I Still Want to Eat

"My senior brother is still waiting for me. I need to tell him first."

Before Gu Yuena could take him away, Huo Yuhao hurriedly tugged on her clothes.

He wasn't sure how long this trip to the Far North would take.

If it ended up taking a year or two, Qian Xunji would probably have a bird's nest on his head by the time he returned.

As the next Pope, Qian Xunji had things to do too. He couldn't just waste his time waiting around in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Gu Yuena paused slightly and looked toward Di Tian, who stood quietly nearby.

"Di Tian, go notify him and put his mind at ease. Once Yuhao has absorbed his First Soul Ring, I'll send him back to Spirit City."

After speaking, Gu Yuena picked up Huo Yuhao and grabbed the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm as well. Then they vanished from the spot.

Only after Gu Yuena had left did Di Tian glance at Lake of Life.

Why hadn't the Auspicious Beast insisted on coming along today?

In a space beneath Lake of Life, a little beast with golden fur, a lion-like shape, and three eyes was eating the roasted fish Di Tian had brought.

"Mmm, how can anything be this delicious!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion felt like she'd wasted all five thousand years of her life!

What had she even been eating before this?

"Scarlet King, I want more."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion looked at Scarlet King, her longing as sincere as could be.

"That's all Di Tian gave us. You ate it all."

Even his portion had ended up in the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's mouth.

When Di Tian had brought over the roasted fish and meat, he'd already explained what had happened.

That Ice Silkworm was about to sacrifice itself to a youth who had awakened dragon blood, and these delicacies were the compensation he'd given them.

Of course, the several Ferocious Beasts were unhappy that a human had taken their cultivation cheat away just like that.

But it was the Sovereign's decision. They had no power to object.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion didn't care about any of that. She'd caught the delicious scent, and it smelled even better than her favorite foods—so good that it made her drool.

"Right, Xiong Jun doesn't seem to like this stuff. I'll go ask him for some!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion remembered how irritable Xiong Jun had been, and his words: "That human is compensating us with this kind of stuff?"

As Gu Yuena took Huo Yuhao from beneath Lake of Life and headed for the Far North, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion was busy asking Xiong Jun for food.

Xiong Jun had already finished his roasted fish. All he could do was scowl while Scarlet King teased him.

And you still claimed you didn't want any?

Then don't eat it!

Outside the core area.

Qian Xunji sat quietly on a boulder, waiting.

He wasn't in a hurry.

Huo Yuhao had only just gone in, and judging by the way the person who'd invited him had acted, he clearly valued Yuhao greatly.

Since there was no danger, why rush?

It was just...

That person was probably a Soul Beast who'd taken human form, wasn't he? Why had his father never mentioned him?

From what that person had said, he'd clearly met his father before—and even fought him. He might have won, too.

His father, Qian Daoliu, was a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo. That man had been even stronger than his father.

So what kind of being was the Sovereign he'd spoken of so respectfully?

A god?

His dad really knew how to keep his mouth shut!

With a dangerous figure like that around, shouldn't he have told Qian Xunji beforehand, so he could be prepared?

Ever since Qian Daoliu had somehow given Qian Xunji a younger brother... or rather, a junior brother, Qian Xunji had started to notice the obvious favoritism. The image he'd had of his mighty, dignified father was beginning to crack.

His father was only an ordinary person, albeit a somewhat stronger one—not a god.

He had all the emotions any human did.

The unspoken distance between father and son had only existed because Qian Xunji had once worshipped his father as a god.

Once that image shattered, the distance vanished, and their relationship returned to the natural affection between father and son.

Just as Qian Xunji was pondering the philosophy of how fathers and sons should get along, Di Tian appeared before him again.

Qian Xunji's eyes lit up, and he jumped down from the boulder.

"Sir." He gave Di Tian the salute due to an elder, then looked up again. Seeing no sign of Huo Yuhao, he asked, "Where's my junior brother?"

With Huo Yuhao as their connection, Di Tian no longer looked at Qian Xunji like he was a loathsome ant.

Di Tian's expression remained impassive, but his tone was much gentler than before.

"I came to inform you that Lord Yuhao has gone to the Far North to obtain his Soul Ring. You should head back for now."

Qian Xunji's expression changed. "You're not bringing—"

Di Tian cut him off before he could finish.

"If we truly intended to disrespect Lord Yuhao, you wouldn't be any threat to us."

"Take my message to your father. He'll know what to make of it."

With that, Di Tian left without another word.

Qian Xunji stood there, frowning.

"Young Master, this..."

"Back to Spirit City."

Even now, Di Tian still called a child who'd only just turned seven "Lord." That alone said everything.

Yuhao's Second Martial Soul must hold a very high status among the Soul Beast Clan.

An absurdly high status.

The northern part of the Heaven and Earth Empire.

Bitterly cold winds howled, carrying hard, icy snowflakes and frost.

Blizzards ravaged this land, and the snow lay deep. Ordinary people who entered would quickly suffer frostbite or freeze to death.

Humans simply couldn't live normally in the Far North.

The closer one got to the core area, the lower the temperature became.

Gu Yuena appeared abruptly amid the howling wind and snow, bringing Huo Yuhao and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm with her.

"Ah, this is the place! It brings back memories!"

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's eyes brimmed with tears. It hadn't been away for long, but to it, it felt as though tens of thousands of years had passed.

"Freedom feels so good!"

As soon as Gu Yuena arrived, she swept away the snow swirling around them. Even the Far North's biting cold was shut out.

This was an area humans could still venture into. With the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's powerful spiritual force, finding that Cold Spring within this range wouldn't be difficult.

Gu Yuena dropped the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm onto the snow. "Don't forget why we came."

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm took the opportunity to roll around in the snow before releasing its spiritual force to search.

"Found it!"

Huo Yuhao and Gu Yuena hadn't had to wait long before the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm cried out in delight.

"About thirty kilometers south of here."

Who'd have thought there'd really be Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice Marrow in the outer reaches of the Far North!

Guided by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm, Gu Yuena and Huo Yuhao went straight to the Cold Spring without taking a single wrong turn.

It was an azure-blue spring, giving off a chill even colder than the surrounding air.

The cold was enough to cause frostbite, but it didn't affect the two people and one beast at all.

The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm didn't wait for anyone to urge it. As soon as it landed, it plunged into the spring.

Gu Yuena shielded Huo Yuhao and followed it into the spring.