Xu Xiaoyan

"This familiar place... is this the Star Dou Forest?"

"It really feels like I've come home!"

Fang Yuan strolled leisurely through the woods, a hint of nostalgia welling up in his heart.

He had grown up in a wooden cabin in the Star Dou Forest since childhood, and he knew the air here better than anyone.

Life after leaving the cabin had certainly been fulfilling, but the burden of reviving the Dragon Clan weighed on his shoulders, keeping him constantly on edge.

Only after stepping into this simulated forest did that tension in his heart ease a little.

He raised his wrist and watched as a faint yellow glow spread across the watch face, silently sweeping over the entire area.

[New species recorded: Beast-type - Ten-year Wind Baboon]

[New species recorded: Beast-type - Hundred-year Green Bamboo Snake]

[New species recorded: Beast-type - Hundred-year Breeze Wolf]

[New species recorded: Beast-type - Ten-year Pink Rabbit]

Fang Yuan nodded in satisfaction inwardly.

Half of today's goal had been achieved.

Little Broken Watch could scan and record even semi-virtual soul beasts normally.

Now that he had verified it was feasible, he could use the Spirit Ascension Platform for plenty of deduction experiments in the future. It would be much more convenient.

For now, all that remained was to scan and record the soul beasts in the elementary Spirit Ascension Platform.

"I wonder where Mother got teleported to."

He walked slowly along the stream, not impatient in the slightest.

He had been with Mother day and night for so long, eating and living together, and their bloodline bond had long since connected them deeply to each other.

Just like in the original work, where Gu Yuena could sense Tang Wulin's position through their bloodline connection.

Mother would definitely be able to find him through that aura of their shared bloodline. He did not need to waste any effort searching everywhere.

As he was ambling along, the sounds of clashing and fighting suddenly came from the distance.

"Oh ho, something fun to watch."

Fang Yuan's eyes lit up. He twisted his wristwatch, and green light flowed across the watch face, instantly transforming him into the form of a ten-year Wind Baboon.

Using both hands and feet, he climbed up the tree trunk, grabbed vines, and swung back and forth. His field of vision instantly opened up.

When he swung to the third vine, his hand suddenly touched something slippery and ice-cold.

"Holy crap, a snake!"

Fang Yuan's heart tightened. He looked up and met a pair of vertical pupils—it was a hundred-year Green Bamboo Snake, its entire body emerald green, almost invisible among the branches and leaves, flicking its tongue as it twisted its head to bite. Frightened, his hand slipped, and he tumbled straight down from the tree.

"Ow, ow, ow... that hurts."

He fell into the grass, grimacing as he crawled up. Taking the chance, he transformed back to his original appearance and patted the bits of grass off himself.

The commotion was not loud and did not alert the people fighting.

Fang Yuan clutched his backside and secretly parted the grass, poking his head out to look.

Outside, a blue-haired male and female student were surrounding several Breeze Wolves and fighting them.

The boy was a three-ring Spirit Elder, while the girl was a one-ring Spirit Master. There was quite a gap in strength between them.

"Brother, there are too many wolves! I can't hold them off much longer!" the girl cried in a soft voice, tinged with panic.

"Xiaoyan, come closer. Your brother's here." The young man shielded his younger sister behind him, his spirit rings lighting up without pause.

Fang Yuan raised an eyebrow.

The Xu siblings?

He had actually run into them in the elementary Spirit Ascension Platform.

He remembered that in the original work, the two of them only appeared during the riot Spirit Ascension Platform. He had not expected to encounter them early.

Fang Yuan stared at Xu Xiaoyan and sized her up for a couple of glances.

The little girl was indeed quite cute, but she was nowhere near Mother.

At that moment, the thought of "saving a beauty like a hero, farming affection, and building a harem" suddenly flashed through his mind.

But the instant the idea surfaced, he immediately snuffed it out.

No, no. Mother definitely would not agree.

With her intense desire for control, and that almost pathological possessiveness...

If Xu Xiaoyan really provoked her, she might not even know how she died.

Besides, he was only six. How would he know how to flirt with anyone?

It would already be good enough if others did not treat him like some little brother and fool him.

"I'm out, I'm out. Business comes first."

He covered his mouth and quietly backed away. He still had not recorded data on any thousand-year-level virtual soul beasts, so he was not about to waste time here.

He had only retreated two steps when the grass beside him exploded with a rustle.

"Help! Boss Gu Yuena! Little Brother Fang Yuan! Save me!"

