Sunset Forest, outer area.
Huo Yuhao followed the Spirit Master team of Spirit Hall and remained active in the peripheral zone of Sunset Forest.
The fringe region of Sunset Forest was mostly an area where ten-year spirit beasts roamed. Occasionally, a few hundred-year spirit beasts could be encountered, but they were rare and generally cautious.
The Spirit Hall team did not rush forward recklessly. Instead, they advanced steadily through the forest. Even after an entire day of travel, they were still within the outer region. This alone demonstrated just how vast and clearly layered the Sunset Forest truly was.
The black-robed man leading the team finally gave the order to halt and rest.
Upon hearing the command, the Spirit Masters immediately began working with clear division of labor. Some were responsible for setting up tents and forming a defensive perimeter. Others collected dry branches and firewood, while a few handled the preparation of food.
This scene felt extremely familiar to Huo Yuhao.
Just as he was about to take the initiative to gather firewood, someone stopped him.
The person who spoke was Xie Yue.
"Although this is only the outer region of the Soul Beast Forest, there are still dangers. Leave these matters to them," Xie Yue said calmly.
Huo Yuhao glanced around. The Spirit Masters worked efficiently and in perfect order. Seeing this, he naturally had nothing more to say.
As for cooking and roasting meat, there were also people specifically assigned to those tasks. There was no opportunity for him to help at all.
Huo Yuhao even vaguely wondered whether they were deliberately guarding against him tampering with the food.
Left with nothing to do, he sat down on a fallen, decaying tree trunk and raised his hand, gently stroking the soft Blue Silver Grass growing from the forest floor.
As the others remained busy, Huo Yuhao slowly drifted into sleep.
When he woke up, the sun had already sunk low, and the sky was gradually darkening.
He sniffed instinctively and caught the rich aroma of meat drifting through the air.
Turning his head, he saw several Spirit Masters not far away simmering meat in a pot.
At that moment, Hu Liena walked toward him, holding a bowl of steaming broth.
Behind her, Yan's annoyed voice could be faintly heard, muttering complaints, but he was quickly stopped by Xie Yue, who wore a gentle smile. Huo Yuhao vaguely heard fragments like, "He's just a child, are you really jealous?" and "It's not like you don't know, Na'er has grown up without a mother…"
"Here," Hu Liena said softly as she handed the bowl to Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao immediately stood up and accepted it with both hands.
"Thank you."
"What are they talking about over there?" he asked curiously.
Hu Liena merely smiled, lifted the hem of her skirt slightly, and sat down beside him.
"They've always been like that. Just ignore them."
"What kind of meat is this? It smells really good," Huo Yuhao asked while sipping the broth.
"The Soft-Bone Charm Rabbit," Hu Liena replied with a smile. "Its meat is delicate and tender. It's also one of the easiest spirit beasts to catch in the Soul Beast Forest."
Soft-Bone Charm Rabbit?
Huo Yuhao froze slightly.
"What's wrong?" Hu Liena noticed the change in his expression.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and finished the entire bowl of soup in one go, feeling a warm sensation spread through his stomach.
"Delicious."
"Would you like another bowl?" Hu Liena asked gently.
"No, this is just right," Huo Yuhao replied.
"Are you sure?" Hu Liena smiled. "Opportunities like this setting up camp and cooking only happen in the outer areas of the Soul Beast Forest. Once we go deeper, it'll be nothing but dry rations."
Most low-level spirit beasts were instinctively afraid of fire and would deliberately avoid it.
But in areas where ten-thousand-year spirit beasts were active, lighting an open flame let alone cooking could easily invite death.
"I've already mentioned your situation to my seniors," Hu Liena continued. "I'll help you keep an eye out for a spirit beast suitable for you."
"Thank you," Huo Yuhao said sincerely. His heart felt warm. You could truly feel when someone was genuinely kind to you.
That warmth reminded him of Sister Xiaoya.
"There's no news yet, so it's too early to thank me," Hu Liena said with a soft smile. "By the way, which direction do you plan to pursue in your cultivation?"
Seeing that he might not fully understand, she explained further.
"For example, my martial soul is a fox. It emphasizes charm, agility, and cunning. That's why I chose the control-type cultivation path."
"Control system," Huo Yuhao answered decisively.
In his previous life, his Spirit Eye martial soul had also followed the control system.
"Then what kind of effect do you hope your first soul skill will have?" Hu Liena asked curiously.
Huo Yuhao thought for a moment. "Mental Detection."
This was his true sentiment, carrying unavoidable nostalgia.
"Mental detection?" Hu Liena tilted her head slightly. "That sounds more like an auxiliary skill."
"The duty of a control-type Spirit Master is to control the entire battlefield," she added.
"As long as everyone on the opposing side is dead, isn't the battlefield controlled?" Huo Yuhao replied with a grin.
Hu Liena burst into laughter and scolded lightly, "You little brat."
...
Not far away, under another tree, the sight of the two talking and laughing made Yan's face darken.
"Don't stop me! I'm going to kill that little beggar!" Yan looked like an enraged beast, nearly ready to unleash his martial soul.
"Even if I don't stop you, what can you actually do?" Xie Yue spread his hands helplessly and glanced toward the warm scene in the distance.
"Besides, do you really think Na'er would develop romantic feelings for an eleven-year-old child?"
Yan suddenly fell silent.
No matter how he looked at it, it really did seem more like a sibling relationship.
But he still felt extremely uncomfortable.
"In Na'er's eyes, he's just the kid next door," Xie Yue said seriously.
"Yan, after all these years, don't you understand Na'er's personality?"
"…Sigh." Yan sighed deeply.
That kid would grow up one day, and yet it still made him uneasy.
"Actually, you don't need to worry so much," Xie Yue said calmly.
Yan immediately raised his head, ready to hear the reasoning.
"Talent determines the future," Xie Yue continued. "His martial soul isn't outstanding, and it's an extremely rare spiritual-type martial soul. Finding a suitable spirit ring will be very difficult."
"Eleven years old, soul power level ten. His innate soul power is probably around level two or three. Without extraordinary opportunities, there's a high chance he won't even reach level thirty in his lifetime."
Yan nodded slowly.
"Let me ask you," Xie Yue said with a smile, "what was your soul power when you were eleven?"
"Level twenty-seven," Yan replied.
"We are the Golden Generation of Spirit Hall," Xie Yue said calmly. "In two years, the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament will be our stage. That boy will simply fade into the background."
"For Na'er, when she looks back in the future, she'll only remember helping a child once. Even if he joins Spirit Hall, their paths won't truly intersect."
"So what exactly are you anxious about?"
Yan stood there, stunned.
A moment later, he nearly wanted to call Xie Yue 'uncle' and rush over to hug him.
Xie Yue slapped his hand away and smiled. "That doesn't count. My sister has to acknowledge it herself."
Yan finally felt enlightened, and most of the hostility in his gaze toward Huo Yuhao vanished.
Hmph. You're just a passerby destined to be forgotten. I'm not even worth getting angry over you.
Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao noticed the commotion from afar. The way that red-haired man kept staring at him made his scalp tingle.
Is that guy having some kind of episode?