First Encounter with the Trio

"My name is Jiang Bai."

Facing the three of them, Jiang Bai held Xue Ying as he introduced himself. After all, he was considered an outsider now, so he had to be polite.

"My name is Tang Ya, and he's Bei Bei."

Tang Ya introduced herself, then Bei Bei. As she did, she kept looking at Xue Ying in Jiang Bai's arms.

"My name is Huo Yuhao."

Huo Yuhao introduced himself as well. For some reason, he felt that the person before him wasn't a bad person.

"What kind of Soul Beast is that? Such pure ice attribute... How come I've never seen it before?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm lay deep within Huo Yuhao's spiritual sea, its enormous body curled into a ball as its eyes stared fixedly at the white-and-pink "rabbit" outside.

"Even you don't know, Brother Sky Dream?"

Huo Yuhao asked curiously. Hadn't Tian Meng sounded incredibly impressive when introducing himself just now? A Million-Year Soul Beast!

"Mm..." Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's tone carried a rare hint of confusion. "I've roamed the Far North for so many years. What Soul Beast haven't I seen? But this one... I really haven't seen it before. Its ice attribute is so pure too. Strange."

Could it be from the Star Dou Great Forest? No, that wasn't right. Since when had the Star Dou Great Forest had such a powerful ice attribute?

Outside, Huo Yuhao remained silent while Tang Ya was the first to strike up a conversation.

"What kind of Soul Beast is this?"

Tang Ya's eyes sparkled as she stared unblinkingly at Xue Ying.

On the Douluo Continent, some nobles kept attractive Soul Beasts as pets, mainly for appearances.

Sensing the strange gaze, Xue Ying shrank back in Jiang Bai's arms.

"It's not a Soul Beast. It's my Martial Soul and my companion. Its name is Xue Ying."

Jiang Bai shook his head and answered. Compared to a pet, Xue Ying was more like a companion to him now.

"A Martial Soul... Xue Ying?"

Upon hearing the name, Tang Ya began pondering it. Xue Ying was a Soul Beast, but it didn't seem to be that kind of Xue Ying?

"A Detached Martial Soul?"

Bei Bei suddenly spoke from beside her, his tone carrying a trace of surprise. He looked Jiang Bai up and down, his gaze becoming more solemn.

His ancestor's teacher, Yu Xiaogang of the Shrek Seven Monsters, had possessed a Detached Martial Soul.

The theory master of the Golden Iron Triangle was renowned throughout the Soul Master world.

"Mm."

Jiang Bai nodded. Although Detached Martial Souls were nearly nonexistent on the continent now, there were still records of them.

"Can I touch it?"

Tang Ya didn't care much about Detached Martial Souls. Right now, she just wanted to hug this little cutie!

"It's a little afraid of strangers."

Jiang Bai shook his head in refusal. Xue Ying really was rather shy around strangers, though it would stop being afraid if someone spent more time around it.

"Alright."

Although Jiang Bai had refused, Tang Ya still stole glances at it. She couldn't help it—the little thing was just too cute.

"By the way, what were you doing just now? Did little brother Yuhao get hurt?"

Jiang Bai asked with concern. That scene just now had really looked as though Huo Yuhao had been injured.

"Yuhao just obtained his first Soul Ring by himself, but the process was especially dangerous."

Seeing that Jiang Bai had a Detached Martial Soul, Bei Bei's favorable impression of him rose by one point. Judging from Jiang Bai's appearance and manner of speaking, he probably wasn't a bad person.

"Obtained a Soul Ring by himself?"

Hearing this, Jiang Bai looked "surprisedly" at Huo Yuhao behind Bei Bei.

"You've got courage."

Jiang Bai praised him. Yuhao's courage truly deserved praise.

"It's not that impressive. It's only a Ten-Year Soul Ring. It's useless."

Huo Yuhao lowered his head and smiled shyly. Although he had fainted earlier, Tian Meng had still opened up his vision of the surroundings.

He had heard what Bei Bei said just now as well.

To outsiders, a Ten-Year Soul Ring really was too low-level.

Big Brother Jiang Bai probably thought so too, right?

"A Ten-Year Soul Ring?"

Hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Jiang Bai continued, "It's fine. It's only a Ten-Year Soul Ring. In this day and age, being a Soul Master isn't the only path to a future. You can try learning about Soul Tools later."

"Even if it's a Ten-Year Soul Ring, you still need to cultivate diligently and not lose your drive to improve."

Jiang Bai casually patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder and gave him a bowl of motivational soup.

Jiang Bai's words had been casual, yet they left Huo Yuhao stunned.

Tang Ya and Bei Bei beside them nodded as well.

"Brother Jiang Bai is right. There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters. Yuhao, you need to cultivate properly in the future."

