Tang Wutong's figure gradually disappeared into the night.
Though she believed that, aside from the mysterious white-robed youth, she was inferior to no one present,
she also understood that two fists could not defeat four hands.
There was no need to remain in a standoff here.
Li Zhexian leisurely turned the roasted fish in his hand, the firelight casting a warm glow over his refined features.
Huo Yuhao likewise pretended not to notice, allowing Tang Wutong to leave.
To him, the one who had weathered storms alongside him in his previous life was Wang Dong.
As for Tang Wutong—
he had only glimpsed fragments of the future and felt little genuine attachment.
Moreover, being with Tang Wutong had brought him nothing but shackles.
Everyone sat around the campfire, chatting and laughing in the evening breeze.
At that moment,
glimmering motes of light flowed from Huo Yuhao's forehead, transforming into four ferocious beast phantoms, each with a distinct aura.
They were Skydream Iceworm, the Snow Demon King, Bear Lord, and Bi Ji.
"Greetings, Lord Creation!"
The Snow Demon King, Bear Lord, and Bi Ji knelt on one knee.
"Brother Zhexian, you finally came to see me!"
Skydream Iceworm was far more lively. With a "poof," he dispersed into a wisp of wind and instantly appeared at Li Zhexian's side.
"Brother Zhexian, has Bing Bing missed me or not?"
Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi stared in shock at the four sudden apparitions.
Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao were even more shaken.
One was the senior sister of the inner court; the other, the leader of Shrek's Seven Monsters.
Shrek Academy and the Star Dou Great Forest had stood in distant opposition for years—how could they not recognize these ferocious beast monarchs?
"The Northern King, Snow Demon King; the Emerald Swan, Bi Ji; and Bear Lord?!"
They instinctively looked at Huo Yuhao first—
then stared blankly at the white-robed youth worshipped by the ferocious beasts.
The ferocious beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest were apex existences on the continent.
To make them bow in submission… was unimaginable.
At that moment,
they suddenly recalled something Huo Yuhao had once said to Long Xiaoyao:
"Long Xiaoyao, your vision is too shallow. My fortune surpasses this world, and I have received devoted guidance from that one…"
The battle between Huo Yuhao and Long Xiaoyao had already spread across the continent.
And those words had sparked endless debate.
Most had said—
Huo Yuhao was too young and arrogant to speak of Long Xiaoyao that way.
Even his teacher, Mu En, was only considered on par with the Darkness Holy Dragon.
But now—
it struck them like lightning.
The "that one" Huo Yuhao had spoken of was not Mu En.
It was the white-robed youth before them.
"Brother Skydream."
Li Zhexian addressed Skydream Iceworm as he always had, unchanged despite the shift in status.
With a flick of his sleeve,
a gentle force lifted the Snow Demon King and the other two ferocious beasts to their feet.
Then he glanced sideways at Skydream, who was clinging to him, his tone tinged with teasing.
"The Ice Empress and Snow Empress now jointly preside over a divine domain, residing in the Thirtieth Heaven of the Divine Star. The two share the title of God King."
"The gap between you and the Ice Empress is growing wider and wider—yet you still pine for her?"
"Ice… Snow Empress… God Kings?!"
Skydream Iceworm froze for a moment, then leapt up, clutching Li Zhexian's arm, crying dramatically.
"Brother Zhexian, that's not fair!"
"I, Skydream, have bled for you and suffered for you! I was doing just fine as a First-Class God on the Divine Star, and then you sent me to this world to babysit!"
"I've done so much work—how has the gap between me and Bing Bing grown instead?!"
He shouted while shaking Li Zhexian's arm.
Li Zhexian looked both helpless and amused, allowing him to fuss as he replied unhurriedly:
"Brother Skydream, have I not treated you well enough?"
"To match you with a First-Class God position, how many spiritual fruits and immortal herbs did I feed you?"
"Sending you to this world was not only to protect Huo Yuhao, but also to earn you merit beyond reproach."
