The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

"Tianhuang? And Senior Brother?" A surprised voice came, and Xu Zihuang turned his head to look over, his eyes revealing a hint of tenderness.

Ning Tian walked over from a short distance away, looking slightly surprised and delighted. Not far behind her was a petite girl. The girl had shoulder-length, cherry-pink hair and was no more than 1.6 meters tall. Although she also had short hair, unlike Ning Tian's elegant and refined demeanor, the girl had slightly chubby cheeks, making her look quite adorable.

A pair of cherry-pink eyes, the same color as her hair, were looking at Xu Zihuang with great interest. When Xu Zihuang turned her gaze to her and they met eyes, she showed no shyness whatsoever.

Xu Zihuang was quite familiar with this girl. Her name was Ying Ke'er, and she was the class monitor of Class 4 in the second year. She had a good relationship with Ning Tian.

In the outer academy, all grades are divided into four classes. Class 1 consists of offensive and control-type Soul Masters, Class 2 consists of defensive and agile-type Soul Masters, and Class 3 consists of support-type Soul Masters like Ning Tian, ​​usually the smallest class. As for Class 4, it includes Soul Masters and Weapon Soul Masters with various special attributes, including food-type and healing-type Soul Masters.

This Ying Ke'er is a food-type Soul Master, and she just acquired her third Soul Ring a few days ago. Considering that food-type Soul Masters cultivate at a slower pace than support-type Soul Masters, a Soul Master at the age of twelve and a half is definitely a genius.

When she acquired her third spirit ring and advanced to the Spirit Master level, returning to the academy, she was exceptionally promoted to become the only core disciple of the Food Department in the outer academy of the Spirit System. There was also a core disciple of the Food Department in the Spirit Guidance System, namely He Caitou. Because the subsequent cultivation of Food Department Spirit Masters is exceptionally difficult, and it's easy for them to run out of strength, Shrek Academy has even higher standards for accepting core disciples and inner academy disciples of the Food Department.

Shrek Academy truly lives up to its reputation as the premier academy for gathering elite young soul masters across the continent.

Ying Ke'er took Ning Tian's arm and giggled.

"Sister Tian'er, so the rumors were true. You really are with Yu Tianhuang."

A hint of shyness appeared in Ning Tian's bright eyes as she looked up at Xu Zihuang.

Xu Zihuang understood that Ning Tian's gesture implied that she wanted him to acknowledge their relationship in front of her friends, and readily nodded in agreement.

"Then you can be sure now."

As he spoke, he took Ning Tian's hand, which drew good-natured cheers from many martial spirit students in Shrek Square.

After all, both Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian were very popular in the outer courtyard of Shrek Academy.

Sakura looked back and forth between Ning Tian, ​​whose eyes were filled with sweetness, and Xu Zihuang, whose face was full of warm smiles, and suddenly revealed a very cute smile.

"Now that you're with Sister Tian'er, I'll treat you to some of my cherries. Not just anyone can eat my cherries, you know."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zihuang was fine, but He Caitou, who had a simple and honest face behind him, showed a strange expression.

Ning Tian also gave Ying Ke'er a playful glare, then whispered to Xu Zihuang and He Caitou, "That's Ke'er's martial spirit."

He Caitou was relieved.

"So you're a food-type Soul Master like me."

As soon as Ning Tian finished speaking, Ying Ke'er murmured a few words. Then, three spirit rings—two yellow and one purple—rose from beneath her feet, and three cherries connected by green roots appeared in her small, fair hand. The three cherries were different colors: black, purple, and pink. They were fresh and juicy, each one plump and full of moisture.

Sakura seemed intent on continuing to mislead everyone's thoughts, and slyly asked Xu Zihuang, "Do you want to eat my black cherries, purple cherries, or pink cherries?"

How could Ying Ke'er's little scheme escape Xu Zihuang's notice? He calmly picked up the pink cherry from Ying Ke'er's hand.

"Thank you, but I personally prefer pink."

"You have excellent taste. This pink cherry is my third soul skill, and its effect is much better than the previous two soul skills."

Sakura Ke'er, still with that smiling face, handed two more cherries to He Caitou.

"This senior from the Soul Guidance Department, please have these two cherries."

"Huh?" He Caitou was stunned for a moment, then took it with a simple smile.

"Okay, thank you, junior."

Sakura Ke'er happily took Ning Tian's arm again.

Xu Zihuang glanced at the rising sun and said to Ning Tian and Ying Ke'er, "It's getting late. My senior brother and I have some things to attend to, so we'll be leaving now."

"Hmm." Ning Tianqin nodded slightly. She knew that Yu Tianhuang and He Caitou were about to start implementing the Extreme Individual Soldier Plan, so she didn't ask any further questions.

Xu Zihuang and He Caitou greeted the two of them and then left.

Ning Tian watched Xu Zihuang's figure disappear from sight before turning his gaze away, only to be met with Ying Ke'er's ambiguous gaze.