Bei Bei encouraged Huo Yuhao too.

Hearing their encouragement, Huo Yuhao raised his head and looked at Jiang Bai, then at Bei Bei.

His eyes suddenly stung.

Ever since he was young, the words he had heard most were "bastard," "mongrel," and "trash." The people of the White Tiger Duke's Estate called him that, and so did the children outside. No one had ever told him, "You can do it," "You're capable," or "Cultivate well."

This was the first time.

The first time someone had acknowledged him.

"Thank you, Brother Jiang... Big Brother Bei Bei, and Big Sister Xiaoya."

His voice trembled slightly, his eyes glistening with tears, but he desperately held them back.

"Yuhao, what is your Martial Soul?"

Tang Ya asked Huo Yuhao. At those words, Bei Bei glanced at her.

A Soul Master's Martial Soul wasn't something one could casually inquire about.

However, in Huo Yuhao's eyes, the three of them had already become companions.

"My Martial Soul is Spirit Eyes. My eyes."

Huo Yuhao answered. Then light spilled from his eyes, and a pure white Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, slowly ascending behind him.

Bei Bei, standing beside him, looked at the white Soul Ring and felt that something was strange. It seemed different from the Ten-Year Soul Rings he usually saw.

Then, an incredibly powerful spiritual fluctuation surged from Huo Yuhao's body.

Tang Ya sensed that spiritual fluctuation too, and her eyes lit up. "A Body Martial Soul, Spirit Eyes? And such strong spiritual power? Wonderful!"

Jiang Bai narrowed his eyes slightly. That spiritual power fluctuation... was powerful, and its quality was high too. Was this a Million-Year Soul Ring?

"What a pity. We came a step too late. Otherwise, we could've found little brother Yuhao a suitable Soul Beast."

Bei Bei spoke regretfully, feeling that it was truly a shame.

"A spiritual attribute is indeed quite good."

Jiang Bai praised him as well. After all, during the era of The Unrivaled Tang Clan, spiritual power and ultimate attributes were the answer to everything.

Huo Yuhao had a little of both. No, it would be more accurate to say that he himself was the answer.

This was the setup of a child favored by fate.

Beside them, Tang Ya frantically signaled to Bei Bei with her eyes.

"Little Yuhao, who else is in your family?"

Seeing Tang Ya's signal, Bei Bei naturally understood what she meant. He coughed, then asked aloud.

"There's no one else. It's just me in my family..."

Before he could finish, the high walls of the White Tiger Duke's Estate flashed through Huo Yuhao's mind, followed by his mother's increasingly haggard face and those cold gazes.

"Really?!"

Tang Ya's eyes lit up, and she nearly blurted out, "That's wonderful!" The words reached her lips—

"Cough, cough."

To keep Tang Ya from saying that earth-shattering line, Jiang Bai coughed.

"Uh..."

Tang Ya promptly shut her mouth and smiled awkwardly, but the excitement in her eyes did not lessen in the slightest. She took a deep breath, trying her best to look more serious, then looked earnestly at Huo Yuhao.

"Well... little Yuhao, since you have nowhere to go, would you consider joining our Tang Sect?"

Next, Tang Ya introduced the Tang Sect's situation while Jiang Bai watched from the side.

There was no need for him to stop Huo Yuhao from joining the Tang Sect. For one thing, the Tang Sect's secret arts would be very useful to Yuhao during his early stages.

He also wasn't afraid that Huo Yuhao would become entangled with Tang San through the Tang Sect.

If karma truly worked on the Douluo Continent, Tang San could never have become a god.

Leaving aside everything else, just destroying Slaughter City alone would have made it impossible for Tang San to become a god in a world where karma held great power.

Still, Huo Yuhao couldn't be allowed to become too deeply involved with the Tang Sect and Shrek.

Jiang Bai had long prepared what he would say about that.

As long as Huo Yuhao still wanted revenge, he would eventually stand against the White Tiger Lineage.

Who was the leader of the Shrek Seven Monsters?

And who was Tang San in the Tang Sect?

With that relationship, as long as Huo Yuhao still wanted revenge, he could never become too deeply involved with the Tang Sect.

Of course, if Yuhao didn't want revenge...

Sorry, Jiang Bai only supported Huo Yuhao.

After Huo Yuhao successfully became a disciple, Tang Ya looked at Jiang Bai.

"I don't have any plans to join a sect yet. I intend to attend Shrek first."

Jiang Bai tactfully declined Tang Ya's invitation.

"Going to Shrek? A junior? Perfect! We're students of Shrek Academy too. Once I obtain my Soul Ring, I'll take you back to the academy with us."

Tang Ya confidently patted her somewhat flat chest.

"Thank you, Senior Sister."

Then, the four of them began searching for the Soul Beast Tang Ya needed.