Traveling Alone

The First Elder watched his grandson worriedly. As for the other four people who had previously been separated by the fog, along with the Soul Saint from the Xiao Family, he had knocked them unconscious and dumped them outside the door.

It was better that they did not know about the Soul Tool and Soul Bone inside. The First Elder did not want to kill them, or Mingxi would have a hard time explaining things to the families when they got out.

Deep inside the illusion, Xu Mingxi was still trapped in a storm of thoughts. According to his guess, what had caused the current situation was most likely some special kind of Soul Tool.

But even though he had guessed the cause, he had no idea how to solve it. Seeing the Smoke Tiger slam into him once more, Xu Mingxi's face turned deathly pale. Star's Protection flickered in and out around him. His Soul Power was almost exhausted.

As the Smoke Tiger pounced again, Star's Protection shattered with a crack. Xu Mingxi watched the monster draw closer and closer, despair rising in his heart. At that moment, how badly he wished someone could protect him.

Suddenly, the three members of the Chen Family stood in front of Xu Mingxi and each stopped a smoke monster. In the end, however, their Soul Power ran dry, their arms were bitten off, and they collapsed to the ground.

"No."

Xu Mingxi's eyes nearly split with rage and grief. This was the first time he had ever seen someone die because of him. Why would they go this far?

That was right. Why would they protect him until death instead of running for their own lives? It made no sense at all.

They were only strangers who had just met. Although he had saved their younger sister, in a world like the Douluo Continent where the weak were prey to the strong, were there really people who valued a debt of gratitude that highly? And three of them, no less?

Xu Mingxi asked himself honestly. He absolutely could not bare his heart and soul like that for someone he had only known for a short time.

Wait.

Xu Mingxi suddenly raised his head and looked upward. It seemed that ever since he had entered the Ruins, he had never seen any Starlight again.

Even though he could feel the Soul Power inside him recovering and his first soul ring operating, he had not seen even the slightest trace of Starlight.

"Could this place be fake?"

As the words fell, the illusion shattered with a crack. Xu Mingxi, who was lying on the ground, opened his eyes. He looked at the three people lying around him, then at his own undamaged body, and felt the nearly emptied Soul Power inside him. He gave a helpless, bitter smile.

He had not expected it to really all be fake. He had actually failed to notice it the entire time. If not for the final abnormal behavior shown by the three members of the Chen Family, he really would have died from exhausting his Soul Power.

"Mingxi, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Grandpa. That was only an illusion. Aside from using up too much Soul Power, I wasn't hurt at all."

With his grandfather supporting him, Xu Mingxi sat up. He looked at the Soul Tool hovering in the air, his feelings complicated.

It seemed that from the moment he had stepped into the fog, he had fallen into the illusion. The monsters in the smoke seemed to be nothing more than manifestations of his own fear.

This dangerous illusion reminded him of the Soul Saint who would later deliver Tang San a Soul Bone gift package—Shi Nian, someone who made people die in intangible dreams.

The three members of the Chen Family did not wake for a long time. When their Soul Power was about to be exhausted, the First Elder made his move and put away the Soul Tool and the Soul Bone inside it.

Chen Qingfeng watched as the Smoke Wolf lunged toward him. Just as it was about to bite through his neck, he felt a burst of violent pain surge into his mind, and he passed out directly.

When he woke again, he only saw himself lying on the ground completely unharmed. Sitting nearby were all the members of this adventure.

Aside from Xu Mingxi and the First Elder, no one knew that a Soul Tool and a Soul Bone had appeared here. Xu Mingxi also pretended to have a splitting headache.

The fog in the depths of Awakening Cloud Ravine dispersed. Everyone searched the area, but aside from some Gold Soul Coins and ordinary resources, they gained nothing.

Seeing that the Long-Armed Ape tribe had already begun expanding its territory toward the Ruins, everyone could only adjust their condition and charge out of Awakening Cloud Ravine in one go. Only Yuan Qing, who was being protected in the center of the group, looked thoughtfully at Xu Mingxi beside him, but he said nothing.

After they returned to East Peak City, news spread that the group had encountered danger and nearly lost their lives. Young Master Xiao also released a piece of information.

At the time, they had nearly died in the fog and had been saved by a mysterious person wearing a black robe. The treasure in the depths of Awakening Cloud Ravine had very likely been taken by him as well.

Aside from Yuan Qing, no one else knew the First Elder's identity, and Yuan Qing was sensible enough not to reveal it.

Xu Mingxi did not intend to stay long in East Peak City. He had something more important to do now.

During this trip through the illusion, he had discovered that apart from his innate talent, he had nothing. Because of his comfortable conditions, he had even developed the bad habits of slacking off and relying on others.

"Grandpa, have you heard of the Soul Hunting Mercenary Group? Send me to the Star Dou Great Forest, then you should return to the Star Crown Sect..."

Of course the First Elder knew about the Soul Hunting Mercenary Group. To put it bluntly, it was a group of strangers who lived on the edge of a blade, forming teams to hunt soul beasts inside the Star Dou Great Forest.

In such teams, the most dangerous thing was not the soul beasts, but the people within the mercenary group itself. A precious herb or a Soul Bone could make the entire mercenary group fall apart on the spot.

The First Elder looked at Xu Mingxi's resolute eyes. Words of persuasion hung at the tip of his tongue, but no matter what, he could not say them. He could only hold back his tears with all his might.

"All right. Three years from now, I'll pick you up outside the Star Dou Great Forest."

Xu Mingxi left East Peak City alone and headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest. This time, there was no one behind him to protect him anymore. The only person he could rely on was himself.

The First Elder returned to the Star Crown Sect. News that Xu Mingxi had left alone caused a huge uproar among the elders.

Some supported it, some opposed it, and some even said they should go and bring Xu Mingxi back now. In particular, the three who had advanced with Xu Mingxi's help were almost pointing at his nose and cursing him.

"Enough. This was Mingxi's own decision. No matter what, since he has chosen it, he must keep walking this path."

The Sect Master directly stopped everyone's meaningless argument. How could he not be afraid that Xu Mingxi would die in the Star Dou Great Forest? He was a future Titled Douluo, set in stone.

But he also knew that the elders of the Star Crown Sect, himself included, had spoiled Xu Mingxi far too much.

That child had picked up some bad habit from who knew where. Every five days, he had to rest for two days, and when he cultivated, he was extremely prone to letting his mind wander.

Mingguang had already reached rank fifty-two. With Xu Mingxi's talent, plus his Star Calling Soul Skill, the fact that he was only rank fifty-six now truly should not have been the case.

The Sect Master waved for the elders to leave. He sat alone in the great hall, thinking by himself. In the darkness, only the Sect Master's desk gave off a faint glimmer of light.

The next day, the elders of the Star Crown Sect received an order. The Star Crown Sect would seal its mountain for three years. If Xu Mingxi could return alive, he would be the next Sect Master.