Sunset Forest.
Located in the northern region of the Heaven Dou Empire, near the imperial capital, Heaven Dou City.
Though not as renowned as Star Dou Great Forest, it was still one of the more famous soul beast habitats within the empire.
Deep in the heart of Sunset Forest lay a hidden paradise of unimaginable value — the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.
Yet, no one in this world had ever heard of such a place. There were no records in any ancient texts or archives.
Ironically, it was the Tang Sect of the other world that held detailed information about it. According to the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was one of the three great treasure grounds of the world.
No wonder. After all, a single Mysterious Heaven Skill from that record was already forty thousand years ahead of the Douluo Continent — an absolute dimensional advantage.
Outer Edges of Sunset Forest
Two figures — one old, one young — walked between the trees. It was none other than Lin Rong and Steward Yu Yuan.
After Lin Rong had awakened his martial spirit, the steward finished handling affairs at the ducal estate, then personally accompanied the young master here to hunt soul beasts and obtain his first soul ring.
Lin Rong had already set a clear goal for this hunt: Thousand-Leaf Banyan.
The Nine-Curve Vine Dragon was a fusion and mutation of two martial spirits: Dragonvine Soul and Thousand-Leaf Banyan. Therefore, soul beasts related to either were highly compatible with it.
However, Dragonvine Soul was itself a mutation of the Skyblue Vine and dragon-type spirits, and as such, no actual Dragonvine Soul soul beast existed in the wild.
That left Thousand-Leaf Banyan as the most suitable choice.
"Three hundred seventy-two years... still too low."
Standing before a Thousand-Leaf Banyan beast, Lin Rong shook his head after sensing its exact age.
Ever since awakening the Nine-Curve Vine Dragon, his martial spirit had granted him a special ability: Life Sense, allowing him to gauge the vitality of lifeforms within a certain range and accurately estimate their cultivation levels.
"Grandpa Yu, let's move on."
The old steward nodded and led Lin Rong away to continue the search.
Though plant-type soul beasts like Thousand-Leaf Banyan lacked the high intelligence of animal-type beasts, they possessed superior sensory awareness. This one had long detected that the old man beside the boy was not to be trifled with.
So when Lin Rong had approached earlier, it didn't dare move a muscle. Only after the two left did it finally rustle its leaves, relieved to have escaped death.
Two days passed in a flash.
In that time, they had found a total of seven century-old Thousand-Leaf Banyans, with the weakest being 277 years old and the strongest reaching 407 years.
For a first soul ring, 407 years was already quite impressive — after all, the widely recognized limit for first rings was 423 years.
But Lin Rong wasn't satisfied.
After all, he had been cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Sutra since before birth, and had undergone repeated precious medicinal baths. His physical resilience far surpassed that of ordinary soul masters.
Plus, with Life Sense, he could accurately assess the strength and properties of a soul ring and compare it to his state, ensuring he could determine whether or not he could absorb it safely.
In other words, the common risk of "body explosion from absorbing an overaged soul ring" did not apply to him.
A first soul ring was extremely critical. Lin Rong was determined to pursue perfection — the age of his first ring needed to push right up against his limits.
That Night – A Starry Sky Over Sunset Forest
Beside a campfire, inside a small tent...
Lin Rong sat cross-legged, cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Sutra. The old steward remained outside, keeping watch by the fire.
Under normal circumstances, lighting fires at night in soul beast forests was a strict no-no — the flames would attract nocturnal predators.
But this was not an ordinary case.
Yu Yuan was a Soul Douluo, and they were still in the outer regions of Sunset Forest. Even though they were near the inner perimeter, it was technically still the outskirts.
Even at night, the most powerful soul beasts in his area rarely exceeded 5,000 years in cultivation. Such beasts posed no threat to a Soul Douluo.
A Li Away from Camp (roughly 500 meters)
"Huo Wu! Huo Wu! Wait for me!"
"Feng Xiaotian, can you stop following me around all day?! You're driving me crazy!"
