Chapter 227.1: Two Women Fighting For Glory

"What? Four?!" Han Ruoruo and the others exclaimed at almost the same time.

w.a.n.g Yan nodded and said, "Four, indeed. They both have twin martial souls, and my surprise and awe back then was even stronger than yours is now. According to my knowledge, they might be the first pair of soul masters who both have twin martial souls and martial soul fusion skills, and that's probably how the miraculous four fusion skills came about. The skill that blocked Ruoruo's path forward was one of their four martial soul fusion skills, called The Golden Road Amidst Withering Resplendence. Their three other martial soul fusion skills are equally powerful… oh, Wu Ming, didn't you say that they transformed into w.a.n.g Dong'er, who was bathed in golden light, during the Sea G.o.d's Fate? That's also one of their fusion skills."

Han Ruoruo heaved a faint sigh after listening to w.a.n.g Yan's explanation and she said, "I'm finally convinced."

w.a.n.g Yan smiled and smoothly clasped her hands within his. "You don't have to think badly of yourself. They have a very long road ahead of them to reach your level. Furthermore, it's easy to envy someone exceptional, and this may even affect them in the end. I just hope that all will be well during the next compet.i.tion."

Han Ruoruo reacted in shock. "Will they even have a problem during the next compet.i.tion with their current standards? I've interacted with Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen before. Even though I don't know what level they can reach with their soul tools, and their soul master abilities are not bad, they are far inferior in terms of fighting strength."

w.a.n.g Yan's eyes were overcome with a look of solemnity as he lowered his voice and said, "This season is different from the previous one. Some things might be changed. The academy is waiting for more accurate information."

w.a.n.g Yan and the others departed, while Shrek's Seven Monsters began their post-mortem and discussed the salient points and shortcomings from the practice battle as they displayed their various soul skills to each other.

They didn't spar against one another anymore, and everyone just respectively demonstrated their soul skills and improved fighting styles over the past two years so that everyone knew and could see them clearly. Afterwards, they spent another two hours rehearsing and working on their teamwork and cooperation.

With Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection Sharing, teamwork and command had never really been a problem. They worked all the way to lunchtime before they stopped, and it was clear that everyone was now much more familiar with one another than before.

Bei Bei immediately made the decision that everyone would proceed to the Sparring Arena to practice in the morning from today onwards, and practice their own respective cultivations in the afternoon and at night.

……

That night, Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er received news about their registration to partic.i.p.ate in the hunting party heading towards the Great Star Dou Forest. The Sea G.o.d's Pavilion allowed their partic.i.p.ation in the end, but two more people were added to lead the group in addition to Zhang Lexuan. One was Han Ruoruo, who had just crossed paths with Huo Yuhao, and the other was the Martial Soul Department's vice-Dean, Cai Mei'er.

Cai Mei'er naturally became the operation's main commander.

Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er immediately received the name list for this operation after they asked for it.

Cai Mei'er, Zhang Lexuan, and Han Ruoruo were heading the operation. They didn't require soul rings, and their main responsibility was to protect the other inner courtyard students. One was a t.i.tled Douluo, and the two others were Soul Douluos. They were leading a team of advanced students on a hunting expedition; perhaps only Shrek Academy could make this such a smooth operation.

There were two guys on the name list that required new soul rings that Huo Yuhao didn't recognize, and w.a.n.g Qiu'er was also on the list. There were four members from the inner courtyard who needed soul rings, and in addition to w.a.n.g Dong'er who was just tagging along, the entire group was comprised of eight people.

Their departure time was the morning the day after the next.

……

On the second day, Shrek's Seven Monsters continued to rehea.r.s.e and practice their formation and their teamwork. Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er left the Sea G.o.d's Pavilion in the morning on the third day, and they were early as they waited outside the academy's main gate.

