Once everyone had finished their introductions, Elder Xuan finally spoke.
"As usual, I'm only here as a formality. The actual command and coordination will be handled by Lexuan and Ruoruo."
After Elder Xuan finished, Zhang Lexuan stepped forward and continued.
"Now that everyone's introduced themselves, I'll go over the rules for this operation. First and foremost — absolute obedience to orders! For your safety and for the good of the entire team, no one is to act on their own under any circumstances. Our destination is the mixed region of the Star Dou Forest — possibly even the core region. I trust I don't need to explain what kinds of soul beasts live there?"
Everyone nodded instinctively in agreement.
"Very well. Now I'll arrange the formation we'll use after entering the forest," Zhang Lexuan said. "As team leader and the strongest among us, I'll take point and clear the path. Cheng Hui, you'll handle reconnaissance."
"Understood, Senior Sister!" replied a man who looked around twenty-five or twenty-six. Though older, he respectfully addressed Zhang Lexuan as 'Senior Sister.' He was the only agility-type soul master in the group, with a martial soul — the Azurecloud Roc, a bird-type soul beast known for its incredible speed. His soul power was Rank 70.
"Zhu Lie, Long Yu, Luo Wei, Wu Ming — you four will cover both flanks."
"Yes!" the four of them responded in unison.
Zhu Lie was a burly male student, an assault-type soul master with the martial soul of the One-Horned Mountain-Splitting Boar. His soul power was Rank 60. The boar was a strength-based martial soul, massive in size and incredibly durable — a rare fusion of high offense and high defense.
Long Yu had a bright and cheerful demeanor. Also an assault-type, his martial soul was the Golden Earth Dragon, a light-attribute sub-dragon known for being one of the strongest among dragon kin. His soul power was Rank 60.
Luo Wei, on the other hand, was a sweet-looking young woman. Her martial soul was the Celestial Feather Bow, a top-tier inherited tool-type martial soul known for its deadly long-range attacks and harassment potential. Her soul power stood at Rank 50.
"Zhu Ziyang, Su Meng, Wanwan — the three of you will stay in the center."
"Yes, Senior Sister," Su Meng and Wanwan replied promptly. Zhu Ziyang, however, felt a bit helpless about the arrangement.
Su Meng was a petite girl whose martial soul was the Rainbow Dandelion — a mutated plant martial soul that specialized in support and control. She was classified as an auxiliary control-type soul master with Rank 50 soul power.
Wanwan, by contrast, had a somewhat delicate and feminine aura. His martial soul was the Jade Scale Snake, also aligned with control, and his soul power was Rank 60.
Being assigned to the center left Zhu Ziyang a little annoyed, but he couldn't argue. After all, he did have the lowest soul power of the team.
"Ma Xiaotao, Shen Xu — you two will protect the center group."
"Understood, Senior Sister," Ma Xiaotao and Shen Xu responded in unison.
Shen Xu was another Rank 70 soul master. His martial soul was the Supreme Void Sword, a top-tier tool-type martial soul. Like Zhu Ziyang, he was an assault-type.
"Ruoruo, you'll bring up the rear and serve as the main controller. Zhang Weiwei, you'll support her."
"Got it." Han Ruoruo and Zhang Weiwei both nodded.
Zhang Weiwei had a cool and elegant presence. Her martial soul was highly unique — the Demonic Eyed Demon Tree, a rare plant-type martial soul identical to the main body of one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts — the Myriad Demon King, ranked fifth. Zhang Weiwei was the first human ever recorded to awaken this martial soul. She cultivated along the spiritual route, focusing on mental control. Her soul power was Rank 70.
With the formation established, Zhang Lexuan addressed the final matter.
"Lastly, about resource allocation — if we encounter suitable soul beasts, everyone will assist. Whoever it's most compatible with will land the kill. If we discover a soul bone, it will first be offered to the soul ring candidate. If they don't need it, it will be submitted to the academy for redistribution. We are all inner courtyard students — I expect no disputes over soul rings or soul bones. Understood?"
"Understood!" the group responded in unison.
