Where the Dragon's Shadow Swept, a Thousand Forests Blazed Crimson; Bronze Stained with Fire Turned Night to Day (4K)

"Sorry, little Yuhao. Bei Bei and I were careless earlier. Danger lurks everywhere in the Star Dou Great Forest. We should have escorted you part of the way.

"Why don't you come with us? You must have entered the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts. We can form a team and help you obtain a soul ring while we're at it."

Having finished admiring the handsome boy she had found in the wild, Tang Ya patted her chest in lingering fright and offered an invitation. Huo Yuhao's secret-recipe grilled fish was truly authentic. It would be such a shame if he died in Star Dou at his tender age.

"Sister Tang Ya..."

Apart from his mother, Huo Yun'er, Tang Ya was one of the few people willing to show him kindness. Someone who had spent so long in darkness often needed only a glimmer of light. Huo Yuhao was already close to tears of gratitude.

"Thank you, sister. I've already absorbed this baboon's soul ring and become a one-ring soul master."

As he finished speaking, Huo Yuhao released his level-eleven soul power, which had broken through his bottleneck. His eyes brightened, and a solitary white ring of light drifted up and down around his body. No one could tell that this was the Million-Year Soul Ring bestowed by the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"Your eyes are a body martial soul!

"A ten-year Wind Baboon?

"You fused a spiritual martial soul with a wind-attribute soul ring, and you're actually standing here in one piece!?"

Tang Ya went from overjoyed to horrified, before her entire understanding of the world collapsed. A martial soul and soul ring as unrelated as wind, horses, and cattle lay beyond her comprehension, while Huo Yuhao's gaze wandered slightly.

A million-year soul beast was undoubtedly a blockbuster revelation. Huo Yuhao understood that possessing a precious jade could itself become a crime. The ten-year Wind Baboon was an excuse to conceal the truth; the only flaw was Lin Qing, who had witnessed everything.

At this point, he could only silently pray that Lin Qing would prefer one less complication to one more, or that the spiritual field produced by his fusion with the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was reliable enough.

"Yuhao, looking at it that way, you're a blessed child. Where are you planning to go after hunting your soul beast? Who else is in your family?" Tang Ya asked eagerly.

"I..."

Huo Yuhao opened his mouth blankly. He might claim he was embarking on a grand revenge against the White Tiger Duke, but he had no complete plan in mind. Dejected, he said, "I'm an orphan. I have nowhere to go."

"Don't be sad. Just think of your dead family members as having been blown away by a strong wind!"

Tang Ya tried hard to comfort him. Hearing this, Lin Qing and Bei Bei, who were facing each other nearby, both lost control of their expressions. Their facial muscles twitched as though they had Parkinson's. Even if they tried to find fault, they could never have come up with that. Tang Ya had blurted it out with the smoothness of pure instinct.

"Xiaoya!" Bei Bei could not help reminding her.

"It's all right, Brother Bei Bei. My father and mother passed away a long time ago."

In eleven-year-old Huo Yuhao's heart, the White Tiger Duke did not deserve to be his father. He had long since become a dead man.

"Sorry, sorry. My parents have passed away too." Tang Ya caught on and apologized repeatedly.

Lin Qing tilted his head. By that reckoning, all four of them seemed to have lost both parents. It was a strange stroke of fate that they had gathered together...

"In that case, Yuhao, would you be interested in joining a sect?" Tang Ya asked seriously.

"The sect Bei Bei and I belong to is called the Tang Sect. It was once the foremost sect on the continent, its might shaking all of Douluo. Although it has declined, with only the two of us left to keep it going, its secret techniques have all been passed down. Among them is the Purple Demon Eye, an eye-training technique suited to your eye martial soul.

"And we're both students of Shrek Academy. The academy offers the Tang Sect one unconditional, examination-free place in its outer court every year. If you're willing to join the Tang Sect, you can enroll at Shrek this year."

