Speaking of their backgrounds, two of the four people present had fallen into a gloomy mood, leaving Xiao Yan momentarily stunned.
Good grief. He'd only said it offhand, but it turned out two people here had tragic backgrounds.
"Enough about that. By the way, Brother Yu Hao, is your Martial Soul... your eyes?"
"Ah... yes, but how did you know, Xiao Yan?"
Huo Yuhao was taken aback. How had the conversation turned to him? He tilted his head. Although he was much more mature than other children his age, in Xiao Yan's eyes, he still seemed a little naïve.
"Heh, I guessed."
"Wow... Then, then what's your Martial Soul?"
Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Yan curiously.
Xiao Yan grinned and smiled lightly. At the same time, he roused his Soul Power and summoned Xiao Fire Dragon, who had been sleeping in his dantian.
"Come out, Xiao Fire Dragon!"
"Char!"
The golden Xiao Fire Dragon appeared before them. However, because he had just been through a fierce battle, he seemed a little listless. Even so, Beibei and Tang Ya stared at him in utter amazement.
"This... what kind of Martial Soul is this? It looks like a Fire-type, but its whole body is golden yellow. Could it be Earth-type? A lizard Martial Soul?"
Xiao Yan froze, then said seriously,
"What lizard? This is a proper Fire Dragon, even if he doesn't have Dragon blood."
"You can call it a dragon even without Dragon blood...?"
Beibei muttered helplessly. Xiao Yan glanced at him and raised an eyebrow.
"Then let me ask you: if you put Xiao Fire Dragon next to an Exeggutor with a neck ten meters tall, which one's the dragon?"
"Of course Xiao Fire Dragon! Never mind whether it has Dragon blood—does that coconut tree you mentioned even look like a dragon?"
"Exactly. Alolan Exeggutor is Dragon-type, and Xiao Fire Dragon is Fire-type. But wait until my Xiao Fire Dragon evolves once... twice... then Mega Evolves once more, turning into Duraludon. Then it'll be Dragon-type."
Beibei opened his mouth, then fell silent.
Fine. There was no getting through to someone who thought everything was a dragon and talked nonsense nonstop.
Xiao Yan knew he couldn't make himself understood to these otherworldly locals, either. After all, if you'd never seen a Pokédex, it was hard to imagine how a bunch of creatures completely unrelated to dragons could be Dragon-type, while a bunch of creatures with "dragon" in their names weren't.
Like Charizard, Gyarados, and Tropius.
Speaking of Martial Souls, Xiao Yan suddenly remembered that the three people before him seemed to have come to Star Dou Forest to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings.
He looked at Xiao Fire Dragon and deliberately said,
"Ah, I came to Star Dou Forest this time to get my First Soul Ring. My Martial Soul Awakening was three years ago, and I've only just barely reached level ten after all this time. It's embarrassing."
"Huh? Three years ago? Then wouldn't that make you... only nine?"
Huo Yuhao's eyes widened as he looked at Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan nodded.
"Yeah. And our village recommended me to study at Shrek Academy this year. Look, this is my recommendation letter from Shrek Academy."
Putting on an innocent, clueless expression, he pulled the recommendation letter from his clothes.
"Ah! It really is an admission recommendation letter from Shrek Academy! Little Brother Xiao, this is precious!"
Tang Ya examined it carefully, confirming that the Shrek Academy wax seal and stamp were genuine before handing it back to Xiao Yan.
"But remember, you can't just show something this valuable to anyone. You only showed it to us. The Tang Sect has one recommended candidate each year who can interview for admission to Shrek."
"Luckily, this year's spot went to Yu Hao, and we're already students at Shrek Academy, so we won't take your recommendation letter."
Only then did Xiao Yan put on a look of sudden understanding and nod.
"Okay, Big Sister Xiao Ya. I'll be careful."
After carefully putting away the letter, Tang Ya pressed her lips together and asked tentatively,
"By the way, Little Brother Xiao Yan, you're here to hunt Soul Beasts, too. Are you going to school afterward?"
"Ah, yes, that's what I had in mind. Since you're senior students at Shrek Academy, are you here to hunt for Soul Rings, too?"
"Yeah, yeah... Hey, why don't we team up? Once we've hunted our Soul Beast, we can help you hunt yours. Then we can all return to Shrek Academy together!"
At that, Xiao Yan looked expectant, acting a little excited.
"Really? That's great! I was worried I wouldn't be able to beat a Soul Beast. I ran into a huge turtle before that raised monstrous waves. It was so powerful, and since my Martial Soul is Fire-type, it had a huge advantage over me. That's why I got knocked out. Speaking of which, I should thank you for helping me up."
"It was nothing, it was nothing. But, Little Brother Xiao Yan, your Martial Soul is Fire-type, so it'd be best to hunt a Fire-type Soul Beast. That Water-type turtle wasn't a good fit for you. Let's go look for another Soul Beast in the forest."
Tang Ya covered her mouth and laughed. Xiao Yan nodded and casually echoed a few words.
While they were talking, Huo Yuhao managed to spear several more fish from the water. After bustling about for a while, he had two grilled fish in everyone's hands. Tang Ya even held two in one hand and ate to her heart's content.
"Mmm... Yu Hao, you're absolutely amazing at grilling fish!"
As she ate, she praised Huo Yuhao's cooking. The blue-haired boy lowered his head bashfully, only scratching it over and over.
"It's not that good..."
Once everyone had eaten their fill and rested well, Xiao Yan took the opportunity to sit in meditation and recover some Soul Power. When sunlight fell over them again, it was another morning.
Beibei roused Xiao Yan from his meditation. After tidying up and eating another meal of Huo Yuhao's grilled fish, they set out together, ready to hunt Soul Beasts.
Whether they were simply luckier than Xiao Yan and Xiao Yulü or not, they encountered nothing but a group of Wind Baboons made up of Ten-Year Soul Beasts as they made their way through the forest. Only after traveling for a long time did they find a target that met Tang Ya's requirements.
It was a huge snake, three or four meters long, its entire body peach-red. A tiny flower sat atop its head, releasing a fragrant scent.
"It's a Datura Snake! Wow, it's a thousand-year Soul Beast! Great! I want this one!"
Seeing such a huge creature, Tang Ya wasn't frightened in the least. Instead, she cried out in delight.
Xiao Yan examined it carefully. The Datura Snake was coiled around a large tree, resting, and hadn't noticed them yet.
"Beibei, let's attack together and try to kill the Datura Snake quickly. Then we'll leave it with one last breath so Big Sister Xiao Ya can obtain its Soul Ring."
Beibei looked at the boy and curled his lips into a smile.
"No need. Teacher Xiao Ya, protect those two!"
With that, Beibei gave a low shout, revealing his Martial Soul as his Soul Rings gleamed. Two yellow rings and one purple ring—he was a three-ring Soul Elder!
"First Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!"
Blue lightning roared as a dragon claw formed from thunder shot out, striking at the Datura Snake.
The Datura Snake was extremely alert. Though caught off guard, it reacted in time. The moment Beibei launched his attack, it sprang up and leapt into the air.
But Beibei advanced instead of retreating. His Second Soul Ring lit up, and he shouted again,
"Second Soul Skill, Thunderous Might!"
Countless tiny snakes of lightning suddenly swelled, transforming into a net of thunder that spread over the Datura Snake.
"Great control!"
Xiao Yan shouted, then roared loudly as he gave his command:
"Xiao Fire Dragon, Ember!"
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