Wind Baboon Soul Ring!

"I saw you were hunting for a soul ring just now? A Wind Baboon, spirit-attribute, though a bit weak, it'll suffice as a first soul ring. Absorb it quickly, lest complications arise."

Huo Yuhao looked at the carcasses of the Wind Baboons, then at the stranger before him—a youth with a gentle smile, formidable strength, and the grace to save his life. A surge of indescribable warmth and gratitude welled up in his heart.

Having suffered endless humiliation at the Duke's Mansion since childhood and left utterly destitute after his mother's death, when had anyone ever treated him with such kindness? Not only had he saved his life, but he had even helped him slay a soul beast and allowed him to absorb the ring!

"Th-thank you, Brother Zichuan!" Huo Yuhao's eyes reddened, and he bowed deeply, his voice choked with emotion.

He felt that he must have encountered a noble benefactor, the very first ray of sunlight in his life.

"Go on, then." Zichuan smiled and patted his shoulder, then walked to the side and sat on a clean rock, as if to stand guard for him.

Huo Yuhao hesitated no longer. Suppressing his excitement, he walked over to the most intact, appropriately aged ten-year Wind Baboon carcass, sat cross-legged, and began to draw in the slowly manifesting white soul ring.

Watching Huo Yuhao enter the absorption state, the smile on Zichuan's face deepened, though deep within that smile lay a hint of playfulness and anticipation that only he understood.

Very well, the first step is complete. Huo Yuhao's first soul ring will soon be that ten-year Wind Baboon.

And so, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, my dear million-year Big Bug, your "destined one" has already been "taken."

What will you do next?

Zichuan looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of forest to the deeper reaches of the woods, toward a certain existence that should have already sensed the fluctuation of "destiny" and was rushing over in a panic.

Come, let me see whether the inertia of fate is stronger, or if this "accidental" variable of mine can stir up more chaos.

My, oh my, this time it really depends on luck. Though, luck seems to have always been on my side?

Watching Huo Yuhao focus on absorbing that ten-year Wind Baboon soul ring, Zichuan felt calm and unruffled.

Killing Huo Yuhao was indeed the most permanent way to nip future troubles in the bud. With his current strength, crushing a Huo Yuhao who didn't even have a soul ring was easier than crushing an ant.

But this thought merely flashed through his mind before he discarded it without hesitation.

Why?

Because he had his bottom line.

He, Zichuan, was a cheater; he had gods chasing him to feed him, and he didn't mind using some underhanded means to snatch opportunities or dig into Tang San's foundation.

But these actions were predicated on him being sufficiently powerful and his targets being "enemies."

What was Huo Yuhao? Right now, he was just a boy with a tragic background, his mother recently deceased, harboring a sea of blood-feud and dreams of becoming stronger, struggling to survive.

He had not yet become Tang San's "son-in-law," had not become a "loyal dog" of the Tang family, and had not even obtained any cheats. He was merely a pawn in the script of fate, chosen and helpless.

What difference would there be between killing him and the Tang San described by the God of Destruction—a man who would stop at nothing, even calculating against his own daughter, to achieve his goals?

No, it would be even worse, because Huo Yuhao posed no threat to him and held no grudge against him.

Zichuan had his own pride and his own code of conduct.

He could plunder opportunities and scheme against opponents, but he could not bring himself to wantonly slaughter an innocent boy who, in some ways, shared his own plight.

That would make him feel like he had become one of the very people he despised.

"There seem to be one or two hundred-year-old ones in that Wind Baboon pack; consider that a bit of compensation for you."

Zichuan looked at Huo Yuhao's slightly thin back and thought to himself.

Although a hundred-year soul ring was not worth mentioning to him now, for Huo Yuhao, who was just starting his path as a soul master, it might provide a bit more self-preservation.

This was the only insignificant "compensation" he could offer—even if the price of this "compensation" was severing the boy's greatest opportunity.

Just as Huo Yuhao reached the critical stage of absorbing the soul ring and a faint white light began to emanate from his body, a sudden change occurred!

"Whoosh—!"

A faint yet urgent sound of air being torn apart approached from afar, moving at incredible speed!

Zichuan and the God of Destruction simultaneously sensed a surge of mental energy—vast beyond imagination, yet incredibly condensed, like a tangible ocean—rushing madly toward their direction!

That mental energy was filled with urgency, annoyance, unwillingness, and a hint of... desperation?

Immediately after, a white dot in the sky rapidly enlarged, and in the blink of an eye, it rushed to the front and hovered in mid-air.

It was, shockingly, a creature... translucent throughout, as if carved from white jade, resembling a giant baby silkworm!

It was over seven meters long, round and chubby, its body segmented, emitting a soft, pearly white glow. Its massive, intelligent, mung-bean-sized eyes were fixed intently on Huo Yuhao, who was absorbing the soul ring below.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm! A million-year soul beast, the "power bank" of the Star Dou Great Forest, the unlucky fellow who had just escaped from the imprisonment of Di Tian and the other fierce beasts!

"How could this... how could this happen?!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mental intent, filled with annoyance and heartache, spread without reservation, vibrating like a demonic sound that made the surrounding leaves rustle.

"A step too late! Just a step too late! I finally managed to sense a seedling with such pure spirit-attribute, such a resilient soul, and in such a desperate situation, possessing infinite possibilities! This was the best opportunity heaven could have bestowed upon me!"

"A perfect host! But... but why is he already absorbing a soul ring?! And the trashiest ten-year Wind Baboon at that?! What a waste! A total waste!"

Its massive mental body twisted anxiously in mid-air, watching the increasingly stable white light of the soul ring on Huo Yuhao, feeling as heartbroken as if it had seen a peerless jade being used as a stepping stone by a brat.

It had waited for countless years, plotted for countless years, and finally waited for a "vessel" that met its demanding requirements, only to be "beaten to the punch" while it was on its way!

This feeling was worse than eating dung!

Before it could recover from the massive blow and anger, a voice with obvious mockery and curiosity rang out slowly from below:

"Yo-ho, what do we have here... a Big Bug?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's beady green eyes snapped toward the voice, only then noticing someone else sitting nearby.

It was a youth with black hair and black eyes, looking quite young, resting his chin in his hand while eyeing him with an expression that screamed "I'm just here for the show." It was Zichuan.

"Human! It's you?!"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's mental consciousness locked onto Zichuan instantly, his fury flaring up in a heartbeat.