Lan Xuanyu asked with feigned indifference, "By the way, Senior Brother, did you encounter anyone named Huo Yuhao along the way?"
He knew very well that the Shrek Seven Monsters like Bei Bei and Tang Ya were merely side notes to the revival of the Tang Sect. The true architect of the Tang Sect's restoration was Huo Yuhao; even his grandfather had personally acknowledged Huo Yuhao's greatest contribution to the Douluo Continent.
Bei Bei shook his head in confusion. "Huo Yuhao? I've never seen anyone by that name..."
"Never seen him?" Lan Xuanyu was instantly baffled. The job of reviving the Tang Sect was supposed to be his! Where did he go?
An uncontrollable shiver ran through his body as a wild thought surged in his mind.
Could it be that Huo Yuhao is also alive and is intentionally avoiding the Tang Sect in this era...
Cold sweat instantly drenched his back. If something had gone wrong with Huo Yuhao's timeline, Lan Xuanyu couldn't even imagine what his father Tang Wulin's era—and his own—would look like.
No, no! If that's the case, the entire history of the Douluo Continent will be a total mess!
Though Lan Xuanyu felt panicked, he was, after all, once a God King level powerhouse. His mental state was resilient, and he quickly figured out what he needed to do.
He had to get everything back on track!
But for now, he still had to fulfill his duties as a Tang Sect disciple and help Tang Ya obtain her third soul ring.
Unsurprisingly, Tang Ya's choice of soul beasts still aimed to emulate a certain God King.
Mandala Snake, Ghost Vine, even the Man-Faced Demon Spider and Pit Demon Spider—these were the "best choices" according to Tang Ya.
Lan Xuanyu found this laughable. There was only one Tang San in the entire history of the Douluo Continent; these juniors who wanted to replicate his grandfather's glorious achievements were simply not up to the task.
These fools... don't they know that what the Tang lineage truly passes down is the Blue Silver Emperor, not Blue Silver Grass?
Of course, Lan Xuanyu felt no obligation to tell Tang Ya.
On the road, Lan Xuanyu and Bei Bei exchanged tips on the operation of the Mysterious Heaven Skill, completely ignoring Tang Ya on the side.
What puzzled Lan Xuanyu was that the version of the Mysterious Heaven Skill circulating in this era was different from the one he knew, which had been taught personally by Tang San in the God Realm.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill mastered by Tang Ya and Bei Bei was far less complete than his own. The most critical heart mantras were omitted, and the cultivation of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians—vital for developing one's potential—had been cut. Many other parts were missing as well. This meant that even with the same Mysterious Heaven Skill, the results achieved by these Tang Sect disciples were far inferior to those of the Tang family.
It seems Grandfather Tang San held back in some areas... one must trust the wisdom of the Sea God!
They hadn't ventured very far into the Star Constellation Great Forest before they unexpectedly encountered a Man-Faced Demon Spider with a cultivation of five thousand years...
If this were Lan Xuanyu's past life, one release of his Dragon God bloodline aura would have made any soul beast, regardless of cultivation, kneel and lick his boots.
But now...
"Run!!!"
Bei Bei roared, having zero desire to fight. He took Tang Ya and fled frantically using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step, wishing his parents had given him two extra legs.
That was a five-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider! To put it bluntly, even a Soul King could struggle against it; small Soul Elders like them were nothing more than a snack.
Lan Xuanyu bit his teeth in frustration. Though he felt humiliated, his body was honest—for a moment, he actually ran faster than Bei Bei and the others.
He didn't forget to occasionally throw light orbs composed of water, fire, and earth elements to hinder the spider's progress. However, the gap in strength was too vast. Eventually, Tang Ya and Bei Bei were tripped by spider silk, and Lan Xuanyu failed to dodge a Cobweb Restraint.
In the blink of an eye, the Man-Faced Demon Spider was upon them. Its sharp spider legs pierced Bei Bei's arm as he tried to protect Tang Ya, and another leg stabbed into Lan Xuanyu's upper thigh.
It missed his "little birdie" by only an inch...
Fortunately, Bei Bei had a background. Seeing that the situation was dire, the teacher escorting him for the hunt appeared, repelling the spider and taking Bei Bei and Lan Xuanyu back to Shrek Academy for treatment.
...
The day after Lan Xuanyu and the others left the Star Constellation Great Forest, the exhausted Huo Yuhao finally woke up after sleeping for a full day.
Previously, Baili Du had told him that he must first join Shrek Academy. He was to use his own eyes and heart to see what this so-called "Holy Land of Soul Masters" was really like, and only after making his own judgment should he choose whether to stay or leave.
Although he didn't understand why he had to go to Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao fully trusted Baili Du's words.
However, before that, he needed to head into the Star Constellation Great Forest to obtain his third soul ring.
He arrived at the same spot where destiny was supposed to be set, but the people involved had changed.
Sitting by a stream, Huo Yuhao skillfully set up a fire to roast fish. Before long, the unique aroma of Huo-style roasted fish wafted through the air. Even the mini version of the Skydream Ice Silkworm perched on his shoulder twitched its nose shamelessly.
"Yuhao, your big brother wants to eat too."
Huo Yuhao smiled helplessly. Just as he was about to hand the roasted fish to his shoulder, ripples appeared on the distant river surface.
"Who's there!?"
His right hand instantly transformed into a deep blue dragon claw, with dark purple lightning snakes surging over it as he stared at the stream with extreme vigilance.
Skydream forgot about the fish; his chubby white body twisted flexibly as he moved to protect Huo Yuhao.
Then, a dark gold, triangular head poked out from underwater, its small eyes of the same color staring intently at the roasted fish in Huo Yuhao's hand.
"You can actually discover this King? Human brat, you're not simple..."
Then its body rose out of the water—it was actually a giant tortoise!
It was over two meters in diameter. The golden shell on its back was extremely uniform and deep; even the color within each texture of the shell was dark gold, without a single blemish. However, its aura was somewhat lethargic, its life force extremely weak, giving off the feeling of someone with one foot in the grave.
Although its voice was muffled and heavy, the fact that this tortoise could speak meant...
"A... a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?"
Without hesitation, Huo Yuhao grabbed the Skydream Ice Silkworm, intending to turn and bolt.
But a gentle force wrapped around Huo Yuhao, preventing his escape.
"Hey, hey... don't run, don't run. Human brat, this King has no ill intent, rest assured."
"Ahem, let me introduce myself. This King is the Auspicious Beast among tortoises, a super powerhouse with a hundred thousand years of cultivation—the Golden Tortoise."
Huo Yuhao and the Skydream Ice Silkworm locked eyes. Skydream gave him a meaningful look and quietly hid his presence.
"...So, Senior Golden Tortoise, is there something you need from me?"
The Golden Tortoise nodded solemnly, though its tiny eyes remained glued to the roasted fish. "Mmh, of course. But first, let this King taste that roasted fish of yours to see what it's like before I tell you."
Is there any connection between those two things? I feel like you just want to eat... Though he wanted to complain, Huo Yuhao tentatively reached out and handed the roasted fish to the Golden Tortoise's mouth.
Without any ceremony, it polished off the fish in one bite. The tortoise's small eyes instantly widened several times over, and its previously lethargic aura actually surged a bit.
It was almost moved to tears. Humans really knew how to live! What kind of life had it been leading before... just eating plain raw fish.