Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Immediately afterwards, three figures emerged quickly from the depths of the woods.

The leader was an elderly woman who looked to be in her sixties or seventies. Her full head of silver hair was neatly combed, and although she had many wrinkles on her face, she was radiant and full of energy.

She held a three-meter-long snake-head cane in her hand. The snake head at the top of the cane was so lifelike that you could even see the snake's tongue slightly protruding.

The old woman's body was covered in six soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, and black—that were rhythmically moving up and down, clearly indicating that she was a Soul Emperor.

Two girls followed behind her.

The woman on the left is about sixteen or seventeen years old, with short hair that reaches her ears. She wears a neat dark green outfit that tightly hugs her well-developed figure. In her hand, she holds a snake-head cane that is about two meters long, similar in shape to the cane in the old woman's hand, only shorter.

She had a pair of deep brown eyes, which were now fixed on the crested serpent at Zhao Wuji's feet, her face filled with anxiety.

The two yellow spirit rings on her body slowly rotated, indicating that she was a Great Spirit Master.

The girl on the right is about twelve or thirteen years old. She has a slender figure and long pink hair styled into a long scorpion braid that hangs down past her hips.

Her eyes were large, with a unique pink pupil that was clear and lively.

At this moment, she was dressed in a simple white outfit and stood next to the old woman, her gaze curiously sweeping over the Shrek Academy students.

This is Xiao Wu.

Her presence here was no accident.

Let's rewind a few months.

On the day Xiao Wu joined the Beast Academy, she was directly and exceptionally admitted to the Beast Academy team.

In the days that followed, Xiao Wu thrived at the Beast Academy.

She was lively and outgoing, yet possessed the pride and wisdom of a 100,000-year-old soul beast, and quickly became friends with her classmates.

Of course, it means getting along perfectly in the literal sense.

During her first week at school, she single-handedly defeated the entire class on the training field.

In the second week, she beat the entire grade.

In the third week, all the Soul Venerable level students in the Beast Academy were taught a lesson by Xiao Wu.

From then on, the nickname "Little Dance Sister" spread throughout the entire Beast Academy.

Younger students looked at her with awe, her peers were completely convinced of her abilities, and even those Soul Masters who had been defeated by her, after their initial shame and indignation, had to admit that this pink-haired freshman was ridiculously strong.

It was around that time that Meng Yiran became acquainted with Xiao Wu.

Chapter 285 First Little Brother

As a formal member of the Beast Academy team, Meng Yiran is fifteen years old this year and has just reached level 30. She is preparing to obtain her third soul ring.

Her martial soul is a snake-headed cane, inherited from her grandmother, Chaotianxiang. It is a rather special type of weapon martial soul, possessing both control and attack capabilities.

During the week that Xiao Wu swept through the Soul Master realm, Meng Yiran was in seclusion trying to break through the level 30 bottleneck. She only heard about Xiao Wu's exploits after she came out of seclusion.

She was someone who admired strength, and when she heard that such a talented new student had come to the academy, she took the initiative to go and challenge him to a duel, to see the difference between herself and a genius.

The sparring match took place in a corner of the training ground, without any spectators.

A minute later, Meng Yiran, leaning on her cane and panting heavily, looked at Xiao Wu, who was relaxed across from her, with admiration in her eyes.

"You're really strong," Meng Yiran said sincerely.

Xiao Wu flicked her scorpion-tail braid and said haughtily, "Of course."

Looking at Xiao Wu's matter-of-fact attitude, Meng Yiran didn't think she was arrogant at all. Instead, she found this junior who was several years younger than her to be cute and genuine.

She put away the snake-headed cane, walked up to Xiao Wu, and smiled sincerely: "Sister Xiao Wu, from now on, I'll follow you in the academy."

"Follow me?" Xiao Wu blinked her big pink eyes, somewhat surprised.

Although she defeated Meng Yiran, she did not expect the other party to say such things so directly.

In the world of spirit beasts, the rule of the strong is absolute, but the human world seems to be more complicated.

Xiao Wu thought Meng Yiran would be unconvinced, or at least have some reservations, but she didn't expect her to be so frank.

“Yes.” Meng Yiran nodded, her dark brown eyes shining.

“I, Meng Yiran, only respect the strong. You are stronger than me, much stronger, so I respect you. From now on, at the Beast Academy, you will be my boss.”

Xiao Wu was stunned.

Looking at Meng Yiran's serious expression, she felt a complex mix of emotions.

Since taking human form, Xiao Wu has always been wary of humans.

Throughout her long life as a spirit beast, she had witnessed too many scenes of humans hunting spirit beasts. Her mother's death further fueled her disgust and vigilance towards the human race.

