What an Older Brother Should Be Like

Give and take, mutual benefit.

What a wonderful relationship.

Nezha gave his own business logic full marks in his heart, but his expression remained unchanged as he continued on the road.

The two passed through a small town on the outskirts of Notting City, crossed vast stretches of farmland, and set foot on a wilderness path leading toward the Star Dou Forest.

The scent of soil and fresh grass in the air grew stronger and stronger. On the distant horizon, they could vaguely make out the endless green outline of the Star Dou Forest.

Xiao Wu took a deep breath, a smile appearing on her face.

"It smells like the Star Dou Forest."

"...Do you have a dog's nose? You can smell it from this far away?" Nezha glanced at the forest line still far ahead, then at Xiao Wu, finding her words utterly absurd.

"You're the one with a dog's nose!" Xiao Wu shot him a glare, then laughed again. "I'm a rabbit, not a dog."

The two quickened their pace and sped toward that expanse of green.

A day later, at the edge of the Star Dou Forest.

Ancient trees towered overhead, their layered canopies blotting out the sky. Only scattered rays of sunlight filtered down through the gaps.

The forest's distinctive damp air, mixed with the scent of rotting leaves, rushed toward them. Faint growls from Soul Beasts echoed in the distance.

Xiao Wu stood at the forest's edge, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. Her entire body relaxed.

"I'm home."

She murmured it softly, then opened her eyes and stepped into the forest.

Nezha followed closely behind her.

After entering the Star Dou Forest, Xiao Wu no longer skipped and hopped about as she had outside. Her expression turned serious.

Although this was her home, she was no longer a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. She was now merely a tiny Soul Master with only ten levels of Soul Power.

Nezha was even more composed.

He walked in front, the Qiankun Ring already in his hand. His spiritual power spread outward as he remained alert to every movement around them.

After they had walked for a while, the woods grew denser, and the aura of Soul Beasts around them began to increase.

Several auras were clearly not weak, at least at the thousand-year level. Nezha frowned, preparing to take a detour, when an earth-shaking roar suddenly came from ahead.

The roar shook leaves loose from the trees, and even the ground trembled faintly.

Immediately afterward, a massive black shadow shot out from the depths of the forest and crashed down before them like a meteor. The ground exploded into a deep pit several yards wide, dust flying everywhere.

Er Ming.

His huge, bell-like eyes were wide open as he panted heavily. He had clearly rushed over as soon as he sensed Xiao Wu and Nezha's auras.

He bent down, bringing his enormous head close to Xiao Wu. He looked her over from head to toe, then from toe to head, inspecting her over and over again.

Then, a massive azure figure slithered out from the dense forest.

Da Ming's bull-like head lowered from between the treetops. Xiao Wu's transformed form was reflected in his vertical pupils, while his thick snake tail lightly slapped the ground behind him without conscious thought. Clearly, he was far from calm.

"Sister Xiao Wu."

Da Ming's voice remained low and deep, but anyone could hear the suppressed excitement in those two words.

Looking at these two who had grown up with her since childhood, Xiao Wu's eyes immediately reddened.

She raised her hand and gave Er Ming's big head a hard slap as he leaned in.

"What are you looking at? Don't recognize me anymore?"

Er Ming did not dodge the slap. Instead, he grinned foolishly, his simple-minded look utterly mismatched with the mountain-shattering presence of his entrance just now.

"Sister Xiao Wu, the way you look now..." Er Ming scratched his head and considered his words for a long while. "You really look like Aunt Ah Rou."

Xiao Wu froze for a moment, then her lips curved into a smile.

"Of course. I'm Mom's daughter."

Da Ming said nothing. He merely used the tip of his tail to gently touch Xiao Wu's shoulder.

Xiao Wu turned around and met Da Ming's vertical pupils. Within them, she saw the exact same concern as in Er Ming's eyes.

"Alright, alright, stop fussing." Xiao Wu rubbed her eyes and forced back her tears.

"We came back this time for something important. Nezha is level twenty and needs his second Soul Ring. I'm also preparing to condense my first Soul Ring."

At the mention of Soul Rings, Er Ming immediately became serious. He crouched down and spread his giant palm flat on the ground, signaling for them to climb on.

"Come on, let's go to the Lake of Life first."

Nezha and Xiao Wu jumped onto Er Ming's enormous palm. Er Ming carefully lifted them onto his shoulder, then turned and strode toward the depths of the forest.

Da Ming slithered ahead to clear the way. Wherever he passed, low-level Soul Beasts scattered and retreated.

After passing through the dense forest, the view suddenly opened up.

The Lake of Life lay in the heart of the forest like a massive sapphire. Its sparkling surface reflected the towering ancient trees surrounding it.

The bluestones by the lake were just as they had always been. Even the patches of moss had not changed position.

Er Ming set the two down from his shoulder and crouched by the lake. Together with Da Ming, one on each side, he protected them between them.

Da Ming lowered his bull-like head and spoke first. "Nezha, what type of Soul Beast do you want for your second Soul Ring? Just tell us, and we'll catch it for you."

Er Ming patted his chest and said in a deep, muffled voice, "That's right. Just say the word. Da Ming and I have everything covered."

Now that Aunt Ah Rou was gone, they naturally believed they had to act like older brothers.

That was right, like older brothers.

Although Nezha was human, they were all children raised by Ah Rou.

Da Ming and Er Ming regarded Xiao Wu as their older sister, so naturally they regarded Nezha, who was more than ten thousand years younger than them, as their little brother.

When a younger brother needed to obtain a Soul Ring, how could his older brothers possibly refuse to help?

Nezha thought for a moment before saying, "For my second Soul Ring, I'm planning to find a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast."

The moment those words fell, the air went silent.

Xiao Wu turned her head and looked him up and down as though she were looking at a stranger.

Da Ming's vertical pupils widened slightly, and his bull-like head froze in midair.

Er Ming scratched his head, thinking he had misheard.

"Say that again?" Xiao Wu's voice rose half a pitch. "Ten thousand years?"

"Ten thousand years." Nezha nodded.

Xiao Wu took a deep breath. "Do you know the age limit for a human Soul Master's second Soul Ring?"

"I know. Between four hundred and five hundred years."

"Then why are you saying you want ten thousand years?!"

Xiao Wu practically wanted to pry open Nezha's head and see what was inside.

First, he had treated a wilted Blue Silver Grass like a treasure. Now, for his second Soul Ring, he wanted to skip straight past the thousand-year level to ten thousand years.

Had someone swapped out this guy's brain after he went to human society?

Da Ming was silent for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "Nezha, although we are Soul Beasts, we have seen quite a few human Soul Masters. Humans use hundred-year Soul Rings for their first two rings. Only their third and fourth rings are thousand-year rings, and only with their fifth ring do they dare attempt a ten-thousand-year ring. If you want a ten-thousand-year ring for your second Soul Ring, that isn't cultivation. That's courting death."

Er Ming nodded repeatedly, the movement of his huge head stirring up a gust of wind.

Nezha saw three pairs of eyes staring straight at him, with two words written plainly in their gazes—idiot.

Nezha: "..."

He was somewhat speechless.