It didn't take long before the students from the inner courtyard who were partic.i.p.ating in this expedition gathered.

w.a.n.g Qiu'er was still dressed like she had always been: a long veil covered her extraordinary beauty, and her blue wave-like hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head. She wore a pale green warrior's robe that formed an amusing color combination with her hair; there was a bit too much contrast between the colors.

w.a.n.g Dong'er was clad in a white warrior robe, while her long hair was combed into a relatively more complicated scorpion braid while she wore a similar veil over her face.

The two girls' gazes met when they first saw each other, and it immediately felt as if sparks were going to erupt from the collision. They exchanged one look before they turned back around.

Huo Yuhao felt a little strange inside. They clearly looked exactly like each other, and they should thus logically be a lot closer and more intimate with each other. He didn't know why, but w.a.n.g Dong'er seemed to marginalize w.a.n.g Qiu'er. While this could be explained by the fact that w.a.n.g Qiu'er looked more like the G.o.ddess of Light, it was also apparent that w.a.n.g Qiu'er wasn't being friendly towards w.a.n.g Dong'er either, as her eyes were exceptionally cold.

Cai Mei'er was the last to arrive, wearing a simple grey s.h.i.+rt. She had pa.s.sed nine decades of life long ago, but she looked like she was only a little more than fifty on the outside. managing to maintain her appearance.

Huo Yuhao had the least interaction with this vice-Dean. All he knew was that she seemed to have some problems with Dean Xian, but he wasn't sure about the details.

Cai Mei'er clapped her hands when everyone gathered, and everyone turned to look at her.

Cai Mei'er smiled and said, "Everyone here is from the inner courtyard, and it's not the first time we've entered the Great Star Dou Forest. We have new partic.i.p.ants in our expedition, so we should introduce ourselves to each other. Take turns to brief everyone about your name, your martial soul, your cultivation level, and whatnot so that we can cooperate better in the Great Star Dou Forest."

She nodded in Zhang Lexuan's direction as she finished speaking. Zhang Lexuan responded immediately, going first. "My name is Zhang Lexuan, and I'm an a.s.sistant teacher from the inner courtyard and a student at the same time. My martial soul is the Moon, and I'm an a.s.sault-type soul master. I'm responsible for leading the team, and I don't require any soul rings. My soul power is at Rank 86."

Everyone began to stir when they heard her say "Rank 86". This included Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er.

Han Ruoruo continued immediately after her and said, "Han Ruoruo, a.s.sistant teacher and student of the inner courtyard. My martial soul is the Dazzling Golden Rope, and I'm a control-type soul master. I'm the main control soul master for this operation, and I don't require any soul rings. My soul power is Rank 82."

After they completed their introductions, Cai Mei'er interrupted them and said, "I'm just tagging along in this operation. Lexuan and Ruoruo will be doing the commanding and whatnot. They have ample experience, so everyone has to listen to them, and n.o.body is allowed to do anything on their own. This is all for your personal safety, and it's also for the team's safety. Our expedition's destination will be the border of the Greater Star Dou Forest's Hybrid Region crossing over into the Core Region. We can run into very powerful soul beasts at any time in that area. All right, continue. Your turn, Yuhao."

Huo Yuhao hurriedly nodded when he heard Cai Mei'er point him out. "My name is Huo Yuhao, and I'm a student from the inner courtyard. I'm both control-type and a.s.sault-type, and I have twin martial souls: Spirit Eyes and the Ice Jade Empress Scorpion. My soul power is Rank 52, and I need a fifth soul ring for my spiritual-type martial soul, the Spirit Eyes."

w.a.n.g Dong'er continued beside him. "w.a.n.g Dong'er, student from the inner courtyard. I'm an a.s.sault-type soul master, and my martial soul is the Radiant b.u.t.terfly G.o.ddess. I'm a Rank 61 Soul Emperor, and I don't need a soul ring. I can unleash martial soul fusion skills with Huo Yuhao, and I'm here to accompany him on this expedition."

