Yin Zhang chuckled and withdrew from his combat state, landing lightly on the ground. The pair of Dragon Wings on his back folded away as he returned to human form, and the scales covering his body gradually dissipated.
However, the clothes he had been wearing were now somewhat tattered, riddled with holes in many places.
Whenever Yin Zhang activated his Spirit Possession, his clothing would inevitably be affected as well. To prevent his Spirit from completely tearing his clothes apart, he usually wore slightly tighter garments. That way, when the scales emerged, they could wrap around the fabric. After exiting the Spirit Possession state, the damage would be kept to a minimum.
Unfortunately, Golden Crocodile's claws were simply too sharp. After piercing through the scales, they shredded the clothing beneath with ease. It was only because the scales regenerated continuously that the damage hadn't been immediately obvious.
"Teacher, your crocodile claws really are vicious," Yin Zhang said with a laugh. "If I didn't have something protecting me, I wouldn't have stood a chance."
Though his words sounded like praise, there was a hint of smugness hidden in his tone.
A smile appeared on Golden Crocodile's stern face. He pointed at Yin Zhang helplessly and said,
"You little rascal—getting cocky after a win. I'll straighten you out one of these days!"
Tang Zhen and Qiangu Yunying also walked over.
Qiangu Yunying took Yin Zhang's arm, carefully checking him over. After confirming that he wasn't injured, she finally let out a sigh of relief. She then looked at Golden Crocodile and said in a coquettish tone,
"Grandpa Golden Crocodile, honestly! Xiao Zhang is your disciple, yet you showed no mercy at all!"
Golden Crocodile's mouth fell slightly open, his eyes filled with disbelief. Was she serious? He was the one who'd suffered here!
Tang Zhen burst into laughter and said to Golden Crocodile,
"Second Consecrator, this young couple simply can't bear to see you come out on top, hahaha!"
Golden Crocodile laughed despite himself and waved his hand.
"Alright, alright. You two go do your own thing. I still have some matters to discuss with your Uncle Tang."
Watching Yin Zhang summon his Spirit again and fly off with Qiangu Yunying, Golden Crocodile then turned back to Tang Zhen.
"Is what you told me earlier really true? That so-called ruin—does it truly have something to do with Xuanwu?"
Tang Zhen's expression turned solemn as he replied softly,
"Yes. Earlier, Xiao Zhang asked me to examine Graphite and Grinding Stone. I didn't think much of it at the time, but after seeing the patterns on their Xuanwu Turtle shells, I realized they were identical to the markings Qiangu Yuan and I discovered beneath that great tree on the island in the lake at the core of the Hurricane Forest. I recently went back there and found that it was both similar and different. Perhaps the remaining Water-Attribute Stone Tablet, along with the two brothers, Graphite and Grinding Stone, are the keys to unlocking the secret."
After Qiangu Yuan distributed the Water-Attribute Stone Tablets to the members of the Qiangu Family, one remained. He gave it to Tang Zhen, who later passed it on to Golden Crocodile.
However, Golden Crocodile felt that the attribute compatibility wasn't ideal, so he never absorbed it, choosing instead to wait for Yin Zhang's Immortal Herb.
At present, the Water-Attribute Stone Tablet was still in Golden Crocodile's possession, and he would occasionally take it out to cultivate and gain insights.
After listening, Golden Crocodile nodded slightly.
"In that case, let's bring those two brothers with us and head to the Hurricane Forest together. We'll see what's really going on."
He was genuinely puzzled. He hadn't expected that the two people Yin Zhang had just brought back would be connected to the secret realm in the Hurricane Forest. The coincidence was remarkable—and it didn't seem like something Yin Zhang had arranged deliberately.
After parting ways with Golden Crocodile and Tang Zhen, Yin Zhang and Qiangu Yunying arrived at the Soul Hunting Forest on the other side of Spirit City.
Little Dragon was being raised in this forest to hone its wild instincts and survival abilities.
And clearly, that goal had been achieved.
A five-thousand-year-old Little Dragon was an absolute overlord within the Soul Hunting Forest. It could freely seize the territories of other Spirit Beasts, and none of them dared to protest.
"Everyone, this is the Soul Hunting Forest—a small-scale Spirit Beast forest enclosed by Spirit Hall," a middle-aged man said as he walked at the front. "The strongest Spirit Beasts here are only a few thousand years old and are all concentrated in the core area. Stay close to me and don't wander off. Once you've all obtained your spirit rings and return to Spirit City, you'll become members of the elementary division of Spirit Hall Academy next semester."
Behind him followed four children of varying ages—seven, eight, and nine years old. Though their expressions differed, all of them were filled with curiosity. This place was the cradle of Spirit Hall Academy's students. Most academy students came from here; it was essentially a kindergarten for Spirit Masters. Once they became Spirit Masters, they could leave this stage and enter Spirit Hall Academy as true students.
All of them had already reached level ten spirit power. Today, they were being led here to hunt spirit rings and formally step into the ranks of Spirit Masters.
One of the boys pointed at a strange-looking monkey nearby and asked,
"Teacher, what kind of Spirit Beast is that? Why does it look so ugly?"
The teacher glanced over and quickly coughed.
"That Spirit Beast is called the Ape God. I don't know who named it, but the name sounds quite impressive. As for why its roar sounds so strange… I have no idea."
Indeed, its roar was extremely strange.
Just as the child was about to ask more, the monkey suddenly cried out,
"Launch~ Launch!"
It leaped through the jungle and vanished.
"Ape God… 'Launch'?" the child muttered. "How interesting."
At that moment, a terrifying aura swept toward them.
The teacher's expression changed instantly. He summoned his longsword Spirit as five spirit rings—one white, two yellow, one purple, and one black—rose beneath his feet.
"Everyone, stay alert!" he shouted. "This aura… could it be a ten-thousand-year Spirit Beast? That shouldn't be possible!"
Before he could think further, two figures streaked past at incredible speed.
It was Yin Zhang and Qiangu Yunying.
After bringing Qiangu Yunying to the Soul Hunting Forest, Yin Zhang made no effort to conceal his aura. His presence had become unusually violent after his previous Mega Evolution and the awakening of his combat instincts. If someone wasn't paying close attention, they could easily mistake his aura for that of a powerful Spirit Beast.
The two flew straight into the depths of the Soul Hunting Forest, where Little Dragon had already claimed an enormous valley as its territory. As for the valley's former master—the previous overlord-level Spirit Beast of the Soul Hunting Forest—it had long since been slain by Little Dragon.
As Yin Zhang and Qiangu Yunying descended, a thunderous dragon roar echoed through the valley.
"Roar!"
They turned to look and saw a massive Golden-Eyed Black Dragon flying toward them.
The Golden-Eyed Black Dragon looked incredibly excited, its gaze blazing with fervent enthusiasm as it locked onto the two of them.