Ming Dou Great Forest, Star Luo Royal Academy, Xu Jiujiu (Happy New Year)

"Young Master, the Ming Dou Great Forest, like the Ming Dou Mountain Range, stretches across the Sun Moon and Star Luo Empires. It is a soul beast forest roughly half the size of the Star Dou Great Forest and occupies one-third of the Star Luo Empire's border.

It produces a great number of mutated soul beasts. Although the overall strength of its soul beasts is inferior to that of the Star Dou Great Forest, it is still extremely dangerous.

The fact that those Evil Soul Masters can commit rape, pillage, murder, and arson on the outskirts of the Ming Dou Great Forest is enough to show that they are no ordinary opponents."

On the Soul Tool Boat, Yue Lao continued piloting while Soul Sage Zhi Sen fulfilled his duty as a protector, explaining the situation to Xu Tianxi and emphasizing how dangerous this operation would be.

"Although Evil Soul Masters are rats from the darkest corners of society, they have always been notorious for their wicked and difficult-to-counter methods. They can often fight across borders, and they may possess methods we never anticipated."

"Moreover, since we're fighting on the outskirts of the Ming Dou Great Forest, we also have to consider the threat posed by the mutated soul beasts inside. Few of those creatures are harmless, and they are more aggressive than ordinary soul beasts. We absolutely mustn't let them entangle us..."

At this, Xu Tianxi's eyes flickered as he pondered.

"According to Senior, the Ming Dou Great Forest is quite a blessed place. Aside from the Star Dou Great Forest, there shouldn't be another soul beast gathering place in the Original Three Kingdoms that can firmly surpass it, right?"

Mutated soul beasts were great. He liked them best. What was the fun in having nothing but creatures in their original form? New abilities born from mutations were what made things interesting—such as top-tier Silver Soul Beasts.

Zhi Sen had not expected the Young Master's focus to be so unusual. He seemed not to take the notorious Evil Soul Masters seriously at all.

But since Xu Tianxi had asked, he naturally answered. Without hurry, he began explaining the situation in the Ming Dou Great Forest.

"That's right. The Ming Dou Great Forest borders the Ming Dou Mountain Range and covers a vast area. The quality of its soul beasts is generally quite high as well, making it one of the best places for Soul Masters from the Sun Moon and Star Luo Empires to hunt soul rings."

"According to rumors, terrifying mutated Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts roam the depths of the Ming Dou Great Forest. Ordinary Titled Douluo would be no different from seeking death if they fought one. Only Super Douluo can contend with them."

"As for whether legendary Ferocious Beasts dwell there, I cannot say. Such beings are extraordinarily powerful. I fear that only a powerhouse among Super Douluo, such as the Ice Phoenix Crown, could match them."

"Are there any powerful Silver Soul Beasts or formidable Mental Attribute soul beasts? Soul beasts connected to the moon or other stars would work too." Xu Tianxi pressed on eagerly.

The corner of Soul Sage Zhi Sen's eye twitched. He felt that Xu Tianxi was asking the impossible.

"...In theory, there certainly should be some, but I cannot confirm the actual situation. However, I have heard several rumors that may be useful.

"For example, several important Soul Skills inherited by the current Star Luo Royal Family's Star Crown Martial Soul require soul beasts found only in the Ming Dou Great Forest. There must definitely be star-type soul beasts there. Also, more than three thousand years ago, the Sun Moon Empire hunted a Silver Dragon. That Silver Dragon came from the Ming Dou Great Forest..."

Xu Tianxi's eyes lit up even more. He discussed the soul beasts of the Ming Dou Great Forest with Soul Sage Zhi Sen with great interest, his emotions surging from time to time.

The place was at least half the size of the Star Dou Great Forest. Even if it could not nurture a top-tier Ferocious Beast, it should at least be able to produce a Ferocious Beast on the level of the Titan Snow Demon King or Ice Bear King Xiao Bai. There had once even been rumors of a Silver Dragon there. Perhaps it contained a soul beast perfectly suited to him.