A spiritual body martial soul had tremendous potential for development, even if Huo Yuhao's innate talent appeared weak. Tang Ya therefore made an immediate attempt to recruit him. Of course, there was also the tiniest element of craving Chef Huo's delicious grilled fish.

"You're students at Shrek Academy?"

Lin Qing joined the conversation at just the right moment. Bei Bei and Tang Ya immediately puffed out their chests proudly. Shrek Academy's reputation spread far and wide; it was perfectly normal for people to be awed upon hearing its name.

"My sister studies at Shrek too."

Their attempt to show off fell flat. Both deflated like punctured balls. So he was already in the know.

"I'm Bei Bei, she's Tang Ya, and this is Huo Yuhao, a little brother we took under our wing on the road."

Away from home, a Shrek student's relative counted as half one of their own. Bei Bei formally introduced the three of them. "Little brother, what year is your sister in? We might be classmates."

"Lin Qing."

Lin Qing introduced himself, his silver-gray eyes fixed directly on Bei Bei as he scrutinized the smallest shifts in emotion.

"My sister's name is Lin Lan. Her martial soul is a blue dragon, and she's an inner court student."

Huo Yuhao listened in a fog, clearly not understanding what an inner court student was. Tang Ya let out a delighted "Wow!" Entering the Shrek Inner Court was her greatest dream in life after reviving the Tang Sect.

"Bei Bei, do you know my sister?"

Lin Qing had deliberately mentioned her blue dragon martial soul because he wanted to ask Bei Bei about Lin Lan.

Bei Bei was the great-great-grandson of Mu En, the Dragon God Douluo and master of the Sea God Pavilion. His exalted status as Shrek's crown prince allowed him to enter and leave Sea God Island freely. The inner court students numbered fewer than a hundred, and Lin Qing thought there was a chance Bei Bei knew Lin Lan's situation.

At Lin Lan's cultivation speed, she should have become a six-ring soul emperor half a year ago. The claim that she was meditating on Sea God Island to break through level sixty had merely been meant to reassure Grandma Lin. His sister losing contact over the holidays could only mean she had run into trouble.

Sure enough, upon hearing Lin Lan's name, Bei Bei froze for two seconds. His pupils involuntarily widened, and he turned his head to avoid that meaningful gaze before saying:

"Shrek's two courts don't interact. I've only met Senior Lin once..."

"Exactly, exactly. Inner court students are like divine dragons-you glimpse their heads, but never their tails."

Tang Ya nodded like a chick pecking grain, her wide eyes innocent. She simply had never heard of Lin Lan.

"I see. Sister Lan didn't come home during last month's holiday. Grandma was worried about her, so she sent me to Shrek Academy to see her." Lin Qing continued probing Bei Bei.

By now, Bei Bei's face had become a mask of pain, and he did not know how to answer. Lin Qing's guess had been spot-on. Bei Bei, who often visited Sea God Island, had some impression of most inner court students. He could not help recalling the tragedy that had occurred half a year earlier.

What had originally been an unremarkable soul hunting operation had ended with eight inner court students dead and four severely injured. The Sea God Pavilion's deputy master had shut himself away, spending his days in dejection. After recovering from her injuries, the inner court's eldest senior sister had knelt before the Golden Tree and refused to rise. Lin Lan had been one of the twelve at the center of it all.

"Lin Qing, after you meet Senior Lin Lan, are you planning to enroll at Shrek too? We're heading the same way. How about traveling together?"

The oblivious Tang Ya noticed none of her lover's inner anguish and struggle. In her eyes, an inner court senior's younger brother was pure-blooded Shrek family. Helping one another was entirely natural.

"I'm more interested in Star Luo National Academy."

"Shrek is the continent's number-one soul master academy!" Tang Ya protested indignantly. "Senior Lin Lan can look after you in the inner court. When siblings unite, their edge can cut through gold. Being chosen for the Shrek Seven Devils someday wouldn't be a dream!"

The Shrek Seven Devils?

Lin Qing felt absolutely nothing. Remember, kids, there are seven Calabash Brothers, but only one Grandpa!

