Huo Yuhao was choking a little on the baked bread because of his tears, and his sobbing instantly stopped, and became some unnatural sounds.
Wang Qiu’er recovered and hurriedly squatted down beside him as she patted his back gently to help him get his breath back.
It took some effort, but this mouthful finally went down. Huo Yuhao wiped the tears from his face as he lowered his head and said, “Thank you.”
Wang Qiu’er reached out and snatched the remaining half from his hands. Huo Yuhao snapped back around at her with a look of astonishment and a little bit of anger, but he then realized that the girl was stuffing the entire piece of baked bread into her mouth as if she wanted to swallow it whole. Her tender and pretty cheeks instantly puffed out as she struggled to chew.
Their gazes met once more, and Huo Yuhao laughed through his tears and sniffling as he watched her swallowing furiously. He handed her the water bag in his hands.
It wasn’t easy, but Wang Qiu’er finally swallowed the baked bread in her mouth with the help of some water.
“Ugh…” Wang Qiu’er took a deep breath, and she couldn’t help but whisper, “It tastes terrible.”
Huo Yuhao chortled and said, “It’s not so bad. It’s not terrible to the point where it’s inedible, at least.”
Wang Qiu’er snapped, “I’m talking about your saliva.”
Huo Yuhao was stunned momentarily. Right! They had both taken turns to bite into this baked bread, and it could be said that they were swallowing each other’s saliva. There was a little bit of awkwardness amongst all this, and he subconsciously turned to look at Wang Dong’er, who was still meditating, a feeling of guilt surging up from the bottom of his heart.
Wang Qiu’er grunted contemptuously and said, “Men who are afraid of women are good for nothing. You’re a grown man now, and you’re still sobbing and crying like that. That’s even worse.” She handed the water bag back to Huo Yuhao and stood up.
Huo Yuhao didn’t get angry at all as he put the water bag away. He didn’t follow Wang Qiu’er, but remained where he was. He made a mental note that had to maintain his distance from Wang Qiu’er, and he couldn’t let Wang Dong’er misunderstand.
However, he swiftly raised his head at this moment. His eyes were still filled with tears, but they suddenly froze as he stared in one particular direction. His Spiritual Detection was initially working in an area around him, but he instantly switched to a particular direction in front of him.
Wang Qiu’er was also part of his Spiritual Detection, and she naturally gazed over at the first possible moment. Both of them felt their hearts skip a beat.
The first feeling that Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection gave them was an aura that seemed to blanket the entire world: it didn’t come from a single soul beast, it was from a group, and one that was charged with power.
Pair after pair of dark red eyes glowed faintly in the darkness of the night, and their muscular bodies didn’t make a sound at all as they traversed the forest. They were like specters of the night as they gradually moved closer.
Huo Yuhao instantly warned everyone who was still cultivating with his Spiritual Detection. He didn’t make a sound at all, and he made a gesture to Wang Qiu’er to keep quiet at the same time.
He still didn’t know whether these soul beasts were coming after them, or if they were just passing by. These soul beasts were about eight hundred meters away, and they were gradually pushing forward.
Everyone woke up one after another. They didn’t need Huo Yuhao to tell them verbally, they could “see” the soul beasts that were coming closer through Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection.
At this moment, the students from the inner courtyard displayed their exemplary qualities. Nobody made a sound as they swiftly started to move, and they relied on their geographical advantage to find a spot where they could best defend themselves.
Zhang Lexuan came next to Huo Yuhao swiftly, her pretty eyes sparkling. She didn’t look a single bit like she did when she was meditating.
She made an inquisitive gesture toward Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao responded with a subtle shake of his head to signal that he didn’t know what these soul beasts were after.
Zhang Lexuan waved her hands for everyone to maintain their formation.
There were quite a few soul beasts in this pack, at least a few hundred. Soul beasts that lived in the Hybrid Region had at least a thousand years of cultivation, and several hundred of them would be extremely difficult to deal with. Furthermore, Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection told him that there were more than just thousand-year soul beasts among the pack they were facing. It was better not to provoke this pack if they could help it.
The soul beasts didn’t seem like they had discovered the company, and were just gradually moving towards the humans’ position.
Zhang Lexuan’s eyebrows knit together. She was a little conflicted at this moment; she felt like these soul beasts weren’t coming after them, but the marks they would leave behind if they left this location now would definitely be discovered. However, they would definitely meet up with these soul beasts if they didn’t move away. Such an enormous pack would undoubtedly assault them if they saw them.
Zhang Lexuan glanced at Huo Yuhao subconsciously, but right at this moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly used his spiritual power to signal in everyone’s minds, “Prepare for battle!”
