"Elder Xuan!"
The moment Xuanzi appeared, those still conscious—Zhang Lexuan, Ma Xiaotao, Su Meng, Han Ruoruo, and Shen Xu—broke into relieved smiles. The tight string in their hearts finally snapped, and overwhelming exhaustion surged over them like a wave. Han Ruoruo and Shen Xu immediately collapsed into unconsciousness, while Su Meng gritted her teeth and dragged the unconscious ones into a group.
Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao were also on the brink of collapse but managed to stay awake through sheer willpower.
"Children... it's my fault! I came too late!" Xuanzi's aged face was filled with remorse, his eyes bloodshot with guilt.
"Elder Xuan, Ziyang is missing!" Ma Xiaotao didn't bother responding to his apology. Her voice was urgent and panicked.
Xuanzi's expression changed instantly. Only now did he notice—of the original thirteen-member team, only ten remained!
"Elder Xuan, Ziyang was flung away by the dying backlash of the Ghost Moon Forest Python King! Over in that direction—please go look for him!" Zhang Lexuan forced herself to stand and pointed the way. "We're not in immediate danger anymore, but Ziyang is completely out of soul power and alone—he's in far too much danger! Please hurry!"
Xuanzi was burning with anxiety. Zhu Ziyang was Mu En's disciple—he represented the future strength and hope of Shrek Academy. He absolutely couldn't let such a genius die because of his own negligence!
He no longer had time to worry about the wounded or unconscious students before him. He shot off in the direction Zhang Lexuan had indicated. After flying several hundred meters, his heart dropped—Zhu Ziyang wasn't there! All he found was a deep crater over a hundred meters from the battlefield. There was no trail, no aura left behind—nothing.
Zhu Ziyang had vanished.
Xuanzi frantically searched every corner around the crater, but it was no use. Empty-handed and disoriented, he returned to the other students, unsure how to face Mu En or the other elders. Ma Xiaotao had fainted after he left, and only Zhang Lexuan remained awake, leaning weakly against a tree. When she saw Xuanzi return alone, her heart sank.
"Lexuan, take the Ghost Moon Forest Python King's soul ring and soul bone," Xuanzi said, trying to steady his voice. "This is your team's reward—you can't waste it. Here, take these few fruits. They'll help with the absorption process. Go. I'll guard you."
He handed her several crimson fruits, exuding an enticing aroma.
"Elder Xuan… what about Ziyang?" Zhang Lexuan had no heart to absorb a soul ring. She blamed herself for what had happened. She couldn't let anything happen to Zhu Ziyang—this junior with boundless talent!
"I couldn't find him." Xuanzi's face was dark and heavy. "That's why you need to absorb the soul ring now and recover your strength. Then I can return to the academy and alert the other elders to search for him."
"I understand!" Zhang Lexuan finally understood his reasoning. Time was of the essence. Without hesitation, she accepted the fruits and ran toward the python's corpse. Every step made her feel like something was tearing apart inside her body—but she had no time to care.
The blood-red soul ring floated before her, radiating the unique oppressive aura of a hundred-thousand-year soul ring. Zhang Lexuan gritted her teeth and sat down cross-legged, swallowed the fruits in one gulp, and began drawing the soul ring toward her with her soul power.
The absorption began.
——
So, where had Zhu Ziyang gone?
When he and the Soul Tool shield were flung away, the Black Dragon Shield Array had absorbed most of the impact. His body sustained only minor injuries. But maintaining the shield consumed the last of his soul power, and just as he was about to lose consciousness, Electrolux intervened.
When Zhu Ziyang woke again, it was already noon. He found himself inside a tree hollow—nestled within a massive tree at least large enough for ten people to encircle. The hollow's opening was twenty or thirty meters off the ground, and its interior could comfortably fit four to five adults.
"Teacher, where am I?" Zhu Ziyang clutched his throbbing head. The python's tail had still rattled his internal organs.
