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However, Ye Wen had no time to exchange glances with the Wind Baboon leader. He simply kicked it away with all his might.
A soul beast that had tasted blood was an entirely different matter from one that hadn't. Even though the Wind Baboon leader was already dead, the rest of the Wind Baboons had been roused into a frenzy. Combined with the naturally warlike nature of their species, the situation had escalated into a blood-soaked battle where both sides were fighting with unrelenting ferocity.
Though Huo Yu'er excelled in close combat, neither of her first two soul skills enhanced her defense, and she wasn't wearing any armor.
As such, Ye Wen was exceptionally tense. The moment he broke free from the Wind Baboon leader, he immediately engaged the other Wind Baboons at full speed, drawing their attacks away from Huo Yu'er.
During the fight, Huo Yu'er also used her first soul skill to disrupt the Wind Baboons' vision, misleading them into attacking each other. However, facing a group of over thirty soul beasts, her abilities were stretched thin.
Even so, Ye Wen protected Huo Yu'er without letting her suffer a single scratch, standing firmly at the forefront of the Wind Baboons' assault.
Gradually, his twin blades snapped.
The armor on Ye Wen's body was torn apart several times.
But even in this disadvantaged state, Ye Wen never entertained the thought of abandoning Huo Yu'er.
In the world of Douluo, although Ye Wen now had a family that fulfilled his longing for familial bonds, human desires are never fully satisfied. Over time, Ye Wen began to yearn for love as well.
Thus, he cherished Huo Yu'er's pure and untainted affection deeply. He absolutely would not allow anyone to harm his future family!
When his weapons were gone, he transformed Nana's martial soul into a new form, turning himself into a weapon. Even while suffering grievous injuries, Ye Wen hesitated not in becoming a killing machine.
Slowly, after more than half of their group had been slaughtered, the Wind Baboons finally began to feel fear and instinctively started to flee.
Driven by his combat instincts, Ye Wen fought on, losing track of time. When he finally stopped, there were no living Wind Baboons left around him—only the bloody scene of their corpses lying in pools of blood, with soul rings beginning to emerge from their bodies.
When Ye Wen came to his senses and saw that the crisis had finally passed, he let out a deep sigh of relief. Then, his legs gave way, and he staggered backward before collapsing.
After all, Ye Wen was only a ten-year-old child. Even with the cultivation of a Grand Soul Master, he was still just a quasi-Grand Soul Master with a single soul ring. This battle had drained nearly all of his strength.
But…
"Thank goodness, Yu'er is safe."
With that thought crossing his mind, Ye Wen finally couldn't hold on any longer. He released his martial soul, then blacked out, falling unconscious.
Before losing consciousness, Ye Wen felt himself being enveloped in a warm, fragrant embrace—a feeling that brought immense comfort.
Huo Yu'er silently gazed at the lover in her arms, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
She knew she was nothing more than an emotional thief, sneaking into Ye Wen's heart while he had lost his memories. She despised herself for it.
And yet, despite her deceit, Ye Wen still protected her wholeheartedly, loved her unconditionally. This feeling was intoxicating, but it constantly reminded Huo Yu'er of her own shame.
"Let me be despicable then. I want someone to love me like this too," Huo Yu'er thought silently. She even recalled a book about love she had once read, which claimed that love was inherently selfish.
At the time, Huo Yu'er hadn't given it much thought, but now it felt like fate had struck her squarely between the eyes.
Huo Yu'er wanted to be selfish now.
Gently smoothing Ye Wen's disheveled hair, Huo Yu'er quickly retrieved some medicine and began treating his wounds.
Though the Wind Baboons' wind blade attacks had been sharp, the protection of his Armament soul skill meant Ye Wen had only sustained minor external injuries. This realization made Huo Yu'er breathe a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Huo Yu'er also detected a powerful surge of soul power coming from afar.
This fluctuation in soul power was familiar.
Huo Yu'er's face lit up with joy. Though her inner age far surpassed Huo Rui's, perhaps due to the influence of her current body—or perhaps because this life had filled the voids of her past childhood—Huo Yu'er held Huo Rui in great respect.
From a distance, Huo Rui had already seen the gruesome aftermath of the battle and her expression darkened.
However, upon seeing that Huo Yu'er was unharmed, the weight on Huo Rui's heart lifted. She then glanced at Ye Wen, who lay unconscious on the ground.
With her experience, Huo Rui could tell that most of the Wind Baboons on the ground had been killed by Ye Wen. And the fact that he had managed to protect her granddaughter from harm amidst such a large group of soul beasts…
At this moment, Huo Rui fully accepted Ye Wen as her future grandson-in-law.
"I'm sorry, little Yu'er. Grandma didn't expect this to happen," Huo Rui said apologetically.
Though Huo Yu'er often acted with her emotions leading her, she was not one to unfairly blame others. Besides, this area was on the very outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, where soul beasts were rare. No one could have predicted such an ambush.
It could only be said that Huo Rui had grown a bit complacent after breaking through to Soul Douluo, but this was indeed a rare occurrence that no one could have foreseen.
After all, this barren mountaintop was rarely visited by soul beasts. Who could have guessed that these Wind Baboons would suddenly appear to attack them?
The more mature Huo Yu'er acted, the more it pained Huo Rui to see a ten-year-old girl bearing such burdens. Despite her outward calm, Huo Rui could sense the weight on her granddaughter's heart.
Thus, Huo Rui felt increasingly guilty toward the two of them.
Soon, Ye Wen regained consciousness—it was only exhaustion from depleting his soul power, after all.
Ye Wen graciously accepted Huo Rui's apology, understanding that no one in this world could claim to never fail.
What mattered most was that both he and Huo Yu'er had survived.
Upon seeing the Four-Winged Sky Soaring Dragon, Ye Wen's eyes lit up. Though his body hadn't fully recovered, he hurriedly went to check the soul beast's age.
The theoretical maximum absorption limit for a Grand Soul Master was recorded at 764 years. Ye Wen didn't aim for much—600 or barely reaching 700 would suffice.
The Four-Winged Sky Soaring Dragon was still in its juvenile stage, considered an ordinary sub-dragon as a ten-year soul beast. It wouldn't truly awaken its bloodline until it reached the hundred-year mark, growing its first reverse scale. Every hundred years thereafter, it would grow another, and when it reached the 99th scale, all the scales would miraculously fuse into a single new scale—a sign of the Four-Winged Sky Soaring Dragon breaking through to the ten-thousand-year mark.
However, ten thousand years was far beyond Ye Wen's current reach. After carefully examining the number of reverse scales on the Four-Winged Sky Soaring Dragon, his expression brightened with joy.
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