Leng Yaozhu hadn't even spoken when Gu An, jolted awake, hurriedly reached out and grabbed Mother Gu's sleeve.
"Mom, don't attack."
"She's Leng Yaozhu, a Titled Douluo, Sky Phoenix Douluo."
"She was passing by, saw that I had good potential, and took me as her disciple."
Mother Gu froze all over. Slowly, she turned her head and looked down at her son, parting her lips.
A Titled Douluo?
Was she dreaming?
She looked back at Leng Yaozhu, the wariness in her eyes turning to disbelief.
Leng Yaozhu nodded at just the right moment, her expression serene, every inch the dignified expert.
Gu An gave her a thumbs-up in his heart.
Not bad acting.
Mother Gu's Magic Flute Martial Soul slowly vanished, and her three Soul Rings receded with it.
She opened her mouth several times, but in the end could only manage one sentence.
"R-really?"
Leng Yaozhu's voice was cool as she spoke. "Your son's talent is one in ten thousand."
Mother Gu's eyes reddened. She felt as though all her hardship had finally paid off.
She crouched down and cupped Gu An's face in both hands, gently stroking his cheeks with her thumbs.
"Xiao An... Xiao An..."
Gu An let her hold him. Once her emotions had settled a little, he spoke.
"Mom, I'm going out with my master to obtain my First Soul Ring."
Mother Gu's hands tightened abruptly.
She instinctively wanted to say no, but swallowed the words before they could leave her mouth.
She looked at Leng Yaozhu, then at her son.
She couldn't help Xiao An, but she couldn't hold him back, either.
After a long moment of hesitation, she finally let go.
"Be careful, Xiao An!"
Gu An nodded.
Leng Yaozhu stepped forward, scooped Gu An up in one arm, and pushed open the door with the other.
The next instant, the two of them vanished.
Above the Star Dou Great Forest.
The wind howled.
Leng Yaozhu carried Gu An as she flew high above the ground at tremendous speed.
"By the way, Xiao An, how did you know I was Sky Phoenix Douluo?"
She looked down at Gu An in her arms and saw him struggling desperately, both legs kicking wildly in midair.
She loosened her hold a little, somewhat apologetically.
Gu An had just escaped from being smothered. He sucked in a huge breath.
Only then did he lift his head and glare at the culprit, thoroughly annoyed.
"Of course it's because I have memories of Douluo III—in other words, the memories of your Douluo Planet. I know everything."
Leng Yaozhu nodded in sudden understanding and didn't pursue the subject.
"Then have you decided what kind of Soul Beast you want?"
"Your Dragon Phoenix Soul Sound Flute has very high requirements for a Soul Beast. We can't afford to waste a Soul Ring."
Gu An shook his head. He knew very well how important this was.
He rubbed his head twice against Leng Yaozhu's chest.
Leng Yaozhu's whole body jolted, and her flight path wobbled. She nearly fell out of the sky.
She steadied herself, then glared down at Gu An.
Gu An was helpless, too.
He raised his head and looked at Leng Yaozhu, whose ear tips had turned red, with an innocent expression.
"My Soul Ring can wait."
"Let's find Huo Yuhao in the Star Dou Great Forest first."
"We'll take the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Electrolux first."
"Then we can suppress the Child of Destiny."
Even though he had a cheat, no one would complain about having too many cheats.
Besides, he'd already decided that Huo Yuhao wasn't on the same path as him. So why hold back?
Leng Yaozhu raised an eyebrow when she heard that.
She said nothing, merely adjusting her flight path a little and picking up speed.
She began searching the Star Dou Great Forest for Huo Yuhao.
And, sure enough, a Limit Douluo at level 99 was no joke. It didn't take long for her to find Huo Yuhao.
More precisely, she found Huo Yuhao struggling desperately against a Wind Baboon!
"Found him, Xiao An!"
"Damn it! Let go!"
