Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from the bushes on the right.
A massive beast over three meters long, covered in thick, dark-yellow bone armor, smashed through several sturdy tree trunks like a runaway heavy war chariot and charged straight at Xiao Wu on the flank, its eyes bloodshot.
"A thousand-year Earthsplitter Armored Beast. Judging by its size and the color of its bone armor, its cultivation is definitely over fifteen hundred years." Zhu Zhuqing's cool voice rang out instantly, and her Nether Civet Martial Soul possessed her at once.
This Earthsplitter Armored Beast had astonishing defenses and boundless strength, perfectly matching the needs of Xiong Shaoqing's Power Attack System Martial Soul.
But it had chosen the wrong target, launching a deadly attack on the three of them.
"Courting death."
Killing intent flashed in Xiong Shaoqing's eyes. Just as he was about to act, two stunning figures darted out ahead of him.
"First Soul Skill, Hell Stab!"
Zhu Zhuqing became a streak of emotionless black lightning. Her sharp claws drew several cold glints through the air, slicing precisely into the weakest cartilage above the Earthsplitter Armored Beast's eyes.
Blood immediately spattered. The pain made the massive beast howl, and its charge veered sharply off course.
"Daring to ambush us? Second Soul Skill, Charm!"
Xiao Wu followed close behind, pink light rising in her eyes.
Though the Earthsplitter Armored Beast had thick skin and tough flesh, Spiritual Power was its weakness, and its movements instantly stiffened for a moment.
Xiao Wu leaped into the air, her long legs clamping around the beast's neck like iron pincers. "First Soul Skill, Waist Bow!"
With an eruption of strength from a Soul Elder over level thirty, Xiao Wu forcibly flipped the thousand-jin Earthsplitter Armored Beast onto the ground, exposing its soft abdomen, unprotected by bone armor.
Naturally, Xiong Shaoqing would not let the perfect opening the two girls had created for him slip away.
He stamped his right foot hard against the ground. Soil exploded as he shot forward like a cannonball.
His pure level-eighteen Soul Power fused perfectly with the Archaic Heaven-Shaking Bear's domineering brute strength. Raising both fists, he slammed them into the heart beneath the Earthsplitter Armored Beast's abdomen with pressure that could smash rotten wood and withered branches.
Crack.
A teeth-grating sound of breaking bones rang out. The Earthsplitter Armored Beast's enormous body shuddered violently. Before it could even scream, that terrifying internal force shattered its heart, and it crashed to the ground.
A deep-purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring slowly emerged from the beast's corpse.
The battle ended cleanly and decisively.
Xiao Wu landed steadily. As she looked at the Soul Beast's corpse on the ground, an almost imperceptible trace of complicated feeling flashed through her eyes.
As a fellow Soul Beast, she could not help feeling a little strange watching her own kind die before her eyes. But she soon shook her head, suppressing that emotion.
It was the one that meant to kill us first. If we hadn't fought back, we would have died.
Xiao Wu silently told herself that this was nature's law of the jungle.
Xiong Shaoqing took in every change in Xiao Wu's expression, but he offered no words of comfort. Instead, he sat cross-legged and immediately drew the Thousand-Year Soul Ring toward himself to begin absorbing it.
Two hours later.
With a low bear's roar, Xiong Shaoqing suddenly opened his eyes. Two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, pulsed beneath his feet.
At the same time, the system notifications that had been held back in his mind finally erupted.
[Ding! Congratulations, host, on successfully absorbing a thousand-year Second Soul Ring!] [Experience Pool overflow Soul Power feedback activated!] [Host's Soul Power has broken through three level barriers in succession! Current Soul Power: level twenty-three!]
He understood well that trump cards could not be exposed too early.
It was not that he distrusted Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing; he was simply wary of other travelers in the Star Dou Great Forest.
If passersby noticed anything, it would inevitably pose hidden risks.
With a thought, Xiong Shaoqing firmly suppressed the abundant Soul Power that had leaped three levels to twenty-three. To outsiders, he appeared to have only just broken through to level twenty-one as a Soul Grandmaster.
"Big brother, you did it!" Xiao Wu happily came closer and looked him up and down. Then her eyes darted. "Since you're a Soul Grandmaster now, big brother, and the three of us worked so well together just now..."
"Why don't we register a Three-Person Team at the Great Soul Arena when we get back to Suotuo City? We'll definitely win loads of Gold Soul Coins!"
Zhu Zhuqing walked over to them, a rare smile of agreement appearing on her cool face. "I have no objections. The Great Soul Arena offers larger prizes for three-person team battles. With us there, we can share the pressure on your flanks."
