Star Dou Forest, the Orphan of the Sun Moon Royal Family!

Several months later...

Deep within the Star Dou Forest, a scorching sun hung high behind Xu Tianyao, shrouding the entire area in extreme heat.

At his feet lay a ten-thousand-year Blazing Lion King, gasping its final breaths; this beast even possessed a trace of the ancient Suanni bloodline.

One could not help but marvel that the Star Dou Forest was truly the place with the richest and highest-quality soul beasts in the world.

A high-quality Blazing Lion King of this caliber was simply unseen on the Sun Moon Continent.

Xu Tianyao lifted one hand slightly, a miniature sun emerging in his palm. The next moment, it transformed into a violent beam of fire that pierced the Blazing Lion King's skull. Before long, a pitch-black ten-thousand-year soul ring rose slowly from its body.

The Snow Maiden had not followed them into the Star Dou Forest. According to her, she feared that the aura she emitted would alert the fierce beasts lurking in the depths and cause unnecessary trouble, so she had voluntarily remained in the town on the outskirts.

Kong Deming and Xu Tianyao generally deferred to all of the Snow Maiden's decisions.

Nodding toward Kong Deming, Xu Tianyao sat cross-legged and began to absorb the hard-won ten-thousand-year soul ring.

At the same time, a classic scene played out once more.

In another area less than a hundred miles away, a small team dressed in strange attire was currently battling a hundred-thousand-year-level Silver Moon Divine Wolf. The strongest member of this squad was actually a twenty-something quasi-Douluo.

The massive commotion they caused naturally attracted Kong Deming's attention.

Within the Star Dou Forest, Kong Deming maintained absolute vigilance and a low profile.

He had originally intended to wait for Xu Tianyao to finish absorbing his soul ring before taking him away, but just moments ago, he had sensed a familiar Martial Soul aura from that direction.

Driven by curiosity, Kong Deming released a small, high-level detection Soul Tool. It flew continuously toward the site of the battle, and soon, he saw everything that was transpiring.

A team of soul masters, with a maximum strength of only a quasi-Douluo, was engaged in combat with a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, and casualties had already occurred.

As for that quasi-Douluo and the hundred-thousand-year Silver Moon Divine Wolf, both were in a state of mutual destruction.

However, what captured his gaze was not the battle itself, but the Martial Soul of the female quasi-Douluo.

It was identical to his own—a Silver Moon—and Kong Deming felt a sense of familiarity from her, as if their bloodlines were related.

Without a doubt, this person was surely a branch of the Sun Moon Imperial family, or perhaps an orphan left outside the empire.

Yet, this woman was wearing the uniform of Shrek Academy, which caught him somewhat by surprise.

That a member of the Sun Moon royal bloodline had become a member of Shrek Academy was something Kong Deming could not fathom, but in all likelihood, it was probably the result of the imperial succession struggles from years ago.

"Grandfather, what are you looking at?"

Xu Tianyao's voice came from behind. Kong Deming snapped back to reality and looked at him with some surprise.

"Tianyao, you're finished? It's only been half an hour."

It seemed that when he had absorbed his own ten-thousand-year soul ring back in the day, it hadn't been this easy.

Not to mention that Tianyao was absorbing a ten-thousand-year ring as his third soul ring; this speed was truly inconceivable.

Could it be that the sacrifice of that hundred-thousand-year soul beast had brought him such an astonishing boost?

Xu Tianyao walked to Kong Deming's side and glanced at the soul-tool screen floating before him.

The image on the screen made him frown: a Douluo with a Silver Moon Martial Soul, a hundred-thousand-year Silver Moon Divine Wolf, and that uniform—it was actually Shrek Academy.

Could it be that inner court senior sister, Bei Bei's child bride, Zhang Lexuan?

"Do you know her?" Kong Deming asked, surprised by Xu Tianyao's silent, contemplative expression.

It was truly strange how this kid seemed to have a grasp on everything.

Unaware of Kong Deming's inner thoughts, Xu Tianyao answered his inquiry with a conflicted expression:

"I have naturally never met this person, but judging by their attire and her Martial Soul, she is likely Zhang Lexuan, the current senior sister of Shrek Academy's inner court. I heard people speak of her when I was studying at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy."

"In this year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, this Zhang Lexuan is the captain of the Shrek Academy team, and her strength is formidable."

"More importantly, she possesses the Silver Moon, the inherited Martial Soul of my Sun Moon royal family, so I kept an eye on her and gathered some intelligence."

Hearing Xu Tianyao's explanation, Kong Deming nodded in realization. "I see. Then tell me what intelligence you've gathered. This girl's talent is truly excellent; among the younger generation of our Sun Moon royal family, few can compare to her. If cultivated properly, she would at least be a Super Douluo."

Hearing Kong Deming say this, Xu Tianyao knew that the old man likely had other ideas.

However, he did not believe that Zhang Lexuan—who had been raised by Shrek since childhood, indoctrinated with countless ideals of Shrek's glory, and who viewed Mu En as a master—could ever return to the Sun Moon Empire with them.

"According to the information gathered, if one traces the origins, this Zhang Lexuan is likely a descendant of the Zhang family who fled the Sun Moon Empire three hundred years ago during the struggle for imperial power."

"However, over twenty years ago, their tracks were discovered by members of the imperial clan, and they were supposedly dealt with." Xu Tianyao sighed.

"This Zhang Lexuan must have been an orphan saved by Mu En, and she became the child bride of Mu En's grandson. She was raised in Shrek since she was young. Let alone returning with us, she likely harbors endless hatred for our Sun Moon Empire."

Hearing Xu Tianyao's words, Kong Deming nodded; he roughly understood the ins and outs of the situation.

Still, she was royal blood after all; in any case, she could not be allowed to die at the hands of this beast. He wondered what Shrek Academy was thinking, letting a quasi-Douluo lead a group of low-level soul masters against a hundred-thousand-year Silver Moon Divine Wolf.

"Tianyao, stay close." Kong Deming gave a low shout, then took a step forward, weaving through the forest. In the blink of an eye, he had vanished.

Xu Tianyao understood that Kong Deming intended to save Zhang Lexuan. As for what he thought of the decision, Xu Tianyao was unsure, and he did not express an opinion.

Without much hesitation, he followed.

At this moment, the situation on Zhang Lexuan's side was not looking good. This time, Senior Xuan Zi had led the team, bringing twelve elite disciples to hunt for soul rings.

But now, only four of those twelve elite disciples remained: Han Ruoruo, Wu Ming, Ling Luochen, and Zhang Lexuan.

One level-80 quasi-Douluo, two Soul Saints, and one Soul King—their current states were far from ideal.

Han Ruoruo was busy providing crowd control while protecting Ling Luochen, so the burden of frontal assault fell almost entirely on Wu Ming and Zhang Lexuan.

"Senior Sister, your Silver Moon Martial Soul has spatial attributes and is faster. Take the two junior sisters and leave quickly; I will hold it off for you!" Under the effects of her Martial Soul Avatar, Wu Ming was knocked back once again by a light beam from the ferocious Silver Moon Divine Wolf.

Facing such a situation, and with Xuan Zi nowhere to be found, she spoke these desperate words of escape.