Their introductions were extremely brief, but they didn't feel ordinary at all to the other students. The other three students in this operation who had partic.i.p.ated in the Sea G.o.d's Fate had personally witnessed Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er's incredible prowess. They were two against five, and everyone was around the same level, and all seven were students from the inner courtyard. Yet, Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er had won a dominating victory.

However, they were a little confused about Huo Yuhao's introduction. He needed a fifth soul ring at Rank 52? What circ.u.mstance was that? Could it be that he was adding soul rings to both of his martial souls at the same time? Twin martial souls shouldn't be cultivated like that. This was Shrek Academy, and there were so many veteran teachers around here. How could they let him make this mistake?

Another male student said, "My name is Li Yongyue, a student from the inner courtyard. I'm an agility-type Soul King at Rank 60, and I need my sixth soul ring. My martial soul is the Moonblade… do you remember me, eldest senior sister? When you unleash your martial soul, I will be naturally amplified." He was probably around twenty-six to twenty-seven years of age, but the admiration he displayed towards Zhang Lexuan represented her status in the inner courtyard as everyone's eldest senior sister.

Zhang Lexuan nodded in his direction with a faint smile on her face, but she didn't say anything and gestured to the other male student to introduce himself.

"My name is Mo Xuan, and I'm a long-range all-around auxiliary-type Soul King at Rank 60, and I need a sixth soul ring. My martial soul is the Halo. My close-combat abilities are weak, so you have to help me out, everyone! Thanks!"

Li Yongyue's looks were average, and he was the kind that was hard to spot in a throng of people. Mo Xuan seemed a little more shy; he was probably at least twenty-five years old, but his face would blush a little as he spoke.

A long-range all-around auxiliary-type soul master? This was the first time Huo Yuhao had heard of such a description, and he couldn't help but throw a few more glances in his direction.

Cai Mei'er helped alleviate everyone's doubts. "You guys probably haven't seen Mo Xuan before. He's a unique talent that's being specially nurtured by the inner courtyard. His fighting strength is weak, so Lexuan, you have to pay special attention to protect him. Mo Xuan's auxiliary abilities cannot be considered outstanding during single and group battles, but he's the first and only long-range all-around auxiliary-type soul master in the academy's most recent thousand years of history. His auxiliary prowess on the battlefield isn't something that normal auxiliary-type soul masters can compare to. You guys will experience it once we're inside the forest."

Everyone except w.a.n.g Qiu'er had completed their introductions, so their eyes all turned towards her.

w.a.n.g Qiu'er's voice was a little cold as she said indifferently, "My name is w.a.n.g Qiu'er. a.s.sault-type. My martial soul is the Golden Dragon. I'm Rank 60, and I need a sixth soul ring."

Her speech was the simplest amongst everyone's introductions, and her eyes were staring into the sky as she spoke. She gave everyone a feeling of arrogance and aloofness.

w.a.n.g Dong'er pouted with displeasure as she saw that look. Fortunately, she was wearing a veil over her face, so n.o.body could see her reaction.

Chapter 227.2: Two Women Fighting For Glory

Zhang Lexuan said, "Alright, everyone has finished their introductions, so let me allocate our formation once we enter the Great Star Dou Forest. I will be scouting the path ahead, and Li Yongyue and w.a.n.g Qiu'er are responsible for the left and right flanks, respectively. Ruoruo will be positioned in the center towards the front right behind me, and she'll be the main control-type soul master. Mo Xuan will be positioned behind Han Ruoruo, which means you'll be near the center… pay attention to cooperate with everyone's movements. Huo Yuhao, you're the secondary control for flexibility, and you will be behind Mo Xuan. You're responsible for providing support for whoever needs help. w.a.n.g Dong'er, you'll be all the way at the back, and you're responsible for sweeping. Dean Cai will be following behind the group, and she won't make a move other than as a last resort. We're all students from the inner courtyard, and it will extremely humiliating if we need a teacher's help to obtain our own soul rings, so I hope that doesn't happen. Alright, let's proceed, if n.o.body has any more questions or objections?"

n.o.body had anything to dispute about her arrangement. There was no doubt that the central and anchoring positions were relatively safer. There was no need to mention the center, and Cai Mei'er was all the way at the back.

