Bei Bei looked at Wang Feng and said, "Wang Feng, thank you for killing the Mandragora Snake for Xiao Ya. Now that I think about it, you really gave me a surprise!"
Wang Feng felt a little embarrassed being praised like that by Bei Bei. "It was nothing. Brother Bei probably could've taken it down even if I hadn't stepped in."
Hearing Wang Feng's humility, Bei Bei spoke seriously, "How could that be nothing? I wasn't confident I could face a thousand-year soul beast, but you killed it in a single strike. Even if I had managed to defeat it, I wouldn't have been as fast as you. You're truly incredible."
Hearing Bei Bei's unreserved praise, Wang Feng scratched his head again and smiled sheepishly.
Wang Feng was already handsome to begin with, and his shy smile made him look even younger and more charming.
Seeing Wang Feng's good looks, the young Huo Yuhao couldn't help but blush a little.
Then, the group began discussing the development paths of soul masters. Wang Feng asked Huo Yuhao, "Yuhao, you're a spiritual-type soul master. In the future, do you plan to become a control-type battle soul master or a support-type one?"
Huo Yuhao paused for a moment. "I'm not sure yet. What about you, Wang Feng?"
"I'm a power-attack type battle soul master," Wang Feng replied calmly.
Bei Bei nodded, not finding anything strange about Wang Feng's choice.
"So Yuhao, what kind of soul master do you want to be? Whatever your decision is, I'll always support you," Wang Feng asked again.
"I think I'll become a control-type battle soul master! I'll become the strongest support for you, Wang Feng!" Huo Yuhao said with determination.
Bei Bei couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief upon hearing Huo Yuhao's words. What he hoped for most was for little Yuhao to grow into a control-type soul master.
When he heard Wang Feng talk about his chosen path, he was afraid Yuhao might be influenced and, out of admiration for Wang Feng, insist on following a power-attack path. It's not that no spiritual-type soul masters had taken that path before, but most of them had failed. Even his great-grandfather said it was an extremely difficult road.
Thinking of this, Bei Bei quickly said, "Yuhao, even though your spiritual attribute martial soul only has its first ring, it's already shown incredible potential. If you were to become just a pure support, I think it'd be a bit of a waste. Your senior brother actually prefers you to become a control-type battle soul master—focus more on mental control. If things go well, you could definitely become the core of a team in the future."
Huo Yuhao was naturally happy to hear someone support Bei Bei's hopes for him.
But before he could get too excited, he suddenly lowered his head and muttered, "But… but my talent isn't as good as Wang Feng's, and my cultivation is really slow…"
Compared to Bei Bei and Tang Ya, he was already eleven years old and had only just obtained his first ring, so his talent was quite poor. And although he didn't yet know Wang Feng's exact level, he was sure it was high—especially since Wang Feng was the same age as him…
Hearing Huo Yuhao putting himself down, Wang Feng couldn't help but pat Yuhao's head gently in comfort and said with a smile, "Talent is only part of success. In the past, no one guided your cultivation, and the fact that you've come this far through your own efforts is already very impressive. Besides, your original martial soul is incredible and has limitless potential. Don't look down on yourself—just train diligently. Both I and your senior brother will do our best to help you."
Hearing Wang Feng's encouragement and feeling the warmth on his head, Huo Yuhao couldn't hold back the tightness in his throat. He said, "Thank you, Wang Feng." There was only emotion on his delicate little face.
It took quite a while to absorb the Millennium Soul Ring. While Bei Bei scattered the medicinal powder he brought to repel soul beasts, and Huo Yuhao was still practicing the unique Tang Sect skill he had just learned, Wang Feng also found a tree and sat cross-legged to begin cultivating. His spiritual power cultivation was very slow—it had taken him four years just to rise from level 25 to level 30.
After a long time had passed, Tang Ya let out a long breath and slowly opened her eyes. Her bright eyes shimmered brilliantly. After her soul absorbed the third ring, her entire spirit and energy had improved significantly.
When Wang Feng awoke from his meditation, he happened to see Tang Ya and Bei Bei embracing affectionately, while Huo Yuhao blushed as he looked at them. He didn't know why Yuhao was blushing...
Seeing Tang Ya's happy expression, Wang Feng figured she had finished absorbing her spirit ring, so he stood up and said to her while she was still in Bei Bei's arms, "Congratulations, Sister Xiaoya, for obtaining your third spirit ring and advancing to Spirit Elder rank."
Tang Ya quickly stepped out of Bei Bei's embrace and said to Wang Feng, "No, no, this was all thanks to you. If not for you, we might not have been able to kill the Mandragora Snake so easily."
After a few polite exchanges, everyone felt that since they had successfully found Tang Ya's third soul ring, it was time to leave.
By then, the sky had already begun to darken, and it was clearly not a good idea to spend another night in the Star Dou Great Forest. So after a short rest, the four of them set off toward the outer edge of the forest. And the direction they were headed—was straight to Shrek Academy!
As they traveled, Huo Yuhao continued using his Spiritual Detection to train his soul skill, while Wang Feng walked beside him, sharing some of his small insights on spirit power development from over the years. Due to his slow cultivation, Wang Feng had developed a few personal methods to speed up his spiritual power training.
Naturally, this made Huo Yuhao—who was poor and inexperienced—feel extremely grateful, and along the way, he looked at Wang Feng with growing admiration.
As they walked and talked, an hour passed, and they returned to the river where they had first met.
Upon seeing the flowing stream, everyone couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, as reaching the river meant they had exited both the mixed zone and the forest's edge—there was basically no more danger.
Fortunately, they planned to rest here for the night and set off for Shrek the next day.
After struggling in the Star Dou Great Forest for so long, everyone was naturally exhausted.