"In that case, let's move out!" Zhang Lexuan declared.
As expected of Shrek Academy's inner courtyard students, they moved efficiently. Once outside Shrek City, they immediately arranged themselves into formation and activated their movement techniques, heading straight toward the Star Dou Forest.
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The Star Dou Forest — the most famous soul beast habitat on the entire Douluo Continent.
Together with the Extreme North and Mingdou Mountains, it formed the three great soul beast domains. It was also widely known as the "Graveyard of Soul Masters." Every year, thousands of soul masters perished within its bounds. Even Title Douluo wouldn't dare to act recklessly here.
Due to its vast size and the diversity of soul beasts it housed, the Star Dou Forest was divided by soul masters into five regions.
The outermost Edge Zone was home to mostly ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts.
Deeper within was the Outer Ring Zone, dominated by hundred-year soul beasts.
Next came the Mixed Zone, populated by thousand-year beasts, with the occasional ten-thousand-year or weaker beast.
Further still was the Core Zone, considered forbidden territory for soul masters. The weakest soul beasts here were at the ten-thousand-year level, and some even exceeded that. Even Title Douluo didn't venture there lightly.
At the very heart of the Core Zone was the Feral Domain — a land so deadly that only soul beasts with over 200,000 years of cultivation could enter. No human had ever set foot there. It was the domain of the Beast God, Di Tian. Beneath him served at least five other powerful ferocious beasts.
Shrek City wasn't far from the Star Dou Forest. After traveling at a steady pace for less than an hour, the team arrived at a warning sign along the roadside: Caution — Proceed With Extreme Care.
"Everyone take a break here. Eat, rest, and recover. We'll enter the forest in half an hour," Zhang Lexuan instructed.
The group settled down by the roadside.
The burly Zhu Lie grinned as he pulled out a multi-tiered lunchbox. "Alright, everyone, try some buns I made myself!"
He first walked toward Zhang Lexuan and opened the box to offer her some.
"You brat! You bring good food and don't think of me?" a voice grumbled before she could react. A figure appeared beside Zhu Lie and snatched a whole layer of buns before disappearing in a blur — leaving Zhu Lie stunned.
Everyone knew who it was. Zhang Lexuan shook her head with a helpless smile as she accepted the remaining buns.
"Thanks, Zhu Lie. His cooking is better than the academy's cafeteria chefs — everyone, dig in!"
"Heh, that's for sure. When it comes to food, no one in the inner courtyard beats me!" Zhu Lie laughed proudly.
Up in a nearby tree, Elder Xuan eyed the bun in his hand and decided not to hold a grudge.
No one stood on ceremony. They gathered around to enjoy the buns. Zhu Ziyang tried a few and found them surprisingly delicious. He started seeing this rough-looking senior in a new light.
"Hey Zhu, your cooking's great! You gonna treat us to a proper meal when we get back?" Long Yu teased.
"I second that!" Su Meng clapped joyfully. "I've never had buns this good before! If your buns taste this amazing, your cooking must be incredible!"
"You little foodie!" Wu Ming chuckled, tapping Su Meng's head playfully.
"Haha, alright then! When we get back to the academy, I'll cook a feast myself — we'll make it a celebration for everyone's breakthroughs!" Zhu Lie said heartily.
That meal brought the team closer together.
With their stomachs full and their states adjusted, the group quickly returned to formation and entered the Star Dou Forest. Under Zhang Lexuan's lead, they advanced rapidly toward the interior.
Zhang Lexuan had no intention of cautiously scouting the path. Her body radiated a soft white light, and wherever she passed, not even a blade of grass remained.
Her aura was overwhelming — low-ranked soul beasts wouldn't dare get near her. The path forward was surprisingly smooth.
It made sense. After all, the beasts in the outer zones were only a few hundred or a few thousand years old. How could they possibly approach someone with the presence of a seventy-thousand-year-level Soul Douluo?
Since everyone required ten-thousand-year soul rings, Zhang Lexuan didn't linger in the outer rings and led the team directly into the Mixed Zone of the Star Dou Forest.
(End of Chapter)
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