There was a deeper meaning to arranging w.a.n.g Qiu'er and Li Yongyue on the two flanks. w.a.n.g Qiu'er's martial soul was the Golden Dragon, and she stirred up quite some disturbance when she successfully enrolled in the inner courtyard. She was said to have impressive fighting strength, as the Golden Dragon was the Ancestor of Strength, and thus a.s.signing her to one flank was also a test. Li Yongyue's strength would also be greatly boosted with Zhang Lexuan around, so a.s.signing him to guard the other flank was the optimal choice. Huo Yuhao and w.a.n.g Dong'er's positions, along with Mo Xuan's, were considered protected. The academy still had some bias, after all. The truth was, Cai Mei'er wouldn't have been with them for this operation if Huo Yuhao hadn't registered for it.

Everyone belonged to the inner courtyard. Even if they weren't that familiar with each other, they would definitely not hold one another back. They got into Zhang Lexuan's formation once they left Shrek City, and headed straight for the Great Star Dou Forest.

n.o.body deliberately attempted to display his or her speed on the way, and the formation was maintained impeccably under Zhang Lexuan's deliberate control.

Just as Cai Mei'er had said, this wasn't the first time these students had gone inside the Great Star Dou Forest. Everyone was extremely familiar was this place, and n.o.body really interacted with each other along the way. Everyone just hurried onward.

w.a.n.g Dong'er glanced at w.a.n.g Qiu'er beside her from time to time, and even Huo Yuhao couldn't help but throw a few glimpses in her direction.

w.a.n.g Qiu'er looked very quiet, but one could see from the side that her eyes were exceedingly cold and plain, as if she were wearing an outer layer over herself at all times. She could definitely feel w.a.n.g Dong'er's stares, but she never once looked back to return her gaze.

She didn't release her martial soul when they travelled, she just simply ran along. However, she bounced up with bewildering speed every time she touched the ground with her feet, and one could tell upon closer inspection that there was an imprint in the ground after every step she took, while the ground around her footprint seemed to have cracked. She was das.h.i.+ng forward with pure strength, yet she looked like she was floating. She lived up to her name as the Ancestor of Strength, and the owner of the Golden Dragon martial soul!

Shrek City was quite close to the Great Star Dou Forest. They didn't unleash their full speed, but still reached the forest before midday.

"Let's take a break and grab something to eat, everyone. Adjust yourselves to your optimum condition and states. We will proceed into the forest after one hour." Zhang Lexuan's instructions were short and concise.

They were near the Great Star Dou Forest's Peripheral Region. They would be inside the forest once they pa.s.sed the danger signs that dotted the road.

Huo Yuhao felt a sense of nostalgia as he stared at a danger sign hanging from a tree not far from him. He could clearly remember what it was like during his first trip here, as that expedition had changed his destiny. He had met the Skydream Iceworm, Electrolux, his senior brother Bei Bei, and Xiao Ya.

Following the pa.s.sage of time, Electrolux was gone, and there was no news about teacher Xiao Ya, while he had also grown up.

Everyone moved off to the roadside. Their cultivations meant they were far from fatigued, but slowing down and relaxing still felt good anyway. Zhang Lexuan said to Huo Yuhao with a smile on her face, "I hear from Bei Bei that your culinary skills are exceptional, Yuhao. I remember you selling grilled fish outside the academy a long time ago. What do you think about showing us your skills?"

A thought came to Huo Yuhao's mind as he said, "There's a small river nearby, eldest senior sister." This place was close to the small stream where he had first met Bei Bei and Tang Ya.

