An enormous pink-furred rabbit lay on the frost-covered grass.
"What happened? Hadn't I taken human form? Why have I turned back into a Soul Beast?"
Xiao Wu spoke in a human voice.
"This Xiao Wu is actually a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form!"
Everyone on the Douluo Continent stared wide-eyed. She was the only nonhuman life-form to have gone to the Primordial World.
"How could this be? Xiao Wu, she..."
Everyone at Shrek was stunned.
Just then, a dark figure abruptly appeared.
"San."
"Daddy?"
Tang San stared blankly at Tang Hao.
Flender, Zhao Wuji, and the others all bowed. "Greetings, Your Excellency Haotian."
"His Excellency Haotian? What on earth is going on?"
Tang San looked utterly bewildered.
Tang Hao pointed at the sky screen. "San, I hadn't wanted to tell you so soon, but something unexpected has happened."
"I'm afraid that if I don't tell you now, I might never get the chance."
"Daddy!"
Tang San lunged forward and hugged Tang Hao, taking an epic lungful of his scent.
That smell was indeed Daddy's smell.
At that moment, happiness enveloped Tang San.
"San, listen as I explain everything. First, Xiao Wu really is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, just like your..."
After the initial uproar, everyone soon composed themselves and returned their attention to Xiao Wu's screen.
They all wanted to know how a Soul Beast's experience in the Primordial World would differ from a human's.
Clearly, it was winter where Xiao Wu was. She was somewhere different from Tai Tan.
"Screee!"
A tiny black speck suddenly appeared in the sky, coming into Xiao Wu's field of view almost in the blink of an eye.
It was an enormous eagle. Xiao Wu was already quite large, but before this eagle, she was like a little toy.
"Such a powerful Soul Beast?"
The eagle had clearly marked her as prey, and Xiao Wu began trembling all over in terror.
This was not merely a difference in strength and size, but bloodline suppression at the deepest, most fundamental level.
Xiao Wu no longer even had the strength to move. She could only watch as the eagle's talons reached for her head.
One swipe of those talons would finish her off.
"Brother San!"
In her final moment, Xiao Wu thought of Tang San.
"No, Xiao Wu!"
At Shrek Academy, Tang San's eyes turned bloodshot at the sight, and he panted like an ox.
"Get away, you beast! Don't hurt Xiao Wu!"
With Tang Hao's arrival, Yu Xiaogang was now somewhat worried that Tang San would no longer need him as a teacher.
How could he allow that? If such a fine disciple slipped away, what would he use to prove himself? He was Tang San's stand-in father, too.
He immediately addressed the sky screen.
"If you dare harm even a hair on Xiao Wu's head, you beast, I, Yu Xiaogang, will bring everything I have learned in my lifetime to bear and destroy the Primordial World at any cost!"
"Teacher!"
Sure enough, Tang San turned to Yu Xiaogang, moved.
"San, don't be afraid. Your teacher will always be here."
Having achieved his goal, Yu Xiaogang stroked Tang San's head.
"Thank you, Teacher."
Tang San looked at the screen, his expression gradually turning icy. "You beast, you have already given me cause to kill you."
The others at Shrek, especially Ning Rongrong, gave the pair a rather speechless look.
This master and disciple really dared to say anything. Even through the screen, the eagle's terrifying power surpassed anything she could comprehend.
Besides, Xiao Wu was a Soul Beast. A Soul Master seeking revenge for a Soul Beast? Did they have holes in their heads?
Ning Rongrong felt it was time for her to leave Shrek, lest she get caught up in the fallout later.
But with this Clear Sky Douluo present as well, Ning Rongrong dared not reveal her thoughts.
"Could this eagle be the strongest Soul Beast in the Primordial World?"
Spirit Hall and the other major powers were more concerned about the eagle.
"Even an ordinary bandit could kill Tai Tan with a single slash. This eagle looks anything but ordinary. It's probably at the very ceiling of power in the Primordial World."
Meanwhile, deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, Di Tian and the Silver Dragon King were both prostrate on the ground.
"Damn it! I am the sovereign of Soul Beasts! How can I be suppressed like this through a light screen?"
