Chapter 3: The Choice of the Ice Silkworm
After persuading Huo Yuhao, Xiao Qiang and the young boy quickly arrived at the outskirts of the vast and mysterious Xingdou Great Forest.
As soon as Huo Yuhao laid eyes on the towering ancient trees and the misty atmosphere, his heart surged with excitement. A dream long harbored was about to be realized. He could sense it—this forest would mark the beginning of his journey as a soul master. A respected one.
Driven by that hope, his footsteps quickened. But just as he was about to step deeper into the forest, a sudden gust of wind accompanied by a sharp howl tore through the air.
A wind baboon—one of the fiercest and most violent soul beasts of the outer forest—leapt from the shadows and lunged straight at Huo Yuhao.
In the original timeline, Huo Yuhao had nearly lost half his life fighting this very creature. But this time, he wasn't alone.
Xiao Qiang's eyes gleamed. His Sharingan, far sharper than Huo Yuhao's fledgling Spirit Eyes, had long detected the wind baboon's approach from afar.
In one smooth motion, Xiao Qiang infused his soul power into a soul guide mounted on his waist, causing a gleaming flying knife to materialize in his palm.
The beast's movements, no matter how quick, were clearly tracked by his crimson eyes.
With a snap of his wrist, Xiao Qiang hurled the knife. The blade sliced through the air and struck with unerring precision—right through the wind baboon's eye and deep into its brain.
The beast collapsed with a thud. Its snarling fangs froze in place, and a soft white glow drifted up from its corpse—a ten-year soul ring.
Huo Yuhao dropped to the ground, pale and trembling. This was his first time witnessing the death of a soul beast. Even though the wind baboon had been moments away from tearing him apart, its abrupt and brutal end left him shaken.
If he had faced this creature alone, even if he somehow emerged victorious, he would've been critically wounded—perhaps even dead.
Looking at the faintly glowing white ring, Huo Yuhao realized it represented the lowest tier of soul beasts: the ten-year soul beast. Even so, it was terrifying in his eyes.
He looked at Xiao Qiang with sincere gratitude.
If Xiao Qiang hadn't been here, he would've had no choice but to fight the wind baboon and absorb its soul ring. But doing so would've drained him completely. He wouldn't have had the strength to venture deeper into the forest to search for a better soul ring.
And really, what were the chances of a soul beast just showing up and asking to become his soul ring?
Huo Yuhao turned, deeply moved. "Thank you, Brother Li Feiyu."
Xiao Qiang merely wiped his flying knife clean and nodded. "It's nothing."
But just as the tension began to settle, a strange, resonant voice echoed in both their minds.
"Finally… two humans with spiritual attributes. What a rare blessing. If I could cry, I would be weeping with joy!"
Startled, Huo Yuhao instinctively backed away. Xiao Qiang, however, remained calm. He knew exactly what was about to happen.
With a low rumble, the earth split open and a massive figure emerged from beneath the forest floor.
A colossal creature with shimmering icy-white scales—the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm.
Xiao Qiang stepped in front of Huo Yuhao without hesitation, shielding the younger boy with his body.
"This… this… What kind of soul beast is that?" Huo Yuhao stammered, his face pale.
He could feel it. The creature's spiritual pressure was overwhelming. As a spirit-type soul master, Huo Yuhao's senses were especially sensitive to such power, and right now, fear gripped him.
The voice returned, gentle yet amused.
"Don't be scared, little one. I won't hurt you. Let's have a look at your talent first, shall we?"
Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's vast spiritual energy swept over the two boys, probing their potential.
In truth, Tianmeng had waited countless years for a human partner. One with strong spiritual attributes—preferably someone destined for godhood—so he could ride along and gain eternal life.
So naturally, he began evaluating both individuals.
Huo Yuhao: Eleven years old. Soul power level: ten. Meridians: partially blocked. Potential: fair, with strong spiritual alignment.
Xiao Qiang: Fourteen years old. Soul power level: thirty. Meridians: extremely refined. First and second soul rings were both century-level, with the second one nearing 800 years.
By all objective measures, Xiao Qiang was superior in every category. Stronger, faster, and more refined.
Yet, despite this, Tianmeng hesitated.
He knew who the better choice was. Rationality screamed it. But fate… fate favored Huo Yuhao. And Tianmeng, even as a spiritual creature, could not completely ignore the pull of destiny.
Xiao Qiang frowned inwardly. It's happening again.
He had anticipated this. In fact, he had prepared for it.
After failing to acquire the Tianmeng Ice Silkworm in his first attempt, he devised a backup plan. He knew Beibei and Tang Ya would arrive soon, and in the original story, Huo Yuhao would be injured, forcing Tianmeng to choose him.
In this timeline, if that happened again, Xiao Qiang might be forced into a direct confrontation with Beibei and Tang Ya to keep Tianmeng.
While neither of them was too threatening individually, Beibei's identity worried him.
As the great-great-grandson of Elder Mu, the current Sea God Pavilion Master, Beibei likely had a powerful bodyguard in the shadows. Possibly a Soul Saint—or worse, a Soul Douluo. Sending someone like that to protect Beibei during a soul ring hunt was almost a given.
Xiao Qiang couldn't afford to make enemies of such people right now.
And so, he'd prepared a clever trick.
From his belt, he pulled out a compact flying device—his own homemade fixed soul-guided aircraft. Though it looked harmless, it carried a volatile energy core, far more dangerous than any lithium battery.
It was guaranteed to explode. Eventually.
He strapped it tightly onto Huo Yuhao's back.
"This is a fixed soul-guided aircraft," he explained. "Press the red button to move forward. Left and right zippers control direction."
He met Huo Yuhao's eyes seriously.
"That soul beast over there… it's not normal. I might be able to handle it on my own, but if I have to protect you too, neither of us will make it out. So go. Now."
Before Huo Yuhao could argue, Xiao Qiang activated his first soul skill, amplifying Huo Yuhao's instinct to survive. Then, without hesitation, he pressed the red button.
WHOOSH!
Huo Yuhao shot into the sky, a streak of panicked screams trailing behind him.
"AHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Tianmeng blinked, confused. Just a moment ago, he had two promising candidates, and now one had vanished.
And his only remaining option was not Huo Yuhao, but Xiao Qiang.
"I wouldn't try to chase him if I were you," Xiao Qiang said calmly, spinning his flying knife between his fingers.
His eyes gleamed with calm determination.
He was ready to act. And he had played his role perfectly.
Now, it was Tianmeng's move.