"Sister Tian'er, don't be angry. I just wanted to help you make a decision."

She usually appears charming and cute, but she's actually quite cunning. She was deliberately testing Yu Tianhuang just now. Unfortunately, Yu Tianhuang's gaze remained clear throughout, preventing her from seeing through her ruse.

Of course, this is also Xu Zihuang's nature. How could someone of his character be so easily swayed by such words? As a normal person, he is not immune to worldly desires, but he is not so completely dominated by them that his mind is filled with only such thoughts.

Ning Tian changed his usual gentle tone and said seriously, "Ke'er, don't do that next time."

"Okay." Sakura Koko pouted.

On the other side, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou also walked out of the east gate of Shrek Academy.

He Caitou, who had casually eaten the black cherry, said to Xu Zihuang in surprise, "Junior Brother Yu, that junior sister's soul skill was really quite good. I can feel that this black cherry can quickly restore physical strength."

"A soul skill that restores stamina?" Intrigued, Xu Zihuang stopped and turned to look at He Caitou.

"Brother He, try the other purple cherry."

"Oh, okay." He Caitou responded honestly, putting the purple cherry into his mouth. The fragrant and sweet juice burst open, then turned into a cool sensation that permeated He Caitou's entire body.

"Junior Brother Yu, although I don't have any specific feelings about this soul skill, I think it should be a soul skill for detoxification and alleviating the negative effects on the body."

As a fellow food-type Soul Master, He Caitou was quite familiar with this type of Soul Skill. While his description might not be entirely accurate, it was fairly accurate. As for his mention of alleviating negative physical effects, it wasn't like Xu Zihuang's first Soul Skill, which removed negative status effects; rather, it only alleviated physical pain or fatigue.

Hearing He Caitou's words, Xu Zihuang finally focused his gaze on the pink cherry in his hand. Without hesitation, he swallowed it in one gulp. The sweet juice transformed into a strange aroma, giving him a feeling of cleansing his body.

"A soul skill that improves a soul master's physical attributes?"

Xu Zihuang raised an eyebrow.

Unfortunately, his aptitude was too top-notch. His meridians were not only tough but also practically flawless, with no impurities being expelled from his body.

However, this doesn't mean that this soul skill is useless. A soul skill that can improve one's innate physical condition and cleanse the meridians of impurities is definitely a blessing for a soul master with extremely poor aptitude like Huo Yuhao.

The effect of a single pink cherry is naturally far inferior to that of the Mystic Water Pill. However, if it is taken over a long period of time, the cumulative effect would be astonishing.

However, this is just a theoretical assumption. A thousand-year-old soul skill wouldn't be that overpowered; it would definitely have various limitations. For example, it might have limited effects after a certain number of uses, or it might only have a noticeable effect on soul masters with extremely poor aptitude. The fact that the pink cherry had no effect on Xu Zihuang indirectly verified the latter point.

Indeed, this is the case; Sakura's third soul skill possesses both of these limitations.

Moreover, even if a Soul Master with poor aptitude continues to consume this Soul Skill until it no longer has any effect on them, they can only achieve one-tenth of the effect of the Profound Water Pill at most.

Xu Zihuang, who understood this, didn't pay too much attention to it.

Keep in mind that he also had He Caitou, an even more talented food-type Soul Master, by his side.

"Let's go, Senior Brother." Putting aside his thoughts, Xu Zihuang took out a level four flying soul tool from his soul tool and nodded to He Caitou.

"Okay." He Caitou's expression also turned serious. Surviving in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest for the next half month would not be easy.

Chapter 220 Six-Barreled Small Soul Guidance Cannon

After this brief interlude, Xu Zihuang and He Caitou identified their direction and each used their flying soul tools to fly towards the Star Dou Great Forest south of Shrek Academy.

Shrek Academy is very close to the Star Dou Great Forest. With the help of a level-four soul tool, the two arrived at the outer area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest that afternoon.

The reason why Xu Zihuang, Tang Ya, Bei Bei, and Huo Yuhao took nearly half a month to return to Shrek Academy from the Star Dou Great Forest was twofold: firstly, they were not in a hurry to travel, and secondly, they left from the southeast of the Star Dou Great Forest, which meant they had traveled around most of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Xu Zihuang and He Caitou had no intention of taking a detour; they were flying in a straight line, preparing to enter from the northwest of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Shrek Academy students often venture into the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt spirit beasts, which makes them highly hated by the powerful spirit beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. Therefore, the spirit beasts in the northwest direction, which faces Shrek City, are the strongest.

Shrek Academy has a clear rule: unless led by a teacher with a Soul King cultivation level or higher, no one is allowed to enter the Star Dou Great Forest directly from here, not even for the outer areas.

However, such rules have no binding force on Xu Zihuang and He Caitou. Although both of them are currently only at the fourth-ring Soul Master level, they both possess combat power at the Soul King level or above.

