The healing of the Horned Rhino was a pebble dropped into the still, deep waters of the Star Dou Great Forest. The ripples, however, were not of water, but of a paradigm shift that washed over the assembled Ferocious Beasts with the force of a tidal wave.
The Emerald Droplet Pendant was no longer just a human trinket, a curiosity born from the strange boy they had taken in. It was a tangible miracle. It was proof of a new kind of power, one that didn't come from ripping and tearing, but from creation.
Di Tian, in his regal human form, stood by the Lake of Life, his black and gold robes unmoving in the gentle breeze. His golden eyes, which usually held the cold indifference of an ancient monarch, were now fixed on the small boy with a new, calculating intensity.
The boy, Huo Yuhao, was sitting cross-legged, circulating the Mysterious Heaven Technique, his body absorbing the rich life energy like a thirsty sponge. But Di Tian no longer saw just a vessel for a god's will. He saw a strategic asset. He saw a forge. He saw the future.
He strode over, his steps silent but carrying an immense weight. Bi Ji, who was tending to Huo Yuhao, looked up, her expression one of gentle inquiry.
"The experiment was a success," Di Tian stated, his voice a low baritone that left no room for argument. "The results are… satisfactory."
From nearby, the hulking form of Xiong Jun stomped over, his bare, tattooed arms crossed over his massive chest. The contempt that had once been his default expression was gone, replaced by a boorish, impatient greed.
"Satisfactory? It was a light show! A good one, I'll admit," he grumbled, his voice like grinding stones. "But enough with these healing trinkets! When do you make my mountain-splitting claw, brat? When do I get a real weapon?"
Huo Yuhao opened his eyes, the violet glint from his morning cultivation fading to his normal deep blue. He looked at the impatient Bear Lord and felt a flicker of amusement rather than fear.
Before he could speak, Bi Ji's soft voice cut through the air, sharp as a sliver of ice.
"Patience, Xiong Jun," she chided, her gentle eyes narrowing at the hulking beast. "Your vanity can wait. Do you have any idea what this means?"
She gestured towards Huo Yuhao. "A single great weapon helps one beast. It makes one warrior stronger. But these pendants… they can save hundreds. Thousands. They can be given to our brethren who patrol the borders, who face the human hunting parties every day. A single pendant could be the difference between a Thousand-Year Beast returning to its family or its Soul Ring being stripped by some human whelp."
Her words struck a chord. Even Xiong Jun, in his self-centered belligerence, could not deny the logic. His desire for a personal weapon was born of pride. Bi Ji's vision was for the survival of their race.
"Yuhao's work," she finished, her voice softening as she looked at him, "is for the good of the whole forest. Not just for you."
Di Tian gave a single, sharp nod of agreement. He had already come to the same conclusion.
He turned his full attention to Huo Yuhao. "This is no longer a request, child. It is a commission. The first official project of our… cooperation."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. "You will create a batch of these Emerald Droplet Pendants. One hundred of them. They will be distributed to the captains of our ten-thousand-year-old patrol squads. This is your first duty."
Huo Yuhao's heart swelled. A duty. A commission. He wasn't a pet or a charity case. He was a contributor, a valued member of their strange, terrifying, wonderful family. He felt a surge of confidence, of purpose, that was more nourishing than any spirit fruit.
He stood and bowed respectfully. "I will do it, Lord Di Tian. But I will have some requirements."
Xiong Jun grunted. "Demanding things already, are we?"
Huo Yuhao ignored him, his gaze steady on Di Tian. "I will need a steady supply of Blue Cloud Steel and Crystal Copper. The forging process is also… tiring. It takes a lot out of me. I will need time to rest and cultivate between each creation to ensure the quality is perfect."
Di Tian considered this. It was a reasonable request. The boy's own strength was the well from which these miracles were drawn. It was in their best interest to keep that well full.
"Your requests are granted," he declared. "The metals will be provided. Take the time you need. But do not slack. The lives of our kin may depend on your diligence."
And so, the Soul Beast Workshop was born.
They chose a large, open-air cave not far from the lake. It was dry, spacious, and had a high ceiling that allowed smoke and heat to dissipate. Subordinate beasts, under Di Tian's orders, cleared the area and brought in a massive, flat-topped granite boulder to serve as a permanent anvil.
The moment the workshop was established, a flash of gold streaked into the cave. The Auspicious Beast padded in, her head held high, her three golden eyes gleaming with excitement.
"I will help," she announced, her voice ringing with an enthusiastic pride. "The fire. I will be your Forge Fire."
Huo Yuhao beamed at her. "I was hoping you would."
