Chapter 292: Hostility

The facts prove that this Azure Sea Spirit Ape is only fifteen thousand years old, not reaching twenty thousand years, so Mo Xuan's absorption of it was not difficult.

In less than half an hour, he had finished absorbing it, leapt up from the ground, his face full of joy, as if he had obtained a soul skill that greatly satisfied him.

He quickly approached Tang Wulin and his two companions.

Thank you.

Di Yun'er and Huo Yutong didn't say anything; Tang Wulin smiled and replied, "It's nothing, we are teammates, this is what we should do, as long as that soul beast suits you."

For him, dealing with that soul beast was merely a trivial matter.

Seeing Mo Xuan finish his absorption, Zhang Lexuan organized everyone to continue deeper into the forest.

When they entered the Star Dou Great Forest, it was already noon; after spending time crossing its outskirts, the sky quickly grew dark.

Zhang Lexuan made a quick decision, raised her hand and said, "Let's stop here and prepare to rest."

Upon hearing that, Li Yongyue drew his martial soul and helped clear the surrounding trees.

His martial soul is a beautiful moon blade, with an elegant arc and emitting charming moonlight.

Everyone then sat where they were, preparing to rest.

This is the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest, where danger could appear at any time; they could only camp in the open, as having tents would slow their reaction to danger.

Zhang Lexuan ordered:

"Tonight we'll take turns on watch; I and Ruoruo will take the first shift, covering the first three hours, while Yutong, Wulin, and Yun'er will take the second shift, covering the last two hours; Mo Xuan and Li Yongyue are not suited for watch duty, so you should rest well."

"Yes."

Several people responded in agreement and then sat down.

Zhang Lexuan's arrangement clearly intended to lighten their burden; she and Han Ruoruo needed to stand watch for three hours, while Tang Wulin's trio only needed two hours, and this consideration explains why she is so popular in the inner court.

Tang Wulin and Huo Yutong sat together, pressing their palms against each other, beginning to cultivate using their fused martial souls.

Since the depth of their third martial soul fusion increased, their cultivation speed when together has become faster than before.

At this rate, both of them could break through to rank sixty within half a year.

This is extraordinary; their cultivation speed like this has broken records throughout the history of Shrek.

With normal cultivation, both could break through to seven rings before the age of twenty, not to mention that their martial souls are also extremely powerful.

Time in cultivation passed incredibly quickly; soon, Zhang Lexuan's voice reached their ears.

"Wulin, Yutong, it's your turn."

Opening their eyes, they saw Zhang Lexuan giving them an encouraging look.

They nodded gratefully to Zhang Lexuan and then went together to the watch post.

Yun'er was already sitting there.

The two sat beside her, and Wulin greeted:

"Hello, have you been getting used to this activity so far?"

Yun'er gave him a cold glance.

"You don't need to make small talk; if you want to know why I look like you, just say it directly."

"——"

Her blunt words left Wulin momentarily speechless.

Yun'er provocatively raised her eyebrows.

"How so? Isn't it the case? Whether it's fighting soul beasts together or standing watch this time, you must have arranged it with that person called 'Chief Senior Sister,' right? The purpose was to observe me; how's the observation going now?"

Wulin felt somewhat helpless: "You don't need to hold such hostility toward me."

He also didn't know why, but from their first meeting he could sense a clear hostility from Yun'er.

This was indeed somewhat troublesome for him.

Yun'er let out a cold snort.

"I have no hostility toward you; you're just not worthy."

"……"

Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Huo Yutong quickly said:

"Yun'er, Wulin is an orphan; he merely noticed your resemblance to him and thought you might be related by blood, meaning no ill will toward you."

Yun'er's mouth corners curled up slightly.

"Hmph, really? Well, sorry then; I can clearly tell you that I have no relation to him whatsoever, and our similar appearance is merely a coincidence."

"How could there be such a coincidental coincidence..."

Huo Yutong also felt a bit headache.

Yun'er's attitude so far could be described as 'hedgehog,' showing an unwillingness to communicate properly.

Just then, Huo Yutong's gaze suddenly shifted.

Not only her, but the faces of the other two who had been sharing mental detection with her also turned serious.

Huo Yutong didn't speak; instead, she silently shared her mental detection with the others who were resting.

Upon receiving her mental share, the others instantly woke up and immediately understood why Huo Yutong had given them mental detection sharing.

At this moment, the high quality of the inner court disciples showed: after understanding what had happened, none spoke, but they all quickly rose and silently took up a defensive formation.

Within the range of mental detection, about eight hundred meters away, a herd of soul beasts was slowly passing by.

This herd numbers over a hundred; considering they can survive in the mixed zone indicates they are at least a thousand years old, and even a hundred thousand-year soul beasts would not be easy opponents for anyone present.

Moreover, for such a group, the highest-level existence among them is obviously not merely a thousand-year level.

Zhang Lexuan directed her questioning gaze at Huo Yutong, who gently shook her head to indicate she also didn't know the beasts' intention.

Zhang Lexuan was also feeling somewhat torn at this moment.

She felt that the herd's target was not them, but if they were careless and didn't leave, once discovered they would surely be attacked.

She was preparing to discuss countermeasures with Huo Yutong, but Huo Yutong's expression suddenly changed.

"Get ready for battle!"

At the same time she sent this signal into everyone's minds, the soul beasts that had merely been passing suddenly increased their speed dramatically, forming an encirclement around them.

Obviously, they had already been discovered; the enemy was just waiting for the right moment to surround and strike.

Zhang Lexuan shouted in a low voice: "Everyone prepare for battle, keep the original formation; these soul beasts are tough to handle, go for the kill, give it your all, Mo Xuan, activate your halo."

"Yes!"

Mo Xuan, following Zhang Lexuan's orders, unleashed his first three soul skills.

Instantly, Tang Wulin felt a certain boost, and a sense of power began to surge through his body.

However, the magnitude of this boost was truly unimpressive—it might not even reach one-tenth of Gongyang Mo's boost.

Of course, this also factors in that Gongyang Mo's boost effect on Tang Wulin would double, but even after removing that factor, Mo Xuan's support ability is so weak it doesn't befit a student of Shrek Inner Court.

(End of chapter)