes lit up. Clenching her fist, she said, "An orphan? Ha! That's great!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
She was kindhearted, but sometimes she really did speak without thinking.
Bei Bei raised a hand and knocked her on the head,
Tang Ya realized those words weren't appropriate either and stuck out her little tongue,
letting out two awkward laughs:
"No, I mean..."
She immediately put on a serious expression:
"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 really powerful!"
But after feeling the three gazes beside her, her confidence faltered a little,
and she said timidly:
"We really were powerful once..."
Lu Ran inexplicably thought of the research and records about Blue Silver Grass. He partly agreed with her; at least when it came to studying Blue Silver Grass, the Tang Sect really was impressive.
When Huo Yuhao heard Tang Sect,
he grew excited.
He'd only heard that the Tang Sect had once been the greatest sect on the continent, but later fell into decline.
He didn't know anything else,
but it had once been the greatest sect on the continent.
"We have lots 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.
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