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

Over the years, Xu Zihuang was the first to dare to say in front of them that she was talented. But this was indeed the truth; at least in terms of cultivation talent, she was far inferior to Xu Zihuang.

As for their actual strength, that remains to be seen.

Zhang Lexuan smiled gently.

"Junior Yu's talent is indeed better than mine."

"No way?" Wu Ming and Ye Liu, who were standing next to Xu Zihuang, said almost in unison.

In the eyes of all the inner court disciples, Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan was someone they looked up to. Before she was even thirty, she was already a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse.

Even if Yu Tianhuang breaks through to level 40 at the age of twelve, his future remains uncertain. There are many examples of Soul Masters who exhaust their potential in the early stages and lack the remaining strength later on.

As a Soul Master progresses through the later stages of cultivation, each increase in Soul Power becomes exceptionally difficult. Only at this stage can a Soul Master's true potential be better assessed.

To their surprise, Zhang Lexuan now admitted it herself. They knew their senior sister's personality well, and their gazes towards Xu Zihuang now seemed to hold something different.

As the four were talking, Chu Qingtian returned carrying a bunch of plump, reddish-purple fruits. He first respectfully handed them to Elder Xuan and the others before coming to the group's side.

It was like presenting a treasure to Zhang Lexuan, picking out the biggest fruit.

"Senior Sister, please try it. It's already been cleaned."

"Thank you." Zhang Lexuan smiled and accepted it, taking a small bite as a courtesy.

Chu Qingtian then distributed them to everyone one by one.

Wu Ming glared fiercely at Chu Qingtian.

"I want to choose myself."

"You choose, you choose." Chu Qingtian couldn't afford to offend this young lady.

Xu Zihuang took in the entire scene before him. From his memories of his past life, he knew that Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian had gotten together through the Sea God's Fate Blind Date Event.

But now it seems there were signs of it all along.

Throughout the journey, Wu Ming deliberately targeted Chu Qingtian, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This wasn't out of dislike, but perhaps to attract Chu Qingtian's attention. However, this approach was rather clumsy.

Chu Qingtian must have seen through Wu Ming's intentions, and was just pretending to be naive.

In a flash, Chu Qingtian handed Xu Zihuang a piece of fruit.

"Thank you very much, Senior Chu."

"Oh, don't be so polite." Chu Qingtian laughed heartily.

Once one's soul power cultivation reaches level forty, one can barely be considered a high-level soul master. Given their strength, the journey from Shrek Academy wouldn't have depleted too much of their soul power. After half an hour of rest, everyone had recovered to their peak condition.

Zhang Lexuan's expression also turned serious at this moment.

"The previous introductions should have given everyone a general idea of ​​the others' abilities. Now, I'll briefly assign our formation after entering the Star Dou Great Forest. I'll scout ahead, with Ye Liu and Chu Qingtian responsible for the left and right flanks respectively. Ming'er, you'll be in charge of covering the rear. And Junior Brother Yu, you're the only control-type Soul Master among us, so you'll take the lead in the center. Any problems?"

Meeting Zhang Lexuan's gentle yet thoughtful gaze, Xu Zihuang nodded solemnly.

"Senior Sister, I'm fine."

Out of the corner of her eye, Zhang Lexuan caught sight of Elder Xuan, who was still leisurely eating chicken legs and drinking wine, and a hint of sadness appeared in her beautiful eyes.

The reason why Elder Xuan has been so despondent and self-reproachful ever since is because of the accident that happened to them in the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest.

Returning to the Star Dou Great Forest brought back memories deeply etched in her mind. However, the difference was that her strength had undergone a fundamental leap compared to before.

She will not allow such a tragedy to happen again.

"Elder Xuan will follow behind us, but he won't intervene unless absolutely necessary. Apart from Junior Brother Yu, we are all inner court students. It would be shameful for us to need our teachers' help to obtain spirit rings. I don't want that to happen. Alright, if everyone is okay with that, let's set off."

No one raised any objections to Zhang Lexuan's arrangements.

In fact, in a team hunting spirit beasts, the rearguard mission is the most dangerous, because they may be attacked by spirit beasts from three other directions at any time.