Hearing the two future goddesses voluntarily suggest teaming up with him to "work and earn money," Xiong Shaoqing was already rolling on the floor with laughter inside.
Tsk, tsk. A cat and a rabbit volunteering to handle the business and team up to farm gold in the arena. The picture's so beautiful I hardly dare look.
During that fight, Xiao Wu's supple waist as she leaped into the air, and Zhu Zhuqing's sizzling curves bursting into motion beneath her skintight clothes, were simply a feast for the eyes.
If I could watch them fight side by side every day, I wouldn't trade this life even for an immortal's.
Though his heart was blooming with joy, Xiong Shaoqing's face retained that same icy, noncommittal expression.
He merely swept a detached glance over them, his tone stiff. "We'll see. It's getting late. Come on, we're leaving the Star Dou Great Forest."
Though the return journey was dull, it lacked some of the tension of their arrival.
By the afternoon, Xiao Wu's stomach betrayed her with a long growl. Her pretty face reddened, and she covered her stomach awkwardly. Beside her, Zhu Zhuqing could not help covering her mouth with a soft laugh.
Chapter 40: Qian Renxue grew restless
Walking ahead of them, Xiong Shaoqing paused slightly.
On the surface, he still wore that cold, unapproachable expression. Without even turning his head, he merely tossed out an icy remark. "Walk faster if you're hungry. The restaurants in town won't wait for a dawdling rabbit."
Though his words were harsh, his steps unwittingly quickened, and he even secretly released his Martial Soul's pressure.
He frightened away several low-level Soul Beasts nearby that had been attempting to approach, managing to get them out of the danger-ridden forest before dusk.
Night fell, and the restaurant in the little town blazed with light.
Xiong Shaoqing ordered a whole table of signature dishes. Xiao Wu was already starving and grabbed a braised pork knuckle, gnawing on it until grease covered her mouth.
Though Zhu Zhuqing ate gracefully, she also helped herself to plenty of food.
Looking at the large smear of sauce at the corner of Xiao Wu's mouth, Xiong Shaoqing frowned slightly, seemingly disgusted to the extreme.
He casually pulled over a clean silk handkerchief and suddenly reached out. Under Xiao Wu's startled gaze, he wiped the corner of her mouth with movements that looked somewhat rough but an extremely gentle touch.
"You eat as though you've rolled through the mud. Embarrassing."
His cold, firm fingertips brushed the corner of her lips through the silk handkerchief. Xiao Wu's heart abruptly skipped a beat, and two flushes instantly rose on her cheeks, already stuffed with food. She could only mumble and lower her head to tackle the white rice in her bowl.
Zhu Zhuqing silently watched from beside them. Far from finding Xiong Shaoqing rude, she ladled out a bowl of hot soup and gently placed it beside his hand.
"Your injury only just healed. Don't just busy yourself feeding her; have something hot yourself." Though Zhu Zhuqing's voice remained cool, the way she offered the soup carried the tacit understanding of an old married couple.
Holding the hot soup, Xiong Shaoqing outwardly took an unruffled sip, while inwardly he was so delighted he was almost ascending to heaven.
Incredible. This tsundere feeding, plus a catgirl offering soup-the romantic push and pull has the tension cranked all the way up.
Living off women really does taste sweet.
After eating and drinking their fill, the three settled into an inn in town.
Late that night, Xiong Shaoqing sat cross-legged on his bed, summoned the Destiny Diary, and began the day's "work":
[With my Second Soul Ring secured, I've finally stepped back into the realm of Soul Grandmasters. Feeling strength fill me has at last given me a little more confidence on this danger-ridden continent.]
[As for that little bit of Soul Power forcibly elevated by my Origin Foundation, I'll keep it hidden for now. Trump cards should always be revealed at the most critical moment.]
[When that Earthsplitter Armored Beast attacked during the day, there was a trace of struggle in Xiao Wu's eyes. I know she couldn't bear it, but I also understand that this is the law of survival.]
[I don't wish to initiate senseless slaughter, but in this world, there are always blind fools baring their fangs and forcing us to draw our blades. To survive, to protect those beside me, I don't mind becoming a villain with blood-soaked hands.]
[What surprised me even more was that those two silly girls actually suggested forming a Three-Person Team at the Great Soul Arena.]
[They want to help me earn Gold Soul Coins. They want to share the dangers I face in the arena.]
[Looking at their expectant eyes, I truly couldn't bear to refuse. But in a place like the Great Soul Arena, filled with desperate outlaws, blades have no eyes.]
