Dawn broke through the night, accompanied by the crisp chirping of birds outside the tent.
Aether lifted the tent flap. Fire Meow Meow, assigned to the night watch, hadn't slacked off. It sat upright, eyes alert and scanning the surroundings.
Zhu Zhuqing was still fusing with the soul bone, with Yue Guan and Gui Mei close by, constantly assisting her.
The black soul ring in front of Yu Keke had already vanished, but she remained seated with eyes shut, still in the process of absorbing the aftereffects of the soul ring.
"Paimon, time to get up."
Aether called into the tent. When there was no response, he changed tactics.
"Wow, there's so much good food out here!"
"Wah! Where, where? Where's the food?!"
Paimon immediately sprang to life, flying out of the tent and looking around.
"Let's go~ Let's freshen up and find something to eat."
Aether spread his hands with a shrug, meaning: food? Sure, just haven't caught it yet.
"Ugh! Traveler! I told you not to lie to get me out of bed like that! Next time, I won't wake up even if someone yells 'delicious food'~!"
"Hehe~"
Aether just chuckled at her indignation.
"Not wake up," huh… He'd lost count of how many times he'd used this exact trick. Every single time, it worked like a charm—foolproof and instant. That level of smoothness… only those who'd tried it knew.
He left Fire Meow Meow on watch and took Paimon for a stroll through the forest.
The central region of the Star Dou Forest was nearly devoid of common beasts. Every soul beast they came across was at least a thousand years old.
They finally spotted a rather dim-looking wild boar—good grief, it turned out to be over a thousand years old.
Fortunately, Aether wasn't some mainland soul master beholden to ethical codes about killing soul beasts or not.
"I wonder if soul beast pork tastes different from regular wild boar…"
"Hehe, I'm curious too~"
Aether stood atop the now-departed boar, voicing his thoughts aloud. Paimon hovered beside him, eyes glittering with excitement.
"Come on, let's go cook you something tasty."
The boar was much bigger than Aether, so as he carried it on his back, only his legs were visible from beneath the bulk of the carcass.
"Hooray!"
Paimon clapped her little hands, starry eyes filled with delight.
"Big Bro! Paimon! You're back!"
Back at the camp, Yu Keke had apparently finished absorbing her soul ring. She waved cheerfully at their return.
"Yep yep! Keke, we're having pork!"
Paimon pointed at the boar Aether had dropped, beaming. "You worked so hard absorbing that soul ring—you must be starving, right? This pig's huge, perfect for a proper feast!"
"Mmhm! I'll go gather firewood!"
Yu Keke eagerly nodded and volunteered to collect dry wood nearby.
They lit the fire and prepared the meat. By the time the meal was ready, it was already near noon.
"Big Bro, how long will it take for Sister Zhuqing to finish?"
Yu Keke munched on roast pork while glancing over toward Zhu Zhuqing.
"Not sure. Might take a while. Oh, right—here~"
Aether wiped his hands and pulled a small box from his storage space, handing it to Yu Keke.
"Isn't this what that lady gave you yesterday? What's inside?"
Yu Keke licked her fingers and carefully cradled the box, curiosity shining in her eyes.
"That's a soul bone," Paimon chimed in.
"A soul bone?!"
Yu Keke's eyes widened in surprise.
Thanks to her studies at Skywater Academy, she understood full well what soul bones were—and how important they were to soul masters.
"Mhm! You were still fusing your soul ring last night, so the Traveler gave one to Zhuqing, and saved this one specially for you!"
"For me…"
Yu Keke quickly wiped her hands and gently caressed the box, glancing up at Aether and Paimon.
"You two are the best!"
"Hehe~" Paimon scratched her head and grinned sheepishly.
"Once Zhuqing finishes fusing, you should try fusing it too."
Aether glanced over at Zhu Zhuqing again. Better to wait until she finished—having two Title Douluo on standby for support was just safer all around.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei: Anyone else feel this? Even the village's workhorses didn't pull this hard…
"Okay!"
Yu Keke nodded earnestly. Even if she didn't quite understand the full reasoning, she trusted her brother's judgment completely.
"Oh right, Keke—how do you feel after absorbing your third soul ring? What's your soul power level now?"
She was clearly much stronger, but Aether didn't have a precise measurement. His only way to gauge soul power was via elemental vision—deeper grey shadows meant higher levels.
"Umm~ I feel great! And my soul power jumped five whole levels! I'm already at level thirty-nine now!"
Yu Keke beamed with pride.
After absorbing the 50,000-year Lightning Mink's soul ring, her soul power had surged from level thirty-four to thirty-nine.
"Hmm…"
Aether nodded thoughtfully. Soul cultivation really worked like this, huh?
From what he remembered, Tang San and the rest of the Shrek group—protagonists of this world—basically just did some light training and then "cashed in" soul rings for massive level gains.
"What's wrong, Big Bro? Was that not enough of an increase…"
Yu Keke's voice faltered. She saw his nod as disappointment and her smile dimmed with worry.
"No, it's a huge jump—really impressive!"
Aether gave her a big thumbs-up.
"Ehehe~ R-really?"
"Mhm. You're only nine years old and already a level thirty-nine soul master. That's real talent."
Aether didn't hold back on the praise.
This little girl had always been shy and insecure because of her family background and mutated martial soul. She'd only started to open up since joining him. What she needed most now was affirmation and encouragement.
"Oh right, Big Bro! My third soul skill kinda looks like one of your moves!"
Yu Keke suddenly remembered and said excitedly.
She'd always admired Aether as her role model—being able to use a soul skill that resembled one of his techniques filled her with joy.
"Oh? What skill?"
Aether's curiosity was piqued.
His techniques all channeled elemental energy. Could Keke now manipulate elemental forces too after fusing the Lightning Mink's ring?
"Big Bro, look over there."
Yu Keke pointed at a massive dead tree trunk in the distance.
"Third Soul Skill: Judgment of Thunder!"
_
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