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As Huo Yuhao flew out of the forest with Li Jun, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. They hadn't been attacked by a single Soul Beast on the way back—not even a Wind Baboon. It made no sense to him.

What he didn't know was that the moment he activated his Second Martial Soul, an aura had spread in every direction. It had caused an uproar throughout the Outer Zone and Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Which little terror does that aura belong to?"

"It's a bit strange, but it feels like..."

"Squawk! It's the Emperor Auspicious Beast! Everybody, retreat!!!"

"Run! That little terror's out tormenting Soul Beasts again!"

"If you don't want your brains eaten, get moving!"

Every Soul Beast that sensed Huo Yuhao's aura fled in the opposite direction as though crazed. His aura threw the entire outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest into chaos.

One two-headed Soul Beast, which walked upright and radiated an aura of light, was especially frantic. It ran for its life with both enormous hands clamped over its heads.

The Soul Beasts had suffered too much at the Auspicious Beast's hands over the years. It had lived for only ten thousand years and still had the mind of a child, one that loved harassing and hunting lesser Soul Beasts like them.

Yet they could do nothing to the Emperor Auspicious Beast. The fate of the Star Dou Great Forest's Soul Beasts was tied to it. Besides, every high-ranking Soul Beast in the forest's Core Zone stood behind it. None of them dared lay a paw on the Auspicious Beast.

Over time, the Auspicious Beast had become a figure of terror to the Soul Beasts of the Outer Zone and Mixed Zone. Facing it was scarier than facing a billion Golden-Eyed Black Dragon Kings!

Huo Yuhao flew with Li Jun in tow for nearly two hours before they finally left the Star Dou Great Forest. Watching its outline recede, he let out a long breath. Once he heard that the forest's Ferocious Beasts might be after him, he had held nothing back.

He had barely dared to pause for breath on the treetops. Only now that they were out of the Star Dou Great Forest could he find somewhere to rest.

After finding a stream and setting Li Jun down beside it, Huo Yuhao took the White Tiger Dagger from his Storage Soul Tool and walked slowly toward the water.

At dusk, a wonderful aroma roused Li Jun. He found himself lying beside a campfire. In front of him were several fish Huo Yuhao had grilled until golden and crisp, their skins sizzling with oil.

"Young Master Huo, what happened to me?"

"Uncle Li, you're awake!"

"Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, a Spiritual Shock came out of nowhere and knocked you unconscious while you were standing in front of me. It took everything I had to get you out."

Li Jun looked around. Just as Huo Yuhao had said, they were no longer in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Thank you for saving me, Young Master Huo. Otherwise, I would've ended up as a Soul Beast's dinner."

He was about to ask how Huo Yuhao's first Spirit Ring had gone when he noticed a pair of elk-like antlers on Huo Yuhao's head. When had those appeared?

"Young Master Huo, those..."

Following Li Jun's gaze, Huo Yuhao looked up at his own head and said helplessly, "Just a little problem. Don't worry about it, Uncle Li."

He had discovered the problem as soon as they left the Star Dou Great Forest. He had immediately asked Jiang Ziya about it.

"Teacher! Why can't I make these antlers disappear? What am I supposed to do?!"

Huo Yuhao felt the pair of antlers on his head, at a loss.

"What am I going to do? They won't think I'm a monster when I go back, will they?"

Inside Huo Yuhao's Sea of Consciousness, Tian Meng stared at his appearance in surprise, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Yuhao, you grew antlers! You look adorable!"

"Brother Sky Dream, could you please not make this worse?" Huo Yuhao said helplessly. The antlers refusing to disappear were bad enough; Tian Meng's laughter only made him more miserable.

Jiang Ziya, meanwhile, flushed with embarrassment when he heard Huo Yuhao's question. "Ahem. This was an accident!"

"Teacher, what do you mean?"

"When I shaped your Martial Soul, I was worried it might fail, so I fused a drop of my junior fellow apprentice's blood into it. The bloodline activated your Martial Soul, causing some of its traits to manifest on your body."

"Then when can I hide these antlers, Teacher? I can't spend my whole life with them on my head!"

"I'm afraid you'll have to gain some control over the Four-Not-Like Martial Soul before you can retract them."

Huo Yuhao felt like crying when he heard Jiang Ziya's answer.

"Ah! So I have to go back wearing these antlers? Sister Jiujiu will laugh at me."

Back by the campfire, Li Jun saw that Huo Yuhao didn't want to discuss his antlers and decided not to press him. He changed the subject, asking tentatively, "Then, Young Master Huo, should we return to the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow to hunt for your first Spirit Ring?"

"No need, Uncle Li. I already have my first Spirit Ring."

Li Jun froze. He had obtained a Spirit Ring? What had happened while Li Jun was unconscious?

"How old is your Spirit Ring, Young Master Huo?"

"A thousand years."

Li Jun drew a sharp breath. A thousand-year first Spirit Ring was unheard of. He knew Xu Jiujiu had given Huo Yuhao Whale Rubber to strengthen his body, but this still seemed far too extraordinary.

He was about to ask which Soul Beast the ring had come from, but Huo Yuhao held out a skewered fish before he could get the words out.

"Uncle Li, if you have more questions, let's talk when we get back."

Li Jun swallowed his questions.

He accepted the grilled fish and took a bite. Its crisp skin cracked with a crunch, and juices seeped from the split beneath it. Huo Yun'er's sweet sauce made it even better.

The delicious fish drove every question from Li Jun's mind. Besides, those matters were beyond a Royal Guard Squad Leader like him. He would report everything and let the Princess and His Majesty decide what to do.

Although the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm had given Huo Yuhao a Million Year Soul Ring, it currently had only the strength of a thousand-year ring. According to Tian Meng, the strength of his first Spirit Ring depended on the spheres of light Tian Meng had sealed away. Only when his body grew strong enough to absorb them would the ring gradually reach the million-year level.

Though the Spirit Ring had already reached the thousand-year level, its visible color remained white tinged with gold. Tian Meng had said Million Year Soul Rings were all gold, though the exact shade differed for each soul master who obtained one.

That worried Huo Yuhao. More than anything, his ring looked too much like a ten-year Spirit Ring. He didn't want Xu Jiujiu to see it when he got back and get the wrong idea.

To deal with that, he had asked Jiang Ziya for a spell called Illusion Spell. He used it to change the color of his first Spirit Ring to the purple of an ordinary thousand-year ring.