The next day, morning sunlight pierced the clouds and spilled over the ravine, over Lin Yang, and over the Blue Silver Emperor.
The Blue Silver Emperor that emerged behind Lin Yang was far more lush and vigorous than before, luxuriantly spreading its leaves and branches in the sunlight.
Through the Blue Silver Domain, the meditating Lin Yang felt closer to the sun than ever.
Scorching, warm, granting life to all things—symbolizing hope and vitality.
The closer he felt to the sun, the more solid the great sun hanging above his spiritual sea became.
He didn't know how long had passed when the Blue Silver Emperor retracted back into his body.
Lin Yang opened his eyes from meditation and glanced at the blanket-wrapped bundle beside him. He reached out and patted it.
"Time to get up."
"Mm…."
The bundle wriggled, and Xiao Wu's head popped out from under the blanket, eyes sleepy and voice muffled.
"It's still so early…."
Ignoring her, Lin Yang took out a water skin from his ring and splashed his face.
"We should get moving."
Xiao Wu took the water skin, hastily rinsed her face, then quickly packed up.
The two of them left the Calamity Mountains.
By midday, they had returned to Calamity Town.
After spending a few gold soul coins to feast at the inn, Lin Yang gracefully wiped his mouth and asked,
"What are you planning to do next?"
Xiao Wu, who had been valiantly "battling" a plate of crystal-clear pickled radish, suddenly froze. The food lost all flavor in her mouth.
She toyed with the radish slices for a moment, then quietly put down her chopsticks, a hint of confusion flickering in her eyes.
In the days she had followed Lin Yang, she had grown accustomed to this stable, worry-free life.
At the same time, she had unconsciously avoided thinking about the parting that was bound to come.
Now, it seemed she no longer had any legitimate excuse to stay by Lin Yang's side.
With his new soul ring, Lin Yang would definitely return to Heaven Dou, while she still needed to remain in the Star Luo Empire.
After a few seconds of silence, she answered softly, "I'll probably just find another academy to attend."
Her previous Soul Master academy was obviously out of the question.
Seeing this, Lin Yang said nothing more. He didn't invite her to come with him either.
They both carried their own secrets and both had their own responsibilities.
He couldn't make promises he wasn't sure he could keep.
Stuff like "I'll definitely protect you," or "step over my corpse before you hurt her,"
Or "we'll die in the same year, month, and day," "if we can't share a cloak in life, we'll share a grave in death."
All of that was nonsense.
It boiled down to one thing: lack of strength.
This was how their world worked.
Either you had enough strength, or you had a background strong enough. Otherwise there'd be no need for secrecy at all—people would simply take what they wanted openly.
After their meal, the two of them left Calamity Town with their carriage.
Along the way, Xiao Wu huddled in the carriage without saying a word, her silence so heavy it tugged at the heart.
After some distance, the carriage came to a fork in the road.
Lin Yang knocked on the carriage. Xiao Wu lifted the curtain.
"This is as far as I'll take you."
He pointed left. "Head that way and you'll reach Wake City before long.
"I've already asked around. Wake City is a small city with no major powers. The city lord's reputation isn't bad either.
"As long as you don't go out of your way to stir up trouble, you shouldn't have any issues living a quiet life there."
The road to the right led to the Rhesus Kingdom.
Across its border lay the Lima Plains, part of the Balak Kingdom within the Heaven Dou Empire.
The "famous" Shrek Academy lay near Suotuo City in that kingdom.
Of course, Lin Yang wasn't going there to enroll—he would just be passing by.
Seeing that Xiao Wu said nothing, Lin Yang took out a pouch of gold soul coins from his ring and held it out to her.
"Take this. It's all I can do for you."
Xiao Wu's body trembled. She bowed her head, biting her lips tightly to keep him from seeing her reddening eyes.
When she didn't reach for the pouch, Lin Yang sighed lightly and placed it in her hands.
"I won't say anything extra. I just hope that when we meet again, you're doing well."
He paused, then spoke more solemnly.
"Remember—never trust human nature. Not even mine."
With that, he climbed back into the driver's seat.
The horse's hooves and the creaking wheels slowly carried the carriage down the right-hand road toward the Rhesus Kingdom.
Watching the carriage grow smaller and smaller, Xiao Wu suddenly felt a strong sense of abandonment.
But she only pressed her lips together, tightening her grip on the money pouch. With a flick of her scorpion braid, she turned and darted off down the other road.
…
Three nights later, under thickening darkness, a bonfire blazed in a dense forest.
Lin Yang unhitched the horse and let it graze freely. He took out two slabs of cured meat and set them over the fire to roast.
Soon, the surface of the meat began to glisten with fat, sizzling as it dripped.
He sprinkled some seasoning on them, and a rich aroma immediately spread in all directions.
From a hidden corner, a small figure swallowed hard despite herself.
He was doing this on purpose. Three meals a day, never the same, and every single one smelled incredible.
Lin Yang glanced sideways toward a diagonal patch of underbrush, then calmly flipped the roasting meat to bring out even more of its fragrance.
When one piece was done, he picked it up and started eating.
The hidden figure stared, drooling, as she kneaded her stomach, which felt close to mutiny.
In the last two days, she'd only managed to gnaw a few sour wild fruits.
Wiping his mouth, Lin Yang raised his voice slightly.
"Stop hiding and come out."
When there was no response, he snorted, reaching for the other piece of meat. "If you're not coming out, then I'll just eat this too."
As soon as he finished, the bushes to his rear left rustled, and a small head poked out.
That slightly disheveled little face could only belong to Xiao Wu.
A leaf was stuck in her hair. She bared her teeth in a grin at Lin Yang, then trotted out of the bushes.
Without caring about the heat, she grabbed the other piece of meat with one hand and took big bites out of it.
She had been craving this taste for days.
Lin Yang sat and watched quietly, then couldn't help commenting,
"Rabbits eat meat too?"
"A starving rabbit will eat anything," Xiao Wu mumbled around a full mouth, her cheeks puffed out.
In no time, she finished the whole slab of meat, burped contentedly, and scrambled into the carriage to rest.
Days of sleeping rough had worn her out.
Lin Yang didn't stop her.
They didn't say much, but it seemed they understood each other well enough.
That night, Xiao Wu snored away in the carriage while Lin Yang sat outside in meditation, using the time to ponder a decision.
The next morning, Lin Yang didn't rush to set off. Instead, he called Xiao Wu over.
"Watch closely. Feel it carefully."
Without further explanation, Lin Yang activated Transparent World.
Xiao Wu's expression grew serious. This state again.
She had seen this ability before in the Gengxin Bamboo forest.
Even though he was clearly standing right in front of her, if she tried to sense him with her perception alone, she would feel nothing but empty air—as if he had vanished completely.
Soon, Lin Yang stepped out of Transparent World and turned to her.
"This is called Transparent World. It's an ability that arises from extreme control of the body.
"If you learn it, you can hide your aura as a soul beast. Even a Title Douluo won't be able to tell what you are."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up instantly.
For a disguised hundred-thousand-year soul beast like her, this was basically a god-tier skill.
"You're going to teach me?"
"Do you want to learn?" Lin Yang returned the question.
"Learning it won't be easy."
"I'll definitely manage." Xiao Wu thumped her chest, full of confidence.
As a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form, she had to start over in cultivation, but her talent was top-tier.
She had that confidence.