Word Count: 3,005 Words
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Sunlight broke through the clouds above the Star Dou Forest and spilled across Swan Lake. The water shone like a vast mirror of emerald jade, its rippling surface glittering with countless sparks of light.
Shade from the lakeside trees deepened the rich green of this Emerald Swan territory. One after another, Emerald Swans glided lazily across the lake, their silky feathers reflecting a soft, lustrous sheen.
A light breeze stirred, sending concentric ripples across the water. The lake became a living scroll, and the reflections of two stunning women on the shore swayed gently with the waves.
"If everything goes smoothly, we'll be together."
Ling Qiuxi's voice was soft, almost dreaming. "We'll walk across the glaciers of the Extreme North, where ice has never known the touch of spring. We'll stand at the mouths of volcanoes and watch fire paint the sky. We'll chase the horizon across endless seas and dance through clouds no cage could ever hold.
We'll have a radiant life ahead of us."
The wind played with the loose strands at her temples. Long lashes half-lowered, her golden eyes shone with an uncharacteristic trace of longing.
Bi Ji listened quietly as Ling Qiuxi spoke of what she had experienced lately and the future she imagined. Warmth softened the Emerald Swan's gaze:
"The bonds between people are like rain you can't avoid. I believe you can make it happen. But love between a spirit beast and a human often exacts a heavy price. You're the child we raised. You've never known real pain or betrayal. We uncles and aunts worry you'll step off the right path."
"It doesn't matter. No matter which way I go, I'm always moving forward."
Ling Qiuxi's lips, red as wet lacquer, no longer held their usual icy arrogance. Instead, they curved in vivid, open defiance. "I walk the bright path with a clear conscience. I'm not afraid of being wrong!"
Bi Ji met her gaze and, to her surprise, found those eyes serious and crystal clear.
This child she had watched grow up had never lacked courage.
"Aunt Bi, I need a spirit ring to break through," Ling Qiuxi said suddenly.
Bi Ji withdrew her gaze and smiled. "What kind do you need?"
"I've awakened the Golden Dragon bloodline as my Martial Spirit, so I need a strength-type spirit beast with fifty to seventy thousand years of cultivation."
The Emperor Destiny Beast stood as an emperor among spirit beasts; 'whether thunder's punishment or rain's blessing, all counted as imperial grace.' In the past, Ling Qiuxi's food had been the brain matter of light-attribute spirit beasts. Now she would absorb spirit rings like a human. To her, both were simply ways of filling her stomach. There was no psychological burden at all.
"Alright."
Bi Ji was kind but not naive. The Star Dou Forest had its own food chain. Each year, many 10,000-year spirit beasts perished in the struggle for survival. As long as one didn't slaughter wantonly like evil spirit beasts, hunting was acceptable.
Moreover, Ling Qiuxi carried the Star Dou Forest's destiny on her shoulders. The stronger her cultivation grew, the more prosperous the forest's fortune became. The quality of spirit beasts would rise accordingly, and so would their chances of surviving heavenly tribulation.
Several 100,000-year spirit beasts lived near Swan Lake. They had once received Bi Ji's help and volunteered to serve as her guards. Her beautiful eyes swept toward a 100,000-year Six-Winged Deviltiger, and her soft voice reached its ears:
"A 70,000-year strength-type spirit beast. Bring it back alive."
"Yes, Lady Bi Ji!"
The Six-Winged Deviltiger roared its answer and called a few companions. Together, they rushed off in a mighty formation.
Over half an hour later, the Deviltiger returned, dragging a massive ape by one leg. Several spirit beasts followed behind, covered in wounds. The Deviltiger itself had two broken wings and bared its fangs in complaint:
"This damn monkey is terrifyingly strong! All of us surrounded it, and it still almost broke out with just its fists!"
"You've all worked hard."
Bi Ji lifted her hand. Waves of emerald-green light rippled outward. The Six-Winged Deviltiger's drooping wings straightened at once, whole as new, and the wounds on the other guards healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The Golden Dragon Spear thrust into the ape's skull. A deep black spirit ring rose from its corpse, radiating a weighty aura as still and immovable as a towering mountain.