Zhang Lexuan smiled and said, "I know. I'm not sure how many days we'll be spending in there once we head in, and the living conditions are going to be harsh inside. We won't get good food, and we'll have to sleep in the open. Everyone should enjoy a good meal before we enter. How about this: Li Yongyue will follow me to catch some fish, and Yuhao will be responsible for preparing and cooking them. Are you two okay with that?" She was a lot more familiar with the landscape of the Great Star Dou Forest's Peripheral Region than Huo Yuhao was.

"Yes!" the two of them acknowledged at once.

Zhang Lexuan stood up and said, "The others will help Yuhao prepare the firewood needed for the grilled fish. We will get to enjoy our food earlier if we work together."

Cai Mei'er didn't hide herself as she followed behind the students. She came forward at this moment, and a faint smile appeared on her face as she watched the students bustle around. She thought to herself, These youngsters are so full of life and energy! It's nice to be out here and walk around.

They were all high-level soul masters, so how difficult was it for them to collect firewood and catch a few fish?

It didn't take long before Zhang Lexuan and Li Yongyue returned with more than ten huge fish skewered on vines. It was clear that these two didn't really know how to cook, and Huo Yuhao immediately returned to the riverside with the fish that they had brought back.

The first step to grilling fish was to process the fish properly, and then to grill it directly - would that actually work?

Zhang Lexuan followed Huo Yuhao back to the riverside with a tinge of curiosity as she watched him take the fish from the vines. He washed them again inside the crystal-clear river as he cut them open, took out their organs, peeled off the scales, and extracted the tendons.

Extracting fish tendons was a special technique, as most people who steamed fish didn't do that, so the fish they made would have a strong fishy smell. It wasn't hard to remove the tendons - one would use a sharp blade to cut the fish below the gills before cutting the fish near the tail, and then one would look carefully look for a small white dot on the wound's cross-section before using the back of the blade to tap lightly on the fish's body. If appropriate strength was applied, it wouldn't take too many hits before a small white tip that looked like the tip of a needle would emerge, and then one would pinch it and pluck it out, and the tendons on that side would be extracted.

Every fish had two long tendons, and one would have to follow all these steps to consider even simple preparations complete.

Both Zhang Lexuan and w.a.n.g Dong'er were watching by the side. They wanted to help, but they were clumsy and confused when they actually tried. Their formidable cultivations were useless at times like these, and they could only sit by and watch.

Huo Yuhao picked the things he needed from his surroundings. He found some spices and herbs that he was relatively familiar with and picked a pile before he returned to camp. He placed the washed fish and the herbs onto some large clean leaves, and Chef Huo finally got to work.

Perhaps it was because his life had been tough and difficult as a kid, but he always carried his cooking tools with him: bowls, ladles, tubs, all sorts of seasonings, he had everything. When he took out all these things from his Starlight Sapphire storage ring, the other students stared unblinkingly.

Han Ruoruo couldn't help but laugh as she said, "Are you preparing to be a chef in the future, Yuhao? This is the first time I've seen someone place cooking tools inside a top-tier storage item such as the Starlight Sapphire."

Huo Yuhao chortled and said, "I used to be very poor, and it wasn't easy for me to fill my stomach. It's become a habit for me to bring these things when I goout, and even non-soul masters go hungry."

These simple sentences embodied his childhood experiences. Everybody else was relatively well off, so everyone grew silent for a moment after listening to his words. Even w.a.n.g Qiu'er glanced at him a few times.

Huo Yuhao was explaining with his mouth, but his hands didn't stop. He laid the firewood that everyone had brought back out in two piles before he lit one pile, planted four thick branches in the ground, and hung a large wok over the top. The wok contained clear water that had previously been collected from the small stream.

He finished setting up the wok on one side, and the grill that he always used, supported on both sides, was set up on the other side. He was even more familiar with this thing.

