"Young Master, the Ming Dou Great Forest, like the Ming Dou Mountain Range, spans both the Sun Moon and Star Luo Empires. It's a Soul Beast forest about half the size of the Star Dou Great Forest, occupying one-third of the Star Luo Empire's border.
It's known for its mutated Soul Beasts. Although the overall strength of its Soul Beasts isn't as high as the Star Dou Great Forest, it's still extremely dangerous.
The fact that those Evil Soul Masters can commit acts of rape, pillage, murder, and arson on the outskirts of the Ming Dou Great Forest is enough to show their formidable strength."
On the Soul Guided boat, Yue Lao was still at the helm, while Soul Sage Zhi Sen took on the role of guardian, explaining the situation to Xu Tianxi and emphasizing the great dangers of their current mission.
"Although Evil Soul Masters are like rats from the shadows, they are always known for their evil and difficult-to-deal-with methods. They can often achieve cross-border combat, and may possess some unexpected tricks."
"Furthermore, when fighting on the outskirts of the Ming Dou Great Forest, we must also consider the threat of the mutated Soul Beasts within the forest. Few of those creatures are benevolent; their aggressiveness is stronger than ordinary Soul Beasts, so we absolutely mustn't get entangled with them…"
Hearing this, Xu Tianxi's eyes flickered as he pondered,
"According to what you've said, senior, this Ming Dou Great Forest is quite a treasure trove. In the Original Three Kingdoms, besides the Star Dou Great Forest, there shouldn't be any other Soul Beast gathering place that can truly surpass it, right?"
Mutated Soul Beasts are great! He loves mutated Soul Beasts the most. What's the point of everything being in its original form? New abilities from mutations are what's truly interesting, like top-tier Silver Dragon Soul Beasts.
Zhi Sen hadn't expected the Young Master's focus to be so peculiar, as if he completely disregarded the infamous Evil Soul Masters.
But since Xu Tianxi asked, he naturally had to answer, calmly introducing the situation of the Ming Dou Great Forest:
"Precisely. The Ming Dou Great Forest is adjacent to the Ming Dou Mountain Range, vast in area, and the quality of its Soul Beasts is generally very high. It's one of the best places for Soul Masters from both the Sun Moon and Star Luo Empires to obtain Soul Rings."
"Legend has it that deep within the Ming Dou Great Forest, there are terrifying mutated Hundred Thousand Year Soul Beasts. Ordinary Titled Douluo fighting them is no different from seeking death; only Super Douluo can contend with them."
"As for whether there are legendary Ferocious Beast powerhouses, this subordinate doesn't know. Such beings are incredibly powerful; perhaps only powerhouses among Super Douluo like Ice Phoenix Crown can match them."
"Are there any incredibly powerful Silver Dragon Soul Beasts or strong mental-type Soul Beasts? Even Soul Beasts associated with stars like the moon would work," Xu Tianxi eagerly pressed.
Soul Sage Zhi Sen's eye twitched, feeling that Xu Tianxi was somewhat putting him on the spot.
"…Theoretically, yes, but I can't be certain about the actual situation. However, I have heard a few rumors that might be helpful.
For example, some important Soul Skills corresponding to the Star Crown Martial Soul inherited by the current Star Luo Royal Family can only be found with Soul Beasts in the Ming Dou Great Forest, so there must be star-related Soul Beasts there. Also, over three thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire once hunted a Silver Dragon, and that Silver Dragon came from the Ming Dou Great Forest…"
Xu Tianxi's eyes brightened further, and he enthusiastically discussed the Soul Beast situation in the Ming Dou Great Forest with Soul Sage Zhi Sen, his emotions fluctuating.
After all, it's half the size of the Star Dou Great Forest. If it can't nurture top-tier Ferocious Beasts, it should at least nurture Ferocious Beasts of the same level as the Titan Snow Demon King or Ice Bear King Xiao Bai. And there's the legend of a Silver Dragon there, so perhaps there are Soul Beasts very suitable for him.
He still has six Soul Ring slots left for his Illusory Moon Mystic Eyes Martial Soul, but none can be wasted. He'll likely have to find the later Soul Rings himself, so he needs to plan carefully.
The increasingly overwhelmed Zhi Sen racked his brain to answer Xu Tianxi's endless questions, question marks popping up in his mind.
Is this Young Master here to capture Evil Soul Masters or Soul Beasts? Didn't he just break through to the third ring not long ago?
And isn't he a bit too confident? They're going to kill Evil Soul Masters, after all.