Their partnership, which had begun as a curious experiment, now solidified into a dedicated routine. The Auspicious Beast, with her innate connection to destiny and a growing fascination for the act of creation, proved to be a prodigy in her own right.
She learned to control her Ultimate Fire with a precision that was breathtaking. Huo Yuhao no longer needed to give her verbal instructions. She could see the Blue Cloud Steel on the anvil and know, just by its faint shimmer, the exact temperature required to make it malleable without damaging its energy-retaining properties. She could sense the moment he needed a searing heat for purification and the moment he needed a gentler flame for shaping.
Her golden fire, pure and intense, became the heart of the workshop.
In her own mind, a world of new understanding was dawning. She would watch Huo Yuhao for hours, utterly captivated.
She would watch as he lifted his crude, self-made hammer. The boy was still so small, so physically weak compared to even the most common ten-thousand-year-old beast. Yet, when he worked, he seemed to transform.
His face would set in a mask of deep, unshakeable concentration. His Spirit Eyes would glow with that mesmerizing blue light, peering not at the surface of the metal, but into its very soul, seeing flaws and potentials she couldn't perceive.
The rhythmic CLANG… CLANG… CLANG… of his hammer became the new sound of the Core Region. It was a sound of progress, of change.
'It is so strange,' the Auspicious Beast thought to herself, her golden flames licking steadily around a piece of steel. 'My entire life, I have only known one way to gain power: to grow. To absorb the essence of heaven and earth, to age, to accumulate strength over millennia. It is a passive, patient path.'
She watched him wipe a bead of sweat from his brow with a soot-stained arm before lifting the hammer again.
'But he… he makes strength. He takes dull rock and fire, and with his will and his hands, he creates a power that did not exist before. He creates a way to save the strong. He is so small, yet his impact is so large.'
A warm, pleasant feeling bloomed in her chest, a feeling of camaraderie and shared destiny that was deeper than any instinct. 'The threads of fate that connect us are strong. I can feel it. When I am near him, my own power feels clearer, more focused. Perhaps… perhaps this is the new path. Not just for him, but for all of us. Perhaps with his help, my true purpose, to help the Soul Beasts rise, can finally be realized.'
The news of the workshop and its purpose spread like wildfire through the upper echelons of the Star Dou Great Forest. More curious beasts, powerful fifty-thousand-year-olds and even a few reclusive ninety-thousand-year-olds, would appear at the edges of the clearing, watching from a distance.
They would whisper amongst themselves, their ancient eyes filled with a mixture of disbelief and hope.
"Is it true? The human whelp healed the Horned Rhino with one of his toys?" one might ask.
"I heard it from the Scarlet King himself," another would reply. "He said the trinket held the life essence of Lady Bi Ji. The boy forged a vessel for her power."
"Hmph. Noisy work. But if it can save our children from the humans…"
Huo Yuhao was mostly oblivious to his growing audience. His world had shrunk to the anvil, the hammer, the glowing metal, and the steady, comforting presence of his golden-furred partner.
He forged pendant after pendant, his skill growing with each one. His hammer blows became more precise, his shaping more elegant. The engraving, once an act of supreme concentration, became a fluid, almost meditative process. The Life Guardian Blade felt like a part of his soul, dancing across the metal, carving the intricate arrays with an effortless grace.
Between each forging, he would collapse onto a mat of soft grass, exhausted but deeply satisfied. Bi Ji would bring him nourishing fruits and cool water, and he would cultivate, feeling the Mysterious Heaven Technique and the ambient life energy replenishing his strength, making him a little stronger, a little more resilient than before.
He was building more than just Soul Tools. He was building a new life, hammer blow by hammer blow. He had a home. He had a purpose. He had a family.
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, within the hallowed, competitive walls of Shrek Academy, Wang Dong was also living a new life. But hers was not being built; it was being endured.
She was, without a shadow of a doubt, the brightest star in the freshman year. Her Radiant Butterfly Goddess Martial Soul was beautiful and powerful, her innate Soul Power was at a level most of her peers could only dream of, and her combat instincts were sharp and deadly.
In any other circumstance, she would be a celebrated prodigy. But here, without a foil, without the quiet, stubborn, impossibly diligent boy who should have been her roommate, her brilliance was beginning to tarnish with the rust of complacency.
The afternoon sun beat down on the great training grounds of the academy. Teacher Zhou Yi, her face a stern mask, stood with her arms crossed, watching her students.
"Again!" she barked, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Another ten laps! And this time, if I see anyone using more than a bare minimum of Soul Power to lighten their load, they will do twenty more!"