Huo Yuhao was being held aloft in the Wind Baboon's claws.
Gritting his teeth, he thrust the White Tiger Dagger sharply downward.
The dagger stabbed into the Wind Baboon's paw. It shrieked in pain and flung Huo Yuhao away.
Before Huo Yuhao could even hit the ground, the Wind Baboon attacked again.
He gripped the White Tiger Dagger and swung. That strike happened to deliver the Wind Baboon a fatal blow.
And so the God-Slaying Wind Baboon, which had nearly slain a god, died.
The force of the impact hurled Huo Yuhao backward, and he slammed hard into a tree trunk.
He slid down and slumped at the tree's roots, the metallic taste of blood welling in his mouth.
When he weakly opened his eyes, he saw a white Soul Ring slowly rising above the Wind Baboon's corpse.
Before Huo Yuhao could react, a lazy voice suddenly sounded in his mind.
"At last, I've waited for a human with a spiritual-type Martial Soul."
The temperature around him plummeted.
Huo Yuhao shivered, and his breath came out in white mist.
His eyes widened as he looked around.
Who was speaking?
High above.
Leng Yaozhu carried Gu An, the two of them concealed among the clouds.
Leng Yaozhu immediately sensed the change in temperature below.
Her brows twitched slightly as she looked down at Gu An in her arms.
Gu An sensed that fluctuation of energy at the same time.
His eyes narrowed, and he spoke at once.
"Sister Yaozhu, now!"
Leng Yaozhu didn't answer.
She didn't even nod. She simply acted.
Behind her, a gigantic Sky Phoenix phantom appeared out of nowhere.
A crimson glow lit up half the sky, and her red hair whipped in the rushing air.
"Sky Phoenix True Fire!"
Scorching flames burst from her palm and shot precisely toward the spot below where Huo Yuhao stood.
The flames engulfed the area.
The ice and snow melted in an instant.
Huo Yuhao was horrified. He couldn't understand why such a powerful expert would attack him.
In his mind, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's voice suddenly turned shrill.
"How can there be such a powerful human Titled Douluo?!"
"No! I have to get this brat out of here!"
Just then, another voice sounded in Huo Yuhao's mind.
It was steady and ancient, with the haughty air of one who looked down upon all living things.
"With Sun and Moon in my grasp, I pluck the stars from the sky; none in this world can compare to me."
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had naturally heard him.
Normally, it would have argued with this pretentious newcomer.
But not now.
The threat posed by the human Titled Douluo above them was too great. The flames made it instinctively afraid.
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm stopped hesitating and released a shock wave condensed from a million years' worth of spiritual power, sending it sweeping upward.
Then it roared at Electrolux.
"You strange one! Get us out of here, or you won't escape either!"
A resigned sigh rang out, and Electrolux agreed.
Leng Yaozhu raised an eyebrow.
That Mental Shock would be a little troublesome for her, but not much.
If she went all out, she could easily withstand it and continue pursuing them.
But she looked down at Gu An in her arms.
She had to protect him.
That brief moment of hesitation was enough.
Below, Huo Yuhao's body was enveloped in a mass of gray light, and space rippled slightly.
The next instant, he had vanished.
Leng Yaozhu withdrew the Sky Phoenix phantom. The flames died away, and the clouds closed once more.
She lowered her head, an unmistakably apologetic look on her face.
"I didn't expect Electrolux to act at the cost of his soul origin."
"I was careless."
Gu An shook his head.
He patted Leng Yaozhu's arm and calmly reassured her.
"It's fine."
There wasn't any disappointment on his face, either.
Just as expected, it hadn't worked.
He'd already thought it through on the way here. The chance of successfully intercepting them this time had been vanishingly small.
Whether he was there or not wouldn't change the final outcome.
He had neither a spiritual-type Martial Soul nor the luck of the Child of Destiny—and there was also the will of Douluo Planet.
No matter what, he couldn't possibly steal them away.