Bei Bei, who knew the truth, finally could not bear to listen any longer. He went over and tugged Tang Ya's sleeve. Good grief, sister, please don't say another word!

Tang Ya glared at her boyfriend in dissatisfaction. If the sister was an inner court student, there was a ninety-eight percent chance her younger brother would be no slouch either. If she built a little rapport now, perhaps she could recruit him into the Tang Sect shortly and give him its fourth seat!

"Everyone has their own aspirations. Let's part ways here."

They were passing acquaintances who had met like duckweed on the water. Lin Qing had no obligation to shoulder their burdens and press onward. They could part amicably and each hunt their own target soul beasts.

"Safe travels."

The four nodded to one another in farewell. Watching Lin Qing's retreating back, Bei Bei seemed to age ten years in an instant, deep worry settling over his brow.

Tang Ya still felt deeply disappointed that she had failed to lure Lin Qing up their mountain. After all, two straight lines intersected only once. Fortunately, the girl's emotions came and went quickly. She set her sights on Huo Yuhao again and flashed a radiant smile:

"The road reaches toward the sky, and everyone can take their own side. Never mind Lin Qing! Little Yuhao, what about you? Do you want to join the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy? We'll fight side by side!"

Dusk fell over the Star Dou Great Forest.

Thud, thud, thud...

Wild footsteps thundered without restraint. A three-thousand-year Diamond Bear raced on all fours, relying on its thick hide and tough flesh to bulldoze ahead. Wherever it passed, ancient trees snapped at the waist and toppled to the ground with mournful groans.

Once the Diamond Bear's dark silhouette gradually disappeared into the distance, the bushes beneath a tree stirred, and three heads emerged. From left to right were Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao had joined them willingly. His mother had told him stories of the Tang Sect's glorious deeds since childhood. Bei Bei and Tang Ya were both kindhearted, and Shrek Academy was an unexpected bonus. Receiving the most advanced soul master education would illuminate the road ahead for his revenge.

Craning her neck toward the sky, where several Ironclad Birds flapped past with hoarse, strange cries, Tang Ya said with a wry smile:

"Something's wrong, Bei Bei. How many metal-attribute soul beasts have we run into today? Did we poke a metal-attribute nest?"

These metal-attribute soul beasts did not even bother hiding. They charged ahead openly at full speed, as though something were summoning them, and if they arrived late, there would not even be a mouthful of leftovers.

The Tang Sect trio were like birds startled by a bowstring. Along the way, Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing had shown its extraordinary power, warning them of danger in advance and helping all three dive into the bushes to hide in time.

Although it eliminated the danger to their safety, the tragedy was that soul beasts of every other attribute had been frightened into staying home by these maniacs. They all huddled in their dens to avoid being fish caught in someone else's disaster.

Tang Ya was practically in tears. She still could not find a suitable third soul ring. Was she supposed to grab some random thousand-year Lone Bamboo and give her Blue Silver Grass the property of toughness?

"Eldest senior brother, Teacher Xiaoya, with all these metal-attribute soul beasts rampaging together, could some natural treasure of the same attribute have appeared somewhere in the Star Dou Great Forest?" Huo Yuhao asked quietly.

"Hmm..." Tang Ya rubbed her delicate chin. "Bei Bei, with metal-attribute soul beasts running everywhere, I'm afraid we won't find my third soul ring today.

"Yuhao has a point. I also think a metal-attribute natural treasure has appeared. Why don't the three of us carefully sneak over and see if we can pick up a bargain?"

Bei Bei's mind raced. After some thought, he said, "Judging from the direction those soul beasts are moving, the treasure seems to be in the outer region. Its aura would attract soul beasts from the mixed region at most, mainly those at the hundred-year and thousand-year levels.

"Yuhao, activate your Spiritual Detection Sharing. We'll move out in formation. If we encounter danger, we'll retreat immediately."

