Arriving at the Soul Hunting Forest, Entering It

Time passed as they traveled.

After traveling for a full day and night, the carriage carrying the three of them finally arrived at their destination—the Soul Hunting Forest—at noon the next day.

After getting out of the carriage, what lay before them was not a boundless forest, but an extremely bustling marketplace. Still, that was perfectly normal.

Although it was called the Soul Hunting Forest, it was essentially a source of Spirit Rings for Soul Masters. On Douluo Continent, Soul Masters were among the wealthiest people.

It was not easy for Soul Masters to successfully hunt Spirit Rings. They needed preparations and assistance, so many related professions emerged as a result.

These professions depended on Soul Masters, but there were not many Soul Masters on Douluo Continent. Thus, those who chose such professions could only wait at key locations, such as outside the Soul Hunting Forest before them.

Where there were people, there were business opportunities. So, it was only natural for a marketplace like this to appear outside the Soul Hunting Forest. After all, people had to live, and marketplaces existed to make life more convenient.

"Come on, let's head over."

Looking at the marketplace ahead, Grandmaster took the lead and walked over.

As they moved through the marketplace, shops lined both sides of the road. Compared to the shops in Nuoding City, the goods sold here were far more varied.

However, everything here was also more expensive, at least twice the price of similar items in Nuoding City, enough to make people gasp.

Not far from the marketplace, quite a few people were also calling out to form groups to hunt Spirit Beasts. According to Grandmaster, these were unprofessional Soul Hunting Groups.

A true Soul Hunting Group could not be formed casually. At the very least, it needed five roles: a Defense System Spirit Master, an attack-system Spirit Master, an agility-system Spirit Master, a Food System Spirit Master, and a Support Spirit Master. Furthermore, they needed years of cooperation to build rapport and establish trust.

But the ones in the Soul Hunting Forest were all temporary teams. If they were unlucky, they might even encounter people with ill intentions, making them extremely dangerous.

After passing through the marketplace, the true Soul Hunting Forest finally appeared before the three of them.

Looking at the endless forest stretching beyond sight, Bai Ge was deeply shaken.

This was only the lowest-level Soul Hunting Forest. It was difficult to imagine just how vast the even larger Star Dou Great Forest and Sunset Forest must be.

Looking at the Soul Hunting Forest so close before them, Grandmaster took out a token and led Bai Ge and Tang San quickly toward the entrance.

Outside the Soul Hunting Forest stood a circle of towering Iron Fences.

The Soul Hunting Forest was so vast that it was hard to imagine how such tall, continuous Iron Fences had been built. Outside the fences, teams of well-equipped soldiers with a grim lineup patrolled in shifts. Security was extremely tight.

Holding the token, Grandmaster walked all the way to the entrance of the Soul Hunting Forest. After being stopped by the Soldier Captain guarding the entrance, Grandmaster raised the token in his hand and handed it to him.

The Soldier Captain responsible for checking passes carefully examined Grandmaster's token, and reverence immediately appeared in his eyes. He quickly returned the token to Grandmaster, warmly ordered the soldiers to clear the way, and personally opened the Main Gate of the Soul Hunting Forest's entrance, inviting Grandmaster inside.

Upon entering the Soul Hunting Forest, Bai Ge immediately felt as though he had entered another world. The noise of the marketplace faded completely away, leaving only the tranquil sounds of birds and insects.

Looking around, towering trees filled the area, while beneath them grew clumps of unknown Flower and Grass plants everywhere.

Among these clusters of plants, there were surprisingly few shrubs. Most resembled flowers, yet were far taller than ordinary flowers.

The towering trees throughout the Soul Hunting Forest blocked out the sunlight, making the entire forest dimly lit. In that faint light, the petals and leaves of these unknown flower-like plants emitted a gentle glow, creating a fantastical sight.

Having successfully entered the Soul Hunting Forest, Grandmaster showed no sign of happiness. Instead, his expression became even more solemn.

"Bai Ge, Xiao San, both of you need to be careful. The Soul Hunting Forest isn't safe. Stay close to me, and be careful not to get separated."

Carefully scanning their surroundings, Grandmaster said solemnly to Bai Ge and Tang San.

"Alright, we understand, Teacher."

Bai Ge and Tang San nodded. In an environment like this, they naturally knew what to do.

"Come out, Luo San Pao!"

After giving Bai Ge and Tang San his instructions, Grandmaster did not immediately set off deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest. Instead, he slowly extended his right hand and spoke softly.

As Grandmaster's voice fell, a streak of purple light emerged from within the body and landed on the ground. A strange purple creature suddenly appeared before Bai Ge.

It was an extremely strange-looking creature, about one and a half meters long. Its overall shape resembled that of a dog, and its entire body was covered in pale purple fur. Its two large ears drooped down, while its deep blue eyes shone brightly. Yet it was unusually plump, like a little pig, giving it a very odd appearance.

But objectively speaking, the creature still looked quite adorable.

Upon seeing Grandmaster, the unfamiliar creature immediately showed an especially excited expression. It quickly ran to Grandmaster's legs and rubbed its large head, which had a small bump on it, against his leg again and again.

"Bai Ge, Xiao San, don't be surprised. This is my Martial Soul. You can call him Luo San Pao, or simply San Pao."

As though noticing Bai Ge and Tang San's puzzled expressions, Grandmaster explained.

"But, Teacher, didn't you say that Beast Martial Souls manifest by possessing their masters?"

Hearing Grandmaster's words, Tang San could not help but be greatly surprised.

At that, Grandmaster immediately gave a bitter smile.

"San Pao is indeed a Beast Martial Soul, but unlike Bai Ge's Cloud-Soaring Vine, though San Pao is also a mutated Martial Soul, mutations can be good or bad. San Pao undoubtedly mutated in a bad direction. When it first Awakened, my Soul Power was only at half a rank. Otherwise, how could it be like this? No matter how hard I try, my Soul Power will never Break Through level thirty in this life. In the end, I can only study Martial Souls in theory..."

"I'm sorry, Teacher. I brought up something painful."

Seeing Grandmaster's lonely expression, Tang San hurriedly apologized.

"It's alright. I got used to it long ago."

Grandmaster tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing an ugly smile, and Shook His Head.

"Alright, don't waste any more time. I still need to find Spirit Beasts for the two of you. Let's get moving. San Pao, lead the way!"

After collecting himself, Grandmaster returned to his calm expression. Raising his head and looking into the distance, he spoke sternly to Luo San Pao.

"Luo luo..."

Hearing Grandmaster's command, Luo San Pao, who had been rubbing against Grandmaster's trouser leg, immediately became serious as well.

Quickly running in front of Grandmaster, Luo San Pao sniffed the ground as he trotted toward the depths of the Soul Hunting Forest on his short little legs.

"Come on, keep up."

Seeing Luo San Pao's actions, Grandmaster gave Bai He and Tang San an instruction before quickly following after him.