That Interesting Place Called Star Dou

Lin Xi's words were like a block of ice dropped into boiling oil.

The air in the entire room froze for an instant, then exploded.

"G-Go... somewhere interesting?"

Oscar swallowed hard, his voice dry.

Even the beard on his face trembled slightly from tension.

"Could it be... another... Heart Refining or something?"

He now had psychological trauma associated with the word "interesting."

"Star Dou Great Forest."

Without looking at him, Lin Xi calmly spoke the name of a place.

Star Dou Great Forest!

Those five words struck everyone's hearts like five heavy hammers.

Dai Mubai abruptly raised his head.

For the first time, horror appeared in his evil eyes.

"Senior, are you saying we're going to the Star Dou Great Forest?"

What kind of place was that?

It was the paradise of Spirit Beasts.

A forbidden zone for humans!

Even powerful Soul Masters at the Soul King level did not dare venture too deeply inside.

As for this group of youngsters, whose average Soul Power had only just reached level thirty...

Wouldn't entering it be the same as serving themselves up on a platter?

"That's right."

Lin Xi nodded.

"There are plenty of Spirit Beasts there."

"The variety is complete."

"It's very suitable for being your sparring partners."

Her tone was as casual as if she were saying they would be going grocery shopping tomorrow.

"S-Sparring partners?"

Ning Rongrong's face instantly turned pale.

She recalled the terrifying sight of mountains of corpses and seas of blood in the illusion.

"W-We'll be eaten!"

She screamed.

"How is this any different from sending us to our deaths?"

"There is a difference."

Lin Xi corrected her.

"Sending yourselves to your deaths means dying without value."

"And if you die there..."

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the group.

"At least you can become Spirit Beast dung and nourish that land."

"That would count as making some tiny contribution to the world."

Cold.

Cutting.

Without the slightest trace of human emotion.

The room fell deathly silent.

At some point, Flender and Zhao Wuji had also appeared at the doorway.

They had heard Lin Xi's plan.

Both of their faces were filled with shock and concern.

"Supreme Dean!"

Flender finally could not hold back any longer.

He strode inside, forcing a smile uglier than crying.

"This... this plan, isn't it a little... too risky?"

"The Star Dou Great Forest is no trivial place."

"Even its outer regions are inhabited by a large number of Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts."

"With their current strength..."

"What is wrong with their strength?"

Lin Xi asked in return.

"Is it that difficult for them to hunt one or two Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts?"

Flender was left speechless.

In theory, it was not difficult.

But theory and reality were two different things.

"But they lack actual combat experience."

Zhao Wuji spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

As a pure strength-type Soul Master, he understood the brutality of real combat better than anyone.

"The fancy techniques in the Great Soul Arena are completely different from a genuine fight to the death."

"Spirit Beasts will not play by the rules with them."

"That is precisely why I am taking them there."

Lin Xi looked at Zhao Wuji.

"Experience is fought for."

"Not talked about."

"No towering tree can grow in a greenhouse."

"I don't have time to play house with them."

Her words left both Flender and Zhao Wuji silent.

That was right.

Shrek Academy recruited monsters.

Not ordinary people.

A monster's path to growth should never be measured by ordinary standards.

"Enough. It's settled."

Lin Xi made the final decision.

"Get a good rest tonight."

"We leave early tomorrow morning."

She dismissed them.

The group could only leave the room in a daze.

Back in the dormitory.

The atmosphere was oppressively terrifying.

"It's over, it's over. I'm dead for sure."

Oscar crouched in the corner with his head in his hands, muttering to himself.

"I haven't even gotten married and had children yet."

"I don't want to be chewed to pieces by Spirit Beasts."

Ning Rongrong sat by the bed, her eyes rimmed red.

Though she was not crying, her tearful appearance made people feel even more heartache for her.

Dai Mubai did not say a word.

He merely wiped his hands over and over again.

As if trying to wipe something off them.

Zhu Zhuqing sat in the darkest corner.

Her entire body seemed to blend into the darkness.

Only those astonishingly bright eyes proved that she was there.

Xiao Wu looked at one person, then another.