"My lord, this eagle's bloodline exceeds our imagination. I fear it far surpasses even a True Dragon."
"Perhaps our Soul Beast Clan will find salvation in the Primordial World."
"Let us hope this little rabbit escapes this calamity and brings us more information."
Within the light screen, Xiao Wu had already closed her eyes and was waiting to die.
"Get lost. This tender little rabbit is my prey."
A cold shout suddenly rang out beside her ears, followed by a wretched screech from the eagle.
Xiao Wu opened her eyes and found the eagle spilling blood across the sky as it fled even faster than it had approached.
Before Xiao Wu stood a figure with a human head and a snake's body.
Her human upper body was exquisitely beautiful. Even her strands of hair were lovely, with several locks falling beside her ears like little snakes.
Xiao Wu was spellbound at first sight.
Snake Maiden was also looking at Xiao Wu, and she could not help licking her lips.
"What a fresh, tender rabbit. You must taste delicious."
Frightened, Xiao Wu immediately snapped out of her daze.
"No, don't eat me! My meat doesn't taste good at all!"
"Oh? You can actually talk?"
Snake Maiden sounded slightly surprised.
"Of course I can talk! I'm a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! Um... pretty auntie, could you please spare Xiao Wu?"
"Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Auntie?"
Snake Maiden froze for a moment, then gave a couple of sweet laughs. She approached Xiao Wu and stroked her fur.
"Does the hundred thousand years refer to your cultivation? But you haven't even entered Refining Essence into Qi. Your aptitude really is utterly worthless, yet you can speak. How remarkable."
At that thought, Snake Maiden suddenly raised her head and glanced toward the moon, though it was still too early in the day to see it.
"I can spare your life."
Xiao Wu immediately grew excited. "Thank you, Auntie! Xiao Wu will repay you someday!"
"Never mind repaying my kindness. As long as you agree to my condition, you can live."
"What condition?"
"I've heard that a mighty being keeps a rabbit. I want one too, and you'll do nicely. How about becoming my pet rabbit?"
Xiao Wu instinctively wanted to refuse, but at the sight of the tongue licking Snake Maiden's lips, she shuddered.
"All right. Xiao Wu agrees."
"Hahaha, good! From now on, your name will be Little Jade Rabbit."
Snake Maiden beckoned, and Xiao Wu's body shrank beyond her control before Snake Maiden cradled her in her arms.
"Don't worry. Now that you're my pet, you won't have to worry about being killed."
Snake Maiden was delighted. Not only did she have a pet rabbit, but she also had an emergency food supply.
"The Northern Julu Continent is the Demon Race's domain. You needn't worry about anyone hunting you. Not just anyone can afford to provoke our Nine Demon Cave."
After one shock after another, Xiao Wu's usually dim brain lit up for once, and she hurriedly asked for more information.
"Auntie, is the Nine Demon Cave really powerful in this northern-whatever continent?"
Snake Maiden immediately slapped Xiao Wu, making her cry out in pain.
"Call me Master."
"Yes, Master."
Only then did Snake Maiden nod in satisfaction. "Our Nine Demon Cave is subordinate to Bai Ze Ridge. Have you heard of the renowned Bai Ze Demon Marshal?"
"He is one of the Ten Great Demon Marshals under the Demon Lord."
"Legend has it that the Bai Ze Demon Marshal spent a night resting here countless years ago. Though he has never returned since, our Nine Demon Cave has still basked in a little of his fortune."
"If the Bai Ze Demon Marshal ever remembers how comfortably he slept that night and comes back for another night's rest, we'll have struck it rich."
Xiao Wu listened in a haze, but Snake Maiden's words caused an explosion across the Douluo Continent.
"Analyze this, quickly! The Demon Lord Snake Maiden mentioned must be the highest-ranking figure among the demonic beasts. He has the Ten Great Demon Marshals under him, and somewhere one of those marshals merely slept for a night is treated as sacred ground by these demons."
"This Snake Maiden isn't even a demonic beast directly under Bai Ze Ridge, but a member of a subordinate force."
"Heavens! By that reckoning, if Snake Maiden could casually drive off that terrifying eagle, then just what does Xiao Wu, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, amount to in the Primordial World?"
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