A white spirit ring slowly emerged from the Wind Baboon's corpse.
By the lakeside, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to it.
"A ten-year spirit ring! That's a ten-year spirit ring!"
"Right, a Wind Baboon is a ten-year Spirit Beast, so that's normal."
"Is that Huo Yuhao going to absorb the spirit ring now?"
"If I remember correctly, Huo Yuhao's first spirit ring was a ten-year one. Could it be this Wind Baboon?"
Amidst the discussions, both Huo Yuhaos struggled to climb up at the same time and walked toward that white spirit ring.
The Huo Yuhao on the left took a deep breath and sat cross-legged, preparing to begin the absorption.
BOOM!!!
The World seemed to split apart!
In the left screen, the ground suddenly shook violently! A massive crack rapidly spread from the distance, heading straight for Huo Yuhao's location!
Golden light erupted from the crack, illuminating the entire forest!
An indescribably terrifying pressure swept out from that crack!
It was an existence that transcended the limits of human cognition—
A terrifying Spirit Beast pressure!
The Huo Yuhao on the left's expression changed drastically; his body felt as if it had been struck by lightning, and he instantly lost consciousness!
Meanwhile, in the right screen—
The exact same scene unfolded.
The ground shook, the crack spread, golden light erupted, and a terrifying pressure swept through heaven and earth.
The Huo Yuhao on the right's expression also changed drastically, his body swaying precariously—
But he did not pass out.
He gritted his teeth hard and stabbed his thigh with the white tiger dagger, using the sharp pain to combat the pressure that felt like it could crush his soul!
His eyes were fixed intently on the crack.
Then, he saw it—
A crystal-clear giant silkworm, a hundred meters long, soared into the sky from the crack!
It was snow-white all over, shimmering with a faint golden light. Two golden antennae grew from its head, and its pair of huge eyes were like two bright moons.
But its current state was wretched—it had multiple wounds on its body, and golden fluid kept dripping down as if it were being hunted by something.
"Damn it! Those bastards are still chasing me!"
The giant silkworm looked around anxiously, then spotted the young boy below who was forcing himself to stay awake.
It froze for a moment.
"You... you can withstand my pressure?"
The giant silkworm's voice carried a hint of disbelief.
The Huo Yuhao on the right was trembling all over, yet he still forced himself not to collapse.
A complex light flashed in the Heavenly Dream Ice Worm's eyes.
It was originally a small ice worm in the Icy Seas of the Far North Land. By a stroke of luck, it had lived for a million years, yet it had never been able to break through the final boundary.
The Ferocious Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest coveted its Heaven and Earth Origin Power and devoured it day and night; it could only keep fleeing.
It needed a human.
A human who could carry it, protect it, and allow it to protect them in return.
And this boy before it...
Though clearly so weak, his will was incredibly resilient.
"Good."
The Heavenly Dream Ice Worm's voice became gentle:
"I am the Heavenly Dream Ice Worm, from the Icy Seas of the Far North. I am being hunted by Ferocious Beasts and need a host. You... are you willing to accept me?"
The Huo Yuhao on the right looked up at the Million-Year Soul Beast. There was no fear in his eyes, only a... complex calm.
Then, he spoke slowly, his voice raspy but firm:
"I am willing."
The Heavenly Dream Ice Worm smiled.
In the next instant, its massive body transformed into a golden stream of light and surged into the space between Huo Yuhao's eyebrows!
Golden light illuminated the entire forest!
...
By the lakeside, there was a deathly silence.
Then—
The silence shattered!
"A mi-million years?! That's a Million-Year Soul Beast?!"
"Heavenly Dream Ice Worm?! I've never heard of that name before!"
"It said it's being hunted?! What kind of existence can hunt a Million-Year Soul Beast?!"
Xuan Zi suddenly stood straight up in mid-air, his elderly face full of disbelief!
"A million years... that's a Million-Year Soul Beast!!"
He had lived for over two hundred years and had never seen a Million-Year Soul Beast, let alone heard of anyone being able to fuse with a million-year spirit ring!
And that Huo Yuhao—the Huo Yuhao from his World—his first spirit ring was actually a million-year one?!
"This... how is this possible?!"
Yan Shaozhe was equally losing his composure, his voice trembling:
"If Huo Yuhao's first spirit ring was a million-year one, then during these years at Shrek... has he been hiding it all along?!"
Xuan Zi remained silent.
Because he didn't know the answer either.
He only knew that this boy, who had always been low-key and never flashy, actually hid such a shocking secret!
