Young Is Good—Fall Asleep the Moment Your Head Hits the Pillow

Tang Wulin wiped his mouth, casually tossed the bones of the last fish into the grass, clapped his hands, and stood up.

"Let's go. While it's still early, I'll find you a suitable soul beast." He glanced at Huo Yuhao, his tone utterly casual.

Huo Yuhao froze upon hearing this. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but he swallowed the words.

His face held a trace of shyness and embarrassment.

Tang Wu

He looked up at Tang Wulin's smiling face, then at Bei Bei and Tang Ya beside him, who seemed entirely used to this. In the end, he softly said, "Thank you."

The four followed a forest path deeper inside, with Tang Wulin leading the way, his feet treading over a thick layer of fallen leaves.

Bei Bei followed slightly behind him to the side, occasionally turning back to glance at Huo Yuhao with curious scrutiny in his eyes.

Tang Ya walked quietly at the very back, but her gaze kept unconsciously drifting toward that tall figure ahead of her.

After walking for around half an hour, the light in the forest dimmed. The canopy overhead grew denser, nearly blocking out most of the sky.

Tang Wulin suddenly stopped.

Not far ahead stood a crooked wooden sign. Having weathered countless years of wind and rain, it had decayed badly, and only a small portion of its blurred writing could barely be made out.

"Danger ahead, ... Star Dou Great Forest..."

The rest of the words had completely blurred into an indistinct mess, as though the sign had gone unmaintained for far too long.

Tang Wulin stared at the sign for two breaths, the corner of his mouth curling slightly. This is the place.

"Great-Grandmaster Uncle, what's wrong?" Bei Bei came over and glanced at the sign as well. "This sign has to be at least several decades old. You can't even read the words anymore."

"Nothing." Tang Wulin withdrew his gaze and continued forward. "We're almost there. Once we enter the forest, stay close to me. Don't run around."

Huo Yuhao followed behind, his fingers tightening slightly around the strap of his bundle.

He had grown up in the Duke's Estate. Forget the Star Dou Great Forest—he had barely even gone into the little woods outside the city.

Now, towering trees cast heavy shadows all around them, and rustling sounds occasionally came from the distant bushes. With every step, he felt as though something terrifying might spring out from beneath his feet.

Yet he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.

After only a few more steps, the bushes on their right suddenly shook. A grayish-brown shadow shot out like lightning, heading straight for the back of Huo Yuhao's neck!

It was a Wind Baboon. It was not particularly large, but its claws gleamed with cold light, and it was incredibly fast. Its charge even tore out a sharp howl through the air.

Huo Yuhao instinctively tried to dodge, but his body could not keep up with his thoughts. Before he could even move his foot, those claws had already reached behind his ear.

Smack.

Tang Wulin did not even turn around. His movement was too fast to see; he merely gave the ground a light stomp, and a golden blur abruptly sprang out from beneath him.

It was Golden Whisper!

Tang Wulin's first soul spirit.

It was a palm-sized little dragon covered in fine golden scales. Its body was so nimble that it was nearly illusory as it slapped a claw against the Wind Baboon's head.

With a crisp crack.

The Wind Baboon did not even have time to scream. Its entire body seemed to explode from within under some immense force, instantly breaking into pieces that scattered across the ground, with barely any blood splashing out.

The little golden dragon circled once above the remains and let out a clear, deep cry before shrinking back into the ground and vanishing.

The entire process took no more than a breath.

Huo Yuhao stood frozen in place, still holding his half-turned dodging posture, his pupils slightly dilated.

He looked down at the scattered pieces by his feet, then raised his head to look at the young man ahead, who had not even paused his stride. His mouth opened, but he could not say anything for a long while.

Tang Ya let out a startled cry from behind and covered her mouth as she took half a step back.

Bei Bei, on the other hand, was unfazed. He walked over and patted Huo Yuhao on the shoulder, offering consoling sympathy in his voice. "You'll get used to it. Great-Grandmaster Uncle's fighting style has always been... well, decisive. That little thing is Great-Grandmaster Uncle's self-created soul skill."

Decisive?

Huo Yuhao swallowed, feeling that word was far too gentle.

That was clearly smashing it to pieces with a single claw.

Tang Wulin took a few more steps, then suddenly stopped again.

Huo Yuhao had not yet recovered from the fright just now. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, an immense, suffocating pressure suddenly bore down from directly ahead!

That pressure came without warning, as though the entire sky had suddenly collapsed.

Bei Bei's expression changed drastically. Every hair on his body stood on end, and his legs felt as though they had been filled with lead, utterly unable to move. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.

Tang Ya gave a muffled groan, her face instantly turning pale as her body limply toppled to one side.

Tang Wulin clicked his tongue. "Young is good. You fall asleep the moment your head hits the pillow."

Huo Yuhao felt it the most intensely.

The instant the pressure descended upon him, his mind went blank. His limbs and body felt as though they had been tightly bound by invisible chains; he could not even move a finger.

His knees bent uncontrollably, and he fell toward the ground. At the edge of his fading consciousness, he vaguely saw an enormous white shape slowly emerging ahead.

That white figure was terrifyingly huge. Even the half of its body that was visible was larger than any house he had ever seen. Its entire body was covered in crystalline ice-blue patterns, while starlike, profound light glittered in its pair of eyes.

It looked like a silkworm magnified tens of millions of times over, but its size and aura made it anything but an ordinary insect.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

Tang Wulin stood where he was, watching that colossal creature slowly move out from the depths of the forest.

He could sense that all three people behind him had already collapsed onto the ground. Yet when the pressure, enough to crush an ordinary Soul King, fell upon him, the spot between his brows suddenly grew faintly hot.

A golden trident mark emerged beneath his forehead, radiating a gentle but impossible-to-ignore glow.

The light gathered without dispersing, like a faint golden film enveloping his body and isolating the pressure outside.

His hair was blown back by the surging air, and his robes flapped loudly, but his feet remained firmly planted on the ground. He did not retreat even half a step.

Tang Wulin tilted his head slightly, a faintly amused smile curling on his lips as he looked at the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm that was "running" toward him.

Though "wriggling" would have been more fitting for something of its size, it was certainly not slow.

He had waited six years for this moment.

The gigantic Ice Silkworm stopped several meters in front of him. Its enormous head lowered slightly, and in its eyes was reflected the golden trident mark between the youth's brows, along with the excessively calm smile in his eyes—one no child in their teens should have possessed.

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fell silent for a moment.

Tang Wulin tucked both hands into his sleeves, looking as relaxed as if he were admiring flowers in his own courtyard. "Yo, little bug. Quite the grand display, huh?"

His tone was light and airy, even teasing. There was not the slightest sign that he had been intimidated by that pressure.