Since ancient times, treasures had belonged to those capable of claiming them. Anything that attracted this many metal-attribute soul beasts could not be of low quality. Whether they handed it over to Shrek Academy or sent it to an auction, the three could earn a fortune and exchange it for considerable spiritual resources to aid their cultivation.

Spiritual Detection Sharing activated, and an exquisitely detailed three-dimensional world appeared in their minds. They followed the charging metal-attribute soul beasts from a distance, ready to play the oriole waiting behind the mantis stalking its cicada.

"Huh? Isn't that Lin Qing!?"

What Spiritual Detection revealed left all three dumbfounded. Beneath the setting sun, the handsome youth with long silver-gray hair stood with his arms folded, utterly at ease. Meanwhile, the three-thousand-year Diamond Bear lay on its back, its bloodthirsty eyes wide open. Its chest was covered in blackened scorch marks, with a hideous, bowl-sized hole punched through its heart.

"Eldest senior brother, what's that metal egg on the ground?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

"A soul tool. There's no natural treasure at all. It's the fluctuations that egg is emitting..." Bei Bei explained to his junior brother.

"How can someone be this crafty? He's clearly fishing for soul beasts..." Tang Ya was stunned, inwardly lamenting that people's hearts were no longer what they once were.

"Come to think of it, Lin Qing killed a three-thousand-year Diamond Bear all by himself without breaking a sweat, but wouldn't team up with us... Bei Bei, I think he found us wanting... Let's go. We shouldn't disturb his soul beast hunt."

Looking thoroughly dejected, Tang Ya beckoned the Tang Sect disciples to retreat. The next instant, Bei Bei's expression suddenly grew graver than ever, and he said heavily:

"The temperature around us is rising!"

"So what?"

"Yuhao's Spiritual Detection hasn't picked up a fourth sign of life. That proves it's still some distance away from us, but it's already changing the environment!"

Bei Bei spoke urgently. It was true that the fiercer the waves, the more valuable the fish, but one wrong step could leave them with an eternity of regret. Lin Qing's Gold Luring Device had attracted a soul beast far beyond the ordinary!

"ROAR-"

The piercing roar exploded like thunder. Without needing Spiritual Detection Sharing, the Tang Sect trio abruptly raised their heads toward the clouds deep within the Star Dou Great Forest. A chill crawled from the base of their spines into their brains.

Amid firelight that filled the sky, an enormous creature stood proudly aloft with its wings spread. As its vast blue-black wings unfurled, countless fire elements gathered around it like loyal servants, forming a magnificent bank of flame-red clouds!

Flying soul beasts fled with shrieks. Entire swathes of thousand-year-old trees burned, and crisscrossing furrows were plowed through the lush green grass by raging flames. One passed less than ten meters from the Tang Sect trio. Blistering air struck their faces, surging with a savage, brutal presence!

Just... what was that thing!?

The thought had barely arisen in Tang Ya's and Huo Yuhao's minds when a pair of molten-gold vertical pupils blazed to life high above. Like a descending monarch, the creature gazed down at the ultimate metal tempting it from the ground, like an evil dragon greedily eyeing mountains of gold and silver.

"A dragon of bronze and fire-the Bronze Hellfire Dragon!"

Bei Bei felt his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon bloodline stir. The blue-black monster approaching from the mixed region was unmistakably a dragon soul beast!

The Bronze Hellfire Dragon's bloodline originated from the Purgatory Wyvern, a descendant of the fire dragon lineage whose dragon blood was insufficiently pure.

Then one Purgatory Wyvern had forged a different path, melting a bronze ore vein with its flames and forcibly devouring the metal's essence, awakening the ability to control bronze.

That insane act had been no less risky than a soul master with a mongrel dog martial soul downing a bottle of poison and awakening with their martial soul evolved into a top-tier qilin.

To commemorate the Bronze Hellfire Dragon's courage, a saying circulated throughout the soul master world, describing the magnificent spectacle of its soaring flight!

Where the dragon's shadow swept, a thousand forests blazed crimson; bronze stained with fire turned night to day!