Gu Chen and Gu Yue Na quietly followed behind, or rather, silently protected Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Tang San and Xiao Wu stopped not far ahead.
"Tang San, look at the stars in the sky, there are so many!" Xiao Wu said excitedly.
Tang San was a bit helpless, as he still had to go obtain his first soul ring the next day. He couldn't go with dark circles under his eyes, right? "You brought me out just to look at the stars?"
Xiao Wu glanced around to make sure no one was around and took a few steps closer to Tang San. "Of course not, I called you out to..."
As Xiao Wu approached, Tang San's face turned slightly red.
Suddenly, a scorpion-tail-like braid transformed into a shadow, aiming at Tang San's neck.
"Of course, I called you out to spar!" Xiao Wu said, raising her hand and her braid simultaneously, pressing toward Tang San.
Xiao Wu's hand was soft and smooth, like a ball of cotton. But Tang San wasn't in the mood to appreciate such sensations. To his shock, he noticed that Xiao Wu's arm twisted unnaturally, wrapping around his hand, and then instantly extended, entangling his arm.
The braid was like her third hand, wrapping around Tang San's neck.
Tang San quickly tilted his head back and fell backward, performing an Iron Bridge stance to evade the attack, while activating his Xuantian Skill, channeling his energy into his arms.
However, unexpectedly, Xiao Wu released her grip on him and, in the same moment, a great force struck Tang San's waist, knocking him off balance and causing him to fall backward.
Xiao Wu then pressed down on Tang San's two front shoulder joints and straddled him. "So, what do you think, do you submit?"
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A round of applause sounded, drawing their attention.
"Tsk tsk, not sleeping in the middle of the night, out here showing off your affection? You're young, but you're not learning well. A girl on top, boy on bottom? Tang San, you're no good!" The person speaking was Gu Chen, who wore a teasing smile as he walked toward them.
The two of them quickly separated, and Xiao Wu lowered her head, her face turning as red as an apple.
Tang San's face was also flushed, but he pointed at Gu Yue Na, who stood behind Gu Chen, and retorted, "And what about you and Na'er? What are you doing out here at night? Showing off affection too?"
At this, Gu Yue Na's face turned red, and she angrily said, "Tang San, you're asking for a beating! Come, let's spar!"
Tang San didn't know about Gu Yue Na's abilities since Gu Chen had kept her well-protected when she entered the dorm. She hadn't shown any fighting abilities.
This was why Tang San agreed to Gu Yue Na's challenge.
Gu Chen couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Tang San was still too young and fearless! Even he wouldn't dare say he could defeat Gu Yue Na. This would be an interesting match!
Gu Yue Na took the initiative and struck out with a palm. A fiery palm-shaped blast of flame shot toward Tang San.
Tang San was surprised. A fire-elemental martial soul?
Tang San's eyes briefly flashed with a faint purple glow, and instinctively, his Purple Extreme Magic Eyes activated, slowing the speed of the flame palm.
He quickly executed the Ghost Shadow Mysterious Step, dodging swiftly to the side.
At that moment, the ground beneath Tang San's feet suddenly turned into a sticky swamp, like glue, and his feet were stuck, pulling him down toward the earth.
In an instant, his lower legs were sunk into the ground, making it impossible for Tang San to evade the flame palm.
However, Gu Yue Na's control over her soul power was clearly superb. The flame palm struck Tang San directly, but only scorched his clothing. As for Tang San's body, he only felt the heat, with no real injuries.
"I surrender!" Tang San said helplessly. With his legs immobilized, what else could he do?
Gu Yue Na finally smiled and returned to stand behind Gu Chen. Her silver hair swayed gently in the night breeze, adding to her beauty.
Gu Yue Na had used both fire and earth elements. Could she have a dual-element martial soul? Or perhaps, like him, a twin martial soul?
Tang San was puzzled, but too embarrassed to ask.
The next day.
Tang San woke up early and set off with Master to obtain his first soul ring.
After Tang San had left for a while, Gu Chen got up and woke up the still-sleeping Gu Yue Na and Xiao Wu. "Xiao Wu, you haven't condensed your first soul ring yet, right? Come, let's go gather our first soul rings together."
Xiao Wu nodded and whispered, "Master, are we going back to the Star Dou Forest?"
Gu Chen shook his head and said, "The Star Dou Forest is too far. We'll go to the Soul Hunting Forest directly. Otherwise, it'll be hard to explain where our soul rings come from."
So, Gu Chen entrusted the work-study tasks to Wang Sheng and the others. Since he had treated them to a big meal yesterday, Wang Sheng and the others eagerly took on the task.
Gu Chen then went to the Spirit Hall sub-branch to apply for a low-level travel token. Afterward, Gu Chen, Xiao Wu, and Gu Yue Na rented a carriage and headed to the Soul Hunting Forest.
The market outside the Soul Hunting Forest was quite lively, but since the trio was only going to condense their soul rings and not hunt soul beasts, they didn't need much supplies. So, they got off the carriage and walked to the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest.
After handing the token to the captain of the guards and confirming their identities, they entered the Soul Hunting Forest.
Once inside, the trio felt at ease. No soul beasts dared to approach them within a hundred meters without permission.
They quickly made their way to the center of the Soul Hunting Forest and temporarily "borrowed" the dwelling of the ten-thousand-year soul beast, the Wisdom Ape, which had managed to escape the hunts.
"Xiao Wu, you go ahead and condense your soul ring. Gu Yue Na and I will protect you," Gu Chen said.
Xiao Wu nodded vigorously, grateful. "Thank you, Master!"
Gu Chen gently shook his head. "It's nothing. I promised the Sky Blue Bull Python to look after you."
Xiao Wu understood, nodded, and sat cross-legged, her soul power slowly forming a circular ring.
Behind her, the image of a snow-white rabbit appeared—her martial soul, the Ten-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit.
The soul power ring behind her gradually turned from transparent to a light milky white, indicating a ten-year soul ring. After an hour, it transformed into a deep yellow.
As time passed, the color of the soul ring no longer changed, and the soul power fluctuations began to weaken. The yellow first soul ring was absorbed into Xiao Wu's body. She opened her pink eyes and said, "Thank you, Master. My first soul ring is condensed."
Gu Chen nodded. "Next, Gu Yue Na and I will condense our soul rings. Please protect us and don't let anyone approach."
Xiao Wu nodded.
Gu Yue Na gracefully sat down, and the illusion of the Seven-Colored Silver Dragon appeared behind her, making Xiao Wu, who was guarding them from a distance, shiver slightly.
Seven light orbs appeared in Gu Yue Na's palm. Each orb represented a different element: water, fire, earth, wind, light, darkness, and space.