The Might of the Beast God, Shrek Takes the Blame

On the outskirts of the mixed zone, where the Sun Moon Empire's group was stationed.

A massive bird-type soul beast with magnificent blue feathers lay lifeless on the ground.

Meng Hongchen sat cross-legged nearby, four soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—orbiting her body.

The absorption of the soul ring was nearly complete, yet the atmosphere within the group was unusually heavy.

Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan looked so grim their faces seemed capable of dripping water.

The reason was simple: Yan Jingchuan's private Breaking Away from the Team had finally been discovered.

"Outrageous!! This is absolutely outrageous! He left on his own in the Star Dou Great Forest. What if something really happened to him?!"

"And especially you, Ji Juechen! As his senior, you actually helped him fool around!"

Zheng Zhan anxiously paced back and forth, unleashing a furious scolding upon Ji Juechen.

If anything happened to Yan Jingchuan, how were they supposed to explain it to Elder Kong?

Ji Juechen lowered his head in remorse, while inwardly cursing Yan Jingchuan like mad—and adding Xiao Hongchen to the list.

The disguise had been flawless. Even Ye Yulin and Zheng Zhan had failed to detect any issue with the Substitute Soul Tool, yet Xiao Hongchen's thoughtless action had exposed everything.

Not far away, Ye Yulin frowned deeply as he held the Substitute Soul Tool in his hand. He was still relatively composed, unlike Zheng Zhan, who was frantic with worry.

In Ye Yulin's view, Yan Jingchuan had always been someone with his own ideas. This Substitute Soul Tool had clearly been prepared in advance. As a fellow ninth-ranked soul engineer, how could he fail to recognize Jing Hongchen's handiwork?

The idea of using an ice silkworm's innate Simulate ability as the primary reference for creating such a soul tool could only have come from Yan Jingchuan. Only he possessed such unconventional thinking and endless ingenious ideas.

The Substitute Soul Tool had no flaws whatsoever in voice, aura, appearance, or any other aspect. If Xiao Hongchen had not instinctively reached out to put an arm around Yan Jingchuan's substitute and disrupted the simulation, they likely still would not have discovered it.

What puzzled him was this: What exactly did Yan Jingchuan intend to do? Why had he not told them? Had Jing Hongchen helped him while knowing the details? Could Elder Kong possibly know something as well?

Unlike Zheng Zhan, Ye Yulin was not particularly worried for Yan Jingchuan's safety. He knew there were two powerful experts no weaker than himself protecting Yan Jingchuan, so his personal safety was basically guaranteed.

At that moment, Meng Hongchen, having absorbed her fourth soul ring, slowly opened her eyes. Her soul power rank had surged straight to level forty-four.

Such an increase delighted her beyond measure. Even the prodigies of Shrek's inner court likely could not improve at such a rate.

Meng Hongchen could not wait to share this joy with Yan Jingchuan and her brother, only to find the entire group's atmosphere strangely tense.

Not only was the mood wrong, but after looking around, she could not find Yan Jingchuan anywhere.

"Elder Ye, Elder Zheng, what's wrong? Where's Jingchuan?"

Zheng Zhan said nothing, leaving Ye Yulin to give her a brief explanation.

After hearing it, Meng Hongchen could no longer sit still.

"Then let's hurry and find him! The Star Dou Great Forest is so dangerous. Jingchuan is all alone..."

"Where are we supposed to look? The Star Dou Great Forest is so vast. Searching with just us would be no different from looking for a needle in the ocean."

Zheng Zhan spoke irritably.

"So we're not looking? Are we just going to wait...?"

Her words silenced them both. Just as Ye Yulin was about to say something, Ji Juechen timidly raised his hand.

Everyone's gaze immediately turned toward him.

"Um... um, I remembered. Before he left, he told me to keep the Tracking Communication Soul Tool on. He said he'd find his way back himself."

The moment he finished speaking, everyone fell silent. Zheng Zhan's face twitched.

"Why didn't you mention something this important earlier?!"

Ji Juechen desperately wanted to retort, You never asked.

But afraid Zheng Zhan would beat him up, he kept those words to himself.

