Chapter 6: Bei Bei and Tang Ya Curse Out Shrek! What a Garbage Faction!
"Who is it?!"
The sharp demand shattered the quiet night. Just as Liu Yuan silently recited those three names in his mind, Bei Bei's relaxed demeanor vanished. His gaze snapped toward the dense bushes like a physical strike.
A low rumble echoed as Bei Bei's right arm swelled, tearing through his sleeve to reveal thick, azure dragon scales. Arcs of blue-purple lightning snapped across the armored flesh, charging the humid forest air with a heavy, suffocating pressure.
Beside him, Tang Ya moved with lethal fluidity. She discarded her half-eaten fish, her fingers already pinching several Blue Silver Grass seeds, poised to strike at a fraction of a second's notice.
Even Huo Yuhao, who had been tending the fire, instinctively dropped his skewers and drew the White Tiger Dagger. His knuckles turned white around the hilt. A faint golden light shimmered in his Spirit Eyes as he swept his gaze across the dark treeline, his small frame coiled tight.
Rustle...
Leaves shifted. Knowing his cover was blown, Liu Yuan stepped out from the shadows of the underbrush. He moved slowly, keeping his hands raised at shoulder height to show they were empty.
"Do not be nervous. I am human."
The flickering campfire illuminated his ragged clothes and thin frame, revealing a boy no older than twelve or thirteen. Dirt smudged his cheeks, but his eyes caught the firelight with an eerie intensity. Two distinct irises overlapped within each pupil, giving his calm stare a chilling, unnatural depth.
"A human?"
Bei Bei's tense shoulders dropped a fraction. The violent crackling of lightning along his dragon arm quieted to a low hum, though the guarded look in his eyes remained. "Friend, lurking in the dark to spy in the middle of the night is not a good habit."
Liu Yuan offered a wry, self-deprecating smile and nodded toward the fire. "Sorry. It is just that the fish this friend grilled smells too good. I have been gnawing on dry rations in this forest for over a month. When that scent drifted over, my stomach decided to stop listening to reason."
Right on cue, a loud, hollow rumble echoed from his abdomen.
Silence stretched over the campsite, heavy and awkward.
"Pfft."
Tang Ya burst into bright laughter, the hostile atmosphere dissolving instantly. She waved her hand, and the Blue Silver Grass seeds vanished from between her fingers. "Alright, Bei Bei, it seems he really is just a glutton. Look at him, he looks like a starving ghost reincarnated. He does not look like a bad person."
Bei Bei shook his head, a helpless smile touching his lips. The dragon scales receded into his skin, returning his arm to normal as he resumed his elegant, easygoing posture. He brought his hands together in a polite greeting. "I am Bei Bei. This is Tang Ya, and our chef here is Huo Yuhao. Please forgive our harsh reaction just now."
"It is fine, it is fine. It is only right to be cautious in a place like this." Liu Yuan returned the gesture smoothly. "My name is Liu Yuan. I am also a Soul Master. I came to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for a Soul Ring, but I ended up completely lost. I have been wandering for a month with nothing to show for it until your campfire lured me in."
Huo Yuhao watched the strange boy stare hungrily at the food. A pang of empathy struck his chest. Having grown up with nothing, he knew the hollow, gnawing pain of true starvation all too well.
Without a second thought, he picked up two freshly roasted fish by their wooden skewers and held them out. "Liu Yuan, since you are hungry, come eat with us. I still have plenty left."
"Then I will not hold back!"
Liu Yuan took the skewers, not bothering to hide his eagerness. He bit into the meat. The skin crunched perfectly, giving way to tender, steaming flesh rich with spices and natural fat.
"Mmm! Delicious! Absolutely incredible!" Liu Yuan chewed rapidly, offering a genuine thumbs-up. "Huo Yuhao, your culinary skills are amazing! If you opened a stall in the city, people would line up around the block!"
Huo Yuhao rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks flushing slightly in the firelight. "You flatter me, Liu Yuan. It is just a basic survival skill."
The shared meal acted as a perfect bridge. Liu Yuan leaned into a straightforward, easygoing persona, his high emotional intelligence allowing him to read the room perfectly. He knew exactly who these people were, and he played his part flawlessly. Soon, the four of them were sitting around the crackling flames, trading stories.
Across the fire, Bei Bei quietly evaluated their new guest. The boy claimed to be a Soul Master, but the Soul Power radiating from him felt faint. Combined with his frayed clothes and hollow cheeks, it painted a clear picture of hardship.
'Probably just like Junior Brother Yuhao,'Bei Bei thought, his gaze softening.'Another child dealt a harsh hand by fate.'
To enter the Star Dou Great Forest alone required either immense courage or absolute desperation. If this boy had a wealthy clan or a powerful sect backing him, he would never be wandering this green hell alone. A quiet sense of pity settled in Bei Bei's chest.
"Little Brother Liu Yuan," Bei Bei spoke up, his tone gentle. "You mentioned you came here for a Soul Ring? Have you not found a suitable one yet?"
Liu Yuan sighed, wiping a smear of grease from his chin with the back of his hand. "No. My Martial Soul is a bit unusual, and the specific Soul Beast I need is incredibly rare. I have been searching for weeks and have not even seen a footprint."
Bei Bei exchanged a brief look with Tang Ya. Seeing her subtle nod of approval, he turned back with a warm smile.
"If you do not mind, why not travel with us for a while? Little Ya also needs her third Soul Ring, and Yuhao is here to gain some practical experience. Traveling together means we can watch each other's backs. It is far safer than wandering blind on your own."
