Chapter 25: A Chance Encounter with Xiao Wu, My Name is Huo Yuhao!

Chapter 25: A Chance Encounter with Xiao Wu; My Name is Huo Yuhao!

Riding his Somersault Cloud, Xu Yan had already traveled a great distance. He was unsure of his exact location, but following his memory, he made his way back to the Star Dou Forest. Since he needed to train, the Star Dou Forest was the place to be.

Upon arriving at the outskirts of the forest, Xu Yan landed and began to search. Although he did not need to hunt spirit beasts to obtain spirit rings, he could absorb their spirit power. Therefore, he decided to hunt any beast that was over a century old. With a heavy swing of his staff, a thousand-year spirit beast collapsed to the ground. Xu Yan utilized the Sacred Heart Mantra to absorb its spirit power bit by bit. Once he finished, he let out a sigh of relief. It still wasn't enough to break through to level forty-one, but given his current rate of cultivation, it wasn't slow either.

He activated his Spirit Fruit martial soul, causing dozens of golden spirit rings to shine, and condensed a golden fruit in his palm. Xu Yan consumed the fruit, feeling his spirit power surge, yet he still failed to breach the level forty-one threshold. This led him to believe that he had hit a major bottleneck that required a specific opportunity to overcome.

Inside the main hall of the Spirit Hall, Ghost Douluo appeared directly before Bibi Dong. "Your Holiness, about Xu Yan..." Ghost Douluo looked flustered. Being outmaneuvered by a mere Spirit Ancestor-level brat was a dereliction of duty.

Bibi Dong opened her beautiful eyes and stared at him. "What about Xu Yan?"

"He used some kind of flight spirit skill and escaped," Ghost Douluo reported.

Standing nearby, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was also stunned. He remembered that when they first encountered Xu Yan, he was not even level thirty. How could he have escaped from a Titled Douluo? While Xu Yan would struggle to fight a Titled Douluo and could be easily killed if caught, he had the ability to retreat unscathed. By utilizing the Seven-No-Desolation technique of the Sacred Heart Art combined with the rapid flight of the Somersault Cloud, there was virtually no one on the continent capable of capturing him.

"What?" Bibi Dong stood up, her gaze fixed on Ghost Douluo. Even without the suppression of spirit power, her look felt as if it could shatter one’s soul, causing sweat to pour down Ghost Douluo’s forehead.

"You couldn't even keep an eye on a single Xu Yan? What else are you good for?" Bibi Dong said coldly.

"Your Holiness, Xu Yan's cultivation speed is truly astonishing. He is already a level forty Spirit Ancestor, and with his special spirit skills, even I cannot capture him," Ghost Douluo replied hurriedly.

Bibi Dong was shocked. "You say he is already a level forty Spirit Ancestor?" She remembered that when he left, he was only a Spirit Grandmaster. Such progress in such a short time was unheard of.

"Yes," Ghost Douluo confirmed.

"A talent like this must belong to Spirit Hall. Both of you, go and find him immediately! Even if you have to turn the entire continent upside down, you must bring him back. Otherwise, I will not forgive you." Bibi Dong was visibly excited. If she could take such a genius as her last disciple and nurture him, he would surely shake the entire Douluo Continent in the future, perhaps even becoming the youngest Titled Douluo in history.

Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo bowed and retreated immediately. Bibi Dong stood on the high terrace outside the hall, overlooking Spirit City. She remembered Xu Yan once saying he wanted to be her disciple. "Xu Yan, if you return, I shall take you as my last disciple," she murmured softly.

One month later, Xu Yan was still in the Star Dou Forest. During this time, he had hunted many spirit beasts and absorbed their power. He had even dispatched a few unlucky spirit masters who had crossed his path while trying to hunt for their own spirit rings. Most of these people had relied on their numbers to try and rob him, only to be beaten down by Xu Yan, who then looted their belongings. He took their gold coins, though he found little else of value.

"Xiao Wu..." A voice called out from the woods. Xu Yan’s expression grew serious. Xiao Wu was here? He hid behind a tree and waited for a moment, but the voice faded into the distance. It was likely Liu Erlong searching for her, and this time, Tang San was not with her. Suddenly, Xu Yan felt a jolt of alertness.

"What are you looking for?" A crisp, melodious female voice suddenly came from behind him.

Xu Yan turned to see a slim, beautiful girl with fair, rosy skin and a long braid standing there, looking at him with large, watery eyes. The rabbit ears atop her head twitched. It was indeed Xiao Wu.

Xu Yan thought to himself that while Xiao Wu was currently only at level thirty-nine, her agility and speed were quite impressive.

"Nothing. Was that 'Xiao Wu' calling out for you?" Xu Yan asked.

Xiao Wu nodded. "They were looking for me, but it's fine now. You should leave quickly."

"Oh? Are you afraid of being discovered? You don't need to hunt spirit beasts to obtain spirit rings, do you?" Xu Yan remarked.

Xiao Wu was startled and took a step back. "How... how did you know?"

"I know more than that. I know you are a hundred-thousand-year Soft-Bone Rabbit spirit beast, not a human, so you don't need to hunt for spirit rings," Xu Yan said.

Xiao Wu attacked him immediately. Xu Yan stood his ground, and as she lunged, a powerful repulsive force sent her flying backward. Xiao Wu felt completely powerless as she was pushed away. What was that incredible force?

Xu Yan shifted into a particle-like form, teleported instantly in front of Xiao Wu, and said, "Are you trying to turn yourself into braised rabbit?"

"You—let me go!" Xiao Wu struggled.

Xu Yan used a gravitational pull to lift her up. "Why did you attack me?"

"What do you want?" Xiao Wu asked, still struggling.

"I don't want anything, but you've annoyed me." Xu Yan used the Heavenly Palace Illusion, striking with mental power to leave her temporarily dazed. "Forget it. If I kill you now, it won't be fun later." He set her down and said, "I have no malice toward you. If you attack me again, I won't be so polite."

Once released, Xiao Wu behaved. She sensed that Xu Yan was mysterious and knew her true identity. "I'm sorry, I just..." She felt a rare sense of guilt. Normally, she would have used her Eight-Stage Drop to make an opponent cough blood, but she had clearly met someone formidable today. She could tell that Xu Yan was only a Spirit Ancestor and likely not a bad person, so she lowered her guard.

"It's fine, as long as we're clear," Xu Yan said with a gentle smile, thinking that Hu Liena’s future spirit ring was as good as secured. "My name is Huo Yuhao. It's a pleasure to meet you." He reached out his hand to shake hers.