The Haagen-Dazs Kingdom, as the most powerful of the four major kingdoms in the Heaven Dou Empire, has a standing army of over 300,000 within its borders.
The royal family also has three Soul Douluo-level powerhouses. The strongest among them is the previous generation Haagen-Dazs king, with a strength of level 89 Soul Douluo. He is already in his seventies or eighties, and it is estimated that he has no hope of breaking through to Title Douluo in this lifetime.
The other two Soul Douluo are also members of the royal family, generally over sixty-five years old, with almost all their potential drained. Yet they are merely low-tier Soul Douluo.
Even so, this is far better than the other three kingdoms. At the very least, they have confidence and some capital. Unlike the others, who, apart from their armies, have almost no noteworthy powerhouses.
The Haagen-Dazs Kingdom also borders the Extreme North, and often faces the threat of beast tides from the Extreme North. Thus, the entire nation is martial, with countless merchant caravans and soul master teams coming and going. This has indirectly promoted economic development, causing the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom to gradually prosper, even showing signs of splitting from the Heaven Dou Empire.
Tian Meng has had almost no contact with the human world. On the journey, he is curious about everything. After getting used to being with Shen Hanyu, his talkative nature fully erupts, nearly breaking the defenses of Shen Hanyu, who always prefers quiet and solitude.
According to the timeline, Shen Hanyu prevented him from ending up in the Star Dou Great Forest to be exploited by those ferocious beasts, so there are no such painful experiences. Thus, the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm does not have the cunning and meticulousness of a thousand years later, but deep down, he is still extremely intelligent; otherwise, it would not live up to his reputation as a mental attribute ferocious beast.
Annoyed beyond endurance, Shen Hanyu simply enters a cultivation state. Anyway, the coachman is also someone who doesn't like to talk, saying no more than three sentences in a whole day.
Seeing Shen Hanyu enter cultivation, Tian Meng ponders hard for a long time and finally comes up with a method.
With a vast mental power detaching from Shen Hanyu's sea of consciousness, it slowly condenses on his shoulder into the form of an ice silkworm, but much smaller in size, only about twenty centimeters. It emits a soft halo, and the air gains a faint, refreshing fragrance.
Startled, Shen Hanyu looks at the silkworm baby on his shoulder and takes a moment to recover:
"Tian Meng?"
The silkworm baby nods and says:
"This is a clone that was created using mental power as the foundation. Consciousness can freely switch between your sea of consciousness and this clone, and even if this clone is destroyed, it won't suffer any harm."
Shen Hanyu hums in acknowledgment, examining the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm's body, and says:
"In this form, your appearance value has increased a lot. At least you have some of the cuteness of cats and dogs."
Tian Meng huffs, then his body slowly wriggles in the air, gradually moving to the window. Looking at the lively scenes outside, he sighs:
"So this is how the human world is. It's so much better than our soul beast world, where we only know cultivation and killing. A long time ago, observed human cities with mental power, but back then, they were far from this lively. Humans were even just food hunted by soul beasts."
Shen Hanyu takes out a water bag from his soul guide device, drinks a sip, wipes his mouth, and says:
"Humans cultivate much faster than you soul beasts, but our lifespans are also limited. Even at Xue Di's level, it's only a few hundred years."
"And you soul beasts? Born with extremely long lifespans, but your wisdom develops quite slowly, and cultivation is not easy. It almost all relies on killing or the tempering of time. This is fair, and also twisted. There's no way to judge which is stronger or weaker, who is right or wrong."
Tian Meng sighs softly and says:
"I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years, but ninety thousand years ago, I hardly observed this world. But I always have a feeling that Hanyu, you are like a variable—a variable in my predetermined fate. I don't know if the outcome will be good or bad…"
Shen Hanyu smiles, ponders for a moment, and says:
"I don't know if it's good or bad either, but in the end, it's all fate."
"Then… Hanyu, what is your goal?"
Tian Meng Ice Silkworm suddenly asks, his small eyes becoming serious.
Shen Hanyu looks at the bustling human world outside the window, thinks of all the beauty he possesses, and finally says:
"Probably to have one or two confidantes, strive in cultivation, and finally pursue that elusive god position, and in the end, survive."
Tian Meng Ice Silkworm is stunned, then chuckles and says:
"Hanyu, how old are you? Why are you thinking about life and death like a seventy or eighty-year-old man? Listen to. Guarantees you will absolutely step into that elusive god position. Rest assured, we've got your back…"
Shen Hanyu doesn't take it seriously, signals the coachman to stop, throws him three gold soul coins, and then gets off the carriage.
Tian Meng uses mental power to disguise himself, still lying on Shen Hanyu's shoulder.
"How should I put it? I've always believed in myself and never doubted my talent."
Shen Hanyu walks on the street, speaking leisurely.
"And becoming a god is just a goal, not the end. Or rather, nothing in my plans is impossible to accomplish."
Tian Meng is momentarily at a loss for words and simply ignores Shen Hanyu, his eyes fervently fixed on the various items sold by the street vendors outside.
Shen Hanyu smiles secretly, then uses a few silver coins to buy some food and hands it to Tian Meng Ice Silkworm.
"Try it. Isn't human food much better than the ice marrow you used to eat?"
Tian Meng takes a bite, his eyes light up, and while wolfing it down, he mumbles unclearly:
"Good… good eat…"
Shen Hanyu smiles and continues walking toward the city center.
Because of Tian Meng's terrifying mental power concealment, except for Shen Hanyu, outsiders cannot see Tian Meng's existence. Even Shen Hanyu appears ordinary in their eyes.
His originally elegant and outstanding appearance becomes average, and his extraordinary temperament becomes simple and unpretentious, completely like a countryman entering the city.
When reaching the center of Haagen-Dazs City, Tian Meng suddenly says:
"Hanyu, I sense a human Soul Douluo aura, filled with a strong reaction of life energy, right in the building to your left front."
Shen Hanyu's gaze follows.
It is a huge building, its length even exceeding two hundred meters, entirely constructed from hard granite, engraved with the emblem of the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom. There is a massive signboard above, reading:
Haagen-Dazs Great Soul Fighting Arena
"Tian Meng, that is our human soul fighting arena. Simply put, it's a place for fighting and settling grudges. This is the capital of the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom, so it's not surprising for a Soul Douluo to be stationed in the soul fighting arena."
Shen Hanyu explains.
Tian Meng's small eyes roll around, he says nothing more, and continues immersing himself in the prosperity and liveliness of the human world.
Shen Hanyu doesn't pay much attention. The previous coachman was unwilling to go further, so he had to get off in Haagen-Dazs City and temporarily change to another carriage.
Shen Hanyu is too lazy to say much about it. Anyway, that carriage was not comfortable to ride in, and switching to a more comfortable one is what he wants.
Suddenly, a girl wearing a black dress with a deathly cold and indifferent expression walks out from a street corner, attracting Shen Hanyu's attention.
He has a strange feeling, as if something is about to happen.
Tian Meng also says at this moment:
"Hanyu, that girl in the black dress not far ahead of you has an aura very similar to the Soul Douluo in the soul fighting arena just now. They probably have some direct blood relation."
"But, well, always feels something strange about them, but can't quite put a finger on what's wrong…"