Hearing that extremely familiar address from Lin Mo again, Xiao Wu's feelings were incredibly complex.
She looked at Lin Mo, then at the majestic Mega Charizard Y, and then at Da Ming and Er Ming beside her.
His gaze shifted back and forth between the two clearly distinct groups of people.
Her wandering thoughts were gradually pulled back to reality.
Yes.
They are no longer the classmates who used to joke and play around with each other at the Nuoding Academy.
He was a human Soul Master, and she was Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had undergone human transformation and cultivation.
They were naturally on opposing sides.
Humans hunt Soul Beast to obtain Soul Ring, while Soul Beast prey on humans for survival.
This is an opposition etched in their very blood, as irreconcilable as fire and water.
Xiao Wu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to calm her turbulent emotions.
When she opened her eyes again, her voice was much calmer, "Long time no see, Lin Mo."
Lin Mo, standing atop the back of the Mega Charizard Y, nodded slightly.
Under the obscuring glow of the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, the Second Soul Ring on the Charizard quietly lit up.
Its body began to pulsate rhythmically, igniting blood flames, and the layers of the Dragon Dance were quietly accumulating.
Lin Mo stood on the shoulder of the Mega Charizard Y, his gaze slowly shifting between Xiao Wu, the Sky Azure Bull Python, and the Titan Giant Ape.
Lin Mo stared for a long time, then finally closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had become incredibly firm, as if he had made a resolute decision.
" Xiao Wu! As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who has been reborn, since you have chosen to leave the human world and return to the Star Dou Great Forest— "
"Why bother coming here and actively contacting humans?"
"Do you truly believe that with the protection of the two divine beasts, the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, you are in a state of absolute safety?"
Are you really that confident in the protection you've provided for them and in your own abilities? Do you really think no one can harm you?
Is it your turn?
Looking into Lin Mo's calm black eyes, Xiao Wu suddenly felt an extremely absurd feeling.
"You... knew my identity all along?"
Her voice trembled slightly.
Lin Mo nodded. "When I first met you at the Nuoding Academy, I Frisk that you were quite different from other Soul Master, but I was too ignorant to think about it at the time."
"Later, after reading more books and acquiring more new knowledge, I began to have my own guesses."
Today's meeting has merely confirmed my suspicions.
Xiao Wu seemed to remember something, her gaze falling on Mega Charizard Y, her expression complex.
"So—that's the real reason why this little guy was so wary, even 'furious,' when he first met me at the Nuoding Academy, right?"
At the time, she found it very strange that Charmander treated her so differently from everyone else.
He might dislike others, but rarely attacks them. The only exception was when he first met her; he attacked with flames. Looking back now, everything was already explained in the unseen world, but she simply didn't think about it that way.
It turns out that what I thought was a perfect disguise had already been seen through from the very beginning.
It's just that it's never been pointed out.
While Xiao Wu was talking to Lin Mo, the Sky Azure Bull Python Da Ming was staring intently at Lin Mo and the Mega Charizard Y.
The apprehension in Da Ming's eyes grew stronger.
Although he didn't know the specifics of the human named Lin Mo that Sister Xiao Wu mentioned.
However, judging from the seven Soul Ring that emerged from the dragon beast's feet, and the terrifying aura emanating from it that was no less powerful than that of an ordinary Titled Douluo—
This dragon beast is definitely this human's Martial Soul.
Moreover, this human and dragon-beast pair possessed immense strength. With their seventh-ring cultivation, they were able to unleash such astonishing power in their Martial Soul Avatar state.
Judging from his aura alone, he is by no means inferior to Titled Douluo.
This left it somewhat uncertain for a moment.
Originally, it was a two-on-two situation, and they had a clear advantage.
But now, this human boy who had just absorbed Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring suddenly woke up, and the situation instantly became three against two.
The balance of top-tier combat power has been broken.
This means that if a fight really breaks out, and if he and Er Ming are desperately held back by the two Titled Douluo on the other side, even for just a moment—
Sister Xiao Wu will likely face that kid and his strange dragon beast's attack head-on.
Sister Xiao Wu has not yet recovered her strength, and has no chance of winning against this kid.
This is something it absolutely does not want to see.
Even if we let these humans leave, we absolutely cannot stand by and watch something happen to Sister Xiao Wu.
Ultimately, it's because Sister Xiao Wu's classmate absorbs Soul Ring at an incredibly fast speed.
It was so fast that before it could even make an effective response, the opponent had already broken through and fully regained consciousness.
Lin Mo simply smiled at Xiao Wu's question without answering.
It was Xiao Wu herself who spoke again after a brief silence.
Her voice was filled with obvious confusion, even bordering on questioning. " Lin Mo, why did you kill Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had already developed intelligence?"
Xiao Wu's gaze shifted to the enormous corpse of the Golden Hawksbill Turtle not far away, a trace of pity flashing in her eyes.
"If all you need is Soul Ring, aren't there so many Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that haven't developed any intelligence to choose from?"
"Why insist on killing Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that has already developed sentience?"
Xiao Wu became more and more agitated as she spoke, her eyes filled with confusion.
Upon hearing Xiao Wu's words, before Lin Mo could even reply, Dugu Bo, standing to the side, let out a disdainful sneer.
"Reasons? What more reasons do you need?"
Dugu Bo's voice was full of sarcasm.
" Soul Master needs Soul Ring to break through; that's only natural."
"If you can absorb Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and hunt Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, why lower your standards to hunt Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
"The law of the jungle prevails; it's the only rule of the world. Soul Beast hunt humans, and humans hunt Soul Beast —it's simply a matter of who's stronger and who survives."
Dugu Bo's words were very direct and extremely cruel.
Xiao Wu opened her mouth, her face pale, her lips pressed tightly together, unsure how to retort.
Lin Mo still did not directly answer Xiao Wu's question.
He stared intently at Xiao Wu and spoke slowly and deliberately.
" Xiao Wu, having chosen to transform and undergo rebirth, do you now truly consider yourself human—?"
He paused, his voice growing even deeper.
"Do you still consider yourself one of the Soul Beast?"
This question struck Xiao Wu like a heavy hammer.
Her face paled, and she instinctively took a half-step back, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
This is the problem she has been avoiding and has never dared to face.
After undergoing a transformation and rebirth, she lived in the human world for six years as a human, studying at an academy, making friends with other humans, and even beginning to experience the stirrings of first love.
But in essence, he was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
Xiao Wu opened her mouth, but found that she couldn't make a sound.
She subconsciously glanced at Da Ming and Er Ming beside her, then at Lin Mo and the others opposite her, whose expressions varied.
Human? Soul Beast?
Which side do I belong to?
Or rather, which side do you want to belong to?
Lin Mo's question was like a sharp dagger, brutally dissecting the most conflicted part of her heart and exposing it clearly to everyone.