Xie Xie scrambled out in a panic. The moment he saw people, he ran straight toward the Xu siblings without even thinking.

Behind him followed a giant bear more than two meters tall, its whole body covered in translucent crystal.

When it ran, it was like a moving hill, smashing every shrub in its path to pieces.

A layer of crystal shell instantly formed over the broken branches, then shattered into powder.

It was none other than a thousand-year Crystal Bear.

"Don't come over here!" Xu Xiaoyan's eyes went wide with fright, and she waved her hands frantically as she hid behind him.

"Bosses, save me! I'll leave this bear to you two—this little brother will retreat first!" Xie Xie shouted as if his heart were being torn out, without slowing his feet in the slightest.

"You shameless bastard!" Xu Xiaoyu's face darkened with anger. This was clearly shifting the disaster onto them.

The second soul ring beneath his feet flared with purple light. Cold air surged from the tip of the ice staff in his hand, and a crystalline ice spear rapidly took shape.

"Second soul skill, Ice Spear!"

"Don't kill me, don't kill me! I saved up for ages to get a slot in the elementary Spirit Ascension Platform!"

Xie Xie howled as he ran, scared nearly out of his soul.

"You're leading it toward me, are you? Then die together with this soul beast!"

Xu Xiaoyu was so angry his hand steadied instead, and he hurled the ice spear straight in that direction.

Just then, a figure sprang out from the grass on the other side.

"Xie Xie, grab my hand!"

Tang Wulin shouted and suddenly reached out.

Xie Xie clutched it like he had seized a lifeline. Tang Wulin tightened his waist and abdomen and yanked him back, and the two of them just barely rolled away past the edge of the ice spear.

The ice spear brushed past the hems of their clothes and accurately pierced through the thousand-year Crystal Bear charging at the very front.

The giant bear gave a muffled groan. Its enormous body crashed to the ground, gradually turned illusory, and scattered into dense soul power energy.

"Wulin! You really are my real brother! You actually managed to save me from that!" Xie Xie lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.

"You were shouting so loudly the whole forest heard you. It would've been hard not to." Tang Wulin shook his head helplessly.

"Then how come Fang Yuan and Gu Yuena didn't hear me..." Xie Xie muttered.

Tang Wulin was immediately at a loss for words.

"I'll remember the two of you. You'd better not let me run into you again."

Xu Xiaoyu walked over with a dark expression, pulled Xu Xiaoyan to his side, and let her absorb the soul power dissipating around them.

"Who's scared of you? Let's go, Wulin. Don't waste words with these two. We're going to farm soul beasts." Xie Xie climbed to his feet, stubborn as ever.

"Who are you cursing?" Xu Xiaoyu swept him with a cold look.

"I'm cursing you, so what? If you don't like it, let's clash offline!" Xie Xie craned his neck and shot back.

He knew perfectly well what was going on. The other side had just used a big move, so his soul power was definitely almost drained. He had no strength to fight at all, so if Xie Xie did not talk back now, he would be wasting the chance.

"Heh. Your whole body is soft, but your mouth is the hardest part." Xu Xiaoyu laughed in anger.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. What's it to you? Come bite me if you've got the guts!" The more Xie Xie talked, the more fired up he became.

"Hey, hiding here and enjoying the show?"

Fang Yuan was watching with great interest when an arm suddenly wrapped lightly around his lower back, and his whole body was lifted up.

A familiar cool fragrance enveloped him. It was Gu Yuena.

"Mom, you found me." Fang Yuan turned his head and smiled.

"Mm. I followed your aura and came right over." Gu Yuena stroked his head. "You don't want the soul power here? It can raise a soul spirit's age limit."

"I don't really care. My soul spirit's level is enough for now." Fang Yuan shrugged, his gaze falling back toward the Xu siblings. "But those two are bullying our little brother. How about I go tease them a bit?"

"As you like. We came out to have fun on the weekend, so being happy is what matters." Gu Yuena's tone was relaxed. "If you can't beat them, call Mom."

"He's almost out of soul power anyway. I'm just trying it out, to see exactly how big the gap is between one ring and three rings."

Fang Yuan's eyes shone with eagerness.

He twisted his wristwatch. Green light flared from the dial, and in the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a Titan Giant Ape (juvenile).

His feet slammed heavily against the ground, and his massive body soared into the air, heading straight for the center of the field to smash down.

"Mount Tai Crush!"