The Birth of a Mistake

"Hello there, little brother." A clear, melodious voice came from behind him. Huo Yuhao turned around and saw a young man and a young woman walking toward him. They seemed to be a couple.

"Hello." Huo Yuhao's voice was level, but he still wore a polite smile.

"My name is Tang Ya, and he's Bei Bei. We're here to obtain Soul Rings." The girl pointed at the boy behind her and introduced them to Huo Yuhao with a smile.

"My name is Huo Yuhao."

"You're here to get a Soul Ring too, right? Are you alone? Why don't we travel together?" Tang Ya invited Huo Yuhao.

"No, thank you. I'm a Soul Master with a mental attribute, and Soul Beasts of that kind are very hard to find. I wouldn't want to waste your time." Huo Yuhao declined tactfully. Of course, he was not entirely lying. He had asked about Soul Masters along the way, so he naturally knew that Soul Beasts with a mental attribute were rare.

"Then would you like to join our Tang Sect?" Tang Ya suddenly blurted out. "Uh, our Tang Sect used to be the greatest sect on the continent. You won't lose out by joining. Besides, our Tang Sect has lots of secret techniques. You're alone, and you're still young. We could look after you too. Oh, right, our Tang Sect also gets one reserved admission slot at Shrek Academy every year. I can give you this year's slot. What do you say? Join us."

It was far too abrupt! Huo Yuhao could sense that the girl's enthusiasm was genuine, but his years of experience still made it feel out of place.

"No, thank you. To be honest, my Innate Soul Power is only rank one. I'm afraid I won't get very far in cultivation. I'd rather not waste your esteemed sect's slot. Perhaps you could give it to someone who needs it more." Huo Yuhao still chose to refuse. His identity and pride would not permit him to join another organization either.

"But..." Tang Ya still wanted to persuade him.

"That's enough, Xiaoya. Since young Brother Huo doesn't want to, don't force him," Bei Bei urged from beside her.

"What did you call me?" Tang Ya suddenly glared at Bei Bei.

"All right, all right, Teacher Xiaoya. Will that do?" Bei Bei sounded somewhat helpless.

Watching from the side, Huo Yuhao's lips curved slightly. It was quite a pleasant scene, one that could not be seen in the Imperium-at least, he had never seen it. Still, his vigilance did not ease.

"Then I won't disturb you two any longer. It's time I set off. I wish you both a smooth journey." Huo Yuhao made a gesture of farewell, then walked toward the forest without looking back.

"Bei Bei, why didn't you help me persuade little Brother Huo? Don't you want our Tang Sect to grow stronger? Or do you think he's too handsome and you're afraid he'll steal me away?" Once Huo Yuhao had gone far away, Tang Ya questioned Bei Bei, throwing in a joke along the way.

"You wrong me! I just felt that this young brother already had a goal. He's very firm about it. I could tell. Still, young Brother Huo really does have a peculiar charm about him." Bei Bei also knew Tang Ya was joking. He trusted the feelings between them.

"There isn't really something going on between you and Xu Sanshi, is there?!" Hearing Bei Bei's words, Tang Ya instantly widened her eyes and took two steps back.

"No, I..." Bei Bei was about to explain.

"All right, I'm joking. I feel that way too. Besides, I don't know what came over me just now. I just wanted him to join the Tang Sect. How strange! It was the same with that boy two days ago," Tang Ya muttered. Two days earlier, they had likewise encountered a boy with a mental-type Martial Soul who was preparing to obtain a Soul Ring.

Meanwhile, after parting with the two of them, Huo Yuhao headed deeper into the forest. He seemed to be strolling leisurely, but his pace was not slow at all as he admired the forest's beautiful scenery. "How beautiful!" Huo Yuhao could not help exclaiming. In the Imperium, only a tiny number of garden worlds had scenery like this. "Even Caliban's forests couldn't compare to this place." That had been the home of the Lion of the Imperium, Lion El'Jonson, Primarch of the First Legion, the Dark Angels.

Suddenly, a white Wind Baboon leaped down from a tree behind him, about to attack Huo Yuhao. Clearly, it had been preparing for a long time, only launching its brazen attack after Huo Yuhao showed no sign of noticing it. But it was wrong. A cold gleam flashed, and the Wind Baboon's movements stopped as blood gushed from its throat. Huo Yuhao had noticed it long ago. It simply had not made a move, and Huo Yuhao had not wanted to kill it.

After twitching twice on the ground, it died completely, and a white Soul Ring emerged from its body.

"So this is a Soul Ring?" Huo Yuhao reached out to touch it, but his hand passed through. It was illusory.

Suddenly, a powerful fluctuation came from far ahead.

Huo Yuhao sensed a formidable mental fluctuation. He tightened his grip on his dagger and narrowed his eyes slightly.

What a powerful mental fluctuation! Huo Yuhao thought. He frowned. His instincts told him that something was wrong. This was a major event! If this world has a Warp, this incident would definitely give rise to a corresponding daemon!

In the distance, a great, pure-white Ice Silkworm was sacrificing itself to a boy. The Ice Silkworm was around seven meters long, giving off wisps of cold air, and had no fewer than ten golden markings on its body! The boy before him had long purple-gold hair and handsome features. Though he appeared placid, his eyes betrayed a sense of superiority.

"Hahaha! You bastards who treated me as food, just you wait! I'll definitely be back for revenge!" With that, he entered the boy's body like a streak of light. At that moment, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and a gray current of air seemed to follow the Soul Beast's sacrifice into the back of the boy's head.

"A mental-type Martial Soul, powerful mental strength, and a strong physique. I've really found a treasure!" the Ice Silkworm Soul Beast assessed within the boy's mental world. "Let me take a look at his memories. Strange, why can't I see them? Never mind. Still, why do I feel like something's wrong? And why wasn't that person over there affected by my mental fluctuations at all?" No one heard these latter words, including the boy to whom he had sacrificed himself.

Several low growls came from the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.

After the sacrifice, the boy soon left. After parting with Bei Bei and Tang Ya, Huo Yuhao had chosen to take a detour, so he did not encounter the boy.

Elsewhere, Huo Yuhao also intended to leave. He kept feeling that something had been wrong with what had just happened, and going any deeper would be dangerous!

But before he could leave, a golden figure came racing out from the depths of the forest. It was over three meters long and stood eight feet tall at the shoulder, its entire body covered in a layer of brilliant golden fur that seemed like translucent crystal, with a peculiar texture. Its overall shape closely resembled a lion, but its four paws were like a dragon's claws, with a ball of golden flame beneath each one. Its muzzle was also somewhat longer than those of lion-type Soul Beasts, and beneath its fur there seemed to be fine, closely packed golden scales. Aside from its two ordinary eyes, it also had a third eye with a vertical pupil. Its two ordinary eyes glittered gold, while this vertical eye gave off a red glow, a red with something uncanny about it.

What a pretty big kitty! Huo Yuhao thought.

"Human, what are you thinking?!" A clear, melodious female voice rang out as the Soul Beast spoke. It kept feeling that the little fellow before it was thinking something that made it very annoyed!