Among the crowd, the real Huo Yuhao still kept his head down, his expression unreadable.
But his shoulders were trembling even more violently.
...
However, just when everyone thought it was over—
The anomalies on the sky screen had not stopped!
The sky suddenly darkened!
It wasn't the darkness of dusk, but... an incredibly eerie darkness.
It was as if something had torn through space.
Everyone looked up, and then—their pupils shrank!
A pitch-black bead was slowly drifting down from a void crack!
The bead was pitch-black, yet it faintly shimmered with an eerie light in the darkness. It rotated slowly; with every rotation, the surrounding light dimmed by another degree!
Then—
An old and domineering voice emanated from the bead, echoing throughout the entire Star Dou Great Forest!
"With the sun and moon in hand, I pluck the stars; in this World, there is no one like me!"
That voice was like a clap of thunder, making the entire forest tremble!
Countless Spirit Beasts prostrated themselves on the ground, wailing incessantly!
By the lakeside, everyone gasped in unison!
"What is that?!"
"Inside that bead... there's a person?!"
"Who dares to say such things?! Plucking the stars with the sun and moon in hand?! That's something only a god can do!"
Xuan Zi's expression could no longer be described as just shocked.
He had lived for over two hundred years and had never felt such a terrifying aura—this aura was different from the Heavenly Dream Ice Worm's gentle exhaustion; it was a kind of... domineering power that stood above all things!
That was an existence... that had once stood at the peak of the World!
Even if it was just a wisp of a remnant soul, it was enough to make the heavens and earth change color!
In mid-air, the pitch-black bead rotated slowly, then—it fell straight down, sinking into Huo Yuhao's brow!
In the left screen, the Huo Yuhao who had already fainted twitched slightly; an eerie black light emerged at his brow, then slowly dissipated.
In the right screen, the Huo Yuhao who had forced himself to stay awake stared intently as the bead fell into his brow. Before his consciousness sank into darkness, he used the last of his strength to say silently in his heart:
"Finally... it's here."
Then, he too fell unconscious.
...
By the lakeside, this time, it was truly a deathly silence.
Everyone was processing everything they had just seen.
The Million-Year Soul Beast, Heavenly Dream Ice Worm.
That mysterious black bead.
That old and domineering voice.
And those words—
"With the sun and moon in hand, I pluck the stars; in this World, there is no one like me."
"Who... who was that?"
He Caitou's voice was trembling.
Xu Sanshi couldn't laugh anymore either. He muttered, "That aura... it's even more terrifying than Elder Xuan's..."
Bei Bei stared fixedly at the unconscious boy on the sky screen, those words echoing repeatedly in his mind.
With the sun and moon in hand, I pluck the stars.
In this World, there is no one like me.
What kind of figure was that?
And that Huo Yuhao actually gained the recognition of both a Million-Year Soul Beast and that existence at the same time?!
"A child of destiny..."
Someone murmured.
"Is this a child of destiny?"
"The first spirit ring is a million years old, and a mysterious powerhouse lives in his spiritual sea... what kind of starting hand is this?!"
"Was the Yuhao in our World... also like this?!"
Countless gazes simultaneously turned toward the figure highlighted by the golden light in the crowd.
Huo Yuhao still kept his head down, remaining silent, though in his heart, he was already in intense communication with the Heavenly Dream Ice Worm...
But his silence, at this moment, seemed to be the loudest answer.
...
Above on the sky screen, the forest in the images returned to peace.
The crack slowly closed, the golden light dissipated, and that eerie darkness gradually faded away.
Only two unconscious boys remained, lying in the forests of their respective Worlds.
In the left screen, at Huo Yuhao's brow, gold and black intertwined, slowly flowing.
In the right screen, it was the same.
An unknown amount of time passed.
The sound of footsteps rang out.
In the left screen, the figures of Bei Bei and Tang Ya appeared in view.
They had been drawn by the World-shaking commotion, but they only saw Huo Yuhao lying on the ground and the corpse of the Wind Baboon.
"Yuhao?!" Tang Ya cried out in surprise, stepping forward quickly. "What happened to him?!"
Bei Bei stepped forward to check and found that Huo Yuhao was just unconscious; he had injuries, but his life was not in danger.
He breathed a sigh of relief, his gaze falling on the Wind Baboon's corpse, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes:
"He succeeded... he really hunted a Spirit Beast on his own."
Tang Ya also saw the Wind Baboon's corpse, her eyes reddening slightly: "This child... he worked too hard..."