A boy and a girl were quarreling under the trees in the dark.
The girl's voice was crisp and clear — easily heard in the quiet night.
"This trip to Sunset Forest is for one of my senior classmates from Blazing Fire Academy. He just reached level 30 and came here to obtain a soul ring. I'm only tagging along for the experience. It has nothing to do with your Godwind Academy! Why are you following me!?"
"I... I just..."
Feng Xiaotian stammered, unable to form a coherent response. His face flushed red with embarrassment. After a long pause, he muttered:
"I was just... worried about you, that's all."
He quickly added:
"Huo Wu, this is a soul beast forest — it's too dangerous for you to wander around alone at night. Let's just go back!"
"You think I wanted to come out here?!"
Huo Wu placed her hands on her hips, visibly annoyed.
"It's because you've been clinging to me like a plaster all day. I only snuck out to get a little peace!"
"Besides, I'm not stupid. I only walked around the camp perimeter. There's nothing dangerous here."
"But—"
Feng Xiaotian wanted to explain that in chasing after her, they'd already strayed far from camp.
"But? But what?"
Huo Wu interrupted impatiently.
"Didn't you say you're here to protect me? Then what am I afraid of? Or are you the scared one?"
"W-what? Of course not!"
Feng Xiaotian's nerves vanished. His confidence surged.
"Don't worry, Huo Wu! I'll definitely protect you and bring us back to—"
"Watch out!"
Suddenly, Feng Xiaotian sensed a change in the wind. Acting purely on instinct, he activated his martial spirit: Twin-Headed Gale Wolf.
Third Soul Skill: Twin Wings of the Gale!
Before Huo Wu could even scream, he had scooped her up and launched them both into the air.
Beneath them, the ground collapsed — a ring of black spikes shot upward, forming a deadly spiderweb cage.
"That's... Spiderweb Cage?! A Cave Demon Spider!"
Feng Xiaotian's heart raced.
If not for his wind sensitivity, speed, and reflexes, they would both be dead — skewered by the black spikes, right where they stood.
From underground, a Cave Demon Spider emerged. Its eight eyes blinked rapidly, revealing a hint of confusion.
Its Spiderweb Cage had always been untraceable and silent. Yet somehow, these two prey detected it and dodged in time.
Earlier in the day, it had encountered two other prey — one of whom radiated an overwhelming aura. It let them go.
But now? These two would not escape.
Without hesitation, it fired a stream of webbing toward the airborne teens.
All of this happened in half a second.
Feng Xiaotian, on high alert, pushed his abilities to the limit, narrowly dodging with Huo Wu in his arms.
During the escape, he spotted flickering firelight in the distance — about A Li way.
Without thinking, he flew in that direction.
The Cave Demon Spider followed relentlessly, chasing behind them like a shadow.
Back at Camp
Lin Rong was still meditating and cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Sutra.
Suddenly, within his Life Sense radius, three auras surged rapidly toward their location.
All three displayed abnormal fluctuations.
And one of them was very familiar.
"That's the Cave Demon Spider from earlier today — 3,221 years old."
"The other two are humans. Young. Very young."
Their elemental attributes are wind and fire. Their soul power levels are modest — one just over level 30, the other in the 20s. I'll need them closer to determine exact levels."
"Still... how bold. This is a soul beast forest. Even if it's the outskirts, it's not a playground for just anyone."
He sighed.
"Well, they're humans too. Let's say this Duke is doing a good deed for the day."
Lin Rong ended his cultivation and turned to the steward.
"Grandpa Yu, southeast of camp, about 400 meters out — two young soul masters are being chased by the Cave Demon Spider we saw earlier. Please go and save them."
Author's Timeline Notes:
In the original story, Tang San competed in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament at age 14 and a half.
Feng Xiaotian was 24 at the time — 10 years older than Tang San, with soul power level 44.
Huo Wu was 19 — 5 years older, also level 44.
Right now, Tang San is 6 and a half, so:
Feng Xiaotian is 16
Huo Wu is 11