Ling Qiuxi sat cross-legged and drew the black ring toward her. Behind her, a golden dragon slowly manifested. Its head was held high, gaze full of disdain as it looked down on the ape. Then it opened its jaws and swallowed the ink-black ring whole.
A soft golden radiance unfurled from Ling Qiuxi's body. Misty gold rose from her skin as her spirit power surged wildly, though it showed no sign of slipping out of control. The Golden Dragon's will completely suppressed the ape's ferocity. Otherwise, the might of a 70,000-year beast would already have flooded outward.
"Senior Bi Ji."
Having finished devouring the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger and Soul Devouring Spider Emperor, Ling Bai arrived at Swan Lake. With Di Tian's black dragon scale in hand, he carried the bearing of the Beast God himself. No spirit beast along the way dared block his path.
"Oh. It's you…"
Bi Ji's willow brows knit faintly. Years ago, nearly all high-rank light-attribute beasts above fifty thousand years in the Star Dou Forest had been wiped out by these two little devils, including a 100,000-year Sacred Sun Heaven Spirit Tiger.
Of course, the brains of those spirit beasts had all ended up in Ling Qiuxi's stomach. The flesh had been roasted and devoured by one human and one beast with great relish.
Strictly speaking, Ling Qiuxi was the main culprit and Ling Bai the accomplice. But in Bi Ji's eyes, without Ling Bai's indulgence and deliberate encouragement, Ling Qiuxi simply couldn't have caused such devastation on her own. As such, her impression of Ling Bai was, at best, lukewarm.
Ling Bai exchanged polite greetings with Bi Ji, but when he sensed she had no desire to chat further, he had no wish to press a warm face against a cold backside. His gaze shifted to Ling Qiuxi, who was in the midst of absorbing her sixth ring, and then to the ape lying dead on the ground.
'Good heavens. A Titan Giant Ape…'
Ling Bai leaned back theatrically. The Titan Giant Ape was a nailed-down, top-tier spirit beast, bearing the Titan bloodline just like the Ice Devil Titan of the Extreme North. Vast in size and blessed with overwhelming strength, it was a perfect match for the Golden Dragon.
No doubt about it; Star Dou's precious daughter indeed. The forest actually paid the price of a 70,000-year Titan Giant Ape for her sixth spirit ring.
A wicked little thought flashed across Ling Bai's mind. When Ling Qiuxi broke through Rank 90, would Xiong Jun 'nobly sacrifice himself'? If the Golden Dragon's ninth spirit ring came from the King of the Dark Gold Terror Claw Bears… just imagining it was enough to make one's scalp tingle!
Two yellow, two purple, and two black rings spun behind Ling Qiuxi. Once she completed fusing with the Titan Giant Ape's ring, and with the Golden Dragon Spear having swallowed an entire pack of Bloody Baboons, her spirit power leaped directly to Rank 64.
The pair bid Bi Ji farewell. The Emerald Swan held Ling Qiuxi's hand, reluctant to let go, and couldn't resist issuing a warning to Ling Bai:
"Treat the Emperor Destiny Beast well. Di Tian and I are like her parents. If she suffers any grievance, we won't spare you!"
Ling Bai could only give a bitter smile and vow earnestly again and again. Who would dare provoke in‑laws like these? One wrong word and Di Tian would tear through space to deliver a Dragon God's Claw to his face!
Amusement flickered in Ling Qiuxi's golden eyes. She left Swan Lake with Ling Bai to track down the Shrek spirit hunting team.
"By the way, Qiuxi, you haven't absorbed any spirit bones since taking human form. I've got quite a few 100,000-year bones. Pick a few."
Ling Bai then recited a long string of spirit bone names as casually as if he were reading off a menu, leaving Ling Qiuxi briefly stunned.
"You can't fly, so how about the Emerald Demon Bird's External Spirit Bone, the Emerald Wings?" Ling Bai suggested.
Ling Qiuxi curled her lip. "That's for dainty little girls. Too delicate."
Ling Bai's expression turned strange. Aren't you a dainty little girl?
Then it clicked. Ling Qiuxi had inherited the aesthetics of a strength-type Spirit Master. She liked things rough and domineering. Exquisitely petite Emerald Wings clashed violently with the Golden Dragon's axiom of 'one force to crush a hundred techniques.'
