Arriving at the Star Dou Great Forest

With Old Jack around, Ning Qiu did not go looking for Ning Sixth Uncle. Just as Ning Qiu, Xiao Wu, and Old Jack—three in total—walked out of the village, they ran into an acquaintance.

"Eh, you?" Old Jack frowned.

The man froze, his gaze darting away for a moment. In the end, he braced himself and walked up to Ning Qiu.

He was none other than the young gatekeeper from Notting Academy.

"Little brother, could you take me to see your village chief?" the young gatekeeper asked Ning Qiu amiably.

"You want to see our village chief?" Ning Qiu was taken aback.

"Yes." The young gatekeeper nodded.

"What do you want with our village chief?" Old Jack asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"Sir."

"Didn't you call me a beggar?"

Before the young gatekeeper could finish, Old Jack cut him off.

"Sir, last time was truly a misunderstanding!" The young gatekeeper smiled.

"A misunderstanding? Heh..." Old Jack sneered twice. "Go on, then. What do you want with our village chief?"

"Sir, I want to find your village chief and join your village," the young gatekeeper said.

"Join our village? You want to enter our shabby nest? Are you sure you're not joking with me?" Old Jack shot back. He had not forgotten how, when he had brought Tang San to enroll at Notting Academy, this young gatekeeper had blocked them. The gatekeeper had called Holy Soul Village a shabby nest and said that no phoenix could ever come from one. He had also called Old Jack a beggar trying to sneak into Notting Academy for free meals.

"Heh..." The young gatekeeper rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. "Sir, last time really was a misunderstanding. Could you take me to see your village chief?"

"Village Chief, he wants to join our village. Do you agree?" Old Jack looked toward Ning Qiu.

The young gatekeeper stared at Ning Qiu in astonishment. Ning Qiu was so young, yet he was actually the village chief of Holy Soul Village!

"No." Ning Qiu answered calmly.

"Little brother, are you really the village chief of Holy Soul Village?" Gatekeeper Lad asked skeptically.

"Yes." Ning Qiu nodded.

"Little brother, we got along quite well before. Besides, I even helped you!" Upon hearing Ning Qiu's answer, Gatekeeper Lad immediately grew anxious. Looking toward Xiao Wu, he said, "Have you forgotten? I once..."

"That was then, this is now. You insulted Grandpa Jack and slandered Holy Soul Village. As the current village chief of Holy Soul Village, I refuse your request to join Holy Soul Village." Before Gatekeeper Lad could mention helping him snatch Xiao Wu away, Ning Qiu promptly interrupted him.

Ning Qiu understood why Gatekeeper Lad had come to Holy Soul Village so early in the morning and wanted to join the village. He must have listened to Ning Qiu's advice and gone to Spirit Hall to test his Soul Power.

Now that Gatekeeper Lad had come knocking, he must have taken Ning Qiu's carrot and gained Soul Power. Having gained Soul Power, Gatekeeper Lad seemed to see the dawn of hope.

Of course, Gatekeeper Lad had ulterior motives. The reason he wanted to join Holy Soul Village was to enter the village and discover how to grow carrots that could grant Soul Power when eaten.

"You... if you won't agree, I'll kneel here and refuse to get up." Gatekeeper Lad's gaze was exceptionally resolute. Like a child throwing a tantrum, he truly knelt down at the village entrance.

"If you like kneeling, then kneel. Grandpa Jack, let's set off!" Ning Qiu smiled. It was perfect—he happened to need to travel far anyway!

Star Dou Great Forest lay along the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire, forming a natural barrier. Its forests stretched as far as the eye could see, and countless soul beasts lived within them.

"Forming a team to hunt soul beasts! We need a strength-type fighter! One more and we set off. Ten Gold Soul Coins per person."

"Anyone need a teammate? My Martial Soul is Steel Cannon. I'm a Level 43 Soul Ancestor. Don't let my short legs fool you—I'm fast as hell. I don't need ten Gold Soul Coins, just eight. I'll help you hunt a soul beast you'll be satisfied with."

"Come take a look, come take a look! This is a saber-toothed tiger with a cultivation of five hundred years. The meat is absolutely top-notch. Just twenty Gold Soul Coins, and you can buy the whole thing."

When Ning Qiu, Xiao Wu, and Old Jack arrived at a small town near Star Dou Great Forest, all kinds of cries and shouts filled the air without pause.

Some people were recruiting soul masters to hunt soul beasts. Some soul masters were looking for employers, living lives with blood on the blade's edge. Others simply threw the soul beasts they had hunted onto the ground and sold them.

It was not only soul rings. Some wealthy merchants and nobles also loved eating soul beast meat and wearing soul beast pelts. Even if the meat of those soul beasts was not particularly tasty, they viewed such things as symbols of wealth, status, and standing.

"Brother!" Xiao Wu clutched Ning Qiu's arm. Seeing the soul beasts being bought and sold, she felt deeply distressed.

Ning Qiu gently patted Xiao Wu's hand. There was nothing he could do about this phenomenon yet. At present, he was merely a one-ring Battle Soul Master with Level 20 Soul Power.

"This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to human life. Village Chief, are we still going deeper? Beyond this point is the outer region of Star Dou Great Forest. Soul beasts may appear at any time." Old Jack asked.

"Yes." Ning Qiu nodded.

With Old Jack accompanying them along the way, Ning Qiu and Xiao Wu, who were still only children, avoided plenty of unnecessary trouble.

Yet the moment Ning Qiu entered Star Dou Great Forest, he encountered his first problem.

"Hand over everything valuable you have." A fierce-looking middle-aged man blocked the path of Ning Qiu and the other two.

"Robbery?" Ning Qiu frowned.

"That's right, robbery. Hurry up and behave yourselves." The middle-aged man stomped his foot, and three soul rings lit up around him—white, yellow, and yellow. Perhaps in his eyes, Ning Qiu and Xiao Wu were children, while Old Jack needed a cane just to walk. They looked easy to bully.

"Village Chief, remember this. When you're away from home, people can sometimes be more frightening than soul beasts." Old Jack took the opportunity to teach Ning Qiu. At the same time, five soul rings rose beneath Old Jack's feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black. A sickle taller than Old Jack by two heads appeared in his hand.

"Grandpa Jack, you're a Soul King?" Ning Qiu asked in astonishment.

"My grandfather was a Soul Saint, and I am a Soul King. Is that so strange?" Old Jack asked. At the same time, a fleeting trace of sorrow flashed through his cloudy eyes.

Influenced by his grandfather, Old Jack had cultivated even more diligently. Yet no matter how hard he worked, his Martial Soul and talent stood like an insurmountable chasm, preventing him from becoming a truly powerful expert.

"S-Soul King?"

The middle-aged robber looked utterly terrified. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and in the end, he fled without looking back.

"Village Chief, we've now reached the outer region of Star Dou Great Forest. What do you plan to do next? If we go farther in, we'll have to face thousand-year soul beasts at any time." Old Jack asked curiously.

"Grandpa Jack, don't worry. Leave everything to me." Ning Qiu smiled, then looked at Xiao Wu. "Xiao Wu, it's your turn!"