The Fittest Survive

Er Ming didn't do as Ye Xuan had told him. Instead, he looked at Ye Xuan with some suspicion.

Ye Xuan continued to coax him. "If you don't want to, your big sister will soon be too far away to hear you. And if you want to charge over there, you'll have to think about whether you can get past me."

Er Ming had clearly understood. After hesitating for a while, he finally did as Ye Xuan said.

He threw his head back and let out a pained roar. After a few cries, he lay down on the ground and pretended to be dead.

Just then, Xiao Wu left with Zhao Wuji and the others, worry weighing on her heart.

She knew Ye Xuan was strong, but she had no idea just how strong.

She didn't know which of him or Er Ming was stronger.

As she fretted, the Titan Giant Ape's cries suddenly reached her ears.

Zhao Wuji laughed loudly. "From the sound of it, Young Master Ye won. That big fellow must have been taken down by him."

His words only made Xiao Wu more worried.

She quickly weighed her options, then stopped and said to Zhao Wuji, "Teacher Zhao, go on ahead. I need to relieve myself."

The flimsy excuse made her blush.

But Zhao Wuji and the others thought she was embarrassed because she needed to relieve herself.

"Uh... We'll wait for you a little farther ahead. Hurry and catch up," Zhao Wuji said.

"Mm!" Xiao Wu nodded repeatedly.

"Xiao Wu, be careful," Tang San reminded her before leaving.

"Don't worry, Third Brother. I will," Xiao Wu replied.

Third Brother, I'm sorry. But I have to make sure Er Ming is all right.

Once she had made up her mind, Xiao Wu waited for them to leave, then ran back the way they had come.

A long while later, Xiao Wu returned to the place where Er Ming and Ye Xuan had fought.

Ye Xuan stood in the air, sword energy floating behind him.

Below, Er Ming lay motionless on the ground.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu forgot everything else and hurried over. "Ye Xuan, what did you do to him?"

From her furious tone, Ye Xuan knew she was truly angry.

He took his time, drifting lightly down from the sky, and said teasingly, "Xiao Wu, what do you mean? I don't understand."

"You..." Xiao Wu was momentarily at a loss for words. Looking at Er Ming lying over there, she felt a pang of sorrow.

She was overwhelmed with guilt.

"I'm sorry. This is all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have..."

Before Xiao Wu could finish, Er Ming, who had been lying on the ground, sat right up.

Xiao Wu froze.

The tears that had been about to fall were instantly held back.

"Er Ming, what happened?" she hurriedly asked.

Er Ming didn't answer. He only looked at Ye Xuan.

Xiao Wu immediately understood. She turned to Ye Xuan and asked, "Big Brother Ye, what does this mean?"

Now that she saw Er Ming was fine, she had changed the way she addressed him.

"He came out to see you. Wouldn't it have been a shame if you didn't see him?" Ye Xuan said with a teasing smile.

"How much do you know?" Xiao Wu asked warily, watching Ye Xuan.

Now she somewhat understood what Tang San had said back then.

This man was dangerous.

Ye Xuan seemed to know her secret. That made him especially dangerous to her.

"I know you're a little rabbit, and that he came here to find you. That's all. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about you. Besides, I wouldn't stoop to doing that," Ye Xuan said.

"Thank you. Can you let Er Ming and me talk for a little while?" Xiao Wu asked.

She did want to know how Ye Xuan had learned her secret.

But she didn't dare ask.

"Go ahead. You can also take the opportunity to break through," Ye Xuan said.

"Mm." Xiao Wu thought about it. That was true—she could use this time apart to condense her third Soul Ring.

Then Ye Xuan moved off to one side.

Xiao Wu asked Er Ming about Da Ming and a few other things. Once she had confirmed that everyone was safe, she sat down and began condensing her third Soul Ring.

Meanwhile,

the place where Zhao Wuji and the others were waiting had become a complete mess.

They waited for a long time, but Xiao Wu still hadn't returned.

Tang San was the first to lose patience. He said to Zhao Wuji, "Teacher Zhao, I'm going to look for Xiao Wu."

"Don't be rash. We still don't know how the battle between Young Master Ye and that Titan Giant Ape went. Where would you even look? What if something happened to you too? Let's wait a little longer. When Young Master Ye comes back, we can ask him to help search. He's immensely capable. Besides, Xiao Wu may just have something to take care of and will be back soon," Zhao Wuji hurriedly advised.

He was anxious too, now that Xiao Wu was missing.

After all, she was one of his students. If he returned without one of them, he would be unworthy of being a teacher.

But if he really let Tang San go looking, and lost another one, wouldn't that just make the loss even greater?

And he wasn't saying all that merely to comfort Tang San.

He knew how strong Ye Xuan was. When it came to finding someone in a place like this, the stronger the searcher, the better.

"But if something happens to her, are you telling me to stand by and do nothing as her big brother, Teacher Zhao?" Tang San said, unwilling to give in.

"What if you go looking and end up in danger, and then Xiao Wu comes back? Wouldn't she have to go looking for you next? Let's wait a little. When Young Master Ye returns, we'll all go with you to look for her," Zhao Wuji said.

At this point, Dai Mubai and the others urged him as well. "Xiao San, listen to Teacher Zhao."

"I... All right. We'll wait a little longer."

Tang San finally agreed through gritted teeth.

After some time had passed at Er Ming's location,

Xiao Wu finally succeeded in condensing her third Soul Ring.

She stood and said to Er Ming, "Er Ming, go back. I should be heading back too."

In the end, Er Ming could only leave reluctantly.

After watching Er Ming go, Xiao Wu asked, "Big Brother Ye, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Er Ming told me just now. You told him to pretend, so you could trick me into coming over."

"I just thought that since he'd come all this way to see you, the two of you should at least get to meet alone."

"Mm! Let's head back now. Third Brother and the others must be worried."

Ye Xuan nodded, and the two of them headed toward Tang San and the others.

After walking for a while, Xiao Wu suddenly asked, "Since you know who I am, what do you think about Soul Beasts and humans hunting them?"

"There's nothing much to say. Nature selects; the fittest survive. When you were a rabbit, didn't you eat grass? Those blades of grass were alive too, and had their own awareness. Even setting that aside, among animal Soul Beasts, don't the strong eat the weak, and the weak eat those weaker still? Humans are just one link in the chain. Powerful humans hunt Soul Beasts and take their Soul Rings. But every year, plenty of Soul Masters also die at the jaws of Soul Beasts," Ye Xuan said.

"Nature selects; the fittest survive?" Xiao Wu murmured, then said no more.