Demon Forest

Liu Xing looked at the Mirror Spirit Tool in Luan Yu's hand, then at the small Detection Spirit Tools darting nimbly through the forest, and clicked his tongue inwardly. Wasn't this basically an Unmanned Reconnaissance Aircraft from his world? The only difference was that the Detection Spirit Tools Luan Yu had released floated on Soul Power.

Soul Power in this world actually felt universal. Everything required it.

The Soul Skills of this world came in every conceivable variety. Some even touched upon concepts, and the truly outrageous ones could even resurrect the dead.

What powered those Soul Skills was Soul Power.

Only because Luan Yu was a Rank 9 Spirit Tool Master could she control more than ten Detection Spirit Tools at once without feeling any pressure. If she went all out, releasing over a hundred Detection Spirit Tools probably would not be a problem either.

That was what Spirit Tool Masters were like. Though the quality of their Soul Power could not compare to that of Soul Masters, they made up for it with sheer quantity.

But in actual combat, quantity was useless. When their Soul Power encountered a Soul Master's Soul Power, it shattered on contact. That was one reason Spirit Tool Masters became flustered the instant a Soul Master got close.

The Sun Moon Empire's spirit tool technology truly was powerful. Compared to his world's technology, each had its own strengths. It was simply that they had developed in different directions.

According to Luan Yu, the Sun Moon Empire had something called a Rank 9 Fixed-Array Soul Cannon Shell. It possessed enough power to instantly destroy a small city. One Rank 9 Fixed-Array Soul Cannon Shell could destroy a small city, two could destroy a medium-sized city, and ten could even wipe out the largest cities.

Furthermore, when paired with a Rank 9 Fixed Spirit Tool Launcher, a Rank 9 Fixed-Array Soul Cannon Shell could carry out a targeted strike across half the continent, provided it was not intercepted. Even so, it was already comparable to the Missiles of Liu Xing's world. Given the development potential of spirit tools, Liu Xing would not be surprised if they eventually created Super Spirit Tools comparable to Nuclear Bombs.

Even a Titled Douluo would die if struck head-on by a Rank 9 Fixed-Array Soul Cannon Shell. This was also one reason the Sun Moon Empire could still suppress the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms despite having far fewer Rank 9 Spirit Tool Masters than the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms had Titled Douluo.

Liu Xing somewhat understood why the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons had been phased out by spirit tools. In terms of versatility and warfare, spirit tools completely crushed Hidden Weapons. Although some Hidden Weapons were absurd enough to injure Deities, they most likely had not inherited such weapons. Otherwise, they would not have declined.

As they advanced, Liu Xing and the others gradually passed through the outer region and headed toward the inner region of the Demon Forest. The surrounding Spirit Beasts also began to grow stronger. Hundred-Year Soul Beasts were everywhere, and Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts occasionally appeared as well. Yet beneath the aura of Luan Yu, a Titled Douluo, they still fled at the first sign of danger.

Two hours later, they had drawn extremely close to the inner region. Luan Yu waved a hand and led Liu Xing and the others in another direction, moving along the edge of the inner region. Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts roamed the inner region. Once Spirit Beasts reached ten thousand years, their intelligence greatly developed. Even if Luan Yu released the aura of a Titled Douluo, they would still stubbornly come and test her, because they could distinguish between a Titled Douluo and a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

And regions like this were where low-age Spirit Beasts with noble bloodlines were most likely to appear. They were also Luan Yu's targets this time.

After entering this area, Luan Yu instead withdrew her aura and carefully concealed her presence. Against Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beasts, the aura of a Titled Douluo was no longer useful. It would instead attract powerful Spirit Beasts to attack them.

Thus, Luan Yu abandoned her earlier overbearing manner, concealed her aura, and released Soul Tools to scout the way ahead. The entire group became extremely low-profile.

Liu Xing and the other youngsters were all visiting a place inhabited by Spirit Beasts for the first time. Their curiosity was overflowing, but they still did not dare stray far from Luan Yu's side. Among them, only Firefly had the ability to protect herself. Though Liu Xing had inherited Firefly's physical constitution, his combat experience was nonexistent.

You could not expect someone who had spent most of his time lying in a hospital bed to possess any combat experience or fighting instincts. For now, he could only rely on his physical strength to overpower opponents. He could fight Hundred-Year Soul Beasts with his powerful physique, but if he encountered a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast, he would be at a loss.

If Firefly did not transform into SAM, she could probably only handle a Thousand-Year Spirit Beast. If she encountered a Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Beast, she could only run or transform.

After all, she had the body of a six-year-old. No matter how strong her foundation was, she still had to obey the basic laws!

Xu Tianzhen and Ye Guyi had been nervous at first, but as every approaching Spirit Beast was scared away by Luan Yu, the two gradually adapted to walking through the gloomy Demon Forest.

Although no one expected the youngsters to hunt Spirit Beasts themselves, training was still necessary. But they first had to obtain their Spirit Rings. There would be time for training when they left.

The rulers of the Demon Forest were the Evil Eye Clan. Once they entered the inner region, they could easily encounter Evil Eyes. Evil Eyes were spiritual-type Spirit Beasts and were very likely to discover them. Killing them would bring no benefit, since none of them needed spiritual-type Spirit Rings. It might even attract a stronger Evil Eye Tyrant, making it more trouble than it was worth.

Therefore, Luan Yu led Liu Xing and the others around the boundary between the inner and outer regions, searching for suitable Spirit Beasts. But this was not something that could be rushed. Hunting Spirit Beasts was time-consuming to begin with, and it also depended on luck. Many Soul Masters returned empty-handed when seeking Spirit Rings and had to come several times in a row before gaining anything.

Of course, that was for those with particularly bad luck.

The Demon Forest was vast, second only to the Star Dou Great Forest and the Far North. Liu Xing and the others had already prepared themselves to spend several days in the Demon Forest.

The group carefully moved forward when a chaotic fluctuation of Soul Power suddenly came from ahead. Luan Yu frowned. Were Spirit Beasts fighting?

Liu Xing and the others had all awakened their Martial Souls and possessed Soul Power, yet none of them sensed the fluctuation. Firefly, despite her extensive combat experience, did not understand Soul Power and failed to notice it in time as well.

Luan Yu signaled for Liu Xing and the others to hide beside a large tree, then controlled a Detection Spirit Tool toward the direction where the Soul Power had erupted.

Liu Xing and the others curiously looked at the Mirror Spirit Tool in Luan Yu's hand. As the Detection Spirit Tool drew closer, they soon saw two Spirit Beasts fighting within the image on the mirror.

An open clearing was riddled with craters. The trees around it had collapsed and snapped apart, showing just how fierce the battle had been.

In the clearing, two extraordinary Spirit Beasts faced each other.

One of them had a huge, muscular body covered in a layer of gleaming, metallic scales. At a glance, it possessed astonishing defensive power, and its scales reflected the surrounding light, making it faintly visible even in the darkness. Its head resembled that of a male lion, its eyes like two burning rubies that emitted a cold, eerie gaze. Its nose bridge was high, its mouth broad, and within it were incomparably sharp teeth. Every tooth glinted with a chilling light, as if it could easily bite through steel.