Night Bonfire

Sunset Forest.

In midair, Feng Xiaotian held Huo Wu tightly in his arms, maintaining his third soul skill, Gale Wings, as he swiftly flew toward Lin Rong's camp.

He knew that although this was the outskirts of Sunset Forest, anyone daring to light a fire at night must have at least a Soul Saint in their camp.

People's hearts are treacherous. In the Soul Beast Forest, strangers who are spirit masters are precisely the ones you need to guard against most. But the situation is urgent, so there's no time to worry about that! Feng Xiaotian thought, increasing his Soul Power output in an effort to fly even faster.

Behind them, the Cave Demon Spider maneuvered its eight legs as it rapidly wove through the forest, continuously shooting spider silk into the air.

The Cave Demon Spider was a venomless spider. The silk it sprayed contained no poison, but it possessed extraordinary toughness.

Moreover, the silk was coated in an extremely viscous liquid that solidified upon meeting the wind. In mere moments, the spider silk became incomparably hard.

Thick ancient trees blocked out the moon and sky. Carrying Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian twisted and darted through the air, causing most of the spider silk fired by the Cave Demon Spider to miss.

Yet a few strands still brushed dangerously close past Feng Xiaotian's clothes, cutting several wounds across his body.

In just a few breaths, the two sides chased one another for dozens of meters.

Just as Feng Xiaotian dodged another stream of spider silk from the Cave Demon Spider, Yu Yuan arrived in time.

The White Jade Star Disk, sparkling with eight stars, floated before Yu Yuan, and the first yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.

First soul skill, Falling Star.

In an instant, two pillars of starlight descended from the sky, enveloping the Cave Demon Spider and Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu respectively.

Before the two could react, a kindly voice sounded beside their ears.

"Do not panic. This is this old man's first soul skill, Falling Star. It can both restrain and heal."

"I trust you have already felt the effects of this soul skill of mine, young friends."

Within the pillar of starlight, the two of them stood still.

Other than feeling as though her entire body was submerged in a warm ocean, Huo Wu felt nothing else.

During their escape, she had been well protected. She had not suffered even the slightest injury, nor had she expended any Soul Power, so she could not directly experience Falling Star's effects.

Feng Xiaotian, on the other hand, had expended quite a bit of Soul Power and had several wounds cut by the spider silk.

At that moment, he could feel his Soul Power recovering rapidly. The superficial wounds on his body quickly scabbed over, and before long, they began to itch, indicating that the skin beneath the scabs had already healed.

During this time, Feng Xiaotian recalled the words that had just sounded beside his ears and turned to look back.

To his surprise, the Cave Demon Spider had vanished without a trace. If not for the several spider legs and fragments of shell left on the ground, it would have been hard to believe that a spider soul beast had once been there.

Is this a high-level spirit master? Feng Xiaotian was deeply shocked as he thought, Even a first soul skill can possess such power. Even if this senior is not a Soul Douluo, his cultivation must be extremely close to that level.

At that moment, Yu Yuan emerged from the darkness with the Star Disc held in one hand. Eight dazzling Soul Rings pulsed beneath his feet, displaying the old man's cultivation as a Soul Douluo.

Yu Yuan waved a hand to interrupt Feng Xiaotian, who was about to offer his thanks, and explained, "There is no need to thank me."

"This old man merely acted on Duke's orders to save the two of you."

"Therefore, the one you should thank is Duke, not this old man."

As he spoke, Yu Yuan glanced back toward the camp and continued, "The Soul Beast Forest is exceedingly dangerous at night. This old man cannot remain away from Duke for too long, so the two of you should come with me."

"From your clothing, it is clear that you are students of Godwind and Blazing Academy. I presume your academy elders are also in Sunset Forest."

"In that case, after returning to the camp with this old man, you may freely fire a signal flare to notify your elders to come and collect you."

"This old man has some confidence in his own strength. Even if soul beasts are drawn over by the signal flare, they will not threaten your safety."

Bang! Bang! Fireworks blossomed in the night sky, dazzling and brilliant.