However, with Elder Xuan accompanying them, the situation was different from normal.

Although Elder Xuan said he would not take action unless absolutely necessary, he could not stand by and watch their lives be threatened.

Overall, the one under the most pressure is actually Zhang Lexuan, who is exploring the path.

This was Xu Zihuang's second time entering the Star Dou Great Forest. However, with Zhang Lexuan leading the team this time, there was no need for careful reconnaissance; they simply proceeded at full speed.

A layer of shimmering white light emanated from her, and wherever she passed, the bushes on the ground parted spontaneously, clearing a path. The powerful aura she released kept low-level soul beasts at bay, naturally increasing her speed.

This is true strength—forcing their way forward with sheer power. They rested for a quarter of an hour after every hour of travel. As dusk approached, judging by the cultivation levels of the spirit beasts roaming the area, they had passed the outer zone and were entering the mixed zone.

"Everyone, maintain formation. Note that we're entering the mixed zone now." Zhang Lexuan slowed down. Once in the mixed zone, the main spirit beasts they would face would become thousand-year-old spirit beasts, or even ten-thousand-year-old spirit beasts. These were already beings capable of posing a threat to everyone.

Xu Zihuang's eyes had long since turned into a brilliant gold, and the intricate and obscure strange patterns in the center of his pupils gave him a mysterious feeling.

Chu Qingtian, who was on the right flank alert to any unusual activity around him, turned his head and saw Xu Zihuang's drastically changed eyes, and exclaimed in surprise.

"This is using a martial soul without releasing a spirit ring?! You're really hiding your true abilities, Junior Brother Yu!"

As a disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court, he immediately saw through Xu Zihuang's methods.

"What?" Ye Liu and Wu Ming looked over in surprise.

Using a martial soul without releasing its spirit rings requires a soul master to have extremely high control over their own martial soul, and among everyone present, only Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan can do it. Even Wu Ming is still somewhat lacking in skill.

Just then, Zhang Lexuan's voice suddenly rang out from ahead, her gentle tone carrying a hint of reprimand.

"Ming'er, Ye Liu, don't get distracted! A soul beast is coming from your direction."

A flash of light appeared in the distance, and a cyan figure silently appeared on a tree branch about thirty meters away from them. It was a raccoon dog nearly half a meter long, with bluish-black fur all over its body, but its eyes were purplish-red, revealing a fierce glint. The bluish-black fur on its body was not uniform, and it vaguely resembled tiger stripes.

Before Zhang Lexuan could even warn her, the tiger-like demon cat pounced like a bolt of blue lightning.

The Tiger Demon Cat is a highly aggressive spirit beast, and judging from its size, this particular Tiger Demon Cat has at least five thousand years of cultivation. Its name contains the word "demon" because it is a dual-attribute spirit beast of wind and darkness. This is also the reason for its formidable attack power.

Two front paws popped out. A layer of not-so-bright but water-like halo emanated from the bluish-black fur.

As if it could sense the strength of everyone, its body leaped out of the air and turned on its own, bypassing Wu Ming and heading straight for Ye Liu.

In his panic, Ye Liu hurriedly released his martial spirit. A pair of pure white wings appeared out of thin air from his back, adding a touch of elegance to his well-proportioned figure.

But this elegance quickly vanished because of his flustered movements.

As the tiger-demon cat approached him, strange dark red ripples suddenly enveloped the tiger-demon cat's body. A flash of red light, and before it could react, it was already enveloped by the dark red crystal that refracted a beautiful halo.

"Break." Xu Zihuang's calm voice rang out, and this powerful soul beast with nearly five thousand years of cultivation instantly turned into countless fragments. Only a faint purple light remained, gradually transforming into a magnificent and bright purple soul ring.

Coming to her senses, Ye Liu breathed a sigh of relief and looked gratefully at Xu Zihuang beside her.

"Junior Brother Yu, thank you for saving me."

Although he possessed level 60 soul power, his martial soul wasn't particularly adept at combat. Against that tiger-demon cat with a thousand-year cultivation, he would have suffered a severe loss had Xu Zihuang not intervened.

