Ye Nanxi was stunned. As a fellow Soul Martial Artist, she naturally sensed that something about Rong Taotao had changed. She couldn’t help but ask in disbelief, "Don’t tell me your Ice Flower Soul Skill just leveled up!"

Rong Taotao chuckled sheepishly. "Hehe."

Ye Nanxi: "I..."

Rong Taotao: "I’m a genius, you know. I started with a Six Soul Slots aptitude. Not like you, who only got Six Soul Slots after becoming a Soul Captain."

Fuming, Ye Nanxi retorted, "I started with Five Soul Slots!"

Rong Taotao: "Keep an eye on what’s below!"

"Grrr..."

The dangerous sound of a predator hunting reached them. Rong Taotao and Ye Nanxi both froze, whipping their heads around to look down.

They saw the two Star Ape Wolves, covered in wounds and dripping blood, crouching directly beneath them. They looked like two buddies, seemingly discussing who would eat the man and who would eat the woman...

’This is awkward!’

’Weren’t they just fighting to the death a moment ago, a battle raging so fiercely it seemed one of them was about to die? Can a life-and-death struggle just stop on a whim?’

’So these two Star Ape Wolves weren’t putting on a show for each other, but for me?’

A beast’s hunting growl is sometimes involuntary. Even a cunning Star Ape Wolf couldn’t suppress it.

Realizing they had been discovered, the Star Ape Wolves leaped up, scrambling toward them.

The Star Ape Wolf—and it truly was part ’Ape’.

The creature had a bizarre anatomy: the head of a wolf and the body of an ape!

And it also had a Qilin Arm...

That’s right. It walked upright. Its feet and left arm were wolf-like paws, but its right arm was an ape’s arm as thick as its torso.

Even when the creature stood straight, its right arm, hanging naturally, could touch the ground. Its left arm, however, was thin and short, only reaching its waist.

The Soul Skill, Star Shield Charge, was executed using this massive ape arm.

"CRACK!" "CRACK!"

The two Star Ape Wolves viciously dug their massive right arms into the cliff wall, scrambling upward with incredible speed using just that one arm, covering five or six meters in a single leap.

Rong Taotao’s heart leaped in alarm. "Hold on tight!"

As he spoke, he planted his feet on the wall and, to her shock, leaped. From a height of thirty or forty meters above the canyon floor, he jumped straight down!

But the frantically climbing Star Ape Wolves weren’t stupid. The pair didn’t get carried away and jump after them. Instead, they loosened their grip and began sliding rapidly down the cliff face.

"Ah!" Ye Nanxi felt the world spin. Her body flipped a full circle in mid-air, and she found herself facing the canyon floor as they plummeted.

In this position, if someone had to be the meat cushion, it would be Rong Taotao.

Ye Nanxi’s face paled in horror. "Taotao!?"

As the rapidly falling Rong Taotao was about to hit the ground, he thrust his hands downward and unleashed two Snow Burst Balls!

"BANG!" "BANG!"

Carrying Ye Nanxi on his back, he not only arrested their descent but was even propelled half a meter back up into the air.

Rong Taotao landed steadily, a layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Ye Nanxi, however, seemed to have just processed what happened. She exclaimed excitedly, "You’re so wild!"

Rong Taotao: ???

Ye Nanxi stepped in front of Rong Taotao, watching the savagely charging Star Ape Wolves. "That was so thrilling! Haha, next time, let’s just jump from the start!"

Rong Taotao: "..."

Soul Power surged in Ye Nanxi’s hands. She thrust them forward, launching two columnar streams of Star Wave Stream. "Here they come!"

"HISS!"

The columnar Star Wave Stream sprayed against the sturdy arms of the Star Ape Wolves, which were protected by a Starlight Shield, and scattered like sparks hitting a wall.

The Star Ape Wolves were indeed skilled at using their advantage. They turned sideways, hiding their entire bodies behind their huge "Qilin Arms" as they charged the pair.

Rong Taotao: "My god, if you hadn’t dropped that Soul Pearl before our fight, you would have completely destroyed me! It can even block Star Wave Stream?"

"It’s different. A human arm isn’t that thick, so the defensive area is very small." Ye Nanxi’s expression turned serious as she backed away repeatedly. "Get back! I’m going to set off a blast! Otherwise, we can’t stop their charge. They’re too agile to dodge!"

"Are you sure?"

"Just because they won’t get hurt doesn’t mean they won’t be stopped!" Ye Nanxi’s almond eyes widened. She raised her foot and, watching the two charging Star Ape Wolves, stomped her right foot hard on the ground!

BANG!!!

Blades of grass flew, shockwaves rolled out, and shattered starlight scattered everywhere.

The two charging Star Ape Wolves were brought to a dead stop. Although they weren’t sent flying by the blast, they staggered back three steps with a "THUD, THUD, THUD!"

In the surging shockwave, Ye Nanxi’s short hair was whipped into a mess, revealing a pair of fiercely aggressive eyes. Her legs tensed, and she shot forward.

