Unless a god personally descended to the lower realm, virtually no one on Douluo Continent could survive a single move against the Silver Dragon Princess. Of course, she wouldn't intervene in outside affairs without reason.
Most of the time, she had to avoid the Divine Realm's gaze and maintain her safety.
In the original story, she only awakened when Beast God Di Tian's life was in grave danger.
If Huo Yuhao had insisted on killing Di Tian, he would have faced the awakened Silver Dragon King.
Di Tian alone could move the Silver Dragon King to take action.
Even when the Emperor Auspicious Beast, crucial to the soul beast race, was targeted and the Star Dou Great Forest's soul beast fortune was maliciously stolen, even such a major event didn't prompt the Silver Dragon King to show herself.
This could be because she was not a match for that god king, and didn't dare act rashly.
But all of this was just Lu Jingming's speculation based on his memories; reality might differ.
With the supremely powerful Jingliu protecting him, Lu Jingming was emboldened.
He did not hesitate to bypass the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest, heading straight for the more dangerous inner region.
As he entered, sunlight filtered through the dense canopy, dappling the ground below.
It was Lu Jingming's first time in the Star Dou Great Forest, and his eyes shone with curiosity and excitement.
Everything around him—the variety of strange trees, the occasional flicker of soul beasts—made him feel the unique charm of the forest.
Lu Jingming looked around in wonder. The towering trees blocked out the sky, the thick layer of fallen leaves made the ground soft, and from time to time, distant roars or strange cries of soul beasts wove together into a mysterious symphony.
Jingliu walked ahead at a steady pace, always alert for danger and keeping Lu Jingming safe.
Suddenly, a faint rustling came from the right-side bushes. Lu Jingming tensed, eyes fixed in that direction.
Jingliu remained calm, signaling for him to relax.
A small, adorable soul beast crept out from the bushes. Its body was covered in brilliantly colored fur, and its eyes were like two sparkling gems, curiously observing Lu Jingming and Jingliu.
Lu Jingming's eyes lit up. This little fellow was almost as cute as his pink-furred fox at home, but he didn't know much about soul beasts, and this one hadn't appeared in the original story—so he didn't recognize it. He looked to Jingliu.
Jingliu, aside from her sword practice and teaching, was also an avid reader, using books to deepen her knowledge of the world.
Any soul beast Lu Jingming didn't know, she definitely did. As expected, she quietly said to Lu Jingming, "That's an Illusion-Colored Spirit Fox. It has some ability to confuse or beguile, but judging by its size, it's not yet an adult. It's no threat to you."
The fox tilted its fluffy head, its round eyes studying Lu Jingming and Jingliu. After a while, sensing no hostility, it wagged its bushy tail and turned to leave.
Just then, a thunderous, angry roar exploded from far away—like rolling thunder in the forest. The little fox jumped in fright, its movements freezing, then darted in panic to hide behind Lu Jingming, body trembling.
Next, a huge tiger-shaped soul beast charged out like a black storm, its body surrounded by burning black flames.
Its blood-red eyes gleamed with murderous light, fixed on the little fox hiding behind Lu Jingming as if it would swallow her whole in the next instant.
Jingliu frowned slightly. "That's a Blackflame Demon Tiger, a thousand-year soul beast. Looks like it's been hunting this Illusion-Colored Spirit Fox."
Lu Jingming glanced back at the trembling fox behind him, then towards the menacing Blackflame Demon Tiger.
The Blackflame Demon Tiger had both fire and darkness attributes. As a thousand-year soul beast, it barely matched his requirements for his martial soul's soul ring.
He had planned to get a soul ring for Black Abyss first, whose abilities leaned toward death and destruction, so the darkness attribute was a reasonable match.
As for whether he could absorb a thousand-year soul ring, Lu Jingming wasn't worried. Since childhood, he'd trained hard with Jingliu and practiced the top-tier meditation technique she created.
Years of training had made his body far stronger than normal, and with plenty of precious medicinal resources, his constitution was excellent.
Moreover, he'd awakened twin martial souls, Black Abyss and White Flower, which made him even tougher.
For him, absorbing a thousand-year ring was well within his capability—plus, the creative power of White Flower made him unafraid of injury.
However, after a moment's thought, Lu Jingming shook his head. For his first soul ring, he wanted the most compatible soul beast possible.
The Blackflame Demon Tiger was strong, but not top-tier among soul beasts. He doubted its soul skill would satisfy him.
He was about to ask Jingliu to drive the tiger away when a sharp cry suddenly pierced the air.
It sounded like a volcanic eruption and the screech of tearing metal, instantly shattering the tense atmosphere.
Amazingly, the fierce Blackflame Demon Tiger began to tremble uncontrollably at the sound, terror in its eyes.
It immediately gave up the hunt and fled desperately, as if pursued by some monstrous beast.
Even the Illusion-Colored Spirit Fox behind Lu Jingming was terrified, legs going limp and collapsing in fear.
Jingliu's lips curved in a meaningful smile. "Looks like you're in luck."