After leaving the Earth Dragon Sect, Mu Chen was in an excellent mood.
Next, he would head to Shrek.
Old Tang had already planned his route for him. Mu Chen knew it would take him to a chance encounter with Huo Yuhao.
He traveled straight from the Heaven Dou Empire into the Star Dou Great Forest. The route Old Tang had given him led through the forest's outer reaches.
Mu Chen's Soul Power was now at level forty-three, and he possessed a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.
The Soul Beasts in the outer reaches of the Star Dou Great Forest were generally no older than a thousand years, so Mu Chen wasn't in any danger.
A few days later, following the route Old Tang had given him, Mu Chen was finally about to leave the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Xiao Chen, over there."
Old Tang, who rarely took the initiative to probe their surroundings, spoke up on his own this time.
Mu Chen knew that Huo Yuhao had to be in that direction.
Without hesitation, Mu Chen pushed off and rushed toward the place Old Tang had indicated.
After passing through a stretch of woods, Mu Chen saw a boy sitting cross-legged beneath the shade of a large tree ahead.
He had short, dark blue hair and a very frail build.
He sat there as if absorbing a Soul Ring.
Not far from him lay the corpse of a Wind Baboon.
"Looks like we're a little late, but it doesn't matter. Let's wait here a while."
Old Tang didn't seem interested in the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and didn't mind missing the chance to snatch him up.
Mu Chen didn't care about that big, silly bug Tian Meng either. The one he cared about was that man.
Just then, a ripple suddenly appeared in the space above Huo Yuhao's head.
A gray orb of light then flew out.
"Hahaha! I grasp the sun and moon and pluck the stars—none in this world can compare to me!"
"He's here!"
There was no time to call out to Old Tang. Mu Chen immediately summoned the Life Blade.
A surging tide of vitality burst forth, instantly drawing the gray orb's attention.
It flew toward Mu Chen, turned into a streak of light, and burrowed into the space between his brows.
Inside Mu Chen's Sea of Consciousness, Old Tang saw the sudden appearance of the gray orb and immediately prepared to investigate it.
But as soon as his hand touched the orb, it transformed into a streak of light and darted into the green orb formed by the Life Blade.
"An unexpected variable. Interesting."
Old Tang didn't pursue the gray orb. With him there, no one could stir up trouble in Mu Chen's Sea of Consciousness.
Outside, after obtaining Electrolux, Mu Chen didn't leave at once. Instead, he sat down beside Huo Yuhao.
Old Tang had told him to wait, presumably for Tang Ya and Bei Bei.
He would be joining and taking control of the Tang Sect sooner or later anyway, so there was no harm in meeting the two of them early.
"Bei Bei, when are we going to find a Soul Beast that's right for me?"
"Don't worry, Xiao Ya. We'll find one eventually."
Mu Chen had been resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the voices, he opened them.
A young man and woman were walking toward them in the distance.
"Huh, Bei Bei, there's someone up ahead."
Hearing this, Bei Bei moved in front of Tang Ya to shield her. He had spotted Mu Chen too.
"Aw, Bei Bei, don't be so nervous."
Tang Ya darted out from behind Bei Bei and bounced over to Mu Chen. "Are you here to get a Soul Ring too?"
When her eyes met Mu Chen's, she seemed momentarily dazed.
Mu Chen shook his head and pointed to Huo Yuhao beside him. "I'm just passing through. I saw him absorbing a Soul Ring, so I stayed to guard him."
"See, Bei Bei? I told you not to worry. He's obviously a good person!"
Bei Bei relaxed his guard and smiled apologetically at Mu Chen. "Sorry, brother. When we're out on the road, I can't help being a little cautious."
Just then, Huo Yuhao finally woke up.
As soon as he came to, he saw the three people in front of him.
"Who are you?"
He scrambled to his feet, tightened his grip on the White Tiger Dagger, and eyed them warily.
"Little brother, don't be afraid. Xiao Ya and I are students at Shrek, and this brother here just helped guard you while you absorbed your Soul Ring."
Hearing that Bei Bei and Tang Ya were students at Shrek, Huo Yuhao relaxed.
"Little brother, what's your name? Why did you come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone? Where's your family?"
Tang Ya's barrage of questions left Huo Yuhao a little dazed.
But when he heard the word "family," his eyes suddenly dimmed. "My name is Huo Yuhao. I—I don't have any family. I came here to enroll at Shrek Academy."
Tang Ya immediately realized she'd said the wrong thing, her face full of apology. "I'm sorry, Yuhao..."
Huo Yuhao shook his head, letting her know it was all right.
Bei Bei suddenly spoke up. "Yuhao, you've just absorbed your Soul Ring, so your Soul Power should only be at level eleven, right?"
Huo Yuhao nodded.
"Shrek's new student registration is about to begin. Level eleven won't be enough."
Tang Ya and Bei Bei understood each other without a word and immediately guessed what the other was thinking.
"Then what should I do?"
Huo Yuhao grew anxious at Bei Bei's words. If he couldn't get into Shrek, he truly didn't know where to go.
"Hehe, Yuhao, don't panic. I have an idea." Tang Ya smiled mysteriously. "Just join my Tang Sect, and I'll take care of getting you into the academy!"
Mu Chen watched from the side, unable to help marveling at Tang Ya's talent for talking people into things.
"The Tang Sect? Is it the same Tang Sect I've heard of?"
Seeing hope rekindle in Huo Yuhao's face, Tang Ya began singing the Tang Sect's praises.
"That's right, the one you're thinking of. The Tang Sect was founded ten thousand years ago by Tang San, the Thousand Hand Douluo. It's been around for ten thousand years, and I, Tang Ya, am its current sect leader. This is Bei Bei, the deputy sect leader."
Tang Ya looked at Huo Yuhao. "Yuhao, as long as you join the Tang Sect, I'll give you our spot and make sure you can get into Shrek."
"Okay, I'll join!"
Huo Yuhao had no other choice at this point. He could only join.
"Great! From now on, you're a disciple of the Tang Sect!"
Then Tang Ya turned her gaze to Mu Chen. "What about you, friend? Would you be interested in joining our Tang Sect?"
"My Soul Power is above level fifteen. We can talk about it after I enroll."
His top priority now was getting into Shrek. There was no need to rush into joining the Tang Sect; they could talk about that later.
"All right. If you don't have anything else to do, once I've found a Soul Ring, we can go to the academy together."
Tang Ya was now a level-thirty quasi-Soul Elder. She had come to the Star Dou Great Forest to find a suitable third Soul Ring.
"Sure. I don't have anything else to do right now anyway."
According to them, registration wouldn't begin for another day or two. Since he'd already made it here, there was no need to hurry.
The four of them headed deeper into the outer reaches to look for a suitable third Soul Ring for Tang Ya.
Tang Ya never stopped talking along the way. One moment she was chatting with Bei Bei, the next she was pestering Mu Chen, and then she'd go tease Huo Yuhao.
Her gaze kept drifting toward Mu Chen, a glint in her eyes.
"Hiss!"
A shrill cry rang out as a figure shot from the bushes ahead.
"Look out!"
Bei Bei immediately activated Martial Soul Possession and faced the figure.