However, Ice Phoenix Crown did say that the Young Master once single-handedly killed five Evil Soul Masters of Soul Ancestorcultivation, as easily as killing chickens. Could it be that he has absolute confidence in his own strength?
Time passed quickly. After Xu Tianxi had exhausted Zhi Sen's knowledge, his face lit up with joy, and he then turned to discuss cultivation, showing no signs of nervousness.
His relaxed and casual tone, and his beaming expression, showed no hint of the apprehension a novice Soul Master would feel when first venturing out.
And in truth, Xu Tianxi genuinely didn't take those Evil Soul Masters seriously.
Just a few Evil Soul Masters. Capture those who should be captured, kill those who should be killed. If he couldn't do it after much Soul Power and physical exertion, he'd just use Fixed Soul Cannon Shells.
While the primary goal of this outing was to test his Soul Master strength, it didn't mean he would be so pedantic as to not use Soul Guided Devices.
Thanks to Yue Lao's unreserved teaching over these past few years, his Soul Engineer skills had already reached the level of a Level 4 Soul Engineer.
The Level 4 Soul Guidance Cannon Shells that he used to only be able to import, he could now craft himself given enough raw materials and time. Xiao Changfeng had even made a considerable amount of Gold Soul Coins by selling the Level 4 Soul Guidance Cannon Shells he crafted on the Black Market.
The reason he couldn't craft Level 5 Soul Guided Devices before breaking through to Soul Elder wasn't because he couldn't engrave Level 5 Core Magic Arrays, but because his Soul Power simply didn't allow him to complete the production of Level 5 Soul Guided Devices by himself.
During his month in seclusion, he had, on one hand, diligently practiced several common lightning-attribute Soul Master attack methods, such as Thunder Shadow Step, Surging Thunder Hand, and Startling Thunder Fist, achieving minor success.
On the other hand, he painstakingly experimented and finally succeeded in crafting his first Level 5 Soul Guided Device—
A Level 5 Soul Guidance Shell with a freezing effect.
Although it was a counterfeit imitation of those from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy, he had still made it himself. Theoretically, as long as it exploded near a Soul Emperor powerhouse, there was a high chance it could take that Soul Emperor out, and even a Soul Sage would be frozen stiff.
Since it was something he had personally crafted, it was part of his strength, and there was no reason not to use it.
If the Evil Soul Masters dared to provoke him, he'd directly blast them with cannons, letting them experience the terror of Soul Guided Technology!
Coinciding with the New Year, Xu Tianxi had specially modified a Gatling-style Level 4 Soul Guidance Cannon Shell launcher, ready to give the people of the Douluo Continent a little fireworks show at any time.
Three days later, evening.
Xu Tianxi and the other two traveled by water and then by land, arriving at a sizable town fifty li away from the Ming Dou Great Forest to rest.
The town, being close to the Soul Beast forest, had a minimalist yet wild architectural style. Various services were provided for Soul Masters, and shouts could be heard along the way.
Some Soul Masters were looking for temporary hunting companions, while others were selling rare Soul Beast materials obtained from the Ming Dou Great Forest.
To Xu Tianxi's surprise, there was a small garrison of five hundred Soldiers in this town, and fully armed knight squads patrolled the streets, their cold glint reflecting off their armor, a chilling aura emanating from their well-maintained equipment.
"Young Master, the Star Luo Empire's Western Army Group has deployed five hundred thousand troops in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. This place serves as both a Soul Master supply point and a beacon tower, specifically established to guard against sudden Soul Beast attacks."
Yue Lao had military experience and instantly saw through the purpose of this layout. Soul Beast attacks were the greatest concern for human society, and all Four Great Empires had deployed alert forces in major Soul Beast gathering areas.
Zhi Sen scanned the surroundings and said, "It's probably more than just that. Since there are Star Luo Empire military forces here, it must be under complete Star Luo control. It's likely that every person who enters will have their information silently collected by the Star Luo Empire."
Xu Tianxi shrugged and smiled indifferently, "No matter. We all brought the Soul Guided masks made by Yue Lao, and our Soul Power is completely concealed. These ordinary people won't be able to collect any useful information from us."
He had secretly observed them just now; these fully armed knight soldiers of the Star Luo Empire were all stout and burly, clearly battle-hardened elites.
However, ordinary people without a Martial Soul, even if armed to the teeth, could at most contend with a regular Soul Elder—the kind with white and yellow Soul Rings.