"I've already fired the signal flare. Before long, the academy teachers will come to take Feng Xiaotian and me back."

Beside the campfire, Huo Wu's face was dyed red by the flames, neatly concealing her actual blush.

Their shared experience at the brink of life and death had left an indelible impression of Feng Xiaotian in her heart.

At the moment, Huo Wu's mind was filled with the image of Feng Xiaotian rescuing her from the Spider Web Cage, to the point that she still did not dare look directly at him.

Beside Huo Wu, Feng Xiaotian did not notice anything unusual in her tone. Instead, he looked down at Lin Rong and asked curiously, "Benefactor, you inherited the title of Duke at such a young age. Then your parents... My apologies!"

Only halfway through his question did Feng Xiaotian suddenly realize.

The title of Duke passed from father to son upon the father's death.

Since Lin Rong had inherited the title of Duke, his father was naturally no longer alive, and his mother had most likely passed on as well.

Lin Rong was somewhat puzzled when he heard the question, but quickly understood.

In the era of Douluo 1, information was limited.

In the original work, even five years after Shrek Academy won the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament, the chief of the Defense Clan still did not know exactly who the championship team members were.

This showed just how isolated the flow of information was in Douluo 1's Douluo Continent.

Unless something affected the situation across the entire continent—such as the founding of the Spirit Hall Empire in the original story—it would not spread throughout the land.

Although the Lin Family's circumstances were common knowledge in Heaven Dou City, they were hardly a major matter. Given the information network in Douluo 1, it was perfectly normal for the news to go no further than Heaven Dou City.

Having figured it out, Lin Rong replied, "No matter. You did not mean any harm."

Lin Rong did not hold Feng Xiaotian's unintentional offense against him.

He had never spent time with his biological parents in this life, so naturally, there was no deep affection to speak of.

But Feng Xiaotian—the disgrace of Innate Full Soul Power in the original story, forever nailed to the pillar of shame—was so disappointingly weak that Lin Rong felt it was necessary to set him straight.

"Do you know what the most painful thing in this world is?"

No sooner had he said it than Lin Rong abruptly asked the question. Then, without waiting for Feng Xiaotian to answer, he answered it himself:

"It is watching the person you most want to protect die before your very eyes, while you can do nothing."

"..." Feng Xiaotian fell silent.

He lowered his head, gazing at the campfire before him with a complicated expression. Flames flickered in his eyes, reflecting everything that had happened tonight.

Seeing this, Lin Rong decided to add more fuel to the fire and continued on his own:

"Though I never left Heaven Dou City before, I heard that Godwind Academy had produced a genius with Innate Full Soul Power named Feng Xiaotian."

"If the news was true, then you are already sixteen this year, yet your soul power is only level thirty-three!"

"Do you know? Uncle Yu and I encountered that Cave Demon Spider during the day as well. Its cultivation was only a little over three thousand years."

"With ten years of cultivation, given your talent of Innate Full Soul Power, even if you were not a Soul King, it would be normal for you to at least possess the cultivation of a high-level Soul Ancestor."

"With a Gale Twin Wolf martial soul and the cultivation of a Soul Ancestor, you could have handled a Cave Demon Spider with just over three thousand years of cultivation by yourself."

"So, if you had trained diligently, then as a high-level Soul Ancestor facing a Cave Demon Spider with just over three thousand years of cultivation, you would not have needed to flee with this young lady."

"Unfortunately, you did not. With only level thirty-three soul power, if Uncle Yu had not stepped in to save you, Sunset Forest would have gained two more skeletons, buried beneath the windblown sand."

"I do not know why you neglected your training, but the fact remains that at sixteen years old, your soul power is only level thirty-three."

At this point, Lin Rong paused, giving Feng Xiaotian time to digest his words before delivering his final remarks:

"There is no medicine for regret in this world, so the past cannot be undone. But the future remains unknown, and it is not too late to work hard now."

"That is all I have to say. Think it over carefully yourself!"

With that, Lin Rong ignored Feng Xiaotian, turned around, and walked into the tent.

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