As the Flame Spirit Cat was momentarily occupied countering the Fire Ring's backlash, the Minotaur-form Han Feng seized the opportunity and charged straight toward it. His cold, penetrating gaze sent a shiver down the Flame Spirit Cat's spine.
"Chh!"
Almost instinctively, the Flame Spirit Cat shrieked and launched a fiery strike at Han Feng. Yet it subconsciously held back—it didn't want to harm him. Though the aura of the Minotaur before it differed drastically from the Han Feng it knew, its high spiritual awareness made one thing clear: this creature and Han Feng were intimately connected.
Han Feng, now in his Minotaur form, demonstrated extraordinary combat instincts. Without the slightest hesitation, he raised his black shield. With a flash, it blocked the oncoming flames.
This black shield had withstood full-force attacks from ten-thousand-year soul beasts. The Flame Spirit Cat, holding back, couldn't possibly break it.
Meanwhile, Han Dang, who was patiently waiting for Zhang Lingling to finish absorbing her soul ring, suddenly furrowed his brows. He sensed that his black shield had been struck. Though unbroken, it was clear the attacker wasn't weak.
Taking a deep breath, he muttered, "No way…"
Back on the battlefield, the Flame Spirit Cat appeared surprised that this plain-looking, ancient black shield had blocked its strike. But the Minotaur Han Feng did not falter. He put away the shield and faced the Flame Spirit Cat head-on.
This time, however, a dark red energy orb the size of a fist began forming between his horns.
"Roar!"
With a thunderous bellow, the orb burst, unleashing a beam of laser-like energy—Cero: Hollow Flash!
The Flame Spirit Cat's pupils contracted sharply—it sensed imminent danger.
This attack was far stronger than Han Feng's usual Hollow Flash.
The Flame Spirit Cat didn't dare hold back anymore. Its innate beast instincts screamed caution. Flames erupted from its body, so intense they distorted the air itself. Surrounding plants withered at visible speed, and leftover moisture on the ground evaporated instantly.
"Chh!"
"Boom! Boom boom boom!"
The colossal crimson fireball collided with the dark red beam. The clash sent shockwaves rippling through the air, flattening a small forest in an instant. But it quickly became clear—the fireball had the upper hand.
The Minotaur Han Feng gritted his teeth in frustration, eyes fixed on the incoming fireball. With a roar, he raised his black shield once more.
At the same time, his Blazing Heaven Shield activated. His first soul ring lit up, and Fate's Protection was instantly triggered.
"Thud!"
The fireball slammed into the shield, causing cracks to spread across its surface. Still, it held—temporarily.
Despite blocking the fireball, the sheer force sent Han Feng flying. His defense skill failed, and the shield only absorbed part of the impact. Soul power nearly depleted, his Minotaur form flickered, switching back and forth between his original body and the horned beast.
"Roaaar!!"
With one final roar, the Minotaur form vanished. Han Feng, unconscious, fell from the sky.
The Flame Spirit Cat, sensing Han Feng's aura return to normal, retracted its hostility and rushed toward him. But to its horror, they were already at the edge of a cliff. Han Feng's limp body dropped over the edge and plummeted into the river below with a loud splash.
The Flame Spirit Cat hurried to the cliff's edge and cried out in sorrow, but it couldn't fly—it was a cat, not an owl!
At that same moment, Han Dang abruptly stood up, his face pale.
The black shield he gave Han Feng… had shattered!
---
[Insane Plot Break Line]
---
Qian Renxue had not been in good spirits lately.
As the inheritor of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, she had never known the meaning of "freedom." Her life revolved around cultivation, her grandfather's expectant eyes, and the cold disdain in her mother Bibi Dong's gaze.
Just a few days ago, Bibi Dong had unexpectedly told her that she could leave Spirit Hall. At first, Qian Renxue had been elated, thinking her mother had finally recognized her loneliness and wanted to give her a break.
But to her shock, Bibi Dong wanted her to disguise herself as Xue Qinghe, the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, to begin a long-term plan of political infiltration and eventual conquest.
Qian Renxue was stunned. Disguising as Xue Qinghe…? That meant completely giving up her own identity.
She wouldn't be free. In fact, she would lose even the little space she had left to be herself.
She was only thirteen. Such a plan would take at least a decade, maybe two, to succeed. It meant she would have to live not as herself, but as someone else. It would cost her the most precious years of a girl's youth and possibly stunt her cultivation. Even with her innate level-twenty soul power, without training, greatness was unattainable.
Qian Renxue understood all of this. Yet, when she saw the cold indifference and faint disgust in Bibi Dong's eyes—followed by thoughts of Spirit Hall's grand ambition—a tear slid down her stunning face.
In the end, she nodded and agreed to the plan.
Today, she left Spirit City—not for the Heaven Dou capital, but for the Star Dou Forest. She sought solitude, letting go of everything as she wandered deep into the forest's mixed zone, where even ten-thousand-year soul beasts roamed.
At her current level—only a Soul Ancestor—this was incredibly dangerous. But she didn't care. Call it reckless, call it madness—she needed to vent, to cast all her pain into the wilds. Once she emerged, she would no longer be Qian Renxue. First, she would be Xue Qinghe's maid. Eventually, she would become Xue Qinghe.
Sometimes, Qian Renxue even thought that maybe staying here forever wouldn't be such a bad thing.
At that moment, having just brutally slain a thousand-year soul beast, she headed to a stream to wash the blood off her hands.
But then, she saw something strange—a tattered, tiny figure lying by the riverbank. The child looked around seven or eight years old. Despite the grime on the face, there was a delicate handsomeness, and the faint frown tugged at her heart. It was Han Feng, fallen from the cliff.
Qian Renxue blinked, puzzled.
"What's a little girl doing in the mixed zone?" she murmured.
Han Feng, with his delicate features and young age, indeed looked like a girl—especially with his eyes closed.
Though confused, Qian Renxue was still a girl of thirteen herself. Compassion surged in her. She picked Han Feng up and used her soul power to heal and cleanse his body.
But moments later, her eyes widened in astonishment.
"Eight and a half years old… with level-twenty soul power!? And such purity—it's comparable to a Soul Elder!"
Qian Renxue had become a Grandmaster at six, but that was thanks to her innate advantage. This child's power was no less shocking.
Doubt crept into her heart. Could this child actually be a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form?
She couldn't be sure.
But she wasn't the type to kill an unconscious child based on a hunch—at least not now. She decided to wait until Han Feng woke up. If he truly was a soul beast, then in this state, he'd pose no threat to her.
With that, Qian Renxue took out a dress from her soul tool—one she used to wear as a child—and prepared to clean and dress Han Feng.
But the moment she removed his tattered clothes, a rosy blush spread across her cheeks.
She had misunderstood something…
With a soft huff and an embarrassed scowl, Qian Renxue grumbled:
"You little rascal…"