Golden Hawksbill Turtle

Lan Xuanyu asked with feigned casualness, "By the way, Senior Brother, did you happen to encounter someone named Huo Yuhao along the way?"

He knew very well that the Shrek Seven Devils, with Beibei and Tang Ya, were merely accessories to the revival of the Tang Sect. The true architect of the Tang Sect's resurgence was Huo Yuhao, and his grandfather had personally acknowledged Huo Yuhao as having made the greatest contribution to the Douluo Continent.

Beibei shook his head in confusion. "Huo Yuhao? I haven't heard of this person..."

"You haven't?" Lan Xuanyu felt instantly bewildered. The task of reviving the Tang Sect was supposed to be his! Where had he gone?

A chill ran through his body, uncontrollable, as a frantic thought rose in his mind.

Could it be that Huo Yuhao was still alive and had deliberately avoided the Tang Sect in this era?

Cold sweat soaked his back in an instant. If something had gone wrong with Huo Yuhao, Lan Xuanyu dared not imagine what would become of the era belonging to his father, Tang Wulin, and himself.

No, no! If that were the case, the entire history of the Douluo Continent would be in complete shambles!

Though terrified, Lan Xuanyu had once been a God King-level powerhouse; his mental fortitude remained strong, and he quickly figured out what he needed to do.

He had to get everything back on track!

But for now, he still had to fulfill his duties as a Tang Sect disciple and help Tang Ya secure her third soul ring.

Unsurprisingly, Tang Ya's choice of soul beasts still leaned toward mimicking a certain God King.

Mandala Snakes, Ghost Vines, and even Human-Faced Demon Spiders and Crypt Demon Spiders were, in Tang Ya's words, the best choices.

Lan Xuanyu found this laughable. There was only one Tang San in the entire Douluo Continent; these juniors who wanted to replicate his grandfather's glorious achievements were nowhere near qualified.

These idiots, don't they know that the Tang family line passes down the Blue Silver Emperor, not Blue Silver Grass?

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

On the road, Lan Xuanyu and Beibei exchanged tips on practicing the Mysterious Heaven Technique, completely ignoring Tang Ya on the side.

What puzzled Lan Xuanyu was that the version of the Mysterious Heaven Technique passed down in this era was different from the one he knew, which had been taught personally by Tang San in the God Realm.

The version mastered by Tang Ya and Beibei was far from complete; the most critical mental cultivation methods were hidden, the extraordinary meridians essential for developing one's potential had been cut, and many other parts were missing or altered. This resulted in these Tang Sect disciples achieving results far inferior to those of the Tang family, despite practicing the same technique.

I suppose Grandfather Tang San must have held back in certain aspects. One must trust in the wisdom of the Sea God!

They had not ventured far into the Star Dou Great Forest when they accidentally encountered a Human-Faced Demon Spider with a cultivation of five thousand years...

If this were his previous life, a mere release of his Dragon God bloodline aura would have forced any soul beast, no matter how high its cultivation, to kneel and lick his boots.

But now...

"Run!!!"

Beibei roared, devoid of any desire to fight. He grabbed Tang Ya and frantically utilized the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, wishing his parents had given him an extra pair of legs.

That was a five-thousand-year Human-Faced Demon Spider! To put it bluntly, even a Soul King might struggle against it; to them, mere little Soul Elders, it was no different than serving themselves up as a meal.

Lan Xuanyu gritted his teeth in frustration. Though he felt stifled, his body was honest, and for a moment, he actually ran faster than Beibei and the others.

He didn't forget to occasionally throw light orbs composed of water, fire, and earth elements behind him to hinder the spider's advance, but the disparity in strength was too vast. In the end, Tang Ya and Beibei were tripped by the spider silk, and Lan Xuanyu failed to dodge the web's restraint.

In the blink of an eye, the Human-Faced Demon Spider was upon them. Its sharp legs pierced Beibei's arm—as he tried to protect Tang Ya—and the base of Lan Xuanyu's thigh.

It was only an inch away from his "little bird"...

Fortunately, Beibei had connections. Seeing the situation turn dire, the teacher who had escorted him to hunt for soul rings appeared, repelled the Human-Faced Demon Spider, and brought 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 an entire day.

Baili Du had previously told him that he must join Shrek Academy, use his own eyes and heart to see what this so-called holy land for soul masters was really like, and make his own judgment before deciding whether to stay or leave.

Although he didn't understand why he had to go to Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao trusted Baili Du's words implicitly.

But before that, he had to go to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his third soul ring.

It was the same destined location, but the people had changed.

Sitting by a small stream, Huo Yuhao skillfully set up a fire to grill fish. Before long, the unique aroma of Huo-Style Grilled Fish filled the surroundings, and even the miniature Tianmeng Iceworm perched on Huo Yuhao's shoulder couldn't help but twitch its nose greedily.

"Yuhao, Brother wants to eat too."

Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly. Just as he handed the grilled fish to his shoulder, ripples appeared on the surface of the river in the distance.

"Who's there!?"

His right hand instantly transformed into a deep blue dragon claw, dark purple lightning snakes surging over it as he looked toward the stream with extreme vigilance.

Tianmeng didn't even care about the grilled fish anymore; its plump white body twisted nimbly, shielding Huo Yuhao.

At that moment, a dark golden, triangular-pyramid-shaped head emerged from the water, its small eyes of the same color staring fixedly at the grilled fish in Huo Yuhao's hand.

"To think you could detect this King? Human boy, you are not simple..."

Then, its body surfaced—it was actually a giant turtle!

It was over two meters in diameter, its golden shell covered in uniform, deep, and intricate patterns. Even the texture of each shell segment was dark gold, without a single flaw. However, its aura was somewhat withered, its vitality extremely weak, giving off the impression of someone nearing the end of their days.

Though its voice was muffled and guttural, the fact that the turtle could speak human language meant...

"A... a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?"

Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao grabbed the Tianmeng Iceworm and turned to flee.

But a gentle force wrapped around Huo Yuhao, preventing him from running.

"Hey, hey... don't run, don't run, human boy. This King means no harm, rest assured."

"Ahem, let me introduce myself. This King is the Auspicious Beast among turtles, a super powerhouse with one hundred thousand years of cultivation: the Golden Hawksbill Turtle."

Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng Iceworm exchanged a glance. Tianmeng gave him a wink before quietly concealing his figure.

"...So, Senior Golden Hawksbill Turtle, what business do you have with me?"

The Golden Hawksbill Turtle nodded with an air of composure, though its small eyes remained fixed on the grilled fish in Huo Yuhao's hand. "Well, that goes without saying. But first, let this King taste that grilled fish in your hand, and then I shall tell you."

What did those two things have to do with each other? I really get the feeling you just want to eat... Although he desperately wanted to retort, Huo Yuhao tentatively reached out and held the grilled fish toward the Golden Hawksbill Turtle's mouth.

Without a hint of politeness, it devoured the fish in one bite. The Golden Hawksbill Turtle's small eyes widened several times over, and its previously listless aura surged significantly.

It was almost on the verge of tears. Humans really knew how to live! What kind of life had it been living all this time? It had just been eating raw fish sashimi.