"Once you return to the Divine Star, when you advance to God King, none will dispute it."
The level of their conversation was far too lofty—casually mentioning "First-Class Gods" and "God Kings."
Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the others felt dazzled just listening.
At this moment, Bi Jispoke up:
"Skydream, you should be content."
"Though you possess a million years of cultivation, your racial bloodline is innately weak."
"The divine treasures our Lord bestowed upon you—if given to other Spirit Beasts—could have produced ten First-Class Gods."
Bear Lord snorted, two streams of white mist puffing from his nostrils.
"How many gods on the Divine Star envy your position? Favored so greatly by our Lord, and you still feel wronged?"
The Snow Demon King added in a deep voice,
"Bi Ji and Bear Lord are right!"
Feeling the gazes of the three ferocious beasts, Skydream Iceworm quickly put away his deliberately feigned indignation.
"Heh, Brother Zhexian is the best."
"What, you three feeling unbalanced?"
"Hmph, the bond between Brother Zhexian and me—is that something you can compare to?"
He puffed out his chest,
looking every bit the loyal minister of a true dragon.
"I'll say it again! I bled with Brother Zhexian! I suffered wounds with Brother Zhexian!"
With Li Zhexian present,
he was far more unrestrained in posture.
If not now, when would he act bold?
After Skydream's comic interlude,
the already relaxed night grew even more lively.
The bonfire gradually dimmed; sparks flickered within the embers, echoing the glow of fireflies rising among the trees.
The group set off once more,
flying toward Shrek.
Before long—
"Senior…"
Huo Yuhao turned his head, looking at Li Zhexian strolling through the clouds, and asked respectfully:
"I heard from Brother Skydream that you cultivate primarily the Sword Dao, and even created a supreme sword art unique to yourself."
"This junior wishes to ask…"
Huo Yuhao pointed to his eyes, which still shone brilliantly in the night.
"Should I, like you, devote myself to mastering a single Dao?"
Li Zhexian's influence on him was simply too great.
He did not hope to one day become invincible across the myriad worlds like Li Zhexian.
But he did wish—
to walk his own path with the same clarity and conviction.
Wandering amid the wind, Li Zhexian suddenly smiled.
He did not answer.
He merely lifted his sleeve and gently brushed it toward the night sky.
Wind arose.
The sound of forest waves swelled from afar—at first like fine rain tapping leaves, then like surging pine billows, until it became a vast heavenly gale sweeping past the ears.
Huo Yuhao's robes fluttered wildly; his hair scattered.
Within the wind, he seemed to hear all sounds—
spring streams breaking ice, summer cicadas vibrating their wings, autumn leaves falling from branches, winter snow pressing upon bamboo…
The cycles of the four seasons lived and perished within the wind's song.
"What Dao is this wind?"
Li Zhexian's voice came with the breeze.
Huo Yuhao stood stunned.
"The wind… is simply wind."
Li Zhexian then pointed to the drifting clouds.
In the night sky, the clouds had been soft as cotton, yet in an instant the wind tugged them into galloping steeds; moments later they scattered like flying feathers, then gathered again into layered peaks.
Now stretching, now curling; now dense, now faint—without fixed form, never the same from one instant to the next.
"What Dao is this cloud?"
"The cloud… is also just cloud."
Li Zhexian nodded, then turned his gaze to the river of stars.
Countless stars adorned the dark vault—some bright, some dim; some clustered, some solitary.
Some were like eternal lamps burning through the ages; some like meteors, resolute swords of a fleeting instant; some like nebulae, seas of chaos not yet divided.
Each shone with its own light, each followed its own orbit, together weaving the night.
"What Dao are these stars?"
A glimmer of understanding surfaced in Huo Yuhao's eyes. He murmured,
"The stars… each walk their own Dao."
Li Zhexian looked at him and smiled.
"The wind does not seek permanence; the clouds do not cling to one form; the stars do not envy another's light."
"All things follow their nature, each becoming its own Dao."
"Why, then, must you chase after my footsteps?"