On the mountaintop, the wind swept through the grass with a soft rustle. Ling Yu turned to look at Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, you're not human, are you?"
In an instant, Xiao Wu's eyes widened in terror. Then she stared fixedly at Ling Yu, countless thoughts flashing through her mind as her body trembled slightly.
Did he bring me to the mountaintop to kill me?
But why would he say it out loud? Turmoil stirred in Xiao Wu's heart.
"What... are you talking about? How could I not be human? Aren't I perfectly fine?" Xiao Wu tried to bluff her way through.
The corner of Ling Yu's mouth lifted, and his eyebrows curved slightly.
"I know you're a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast who took human form."
"Don't worry. I have no intention of killing you."
Xiao Wu stared blankly at the boy before her, thoughts churning in her mind. He really knows. How is that possible? How did he find out?
"How did you know?" Xiao Wu bit her lip and stared into Ling Yu's eyes, wanting to find every answer in them.
"A Martial Soul talent, I suppose. I noticed that your presence was different from ours."
"It wasn't until I saw Soul Beasts that I realized your presences were the same. Together with those slightly strange things you said, it gave me more evidence for my guess." Ling Yu spun a lie.
"A guess... you tricked me...?"
"I'm sorry."
Hearing that apology, Xiao Wu slowly calmed down. She knew that the boy before her truly wouldn't hurt her.
"What I wanted to tell you was to leave this place. A Titled Douluo has his eye on you."
The moment Ling Yu finished speaking, Xiao Wu's nerves tightened again. Her hair stood on end, and fear flooded her heart.
"Here... how could there be... a Titled Douluo? It's so remote." Xiao Wu's voice trembled.
"Tang San's father is Tang Hao, the youngest Titled Douluo. He's been living in seclusion here all this time. It was also the letter he left for Tang San that let me know he'd really left for a while, so I dared to tell you everything. Normally, he's watching you and Tang San."
"Leave now while you can. Go back to the Star Dou Great Forest. He might have left something like a spiritual power lock on you, so remember to have your friends in the forest check for you."
"How do you know he's a Titled Douluo?"
"My Martial Soul talent again. His soul is unusual. I occasionally sensed his presence while meditating at school. Tang San's four-hundred-year Soul Ring was his doing. Otherwise, how could they have encountered a Mandala Snake on the outskirts and stayed in the Soul Hunting Forest for so many days?"
Xiao Wu stared steadily at the boy before her. Everything that had just happened flooded her mind, making her head feel as though it would split, yet everything he said rang so true.
"Why save me? I'm a Soul Beast." Xiao Wu's eyes grew a little moist.
"At least you're human now. I want to learn how to condense my own Soul Rings from you so I can experiment and change this cultivation system for Soul Masters."
"But it's all right if you don't want to tell me. Head back first. Hire a carriage to take you to the Star Dou Great Forest. He probably won't be back anytime soon. Your life matters most."
Looking into Ling Yu's clear eyes, Xiao Wu knew that he truly had her best interests at heart.
"If I disappear, what will happen to you? Will he suspect you?"
"Well... I don't know. Probably not." Ling Yu wasn't quite sure either, but the words were already out.
"Then I'm not leaving. I don't want to get you hurt. Besides, since he's hiding in the shadows watching me, that means he wants to save me as a Soul Ring for Tang San. Tang San would have to be a Soul Douluo at the very least to absorb my Soul Ring. There'll be a chance to escape." Xiao Wu gritted her teeth.
"That's... true. Tang San will need a thousand-year Soul Ring for his third ring. He might go to the Star Dou Great Forest. You can go along then and seize the chance to escape. That would be safer."
"Mm..." Xiao Wu nodded dejectedly. Tears spilled from her eyes, beyond her control.
"Don't cry!" Ling Yu hurried to wipe Xiao Wu's tears, but that only made her cry louder.
Only after a long while did she slowly stop, reduced to quiet sniffles. Ling Yu quickly supported her and found a rock for her to sit on.
"By the way, Xiao Wu, how did you get to Nuoding City? It's so far from the Star Dou Great Forest." Ling Yu wanted to distract Xiao Wu through conversation.
"I came with a caravan. After leaving the forest, I learned in a nearby town that Nuoding City was very remote. There happened to be a caravan coming here, and its leader said I could use a fur robe I'd picked up to pay my fare, so I gave it to him."
"Then how did you become a work-study student?" He had always been curious about how Xiao Wu had obtained her identity, and now he finally had a chance to ask.
"We passed a village on the way. While we were resting, a Soul Master from Spirit Hall was holding an awakening ceremony. The village chief saw that I was about the right age and asked whether I'd awakened yet. Without thinking, I said no, and then I joined the ceremony."
"None of the other children in that village had Soul Power. The village chief asked me to stay and use their work-study quota to attend school. I need to be close to Soul Masters of a similar level to cultivate, so I agreed. Later, I heard from Wang Sheng that being a Soul Master could reduce taxes for the village you came from or something?"
"Oh, right. How do you cultivate? Do you recover your own power, or meditate to absorb the primordial Qi of heaven and earth all over again?"
"I recover my own power, I suppose. As long as I interact with people of a similar level, my body reacts automatically and recovers its power, but it takes time. So I don't really cultivate much. I just need to find people to play with." As Ling Yu asked his questions, Xiao Wu gradually regained her composure.
"What made you think of taking human form?"
"Mom took human form before, and I heard that taking human form gives you a chance to become stronger." At the mention of her mother, Xiao Wu's voice grew a little subdued.
"Mom was killed..." She began to sob again.
Ling Yu stroked her head, feeling some pity for her, as thoughts stirred in his mind. Wisdom needs to be passed down and refined over generations. In a forest without any social organization, even ordinary human intelligence would only be used for fighting and brawling. The longer they live, the more their thinking is ruled by instinct.
"I think becoming stronger probably means you can advance further through the Soul Ring system," Ling Yu said slowly.
"Hm?" Xiao Wu looked at him through tear-blurred eyes.
"Do you have to condense your own Soul Rings? Or do you choose to condense them because you're unwilling to do otherwise?"
In an instant, Xiao Wu was jolted awake. She finally understood what becoming stronger meant-
Humans could use the Soul Ring system to rapidly plunder bloodlines and evolve, yet Soul Beasts who took human form stubbornly condensed all their first six Soul Rings themselves, merely continuing down the same old path.
"So you can choose to absorb Soul Rings for your first six rings, right?" Seeing Xiao Wu frozen in place, Ling Yu asked carefully.
"Mm..."
"But... I don't want to..." Xiao Wu immediately shook her head.
"I'm not saying we should actively hunt them. We can look for Soul Beasts that are on the verge of death."
"Someone has to try this eventually. Blazing a new trail always means shouldering something, doesn't it?"
"I..." Xiao Wu bit her lip.
"It's all right. We can talk about it later. There's still plenty of time. We should head back for dinner." Ling Yu glanced at the sky, stood up, and held out his hand.
"Mm..." Xiao Wu took it, and the two went down the mountain together.
On the way, Ling Yu pondered. The Martial Souls of Soul Beasts who take human form are all their own beast forms. Does that make them Body Martial Souls? If so, could they undergo a Second Awakening?
When they returned home, Old Jack saw Xiao Wu's reddened eyes and hurriedly asked, "What's wrong, Xiao Wu? Did Xiao Yu bully you?"
"No, Grandpa Jack. I just thought of my mom." Xiao Wu shook her head.
Old Jack sighed, stroked Xiao Wu's head, and then arranged for dinner.