The Illusory Moon Mystic Eyes Martial Soul still had six empty soul-ring slots, but not one of them could be wasted. He would probably have to search for most of his remaining soul rings himself. He had to start planning carefully.

As his head gradually began to ache, Zhi Sen racked his brains to answer Xu Tianxi's endless questions, question marks popping up in his mind one after another.

Was this Young Master here to capture Evil Soul Masters or hunt soul beasts? Hadn't he only recently broken through to the third ring?

And was he perhaps a little too confident? They were going to kill Evil Soul Masters, after all.

Still, the Ice Phoenix Crown had said that the Young Master had once killed five Evil Soul Masters at the Soul Ancestor level by himself, slaughtering them as easily as chickens. Could it be that he had absolute confidence in his own strength?

Time passed quickly. After Xu Tianxi had exhausted Zhi Sen's knowledge, his face brightened, and he switched to discussing cultivation, showing not the slightest trace of nervousness.

His relaxed, leisurely tone and smiling expression contained none of the unease of a novice Soul Master venturing out into the world for the first time.

In fact, Xu Tianxi had never taken those Evil Soul Masters seriously.

They were only a few Evil Soul Masters. Capture those who should be captured and kill those who should be killed. If he still could not manage it after expending most of his Soul Power and stamina, he could simply switch to Fixed Soul Cannon Shells.

His primary goal in emerging from seclusion this time was indeed to test his Soul Master abilities, but that did not mean he would be so rigid as to refuse to use Soul Tools.

Thanks to Yue Lao's wholehearted instruction over the past few years, his Soul Engineer skills had already reached the Level 4 Soul Engineer stage.

The Level 4 Fixed Soul Cannon Shells that he once could only import could now be made by hand as long as he had sufficient raw materials and time. Xiao Changfeng had put the Level 4 Fixed Soul Cannon Shells he produced on the Black Market, earning quite a number of Gold Soul Coins.

The reason he had been unable to make a Level 5 Soul Tool before breaking through to Soul Elder was not that he could not inscribe a Level 5 Core Array. His Soul Power simply did not allow him to complete the production of a Level 5 Soul Tool alone.

During his month of seclusion, he had focused on perfection in one area, practicing several common lightning-type Soul Master attack methods, such as Thunder Shadow Step, Surging Thunder Hand, and Thunder Shock Fist. He had achieved a little success in each.

In another area, he had poured his heart and soul into repeated attempts and had finally succeeded in making his first Level 5 Soul Tool—

A Level 5 Fixed Soul Cannon Shell with an Ice effect.

Although it was a counterfeit modeled after the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy's product, he had made it himself all the same. In theory, as long as he could make it explode near a Soul Emperor powerhouse, there was a very good chance it could take that Soul Emperor down. Even a Soul Sage would be frozen stiff.

Since it was something he had created with his own hands, it was part of his strength. There was no reason not to use it.

If the Evil Soul Masters dared to push him too far, he would simply unleash a barrage of cannons and blast their mothers, letting them experience the terror of Soul Tool Technology firsthand!

With the New Year festival approaching, Xu Tianxi had specially modified a Gatling-style Level 4 Fixed Soul Cannon Shell launcher, ready to give the people of Douluo Continent a small but unforgettable fireworks spectacle at any time.

Three days later, at dusk.

The Xu Tianxi Trio traveled by water and then by land, arriving at a fairly large town fifty li from the Ming Dou Great Forest, where they stopped to rest.

The town was close to the soul beast forest. Its buildings were simple yet wild in style, and all kinds of service facilities were geared toward Soul Masters. Shouts and cries rang in their ears along the road.

Some Soul Masters were temporarily looking for hunting companions, while others were hawking precious soul beast materials hunted from the Ming Dou Great Forest.

To Xu Tianxi's surprise, a small force of five hundred soldiers was stationed in the town. Fully armed knight patrols also moved through the streets, their cold radiance gleaming over their armor. Their fine equipment carried an unmistakable air of killing intent.

"Young Master, the Star Luo Empire's Western Group Army has deployed five hundred thousand troops in the Ming Dou Mountain Range. This place is both a supply point for Soul Masters and a beacon post established specifically to guard against soul beast attacks."