"SWOOSH~"

And just above her head, a dark gold Meow Meow Hammer streaked past!

With a dull "THUD," the hammer accurately smashed into the face of one of the Star Ape Wolves!

’What kind of god-tier teammate is this?’

’Flashy, stylish, and a great fighter. This is way too easy for me!’

"Die!" Ye Nanxi shouted. Seeing the dazed Star Ape Wolf, she grabbed its massive ape arm, yanked it toward her, and unleashed a torrent of Star Wave Stream from her left hand!

Aside from its massive ape arm, the rest of the Star Ape Wolf’s body had the defenses of a normal creature.

The Star Wave Stream blasting from Ye Nanxi’s hand pierced the Star Ape Wolf’s heart and burst out of its back, tearing open a massive, bloody hole.

The other Star Ape Wolf, which had stumbled back but wasn’t hit by the hammer, had not been stunned. After steadying itself, it instinctively wanted to fight on, but then it witnessed this terrifying scene.

’It’s already... dead?’

"Hssss..." With a cry of fear, the Star Ape Wolf turned and fled, leaving Rong Taotao staring blankly.

But Ye Nanxi also took off in a sprint, long legs flying. In one hand, she held a blood-soaked Star Ape Wolf Soul Pearl, which she viciously pressed against her shoulder. "That Soul Pearl is yours! Wait here, I’ll go get it back for you!"

"THUD!"

A dull thud rang out!

The forward momentum of both the Star Ape Wolf and Ye Nanxi came to a sudden halt. Even Rong Taotao, who was far from the battle, felt his footing become unsteady. His body swayed, and he could barely stand.

’An earthquake?’

No, the ground wasn’t shaking at all, but for the creatures present, the effect was indeed that of an earthquake.

Although the ground didn’t move, turbulent currents of Soul Power swirled at Rong Taotao’s feet, causing him to stagger and threaten to topple over at any moment.

Ye Nanxi dropped into a somewhat clumsy imitation of a football lineman’s stance—crouching, leaning forward, one hand on the ground, and eyes fixed ahead.

In the distance, she saw two stone heads, each the size of a human head, stacked on top of each other. Bizarre human faces were carved on them, and they were hopping their way toward them.

"Human-Faced Strange Rocks!" Ye Nanxi’s beautiful eyes lit up as she shouted, "An elite to master-grade Soul Skill—Chaotic Star Shock! What do you say?"

"What do you mean, ’what do I say’?" Rong Taotao yelled back.

"Their Movement Speed is slow, so they rely on their Soul Skills to hunt! And they have a target now—that wolf is a natural sitting duck!" Ye Nanxi shouted.

"THUD!" "THUD!"

A series of thuds rang out as the two stone heads began to frantically pummel the staggering Star Ape Wolf. Blood splattered everywhere, and the continuous crack of breaking bones could be heard.

"Eh, whatever!" Ye Nanxi plopped down into a W-sit, letting her body sway from side to side. She spread her hands and began to embrace the sun...

The next moment, a giant meteor fell from the sky, aimed at the distant battlefield, and crashed down with a deafening roar!

Elite-grade: Lone Star Fall!

It was only because the Human-Faced Strange Rocks’ Movement Speed was slow; if the Star Ape Wolf hadn’t been immobilized, it would have been impossible to hit it with such an attack.

Ye Nanxi frantically summoned Lone Star Fall after Lone Star Fall, subjecting the battlefield to a relentless bombardment!

After a good while, the turbulent Soul Power at Rong Taotao’s feet finally dissipated. He walked over to Ye Nanxi, who was still "praying," and couldn’t help but pat her on the head. "That should be enough. They ought to be smithereens by now."

"Hee hee." Ye Nanxi giggled, in a great mood. She hurried forward and picked up the Star Ape Wolf’s Soul Pearl, as well as two Soul Pearls from the Human-Faced Strange Rocks.

Not far behind them, Rong Yuanshan stood with his hands behind his back, shaking his head with a smile. "The wilderness is still dangerous. If Nanxi had been the one to charge ahead, the two of us probably would have had to intervene."

"Mm," Nan Cheng said, nodding with a smile. "They were really lucky... Hm?"

Nan Cheng let out a quizzical hum, for she had just heard her daughter’s words.

Ye Nanxi turned around, a slight smile on her face, and handed two Soul Pearls to Rong Taotao. "Here. In the future, when you use Star Shield Charge and Chaotic Star Shock, you’d better remember that I’m the one who got these for you!"

Rong Taotao pursed his lips. "Yeah, alright. But I’m a little forgetful."

It was the tenth day since they had met.

Whether Ye Nanxi’s personality had changed or not, her actions seemed to show that she... already considered him a friend.

Cooperation, consideration, and sharing.

Rong Taotao didn’t know when he would be willing to trust her with his back. But perhaps... that day wasn’t too far off.