A Towering Silhouette

Beibei hurried to Tang Ya's side, his face full of anxiety. His hands trembled as he tore at the spiderweb, overcome with worry.

Tang Ya looked at Beibei before her, her eyes gradually growing moist. In a tearful voice, she cursed him.

"I told you to run!"

But Beibei still paid her no heed and kept tearing at the web.

"I'm not giving up on you. If you want to punish me, we can talk about it after we get back!"

The Earth Cave Demon Spider wasn't about to give them any more time. In the blink of an eye, it was right in front of them, and one of its legs came crashing down toward Beibei.

"Look out!"

Seeing this, Tang Ya hurriedly warned him, her voice beginning to tremble with anxiety.

Beibei whipped around. The spider leg was already right before him. With his abilities, he could have dodged at that distance, but if he did, the leg would pierce Tang Ya, who couldn't move.

Gritting his teeth, Beibei immediately used Martial Soul Possession, preparing to withstand the powerful blow head-on.

Crossing his arms in front of him, he roared, "Second Soul Skill—Thunder Fury!"

Powerful blue currents covered his entire body, greatly enhancing his abilities in every aspect. Arcs of electricity danced around him, crackling as they clashed with the air.

But Beibei was still only a Soul Elder in the thirties. He couldn't withstand the attack of a Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Cave Demon Spider.

The spider leg came straight down and sent Beibei flying. He slammed heavily into a tree, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his lips.

Pain wracked his entire body, but Beibei ignored his injuries and struggled back to his feet, ready to fight again!

Tang Ya could only watch Beibei's battered state, unable to do a thing. She couldn't help remembering how helpless she had been when her sect was destroyed.

Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul surged from her hands, its strands faintly marked with black.

Even Tang Ya herself hadn't noticed that the moment her Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul appeared, it began devouring the Soul Power in the spiderweb.

The Earth Cave Demon Spider paid no heed to Tang Ya struggling in the web. Instead, it charged straight at Beibei, who could still move.

Beibei was just as stubborn. He circulated his Soul Power, preparing to fight again!

Just as the spider's leg was about to come crashing down once more, Ye Guchen finally arrived.

A fiery red bird with a wingspan of nearly six meters plunged from the sky, ramming the unsuspecting Earth Cave Demon Spider dozens of meters away. Trees along its path were smashed to pieces.

The firebird gave it no chance to react, immediately pelting the Earth Cave Demon Spider, still unable to turn over, with several fireballs.

Ye Guchen followed up with a mental shock.

While the Earth Cave Demon Spider was still dazed and completely off guard, Ye Guchen raised his right hand. Several fiery feathers appeared out of thin air.

Ye Guchen circulated all the Soul Power in his body and hurled the feathers with all his might.

The flaming feathers stabbed straight into the joints of the Earth Cave Demon Spider's legs, severing all eight of them!

Seeing that the Earth Cave Demon Spider was no longer a threat, Ye Guchen leapt down.

A tall figure jumped from the firebird's back and landed directly in front of Beibei.

Beibei felt that the figure's silhouette was towering, yet somehow familiar.

"Senior Ye!"

As soon as Beibei spoke, the tall figure turned around.

Firelight illuminated a handsome, refined face that came into view before Beibei. It was Ye Guchen.

"Beibei, are you all right?"

Ye Guchen's voice was so calm, as if he'd merely swatted a mosquito, not driven off a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

"Senior Ye... why are you here?" Beibei stared blankly at the young man his own age, dazed for a moment.

They were both fifteen, yet the Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Cave Demon Spider that Beibei had struggled with all his might to face was helpless before Ye Guchen. It had been crushed with ease, like an ant.

What Beibei didn't know was that Ye Guchen had wanted to keep a low profile. The academy had falsified his age; he was actually only fourteen.

Just then, the sound of the spiderweb breaking came from behind them.

Tang Ya fell out of the broken web. Her legs gave way, and she was about to collapse.

Ignoring the pain of his injuries, Beibei dashed over and caught her securely.

"Xiaoya! Xiaoya, are you all right?" Beibei's voice trembled with relief at having survived the ordeal.

Tang Ya threw herself into Beibei's arms. The tears she'd been holding back streamed down her cheeks.

Clutching Beibei's clothes, she cried and laughed at once, her voice breaking off again and again:

"You idiot... I told you to run. Why didn't you? You almost died, do you know that...?"

Beibei gently patted her back and forced a smile, but the movement tugged at his wounds, making him grimace.

"Didn't I tell you? I'm not giving up on you."

"You still say that!" Tang Ya punched him hard, then tenderly rubbed the spot she'd hit, her tears falling even harder.

The two held each other like that. It took a long while before they finally began to calm down.

Tang Ya raised her head and looked at Ye Guchen, who was checking the Earth Cave Demon Spider's corpse not far away. Her eyes were still red, and her voice was filled with heartfelt gratitude.

"Senior Ye... thank you. If you hadn't arrived in time, Beibei and I would have..."

Ye Guchen waved a hand and casually dealt the Earth Cave Demon Spider its final blow, his tone still calm. "I happened to have something to do nearby. When I sensed you were in danger, I hurried over."

He made it sound effortless, as if he'd merely done some trivial favor, but he felt a little guilty. Strictly speaking, he was the one who had drawn this Soul Beast over.

Supporting Tang Ya as she stood, Beibei watched Ye Guchen's back, a complicated feeling welling up inside him.

They were the same age.

He and Ye Guchen were clearly the same age.

Yet while Beibei was still striving to break through to level thirty-seven and struggling through his cultivation in the outer court, Ye Guchen had already entered the inner court through sheer strength, becoming someone all the outer-court students looked up to.

Four rings, Soul Power approaching level fifty—that was a height Beibei couldn't even begin to reach right now.

Beibei had always thought his talent was good enough. He was only fifteen and already had level thirty-seven Soul Power.

But the helplessness he'd felt facing a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast today, and the overwhelming ease with which Ye Guchen had crushed it when he appeared, had shown him clearly how far he stood from a true genius.

Yet this gap didn't discourage Beibei. Instead, it filled him with heartfelt admiration.

It wasn't jealousy or inferiority. It was a longing that said, "So this is what the strong are supposed to be like."

Ye Guchen took out a healing pill and held it out to Beibei.

"Here, take it quickly. Luckily, your foundation isn't damaged. It looks bad, but these are only flesh wounds. After taking the pill, a few days of rest will see you fully recovered."

Beibei took the pill, thanked him, and swallowed it in one gulp. Then he sat cross-legged and absorbed its medicinal power.

Tang Ya stayed by his side, anxious eyes fixed on him. Both her hands were clenched so tightly that faint traces of blood showed.

Ye Guchen noticed that Tang Ya seemed a little off, so he stepped forward to reassure her.

"Don't worry. Like I said, Beibei only has flesh wounds."

But Tang Ya seemed not to hear him at all. She broke down, sobbing and choking on her words as she poured out her anguish to Ye Guchen.

"Senior Ye, am I useless? Am I just a burden?"

"It's the same now as it was three years ago!"