In the end, she ran over to Tang San.

"Little San, are you scared?"

she asked softly.

Tang San was checking his Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night.

Hearing her, he raised his head.

"I am."

He answered honestly.

"But I want to become stronger even more."

He clenched his left hand.

The sleeping hammer seemed to sense its master's fighting spirit as well.

It gave off a faint resonance.

Senior Lin Xi was right.

True powerhouses fought their way out through slaughter.

His Clear Sky Hammer was the number one Tool Spirit in the world.

It should not remain dormant forever.

It needed blood to be Sharpened!

Xiao Wu looked at the determination in Tang San's eyes.

Her unease and fear gradually settled as well.

"Mm! I'll be with you!"

She nodded forcefully.

"We'll become stronger together!"

The next day, when dawn had only just begun to break.

The entrance to Shrek Academy was already filled with people.

Flender, Zhao Wuji, and Master Yu Xiaogang.

They had come to see them off.

Lin Xi emerged with six young men and women, each wearing a different expression.

"Supreme Dean."

Master stepped forward.

His gaze was complicated.

There was concern, confusion, and a trace of hidden anticipation.

"The Star Dou Great Forest is fraught with danger."

"You must be careful."

"I know."

Lin Xi answered faintly.

She had exchanged several inconspicuous items from the System Mall.

A few Breath Concealing Talismans.

They could conceal their auras to the greatest extent possible.

This would prevent them from alarming those powerful beings too early.

There were also several bottles of specially made Beast Repellent Powder.

These were all little tools she had prepared for this "outing."

"Let's go."

She offered no unnecessary words.

Turning around, she led the group onto the road to the Star Dou Great Forest.

The morning light stretched their shadows long, long behind them.

Flender watched their receding figures and let out a long sigh.

"I hope they can all return alive."

Zhao Wuji patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Old Flender."

"That Supreme Dean isn't a reckless person."

Though he was worried as well.

He had even greater faith in that unfathomable young girl.

That being who could send him flying with a single punch.

She would never do anything she was not confident about.

Master said nothing.

He merely stared at Lin Xi's retreating figure, lost in thought.

Will was the root of power.

This revolutionary theory.

Had kept him awake all night.

He desperately wanted to test it.

He wanted to see what kind of astonishing potential these children, tempered by Lin Xi through such extreme methods,

Could truly unleash.

Two days later.

At the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

A vast ocean of dark green appeared before them.

Towering ancient trees blotted out the sky and sun.

Sunlight could only squeeze through the gaps between the leaves with difficulty.

Forming mottled shafts of light.

The air was thick with a damp, rotten stench.

Mixed with the bloody musk of countless unknown beasts.

All sorts of strange bird cries and beast roars rose and fell.

Echoing from the depths of the forest.

Sending chills down their spines.

"This... is the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Oscar's face turned pale, and both his legs trembled.

Just standing here.

He could already feel an oppressive force deep in his soul.

As if countless cold eyes were watching them from the darkness.

Ning Rongrong instinctively clutched Oscar's clothes.

Her body was trembling slightly as well.

Although Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were not in such a sorry state.

Their taut bodies and grave expressions still exposed the tension in their hearts.

Only Lin Xi, Tang San, and Xiao Wu.

Remained fairly calm.

Tang San had similar wilderness survival experience from his previous life.

As for Xiao Wu, she was a soul beast herself.

This place gave her the warm familiarity of coming home.

And Lin Xi.

She simply thought the air here was quite nice.

"Alright, stop standing around."

Lin Xi spoke.

"From this moment on, rein in those pathetic Soul Power fluctuations of yours."

"If you don't want to become someone else's appetizer, learn to walk like a ghost."

She took out a stack of yellow talismans.

"Stick them on yourselves."

"They can temporarily conceal your auras."

Everyone hurriedly took them and did as instructed.

"Remember, in this place, keep your eyes, ears, and noses sharp."

"Any rustle in the wind or grass could be an omen of death."

Lin Xi gave her final pre-battle briefing.

"Welcome to..."

She looked at the bottomless darkness before them.

The corners of her lips curled into a cold smile.

"The real beast arena."