He applied and stuffed all kinds of seasoning and spices into the fish's stomachs. He opened a hole on both sides of the fish's bodies before skewering them with a clean wooden stick, and began to grill them.

He began to slather oil on both sides of the fish. This would give the fish a denser taste, and they wouldn't burn so easily.

The fragrant smell of grilled fish wafted over in no time. Everyone retrieved their rations and were sitting around, but they stared at the dry rations in their hands while they smelled the aroma, and suddenly everyone didn't feel like eating their rations anymore. Only w.a.n.g Qiu'er was sitting to one side as she nibbled quietly on her rations. She didn't even look at Huo Yuhao.

Zhang Lexuan was also sitting nearby as she watched Huo Yuhao. Her eyes rotated to the other students, and a subtle smile appeared on her face. She was the team leader, and her task was not only to command and protect her teammates. More importantly, she had to break the ice between this impromptu group and to glue them together, so that everyone would feel closer to one another, and more like a team. This was the only way she could enhance their chemistry in the fights that were to come, and this was the only way to make them feel more intimate. Her choice to ask Huo Yuhao to grill fish was partially because of this, as a nice meal would easily pull everyone closer together.

He was closely monitoring the grilling process with his spiritual power, and the first grilled fish was finished in no time. There was no question that seniors had priority, so Huo Yuhao took this first grilled fish to Cai Mei'er.

"Thank you." Cai Mei'er took the fish with a smile on her face as she took a huge bite. The yellowish-golden fish skin was crispy and slightly salty, and there was also a tinge of spiciness. The fish was tender and juicy, and just one bite left a delicious aftertaste behind.

Chapter 227.3: Two Women Fighting For Glory

Dean Cai's face was overcome with astonishment, and she wasn't stingy with her praise. "Yuhao, you have the standards to become a professional chef! It's no wonder I remember your business flouris.h.i.+ng when you used to sell grilled fish outside the academy's main gate. This is the best grilled fish I've ever eaten."

Huo Yuhao chuckled, but he didn't continue grilling his fish, and instead walked over to the wok steaming over the other fire. He put some wild vegetables in before he added another can of seasoning. The water was boiling by this time, and his seasonings had just been added when another fragrance permeated the air, and the soup turned a light red color.

He returned to the grill to continue his grilling. The fish Zhang Lexuan and Li Yongyue had caught were quite large; every single one weighed more than a kilogram, while the biggest ones were around two to two and a half kilograms. There were only a little more than ten fish, but they were enough to feed everyone here.

The fish were grilled one after another, and Huo Yuhao's allocation was simple: he went according to age, and the eldest came first.

Zhang Lexuan was naturally the second one in line after Cai Mei'er. Even though Zhang Lexuan jokingly remarked on the fact that she was the second oldest, she was still immensely attracted by the grilled fish's aroma.

Han Ruoruo, Li Yongyue, and Mo Xuan were next.

w.a.n.g Dong'er was almost drooling as she stood beside Huo Yuhao. She watched as the seventh fish was almost ready, and a threatening look flowed from her eyes as she stared at him. Her rosy lips curled upward, as if she were saying, "This one must be mine."

Huo Yuhao whispered, "Others before self. You have to wait for a while longer, and I will pick a large one for you."

w.a.n.g Dong'er grimaced when she heard him say "others before self", but she didn't stop Huo Yuhao as he walked towards w.a.n.g Qiu'er.

w.a.n.g Qiu'er was seated furthest away from the bonfire, and she wasn't interacting with the others either. She was just quietly munching on her dried rations, and she only lifted her head subconsciously when Huo Yuhao arrived in front of her.

"This is for you." Huo Yuhao handed her the fish in his hands. The grilled fish skin was glowing as an alluring aroma wafted through the air.

"For me? Aren't you afraid of your little girlfriend becoming upset?" w.a.n.g Qiu'er didn't take the fish, but questioned him as she stared into his eyes.

