Target: Star Dou Great Forest

Huo Yuhao straightened his back. He usually did not want to invest too much emotion in consumables. He had two spare Samurai Swords like this one: one was about the same length, while the other was only sixty centimeters long, serving as a Wakizashi for handling certain special situations.

The traditional forging methods of Douluo were very similar to Ashina's Tamahagane forging method. Steel produced through a single forging was completely unfit for use as a weapon; it had to be repeatedly hammered, purified, and selected. Only by choosing pieces with a better sheen and fewer impurities, then forging them again, could one obtain satisfactory material. On Douluo Continent, this material was called Hundred Refined Steel. In Ashina, it was usually called Tamahagane. In truth, the methods were more or less the same.

In Ashina, possessing a Samurai Sword forged from Tamahagane was a tremendous glory. It meant that one could at least be called a true samurai. Ordinary Ashina soldiers who had once been bandits wielded Samurai Swords forged from crude iron filled with impurities. They did not even need to clash directly with another weapon—merely cutting down an unarmored enemy could chip their blades upon striking bone.

The owners of Samurai Swords forged from Tamahagane had to at least be Samurai Retainers of Ashina Castle or commanders among the Ashina soldiers to qualify to use them. From this alone, Douluo Continent's production capacity for Hundred Refined Steel far surpassed that of the backwater Ashina Castle.

Logically speaking, a Samurai Sword made from Hundred Refined Steel could at least be called a Fine Blade. Even if none of its past owners had accomplished anything renowned with it, it merely did not deserve to be called a Famous Blade. No matter what, it had nothing to do with being a mere consumable.

But unfortunately, this was Douluo Continent. The opponents faced by swords and blades were no longer just enemy weapons and armor, but unceasing wind and fire, frigid ice, and all manner of bizarre elemental attacks. In such an incomparably harsh environment, even Fine Blades forged from Hundred Refined Steel could hardly withstand the wear of several fierce battles.

To possess a Fine Blade in the truest sense, Huo Yuhao knew that it would have to be forged from costly Rare Metal.

"First, I'll go to the Soul Beast Forest and hunt Soul Beasts. To make and use stronger Samurai Swords, I need a high enough Soul Power Level first. A Fine Blade forged from Tamahagane is already tough and sharp enough to cut through the resilient hides of most Soul Beasts. Even if I really encounter a few troublesome ones, I can deal with them by other means."

Huo Yuhao silently pondered as he headed to the Kitchen to pack provisions for the road. Yet when he arrived, he saw a busy figure inside.

"Yuhao, you're heading out to hunt Soul Beasts again, aren't you?"

Huo Yun'er's gentle voice reached him, making Huo Yuhao's body stiffen. His lips moved, but he lowered his head, unable to bear looking at Huo Yun'er's tender, watery gaze. Before leaving last time, he had promised that once he finished that job, he would stay home and spend a few peaceful days with his mother. Yet his instinctive actions had already completely given him away.

He could wait, but Huo Yun'er's illness, brought on by years of overwork and dragged out for a full decade, could not wait that long. He could only hasten his pace and take his mother to Shrek as quickly as possible. Only in Shrek City could he access the finest medical resources on all of Douluo Continent. Only there did Huo Yun'er's illness have any chance of being completely cured.

How could Huo Yun'er not know what Huo Yuhao was thinking? Ever since the day before Yuhao's Martial Soul Awakening, she had vaguely sensed the changes taking place in him. Huo Yuhao was still Huo Yuhao, yet overnight, he had grown up and changed. Every time he went out, he claimed he was doing business with some friends, but how could such small dealings have allowed her to move into such an imposing residence in only two years?

Although Huo Yuhao always treated the wounds large and small on his body before coming home, Huo Yun'er personally washed and mended all of his clothes. How could she possibly not know that Huo Yuhao was hiding things from her?

Every time, she wanted to tell Huo Yuhao that her illness was not important, that he did not need to rush around so anxiously for her sake. In the final years of her life, she had seen her son become successful, and every time he came home, he cooked her a table full of incredibly delicious food. She already felt that all the grievances she had suffered in the first half of her life were not worth mentioning. Yet the worried, urgent gaze in Huo Yuhao's eyes carried such firm resolve that Huo Yun'er could never bring herself to say the words.

Huo Yun'er reached out and stroked Huo Yuhao's little head, then stuffed a heavy bag of food into his arms.

"Wheat Cakes take a lot of work to make, so Mom baked them for you in advance. If you aren't in a hurry when you eat them on the road, remember to tear them into small pieces and boil them in hot water. They'll choke you if you eat them dry."

The moment the bundle landed in his hands, Huo Yuhao understood.

This bag held more than ten jin of Wheat Cakes, and they were not easy to prepare. Barley grains had to be stewed into a paste, then left beneath the sun to dry and bake. A stove even had to be set beneath them so they could be thoroughly dried. Then they had to be steamed, boiled, and baked again, repeated ten times over. A hundred jin of barley would ultimately be reduced to less than ten jin before the process was complete.

At mealtime, one only needed to take out a small piece and boil it in hot water to make a pot of food. Huo Yun'er did not know that Huo Yuhao possessed a Storage Soul Guidance Device, so she had gone to great pains to prepare enough food to last him more than a month.

Though he was reluctant in countless ways, Huo Yuhao still made up his mind after resting at home for one night. He left before dawn, carrying little with him: two Katanas, one Wakizashi, over a dozen Shuriken made from scraps, fewer than a hundred Gold Soul Coins, and some daily necessities.

Over the past three years, Huo Yuhao had left the vast majority of his accumulated wealth on the bed in his room. If he truly died in the Soul Beast Forest, Huo Yun'er would surely find it when she entered his room to clean. Savings of nearly a thousand Gold Soul Coins would be enough for her to live out the rest of her life alone.

Although Huo Yuhao had great confidence in his own strength, if given time to prepare an ambush, he was even confident that he could trap and kill a Thousand-Year Soul Beast. After all, Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were roughly as strong as Soul Elders to Soul Ancestors, and Soul Masters of both levels had died at his hands. Though all of them had been killed through schemes, a Ninja was not a samurai to begin with. Unless the situation was urgent, Huo Yuhao had no interest in confronting an enemy far stronger than himself head-on.