Night quietly fell. On the vast Blazing Plain, a campfire burned, warming the cold surroundings.
At that moment, Huo Tian and Huo Yutong sat around the campfire beside a stream, the aroma of barbecue constantly spreading across the plain.
Not far from them, many carnivorous beasts crouched on the ground, all drawn by the aroma.
Huo Tian released the pressure of his Soul Power. The Soul Beasts cried out in fright and immediately fled in a panic.
"Master, aren't you worried that casually barbecuing here will attract more Soul Beasts?"
Huo Yutong held a skewer in her right hand and brushed oil onto it with an oil brush in her left. The cooking oil dripped into the campfire, making crackling sounds.
"Just eat."
Huo Tian raised his hand and rapped Huo Yutong on the head. Huo Yutong rolled her eyes speechlessly, then continued grilling the meat skewers.
Huo Tian rubbed his hands together in front of the campfire. After keeping busy for the past few days, he could finally enjoy himself properly.
Huo Tian had no idea where Xuan Zi and Yan Shaozhe were, so he could only wait until daybreak before taking Huo Yutong to look for them.
Huo Tian was certain those two were still on the island and would not dare leave it lightly, because many hundred-thousand-year Sea Soul Beasts lived in the surrounding waters.
They could handle one or two Sea Soul Beasts, but if a whole swarm came, not even their bones would remain.
"Little Yutong, once we leave Flame Island, I'll take you to the Far North to obtain your second Soul Ring."
"Then I'll help you equip your second Martial Soul, and we'll return to Shrek."
Holding his skewer, Huo Tian narrowed his eyes as he looked at Huo Yutong. He noticed that several months had already passed, yet she did not seem to have grown any taller.
When Huo Tian first met Huo Yutong, she had been less than 1.5 meters tall. Over this past year, she had only grown a tiny bit.
"All right. We've been away from Shrek Academy for four days, and classes start in another five or six days."
"Sigh."
"Master, I wonder if we can make it back in time."
Huo Yutong placed the two skewers in her hands on the grill. The skewers kept turning over the campfire, and she glanced around from time to time.
Huo Yutong did not even know how strong she was now. She really wanted a thoroughly satisfying fight with someone her age!
Her cultivation had improved considerably over the past year, but she did not have a scrap of actual combat experience. She was all show and no substance.
"Two months after classes start, there'll be the Freshman Assessment Competition. You can use it to test your strength."
Huo Tian sat quietly nearby. He had also noticed Huo Yutong's concerns. After all, he had kept her well protected all along and had hardly ever let her fight.
Huo Tian also did not know whether Huo Yutong could still perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with Wang Dong'er after her Martial Soul Evolution.
Logically speaking, Huo Yutong's Martial Soul had completed a higher-order evolution, so Wang Dong'er's Martial Soul should no longer be able to resonate with the Holy Light Spirit Eyes.
Huo Tian propped his chin on one hand and gazed at the campfire, its reflection flickering constantly in his eyes.
Since Huo Tian wanted to expand his Azure Cloud Sect, he would first have to take in disciples, then expand step by step until it swallowed all of Shrek City.
Both sat silently beside the campfire. Neither spoke, and their surroundings were frighteningly quiet.
"That smells wonderful!"
A deep, powerful voice echoed above the Blazing Plain. It was extremely familiar to Huo Tian, who immediately stood and released his Soul Power.
"It really is him."
Huo Tian looked at a black speck in the sky.
Xuan Zi was flying through the sky. He happened to be passing over the Blazing Plain when he caught a delicious aroma.
Xuan Zi had suffered quite a bit over the past few days too. As soon as he entered the Fog Sea Area, he had encountered a swarm of Sea Soul Beasts and had barely managed to escape onto Flame Island.
When Xuan Zi reached Flame Island, his excessive Soul Power consumption had drained more than half his strength, so he had swept through the forest.
However, Xuan Zi's fondness for drink had led him to accidentally stir up a hornet's nest. Heaven knew how he had ended up being chased all the way by two hundred-thousand-year Fire Hornets. Normally, Xuan Zi would not have feared two hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings at all.
Xuan Zi truly felt that his luck could not have been worse.
"This old man is exhausted."
Xuan Zi landed not far from the pair. At the sight of Huo Tian and Huo Yutong, he finally showed a smile that had been absent for a long time.
"I finally found you."
Xuan Zi immediately seated himself beside the grill, picked up the meat skewers on it, and wolfed them down without feeling the slightest embarrassment.
Huo Tian and Huo Yutong stared at him speechlessly. His clothes were tattered from head to toe, and his face was filthy too.
Huo Tian could sense that, because Xuan Zi had been flying for so long, the Soul Power within him was also being constantly absorbed by Flame Island. Fortunately, he had dual Soul Cores.
"Elder Xuan, what have you been doing these past few days? How did you end up in such a sorry state?"
Huo Tian looked at him with a faint smile. Xuan Zi had nearly finished all the skewers on the grill, and he burped and patted his stomach.
Then Xuan Zi recounted his miserable experiences over the past few days in full, adding that this island felt utterly fantastical, even forcibly separating the three of them.
"If you keep flying on Flame Island, the Soul Power in your body will mysteriously drain away!"
Xuan Zi raised his eyes to the starry sky. Too lazy to walk, he had flown for a long time without stopping. Luckily, his dual Soul Cores had constantly replenished his Soul Power, or he truly would not have been able to bear it.
"Wow!"
"Xiaotian, it's only been a few days, and you've grown stronger again."
Xuan Zi released his Soul Power to probe him and discovered that the Soul Power fluctuations around Huo Tian were already approaching those of a Titled Douluo.
Judging by the Soul Power fluctuations Huo Tian gave off, he was now a level 87 Soul Douluo. Xuan Zi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was no longer confident he could subdue Huo Tian.
"After I finished absorbing my eighth Soul Ring, the Soul Power provided by the Soul Bone brought my cultivation to level 87."
"Actually, I feel like my Soul Power could still rise a little, but for some reason, something seems to be suppressing it."
Huo Tian shook his head helplessly. She could not describe the feeling either, but it was simply strange.
With the Vermilion Bird Bone Armor and the Vermilion Bird Domain, Huo Tian could now completely string Xuan Zi up and beat him.
Huo Tian's overall strength had now reached the ceiling of the Douluo Continent.
"Master, your cultivation is almost at Titled Douluo, but I'm still just a Soul Grandmaster."
Huo Yutong looked dejected. She found it was becoming very difficult to keep pace with Huo Tian.
"Little Yutong, don't be discouraged."
Huo Tian comforted Huo Yutong beside him. The three quietly gathered around the campfire. Utterly exhausted, Huo Yutong lay in Huo Tian's arms and fell sound asleep.
"Elder Xuan, let's look for my senior brother tomorrow."
Huo Tian kept stroking Huo Yutong's back. Xuan Zi lay on the grass, took out a flask of wine, and began drinking.
"Hopefully, that brat Yan Shaozhe is all right."
Xuan Zi did not sound very certain, because many of the Soul Beasts on this island had very high cultivation. Yan Shaozhe was only a level 95 Super Douluo, and there were also numerous Sea Soul Beasts in the sea.