Douluo Dalu 3: Legend of the White Fox

Gu Yue seemed very busy. After bringing Xia Yi to the Star Dou Forest's core, she disappeared for an entire month.

During that time, she left Di Tian and Zi Ji to train Xia Yi, with Bi Ji standing by to ensure any injuries, even severe ones, could be healed instantly.

This plunged Xia Yi into a month of utter torment.

Yet, it was also a month of immense growth for him, to the point that Di Tian and Zi Ji were both astounded. Xia Yi's learning ability was simply extraordinary—whatever he was taught, he mastered immediately.

What surprised Xia Yi even more was that he felt himself nearing a breakthrough to the eleventh level of soul power.

Xia Yi didn't rush to break through. According to Di Tian, shapeshifting soul beasts had to enter the human world to cultivate further. But Xia Yi seemed to be an exception.

He didn't fully trust Gu Yue or these fierce beasts. Xia Yi kept many of his secrets hidden, not wanting Gu Yue to learn too much about him.

His ten years of experience surviving in the Star Dou Forest had taught him a crucial lesson: always stay vigilant.

A month later, Gu Yue reappeared. Her first stop was to see Di Tian and Zi Ji.

"What's your evaluation of this Xia Yi?" Gu Yue asked as she looked at them. The purpose of having them train Xia Yi was for them to probe his abilities and see if he was hiding any secrets.

"His learning ability is exceptional. He picks up anything almost immediately, often improving on what he learns. But he's also very guarded, making it nearly impossible for us to uncover any secrets," Zi Ji said helplessly. Xia Yi was too cunning and left them no chance to investigate.

"I understand. If he had blindly trusted us from the start, I'd have been disappointed," Gu Yue said with a smile. Then she asked, "What about his talent?"

"His combat talent is outstanding, with an excellent sense for battle. However, his martial soul is too weak," Di Tian commented. Typically, a fox-type martial soul's power increased with the number of tails. Yet, even a nine-tailed fox was only a decent martial soul, far from top-tier ones.

Xia Yi's martial soul was just a single-tailed fox, which had only evolved to that level after drinking Gu Yue's blood. It lacked any traits of a mutated martial soul, making it weak, almost pitifully so.

"His martial soul and body are indeed the lowest grade. Other ten-year soul beasts would experience rapid growth after consuming hundred-year soul beasts. But Xia Yi, despite eating countless hundred-year Soft Bone Rabbits, showed no progress in cultivation," Zi Ji explained. This phenomenon was typical only for the weakest of soul beasts, whose growth depended solely on the passage of time rather than resources.

"I see," Gu Yue nodded, pondering for a moment before asking, "Do you think it's worth training him?"

"He's missed the most critical years for cultivation, and his martial soul is weak. Even with ample resources, he'd only reach the Soul Emperor level at best, and breaking through to the Soul Sage realm would be extremely difficult," Di Tian said solemnly.

"So, it's not worth it?" Gu Yue raised an eyebrow. If Xia Yi's limit was the Soul Emperor level, he wouldn't be of much help for their plans.

"No, I think we should train him, but without investing too many resources," Di Tian replied, shaking his head.

"Oh? Why?" Gu Yue asked, intrigued.

"He's incredibly smart. If used correctly, his intellect might benefit us," Di Tian explained. Despite his near-900,000-year cultivation, he had to admit that in terms of strategy, humans often surpassed him. In Xia Yi, he saw hope for countering this weakness. The more he interacted with Xia Yi, the more he realized how frighteningly clever the boy was.

"Smart, huh?" Gu Yue nodded again. She was still irked about being outwitted by Xia Yi earlier and refused to believe he was smarter than her. In her eyes, Xia Yi's success was due to her underestimating him, not his intellect.

But she hadn't expected Di Tian to rate Xia Yi so highly.

"In that case, Zi Ji will escort him out of the Star Dou Forest and directly to Eastsea City. I need to visit the Spirit Pagoda first. Once I arrive in Eastsea City, I'll seek out Teacher Wu and see if I can persuade him to let Xia Yi join Class Zero," Gu Yue said, gazing into the sky. The Star Dou Forest was now a massive prison. Even she needed the Spirit Pagoda's permission to leave freely.

As for Xia Yi, the only way he could leave was through the spatial powers of the fierce beasts.

