Unexpected?

Star Dou Great Forest, Mixed Zone.

The night was silent, broken now and then by the crackling of branches burning in the fire before them.

Yue Ling was already fourteen, right in the midst of adolescence.

He now had a head of orange hair, fair skin, and the last traces of baby fat still lingering on his face. He was remarkably handsome.

Unlike the sturdy bearing of ordinary men, his brows and eyes carried a touch of gentleness, and there was a hint of focus in his gaze that could draw people in.

Yue Ling looked at Zhang Lexuan, and a trace of tenderness flashed through his eyes.

"Senior Sister, let me keep watch tonight. I should be thanking you for accompanying me to obtain my fifth Spirit Ring."

"It's nothing. It's only right, considering you helped me so much before..."

The firelight fell upon their faces, its shifting light and shadow swaying back and forth.

Their gazes occasionally met by accident. After briefly connecting, they each casually looked away again, neither one speaking first.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, with a lone man and woman together, nothing would be surprising.

Yue Ling leaned against a withered tree as the fire crackled before him. A certain resolve gradually formed in his heart, and he slowly spoke.

"Senior Sister, actually, I..."

"Boom!"

Before he could continue, an explosion sounded in the distance.

The violent Soul Power fluctuations were especially conspicuous within the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, instantly shattering the atmosphere between them.

"Spirit Masters? Someone's fighting!"

The two exchanged a brief glance, and the strange atmosphere from moments ago immediately vanished.

Zhang Lexuan hurried toward the source of the sound first. Yue Ling cursed under his breath and quickly followed his senior sister.

The surrounding trees