"Why isn't he waking up?!" Tang Ya lightly patted Huo Yuhao's face, her brows furrowed with concern. She turned to Bei Bei with a questioning look.
Bei Bei, however, smiled reassuringly. "His breathing is stable, and his Spirit Power is not just normal—it's brimming with energy. If I had to guess, he just broke through from Spirit Scholar to Spirit Master. His body needs time to adjust, to assimilate the surge of power. It'll take a while. Too bad it was only a ten-year Wind Baboon, though."
Tang Ya scoffed. "What's so bad about that? It's normal for a first spirit ring to be weak. The fact that he killed the Wind Baboon himself is already impressive."
Bei Bei chuckled. "So, the way to your heart is through your stomach, huh? Makes sense, considering how much you love eating his cooking."
Tang Ya's face flushed red. "Bah! You're the one whose heart and stomach are connected! No respect at all! Don't forget—I'm still your teacher!"
Bei Bei simply smiled in response, watching her with quiet amusement.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao's eyes fluttered open. His gaze landed on Tang Ya, who was leaning over him.
"Little Yuhao, you're finally awake! You had me worried." Tang Ya let out a breath of relief, noticing no apparent emotions in his expression.
Huo Yuhao sat up, dusting off his clothes. Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged glances—something about him had changed. He looked… different. Taller. His skin was like jade, and his lean muscles were more apparent.
"Hm..." Unlike before, his expression no longer carried hesitation. There was no contemplation—only a silent calmness.
He had decided. He would use everything around him to his advantage. However, joining the Tang Sect was still out of the question. From Huo Yuhao's inherited memories, sects meant obligations, restrictions, and unnecessary responsibilities—things he had no desire to burden himself with.
His strength had grown. His reiatsu now flowed so powerfully that he could sustain his Quincy abilities—particularly the Kido techniques his subordinates had perfected over thousands of years.
Thanks to Tian Meng's ring, he had reached Spirit Rank 20. Most of it was converted into Mental Energy for his Boundless Sea Realm.
His breakthrough had taken him straight to Spirit Rank 20. For a moment, during his Boundless Sea Realm, his reiatsu had circulated through his body, opening his meridians and pores, absorbing the spiritual energy around him and converting it into reiatsu and mental energy at an accelerated rate.
Just as Tang Ya was about to speak, Huo Yuhao suddenly dashed off—deeper into the forest.
"Huh?! Little Brother Yuhao?! Where are you going?!" Tang Ya called out in shock. "You can't be thinking of heading there—!"
Bei Bei sighed. "Tch. This kid..."
The two immediately sprinted after him. But he was too fast.
His Blut Vene enhanced his legs, pumping reiatsu through his muscles, allowing him to move with inhuman speed. Every step carried him farther and faster, pushing his body past normal limits.
"Why is he so fast?!" Tang Ya gasped, struggling to keep up.
When Huo Yuhao finally stopped, he found himself exactly where he wanted to be—deep within the Wind Baboons' territory. Before him, a pack of over thirty Wind Baboons snarled and growled, their sharp eyes locked onto the unwanted intruder who had stepped into their lair.
Several minutes later, Bei Bei and Tang Ya finally arrived, panting from the chase. They looked around in alarm—this wasn't just any part of Star Dou Forest. It was dangerous.
"Tang Ya, wait." Bei Bei grabbed her arm before she could jump in.
"We have to help him!" she protested.
Bei Bei shook his head. "No. He's not an ordinary Spirit Master. Let's observe for now. If he's in danger, we'll intervene and take him out of here."
Tang Ya hesitated. She knew Bei Bei was right, but watching a young boy face a horde of spirit beasts alone didn't sit well with her.
They weren't obligated to help anyone in Star Dou Forest. But Huo Yuhao wasn't just anyone.
He was different. Cold. Reserved. Fearless. Unlike any other eleven-year-old, they had met.
They watched as the Wind Baboons circled Huo Yuhao, growling and snapping their fangs at him.
Yet, he didn't flinch at the apparent aggressive glares from the Baboons.
He said nothing.
Instead, he raised his hand—and unsheathed his dagger.
As reiatsu surged through his fingers, the dagger expanded into a sword of light, glowing with an incandescent radiance that made the Wind Baboons glance at him with wariness, their instincts screaming at them to run away.
'Hirenkyaku.'
Before they could react, Huo Yuhao disappeared.
A blur of light.
A flash of blue light.
The nearest Wind Baboon's head soared through the air before its body even realized it had been cut.
Blood sprayed like a red mist.
