You Can't Outrun Me...

As the dust settled, wisps of smoke still rose from the Mandala Snake's charred body.

The smell of protein hung in the air.

"Stop waiting around. Hurry up and finish off this soul beast, then absorb its soul ring," Bei Bei urged.

Tang Ya nodded, then took out a hidden weapon and stabbed it into the Mandala Snake's brain.

After killing it, he sat down cross-legged on the spot.

He closed his eyes and began circulating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

A gentle attractive force spread from his body, drawing the purple soul ring slowly toward him.

Gu Xingyue and Bei Bei sat off to either side, standing guard over him.

After all, having the absorption of a soul ring forcibly interrupted was a very serious matter. Backlash was getting off lightly; in a severe case, he might die on the spot. Of course, these were all Bei Bei's thoughts. After all, his relationship with Tang Ya was no simple one, so it was only natural to think a little too much.

Meanwhile, Gu Xingyue idly picked up a straight piece of resin and played with it.

Huo Yutong activated Spiritual Detection again to keep watch for everyone.

With the support of shared Spiritual Detection, Bei Bei relaxed a little and was no longer quite so tense.

Time flowed slowly by.

After roughly the time it took two incense sticks to burn, the purple light around Tang Ya began to recede, and the thousand-year soul ring became wholly part of him.

He opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes before they grew calm again.

"It worked." Tang Ya stood and rolled his shoulders, unable to suppress the delight in his voice. "My third soul ring, a thousand-year Mandala Snake. The soul skill can entangle and restrain an opponent for a short time, with an added corrosive, paralyzing snake venom effect."

"That sounds pretty good." Bei Bei walked over and patted his shoulder. "At least this trip wasn't for nothing."

Tang Ya smiled, then looked at Gu Xingyue and Huo Yutong and said earnestly, "Thank you both, especially you, Yutong. Without you, Bei Bei and I couldn't have handled it so easily."

Huo Yutong pressed her lips together bashfully. "I didn't do much. It was mostly Sister Bei Bei and Xingyue acting so decisively."

"All right, all right, enough modesty." Bei Bei waved her hand, her tone turning light. "Now that Tang Ya has his soul ring sorted out, it's about time we headed out."

The four gathered their things and retraced their steps.

After walking for about an hour, they heard the burbling of water ahead.

Gu Xingyue looked up and saw a small river, a dozen or so meters wide, stretching across their path.

"Perfect. We can rest our feet and wash our faces." Bei Bei was the first to reach the riverbank. She bent down, scooped up a handful of water, and splashed it on her face with a satisfied sigh.

Then Bei Bei looked at Huo Yutong again, seemingly wanting to say something.

Huo Yutong, standing nearby, noticed Bei Bei's hesitant expression.

She smiled and asked, "What is it, Sister Bei Bei? Is there something you want to say to me?"

Bei Bei paused for a while, then broke into a grin and chuckled, scratching her head with her other hand. In the end, she spoke with some gravity. "Yutong, your soul ring..."

With things having reached this point, even if Huo Yutong were a fool, she would know Bei Bei wanted to ask why her soul ring was white. But some things simply could not be said.

Forgive me, Sister Bei Bei. This is the last time.

Huo Yutong smiled without answering the question and lowered her head. "That was for reasons of my own, but... it was a blessing in disguise, I suppose. This soul skill of mine is pretty good."

"Mm." Bei Bei could only nod. After all, the wood had already been made into a boat, and there was no undoing what had happened. There was no need to dwell on it too much; that would only cause needless distress. Seeing Yutong so optimistic put her mind at ease.

Afterward, Bei Bei and Tang Ya sat beside each other on a large rock. Bei Bei was wiping the dust from Tang Ya's face with a handkerchief, her movements natural and intimate.

Tang Ya tilted his face slightly and let her fuss over him, a warm smile on his lips.

Gu Xingyue happened to catch sight of this and silently looked away.

Huo Yutong saw it too. Her voice was very low, as though she were talking to herself, or perhaps to him. "Sister Bei Bei and Brother Tang Ya are really close."

"Mm," Gu Xingyue responded, then added, "Love isn't something you can get by envying others."

Huo Yutong turned to glance at him, a trace of curiosity in her clear eyes. "Xingyue, is there someone you like?"

Caught completely off guard by her question, Gu Xingyue choked a little, then cleared his throat before answering vaguely, "I... I haven't thought about that yet."

Huo Yutong did not press him. She merely curved her lips into a smile and turned back to watch the river.

The wind passed through the woods, carrying the scent of plants and earth.

The river rushed along, sunlight shattering across its surface into flowing gold.

After a moment of quiet, Bei Bei stood and clapped her hands. "All right, let's go. We need to reach town before dark, or we'll have to sleep out in the wilderness again."

The four adjusted their belongings and set off once more. Before long, the towering ancient trees of the Great Star Dou Forest, which blotted out the sky and sun, were left far behind.

The Great Star Dou Forest was not far from Shrek Academy to begin with, and this road was familiar to Tang Ya and Bei Bei.

Whenever the academy organized soul hunts, this was the route they took there and back. They could have found their way home with their eyes closed.

Only this time, they had Huo Yutong with them. After all, she was only a one-ring Soul Scholar with shallow foundations. After traveling continuously for over half a day, her steps had clearly begun to drag, and her breathing had lost its rhythm.

Walking beside her, Gu Xingyue noticed the fine beads of sweat seeping from her temples and her gradually slowing steps, as though she were forcing herself not to hold them back.

He said little, simply crouching down naturally and glancing back at her. "Hop on. I'll carry you for a while."

Huo Yutong froze for a moment, then hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no, I can still walk..."

"You're walking too slowly. We won't get there before dark," Gu Xingyue said evenly. "Stop dawdling."

Bei Bei chimed in at just the right moment. "Yutong, just let him carry you. Getting there matters more. Don't force yourself."

Huo Yutong's cheeks flushed slightly. After a moment's hesitation, she finally leaned onto his back.

Gu Xingyue supported her under her knees and lifted her securely onto his back, his steps even lighter than before.

Huo Yutong lay against his back, her hands resting on his shoulders. She could faintly smell the light scent of plants around his collar. Turning her head, she buried her face in the crook of her arm, the tips of her ears quietly growing hot.

Watching Gu Xingyue walk so lightly even with someone on his back, Bei Bei's lovely eyes flickered, and she sank into thought.

She could not help privately wondering just what this junior's martial soul was.

That level of amplification even made her wonder whether he had awakened one of the legendary "ultimate attributes," found in only one person in ten thousand.

After all, her Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was a top-tier beast martial soul at the very apex of the pyramid!

In physical strength, it could crush ordinary beast martial souls; in elemental burst power, it stood above elemental martial souls of the same rank.

It was unquestionably a "warrior among warriors," a real man's martial soul!

Yet even with such an overbearing martial soul, Gu Xingyue's amplification had actually given her the illusion that she could linger forever, unable to stop.

It felt like developing some kind of addiction. After experiencing it just once, she seemed to suffer intense withdrawal, like someone who had tasted the marrow and learned its savor, never able to give it up again.

What nonsense am I thinking about!

The moment these jumbled thoughts surfaced, Bei Bei abruptly snapped back to her senses. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she hurriedly shook those distracting thoughts out of her head.

She raised a hand and patted her full chest in some fluster, trying to calm her wildly pounding heart.

As a dignified Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul master, how could she have such strange thoughts about someone else's amplification?

This sudden racing of her heart had truly given even her a fright.

And as she watched Gu Xingyue running ahead with his expression unchanged, she marveled inwardly: I actually can't outrun him?