Chapter 339: Liu Erlong: Lin Qingmo, You Really Are a Troublemaker

Liu Erlong remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

"Fine, I won’t stop you."

She leaned against an ancient tree with her arms crossed, her voice low and deep.

"I won’t say much else; you know what you’re doing. The 10,000-year Spirit Beasts deep within Star Dou—any one of them you stumble upon will be a hard-fought battle."

Lin Qingmo tightened his cuffs and didn’t look back.

"I understand."

"Come back as soon as you’re done," Liu Erlong paused. "We’ll wait for you here."

"If things go smoothly, it won’t take long."

His voice was still floating through the woods, but he had already stepped into the deep, dark shadows of the trees.

Fallen leaves reached his ankles like a thick carpet, swallowing his footsteps completely.

Within a few breaths, the figure in the ink-colored martial attire was swallowed by the giant trees.

"A-Qing?"

Dugu Yan was the first to react, flipping down from the branch where she had been keeping watch.

"Why is he heading deeper in?"

Zhu Zhuqing said nothing.

She merely frowned slightly, her gaze passing over the embers of the campfire to settle on Liu Erlong.

There was no interrogation in those cool eyes, yet they carried more weight than any verbal questioning.

Liu Erlong shrugged and said, "Qingmo has his own business to attend to; he’s leaving the team for a while."

Yu Feng strode directly over, the soles of her boots making the gravel crackle and pop.

"Teacher Erlong!"

Her voice rose: "What kind of place is the Star Dou Great Forest? Any Spirit Beast that pops up here is enough to give us a run for our money, and you’re letting him go alone?"

"What if he runs into a 10,000-year Spirit Beast? What if... what if he runs into a 100,000 years one?"

She finished her roar like a rapid-fire cannon.

Without waiting for Liu Erlong’s reply, she kicked off the ground, about to chase in the direction Lin Qingmo had vanished.

"Yu Feng! Stop!"

Dugu Yan’s voice cracked through the air like a whip.

Yu Feng’s footsteps were nailed to the spot.

"But Yanzi—"

"Don’t you know what kind of person A-Qing is?"

Dugu Yan crossed her arms, her chin slightly raised.

"If he says there’s no problem, then there’s no problem. When have you ever seen him bite off more than he can chew?"

Yu Feng opened her mouth, a few vague "buts" rolling in her throat, but she ultimately failed to say anything coherent.

"But the Star Dou Great Forest is different, after all."

Ye Lingling’s voice was soft and gentle, like stream water flowing over cracks in stone.

She stood to the side with her hands lowered, fingers interlaced in front of her stomach.

"A-Qing’s strength is indeed very great; even all of us combined are no match for him. But the Spirit Beasts lurking in this forest cannot be measured by common logic."

"Lingling, you think it’s wrong too, right?"

Yu Feng acted as if she had found a lifeline. "Even Lingling—"

"However."

Ye Lingling interrupted her, her tone still as soft as cotton.

"When has A-Qing ever made the slightest mistake in his actions?"

"This..."

Yu Feng froze.

Thinking carefully, and not even looking that far back.

Just since the first day they stepped into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Every campsite Lin Qingmo chose, every route he set, and every Soul Hunt target he locked onto had been precise to a terrifying degree.

He could even say in advance what Spirit Beasts would appear ahead, what their habits were, and where their weaknesses lay.

It was as if this perilous land, which even a Titled Douluo would treat with caution, was merely his backyard that he could stroll through with his eyes closed.

"But... but what if?"

Yu Feng’s voice softened, yet it still carried a hint of stubbornness.

Crunch—

The crisp sound of a carrot being bitten in half broke the tense atmosphere.

Xiao Wu appeared from somewhere, her cheeks bulging as she chewed, speaking indistinctly: "Stop with the ’what ifs.’ A-Qing is safer than all of us tied together."

