By the stream, around the campfire.
The Ice Jade Scorpion stood guard a short distance away, keeping watch to prevent any blind soul beasts from suddenly charging in.
Honestly, with just a slight release of the scorpion’s aura, basically no foolish soul beasts would dare approach in this outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Zhou Sichen now held a roasted fish in his hand, eating it with relish.
He had to admit, Huo Yuhao’s roasted fish was truly excellent.
Even though Zhou Sichen had grown up eating fine delicacies, this was his first time tasting roasted fish this good.
As Tang Ya ate her fish, she couldn’t help but secretly observe Zhou Sichen.
He was too good-looking!
His skin was better than any girl’s she had ever seen, and he emitted a faint, unique fragrance that made people want to get closer.
Beibei couldn’t help but glance at the Ice Jade Scorpion nearby.
With his repository of knowledge, he could naturally tell this was a powerful soul beast approaching the ten-thousand-year level.
With its top-tier strength, it could probably handle ordinary soul beasts of the twenty or thirty-thousand-year level.
Yet Zhou Sichen looked so young, about the same age as him.
How did such a young man manage to subdue such a powerful soul beast?
And most importantly, since when could soul beasts be subdued?
The more powerful the bloodline, the more a soul beast looked down on humans.
Yet this mighty Ice Jade Scorpion was willing to be treated as a mount?
Watching Zhou Sichen’s incredibly elegant posture as he ate the roasted fish, Beibei grew more and more curious about him.
Beibei took a bite of his own fish, confirming that little Yuhao’s culinary skills were indeed superb.
It was practically the best roasted fish he had ever eaten.
While eating, Beibei couldn’t resist asking, “Brother Zhou, did you come to the Star Dou Great Forest alone?”
Zhou Sichen nodded.
“Yeah.
I’ve heard since I was young that Shrek Academy is the number one soul master academy on the continent, filled with geniuses, beauties, and handsome men.
So, I wanted to temper myself a bit before heading there.”
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao, who was focused on roasting fish, couldn’t help but clench his fists.
Even someone stronger than him was working this hard.
He needed to work even harder!
Tang Ya put on a lovestruck expression.
“Sure enough, handsome guys are always so hardworking.”
Beibei was already used to Tang Ya’s fangirling and voiced his admiration for Zhou Sichen’s mindset.
“That’s impressive.
It looks like we’re about the same age, yet you dared to brave the Star Dou Great Forest alone.
I admire that.”
Zhou Sichen waved his hand.
“It’s mainly because my martial soul is special.
With Ah Da protecting me, the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest isn’t actually that dangerous for me.”
Speaking of martial souls, Beibei grew even more curious.
Could this thousand-year Ice Jade Scorpion be the manifestation of a soul skill?
But no matter how he looked at it, this scorpion was a real soul beast.
What kind of martial soul could form a contract with a soul beast?
Beibei smiled.
“Although I know it’s not polite to pry into other people’s secrets, I am genuinely curious about how you control such a powerful Ice Jade Scorpion.”
Tang Ya chimed in from the side.
“Yeah, yeah!
This Ice Jade Scorpion must be at the thousand-year level at least, right?
How did you tame it and make it so obedient?”
Zhou Sichen pretended to think for a moment.
After a long pause, he slowly said, “Since we’ll all be schoolmates from now on, there’s no harm in telling you.”
Hearing this, even the focused Huo Yuhao couldn’t help but perk up his ears.
He also really wanted to know how this Big Brother Zhou controlled such a powerful beast.
If he were lucky enough to learn this method, he would be one step closer to avenging his mother.
Zhou Sichen put down his roasted fish, cleared his throat, and said unhurriedly, “The reason Ah Da obeys my every command is because of my martial soul.
My martial soul is called the Book of Contracts, and it can form contracts with soul beasts.”
He didn’t explain too much, only revealing the reason why the Ice Jade Scorpion listened to him.
Hearing about the Book of Contracts martial soul, both Beibei and Tang Ya were stunned.
They had never heard of this martial soul before; it truly was a special and rare one.
For Shrek Academy to gain such a genius, it was definitely a huge win.
They nodded.
