Gu Yunxiao: Think before you speak next time

"One thousand Gold Soul Coins!"

Tang Ya's and Huo Yuhao's eyes widened.

But Bei Bei gave them a look and subtly shook his head.

"Are we fighting or not?"

"You have three breaths to decide. Once those three breaths are up, I'll take that as a no, and you can forget about this Mandala Snake too."

Gu Yunxiao's expression was indifferent, his voice calm.

Forget a thousand Gold Soul Coins-even if Bei Bei offered ten thousand, he would not be interested.

His earlier "price" had merely been a way to give both sides a graceful way out.

Since the other party refused to take it, then that way out was gone.

"Sigh... all right, then."

Bei Bei sighed and nodded in agreement, but then changed tack. "But it'll just be you and me. My two friends will keep watch."

"Suit yourself."

Gu Yunxiao casually released a stream of cold air, instantly freezing the water enveloping the Mandala Snake.

At the sight of this,

Bei Bei's pupils contracted, and he thought in shock, Like Sanshi, he has a dual-attribute martial soul-and his ice and water can even work in tandem.

"Come on."

Gu Yunxiao slipped one hand into his pocket, looking utterly unruffled.

Bei Bei's brows furrowed slightly in displeasure.

Gu Yunxiao's behavior clearly showed that he did not take him seriously. It was even... contemptuous and disdainful.

Bei Bei was a genius too, with a genius's pride.

Being looked down on like this kindled a flicker of anger in his heart.

"Shrek Academy, Bei Bei, rank thirty-seven Battle Soul Elder."

Bei Bei volunteered his affiliation, name, and cultivation rank.

Yet Gu Yunxiao remained unmoved. Not only did he refuse to release his martial soul, he did not even disclose his own identity.

His behavior rankled Bei Bei, and even Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao, watching from the sidelines, found it rude.

"Bei Bei, give him a good beating!"

"Senior Brother, you can do it!"

Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao cheered Bei Bei on from the side.

"First soul skill, Thunder Dragon Claw!"

Bei Bei's first soul ring lit up. Blue-violet lightning gathered into a dragon claw roughly a foot across.

The Thunder Dragon Claw swept toward Gu Yunxiao.

Facing the dragon claw crackling with lightning, Gu Yunxiao simply summoned water to envelop his right arm, molding it into a dragon-transformed form.

Then cold air flowed into it, freezing it solid.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Bang!

Gu Yunxiao swung his ice dragon claw, shattering Bei Bei's Thunder Dragon Claw with a single effortless swipe.

Now the pressure was on Bei Bei.

"Third soul skill, Thunderous Fury!"

"Second soul skill, Thunderous Might!"

Fully aware of Gu Yunxiao's strength, Bei Bei unleashed two soul skills in succession.

In an instant, he became a lord of lightning.

"Impressive presence. A little lacking in power."

Gu Yunxiao offered his assessment, raised his right arm, and brought it down hard.

The ice dragon claw melted, and the water flew free of his body, forming five claw slashes that froze again just before striking Bei Bei.

Whoosh!

Five icy claw slashes tore through the lightning and flew toward Bei Bei.

"Hah!"

Bei Bei shouted, clenching his dragon claw into a fist as he tried to block them.

But those five slashes combined the powers of ultimate water and ultimate ice. Even ultimate lightning would struggle to withstand them, let alone ordinary lightning.

Boom... crack!

Pfft...

Bei Bei was sent flying and spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Bei Bei!"

"Senior Brother!"

Startled, Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao hurried over to check his injuries.

"I know there's another power inside you."

Gu Yunxiao walked over and looked calmly at Bei Bei. "I can give you another chance. Do you still want to fight?"

At those words,

Bei Bei was shaken to his core and stared at Gu Yunxiao in disbelief.

"What other power could Bei Bei possibly have? You..."

Seeing Bei Bei injured, Tang Ya grew frantic and instinctively wanted to lash out.

But when she met Gu Yunxiao's imposing violet eyes, panic stirred in her heart, and she swallowed the words on the tip of her tongue.

Huo Yuhao, meanwhile, glared angrily at Gu Yunxiao without a word.

Gu Yunxiao simply ignored him.

He looked at Bei Bei and asked again, "Last chance. Are we fighting or not?"

"Whew!"

Bei Bei took a deep breath, steadied the chaotic soul power inside him, then slowly rose to his feet. "You win."

Only after exchanging blows with Gu Yunxiao did he realize how frightening his opponent was.

Even if he invoked his Radiant Sacred Dragon bloodline and forcibly evolved his martial soul into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, he might still be no match for Gu Yunxiao.

In that case, there was no point in continuing the fight.

Rather than expend more soul power and end up covered in injuries, he might as well save his soul power and time to find another soul beast for Tang Ya.

"Mm."

Gu Yunxiao nodded slightly. He did not insist, instead walking toward the frozen Mandala Snake.

"My friend, I can offer two thousand Gold Soul Coins..."

Bei Bei still wanted to make one last attempt.

But Gu Yunxiao turned a deaf ear to him. He thawed the Mandala Snake, grabbed it, and casually flung it over a hundred meters away.

Hiss, hiss, hiss!

Having regained its freedom, the Mandala Snake eagerly darted into the woods and vanished.

"This guy..."

Tang Ya was furious but dared not speak, so she could only glare at Gu Yunxiao.

With that Mandala Snake lost, they would have to spend several more days searching for another soul beast.

And she was starting to regret it.

Had she known this would happen, she would have swallowed her pride and apologized politely to Gu Yunxiao. Perhaps they could have gone through with that "deal."

It was probably too late to apologize now.

"Think before you speak next time."

"And that power inside you is pretty good too. Follow your heart when you use it. If you care too much about what others think, you'll only keep wearing yourself down from within."

Gu Yunxiao passed Tang Ya and Huo Yuhao, leaving those words behind, and walked away without looking back.

Huo Yuhao looked puzzled.

Tang Ya reacted just as Bei Bei had, trembling inwardly in utter shock.

How did he know?!

If he tells Shrek, I'm finished!

Now Tang Ya was truly panicking, fear coiling around her heart.

Noticing Tang Ya's strange expression, Bei Bei could not help asking, "Xiaoya, he... what did he mean by that?"

"Nothing. He was talking nonsense."

Tang Ya shook her head and changed the subject. "Bei Bei, he said there was another power inside you. What is it?"

Bei Bei opened his mouth, intending to explain, but when he saw Huo Yuhao still beside them, he shook his head instead. "He was talking nonsense."

"...Oh."

"I'll recover first."

After saying that, Bei Bei turned to Tang Ya with a concerned expression. "Xiaoya, don't worry. I'll definitely find you another suitable thousand-year soul beast."

"...It's fine. Your injuries come first."

Tang Ya smiled, a trace of disappointment flickering in her eyes.

Bei Bei did not notice. He sat cross-legged and began regulating his breathing to recover.

Tang Ya stayed beside him, keeping watch over their surroundings.

As an "onlooker," Huo Yuhao looked puzzled and thought, Why does something feel a little strange?

He kept feeling that a faint, elusive sense of unfamiliarity and distance had appeared between Teacher Tang Ya and his senior brother.

I'm imagining it. I must be imagining it!

Huo Yuhao set those thoughts aside and kept watch alongside Tang Ya, guarding Bei Bei.

They were still in the Star Dou Great Forest. A soul beast could spring out at any moment, so they could not afford to let their guard down.