5: Chapter 5: Huo Yuhao Makes His Debut, a Cautious Young Man

On the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, the air was humid and sweltering.

Mu En walked ahead, his figure hunched, leaving deep pits in the muddy ground with his cane.

Su Chen followed behind, his expression focused.

The two of them went deeper until they stepped into an area covered by dark clouds year-round.

This was the Thunderclap Swamp.

"Master, I feel it."

Su Chen suddenly stopped and closed his eyes.

His Spirit, the Chaos Thunder Dragon, possessed a natural affinity for lightning energy.

Mu En's cloudy eyes shifted, gesturing for him to lead the way.

The two of them crept toward the source of that energy fluctuation.

Parting a large patch of ferns, the sight before them made Su Chen's eyes narrow.

It was a massive crocodile lurking in the murky mud pool.

It was nearly ten meters long, its entire body covered in dark green scales, which were crisscrossed with mysterious dark gold patterns.

A faint scent of blood lingered around it; it seemed to have just finished a battle, and its aura was somewhat unstable.

The Swamp Thunder Crocodile.

"That's the one."

Su Chen said in a low voice, a flicker of heat in his eyes.

Mu En watched the giant crocodile quietly, his dim eyes as calm as an ancient well.

"This beast has been absorbing lightning essence here for years. Its lightning power possesses both explosiveness and endurance, a good match for your Chaos Thunder Dragon."

Mu En gave his evaluation.

With that, he raised his plain, unadorned cane.

Without any wasted motion, he simply tapped the end of his cane lightly against the swamp.

Buzz—!

An invisible ripple instantly spread out.

The Swamp Thunder Crocodile, which had just been exuding an overbearing aura, suddenly froze. The ferocity in its eyes solidified, and then its massive body slowly sank into the mud, silent.

A one-hit kill.

"Go," Mu En's voice remained flat. "This is your opportunity."

Su Chen sat cross-legged and began to guide the spirit ring and that external Spirit Bone simultaneously.

The process was unexpectedly smooth.

When the last trace of Soul Power and the Spirit Bone completely fused, Su Chen snapped his eyes open.

A powerful aura erupted from within him.

Soul Power, Rank 25!

One spirit ring and one Spirit Bone had actually caused his Soul Power to soar by five ranks.

The quality of this spirit ring was truly top-tier!

With a thought, Su Chen casually threw a palm strike at a nearby ancient tree that would take two people to encircle.

"Boom!"

The ancient tree snapped, the break charred black with fine arcs of electricity flickering continuously.

"This power..."

Su Chen looked at his palm, shocked.

It was more than a level stronger than before.

He walked to Mu En's side and reported respectfully, "Master, my Second Soul Skill is 'Chaos Thunder Claw.' It can condense Chaos Power and lightning power into a claw, and its attacks carry tearing and paralyzing effects."

"More importantly," Su Chen's tone grew excited, "after absorbing the spirit ring, my Spirit seems to have awakened a trait called 'Chaos Thunder Transformation'."

"Now, the lightning I release naturally carries the corrosive properties of Chaos Power, making it even more destructive."

This was the greatest gain.

In Mu En's dim eyes, a hint of approval finally appeared.

"Very good."

"You are on the right path."

...

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Su Chen was now twelve years old, and his Soul Power had reached Rank 42. He was a genuine Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor.

As a transmigrator, his greatest "cheat," besides the advanced knowledge in his head, was his familiarity with the plot.

Today was the day the story began.

The protagonist, Huo Yuhao, would appear on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

He had been waiting here for two days.

Rustle...

Slight footsteps came from the woods.

Su Chen's eyelids lifted, and he instantly withdrew all his aura.

Through the gaps in the bushes, he saw a figure.

It was a boy who looked slightly younger than him, with short blue hair, a thin build, and a somewhat pale face, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

A white short dagger hung at the boy's waist.

The White Tiger Dagger.

Su Chen knew in his heart that this was indeed Huo Yuhao.

He saw Huo Yuhao walk to a small stream and deftly spear a lively large fish out of the water with his dagger.

Scaling, gutting, starting a fire—it was all done in one smooth motion.

Soon, several skewers of grilled fish were set over the fire, sizzling with oil.

The aroma was incredible.

Su Chen felt the timing was right and stepped out openly from his hiding place.

"Who's there?"

Almost the moment he appeared, Huo Yuhao sprang up, his right hand tightly gripping the White Tiger Dagger at his waist, staring at him with wary eyes.

"Don't be nervous, friend."

Su Chen raised his hands to show he meant no harm.

"Just passing through. It smelled so good I couldn't help myself."

Huo Yuhao still didn't relax his guard, his hand still on the dagger.

For a boy traveling alone in the forest, any stranger was a potential danger.

Su Chen didn't mind and continued, "My name is Su Chen, and I'm from Shrek Academy. How about this? Sell me that fish, and I'll give you ten gold coins."

Shrek Academy?

Hearing those words, much of the wariness in Huo Yuhao's eyes faded.

That was the number one academy on the continent, the place he dreamed of going.

Someone from Shrek Academy probably wasn't a bad person.

"No need... You can have it. I have more here."

Huo Yuhao lowered his hand from the dagger and spoke with some restraint.

"Then I won't be polite."

Su Chen wasn't formal either; he sat down directly by the fire, picked up a golden-brown skewer of fish, and started eating.

As he ate, he quietly observed Huo Yuhao.

The Huo Yuhao before him was even thinner than described in the book, and his clothes were somewhat ragged, clearly showing he had suffered quite a bit.

But those eyes were truly bright, carrying a stubborn refusal to give in.

Just then.

A crisp female voice came from the woods nearby.

"It smells so good!"

Su Chen and Huo Yuhao looked up at the same time.

They saw the bushes rustle as two people walked out.

In front was a girl about fifteen or sixteen years old with a high ponytail. Her large eyes were fixed on the grilled fish over the fire, and she looked like she was about to drool.

Behind her followed a boy of similar age, tall and upright with long deep blue hair. He was very handsome, with an elegant and easygoing temperament.

Seeing these two, the corners of Su Chen's mouth curled up slightly.

The timeline was correct.

It was the "young couple," Bei Bei and Tang Ya.

"Bei Bei, look, it's grilled fish!"

The young girl, Tang Ya, pulled on the boy's sleeve and shouted excitedly.

A smile was on Bei Bei's face, but when his gaze fell on Su Chen, the smile instantly turned into surprise.

"Su Chen? What are you doing here?"

Su Chen swallowed the fish in a few bites and gave a familiar greeting: "Just out for a stroll. But what about you two? A young couple coming here for a date?"