When Li Changqing returned to the temporary camp, his expression had already returned to its usual calm.
His steps were steady, his breathing even, and there was not the slightest sign of anything unusual.
Only he knew that his Spiritual Sea was as bustling as a marketplace right now.
One purple and one green glow occupied it, each calmly claiming its own territory as though it had always been theirs.
When Bei Bei saw him return, he hurried over and asked in a low voice, "How was it? Did you find anything?"
Li Changqing shook his head, his tone relaxed. "No, everything is normal. The soul beasts nearby are behaving themselves too."
Bei Bei visibly relaxed and patted his chest. "That's good. When you suddenly said you were going out to scout, I was genuinely worried. This is the Star Dou Great Forest, after all. Who knows what might suddenly appear?"
Li Changqing smiled without replying, then walked over to a tree and sat down against its trunk.
He closed his eyes, seemingly resting, but in truth he was carefully sensing the two figures within his Spiritual Sea.
Their auras were vast and ancient, carrying a pressure that did not belong to this world. Yet they seemed strangely familiar with, and satisfied by, his Spiritual Sea.
As though this was the new home they had chosen.
The corner of Li Changqing's mouth twitched slightly as he silently sighed to himself.
He had only wanted to catch a fish, yet he had somehow hooked two whales.
And those two whales had arrogantly slapped the fish away.
What was more, the ones who had done it were two of the Five Great God Kings: the God of Destruction and the Life Goddess.
If word of this got out, not only would the Soul Master world be thrown into an uproar—even the Divine Realm would probably explode.
After all, even Tang San ten thousand years ago had only received the inheritance of one God King.
Yet now there were two of them.
But he had no energy to investigate further at the moment.
The most urgent matter was helping Tang Ya safely get through the soul ring absorption period.
As for everything else, there would be plenty of time and energy to deal with it slowly.
As night deepened, the wind in the forest gradually softened.
Tang Ya's aura grew increasingly steady, and the purple soul ring's initially dazzling radiance became gentler as it slowly merged into her body.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight pierced through the gaps in the dense forest, Tang Ya slowly opened her eyes.
She took a deep breath, rose from the bluestone, and stretched her somewhat stiff limbs.
As she moved, three soul rings beneath her feet lit up in succession.
Two yellow and one purple, their light flowing as they declared that she had officially become a Soul Elder.
"It worked!"
Tang Ya's face was filled with excitement. She turned to Bei Bei, her eyes sparkling. "Bei Bei, look! I successfully absorbed my third soul ring!"
Bei Bei had stayed awake all night, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes.
But when he saw Tang Ya successfully absorb the soul ring, he immediately perked up.
He walked over with a smile and rubbed her head. "Congratulations, Xiao Ya. Starting today, you're a Soul Elder too."
Tang Ya giggled, then turned toward Li Changqing. "Changqing, thank you! If you hadn't helped us, Bei Bei and I wouldn't have had such an easy time."
Li Changqing stood and brushed grass clippings and dirt from his clothes. "No need to be polite. I took your money, so I handled your trouble. Let's go. Now that we have the soul ring, it's time to head back."
The three packed up and left the Star Dou Great Forest along the route they had taken in.
The morning light was faint, birdsong rose and fell through the woods, and the air was as fresh as though it had been washed clean. The deep, eerie atmosphere from the night before had completely faded away.
After walking for roughly half an hour, they could already see the open daylight at the forest's edge ahead.
Just then, Li Changqing, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.
Bei Bei nearly walked into his back and asked in confusion, "What is it?"
Li Changqing said nothing. His gaze fell on the ground not far ahead.
Someone was lying there.
A young boy.
He looked no more than eleven or twelve. He was small and thin, wearing a coarse linen outfit that had been washed until it had faded white. His cloth shoes had several holes in them.
His face was pale, his eyes tightly shut. He was clearly unconscious.
Following Li Changqing's gaze, Bei Bei and Tang Ya both froze.
"Whose child is this...?"
Bei Bei frowned. "How did such a young kid end up alone in the Star Dou Great Forest? The soul beasts in the outer regions may not be strong, but it's still not a place an ordinary boy like him can come to."
As the two spoke, Li Changqing remained where he was without moving.
His gaze rested on the boy's thin yet sharply defined face, and his pupils contracted slightly.
Huo Yuhao.
It was Huo Yuhao.
The night before, he had swept every inch within several miles with his spiritual power, not even overlooking a single wild rabbit. Yet he had not sensed Huo Yuhao's presence at all.
But after one night, this boy had appeared out of nowhere at the forest's edge, right on the path they had to take back.
It was too much of a coincidence.
So much so that Li Changqing felt a faint chill run down his spine.
Ever since he had transmigrated here, he had experienced quite a few accidents and unexpected changes, but most things had remained within his predictions and control.
Only this time did he feel an indescribable sense of gravity for the first time.
It was as though an invisible hand was gently tugging the threads of fate from behind the scenes, drawing even him, an outsider, into some far larger chessboard.
Was it a coincidence?
Or was there really...
Something correcting the course this world had been meant to follow?
Li Changqing remained silent for a long while before slowly saying, "Bring him with us first. We can't just leave him here to feed the soul beasts."
Bei Bei nodded and bent down to carry the boy onto his back.
The boy was very light—so light that even Bei Bei could not help frowning as he muttered, "How long has this kid gone without a proper meal...?"
The three continued on their way, except their party now included an unconscious boy.
Li Changqing walked at the rear. He tilted his head to look at the rising sun on the horizon, his eyes dark and unreadable.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm above the nine heavens.
Within the main hall of the Divine Realm Committee, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed one could wring water from it.
Sea God Tang San sat in the seat of honor, his hands folded on the table, his expression as grim as iron.
The Evil God King and Kindness Goddess sat to his left and right.
Both wore varying degrees of shock and confusion, clearly still unable to recover from what Tang San had just said.
"Sea God, what did you just say?"
The Evil God King frowned deeply and stared into Tang San's eyes. "Destruction and Life... passed down their Godhood?"
The Kindness Goddess also looked utterly incredulous. "When... when did this happen? How did I not know anything about it?"
If it had been any other gods, they would not have reacted so strongly.
But the Life Goddess and God of Destruction were different.
Those two were the oldest beings in the Divine Realm, without equal.
Yet Tang San had just said that even the Life Goddess and God of Destruction had passed down their Godhood, just like the previous Evil and Kindness Gods.
How could they not be shocked and surprised?
Tang San did not answer their questions. He merely said in a low voice, "We'll discuss it after the two of them arrive."
The moment he finished speaking, two sets of footsteps sounded outside the hall doors.
Before you continue