Just when he gave out the signal, the soul beasts that seemed like they had no target all suddenly picked up speed, and split into two groups as they flanked the Shrek band from both sides. The seven or eight soul beasts that were charging at the front were the leanest and most robust ones.
They were simply too quick – the forest’s complicated landscape didn’t seem to impede them at all. They separated and flanked, and it was obvious that these soul beasts had premeditated their battle strategy. They had clearly discovered the company way earlier, and treated them like prey.
Zhang Lexuan growled softly, “Prepare for battle, everyone! Maintain the original formation – these soul beasts are very hard to handle, so everyone is to go straight for the kill! Give your all in this fight! Mo Xuan, unleash your Halo!”
“Yes!” Mo Xuan acknowledged as two yellow, two purple, and two black soul rings rose up from his feet. In the next moment, halo after halo rippled from his body, enveloping everyone.
Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his strength and speed had been amplified in tandem, and his spiritual focus became a little stronger. Mo Xuan had unleashed his first three halos, but the strength of his amplification couldn’t really be complimented, as its effects couldn’t even reach a fifth of Ning Tian’s Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
The soul beasts arrived right when Mo Xuan activated his halos. The seven or eight burliest soul beasts were in the vanguard.
Everyone could clearly see that the soul beasts were a bunch of baboons when they came nearer. They were huge and tall, and could even be compared to a normal bear species. Their muscles were tight and bulging, and their lean and mean appearance instilled a sense of fear in people’s hearts. Their faces were ghastly white, in strong contrast to their black fur. Their blood-red eyes in their white faces were daunting, and this appearance was especially petrifying in the darkness of the night.
“These are Bloody Baboons. Be careful, everyone – Bloody Baboons have powerful physical strength, and Bloodlust is their innate skill. Bloodlust allows them to immediately boost their offensive and defensive capabilities. Their heads are their vital point, so everyone should go for their heads.”
Zhang Lexuan didn’t panic at all as they faced this siege from a pack of high-level soul beasts. She rapidly gave the necessary commands while she released her martial soul at the same time.
Huo Yuhao was standing behind her, and he could see two yellow, two purple, three black, and one red soul ring rise from beneath her feet. The pack of Bloody Baboons paused momentarily when her red soul ring appeared, as if they were a little hesitant.
Bloody Baboons were soul beasts that were extremely hard to deal with. They moved in packs, even as their individual fighting strength was also relatively formidable. They were known as beings who had bronze skin and steel bones. They had strong defensive capabilities, and they had immense strength powerful enough to strangle a tiger to death with their bare hands. They were highly resistant to soul power of any element, and their black fur, which was as tough as metal, was their best defensive trait. What was even more frightening was their innate skill, Bloodlust: once it was used, their defensive and offensive capabilities would be boosted exponentially, while they would lose the ability to feel pain and would no longer fear death.
Bloody Baboons were naturally cruel and fierce, and they were also very intelligent. They were clearly trying not to be discovered when they were coming forward slowly. Fortunately, Huo Yuhao could tell through his Spiritual Detection that their blood essences were changing, and he was able to warn everyone to get ready in advance.
The tallest Bloody Baboon at the very front had a conspicuous lock of golden fur on its forehead. It howled into the sky, more than three meters tall when it stood up straight as it hammered its chests heavily with its fists, which it sounded like deafening drums. A circle of golden light radiated from its body, and the Bloody Baboons around him were covered with a pale golden layer. Their auras became even more fearsome than before, and the fear that had flashed across their eyes before vanished into thin air. Murderous looks exploded from their eyes as they snarled and charged forward.
Zhang Lexuan lowered her voice and said, “That’s the Baboon King. He’s a fifty-thousand year soul beast! Be careful, everyone – this is Mass Berserk!”
Something glowed behind Zhang Lexuan’s back as she spoke: it was a crescent moon that seemed like it was hanging off a tree as everything lit up after its appearance.
Zhang Lexuan’s skin looked pale and translucent under the moonlight. She pointed forward with her right hand, and moonlight immediately erupted from the crescent moon above her. The baboons that came forward first were immediately smashed away wherever the moonlight fell.
However, the Bloody Baboons’ defensive capabilities were boosted under the effects of Mass Berserk, and they just rolled around on the ground before they got back to their feet, mostly unharmed.
The group from Shrek Academy had been surrounded at this moment. Large throngs of baboons leapt out from their surroundings, but they didn’t come any closer, forming a tight and compact circle around the humans.
The company could tell from their movements that these baboons had between two to three thousand years of cultivation. The Baboon King was undoubtedly the strongest one, and there were several other ten-thousand year baboons beside him. There were also several other ten-thousand year baboons in the packs that had flanked them to either side.