"Elder Xuan!"
The moment Elder Xuan appeared, those still conscious—Zhang Lexuan, Ma Xiaotao, Su Meng, Han Ruoruo, and Shen Xu—breathed a sigh of relief. The tension that had kept them standing collapsed all at once, and a wave of exhaustion crashed over them. Han Ruoruo and Shen Xu both fainted immediately. Su Meng gritted her teeth and began dragging the unconscious together.
Zhang Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao, though equally exhausted, managed to remain awake by sheer force of will.
"Children… this was my fault! I was too late!" Elder Xuan's face was filled with remorse. His eyes were red, his voice hoarse with guilt.
"Elder Xuan, Ziyang is missing!" Ma Xiaotao cried out anxiously, ignoring his apology.
Elder Xuan's expression instantly changed. He quickly realized—only ten of the thirteen students were accounted for.
"Elder Xuan, Ziyang was struck by the Ghostmoon Python Emperor's dying blow and thrown in that direction," Zhang Lexuan said, struggling to stand and pointing the way. "We're not in any immediate danger anymore—but Ziyang is alone, and his soul power is completely drained. Please, you must go find him!"
Elder Xuan's heart clenched.
Zhu Ziyang was Elder Mu En's personal disciple, the very future of Shrek Academy. Losing him due to his own negligence would be an unforgivable mistake.
Without wasting another second, Elder Xuan shot off in the direction Lexuan indicated.
He flew hundreds of meters, moving at top speed—but what he found made his blood run cold.
At the approximate impact site, he discovered only a deep crater—and nothing more. Not even a single trace of aura.
Zhu Ziyang had vanished.
Elder Xuan frantically searched the area, but found nothing. No signs, no tracks—not even residual energy.
He returned to the group dazed and shaken, not knowing how he would face Elder Mu En—or the other Pavilion elders.
Ma Xiaotao had fainted shortly after Elder Xuan left. Zhang Lexuan, barely propped up by a tree, saw him return alone.
Her heart sank like a stone.
"…Lexuan," Elder Xuan said with effort. "You should absorb that beast's soul ring and soul bone. It's yours—you earned it. It shouldn't go to waste. These fruits will help stabilize you. I'll protect you while you absorb it."
He handed her several glowing red fruits, fragrant and full of spirit energy.
"Elder Xuan… but what about Ziyang?" Zhang Lexuan's voice trembled. Her heart ached with guilt. She felt personally responsible for the disaster—and couldn't bear the thought of losing someone like Zhu Ziyang, a junior with such rare talent.
"I couldn't find him," Elder Xuan said heavily. "That's why you must absorb the ring now—restore your strength. Only then can I return to the Academy and gather the elders to mount a proper search."
"…Understood!"
Zhang Lexuan nodded. Time was critical.
Without hesitation, she took the fruits, sprinted toward the corpse of the Ghostmoon Python Emperor, and sat cross-legged before it.
Every step she took felt like her body was tearing apart—but she ignored the pain.
Before her hovered a blood-red soul ring, radiating the immense pressure of a 100,000-year beast.
She clenched her teeth, consumed the fruits in one bite, and began channeling her soul power to guide the ring toward her.
The absorption began.
Meanwhile, far from the battlefield...
Zhu Ziyang had been blasted away by the python's final tail strike. Thankfully, his Dark Dragon Shield Array had absorbed most of the force. Though his body remained intact, he had completely drained his soul power to maintain the defense.
Right as he was about to lose consciousness, Electrolux intervened.
—
When Zhu Ziyang awoke again, it was midday.
He found himself lying inside a hollow tree—one at least wide enough for ten people to embrace. The entrance to the hollow was twenty to thirty meters above the ground, but the space inside was vast enough to comfortably fit four or five adults.
"Teacher, where am I?" he murmured, pressing a hand to his forehead. His internal injuries weren't serious, but he felt the dull ache of damage to his organs.
"I'm not entirely sure," Electrolux's voice replied, weak but steady. "We didn't teleport far—under five kilometers. Judging by the direction, we're likely still in the Core Zone, just north of where the battle took place."
"Damn it… that far?" Zhu Ziyang cursed. "How the hell am I supposed to regroup with the others? That python should be dead, right? Did Senior Sister and the others make it?"
"Hard to say," Electrolux said grimly. "Even if the beast died, I doubt many of your teammates survived its final counterattack."
"Ugh… Elder Xuan, what the hell were you doing?"
Zhu Ziyang clenched his fists. His anger surged. Elder Xuan's sudden disappearance had nearly cost them everything—including several lives.
"…Anyway," he muttered, "I need to figure out how to get out of here."
"Not yet," Electrolux advised. "Rest first. Regain your strength. Once you've recovered, head for the Mixed Zone. That's the safest bet."
"Yeah. That makes sense."
Zhu Ziyang nodded. At his current level, he could easily escape beasts under ten thousand years, and even those between 10,000–20,000 years posed no fatal threat. But anything over that—and especially beasts common to the Core Zone—could kill him in seconds.
Only in the Mixed Zone would he truly be safe.
He closed his eyes and began to meditate, restoring his energy. He planned to set out once night fell, when most soul beasts were dormant and the forest grew quieter.
Time passed.
Day gave way to night.
Zhu Ziyang peeked out from the hollow, scanned the surroundings, and then leapt from the tree. He landed silently on the forest floor, oriented himself, and took off at top speed toward the border of the Core and Mixed Zones.
The Star Dou Forest at night was eerily quiet. The thick canopy overhead blocked out even starlight. There was only endless darkness and the wild, untamed scent of ancient beasts.
Zhu Ziyang didn't bother to conceal himself. He was less than 500 meters from the Mixed Zone. If he could reach it quickly, he'd be safe. He would never forget how deadly a mere 500 meters had been in the past.
This time, 500 meters passed in under thirty seconds.
The moment his feet touched the Mixed Zone, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. He slowed slightly, debating what to do next.
Should he return to Shrek Academy and report everything?
It was the rational choice.
But emotionally… he couldn't.
He couldn't bear to abandon his comrades—those who had fought beside him, who had risked their lives together.
He knew how battered they must be. After a life-or-death battle like that, they were likely barely alive. Even if Zhang Lexuan had managed to absorb the 100,000-year soul ring, she would still need months—if not years—to recover from the damage to her soul origin. The others were surely in even worse shape.
He made up his mind.
He would find them—and bring them home himself.
It was a difficult choice.
But once decided, he moved quickly. He circled the border between the Core and Mixed Zones, retracing the path to where they had fought the Ghostmoon Python. He reasoned that the survivors would flee toward the Mixed Zone, but they couldn't have moved fast—not with so many injured. If he searched within 100 meters of the border, he'd surely find signs.
However, just as he was scanning for tracks—
He ran into something unexpected.
Two soul beasts appeared from the shadows ahead.
Both were unicorns, their bodies pure white, manes golden. A single horn, three and a half inches long, glowed with radiant clarity at the center of their foreheads. They also had massive wings—white, with outer feathers tinged in gold. As they moved, glowing golden rings pulsed beneath their hooves, illuminating the darkness of the forest.
One was large, four meters long and two meters tall. The other was smaller—just under three meters in length and one and a half meters tall.
Starlight Unicorns.
Zhu Ziyang's face turned pale.
The smaller one was no threat—its cultivation was only around 1,000–2,000 years.
But the larger one… its aura was unmistakable.
Over 30,000 years.