"I'm not sure, but we should still be in the Star Dou Great Forest," Electrolux's voice answered weakly. "We didn't teleport more than five thousand meters. If our direction was correct, then we're in the northern part of the core region—still within the same area as before."
"Ugh… that far?!" Zhu Ziyang cursed in disbelief. "How the hell am I supposed to regroup with Senior Sister and the others? That Ghost Moon Forest Python King should be dead by now, right? They should be okay, right?"
"Hard to say," Electrolux replied. "A hundred-thousand-year soul beast's dying backlash is no joke. Even if it died, your companions… may not have survived."
"Sigh! What the hell was Elder Xuan doing?" Zhu Ziyang grumbled bitterly. "How could he just disappear?"
His frustration with Xuanzi wasn't small—he considered the elder's absence outright dereliction of duty. If Xuanzi hadn't vanished, the team wouldn't have suffered so badly, and some might still be alive.
"Let's think about getting out of here first," Electrolux said.
"You're right. I should recover first." Zhu Ziyang nodded. "Once I've recovered, I'll head out. We're not far from the mixed-zone. As long as I reach that area, I'll be relatively safer."
"Exactly."
With Zhu Ziyang's current strength, he could easily handle soul beasts under ten-thousand-year level. Against beasts between ten to twenty thousand years, he could still escape. But above that, survival was questionable—and the twenty-thousand-year level was the floor of the core region.
Only by returning to the mixed-zone would he be truly safe.
He immediately closed his eyes and began meditating to recover. His plan was to move out after nightfall, when most soul beasts would be dormant, and the danger lessened.
Time slowly passed. Daylight faded. Night fell.
Zhu Ziyang peeked out from the hollow, cautiously surveying the surroundings. Then he leapt to the forest floor. Once he oriented himself, he immediately set off at top speed toward the mixed-zone.
Night in the Star Dou Great Forest was unnervingly quiet. The dense canopy blocked out all starlight—only darkness and the primal scent of wild beasts remained. Zhu Ziyang sprinted ahead, disregarding stealth. With less than five hundred meters to the mixed-zone, it was best to dash through—he remembered all too well the last time such a distance had nearly cost them everything.
Five hundred meters passed in less than half a minute.
The moment his feet crossed into the mixed-zone, a wave of relief washed over him. His speed naturally slowed. As he ran, he pondered his next move—should he return to the academy immediately and report, or search for Zhang Lexuan and the others?
The rational choice was to return. But Zhu Ziyang's heart rejected it.
He couldn't leave behind those who had fought life-and-death battles with him. He wanted to find them. He knew the inner courtyard students' current state. After such a brutal fight, even if Zhang Lexuan successfully absorbed the hundred-thousand-year soul ring, with her damaged Martial Soul origin, she wouldn't recover without a year or two of rest. The others were even worse off.
He decided. He would find them and bring them all safely back to the academy.
It was a difficult choice.
Once decided, he began retracing his steps—moving along the boundary between the core region and the mixed-zone. He tried to remember the direction where they had encountered the Ghost Moon Forest Python King. He guessed that the survivors, if any, would have retreated into the mixed-zone. Injured as they were, they couldn't have gone far. If he searched within a hundred meters of the border, he should find some trace.
But just as he was scouring the area—
He ran into two soul beasts head-on.
They were unicorns—entirely snow-white. Their manes were golden, and each bore a pure, golden horn over three inches long. Both had a pair of massive wings, their white feathers tipped with gold. As they moved, golden rings of light radiated from their hooves, shining brilliantly in the dark forest.
One was larger—four meters long and two meters tall. The other was smaller, under three meters long and only about one and a half meters high.
Star Radiance Unicorns!
Zhu Ziyang's face turned pale.
The smaller one wasn't a threat—its cultivation was only around one to two thousand years. But the larger one…
Its cultivation exceeded thirty thousand years!
(End of Chapter)
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