Their gazes met, and for some reason, Huo Yuhao felt a delicate dizziness in his mind when he stared into those powdery-blue eyes, even though the mysteries in those eyes were absolutely different from w.a.n.g Dong'er's eyes. The moment was fleeting, but it was enough to surprise him.

w.a.n.g Qiu'er took the grilled fish that he handed over as she lowered her head and said, "Thank you."

"Have we met before?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

w.a.n.g Qiu'er answered matter-of-factly, "I think this is our third meeting. If you don't want your little girlfriend to think you're flirting with me, you should go back." She took a bite of the grilled fish in her hands as she spoke. She was momentarily stunned when the delicious flavor entered her mouth, and a peculiar light flickered across her eyes.

w.a.n.g Dong'er was still hungry, so Huo Yuhao didn't dally. However, he was starting to believe w.a.n.g Dong'er's judgment that w.a.n.g Qiu'er wasn't simple at all, and she definitely had to have some secret. He instinctively developed an increased sense of wariness as these thoughts ran through his head.

He returned to the campfire and picked a bigger fish for w.a.n.g Dong'er. She was already waiting eagerly, and soon the grilled fish was finally done.

"Here you go. Careful, it's hot." Huo Yuhao pa.s.sed the grilled fish to w.a.n.g Dong'er. A soothing smile unwittingly appeared on his face as he watched her excitement.

w.a.n.g Dong'er couldn't be bothered with her image anymore as she sat right there and began to eat. She was almost burned, but she just kept going on about how tasty the grilled fish was.

Huo Yuhao chuckled softly. "This fish must be the most delicious one."

w.a.n.g Dong'er continued nibbling away at her fish as she asked a little fuzzily, "Why?"

Huo Yuhao laughed and said, "There's an added spice in this one, a kind that the other fish don't have."

w.a.n.g Dong'er was surprised, and said, "You actually hid something from the others? Aren't you afraid of them calling you stingy?"

Huo Yuhao shook his head. "No, I'm not. This spice can only be used when grilling for you, because it's called fondness."

w.a.n.g Dong'er was slightly taken aback, but she quickly recovered as her cheeks immediately turned rosy. She whispered, "Is it just fondness?"

Huo Yuhao fiddled with the next grilled fish in his hands as he smiled and said, "Love comprises a lot of fondness. The spices next time will taste even richer."

w.a.n.g Dong'er didn't pursue the matter further as she chomped on the grilled fish in her hands, before she flashed a sweet smile at Huo Yuhao. She had already removed her veil at this point, and her enchanting beauty dazed Huo Yuhao to the point where he forgot to flip the grilled fish he was working on, and the fish he made for himself was a little burnt.

"Ah, it's burnt. The taste will be a lot denser, even if that wasn't what I wanted."

The grilled fish was rich and fragrant, while the wild vegetable soup was sweet and refres.h.i.+ng. This meal couldn't be considered nutritious or luxuriant, but it had the appeal of the mountains and the wilderness, and with that, in addition to the delicious flavor, everyone was happy with it. Some people even fought a little over the last few pieces, and their method naturally came down to rock-paper-scissors. Everyone became a lot closer than before from all this interaction, and only w.a.n.g Qiu'er remained quiet and isolated.

In the end, one hour of rest became two hours before they finished up. After the delectable meal, everyone began to meditate while Dean Cai protected them so that they could be at their peak conditions.

Huo Yuhao felt a sense of detachment, as if he were separated from the world, every time he entered the lush Great Star Dou Forest. The truth was that the Great Star Dou Forest was like an independent nation, the country of soul beasts.

Everyone here was a high-level soul master, and everyone pushed forward toward the deeper regions at full speed after entering the Peripheral Region under Zhang Lexuan's leaders.h.i.+p as they ventured on.