"Senior Ye, you're too kind. We're all a team now, so helping each other is only natural," Xu Zihuang said sincerely with a gentle smile.

Ye Liu was deeply moved.

"Okay. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know."

Wu Ming and Chu Qingtian stared incredulously at the three pulsating purple soul rings surrounding Xu Zihuang.

"Three thousand-year spirit rings?!"

What shocked them was not only Xu Zihuang's three thousand-year soul rings, but also the strange yet powerful second soul skill he had previously displayed.

To instantly kill a soul beast with nearly five thousand years of cultivation in a single move. Is this really something a level 40 soul master can do?

Only now did they belatedly realize the meaning behind Senior Sister Zhang Lexuan's words.

The first spirit ring is at the thousand-year level; such a genius cannot be judged by ordinary standards.

Wu Ming quickly realized what was happening, put her hands together, and apologized to Zhang Lexuan repeatedly, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister, I was distracted just now. I won't do it again."

Zhang Lexuan's eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"As senior students in the inner academy, you shouldn't act like you're inferior to junior students in the outer academy."

Everyone lowered their heads in shame. Under normal circumstances, they certainly wouldn't have behaved so poorly, but Xu Zihuang's talent and strength far exceeded their understanding, leaving them utterly astonished.

Zhang Lexuan did not reprimand the three of them again, but solemnly said, "Now begin the horizontal search."

She nodded almost imperceptibly. With her abilities, she had actually spotted the tiger-demon cat long ago.

The reason they didn't intervene was twofold: firstly, they wanted to teach Wu Ming a lesson; secondly, they wanted to test Xu Zihuang's reaction speed and combat experience.

As it turns out, Xu Zihuang's excellence is not limited to his cultivation speed.

Even Elder Xuan, who was secretly observing everyone, stopped chewing the chicken leg in his mouth and sighed with satisfaction.

"It is truly a blessing for the academy that this child can enter Shrek Academy."

The group continued their journey, driving away several more soul beasts unsuitable for fusion. They were now venturing deeper into the mixed zone. However, because they were searching horizontally, they maintained a safe distance from the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest.

Of the four regions in the Star Dou Great Forest, the outer region and the mixed region are the largest. The core region is much smaller. Of course, the spirit beasts living in the core region are all extremely powerful. Without considerable resources, which spirit beast would dare to enter the core region?

The distribution of the Star Dou Great Forest, where the interior is stronger than the exterior, has its reasons. The further in you go, the more concentrated the life force in the air becomes. And this life force is very beneficial to any living being.

Now, it was completely dark. Night had fallen, and the roars and howls of the soul beasts could be heard from time to time, along with the chirping of insects and birds that surrounded the area.

Along the way, Wu Ming fully demonstrated what violent aesthetics truly mean. She dealt with the vast majority of the soul beasts that attacked them.

Moreover, the soul beasts she dealt with all met exceptionally tragic ends. This caused Chu Qingtian and Ye Liu's lips to twitch.

"You dare to ambush me?! You dare to ambush me?!" Wu Ming, her face as cold as ice, crushed the charred bones under her foot. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to be the skull of some kind of soul beast.

Standing next to Xu Zihuang, Chu Qingtian couldn't help but open her mouth.

"Too brutal."

"Chu Qingtian, what did you say?!" Wu Ming suddenly raised her head.

Chu Qingtian awkwardly hooked his right arm around Xu Zihuang's shoulder and said in a dry voice.

"I'm chatting with Junior Brother Yu." At the same time, he frantically gestured to Xu Zihuang from an angle that Wu Ming couldn't see.

Xu Zihuang nodded in understanding.

Zhang Lexuan glanced at the sky through the gaps in the tree canopy and said in a deep voice, "We should have entered the middle of the mixed zone by now. It's not good to travel at night, so let's rest here for today. Ming'er, go and take care of this area."

Hearing Zhang Lexuan's instructions, Wu Ming didn't argue with Chu Qingtian anymore. She walked in the direction Zhang Lexuan pointed.

This is a relatively high place, surrounded by shrubs.

Once inside the Star Dou Great Forest, sleeping outdoors in the open is a common occurrence. And this could easily last a long time, since encountering suitable soul beasts often depends on luck.