A single name resounded in Huo Yuhao's mind.
'Heischleig.'
Huo Yuhao seized the moment, using the Baboons' confusion to intensify his assault. His sword of light pulsed with Reiatsu forming into a great sword of light as he swung it in a wide horizontal arc, cleaving through multiple Wind Baboons in one strike. Their flesh, organs, and blood splattered across the ground, turning it into crimson ground. As the last seconds of confusion faded, an enraged roar erupted from the surviving beasts.
Dozens of Wind Baboons charged at Huo Yuhao, their eyes burning with fury. Yet, he only grinned, feeling the thrill of battle after years of dormancy. A blast of concentrated light hurtled toward him, but he raised his left arm, letting it strike his forearm. The attack dissipated harmlessly against his skin radiating with the blut veins, leaving not a single scratch.
Infusing Reiatsu into his legs, Huo Yuhao propelled himself into the air, rising above the treetops. Below, the Wind Baboons bared their fangs and began charging their light blasts, aiming at him mid-flight. He glanced down at the gathered beasts and smirked.
'You Baboons must do at least this much to entertain me.'
Raising his hand, he formed his fingers into the shape of a gun. In response, a massive ethereal bow materialized behind him, draining a significant portion of his Reiatsu. He knew this attack would leave him momentarily weakened, but it didn't matter—there would be plenty of spirit rings to absorb afterward.
'Arrow Volley.'
The arrow he conjured radiated a blinding brilliance, illuminating the entire forest. The moment he released it, the air trembled with a deafening boom.
Swoosh—BOOM!
The arrow split and multiplied exponentially, doubling at each interval until it became a storm of fifty glowing projectiles, all aimed at the Wind Baboons.
'Schrift of Wind.'
Harnessing the authority of the wind, Huo Yuhao accelerated the arrows to an almost imperceptible speed, their momentum tearing through the air like a hurricane.
A massacre followed.
The Wind Baboons were decimated, their bodies torn apart by the relentless barrage. Blood pooled across the battlefield, severed limbs, and lifeless corpses strewn across the ground. Huo Yuhao descended gracefully, using the Schrift of Wind to soften his landing.
Only one baboon remained. It trembled, paralyzed by fear, its instincts screaming at it to flee ever stronger—yet its legs refused to move. Huo Yuhao regarded it with cold indifference as he approached.
He wrapped his fingers around its throat and lifted it effortlessly into the air. Then, with a sickening crunch, he crushed its neck.
Splat!
Blood sprayed over him, drenching his figure in crimson. His gaze remained fixed on the white spirit ring that emerged from the baboon's corpse.
"How disappointing," he muttered. He had overestimated them—they were too weak.
Huo Yuhao's stomach also felt nauseous at the scene, perhaps his incarnation wasn't used to such scenes. "It's disgusting. I should refrain from staining my clothes." He muttered.
Watching from the shadows, Tang Ya and Bei Bei took in the brutal scene, struggling to process what they had just witnessed. Huo Yuhao had slaughtered the spirit beasts with terrifying ease.
"Why is he doing this?" Tang Ya murmured, unable to look away.
They had assumed he was just another spirit master, but his overwhelming power said otherwise. It was now clear why he had no interest in joining the Tang Sect—it held no value for someone like him.
"He could enter Shrek Academy effortlessly, even without the Tang Sect's backing," Tang Ya admitted with a bitter smile.
Bei Bei, however, remained tense. His instincts warned him that Huo Yuhao's background was anything but simple. A talent like this… surely, powerful figures were keeping an eye on him. Yet as he scanned the surroundings, he saw no sign of hidden spirit masters.
"He's… really alone?" Bei Bei frowned. The two of them stood while watching Huo Yuhao absorb the spirit rings. Not how Spirit Masters absorb it but turning it into strings of light coalescing into Huo Yuhao's palms. It wasn't turning them into his spirit rings but turning them into fuel for whatever Huo Yuhao was accumulating.
They were both shocked by this scene but kept silent due to how focused he was.
The authority of the Schrift of Wind was growing at this moment, the forest was silent and Huo Yuhao's figure was glowing in a radiant blue light.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya glanced at each other, "Tang Ya, I think we should go."
"Alright, let's remind him first to not stay here for too long before we go," Tang Ya nodded.
Although they wasted most of their time following Huo Yuhao. Their curiosity was at least answered after seeing his abilities. He could survive here, but not in the deeper areas. They were now at the external area of Star Dou Forest, nearing the edge of the internal area.
Just then, a rustling sound echoed through the forest.