She swallowed hard before clarifying: "If a 10,000-year Spirit Beast really comes out for a stroll, it’s not certain who will be chasing whom."

Zhu Zhuqing withdrew her gaze and refocused her attention on Ning Rongrong, who was currently absorbing a spirit ring.

She said only three words: "I trust A-Qing."

Those simple words were more effective than any argument once they were spoken.

Yu Feng’s clenched fists finally relaxed.

Dugu Yan noticed that from beginning to end, Zhu Zhuqing hadn’t even furrowed her brow much.

Liu Erlong sighed in her heart.

These girls really do think highly of Lin Qingmo. A-Qing, you really are a troublemaker.

She clapped her hands, the crisp sound pulling everyone’s attention back.

"Alright, stop overthinking things."

She tilted her chin toward Ning Rongrong.

"Instead of worrying about him, you’d better guard Rongrong. The spirit ring absorption is at a critical stage; there can be no mistakes."

The girls immediately turned to look.

That purple spirit ring had already shrunk to a thin circle and was merging into Ning Rongrong’s body bit by bit.

The girl’s originally furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and her breathing became long and steady.

This was the sign that the Fusion of the spirit ring was nearly complete, and it was also the most vulnerable moment.

Everyone’s hearts rose into their throats, and the previous dispute was temporarily set aside.

...

A short while ago, in another part of the same forest.

Two figures were moving rapidly among the gnarled roots and vines.

The person in front was burly, his old grey cloak torn into countless frayed edges by the branches.

His hood was pulled very low, revealing only a jaw covered in dark stubble.

With every step he took, a heavy indentation was left in the humus soil.

The boy following behind was not yet fully grown. The pack on his back bounced with the rhythm of his run. His breathing was already somewhat labored, but he gritted his teeth and didn’t make a sound.

They were the father and son, Tang Hao and Tang San.

Tang Hao suddenly stopped under an ancient tree that would take ten men to encircle and pressed his hand down to signal a stop.

Tang San braked immediately and crouched down, the entire movement fluid and seamless; the tacit understanding between the two was not the work of a single day.

Tang Hao knelt on one knee, his rough palm pressing against the gnarled roots as he closed his eyes to sense for a moment.

"There’s a 10,000-year Spirit Beast nesting ahead. We’re taking a detour."

His voice was like grinding gravel, low and raspy.

Tang San nodded and silently followed his father as they slipped into a thicket of thorns.

The thorns tore his sleeve, but he didn’t even flinch.

Since stepping into the Star Dou Great Forest, the father and son had been trekking for an entire day.

In the past, Tang Hao would certainly not have been so cautious.

The name Clear Sky Douluo was like a thunderclap hitting the ground in the Spirit Master’s world.

In his prime, he could walk through this forest as he pleased; what blind beast would dare bare its teeth at him?

But today was different.

Level seventy-five, plagued by internal injuries, his peerless cultivation was sixty percent gone.

Level seventy-five was still a high-and-mighty Spirit Saint on the outside.

But in the heart of the Star Dou Great Forest, a 50,000-year Spirit Beast was enough to give him a headache.

If they ran into a 100,000 years one, there would be only one thing to do—flee.

So Tang Hao walked with extreme caution along the way, not hesitating to take long detours to avoid facing anything over 10,000 years head-on.

Tang San followed closely, while also using his own methods to observe his surroundings.

The knowledge of Spirit Beasts passed down to him by Grandmaster flashed through his mind.

But no matter how detailed the records in books were, they couldn’t depict the true pressure of being there in person.

Towering giant trees formed a canopy that covered everything tightly, with sunlight barely filtering through as sparse fragments of gold.

The scent of soil and decaying leaves mixed together, so thick it felt like it would drown a person.

Occasionally, a beast’s roar would erupt in the distance, bouncing back and forth among the layers of trees, making it impossible to tell where it came from.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t afraid.

Tang San gritted his teeth and quickened his pace to keep up with his father’s back.’

(End of Chapter)

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