[This body of mine, cultivating anew, ought to be the shield standing before them. How could I stand by and watch them battle others in blood for my livelihood?]
[If that day truly comes, even if I must exhaust the last scrap of my foundation, I will never let anyone harm a single hair on their heads.]
After writing the final line, Xiong Shaoqing severed the mental connection with the speed of thunder before one could cover one's ears.
He shuddered violently and rubbed his arms, which were covered in a thick layer of goosebumps.
Good grief, that was so fucking Mary Sue.
That wording, that tone-it's so pretentious my toes could claw out a three-bedroom apartment with a living room.
If my old buddies from my previous life saw this, they'd nail me to the pillar of shame and laugh at me for the rest of my life.
On the bed, Xiong Shaoqing covered his face in agony. But at the thought of the rapidly rising Bond Points and Soul Power pool in the system, he forcibly swallowed that shame.
Fine, fine. To get stronger, to slap Tang San in the face, what does this little bit of dignity matter?
As long as the girls fall for it, I'll accept playing the male lead in a Qiong Yao drama every single day.
In the room next door.
Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing lay side by side on the bed. Reading the Diary entries appearing in their minds, the two girls clasped their hands tightly together.
"Big brother is always like this, wanting to shoulder everything alone." Xiao Wu's eyes reddened, but her voice held incomparable resolve. "But he can forget about shaking us off. I'm forming that Three-Person Team."
Zhu Zhuqing stared at the ceiling, a faint gleam of determination flickering in her cool eyes.
He cares for us and doesn't want us to face danger. But how could he know that being able to fight beside him, even against mountains of blades and seas of fire, is the destination we most willingly choose right now?
Meanwhile.
Spirit City, the Papal Palace.
Bibi Dong leaned against her throne, reading the Diary that had appeared, and let out an undisguised cold scoff.
What ridiculous mortal antics. A dignified god, moved to such a state over two little girls wanting to help him fight in the arena.
And all that about being the shield standing before them-utterly pretentious.
Bibi Dong's eyes were full of contempt.
Yet after cutting off her connection to the Diary and looking at the empty, icy papal hall, the irritation she had forcibly suppressed began growing wildly in her heart once more, like weeds.
She kept mocking that man for being weak and pretentious, yet how long had it been since she herself had experienced such pure feelings-someone protecting her wholeheartedly, even willing to brave boiling water and raging fire for her?
In this world, beyond schemes and exploitation, who else would be like that rabbit and cat, simply wanting to share her storms?
His Holiness the Pope, whose actions belied her scornful words, swept the pure-gold candlestick beside her onto the floor with a cold face, then walked into the inner hall in agitation.
Heaven Dou Empire, the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.
Qian Renxue was savoring tea at her desk. Reading this Diary entry, a bright gleam of curiosity flashed through her golden eyes.
Hiding his strength, playing the pig to devour the tiger. And this protective attitude, saying no while his body speaks honestly...
Qian Renxue set down her teacup, lightly tapping the desk with her fingertips as a faint, intrigued smile curved her lips.
This Xiong Shaoqing is growing more and more interesting. To entrance a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and the Star Luo imperial family's Hell Spirit Cat so thoroughly, leaving them utterly devoted, he must have something exceptional about him.
She rose, walked to the window, and gazed in the direction of Suotuo City.
"Now this crown prince really is rather curious. When I have a moment, I should make a trip to Suotuo City and meet this down-and-out God King myself. Let's see just what sort of face he has to enjoy such heaven-reaching luck with women."
Shrek Academy, outside the dean's office.
Having met with a rebuff, Tang San walked out of the log-built house with a gloomy expression.
Chapter 41: Pure as ice and jade, Third Young Master Tang
"The academy operates under fully closed military-style management. During their first month, no new student may take so much as half a step outside the village without permission, for any reason. Rules are rules. Go back and cultivate."
Flender's cold, stern rebuke, carrying the pressure of a Soul Saint, seemed to still echo in his ears.
Tang San clenched his fists tightly, his fingernails digging deep into his palms.
As long as the threat of Xiong Shaoqing remains, I won't be able to eat or sleep in peace.
Tang San walked across the yellow-earth training ground, his gaze icy.
Several days had already passed since he had paid heavily to hire the Bloodhand Mercenary Corps. By all rights, ten fully armed Soul Elders intercepting and killing a piece of trash in his teens should have been as easy as reaching out and taking it.
But Shrek Academy was simply too remote, completely cut off from the world, and he had yet to receive any news.
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