Even after joining the Beast Academy, she was only there to use it; it would allow her to grow quickly and learn better.

She never thought about making friends, let alone taking on any followers.

but……

Xiao Wu remembered the Nine-Colored Deer Lord in the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Xiao Wu, not all humans are bad. Just like not all soul beasts are kind. Every race has good and bad, and you must learn to distinguish between them."

Xiao Wu didn't take it seriously at the time; she thought the auspicious beast was too naive.

It is in humans' nature to hunt spirit beasts, just as spirit beasts prey on each other; this is the law of survival.

But now, looking at Meng Yiran with such sincere eyes, Xiao Wu suddenly felt that the Nine-Colored Deer's words might have some truth to them.

Seeing that Xiao Wu didn't speak, Meng Yiran assumed that she was unwilling, so she quickly added, "Sister Xiao Wu, I'm sincere. My grandma always says that the path of a Soul Master is long, and it's a blessing to meet a true expert. Only by following the strong can you go further."

Xiao Wu was silent for a moment, then raised her chin, revealing a hint of pride befitting a 100,000-year-old soul beast.

"Alright, since you're so sincere, I'll accept you. From today onwards, you'll be my number one underling."

"Thank you, Sister Xiaowu!" Meng Yiran said happily.

From that day on, Meng Yiran truly became Xiao Wu's follower at the Beast Academy.

From that day on, Meng Yiran truly became Xiao Wu's follower at the Beast Academy.

Xiao Wu was initially a little unaccustomed to Meng Yiran's enthusiasm.

She was used to being alone and to viewing all humans as potential dangers.

But Meng Yiran's enthusiasm, like sunshine, gradually melted the ice in her heart.

This human girl was different from the Soul Masters she had encountered before.

Meng Yiran would not look at her with greedy eyes, would not gossip about her background behind her back, and would not look down on her because of her young age.

She simply admired the strong and wanted to learn from Xiao Wu.

A few days later, Meng Yiran told Xiao Wu on the training field that she was going to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain her third spirit ring.

“Grandma has made all the arrangements; we’ll be leaving in a few days,” Meng Yiran said.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up immediately when she heard the words "Star Dou Great Forest".

Starry Sky Forest!

That's her home!

Although she is now in human form and can no longer run freely in the forest as before, she has a deep affection for that forest.

There were familiar scents there, traces of her past life, and the places she always missed: Da Ming, Er Ming, and Lord Rui Shou.

"I want to go," Xiaowu said without hesitation.

"Huh?" Meng Yiran was stunned.

"Sister Xiaowu, what are you going to do? Didn't you already get your third spirit ring?"

Xiao Wu certainly wouldn't say she wanted to go home for a visit. She made up an excuse: "I want to go out and gain some experience. How can a Soul Master do without real combat experience?"

Xiao Wu spoke with absolute certainty, her pink eyes gleaming with an undeniable light.

Meng Yiran looked at Xiao Wu, who was a few years younger than her but had a strong presence, opened her mouth, and didn't know how to refute her.

She recalled everything she had seen at the college over the past few weeks.

How Sister Xiaowu swept through all Soul Masters of the same and even higher grades with overwhelming force, and how she beat those self-proclaimed geniuses to a pulp on the training field.

With such strength, there's really no need to specifically hunt for spirit rings.

But they went to the Star Dou Great Forest for training...

Meng Yiran hesitated.

That's the Star Dou Great Forest, a place teeming with thousand-year-old soul beasts and not uncommon even with ten-thousand-year-old ones. Even with her grandparents leading the way, they couldn't guarantee absolute safety.

"Sister Xiaowu, the Star Dou Great Forest is very dangerous," Meng Yiran tried to persuade her.

“My grandma said that even she wouldn’t dare to go too deep. We’re just going to the outer perimeter to hunt for the third spirit ring, so we probably won’t encounter any decent opportunities for actual combat.”

Xiao Wu tossed her scorpion-tail braid, the pink strands of hair tracing a graceful arc in the sunlight.

“Then I’m going too.” Her tone was resolute.

"Fighting around in the academy is pointless. True Soul Masters should train in the wild. If you don't agree, I'll go by myself."

Go by yourself?

Meng Yiran was startled.

Are you kidding me?! A twelve-year-old Soul Master going to the Star Dou Great Forest alone?!

That's not training, that's suicide!

"No, no, no!" Meng Yiran quickly grabbed Xiao Wu's arm.

"Sister Xiaowu, don't be impulsive. How about this, I'll go talk to Grandma and see, but I can't guarantee whether she'll agree."

Xiao Wu nodded in satisfaction, a smile spreading across her face: "That's more like it. Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Chapter 286 Phoenix-tailed Crested Serpent

Meng Yiran was both amused and exasperated.