"What?"
Bei Bei's expression changed as he suddenly spotted the Mandala Snake hidden in the pink poisonous mist darting off into the distance.
Its speed caught him completely off guard.
"Xiaoya, protect Yuhao. I'll chase it." Gritting his teeth, Bei Bei pushed off with both feet and raced after the fleeing Mandala Snake.
As a rule, soul masters should never run recklessly through the Star Dou Great Forest.
But this Thousand-Year Mandala Snake was an excellent choice for Tang Ya's third soul ring, both in age and attributes.
For Tang Ya's sake, he had to take the risk.
"Yuhao, let's go. Stay close."
"All right."
Tang Ya led Huo Yuhao after Bei Bei.
With the gap in their cultivation, compounded by her need to look after Huo Yuhao, the distance between them kept growing.
"Should I choose Shrek Academy or the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy?"
Deep within the Outer Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, a boy strolled leisurely toward the forest's edge, pondering as he walked.
He was none other than Gu Yunxiao.
Since he wanted to establish himself in the human world, he needed to choose a starting point.
On the continent today, Shrek Academy and the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy had the best resources.
Naturally, those two places were his first choices.
Rustle, rustle, rustle-
Suddenly, an odd rustling came from the bushes ahead, as though some creature were darting through the dense foliage.
Gu Yunxiao stopped and glanced over. With his powerful spiritual strength, he immediately spotted a fleeing Mandala Snake.
Several dozen meters behind it, a boy wreathed in lightning was in hot pursuit.
"What a coincidence."
Gu Yunxiao murmured, his eyes flickering as a thought quietly took shape in his mind. I could have a little spar with him and get a rough sense of how strong Shrek Academy's geniuses are.
As one of the Outer Court Twin Stars, Bei Bei certainly ranked among the top three in talent. He would make an excellent benchmark for gauging Shrek's geniuses.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!"
The Mandala Snake fled frantically. In its panic, it failed to watch where it was going and came face-to-face with Gu Yunxiao.
Seeing Gu Yunxiao blocking its path, the Mandala Snake flicked out its forked tongue and attacked without hesitation.
"Bold little thing."
Gu Yunxiao smiled. With a slight stir of his will, a mass of water element surged from his palm and swiftly enveloped the Mandala Snake.
In an instant, the Mandala Snake was trapped inside.
The ultimate water clung to the Mandala Snake like sticky taffy, holding it fast. No matter how it thrashed, it could not escape.
"Huh?"
Just then, Bei Bei burst out of the bushes in pursuit. At the sight of Gu Yunxiao and the trapped Mandala Snake, he let out a soft exclamation.
Beyond his surprise, he felt utterly astonished.
Although Gu Yunxiao was tall, nearly one hundred and eighty centimeters, he did not look very old. He might even have been several years younger than Bei Bei.
Yet at such an age, he already possessed the strength to subdue a Thousand-Year Mandala Snake with ease.
That alone showed just how extraordinary his talent and strength were.
"My friend, I'm sorry."
Bei Bei cupped his hands apologetically. "I carelessly let this Mandala Snake escape and disturbed you. Please forgive me."
"If a soul beast gets away, it gets away."
"But you-charging recklessly through the Star Dou Great Forest with only a Soul Elder's cultivation?"
"You're lucky it was me you disturbed. Other powerful soul beasts wouldn't be nearly so accommodating."
Gu Yunxiao smiled faintly.
Bei Bei's cultivation was decent. Judging by his soul power fluctuations, he was a rank thirty-seven Soul Elder, approaching the Soul Ancestor level.
Come to think of it, that was another coincidence.
His own soul power had also broken through to rank thirty-seven not long ago.
"I understand, but this Mandala Snake is an exceptionally good match for my companion, so..."
Bei Bei scratched his head and looked at Gu Yunxiao somewhat sheepishly. "My friend, could I trouble you to return the Mandala Snake to me?"
Before Gu Yunxiao could reply, two more figures emerged from the bushes behind Bei Bei.
A boy and a girl: Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya.
Gu Yunxiao instinctively glanced them over, though his gaze lingered a little longer on Huo Yuhao.
Big-Brained Silkworm?
A trace of surprise flashed through Gu Yunxiao's eyes.
He could sense a wisp of remnant soul deep within Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness. Its aura was exactly like that of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm he had encountered before.
This boy and silkworm had still ended up together.
Beyond that, there was another power within Huo Yuhao's sea of consciousness.
Electrolux, huh... Gu Yunxiao did not give it much thought.
After all, he already possessed many legacies.
Both the God of Heavenly Tribulation and the Dragon God surpassed Electrolux. Only the Ice God's legacy was slightly inferior.
What intrigued him was whether Huo Yuhao was still the child of destiny.
Did he just see right through me?
Meanwhile, recalling the look Gu Yunxiao had just given him, Huo Yuhao could not help feeling a surge of panic.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the wisp of the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's remnant soul was puzzled. "Strange. Why do I get the feeling this human is a little terrifying?"
He found Gu Yunxiao somewhat familiar, but could not remember why.
"My friend?"
Seeing that Gu Yunxiao had not answered, Bei Bei called out again.
"...How much are you offering?" Gu Yunxiao asked calmly.
"Uh."
Bei Bei froze for a moment.
Tang Ya stepped forward and retorted indignantly, "This Mandala Snake was ours to begin with!"
"Yours?"
Gu Yunxiao smiled and pointed at the trapped Mandala Snake. "Call out to it, then. See if it answers."
"You... how can you be so unreasonable?" Tang Ya fumed.
Seeing how handsome Gu Yunxiao was, she had initially assumed he would be easy to talk to.
Instead, he was the exact opposite.
"Hmm?"
Gu Yunxiao frowned.
"Xiaoya, don't say things like that."
Bei Bei hurriedly stopped Tang Ya, then turned back to Gu Yunxiao and apologized again. "I'm sorry. My companion is a little impulsive and spoke in haste."
"My friend, name your price. We'll buy this Mandala Snake."
"I've changed my mind."
Gu Yunxiao shook his head, his voice indifferent. "If the three of you can beat me, I'll give you this Mandala Snake with no strings attached."
"If you can't, there's nothing to discuss."
Since they did not want to settle this amicably, he could not be bothered to indulge them.
"Well..."
Bei Bei looked helpless.
This should have been the simplest of transactions: money in one hand, goods in the other, and neither side owing anything.
But Tang Ya's sudden accusation of "You're unreasonable" had completely changed the nature of the matter.
"Then let's fi-"
"Xiaoya!"
Tang Ya had barely started speaking before Bei Bei cut her off.
"Hmph!" Tang Ya snorted, looking at Bei Bei unhappily.
Bei Bei smiled bitterly, but steadied himself before looking at Gu Yunxiao. "My friend, we're at fault here. We'll pay a thousand Gold Soul Coins for this Mandala Snake."
If possible, he did not want to escalate the conflict.
It was not that he feared Gu Yunxiao, but they were in the Star Dou Great Forest, where something unexpected could happen at any moment. This was no place for a "spar."
Before you continue