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Inside the Frozen Forest, Lan Minghua poked at the fire-roasted paw of the Ice Crystal Snow Bear with a freshly carved wooden skewer.
The paw sizzled under the flames, fat bubbling on its surface before dripping onto the coals below with a sharp hiss.
It was Lan Minghua's first time cooking such a high-end delicacy, and he wasn't entirely sure how to tell if it was ready to eat.
"Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside… plus my secret barbecue seasoning—this should be fine, right?"
Somewhat uncertain, he pushed the skewer into the steaming paw, lifted a piece to his mouth, sniffed, and then took a bite.
Crunch! His teeth sank instantly into the crispy, tender meat.
In that moment, hot juices burst across his tongue, filling his mouth with a rich, savory flavor.
The unique, mellow taste carried a faint wildness of the deep mountains, instantly driving away the cold lingering in his body.
Seeing Lan Minghua eat with relish, Oscar and the other three could no longer hold back; they eagerly grabbed their own portions of bear meat and began to eat.
Only when they were all chewing did Lan Minghua spit out the charred meat from his mouth and mutter faintly, "The heat's… a little overdone."
Oscar and the three girls, who had just bitten into the meat with joy, suddenly felt bitterness spread across their tongues. They instantly spat it out in disgust.
"This—this tastes awful! Master, this isn't just a little overdone, you burned it completely!"
Oscar stared at the chunk of carbonized meat in his hand, utterly disbelieving.
The three girls also hadn't expected their teacher to be able to ruin even a roasted bear paw so badly.
Lan Minghua rolled his eyes. It was his first time messing with such things—wasn't burning it normal?
"Hm." Suddenly, Lan Minghua sensed three distinct auras and looked toward the forest's outer edge.
"Upper Three Sects, or Spirit Hall? To come poking around like this—do they really want to play hero and get slaughtered?"
Though those three auras weren't weak, they were still far too insignificant in Lan Minghua's eyes.
A quick judgment told him they weren't from the Upper Three Sects.
After all, each of those auras had already reached Titled Douluo level, and the Upper Three Sects weren't foolish enough to send their own Titled Douluo to their deaths.
That left only one explanation: they were from Spirit Hall—more precisely, the Worship Hall.
It was simple. Bibi Dong had surely learned of Lan Minghua's strength from Yue Guan and Gui Mei.
If she sent only those three, it would be like delivering him free prey.
Therefore, the only possibility was that the Worship Hall had dispatched people.
Oscar noticed Lan Minghua zoning out and quickly tossed aside his burnt bear meat before asking, "Master, what are you looking at?"
Lan Minghua returned to himself and said to the four of them, "It's time to raise the stakes. Flowers grown in a greenhouse can never become true powerhouses."
At those words, the four immediately grew wary.
Tossing aside the bear paw, Lan Minghua spoke with rare seriousness:
"From this moment on, you must work together to survive within the Frozen Forest. This is a game of hunting and being hunted. If you fail to meet my expectations—even if your lives are in danger—I will not intervene."
Until now, Lan Minghua had sheltered them too much, preventing them from ever experiencing the true speed of life and death.
But at rank forty, they already had some ability to protect themselves. It was time for them to taste real cruelty.
And here, in the Frozen Forest, with Titled Douluo outside—wasn't this the perfect trial ground?
For the first time, Oscar saw such a serious expression on his master's face. He swallowed hard and dared not refute him.
The three girls also understood clearly: this was a test.
Lan Minghua was satisfied to see that none of them panicked or protested loudly.
At the very least, they hadn't been spoiled into fragile greenhouse flowers. The will to grow stronger was still there.
"Good. I hereby declare the game of hunting and being hunted has begun. Don't disappoint me."
As his voice faded, Lan Minghua's figure vanished from beside the fire, leaving behind not the slightest trace of his aura.
"No—Master, don't abandon me!"
Oscar collapsed into the snow with exaggerated sobs, as though background music of 'Snowflakes drifting, the north wind howling…' had suddenly started playing around him.
Zhu Zhuqing, seeing him acting stupid again, didn't hesitate to kick him hard, sending him flying into a snowdrift with a thud.
"Enough fooling around. Let's discuss what we need to do to meet Master's expectations. Otherwise, with our strength, we won't survive in the Frozen Forest."
Hearing that, Oscar stopped fooling around and reluctantly joined the discussion.
Dugu Yan, being the eldest, spoke softly: "Master said this is a game of hunting and being hunted. Does that mean he wants us to hunt spirit beasts?"
The group fell silent in thought.
Zhu Zhuqing then said, "It's possible. After all, Master also gave us conditions."
Though he hadn't stated them outright, his words had made it clear: if they didn't meet his requirements, even if they faced death, he wouldn't save them.
This was the obstacle they had to overcome—or they wouldn't survive this game.
The four began discussing what they needed to do to meet Lan Minghua's expectations.
Unbeknownst to them, Lan Minghua hovered high above. The storm blocked their vision, but he could see them clearly.
Of course, he wouldn't simply abandon them to face Titled Douluo directly.
With a flick of his finger, four threads of sword qi silently shot into their bodies.
They didn't feel a thing.
With their safety net in place, Lan Minghua didn't idle—he began searching for a ten-thousand-year Mirror Shadow Beast.
With his sword qi guarding them, two of those auras wouldn't be able to harm them at all.
As for the strongest one—he doubted such an opponent would even bother with a group of rank-forty Spirit Masters.
"You're on your own now. Good luck." Casting one last glance at the four, Lan Minghua left.
This kind of trial was far more direct and efficient than fighting in some Great Spirit Arena.
In this situation, survival demanded ruthless resolve.
It was kill or be killed.
Once Lan Minghua was gone, the storm howled louder, and the soul beasts that had stayed hidden began to move.
The only reason they hadn't attacked while the bear meat roasted wasn't unwillingness—but fear.
As long as Lan Minghua was there, none dared act.
Now that he was gone, pairs of glowing red beast eyes emerged all around the camp.
Oscar and the others quickly noticed and formed a back-to-back formation to protect one another.
Meng Yiran, from a beast-taming clan, understood spirit beasts better than the rest.
Seeing the silver-blue wolves with crystal-like eyes, she warned, "Be careful, these are Cold Howling Moon Wolves. They're only at the thousand-year level individually, but in large numbers, their collective howls can trigger blizzards."
Oscar asked, "Fourth Junior Sister, what should we do to conserve strength?"
Meng Yiran immediately decided: "Break through in one direction, then fight them in a hit-and-run style."
"Alright! Stay behind me—get ready!"
In that instant, Oscar's body erupted in golden light, his whole figure resembling a golden statue.
Then, like a cannonball, he charged straight toward the weakest point in the wolf pack's formation.
The three girls unleashed their own abilities, fending off the wolves that lunged at them.
These hundred-to-thousand-year wolves weren't enough to stop the group from breaking through.
But wolves were patient hunters—soon, all of them gave chase.
At the same time, the Lion Douluo and his two companions also entered the Frozen Forest.
Still troubled about how to find Lan Minghua's group, they suddenly felt faint fluctuations of spirit power.
The Lion Douluo fixed his gaze on a certain spot and said coldly, "Found them. She Long, Ci Xue—scout ahead!"
(End of Chapter)