Journey to Suotuo City

Bang!

In the next moment, Qing Mu casually flung the Honey Badger Soul Beast, which had nearly been drained dry, aside.

Although most of Qing Mu's Combat Power lay with Bulbasaur, and his choice of Soul Rings meant that his own strength was indeed not outstanding among those of the same rank, that did not mean Qing Mu lacked any combat ability.

At the very least, with Qing Mu's current rank as a Soul Elder, dealing with an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Beast like this was more than easy. Bulbasaur did not even need to make a move.

Before long, Qing Mu once again ventured deep into the Star Dou Great Forest and began his leveling journey.

A month later, a ragged young man emerged from the Star Dou Great Forest, accompanied by a blue-green toad with a garlic bulb growing from its back.

Looking at the cooking smoke rising from the distant town, the young man muttered, "So I finally made it out of the Star Dou Great Forest? Next time, I definitely need to pick a better map."

That ragged young man was none other than Qing Mu, who had previously entered the Star Dou Great Forest.

In order to find suitable Soul Beasts, he and Bulbasaur had gone a little too deep. Then, due to the map's inaccurate positioning, they had lost their way in the Star Dou Great Forest and spent a long time locating their own position again.

"Sniff..."

Qing Mu sniffed himself, and an overpowering sour stench immediately rushed straight to his head.

"Looks like I need to buy a new set of clothes. This smell is a bit too strong."

Qing Mu helplessly slapped his forehead. He had originally brought quite a few clothes, but they had all been used up over the month of fighting Soul Beasts. Otherwise, he would not have been wearing these rags.

Fortunately, this was not much of a problem for Qing Mu. Not only did he have the two thousand Gold Soul Coins given to him by his parents, but he had also found some valuable items in the Star Dou Great Forest that should fetch him some money.

Before long, Qing Mu arrived at an inn in the town.

Qing Mu placed two Gold Soul Coins on the counter and said to the young man at the front desk, "Get me a room with a shower, and buy me a decent set of clothes while you're at it. Keep the rest as your tip."

The front desk clerk's eyes lit up at the sight of the two Gold Soul Coins. He quickly led Qing Mu to a somewhat luxurious room.

Since this was only a small town, the room was not as nice as Qing Mu's own, but it was more than enough for him.

Qing Mu was not particularly fussy by nature. Otherwise, he would not have chosen to enter the Star Dou Great Forest alone to grind experience.

Spending a month in a place teeming with Soul Beasts had not been pleasant, even with a Storage Soul Tool.

A short while later, Qing Mu sat on the soft bed with a bath towel draped over himself. Looking at his increasingly muscular body, he could not help but smile faintly. "I suppose this counts as a blessing in disguise?"

Because they had gotten lost, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur had once mistakenly entered the transition zone of the Star Dou Great Forest. They had therefore been forced into extremely brutal battles and had even fallen into life-and-death crises several times.

Yet it was also because of those hundreds of battles, large and small, that Qing Mu's level rose rapidly. In just one month, he had advanced from level 32 to level 34.

More importantly, both Qing Mu and Bulbasaur had undergone earth-shaking changes in temperament. Their former slightly lazy air had completely vanished, replaced by a much more resolute presence.

Bulbasaur in particular had perhaps killed too many Soul Beasts. His eyes were even tinged with blood-red, and an extremely terrifying killing intent lingered around him.

This state was somewhat similar to Tang San's condition after leaving the City of Slaughter in the original story. If handled poorly, it could affect one's mental state to a certain extent.

Fortunately, Qing Mu was a noble, and neither he nor Bulbasaur was in anywhere near as serious a condition as Tang San had been in the original story. There was no need for any so-called cleansing of worldly dust; they only needed to relax for a while.

Knock, knock.

At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, followed by the front desk clerk's voice. "Guest, your clothes are here."

Qing Mu opened the door, took the clothes, and smiled as he nodded. "Sorry for the trouble."

"Not at all, not at all. If you need anything else, feel free to call for me!" The front desk clerk beamed and respectfully bowed to Qing Mu.

Though Qing Mu had rented the finest room, it cost only five Silver Soul Coins per night. With the clothes costing nearly one Gold Soul Coin, the clerk had earned a tip of five Silver Soul Coins from this single errand.

Five Silver Soul Coins! That was already more than his monthly wages. How could he not feel grateful toward Qing Mu?

After the front desk clerk left, Qing Mu got dressed and went with Bulbasaur to a large restaurant, where they enjoyed a lavish meal.

The meal ultimately cost Qing Mu four Gold Soul Coins. Though that was a year's living expenses for many families, Qing Mu was actually rather frugal among nobles.

If other nobles were spending money, it was not unusual for a single meal to cost dozens or even hundreds of Gold Soul Coins. Sometimes, top nobles could spend tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Gold Soul Coins on a single evening just to host a banquet.

Though they all used Gold Soul Coins, nobles, Spirit Masters, and commoners essentially belonged to completely different economic systems.

After eating and drinking his fill, Qing Mu returned to the inn, lay down on the bed, and promptly fell into a deep sleep.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, danger had surrounded him at all times, so Qing Mu had never truly rested. Most of the time, he relied on meditation instead. Now that he had returned to human territory, he naturally intended to get a proper night's sleep.

The next morning, Qing Mu woke up in the soft bed and stretched lazily.

"Ah, that was such a comfortable sleep."

After a night's rest, Qing Mu's mental exhaustion had completely vanished. This was the most refreshed he had felt in the past month.

When he reached the front desk, Qing Mu asked the clerk, "Is there a Great Soul Arena nearby?"

"You're going to the Great Soul Arena, guest? Then I recommend Suotuo City nearby. It's a large city, and there are more Spirit Masters there."

The front desk clerk gave Qing Mu his suggestion.

"Suotuo City? I didn't expect the nearest city to be that place!"

Upon hearing the clerk's answer, Qing Mu rubbed his chin, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

He remembered that Suotuo City seemed to be where Shrek was located, right? If he went there, he might end up facing the Shrek group. He wondered whether the main characters from the original story would provide more experience?

That was right. Through tests with his father, Qing Tianfeng, Qing Mu had already confirmed that defeating Spirit Masters in battle also granted experience. The only thing left to verify was whether the mechanism differed from fighting Soul Beasts.

This period of rest was the perfect opportunity for Qing Mu to head to Suotuo City, participate in Soul Battles, and study the mechanism for gaining experience from fighting Spirit Masters.