He had won Senior Sister over.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was of one mind with him as well.
If he didn't run now, when would he?
If the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff, the Scarlet King, noticed something unusual about the Auspicious Beast, things would get troublesome!
Even if the chance was minuscule, Zhang Yang wasn't about to take the risk. He immediately gave the order to leave, leaving Zhang Lexuan with a head full of question marks.
She couldn't figure out what had happened.
Why did they need to flee in such a frantic hurry?
Her gaze fixed on Zhang Yang, and she noticed his rarely seen solemn expression, handsome yet imposing.
She immediately swallowed her question and nodded firmly without hesitation, placing unconditional trust in her man.
She rushed toward several dying Soul Beasts nearby. These were gifts from the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and they all possessed the Charm Attribute.
They couldn't let her kind intentions go to waste. Once everything had been dealt with as simply as possible, Zhang Yang dared not delay and spread the Wings of the Goddess of Light.
Together with Zhang Lexuan, who carried the Soul Beasts, he fled the scene as fast as he could. Before long, they reached the edge of the forest, their journey unobstructed.
"Senior Sister, don't stop yet. Keep flying!"
Zhang Yang still dared not let his guard down and fled much farther.
Only when the Star Dou Great Forest had vanished from sight did the two fly back down to the ground to recuperate and rest.
"Did we... run into trouble?"
Only now could Zhang Lexuan no longer resist asking.
As she spoke, she set down the Soul Beasts, walked naturally over to Zhang Yang, and affectionately linked her arm through his.
She could clearly feel her man relaxing. She was truly curious-what had happened just now?
"Senior Sister, do you trust me?"
Zhang Yang didn't answer directly, instead staring at her with a serious expression.
His sudden question left Zhang Lexuan even more bewildered, but she didn't hesitate in the slightest.
A refreshing smile appeared on her gentle face. She pressed herself closer to him and brought her red lips to his ear.
"You're my man. Who else would I trust?"
Those words left even Zhang Yang at a loss.
The Senior Sister he remembered hadn't known how to tease and flirt. She had made remarkable progress these past few days!
That made sense... After all, he had personally trained her and instilled so many ideas in her. There were bound to be some positive changes.
The most obvious was that she had become cheerful and confident, with far greater confidence in the appeal of her looks and figure.
None of that had existed before. Bei Bei's attitude had left her subconsciously insecure, and she had even doubted herself when it came to love.
"Just now, I sensed something utterly terrifying!"
"If we hadn't left, we might really have run into danger."
"And it was a threat even a Soul Douluo couldn't deal with. I didn't want to take the risk."
With that thought, Zhang Yang gave her an explanation that was half true and half false. As he spoke, he made no pretense of politeness and wrapped an arm around her soft waist.
Senior Sister had been so frank; how could he not reward her? He kissed her deeply on the forehead, then, unsatisfied, aimed for her red lips.
As a result, Zhang Lexuan had no time to ponder what he had said. She only felt as though her head were melting, and she couldn't be bothered to think about anything.
"All right, all right, stop fooling around."
"We agreed, not during the day."
"If you think there was danger, then there definitely was. The question is, what do we do next?"
After a while, defeated by Zhang Yang's assault, Zhang Lexuan panted with a flushed face and finally came back to her senses a little.
Was there something in the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Great Forest that could threaten an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo? And she hadn't even noticed it?
Yet Zhang Yang, whose cultivation was only at level 20, had keenly sensed it and made a decisive choice?
Zhang Lexuan was surprised by this.
But then she thought of all the things that had happened before.
And it seemed only natural. Her man had never been short of mysteries, and that was part of what drew her to him.
She readily accepted it and chose not to press him. If Zhang Yang didn't say anything, he surely had his reasons. As his little woman, she only needed to support him.
"Let's absorb the Second Soul Ring first."
"It's rare for us to leave the academy. Of course we can't just go straight back."
"Oh, right, didn't you accept a mission? Why don't you take me along for some experience?"
Though Zhang Lexuan's cultivation was higher, after Zhang Yang had conquered her, she had come to rely on him as her mainstay.
Now, having left so suddenly, she was at a loss for what to do, so she naturally left the decision to him.
One thing was certain: the two of them understood each other without a word.
Go back to Shrek Academy for classes? What a joke!
Having tasted the marrow, they wanted more. They hadn't had their fill of fun yet; even if Zhang Yang wanted to go back, Zhang Lexuan might not agree.
So they took out the map they carried and checked the location of the Evil Soul Master mission, intending to go take a look together.
"Huh, Senior Sister, your mission is pretty far away. It's all the way up north." After looking at the map, Zhang Yang wore a peculiar expression and deliberately swept aside her beautiful black hair.
"Hmph, I was thinking that since I'd finally gotten some time alone with you, we could spend a few more days together." Zhang Lexuan was visibly shy, but she summoned the courage to answer him directly.
Before, she would never have dared to be so straightforward.
She had been brought out of her shell, and she was quite uninhibited.
As for the result, Zhang Yang naturally made a note of it. With the beauty being so enthusiastic, she would surely be rewarded tonight.
They were safe now, and the worst hadn't happened, so they decided to rest where they were and study their route ahead, treating it as a couple's trip.
"Wait, that area above the mission location... is that the Far North?" As the two snuggled together and examined the mission marker, Zhang Yang suddenly noticed something.
"Yes. Apparently that Evil Soul Master has been slaughtering Ice Attribute Soul Beasts on a large scale, causing quite a disturbance." Sitting in Zhang Yang's lap, Zhang Lexuan nestled and nuzzled against him, perfectly content, and answered casually when she heard him.
A flash of inspiration struck Zhang Yang.
How about... going over there to give it a try?
The Snow Empress and the Ice Empress were both still in the Far North.
Given how important they were, they would surely trigger system check-ins, and the rewards would definitely be generous.
Originally, if no suitable opportunity presented itself, he hadn't known how he would get there. After all, the risks there were considerable.
But now that things had come to this, he could go take a look. It would be best if he successfully checked in with them; otherwise, he wouldn't lose anything.
Zhang Lexuan was a Soul Douluo, so ordinary Soul Beasts posed little threat. He also possessed laws, and now had auspicious Qi as well. As long as they were careful, there shouldn't be a problem?
Before this idea occurred to him, it was one thing.
Once it had, there was no holding it back.
Zhang Yang immediately told Zhang Lexuan what he had in mind and quickly received an affirmative answer.
"Although the Far North is dangerous, as long as we don't go too deep, there shouldn't be much trouble."
"Since you want to go, once we've dealt with the Evil Soul Master, let's go take a look together. There are quite a few Ice Attribute Soul Beasts with the Mental Attribute, too."
Zhang Lexuan thought Zhang Yang was merely curious, or wanted to spend more time with her, so naturally she didn't refuse. With that, the matter was settled.
That night, the two spent their first night together as a couple outside the Star Dou Great Forest. The intimate moments between them went without saying, an experience with a flavor all its own.
The next day, they changed course and headed north.
On the surface, it seemed Zhang Yang had worried too much.
In reality, though, his caution had been crucial. Things with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion weren't over yet.
The night he left the Star Dou Great Forest and frolicked with Zhang Lexuan in the wilderness, their connection was exposed...