Liu Yuan kept his face perfectly grateful, but internally, his mind raced with cold satisfaction.
This was exactly the outcome he wanted. His strength had spiked after absorbing his first Soul Ring, but the Star Dou Great Forest was a meat grinder. Running into a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast or some bizarre anomaly while alone was a death sentence. He had barely slept, keeping one eye open every night.
But traveling with these three changed everything. Huo Yuhao was the literal Child of the Plane. Even if the Skydream Iceworm lacked raw offensive power, its utility was an absolute lifesaver in critical moments., Bei Bei and Tang Ya were highly capable fighters. Bei Bei, carrying the bloodline of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, possessed combat strength far beyond his current level.
"That would be fantastic!" Liu Yuan let a wave of visible relief wash over his features. "To be completely honest, I have been on edge for days. I was terrified a Soul Beast would drag me away the second I closed my eyes. Having you all around will finally let me breathe."
"You are too polite," Bei Bei chuckled. "We are all Soul Masters. Looking out for one another on the road is only natural."
Over the next two days, the newly formed quartet handled the dense outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest. Despite being a temporary alliance, their dynamic flowed with surprising ease.
Liu Yuan used his knowledge of their original destinies to slip smoothly into their ranks. He swapped seasoning techniques with Huo Yuhao, debated Martial Soul theory with Bei Bei, and engaged Tang Ya in detailed discussions about plant-type Soul Beasts.
During a midday rest under the shade of a massive canopy, Tang Ya's natural curiosity finally boiled over. She leaned forward, resting her chin on her hands. "Liu Yuan, you are so young. How did you end up out here all by yourself? Where is your family?"
The casual chatter died instantly. The forest ambiance suddenly felt very loud.
Liu Yuan let his gaze drop to the dirt. He allowed a heavy silence to stretch before speaking, his voice quiet and hollow. "My parents... have been gone for a long time."
"Ah? I am so sorry..." Tang Ya slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in panic.
"It is fine. It happened a long time ago." Liu Yuan shook his head, keeping his tone perfectly flat, though a sharp edge of bitterness bled through. "They dedicated their lives to serving a major faction. But during a critical mission, they ran into an overwhelming enemy and both died in the line of duty. And that faction..."
Liu Yuan let out a cold, mocking scoff. "Not only did they refuse to provide any meaningful compensation, but they also kicked me out to fend for myself just recently."
He carefully omitted the name of the faction. He knew perfectly well that Bei Bei and Tang Ya were fiercely loyal to Shrek Academy. Dropping that name now would only trigger their defensive instincts and ruin his careful setup. Instead, he let this half-truth fester in their minds.
The reaction was immediate and explosive.
"What?!" Tang Ya's face flushed crimson with fury. She slammed her palm against the tree trunk beside her. "There is actually such a cold-blooded, heartless organization out there?! To discard the donkey once the millstone is done turning... that is completely despicable!"
Huo Yuhao felt the injustice burn in his own chest. His fists clenched so tightly his knuckles popped, his eyes blazing with shared indignation. "Big Brother Liu, you are better off without a faction like that! One day, they will bitterly regret throwing you away!"
Even the usually composed Bei Bei drew his brows together in a deep frown. A flash of pure disgust crossed his features. "That is truly chilling to hear. The world of Soul Masters is governed by the law of the jungle, yes, but to treat loyal subordinates with such blatant cruelty crosses the line of basic humanity."
Liu Yuan kept his expression mournful, but behind his Double Pupils, a strange, dark amusement danced.
'What would you say,'he thought,'if you knew the heartless garbage faction you are cursing right now is your precious Shrek Academy?'
He kept his mouth shut, letting them stew in their righteous anger on his behalf. But before the conversation could continue, the forest answered.
Hiss—!
A faint, skin-crawling sound of friction scraped through the dense foliage ahead. A split second later, a wave of cold, heavy mental energy washed over the group like a freezing tide.
Liu Yuan's brow twitched. His Double Pupils snapped wide open, the overlapping irises spinning rapidly. His vision pierced through the thick layers of leaves and shadows, locking onto a massive dead tree fifty meters away.
Clinging to the rotting bark was a monstrous spider the size of a grinding stone. Its body was a sickly, translucent grayish-white, and across its swollen abdomen stretched a horrifying, contorted ghost-face pattern. It moved in absolute silence, weaving a web of nearly invisible threads. Eight long, segmented legs gripped the wood, each covered in cruel, backward-curving barbs that gleamed with a toxic, icy light. Atop its head, six compound eyes flickered with a malicious, eerie glow, staring unblinkingly at the four intruders who had wandered into its domain.
"This is..."
Liu Yuan's pupils contracted sharply. Then, a surge of wild, uncontainable excitement flooded his chest.
'A Soul Spider!!'
Judging by its massive size and the vivid clarity of the weeping ghost face on its back, its cultivation age sat perfectly around the one-thousand-year mark! This creature possessed terrifying mental toxins capable of paralyzing a victim's physical body while simultaneously corroding their very soul. Worse, its vitality was legendary—even with severed limbs, it could regenerate rapidly in the middle of a fight.
A healing factor? Yes.
A potent mental attribute? Yes.
This was a top-tier, flawless match tailor-made for his second Soul Ring! He had scoured the forest for weeks, only for the perfect prize to drop right into his lap.
"Everyone, watch out!" Liu Yuan barked, pointing sharply toward the dead tree, injecting his voice with a mix of urgency and raw thrill. "That is a thousand-year Soul Spider! Its attributes are an absolute perfect match for me! Can... can you all help me take it down?!"
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