Jing Ziyan covered her face and sighed. She had known this would happen. Other than practicing swordsmanship, Ji Juechen was absolutely unreliable in every other matter.

Meanwhile, at the Lake of Life.

A tall, lean man appeared there, draped in a dark green robe. His long hair trailed to his feet, his face held a faint bluish tint, and his deep turquoise eyes were filled with an eerie radiance.

An elegant yet unsettling pressure emanated from him. Vine-like patterns faintly showed through his pale skin, his ten fingers were long like withered branches, and a subtle bloody fragrance lingered around him.

Facing a figure by the lakeshore, he reported, "Di Tian, it has been confirmed. Humans attacked the gathering place of the Golden Tortoiseshell clan and captured a thirty-thousand-year Golden Tortoiseshell."

With his back to Myriad Demon King, who was giving the report, Di Tian's imposing golden vertical pupils stared at the Lake of Life.

His black robe suddenly billowed under an invisible aura.

"I have already gathered most of the soul beasts near the core region, yet they still dare to venture deep into Star Dou without restraint. They even specifically targeted the auspicious Golden Tortoiseshells. Humans are becoming increasingly excessive!"

Rage churned in Di Tian's eyes. Losing even one Golden Tortoiseshell would affect a great many soul beasts. This was a blatant provocation against the Star Dou Great Forest, an attempt to destroy the very foundation of their soul beast kind!

"Was it the Golden Tortoiseshell with the old ailment?"

Bi Ji, a gentle and dignified green-haired woman, descended from the other side and asked Myriad Demon King.

Myriad Demon King pondered briefly before answering.

"I cannot confirm whether it was the one you mentioned, but it was indeed in poor condition and looked sickly."

Bi Ji nodded softly, her tone sorrowful.

"Then it should have been that one. Poor child. Even I was helpless against the problem it suffered from. I never expected it to be killed by humans before it had the chance to fully recover."

The Emerald Swan, Bi Ji, was gentle by nature and respected life, completely unlike the brutality of the other fierce beasts. Not only was she one of the rare healing-type soul beasts, she was the strongest among them.

With her powerful healing ability, she had treated the injuries of countless soul beasts. Thus, she was followed by numerous soul beasts and enjoyed an excellent reputation among their kind.

Perhaps she alone truly cared about the death of every soul beast. Di Tian and Myriad Demon King did not feel much over that Golden Tortoiseshell's death. If not for the Golden Tortoiseshell's benefit to soul beasts as a whole and its rarity, they would not have cared at all.

"We absolutely cannot spare these damned humans. Clear out every human in the core region. Leave not a single one alive!"

Di Tian issued the order coldly.

"Understood."

Just as Myriad Demon King was about to relay Di Tian's command, his expression suddenly changed.

Noticing the change in Myriad Demon King's expression, Di Tian turned his head to look at him.

"What is it?"

"That Golden Tortoiseshell is already dead. My roots found its corpse..."

Myriad Demon King's true body was a Demon Eye Tree more than five hundred thousand years old. Its network of roots covered over a third of the Star Dou Great Forest, allowing it to learn of every disturbance before the other fierce beasts.

As the king of plant-type soul beasts, Myriad Demon King could command the entire plant kingdom and was the finest intelligence gatherer. It quickly located that Golden Tortoiseshell's corpse.

"It's already dead. So what?"

"It wasn't thirty thousand years old. It was one hundred thousand years old."

Myriad Demon King's words startled both Di Tian and Bi Ji.

"How could that be? It came to me for treatment. It clearly only possessed thirty thousand years of cultivation. How could it possibly have been one hundred thousand years...?"

Bi Ji could not believe it, while even Myriad Demon King struggled to conceal his astonishment.

Di Tian realized something was amiss.

At a place far from the core region, near the border with the mixed zone.

Di Tian personally arrived at the scene. The blood-red hundred-thousand-year soul ring was reflected in his vertical pupils.

He furrowed his brow tightly and fell silent.

"Di Tian, we also found this."

Myriad Demon King appeared shortly afterward and handed Di Tian a badge.

Clutching the badge, Di Tian crushed it in one motion. As he murmured, killing intent surged violently around him.

"Shrek..."