"What about the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor or the Cyclops? Skull spirit bones can boost spiritual power."
"Too ordinary. I actually think the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's spirit bone is pretty good."
"Fair enough."
Ling Bai nodded and teased, "The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger tried to kill us when it was alive. Now that it's dead, we've split up its abilities between us."
"Serves it right!"
Ling Qiuxi snorted coldly. "That's what it gets for having thoughts it never should've had."
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's greatest strength lay in the Ultimate Evil granted by its evil god bloodline. But as a burly tiger-type beast with a powerful frame, its raw strength was also fearsome. The spirit rings and spirit bones it produced suited all strength-type Spirit Masters perfectly.
The most precious 100,000-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger torso bone was set aside for Ling Qiuxi. Ling Bai would find suitable owners for the remaining bones.
...
Night fell. A group of people raced through the Star Dou Forest. At the front was Greenshadow Douluo Elder Song, her face as dark as still water. She slashed her hand forward, and countless wind blades fanned out to shave a path through the foliage.
Behind her came Zhang Lexuan, followed by Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong Er, Li Yongyue, and Mo Xuan.
'Where are those two living ancestors?!'
Elder Song howled the words in her heart. The Soul Devouring Spider Emperor and Emerald Demon Bird had entangled her while a third 100,000-year evil spirit beast chased down the hunting team. With Ling Bai and Ling Qiuxi's life or death unknown, she had the dreadful sense she was about to repeat Elder Xuan's fate.
When Elder Xuan had led the team, the losses had been heavy, but those who died were ordinary Inner Court students. Shrek Academy had deep foundations and could afford to offend those factions. But Ling Bai and Ling Qiuxi were another matter entirely!
The former was the direct disciple of a Limit Douluo, possessor of a God-level Martial Spirit, and a seventeen-year-old Spirit Douluo. His future was boundless; he was more than enough to support the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan through an entire era!
The latter was, in all likelihood, his biological elder sister—an Ultimate Strength Golden Dragon, the strongest among all Ultimate Martial Spirits, with talent no less astonishing!
Elder Song's eyes were bloodshot. She didn't even dare imagine the storm that would erupt if those two died in the Star Dou Forest. Worst-case scenario, Jianmu Douluo and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would be driven completely insane!
The continent's number one plant-type Spirit Master plus the continent's number one auxiliary-type Tool Martial Spirit. Under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's enhancement, Jianmu Douluo could even exchange blows with the Beast God, Di Tian.
Right now, Shrek Academy's three main pillars—Elder Xuan, Elder Song, and Elder Lin—were all Rank 97 Titled Douluo. Jianmu Douluo alone would be enough to force the entire academy to join Ling Bai in the grave!
"Damned evil spirit beasts!"
Pressure finally cracked Elder Song's composure. She spat the curse out between clenched teeth.
"Elder Song, it's getting late. Let's rest here," Zhang Lexuan suggested quietly.
Elder Song glanced at the group panting heavily behind her and let out a long sigh. "You rest. I'll keep searching."
With that, she transformed into a streak of green light and shot off into the darkness.
Zhang Lexuan felt just as anxious. But with Elder Song gone, she was the acting leader and had no choice but to calmly issue orders:
"Everyone, meditate and recover your spirit power. Same watch order as before: I'll take the first shift, Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er the second, Li Yongyue and Mo Xuan the third. One hour each, then rotate."
An hour later, Elder Song returned to the Shrek camp, shoulders slumped and expression downcast. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er relieved Zhang Lexuan. Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection Sharing; of them all, his abilities were the most suited to keeping vigil.
"Yuhao, do you think… they might already be dead?" Wang Dong Er asked in a low voice.
"Who knows?" Huo Yuhao shrugged.
Wang Dong Er lowered her pink-blue eyes. "Do you… hope they are?"
"If they really did die…"
Huo Yuhao let out a long sigh. "I'm afraid the academy won't be able to withstand Jianmu Douluo's retaliation… Eh, something's approaching. Everyone, on guard!"