Large groups of soldiers forming military formations were indeed invincible, even capable of forcing a Titled Douluo to retreat. But with only five hundred people here, their threat was virtually nonexistent. Any one of the three of them could easily wipe them out.
Yue Lao was a Soul Engineer skilled in area-of-effect attacks, and Zhi Sen was a top-tier plant-type Soul Sage; both were experts in group combat.
Observing the scene as they went, the three entered the largest Inn in the area, the Lai Fu Inn. They found a quiet corner to settle down and order food.
This place was adjacent to the Ming Dou Great Forest, and some of the dishes were even made from the flesh and skin of hundred-year Soul Beasts. The prices were quite steep, but money was not an issue for the three of them.
While waiting for their food, Xu Tianxi's gaze fell upon the various Soul Masters in the Inn, drinking, boasting, and showing off their abilities, lost in thought.
Suddenly, a striking group entered the Inn's doorway, and the boisterous noise abruptly quieted.
Two middle-aged Soul Masters, clearly the leaders, walked in front, followed by seven others. All of them were handsome young men and beautiful young women with outstanding temperaments, dressed in luxurious clothing, and extremely young. They attracted many stares and whispers.
"Such an imposing group must be elders from a powerful Soul Master academy or a strong Sect, bringing their juniors to hunt for Soul Beasts, right?"
"You unknowledgeable fool, you don't even recognize the noble Star Crown medal on their chests! Let me tell you, this is the emblem of our Star Luo Empire's top academy, the Star Luo Royal Academy!"
"Star Luo Royal Academy? That's the second-ranked Soul Master academy on the continent, second only to the Legendary Shrek Academy! So, does that mean they're all the most outstanding young talents in our country?"
"Of course! These geniuses are all extraordinary. I see that three of them have reached the Soul King or Quasi Soul King level, and the remaining four are all Soul Ancestorexperts. They might even be the team from our Star Luo Royal Academy that will compete in the All-Continent Elite Soul Master Tournament two years from now!"
"Huh? Brother, did you see that? It seems like this group is implicitly led by the most beautiful girl among them. I've lived for decades and have never seen such a beautiful girl."
"Shut up, you fool! The students of Star Luo Royal Academy are all either rich or noble. She might be the daughter of some Duke. Are you tired of living, daring to talk nonsense about her! Get a grip!"
"Slap—!"
The sweating, hot-tempered older brother slapped the foolish younger brother hard, afraid that his words would be overheard and cost them their lives.
Even without considering a Duke's retaliation, the cultivation of the two leading Soul Masters alone was unfathomable to him, a Soul Emperor. They were definitely experts above the Soul Sage level. How much alcohol did one have to drink to dare provoke them!
Within the Star Luo Royal Academy's group, Xu Jiujiu, like a moon surrounded by stars, walked gracefully. Her golden hair was braided into a soft plait, and a gentle, enchanting smile graced her frost-defying, snow-white cheeks. Her eyes were serene and calm, and a golden gauze dress accentuated her already somewhat proud figure, giving her a refined and elegant aura.
Under the gaze of many who might not have had good intentions, Xu Jiujiu's expression remained composed. Having been exposed to various high-class occasions since childhood, she was long accustomed to such scenes.
Xu Tianxi scanned her with the crowd's gaze, then withdrew his eyes after recognizing her identity. In the intelligence Xiao Changfeng had given him, this Star Luo Princess's priority was not low.
The hot-tempered brother has good eyesight, but his imagination is still lacking. No Duke in the Star Luo Empire has a daughter like this.
However, no matter how noble her status, it had nothing to do with him. After dealing with the Evil Soul Masters and finishing at the White Tiger Estate, he would be traveling far to Sun Moon. There was no need for interaction.
His gaze fell upon the Soul Beast dishes that the waiter was belatedly bringing, and Xu Tianxi's eyes suddenly burned with fervor.
Nothing is more important than eating.
Meanwhile, Xu Jiujiu's casual glance happened to sweep over Xu Tianxi, and she keenly caught the change in his expression and actions.
In this person's eyes, the appeal of food seems to be greater than my own?
"Oh? These three seem a bit unusual?" Xu Jiujiu observed them for a few moments, realizing that Xu Tianxi and the two beside him were extraordinary. Each wore a mask, and their Soul Power was concealed.
This level of control was impressive; at least a strong Soul Ancestorcould achieve it, like herself.
"Your Highness, is something wrong?"
One of the leading experts noticed Xu Jiujiu's unusual expression and quickly asked with concern.
"Nothing, just found someone a little interesting."