Their eyes snapped toward the battlefield, where Huo Yuhao sat amidst the carnage, already halfway through absorbing the spirit rings. His eyes remained closed—until they suddenly flicked open, sensing an ominous presence ahead.
A wave of killing intent filled the air. The once-clear sky darkened ominously.
A 10,000-year spirit beast had arrived.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya stiffened, their expressions growing grim.
"A Romanti Snake at least 10,000 years old." Bei Bei muttered, recognizing the dreadful power radiating from the creature.
A 10,000-year-old spirit beast was in an entirely different league. There was no way Huo Yuhao could outrun it—not even with his abilities.
Bei Bei's gaze darted around, searching for any sign of backup. Still, he found nothing. No reinforcements. No hidden masters expected to guard a boy with this much talent and experience.
Nothing.
Huo Yuhao truly was alone.
Bei Bei clenched his fists. Even if they tried to help, what could they do against a creature of this caliber?
'It's too strong.'
Before Huo Yuhao could react, the Datura Snake struck, its massive form blurring as it lunged with terrifying speed.
Hirenkyaku.
Huo Yuhao vanished in an instant, dodging left before rolling along the ground to absorb the impact. The snake's tail slammed into the trees, reducing them to splinters. The sheer force of the attack left a long, smoking trail of devastation and at the edge, the trees were uprooted.
The beast's murderous eyes locked onto him once more.
"Bei Bei, let's help him," Tang Ya said, her voice low but resolute.
Tang Ya grabbed his hand, determination flashing in her eyes.
"You and I both know we can't just leave him."
Bei Bei exhaled sharply.
"...I don't know what to do with you," he muttered, shaking his head with a wry smile.
He knew Tang Ya was going to save Huo Yuhao, so Bei Bei decided to buy time for Tang Ya to escape with Huo Yuhao while he stalls the Datura Snake. When the time came.
They were from Shrek Academy, the strongest academy in the world. If they abandoned a fellow spirit master to die, how could they ever call themselves its disciples?
Lightning crackled around Bei Bei's right arm, coiling like a living beast. His hand transformed into a draconic claw, glowing with violent blue energy.
Rumble!
"Third Spirit Ring: Thunderous Fury!"
Bei Bei slammed his foot into the ground, launching himself toward the Datura Snake like a lightning bolt.
If its scales were too tough to pierce, then he'd have to attack from within—lightning could tear through its insides.
Gripping the serpent's massive head, Bei Bei twisted his body and drove it into the earth with raw power and momentum.
Boom! Crackle!
The Datura Snake screeched in agony, its enormous form thrashing violently. With a powerful jerk, it sent Bei Bei rolling across the ground, his momentum carrying him toward Huo Yuhao and Tang Ya.
Huo Yuhao frowned as he watched them. Why? He couldn't comprehend their actions.
"You idiots… Why are you helping me?" His voice was cold, but there was an unfamiliar emotion lingering beneath it. He clenched his fists. "You should've run."
Tang Ya ignored his glare and stepped forward. "Go! We'll hold it off!"
"Why?" Huo Yuhao repeated. He truly couldn't understand. What do they gain from this?
"Tang Ya, Little Brother Yuhao—both of you, run!" Bei Bei shouted, his breathing heavy from the impact. Bei Bei felt he couldn't hold off this Datura Snake for long.
Before Tang Ya could protest, Huo Yuhao exhaled sharply. These two… they were foolish. Yet, at this moment, their foolishness was the only thing keeping him alive.
He turned away and strode toward the lifeless bodies of the Wind Baboons, absorbing their spirit rings.
"Hold it off for a minute," he said, his voice calm. "Once I'm at full power, I can get us out of here."
Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged glances. They hadn't expected him to be able to absorb spirit rings, no one in this world had such ability. Just what was Huo Yuhao's background?
Still, they nodded. One minute. That, they could manage.
As Huo Yuhao focused, realization dawned on him. He had been reckless. This world might have seemed insignificant compared to his previous one, but right now, he was weak. If not for these two, he would have been forced to use the Almighty's Future Alter ability—a move that would have shattered his vessel. It would have cost him everything, including his ability to wield Reiatsu.
Now, he needed to absorb the remaining Spirit Rings of the Wind Baboons to awaken the Schrift of Wind's Vollstandig at a minimum level.
Shriek!
The Datura Snake unleashed a deafening roar, shaking the trees with its sheer force. Bei Bei and Tang Ya flinched, covering their ears as the very ground trembled beneath them.
One minute, they had to stall this creature.