Sensing the terrifying aura emanating from Snow Empress, that oppressive presence capable of making all the ice and snow in the world bow before her, Xiao Hongchen had no choice but to believe—it was truly her. The one known as the Queen of the Extreme North, ranked third among the Ten Great Savage Beasts—Snow Empress.
Of course, he had no way of knowing that the current Snow Empress had essentially ascended to first place. Di Tian was now either beneath her or her equal at best.
Snow Empress' appearance sobered Xiao Hongchen up immediately. But his shock and awe quickly turned into delight. His eyes sparkled as he stared at Huo Yuhao, as if he were some priceless treasure, leaving Huo Yuhao confused.
From what he just saw, it seemed Snow Empress, like Meng Hongchen's Demon Soul Great White Shark, was now Huo Yuhao's soul spirit. What did that mean? If Snow Empress protected Huo Yuhao, then by extension... didn't that mean she would protect the Hongchen clan too?
'No wonder he's my grandfather's grandson—we think exactly alike.'
"Yuhao, you're like the guardian spirit of the Hongchen family!"
Huo Yuhao scratched his nose awkwardly, smiling without saying anything more.
Then Xiao Hongchen recalled what Huo Yuhao had said about meeting Beast God Di Tian. A cold sweat formed on his back.
'Yuhao, why are all the people you want to deal with the kind I've only ever heard about in legends?'
"But seriously, Yuhao... even with Snow Empress by your side, heading into the Great Star Dou Forest to meet Di Tian... well, how do I put this—no offense to Snow Empress, of course—but expecting Di Tian to sit down and have a friendly, threat-free chat... doesn't that sound a bit far-fetched?"
Xiao Hongchen wasn't exactly subtle, but Huo Yuhao understood his point and agreed. Even if Snow Empress now possessed power equal to Di Tian's, getting Di Tian to peacefully sit down and discuss a soul spirit agreement in his own territory was... unlikely.
But—
"Haha, Senior Xiao, that's because you don't know the whole picture. You're wondering why we're dragging Xiao Rui along, right? Huh—wait, why is she asleep? Did she eat too much?"
Xiao Hongchen blinked. 'How did he know that?'
But Huo Yuhao didn't keep him in suspense. He quickly clarified.
"Well, like I said earlier, Xiao Rui's identity isn't simple. Let me put it this way—she may not be a top-level powerhouse, but her status alone is enough to make Di Tian sit down and talk with me. Snow Empress is my strength. Xiao Rui—she's my leverage."
He paused for a moment, then added,
"Senior Xiao... have you ever heard of the Auspicious Beast?"
Xiao Hongchen shook his head, clearly puzzled. Understandably so. The Auspicious Beast was something most humans had only ever seen mentioned in ancient texts—if at all.
"The Auspicious Beast. Xiao Rui is the Auspicious Beast of the Great Star Dou Forest. Her presence brings blessings and luck to all soul beasts there. With her in residence, even the fierce beasts—Di Tian included—would've treated her like a goddess. Before she secretly took on human form and snuck out, she was probably revered like an ancestor in the forest."
Huo Yuhao hadn't originally planned to tell Xiao Hongchen about Xiao Rui's identity. But since Xiao Rui was aware he now knew, it changed things. If Di Tian were to find out a human close to the forest knew about the Auspicious Beast's whereabouts without her consent, it could spell serious trouble for Xiao Hongchen.
Xiao Hongchen fell silent.
'So this adorable little green-haired girl is actually the revered Auspicious Beast of the Great Star Dou Forest?'
After witnessing Snow Empress and the soul spirit phenomenon, Xiao Hongchen had grown somewhat numb to Huo Yuhao's unbelievable revelations. So he accepted the explanation fairly quickly.
"So basically... with this powerful Auspicious Beast you somehow 'picked up,' you've got enough clout to sit down as equals with Di Tian?"
Xiao Hongchen wasn't a fool. With the Auspicious Beast's backing and Snow Empress' strength, Huo Yuhao really did have a solid shot at equal negotiations. It wasn't just possible—it was practically guaranteed.
"Exactly. So I'll go find Di Tian first and settle the matter of soul spirits. Once we've got an agreement, Di Tian will definitely want to see a demonstration. That's when I'll have the chance to find you a powerful soul spirit, Senior Xiao."
Xiao Hongchen was deeply moved.
"Yuhao... you're doing so much for me. How could I ever repay you?"
"Don't say that, Senior Xiao. We're family. There's no need to talk about repayment."
"Hehe, big bro, you'd better start worshiping our amazing Yuhao already!"
After the banquet, Xiao Hongchen took Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen on a tour of Shrek Academy.
Since it was a rest day, the chances of running into "certain people" were naturally much higher.
Sure enough, they didn't get far before they ran into two very familiar faces—Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi—standing on the street, expressions cold and guarded as they stared down Huo Yuhao, Meng Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, and the Auspicious Beast.
Huo Yuhao didn't bother hiding himself. With Snow Empress around, he had nothing to fear. But just as luck—or fate—would have it, they had run straight into two old opponents from the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
"Oh? If I'm not mistaken, you two are called Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi, right? Long time no see! What a surprise running into you here!" Huo Yuhao grinned as if meeting old friends.
Bei Bei frowned, a hint of disgust in his eyes as he looked at Huo Yuhao's overly familiar smile.
Xu Sanshi didn't hold back either. His voice was cold.
"Old friends? Hmph. You think we're friends? You're a butcher who didn't hesitate to kill on the tournament stage."
That's right—after Huo Yuhao and Meng Hongchen had mercilessly slain Dai Huabin and Zhu Lu, their teammates and friends, their reputations in the eyes of people like Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi had plummeted to rock bottom.
And with Tang Ya's disappearance, Bei Bei's hatred deepened. He remembered how much Huo Yuhao had resented the Tang Sect. Now, Tang Ya was missing—heartbroken over the decline of the Tang Sect, depressed and lost. Bei Bei couldn't help but direct even more of his resentment toward Huo Yuhao.
(End of Chapter)
---
This Fanfiction Has Been Completed on Patreon, There is 2 Chapters Ahead of Release for Free Memebers on my Patreon.
Support me if you like this Fanfiction.
Patreon,com/Fallen_Archangel_
(Remove comma for dot.)
Leave a 5 star Review and a Power Stone.