The group snapped out of meditation and prepared for battle. A few breaths later, two nearly identical silhouettes came into view.
"It really is you!"
The instant Mo Xuan saw Ling Bai and Ling Qiuxi, his eyes flew wide open. Elder Song's joy was even greater. She swooped in like a hunting eagle, grabbing the two and inspecting them from head to toe to make sure all their parts were intact.
"Thank goodness!"
Elder Song wiped the sweat from her forehead. Everyone's safe. I'm not Elder Xuan after all!
Relief softened Zhang Lexuan's face into a smile. "It's good that you're back. You really had us worried."
"We were separated by the evil spirit beasts," Ling Bai said apologetically. "On the way back to find you, we ran into a 70,000-year Titan Giant Ape. Qiuxi and I killed it and absorbed its spirit ring, which delayed us."
"Whatever the case, you're back. That's what matters most!"
Disaster had turned into blessing. Elder Song could barely keep her grin off her face. In her heart, she silently swore that she would push this kind of nightmare task onto Elder Xuan in the future. Her own heart had nearly exploded from the terror!
The camp filled with laughter and chatter. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er, however, could not smile. Subtle, turbulent emotions surged beneath the calm of their gazes.
That night was unusually peaceful. For once, the spirit hunting team was not dogged by misfortune.
Early the next morning, the group set out again and sprinted toward the edge of the Star Dou Forest at full speed.
"We're alive!"
Li Yongyue bellowed the words like a primal roar. Seeing the open plain beyond the trees gave him the sense of having been reborn. The tension in his body loosened at once, as if a great weight had been lifted. That feeling of release put a look of simple relief on everyone's faces, Elder Song included.
They pushed on quickly and, by midday, entered Shrek City. The group scattered amidst the streets. Elder Song, Zhang Lexuan, Li Yongyue, and Mo Xuan headed straight for Sea God Island. Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong Er returned to the Tang Sect. Ling Bai took Ling Qiuxi back to the hotel where he had been staying.
Ling Bai was a Shrek graduate. Ning Tian and Wu Feng had withdrawn partway through the year. None of them were students anymore, so all three needed lodging while waiting for the Inner Court members to complete their graduation examination tasks. Ling Qiuxi had also been staying at a hotel lately. Living together made things more convenient.
…
Ling Bai leaned back against the sofa and stretched lazily, silently contemplating which 'secluded landscape' he should visit that evening.
Han Ruoruo and Ling Qiuxi were still not at the stage where he could truly enjoy them, but there was Ma Xiaotao on Sea God Island for rekindling old flames, and Ning Tian and Wu Feng in the hotel for burning passion to the fullest. It was, honestly, a very difficult choice.
Knock, knock, knock!
After a short while, a gentle knocking sounded at the door. Ling Bai opened it and found Ning Tian's noble, beautiful face waiting outside. Joy shone in her eyes:
"Bai-ge, it's just like you said! The Spirit Master Tournament is changing its format. Sects are now allowed to register and compete!"
"Call Qiuxi and Xiao Feng. Let's talk it over," Ling Bai said with an easy smile.
The high-end hotel room was spacious enough that even four people didn't feel crowded. Still, the atmosphere between three women and one man seemed to crackle with sparks.
Ling Qiuxi sat sideways on the sofa, one hand resting on the armrest as she gazed out the window. Her peerless features were tranquil as still water, but the corners of her eyes held a razor‑sharp edge. The night lights of Shrek City burned like silent flames in her golden pupils. She had no qualms about viewing every woman at Ling Bai's side as a potential rival.
A formidable rival!
The battlefield‑like tension made Wu Feng unconsciously straighten her spine. Auras were a kind of war as well; she absolutely could not lose!
Ning Tian showed no reaction for now. Their faces were far too similar. As long as there remained even a possibility that Ling Qiuxi was Ling Bai's biological sister, she wouldn't make any rash moves. Her gaze settled on Ling Bai:
"Bai-ge, the Spirit Master Tournament is allowing sects to compete. Registration requires at least seven people. Do you have candidates in mind?"
Ling Bai tapped the table lightly. "Me, you, Xiao Feng, Qiuxi, Na Na…
That's five. We're short two."