“So that’s how it is.
I was wondering how a soul beast could be willing to get along with a human.
So you use your martial soul as a medium.”
Zhou Sichen smiled faintly.
“So it’s not as miraculous as you imagined.
It’s just that my martial soul mutated, resulting in a somewhat unique soul skill.”
Hearing this, the faint glimmer of hope that had just risen in Huo Yuhao’s heart instantly vanished.
This was an innate ability of someone else’s martial soul; he had no chance of learning it.
Zhou Sichen glanced at the hardworking Huo Yuhao and couldn’t help but ask, “Did you guys come to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for soul rings?”
Beibei didn’t hide anything, especially since Zhou Sichen had even introduced his own martial soul.
“Yes, Xiao Ya just broke through to rank thirty, so she needs a soul ring to advance to Soul Elder.”
He then looked at Huo Yuhao.
“Um…
we just bumped into Yuhao today.
He also came alone to get a soul ring.”
Zhou Sichen feigned surprise.
“I didn’t expect young people nowadays to be so bold.
Why is everyone coming to hunt for soul rings alone?”
Beibei smiled.
“We also wanted to temper ourselves.
We can’t always stay comfortable under the protection of our elders, right?”
Zhou Sichen deeply agreed.
He had to admit, this guy Beibei was alright.
But Huo Yuhao felt a bit sad hearing this.
He hadn’t actually wanted to come alone—he knew the dangers of the forest too—but besides himself, who else could help him?
Sensing Huo Yuhao’s emotional fluctuation, Tang Ya gently patted his shoulder.
“Yuhao, since you’re also alone, why don’t you tag along with us?
Big Sister Ya will help you find a suitable soul ring.”
Huo Yuhao instinctively wanted to refuse because he couldn’t afford to owe such a huge favor.
Moreover, although he could tell that Sister Ya, Big Brother Beibei, and Big Brother Zhou were good people, they had only just met.
Were they really willing to help him hunt for a soul ring in this dangerous forest?
But if he refused, could he really find a suitable soul ring all by himself?
Though Huo Yuhao was young and lacked theoretical knowledge due to his upbringing, he knew that choosing the right soul ring was crucial to becoming a powerful soul master.
Coming alone before was because he had no choice.
Now that someone was willing to help him, maybe this was his chance to change his fate?
Judging by their clothes and speech, these older brothers and sister were not from ordinary families.
With their help, his first soul ring would definitely be a good choice, right?
After hesitating, Huo Yuhao said shyly, “Thank you, Sister Ya.
But I don’t have any money right now.
Can I compensate you with roasted fish instead?”
Tang Ya frowned.
“What compensation?
You’re a soul master too.
Isn’t it only right for seniors in the soul master world to help their juniors?
Just remember, when you become powerful in the future, you must always keep a grateful heart.”
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao’s eyes turned red with emotion, and he roasted the fish even more vigorously.
This was the best payback he could offer right now.
“Sister Ya, I will remember your words.
I will always keep a grateful heart.”
Beibei was already used to this.
It was exactly Tang Ya’s kind heart that had attracted a genius like him in the first place.
Zhou Sichen watched silently.
Perhaps Tang Ya was the person who influenced Huo Yuhao the most in the beginning.
Anyone who read the original story knew that Huo Yuhao’s upbringing inevitably gave him psychological issues, such as a strong inclination to kill at the drop of a hat…
Perhaps it was Tang Ya’s naive kindness that subtly guided him back onto the right path.
This was a good thing for Zhou Sichen.
As long as Huo Yuhao walked the right path, his Spirit Eyes would achieve great things in the future.
Tang Ya then looked at Zhou Sichen with pleading eyes.
“Big Brother Sichen, surely you don’t want to see Yuhao go hunt for a soul beast all by himself, right?”
Zhou Sichen snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Tang Ya, speechless.
This girl really was overly familiar.
Using that tone of voice with such a pretty face?
Beibei sure was broad-minded, wasn’t he afraid of being cucked?
Zhou Sichen waved his hands repeatedly.
“I’ll just tag along with you guys.
We can head to Shrek Academy together afterward.”
(END CHAPTER)