Journey to Suotuo City

Bang!

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

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

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

Before long, Qing Mu once again ventured deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest and began his journey of grinding levels.

One month later, a ragged youth emerged from the Star Dou Great Forest, followed by a blue-green toad with a garlic bulb growing from its back.

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

That ragged youth 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. Because the map's positioning had been inaccurate, they lost their bearings in the Star Dou Great Forest and spent a long time before finally locating their position again.

"Sniff..."

At that moment, Qing Mu sniffed himself, and a pungent sour stench immediately rushed straight to his head.

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

Qing Mu helplessly smacked his forehead. He had originally brought quite a few clothes, but they had all been used up during the past month's battles with Soul Beasts. Otherwise, he would not have been wearing such 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 be worth some money.

Soon, Qing Mu arrived at an inn in the town.

He placed two Gold Soul Coins on the counter and said to the young man at the front desk, "Get me a room with shower facilities. Also, buy me a decent set of clothes. The rest is your tip."

The young man's eyes lit up at the sight of the two Gold Soul Coins. He swiftly led Qing Mu to a somewhat luxurious room.

Because this was only a small town, the room was not as good as Qing Mu's own, but it was already more than sufficient for him.

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

After staying for a month in a place filled with Soul Beasts, even with a Storage Soul Tool, Qing Mu could not have had an easy time of it.

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

Because they had gotten lost, Qing Mu and Bulbasaur had accidentally entered the transitional region of the Star Dou Great Forest, forcing them to endure extremely brutal battles. They had even fallen into life-and-death danger 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 advanced from Level 32 to Level 34.

More importantly, both Qing Mu and Bulbasaur had undergone earth-shaking changes in temperament. Their previously somewhat lazy auras had completely vanished, replaced by a far more resolute air.

Bulbasaur in particular had perhaps killed too many Soul Beasts. Its eyes had even taken on a faint blood-red hue, and an extremely terrifying killing intent lingered around its body.

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 himself was a noble, and neither his nor Bulbasaur's condition was anywhere near as severe as Tang San's had been in the original story. There was no need for any so-called cleansing; they only needed to relax for a while.

Knock, knock...

At that moment, someone knocked on the door, followed by the front desk clerk's voice from outside. "Guest, the clothes you requested."

Qing Mu opened the door, accepted the clothes, and smiled as he nodded. "Thank you for the trouble."

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all! If you need anything else, feel free to call for me anytime!" The young man beamed and respectfully bowed to Qing Mu.

Although Qing Mu had booked the highest-class room, it only cost five Silver Soul Coins per night. Adding in the clothes that cost nearly one Gold Soul Coin, he had earned a tip of five Silver Soul Coins from this one trip alone.

Five Silver Soul Coins—more than his monthly wages. How could he not be grateful to Qing Mu?

After the young man left, Qing Mu changed into his new clothes and went to a large restaurant, where he and Bulbasaur enjoyed a lavish meal.

The meal ultimately cost Qing Mu four Gold Soul Coins. While that was enough to cover a family's expenses for an entire year, Qing Mu was actually quite frugal by noble standards.

If other nobles had come to spend money, it would not have been unusual for a single meal to cost dozens or even hundreds of Gold Soul Coins. Sometimes, top nobles could spend tens 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, Soul Masters, and commoners could be said to exist in entirely different economic systems.

After eating and drinking his fill, Qing Mu returned to the inn, threw himself onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the Star Dou Great Forest, danger had surrounded him everywhere, 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 from the soft bed and stretched.

"Ah, that was such a comfortable sleep."

After a night's rest, Qing Mu's mental fatigue had vanished without a trace. This was the best he had felt mentally in the entire past month.

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

"You wish to visit a Great Soul Arena, guest? Then I recommend going to nearby Suotuo City. It's a large city, so there are more Soul Masters there."

The front desk clerk offered 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 stroked his chin, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.

He remembered that Suotuo City seemed to be where Shrek was located, didn't he? If he went there, he might even run into the people from Shrek. He wondered whether the main characters from the original story would provide more experience.

Yes, after testing it with his father, Qing Tianfeng, Qing Mu had already confirmed that defeating Soul Masters in battle would also grant experience. The only thing left to verify was whether the mechanism differed from that of Soul Beasts.

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