Bei Bei nodded and carefully picked Huo Yuhao up onto his back:
"Let's go, take him back to the camp first. We'll talk when he wakes up."
In the right screen—
The exact same scene occurred.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya were drawn by the commotion, saw the unconscious Huo Yuhao and the Wind Baboon's corpse, and similarly showed surprise and relief.
"He really did it on his own!" Tang Ya said happily, then became worried again. "But why did he faint? Could his injuries be too severe?"
Bei Bei stepped forward to check and shook his head: "The wounds aren't fatal; he's likely exhausted. Let's take him back first."
He picked up Huo Yuhao, and the two turned to leave.
The two screens were identical.
The only difference was—
On the left Bei Bei's back, a golden and black light briefly flashed and vanished at the boy's brow.
On the right Bei Bei's back, the same light appeared at the boy's brow, but it seemed somewhat deeper.
...
By the small stream.
The campfire was lit again.
The two Huo Yuhaos woke up one after another.
In the left screen, Huo Yuhao opened his eyes and was slightly stunned to see the concerned gazes of Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
"You're awake?" Tang Ya leaned in, her face full of joy. "How do you feel? Do your wounds still hurt?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head. Feeling the extra warm consciousness inside him and the sleeping old phantom deep in his spiritual sea, complex emotions surged in his heart.
He had succeeded.
He had really obtained his first spirit ring.
Even though the process... far exceeded his imagination.
He subconsciously looked above his head, where a white spirit ring was quietly hovering.
A ten-year spirit ring.
At least, that's what it looked like.
But only he knew that hidden beneath that white was a dazzling gold.
In the right screen—
Huo Yuhao also woke up and also saw the concerned gazes of Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
He also shook his head and subconsciously looked above his head—there, too, was a white spirit ring, looking identical to the one on the left.
But in his eyes, there was something more than the Huo Yuhao on the left—it was understanding, certainty, and a calm as if everything was within his grasp.
Bei Bei stepped forward and asked gently:
"Yuhao, how do you feel? Is your body alright?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head.
Bei Bei and Tang Ya exchanged a glance, and then Tang Ya spoke:
"Yuhao, what are your plans next?"
Her eyes were bright, full of expectation:
"Do you want to join our Tang Sect? I can teach you the Tang Sect's ultimate techniques! Also, the Tang Sect has working student quotas at Shrek Academy; you could enter Shrek to study as a working student! That's the number one academy on the continent!"
In the left screen—
A light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes.
Shrek Academy.
The number one academy on the continent.
That was a place countless Spirit Masters dreamed of.
He almost didn't hesitate and nodded heavily: "I am willing!"
Tang Ya cheered, and a relieved smile appeared on Bei Bei's face.
In the right screen—
The same question, the same expectant gazes.
That Huo Yuhao went silent.
He looked at these two sincere young people before him, looking at the pure kindness in their eyes, and remained silent for a long, long time.
Then, he spoke slowly:
"Thank you for your kindness."
His voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear:
"But... I have my own path to walk."
Bei Bei was stunned.
Tang Ya was stunned.
By the lakeside, everyone was also stunned.
"He... he refused again?!"
"This time it's a double invitation from the Tang Sect and Shrek!"
"What on earth is he thinking?!"
Among the crowd, Huo Yuhao suddenly looked up, staring fixedly at that back on the sky screen as it shook its head in refusal, his eyes full of disbelief.
He remembered very clearly.
When he faced this invitation back then, he was so ecstatic, so moved to tears.
But that version of himself...
That self who had the same start and the same opportunities...
Why would he refuse?
...
In mid-air, Xuan Zi also stared at the right screen, his brow furrowed.
He saw the flash of... composure in that Huo Yuhao's eyes.
That wasn't impulsiveness, nor was it recklessness; it was a... decision made after deep deliberation.
"That World's Huo Yuhao..." he murmured, "What does he know?"
No one could answer him.
On the sky screen, in the right screen, Huo Yuhao had already stood up and bowed deeply to the stunned Bei Bei and Tang Ya.
Then, he turned around.
Walking toward the south.
Toward the direction of the Sun Moon Empire.
Behind him, Bei Bei and Tang Ya looked at each other speechlessly, their eyes full of confusion and regret.
And that boy's back, in the afterglow of the setting sun, appeared so lonely, yet so firm.
In the left screen, that Huo Yuhao was sitting by the campfire, practicing Tang Sect ultimate techniques, chatting and laughing with Bei Bei and Tang Ya, looking forward to the Shrek life that was about to begin.
The two screens formed a stark contrast.