This time was vastly different from the previous times Huo Yuhao had entered the forest. Zhang Lexuan was leading the group, and she had no intention of scouting carefully; they just proceeded forward at full speed. Her body glowed with brilliant white light, and the trees and logs on the ground opened up wherever she walked, while her body emanated a powerful aura. The lower-tier soul beasts didn't dare to come near her, and their speed was at least three times faster than when Huo Yuhao and the others were last here.

This was the meaning of strength; they relied on pure power to force their way forward, and would rest for fifteen minutes after travelling for two hours. They could tell they when they left the Peripheral Region by judging the strength of the soul beasts around them. As the sky gradually turned dark, they were slowly crossing into the Hybrid Region.

"Maintain the formation, everyone. Pay attention, main control-type soul masters and secondary control-type soul masters." Zhang Lexuan slowed down conspicuously. The soul beasts around them would be mostly thousand-year soul beasts once they entered the Hybrid Region, and there would probably also be ten-thousand year soul beasts, which were strong enough to threaten everyone. Ten-thousand year soul beasts were also precisely what everyone had come here for.

Huo Yuhao's eyes lit up as he gripped w.a.n.g Dong'er's hand subconsciously. The Haodong power circulated between them as golden light flowed from his eyes.

His Spiritual Detection was pa.s.sed to everyone on the team, and it extended outward with astounding speed, covering a radius of six hundred meters around them in the blink of an eye.

All the plants and trees, the landscape, and various other parameters quickly surfaced in everyone's minds.

Huo Yuhao had no problem a.s.sisting seven people at the same time via Spiritual Detection with his current spiritual power, and his detection range far exceeded his past limits.

However, other than w.a.n.g Dong, everyone was clearly not used to his Spiritual Detection. They couldn't help but pause in their tracks when Huo Yuhao activated his soul skill, to the point where Huo Yuhao almost slammed into Mo Xuan, who was walking in front of him.

Everyone sent their gazes backward, and Huo Yuhao immediately became the center of attention. This was especially so for Zhang Lexuan, who was right at the front. Her eyes were filled with astonishment.

It didn't need to be said what the effect of such immense scouting power would be like for the team. Zhang Lexuan was team leader, an a.s.sault-type soul master, and she instantly felt as if the burden on her shoulders had been greatly eased.

"How's the consumption of your soul power, Yuhao?" Zhang Lexuan asked immediately.

Huo Yuhao answered without hesitation, "I can recover as we travel. I can maintain this for a very long time as long as I don't expand the area of effect."

Zhang Lexuan asked in surprise, "You can expand the area of effect? What's the limit?"

Huo Yuhao immediately gave her the numerical details. "I can reach an area of around fifteen hundred meters in radius, while my unidirectional detection limit can reach around three thousand meters. I can double the precision and clarity, but I will consume a lot more soul power if I do that, so I can't keep it up for a long period of time."

Everyone could be heard drawing in cold breaths. This soul skill didn't come with any offensive or defensive capabilities, but it was exceptionally useful for detection and exploration. Having this skill was equivalent to being able to predict dangers, and thus could be considered a super soul skill in the peril-filled Great Star Dou Forest.

Zhang Lexuan said decisively, "Maintaining this area of effect is enough. From now onwards, Huo Yuhao will be the main control and Ruoruo will be switched to secondary control. Any objections?"

Han Ruoruo had known her and coordinated with her for many years, and she answered without hesitation, "No problem!"

Huo Yuhao paused momentarily, but finally answered, "I'm okay with that."

n.o.body had any disputes about him taking over that role, because every single person who wasn't a fool could tell how useful his Spiritual Detection was.

With his Spiritual Detection active, Zhang Lexuan picked up the pace once more, and they went straight for the inner circle.

However, once they entered the Hybrid Region, not all the soul beasts in the area would be terrified by her aura.

They didn't travel for long before everyone received an alarm signal in their minds. Zhang Lexuan immediately halted everyone, and followed the Spiritual Detection's guidance to gaze in a certain direction.

There was a soul beast crouching on a thick branch about two hundred meters away from them.