The students of Class 1 groaned in unison. They were all wearing weighted vests, heavy iron plates strapped to their chests and backs, designed to push their physical endurance to its absolute limit.
Most were struggling. Their faces were red, their breaths coming in ragged gasps. They were panting, sweating, pushing against the wall of their own exhaustion. This was Zhou Yi's philosophy in action: to forge will in the crucible of suffering.
All of them, that is, except one.
Wang Dong moved with an easy, unhurried grace. She wasn't running; she was strolling. Her breathing was even, her handsome face holding an expression of profound, unshakable boredom. A faint, almost imperceptible shimmer of Soul Power surrounded her, perfectly offsetting the weight of the vest, making it feel as light as a feather. It was a display of exquisite control, but it was used in complete defiance of the spirit of the exercise.
Zhou Yi's eyes narrowed. Her patience, already worn thin by Wang Dong's consistent lack of effort, finally snapped.
"Wang Dong!" she roared, her voice echoing across the field. The other students flinched, but Wang Dong simply stopped, turning to face her teacher with a look of mild inquiry.
"Is this a joke to you?" Zhou Yi demanded, stalking over to her. "Look at your classmates! They are fighting, they are struggling, they are growing! The purpose of this exercise is to temper your will, to push past your physical limits! What do you think you are accomplishing with this… leisurely stroll?"
Wang Dong met her teacher's furious gaze without flinching. She tilted her head, a hint of cool arrogance in her flawless features.
"Teacher Zhou," she replied, her voice calm and clear, utterly devoid of the respect or fear a student should show. "My will is perfectly fine. And as you well know, my limits, both physical and spiritual, are far beyond anyone else's here. Is that not so?"
Zhou Yi was momentarily speechless. The sheer audacity of the boy was staggering.
"So," Wang Dong continued, a logical, infuriating coolness in her tone, "would it not be more efficient for me to conserve my energy for something that actually matters? Like a combat class, where I might actually face a sliver of a challenge? Wasting my stamina here seems… pointless."
A wave of impotent fury washed over Zhou Yi. She wanted to scream, to punish him, to make him run until he collapsed. But she couldn't. Not really. The boy's background was too sensitive. The members of the Clear Sky Sect were figures even the academy's deans treated with respect. His talent was undeniable. Expelling him was out of the question, and any punishment she devised, he would likely endure with the same infuriating, bored detachment.
He was a prodigy, a diamond of the first water. But he was a lazy, unmotivated, frustratingly complacent diamond who refused to be cut. All she could see was immense potential being utterly squandered, a future legend rotting from the inside out due to a complete lack of drive.
"Fine," Zhou Yi hissed through gritted teeth. "If you believe you are above this, then get out of my sight. Go."
Without another word, Wang Dong gave a slight, almost mocking bow and walked off the field, leaving behind a fuming teacher and a class of exhausted, envious students.
She returned to her dormitory. It was a two-person room, but it was empty. She had paid an exorbitant fee upon enrollment to ensure she would have no roommate. The risk of a boy discovering her secret during the night was too great.
The room was luxurious. The bed had a fine mattress, the desk was polished mahogany, and the window overlooked a quiet, manicured garden. It was clean. It was orderly. And it was silent.
The silence was absolute, a heavy, suffocating blanket.
There were no friends to burst through the door, no roommate to share stories with, no laughter to fill the empty space. She had pushed everyone away.
The girls in her class, like that quiet girl Xiao Xiao with the twin soul thuribles, often tried to talk to the handsome, aloof "Wang Dong." They would blush and stutter, drawn to his beauty and power. But he always met them with a polite, impenetrable wall of cold indifference.
He—she—lay down on her perfectly made bed and stared at the pristine white ceiling.
A feeling she couldn't name, a profound and hollow ache, settled in her chest. It was a constant companion these days. A feeling of… emptiness. A sense that something was fundamentally, deeply wrong. Something was missing from her life, from this academy, from her very soul.
She had everything. Power, beauty, talent, a protected status. She should have been happy. Triumphant.
So why did she feel so incredibly, unbearably alone?
'I wonder what they would do,' she thought, a flicker of dark amusement crossing her mind. 'All those girls who sigh when I walk past. What would they do if they found out that the handsome, powerful boy they admire is actually a girl, just like them?'
The thought wasn't as amusing as it should have been. It just made the ache of her isolation feel sharper. She was living a lie, a carefully constructed role, and she was the sole, lonely player on an empty stage. She closed her eyes, trying to will the strange, sad feeling away, but it lingered, a ghost in her gilded cage.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Blood Silver Emperor", "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon