Godslayer, Wind Baboon

Gu Xingyue walked over to a stream and crouched down. The water was clear enough to see the bottom, reflecting his image-

So handsome it was downright inhumane.

His eyes were deep, as though they held a lion.

His high nose had clean, sharp lines, his jaw curved almost perfectly, and his entire face seemed like a creation the Creator had favored to the extreme, every detail painstakingly sculpted without the slightest flaw.

He flashed a peace sign at the water, the corners of his mouth lifting as he admired himself for a moment. Inwardly, he thought, Yep, still my own body... but so much younger. I look about twelve.

Looking at that familiar yet youthful face in the reflection, he could not help marveling.

Turning back the years, becoming ten years younger-even billionaires could not have managed that in his previous life.

Rounding things off, he had already surpassed billionaires right out of the gate-wasn't that a win?

Gu Xingyue lingered no longer. He stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

Lush ancient trees towered all around him, their branches blotting out the sky and sun. Only scattered flecks of sunlight filtered through the gaps in their leaves.

An ordinary person coming in here would most likely get so lost they began questioning their life.

But he was different. His status spoke for itself-three seconds east of the river, three seconds west.

He was the Child of Nature now. These flowers and grasses, ancient trees and vines, were all his little followers.

He closed his eyes and lightly pressed his palm against the trunk of an old tree beside him. An extremely faint ripple of awareness came from its branches and leaves, like the whisper of wind passing through foliage, conveying signals to him.

Gu Xingyue opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow, wearing an "as expected" expression, then set off toward the edge of the forest, following the plants' guidance.

Out of caution, he still asked the system where he was now.

Sure enough, just as expected-the Great Star Dou Forest, the largest gathering place for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent.

Upon learning that answer, Gu Xingyue's feet sprouted wings, his pace noticeably quickening.

He could hardly be blamed for being timid. This was the Great Star Dou Forest, after all, with who knew how many ten-thousand-year soul beasts lurking in its core. A three-ring Soul Elder like him was nothing but a walking snack here.

If the system had teleported him into the core... wouldn't he be done for?

Fortunately, his luck was good.

He should still be in the outer region.

As Gu Xingyue hurried along, he relied on the information the plants instinctively transmitted to avoid soul beasts.

Which patch of grass had movement in it, what was hiding in which tree, which paths he could not take.

The plants were like biological radar, feeding a continuous stream of information about the surrounding dangers into his mind.

This feature is so good. Gu Xingyue silently gave his Child of Nature status a thumbs-up.

He twisted and leaped like an agile ape, swinging among countless branches, his feet barely touching the ground as his fluttering clothes stirred faint whispers of wind.

Then, as he landed on a thick horizontal branch, he suddenly spotted a little girl standing in a somewhat open clearing ahead.

Facing her was a powerfully built, ape-like soul beast, baring its teeth and growling as it advanced on her.

Gu Xingyue did not hesitate.

He instantly summoned his martial soul. Lightning surged in his palm, and three soul rings rose from beneath his feet-purple, purple, purple.

The ages of all three soul rings granted by the system sat right at the limit of what his body could withstand, making them something akin to an alternative form of god-bestowed soul rings.

With this setup, his strength was indeed just a little... hundred million times greater than that of soul masters at his level.

Lightning gathered, churned, and compressed in his palm, finally forming the rough shape of a spear constructed entirely from the element of lightning.

Arcs of electricity leaped and hissed along its shaft, radiating a scalp-tingling aura of destruction.

Then-

A glint of cold light arrived first.

The spear became a streak of purple lightning that tore through the air, piercing the ape soul beast's chest almost instantaneously.

Violent electric currents exploded inside its body, spreading through its blood vessels and bones, instantly destroying every trace of life.

Before the soul beast could even finish its dying howl, its massive body crashed to the ground. It twitched twice, then lay utterly still.

The girl in the clearing stood rooted in place as though she had just escaped death. Her gaze slowly lifted from the fallen soul beast's corpse, following the direction from which the lightning spear had flown.

Her eyesight was excellent, so she immediately spotted Gu Xingyue standing on the branch.

After throwing the spear, Gu Xingyue leaped down, landed lightly, and strode forward.

Then he and the girl shared a fleeting, breathtaking glance.

Gu Xingyue's steps faltered.

That feeling... was difficult to describe.

He had seen many pairs of eyes, but never, in either of his lives, had he seen a pair like the ones before him.

Those eyes were as clear as an expanse of azure sky untainted by even a speck of dust.

She had long, silky blue hair, its slightly curled ends falling beside her shoulders.

Standing there, she looked like a little white flower swaying gently in the wind. That description was a compliment, because she truly made people want to protect her-fragile, pure, and innocent of the ways of the world.

Gu Xingyue narrowed his eyes slightly.

Wait... something seems a little off.

He suppressed that faint, strange intuition and approached, making his voice as gentle as possible. "Um, are you all right?"

The girl still seemed dazed, her gaze a little unfocused. Perhaps she had been frightened, or perhaps she had only just come back to her senses.

Seeing no response from her, Gu Xingyue instinctively reached out, intending to feel her forehead and check whether anything else was wrong.

Yet the instant he raised his hand, the girl sprang several meters away like a startled rabbit, moving at an absurd speed.

Gu Xingyue's hand froze in midair, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

...Don't tell me her martial soul is a Soft Bone Rabbit?

Looking at the girl opposite him, her head lowered and her hands clutching her dress tightly, he sighed helplessly and spoke again, softening his tone as much as he could. "Don't be scared. I'm a good person."

At his words, the girl quickly raised her head to glance at him, then immediately lowered it again, the tips of her ears faintly red. There was no telling what she was thinking.

Just as Gu Xingyue was pondering how to keep the conversation going, the girl finally spoke.

Her voice was pitifully quiet, like a mosquito's hum. Had his hearing not improved considerably after crossing over, he might not have made out her words even from these few steps away.

"...Thank you for saving me."

"Oh, it was just a helping hand. Nothing worth mentioning." Gu Xingyue grinned, showing two neat rows of teeth and adopting an easygoing "no big deal" manner. Then he naturally moved a few steps closer and crouched down to meet her eyes. "Um, I still don't know your name. I'm Gu Xingyue. What's your name? Why did you come to the Great Star Dou Forest alone?"

The girl fell silent for several seconds, twisting the hem of her clothes between her fingers as though preparing herself mentally.

Only after a long while did she lift her eyes as though she had finally gathered her courage, saying softly, "My name is Huo Yutong... Thank you so much, truly. But I don't have anything on me to repay you with... I'll remember this kindness."

The smile on Gu Xingyue's face froze instantly.

Wait.

What's your name? Huo Yutong?

His mind buzzed, and that earlier sense that something was off suddenly fell entirely into place.

So the one I just skewered with a spear was that famous Godslayer Wind Baboon?

And this timid girl in front of me, looking like a little white rabbit, is this world's son of destiny... no, should that be daughter of destiny now?

Is this right?!

Just as his thoughts churned like a raging storm, the system interface popped up with a ding-

[Bindable target detected. Would the host like to bind?]

Gu Xingyue looked at the timid girl before him, Huo Yutong, who stood with her head down, clutching her skirt and not even daring to look at him, then answered with complete seriousness:

"Bind."

[Target successfully bound-Huo Yutong!]

The system notification faded, and the interface vanished with it, leaving only Gu Xingyue and Huo Yutong standing there, staring at each other.

Wind passed through the forest, stirring the blue tips of her hair and his silver strands.

Gu Xingyue looked at her, cleared his throat, then held out a hand. "Huo Yutong, right? Um... want to leave this forest together? I happen to know the way."