Xu Zihuang goes without saying; with his current strength, even Soul Emperor level experts might not be his match. Only top-tier Soul Emperors like Ma Xiaotao could pose a threat to him.

He Caitou, relying on various terrifyingly powerful soul tools, has an attack power that surpasses that of many Soul Kings. His only deficiency is his ability to sustain combat.

Deep purple and blazing white flames streaked across the sky as Xu Zihuang and He Caitou landed steadily on the ground. They were still some distance from the Star Dou Great Forest, but the air had become fresher, making breathing much easier.

"Senior Brother He, let's rest for an hour and recover our soul power before entering the Star Dou Great Forest," Xu Zihuang said to He Caitou, putting away his small, slender, dark purple flying soul tool.

He Caitou nodded honestly.

"okay."

They flew for nearly four hours at a time. Although they stopped to recover their soul power once along the way, they still had about 80% of their usual soul power. However, before entering the perilous Star Dou Great Forest, they would definitely need to recover to their best condition.

In recent years, the quality of soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest has been getting better and better, especially in the northwest direction directly facing Shrek Academy, where it is not uncommon for soul beasts to appear outside the Star Dou Great Forest.

To be on the safe side, the two took turns protecting each other. In less than half an hour, their soul power had recovered to its optimal state.

They didn't rush into the Star Dou Great Forest. Instead, they simply ate some dry rations and jerky with the available water to replenish their strength and allow themselves to relax. They knew that for the next two weeks, they would be in a constant state of tension while surviving in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest.

As they prepared to enter the Star Dou Great Forest, the sky began to darken.

The air here was not only fresh but also intensely humid. Upon entering the Star Dou Great Forest, the two immediately felt as if their bodies were being nourished by a special power. This was the life force present within the Star Dou Great Forest. How could this Star Dou Great Forest, which had nurtured countless soul beasts, not possess any extraordinary characteristics?

"Junior Brother Yu, here you go." He Caitou, who was following behind Xu Zihuang, handed Xu Zihuang a thick, black cigar.

It was his first soul skill, "Invigorating Cigar." This soul skill was undoubtedly the most suitable for a soul master like Xu Zihuang with a spiritual attribute.

Xu Zihuang accepted it without hesitation. As long as it could enhance his strength or benefit him, he wouldn't care whether He Caitou's soul skill was despicable or not.

After He Caitou lit one for Xu Zihuang, he casually lit one for himself as well. While the effect of this soul skill wasn't as significant for him as it was for Xu Zihuang, it still helped him maintain a high level of concentration. This was perfectly suited for the Star Dou Great Forest, where constant vigilance was crucial.

Xu Zihuang's originally deep purple eyes instantly turned into a brilliant gold. He took a deep drag on the thick cigar between his slender index and middle fingers of his right hand and said in a deep voice.

“Let’s go, senior brother. As we just discussed, we won’t rush into the mixed zone today. We’ll spend the night in this outer zone and get used to it.”

The area within a 20-kilometer radius of the Star Dou Great Forest is considered the outer zone. This means that they must venture 20 kilometers deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest to enter the mixed zone.

Given the frequent encounters with spirit beasts, their travel speed will definitely be affected. There's no need to rush.

He Caitou, on the other hand, seemed to follow Xu Zihuang's lead without question. This extreme individual soldier plan was originally centered on Xu Zihuang, with him playing a supporting role. Moreover, the two were actually cousins, so deep down, He Caitou had no objections.

Thanks to the amazing eyesight granted by his Golden Eyes and his own powerful mental strength, Xu Zihuang was able to sense that several weak soul beasts were watching them. They seemed to be somewhat afraid of their arrival and did not approach rashly.

This is quite normal; the weaker the soul beast, the more sensitive it is to the approaching danger. It can be considered a biological instinct.

Since the spirit beasts didn't attack them first, they had no need to exterminate them.

However, not all spirit beasts were so sensible. Xu Zihuang and He Caitou had traveled less than five kilometers into the Star Dou Great Forest when they encountered their first group of spirit beasts that dared to attack them.

That's right, not just one, but a whole group.

Amidst a series of "whoosh" sounds, figures surrounded them from all directions.

They were enormous, robust apes, exuding a foul stench. Their fur was grayish-black, but their eyes were a strange, blood-red color, filled with a bloodthirsty intent.

"Iron-armed apes?" Xu Zihuang calmly observed the appearance of the giant apes, and information about this kind of soul beast immediately came to mind.

The Iron-Armed Ape is a strength-type ape-like spirit beast. It is fast, powerful, and possesses iron arms as hard as steel, making it extremely aggressive. While not as powerful as the Titan Ape or the King Kong Baboon, they are not purely strength-type spirit beasts either, but also possess spiritual attributes.

Their innate soul skill is called Intimidation, a mental attribute soul skill similar to an aura. Soul masters with weak mental strength will be greatly affected, and may even lose their combat ability.