"Yes!" Zi Ji nodded and left to prepare.

"Let's hope nothing goes wrong," Gu Yue muttered to herself. To be honest, she didn't have high hopes of Xia Yi joining Class Zero. His soul power was too low, and his martial soul was unimpressive. Knowing Wu Zhangkong, he would almost certainly reject Xia Yi.

Xia Yi didn't know what Gu Yue was planning or why Zi Ji was chosen to escort him. He simply followed her to the metal barrier at the edge of the Star Dou Forest.

Sensing his curiosity, Zi Ji smiled and explained, "Di Tian and Bi Ji need to stay and protect the Lord to prevent another incident like yours. The Myriad Demon King and the Red King also have their own duties. As for the Bear King, he's too impulsive and unsuitable for the human world, so the task fell to me."

"Di Tian is powerful, and Bi Ji's presence is just an extra precaution, right?" Xia Yi asked curiously.

"Exactly," Zi Ji replied. They were all deeply shaken by Xia Yi's earlier actions. They couldn't afford to leave Gu Yue unguarded again.

"Who are the Myriad Demon King and the Red King protecting?" Xia Yi inquired. From what he knew, both of them were stronger than Zi Ji.

In other words, Gu Yue had sent the weakest of the fierce beasts to protect him.

While Xia Yi didn't mind, his question made Zi Ji's thoughts wander.

"You're underestimating me, aren't you?" Zi Ji glared at Xia Yi.

"Of course not!" Xia Yi quickly denied it, though whether Zi Ji believed him was another matter.

"If you're extraordinary enough to enter Shrek Academy's inner court, you might meet her," Zi Ji replied cryptically, not revealing Na'er's identity. She then asked, "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready," Xia Yi said firmly. Though Zi Ji had been vague, he could infer that whoever needed the protection of two fierce beasts must hold a position comparable to Gu Yue's.

As Zi Ji prepared to teleport them, Xia Yi's thoughts raced, piecing together the clues. Could someone rivaling Gu Yue in status really exist?

Zi Ji didn't respond to Xia Yi's internal musings. Instead, she said, "Enough thinking. I'm about to begin."

She extended a delicate hand and pressed it against Xia Yi's shoulder. A dark purple energy erupted, enveloping them both. Soon, a dark purple vortex appeared at her chest.

"So this is the legendary soul core…" Xia Yi murmured, staring at the vortex. He could sense the overwhelming power contained within it.

There was no doubt in his mind that even the slightest leakage of this power could reduce him to dust.

"Yes, this is my soul core. Among us, my cultivation is the weakest, so I must rely on it to ensure your safety during teleportation," Zi Ji admitted. She continued, "Although it was the will of the Plane that forced you to take human form, now that you've shapeshifted, you've gained a human's cultivation speed. It won't be long before you can form your own soul core."

Zi Ji deliberately omitted the part about his martial soul's weaknesses. Xia Yi had just transformed, and discouraging him now might shatter his determination.

Xia Yi nodded, but before he could process her words fully, he felt an immense spatial pressure closing in from all directions. Protected by Zi Ji's soul core, he only felt slight discomfort in his chest, avoiding any real harm.

The process was swift. In a split second, the oppressive spatial pressure vanished entirely. When Xia Yi opened his eyes, he realized they were already outside the Star Dou Forest.

Zi Ji didn't immediately take Xia Yi to Eastsea City. Instead, she landed at a spot not far from the forest.

Together, they looked back at the colossal barrier that encased the Star Dou Forest like a massive cage.

It was midday, and the blazing sun shone directly overhead, casting a dazzling light.

For the first time, Xia Yi felt the pure warmth of sunlight on his skin. He closed his eyes, savoring the unfamiliar yet comforting sensation. It was something he had never experienced within the Star Dou Forest, and he couldn't help but immerse himself in it.

Zi Ji didn't interrupt. Watching Xia Yi's reaction made her eyes misty. If it weren't for their failure as guardians, countless young soul beasts like Xia Yi wouldn't have grown up without ever feeling the true warmth of sunlight.

Xia Yi was lucky. At least now, he had stepped out of the darkness and into the light. But within the Star Dou Forest, many soul beasts lived and died without ever experiencing this simple joy. They could only gaze at the sun through the translucent barrier overhead.