Heading to the Speed Clan

The Star Dou Great Forest.

The group walked slowly through it.

This time, Gu Ping'an had brought Xiao Wu along.

"Little Brother Ping'an, have you found a Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern yet?"

Dugu Yan followed beside Gu Ping'an, her voice brimming with excitement. With two Titled Douluos, Dugu Bo and She Long, backing them up, she had nothing to worry about.

"Don't rush. The Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern may only be a lesser dragon species, but it's extremely rare," Gu Ping'an said softly as he surveyed their surroundings through the Blue Silver Grass.

At the same time, he kept a portion of his attention on Xiao Wu.

Her pink shoes rustled against the ground. Xiao Wu's steps were light, filled with the joy of coming home.

"Gu brat, we're entering the ten-thousand-year soul beast territory. Are you sure Yanyan can absorb a soul beast from here?"

As the group ventured deeper, the thousand-year soul beasts around them grew fewer, and more ten-thousand-year soul beasts appeared.

Dugu Bo and She Long occasionally released their auras to intimidate soul beasts that wanted to attack them.

"Yes. A seven- or eight-thousand-year-old Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern can contend with some ten-thousand-year soul beasts."

He had learned about these powerful soul beasts from Yu Xiaogang's book collection.

He had to admit that while Yu Xiaogang was useless, his books certainly weren't.

The information on soul beasts, in particular, had been compiled through the combined efforts of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect and Spirit Hall.

"Found it. One and a half kilometers ahead to the left."

Gu Ping'an raised his head and looked ahead to the left, activating Spatial Teleportation to bring the others before the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern in an instant.

Its nine-meter body and dark green scales exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Several short, symmetrical horns swept backward from its broad forehead.

At the center of its forehead, eight golden lines formed a mysterious pattern.

The older it grew, the more intricate the pattern between its brows became.

"An eight-thousand-year-old Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern. Senior Dugu, you handle it!"

Dugu Yan was Dugu Bo's granddaughter, so he was the most suitable person to subdue the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern.

Gu Ping'an stayed with Xiao Wu while She Long stood to one side, ready to intervene.

It was only an eight-thousand-year-old Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern. Within moments, Dugu Bo's poison had left it unable to move.

"Yanyan, your turn!"

Standing before the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern sprawled on the ground, Dugu Bo looked toward Dugu Yan.

"Sure thing, Grandpa!"

Dugu Yan hurried forward, finished off the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern, and began absorbing its soul ring.

"My lord! Something seems to be charging over from the central region." She Long suddenly stepped in front of Gu Ping'an, on guard.

Gu Ping'an's brows drew together, and his gaze swept over Dugu Yan, who had only just begun absorbing her soul ring.

"Go help. Don't let it interrupt Dugu Yan's soul ring absorption."

Dugu Bo had already moved to block the direction of the disturbance as soon as he noticed it.

The ground trembled slightly, as though something heavy was running at tremendous speed.

The Blue Silver Grass relayed an image: an ape-like soul beast was charging toward them on all fours.

"Is he here for you?" Gu Ping'an turned a cold gaze toward Xiao Wu beside him.

"You'd better not let him interrupt Yanyan's soul ring absorption, or I'll take his soul ring and refine his soul bone."

Xiao Wu shuddered. Dugu Yan was her friend, and she didn't want her to be disturbed either.

She glanced at Dugu Yan, who was absorbing her soul ring, then turned and ran toward the source of the tremors.

Gu Ping'an quickly moved beside Dugu Yan, ready to pull her into Spacetime Isolation if necessary to prevent any interference.

Watching Xiao Wu run past him, She Long frowned and raised a hand to stop her.

She was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Even if his lord didn't want her, he couldn't let her escape.

Yet just as he was about to act, Dugu Bo suddenly held him back. He turned to see Dugu Bo giving him a slight shake of the head.

"Don't stop her. Let her go."

As he reached out to stop She Long, Dugu Bo glanced back at Gu Ping'an, who was guarding Dugu Yan.

This wasn't Gu Ping'an's first trip to the Star Dou Great Forest, nor was it the first time Xiao Wu had clamored to come along.

Why had he agreed only this time?

And a powerful soul beast just happened to be attacking?

Could he have anticipated this all along?

"Er Ming, stop right there! My friend is absorbing a soul ring up ahead!"

Xiao Wu spread both arms, blocking the way.

Ahead of her, a Titan Giant Ape leaned backward and braked sharply, plowing two long furrows into the ground.

Xiao Wu stood firmly in his path.

She couldn't let Er Ming charge past her. If he did, Dugu Yan's soul ring absorption would be disrupted.

Gu Ping'an would never spare Er Ming.

She had witnessed his talent firsthand. Perhaps he couldn't do anything to Er Ming yet, but what about ten or twenty years from now?

"Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Er Ming pounded his chest with both fists, producing muffled, thunderous booms, while letting out a string of unintelligible roars.

"Er Ming, if you don't quiet down, I'll never speak to you again!"

Xiao Wu planted both hands on her hips and glared angrily at Er Ming.

In an instant, both the thunderous pounding and the roaring vanished.

"Sister Xiao Wu!"

A deep, muffled voice emerged from the giant ape's mouth.

Human speech?

A hundred-thousand-year soul beast?

Behind them, She Long and Dugu Bo exchanged a glance, each seeing shock in the other's eyes.

A hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape-even together, they weren't confident they could stop him from disrupting Dugu Yan's soul ring absorption.

They turned their heads slightly, looking at Gu Ping'an behind them.

Then they relaxed.

Dugu Bo, in particular, had spent the most time with Gu Ping'an and understood him better than the others.

Whatever he did, he would consider every situation he might encounter.

His gaze shifted toward Xiao Wu, who was blocking the Titan Giant Ape.

The hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape was very likely part of Gu Ping'an's test for Xiao Wu.

If Xiao Wu chose to flee or something similar, Gu Ping'an could act afterward without any reservations.

After all, they had spent a year together and developed some affection. He couldn't strike without cause.

"Er Ming, hurry back! Otherwise, I'll never speak to you again!"

Xiao Wu kept one hand on her hip and pointed at Er Ming with the other.

"Whine... whine... whine..."

It was hard to imagine that a hundred-thousand-year-old Titan Giant Ape, with such a mighty body, could whimper like an aggrieved puppy.

Dugu Bo, Gu Ping'an, and the others stayed back, watching quietly.

After a long while, under Xiao Wu's soothing words and threats, Er Ming left, looking back three times with every step.

She didn't run!

Behind her, Gu Ping'an's gaze was deep and unreadable. He withdrew it from the departing Titan Giant Ape, swept it over Xiao Wu, and finally settled it on Dugu Yan, who was still absorbing her soul ring.

Dugu Bo had guessed correctly. He was indeed testing her.

In the original story, Xiao Wu had sacrificed herself for Tang San, and Gu Ping'an had forcibly brought her back with him.

Did she resent him deep down?

Would she turn against him the moment she had a chance?

The human heart was difficult to fathom. The facts proved that soul beasts in human form were still different from humans; they lacked that same complexity of heart.

"All right, Er Ming's gone!" Xiao Wu skipped up to Gu Ping'an, looking rather pleased with herself.

"Good."

Gu Ping'an gave her a gentle smile and reached out to ruffle her hair.

She Long turned and walked to one side, keeping watch over their surroundings.

A flicker of regret passed through the depths of Dugu Bo's eyes.

Xiao Wu and the Titan Giant Ape represented two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.

Having passed the test, Xiao Wu would not be targeted by Gu Ping'an.

Judging from her relationship with that Titan Giant Ape, he most likely wouldn't target the ape in the future either.

Xiao Wu's chatter rang continuously through the forest.

It continued until the purple soul ring surrounding Dugu Yan slowly sank into her body.

"Sister Yanyan, did you absorb it successfully? What's your soul skill like?" Xiao Wu stepped forward and hooked an arm through hers, watching Dugu Yan expectantly.

"Let me try it."

Dugu Yan walked to one side, and soul rings rose from beneath her feet.

Starting with the first, they flashed in sequence as though passing power along, continuing to the fourth soul ring, then to her right arm and finally her right fist.

"Grandpa, take my Golden Right Fist!"

Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow as he watched Dugu Yan attack, an earthy golden glow covering her fist.

Wasn't this granddaughter a little too filial?

Without a word, he protected himself with soul power.

Bang!

Her fist struck his body, sending up a cloud of dust.

Dugu Bo's eyes widened, and he lowered his head to look at the little fist still pressed against him.

His experience as a Titled Douluo told him that this punch already possessed some of the power of a high-level Battle Soul King.

And this was only an ordinary punch enhanced by an attribute boost.

It wasn't a soul skill.

If paired with a suitable soul skill, might she even be able to contend with some low-level Soul Emperors?

"Grandpa! Grandpa! What are you spacing out for?

Hurry up and tell me how it was!" Dugu Yan grabbed Dugu Bo's arm and shook it gently.

"A very powerful punch. Yanyan, the soul skill you gained this time provides an enormous boost, doesn't it?"

Dugu Bo looked at Dugu Yan with certainty.

As the person who had taken the punch, he had felt it most clearly.

"Of course!" Dugu Yan nodded proudly.

"The soul skill I gained this time can boost all my attributes by three hundred percent."

Three hundred percent?

Nearby, Gu Ping'an, who was surveying their surroundings through the blue silver grass, turned his head in astonishment.

He had known the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern would yield an enhancement soul skill, but he hadn't expected such a powerful boost.

On reflection, it made sense.

After all, the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern owed its strength to its powerful enhancement ability, which multiplied its strength several times over for a period, allowing it to defeat soul beasts far older than itself.

It was just that these soul beasts were too rare, and few people knew about them.

Otherwise, they would surely become the first choice for many Battle Soul Masters' early soul rings.

They had found the Ten-Thousand-Patterned Wyvern partly because they had Yu Xiaogang's collection of books from Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.

The second reason was the Blue Silver Emperor's extraordinarily powerful Sensory Ability, which allowed him to command all grasses.

Otherwise, even Spirit Hall would have had to rely on luck to search for one, with no guarantee of finding it.

"Since you've finished absorbing your soul ring, come with me to the Speed Clan," Gu Ping'an said calmly.

This had been planned long ago.

"Gu brat, you keep saying we're going to the Speed Clan, but you haven't told us what we're going there for," Dugu Bo asked curiously.

He didn't know what a mere Speed Clan could have that Gu Ping'an valued.

"An immortal herb!"

Gu Ping'an turned back, his gaze deep and unreadable.

A single immortal herb wasn't important. What mattered was cutting off one possible route for Tang San to obtain an immortal herb.