Yu Xiaogang's Shock

At the appointed time, Li Chen and Xiao Wu, and Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, the two pairs arranged to meet in a small grove not far outside Nuoding City.

As for why they did not meet at Nuoding Academy, it was naturally because Yu Xiaogang had now become a master of sleeping naked. Everyone in the academy, even the old lady who swept the floors, knew of his glorious exploits.

A few older women had even once assumed that Yu Xiaogang had simply gone too long without affection and offered themselves to him. Though his reputation was poor, Yu Xiaogang was still the dean's friend and a Soul Grandmaster. His status and wealth were there for all to see.

Li Chen and Xiao Wu arrived outside the forest hand in hand. From afar, they saw Tang San and Yu Xiaogang with large and small bags piled beside them. It was not an overwhelming amount, but it was certainly not little.

Before Li Chen could speak, Tang San called out from afar, "Xiao Wu, why didn't you prepare any Dry Rations or luggage? Couldn't you carry them?"

"It's fine, Xiao Wu. Master and I are both men. You don't eat much anyway, so you can make do with us when the time comes. It's just that we only have two tents."

"Li Chen can sleep with my teacher, and the two of us can share one tent."

Tang San spoke excitedly.

Yu Xiaogang also wore a stern yet smug expression.

"Xiao San, do you see? This is experience. I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice, and crossed more bridges than you've walked roads."

"These two children think bringing Gold Soul Coins is enough, yet they don't realize that under those conditions, Gold Soul Coins are nothing but useless stones. You can neither eat nor drink them, and no one in such a place would be willing to trade their food for your Gold Soul Coins."

As Yu Xiaogang spoke that final sentence, he lifted his head to gaze at the sky and struck the pose of a worldly master.

"We'll wait for you two a while longer. Hurry and prepare yourselves. Taking you to Soul Hunting Forest is already the utmost of my kindness. Don't expect us to provide food and lodging for you two as well."

At that moment, Tang San said, "Not only did we buy two water skins specifically for carrying water, each capable of holding a full five liters of fresh water, we also bought lots of Cured Meat, flatbread, and fruit. They're all excellent things for quickly replenishing energy."

Xiao Wu was stunned by the string of ingratiating remarks and mockery. She had never seen two people so bizarre.

Xiao Wu glanced at Li Chen, and Li Chen nodded.

Xiao Wu directly poured Soul Power into the ring, and in an instant, a huge pile of things appeared on the ground.

"This... this is a Storage Spirit Tool, and a ring-shaped one with enormous space!"

Yu Xiaogang was instantly dumbfounded. Little did he know that in his dashing younger days, the Saintess of Spirit Hall had fawned over him in every possible way. Even with her lofty status as Saintess, she had only managed to find him one Storage Spirit Tool—the belt he had lost a few days ago.

Yu Xiaogang did not connect the belt he had lost with this ring at all, because he had never heard of anyone being able to create Storage Spirit Tools!

In an instant, Yu Xiaogang's eyes gleamed. Wearing an expression that said, "I understand, I understand," he looked at Xiao Wu.

Yu Xiaogang said smugly, "Xiao Wu, if I'm not mistaken, you must be a descendant of a Great Clan, right?"

"How did you know?" Xiao Wu was genuinely startled. She had Da Ming and Er Ming as her two younger brothers, so she could indeed be said to come from a Great Clan. But she quickly calmed down, understanding why Yu Xiaogang had made that deduction.

"Not just anyone can own a Soul Tool. Though they aren't unheard of, they are still rare. Storage Spirit Tools like yours are especially difficult to find, priceless treasures that symbolize status and position."

"Combined with your Innate Full Soul Power, I conclude that you are a disciple from some Great Clan, out gaining experience! Am I right?"

Xiao Wu and Li Chen had long discussed an excuse, but before they could explain anything, Yu Xiaogang had already convinced himself. That saved them the trouble of explaining.

Tang San was delighted. "Xiao Wu, could we put our things inside your Storage Spirit Tool?"

Tang San had some grievances toward Yu Xiaogang. If Yu Xiaogang had not possessed only one storage belt, they would not be worrying so much now. Carrying so many things was exhausting, but they could not leave them behind either. They were all necessities for traveling.

Tang San had not considered in the slightest that if he had not tampered with Yu Xiaogang's belt, he and Yu Xiaogang could now have been as relaxed as Li Chen and Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu had never liked Tang San to begin with. Now that she saw him wanting to put his things into her and Li Chen's Storage Rings, displeasure rose in her heart, and she immediately thought of an excuse.

Xiao Wu said with a smile, "Our Storage Rings actually aren't that large. Storing these things has already filled them up. Sorry, we can't fit yours."

Yu Xiaogang did not doubt her, because in his eyes, such a small ring could not possibly have much storage space. His Storage Belt, gifted by the Saintess of Spirit Hall, had twenty-four gemstones embedded in it just to have that much space, and each gemstone held only one cubic meter. A ring this small certainly could not hold much.

More importantly, Yu Xiaogang believed that anyone who possessed a Storage Spirit Tool was no ordinary person. There had to be some mysterious force behind Xiao Wu.

Though he had never heard of any hidden clan whose inherited martial spirit was the Soft Bone Rabbit.

The Soft Bone Rabbit martial spirit was not especially powerful, but neither was it weak. At the very least, it was far stronger than Blue Silver Grass and a bottomless bucket.

Thus, Yu Xiaogang did not dare force Xiao Wu.

But Yu Xiaogang quickly found another opportunity to show off. He said to Li Chen and Xiao Wu, "Do you know where our destination is?"

The two answered in unison, "No, Master. We just need to follow you. We trust you."

Xiao Wu and Li Chen's flattery truly made Yu Xiaogang feel good.

Yu Xiaogang continued, "Our destination this trip is Soul Hunting Forest, roughly four hundred kilometers northeast of us. This is not a place ordinary people can enter. You need a permit issued by Spirit Hall to get in. Although it belongs to the Heaven Dou Empire, a Spirit Hall permit is not something just anyone can obtain."

"Some people do sneak in, but they generally come to no good end. Spirit Hall has a dedicated Enforcement Team in Soul Hunting Forest that checks permits at all times. Once they discover you do not have one, those Enforcement Team members will not show mercy."

Li Chen truly had not paid much attention to this, so he immediately asked, "Master, what if the permit gets lost?"

Yu Xiaogang glanced at him and spoke slowly.

"If your permit is lost during a battle with a spirit beast, you can first explain the situation to the Enforcement Team and go with them to the entrance of Soul Hunting Forest. There will be records of your registration there. As long as they verify that there is no problem, they will not make things difficult for you."