Golden Hawksbill Turtle

Lan Xuanyu pretended to ask casually, "By the way, Senior Brother, did you meet anyone called Huo Yuhao along the way?"

He knew perfectly well that the Shrek Seven Devils—Beibei, Tang Ya, and the others—were no more than a bonus when it came to reviving the Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao was the one who would bring the Tang Sect back to prominence. Even Grandpa had personally acknowledged that Huo Yuhao had made the greatest contribution to Douluo Continent.

Beibei shook his head in bewilderment. "Huo Yuhao? I've never met anyone by that name..."

"You haven't?" Lan Xuanyu was instantly confused. Reviving the Tang Sect was supposed to be his job! Where had he gone?

His body shuddered uncontrollably as a thought surged wildly through his mind.

Could Huo Yuhao still be alive, deliberately avoiding the Tang Sect in this era...?

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back. If something had gone wrong with Huo Yuhao, what would become of his father, Tang Wulin, and the era he came from? Lan Xuanyu didn't dare imagine it.

No, no! The entire history of Douluo Continent would be thrown into chaos!

Though Lan Xuanyu was terrified, he had once been a God King. His nerves were still strong, and he quickly figured out what he had to do.

He had to put everything back on track!

But for now, he still had to fulfill his duties as a Tang Sect disciple and help Tang Ya obtain her third Soul Ring.

Sure enough, Tang Ya's choice of Soul Beast still seemed to be modeled after a certain God King.

The Mandala Snake, Ghost Vine, and even the Man Faced Demon Spider and Cave Demon Spider were all among Tang Ya's top choices.

Lan Xuanyu found it amusing. There was only one Tang San on all of Douluo Continent. These descendants who wanted to recreate Grandpa's glorious achievements simply weren't up to the task.

Those fools. Didn't they know that the Tang family's one and only heirloom was the Blue Silver Emperor, not Blue Silver Grass?

Of course, Lan Xuanyu had no obligation to tell Tang Ya that.

On the road, Lan Xuanyu discussed the intricacies of practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill with Beibei, completely ignoring Tang Ya beside them.

What puzzled Lan Xuanyu was that the Mysterious Heaven Skill passed down in this era was different from the version he knew, the one Tang San had personally taught in the Divine Realm.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill that Tang Ya and Beibei had learned was far less complete than the version Lan Xuanyu knew. The most crucial mental cultivation method had been omitted, and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, vital to unlocking one's potential, had been cut out. Many other parts were incomplete, too. As a result, even though they practiced the same skill, these Tang Sect disciples achieved far less than the members of the Tang family.

Grandpa Tang San must have held something back in certain areas. He had to trust in the Sea God's wisdom!

They had barely ventured into the Star Dou Great Forest when they unexpectedly encountered a Man Faced Demon Spider with five thousand years of cultivation...

In Lan Xuanyu's previous life, the moment he released the aura of his Dragon God Bloodline, any Soul Beast, no matter how powerful, would have obediently knelt and licked his boots.

But now...

"Run!!!"

Beibei roared. He had no desire to fight at all. He took off with Tang Ya, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, wishing his parents had given him two more legs.

That was a five-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider! To put it bluntly, even a Soul King could put up a fight against it. The little Soul Elders were nothing but a meal to the creature.

Lan Xuanyu gritted his teeth, unwilling to accept it. He felt deeply frustrated, but his body knew better; he ended up running even faster than Beibei and the others.

Every now and then, he hurled spheres of light made from a mixture of water, fire, and earth elements behind him to slow the Man Faced Demon Spider. But the gap between them was simply too great. In the end, the spider's web tripped Tang Ya and Beibei, and Lan Xuanyu couldn't evade Spider Web Restraint either.

In the blink of an eye, the Man Faced Demon Spider was upon them. Its sharp legs pierced Beibei's arm as he protected Tang Ya, and Lan Xuanyu's upper thigh.

It missed his little birdy by just an inch...

Luckily, Beibei had powerful connections. Seeing that things were going badly, the teacher who had accompanied him on the Soul Hunting expedition appeared, drove off the Man Faced Demon Spider, and took Beibei and Lan Xuanyu back to Shrek Academy for treatment.

The day after Lan Xuanyu and the others left the Star Dou Great Forest, the exhausted Huo Yuhao finally woke up after sleeping for a full day.

Baili Du had told him earlier that he had to join Shrek Academy first, and use his own eyes and heart to see what this so-called sacred land of Soul Masters was really like. Only after making up his own mind should he decide whether to stay or leave.

Huo Yuhao didn't understand why he had to go to Shrek Academy, but he trusted Baili Du very much.

Before that, though, he first had to go to the Star Dou Great Forest and obtain his third Soul Ring.

It was the same place where fate had once been set in motion, but the people were different now.

Sitting beside a brook, Huo Yuhao skillfully grilled fish over a fire. Before long, the distinctive aroma of Huo-Style Grilled Fish filled the air. Even the miniature Sky Dream Ice Silkworm perched on Huo Yuhao's shoulder couldn't help sniffing.

"Yuhao, your big brother wants some, too."

Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly. He had just brought the grilled fish up to his shoulder when the surface of the river in the distance rippled faintly.

"Who's there?!"

His right hand instantly transformed into a deep-blue dragon claw, dark-purple lightning snakes surging across it as he warily watched the brook.

Sky Dream had no time to think about the grilled fish. His plump white body twisted nimbly, placing himself in front of Huo Yuhao to protect him.

Just then, a dark-golden, triangular head emerged from beneath the water. Its tiny eyes, the same color, stared straight at the grilled fish in Huo Yuhao's hand.

"You can sense this king? Human boy, you're no ordinary fellow..."

Then its body surfaced. It was a Big Turtle!

It was over two meters in diameter, with an evenly colored, deep golden shell on its back. Even the patterns in each section of its shell were dark gold, without a single flaw. But its aura was weak and its vitality terribly diminished, giving the impression that it was on its last legs.

Though its voice was muffled, the turtle could speak human language. That meant...

"A... Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao grabbed Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and turned to run.

But a gentle force softly enveloped Huo Yuhao, stopping him from getting away.

"Hey, hey... Don't run, don't run. Human boy, I mean you no harm. Don't worry."

"Ahem, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Auspicious Beast among turtles, a mighty expert with a hundred thousand years of cultivation: the Golden Hawksbill Turtle."

Huo Yuhao and Sky Dream Ice Silkworm exchanged a glance. Sky Dream gave him a look, then quietly vanished.

"...So, Senior Golden Hawksbill Turtle, what did you come to see me for?"

The Golden Hawksbill Turtle nodded with an air of self-importance, though its little eyes remained fixed on the grilled fish in Huo Yuhao's hand. "Well, of course. But first, let this king taste the grilled fish you're holding. Then I'll tell you."

What did one thing have to do with the other? It really seemed like the turtle just wanted something to eat... Though Huo Yuhao was sorely tempted to complain, he still cautiously held out the grilled fish to the Golden Hawksbill Turtle.

The Golden Hawksbill Turtle devoured the fish without hesitation. Its little eyes widened several times over, and its previously feeble aura grew considerably stronger.

It nearly burst into tears. Humans really knew how to live! What kind of life had it been leading before this...? It had been eating nothing but raw fish!