Yue Lao had military experience and saw through the purpose of the town's layout at a glance. Soul beast attacks were what human society feared most, and all four great empires had deployed warning forces in the major soul beast gathering places.

Zhi Sen swept his gaze around and said, "I'm afraid there's more to it than that. Since Star Luo military forces are stationed here, the town must be under Star Luo's complete control. I fear that every person who enters is secretly having their information collected by the Star Luo Empire."

Xu Tianxi shrugged and said with an unconcerned smile, "It doesn't matter. We are all wearing Soul Tool Masks made by Yue Lao, and our Soul Power is completely concealed. These ordinary people cannot collect any useful information about us."

He had secretly observed them earlier. Every one of these fully armed Star Luo knights and soldiers was broad-shouldered and powerfully built, clearly a veteran of countless battles.

But ordinary people without Martial Souls, even armed to the teeth, could at most contend with an ordinary Soul Elder—the white-yellow-yellow configuration.

Large numbers of soldiers forming a battle formation could indeed sweep all before them, and might even force a Titled Douluo to retreat. But these five hundred people posed virtually no threat. Any one of the three of them could walk out and slaughter them without leaving a single survivor.

Yue Lao was a Soul Engineer skilled at covering an area with firepower, while Zhi Sen was a top-tier plant-type Soul Sage. Both were experts at group combat.

After taking in the sights along the way, the three entered the largest inn in town, Laifu Inn. They found a secluded corner and sat down to order food.

Because the town bordered the Ming Dou Great Forest, some of the dishes were actually made from the flesh and hides of century-old soul beasts. The prices were rather steep, but money was no issue for the three of them.

While waiting for the food, Xu Tianxi's gaze fell upon the Soul Masters in the inn who were drinking, boasting, and showing off their abilities. He fell into thought.

Suddenly, a striking group entered through the inn's doors, and the noisy voices abruptly quieted.

Two middle-aged Soul Masters who were clearly the leaders entered first, followed by seven others. Every one of them was a handsome man or beautiful woman with an extraordinary bearing. They were richly dressed and extremely young, attracting countless eyes and whispers.

"With such an imposing group, they must be from some powerful Soul Master Academy, or perhaps the younger generation brought here by elders from a powerful sect to hunt soul beasts, right?"

"You ignorant fool, you can't even recognize the noble Star Crown Badges on their chests? Let me tell you, those are the symbol of our Star Luo Empire's number-one academy, Star Luo Royal Academy!"

"Star Luo Royal Academy? That's the second-best Soul Master Academy on the continent, second only to the legendary Shrek Academy. In that case, aren't they all the most outstanding young talents in our country?"

"Of course! Every one of these geniuses is extraordinary. I can see that three of them have reached the Soul King or Quasi Soul King level, while the remaining four are Soul Ancestor experts. They might even be the team that will represent Star Luo Royal Academy in the Continental Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition two years from now!"

"Hey, Older Brother, did you notice? This group seems to be led by that beautiful young woman. I've lived for several decades, but I've never seen such a beautiful girl."

"Shut your mouth, you ignorant fool! The students of Star Luo Royal Academy are all rich or noble. She may well be the daughter of some duke. Do you have a death wish, daring to make up nonsense about her? Get a grip!"

"Smack—!"

The sweaty, short-tempered Older Brother viciously slapped his foolish younger brother, terrified that she had heard those words and that they would cost the family their lives.

Never mind the duke's revenge—the cultivation of the two Soul Masters leading the group alone was enough to keep this Soul Emperor from seeing through them. They were certainly powerhouses above the Soul Sage level. How much horse urine had he drunk to dare provoke them?

Within the Star Luo Royal Academy's group, Xu Jiujiu walked gracefully, surrounded by the Stars Surrounding the Moon. Her golden hair was braided into a smooth plait, and a gentle, captivating smile rested on her frost-defying, snow-white cheeks. Her eyes were calm and indifferent. A golden gauze dress accentuated her already somewhat proud bearing, while her air remained poised and elegant.

Though many gazes—some not necessarily well-intentioned—watched her, Xu Jiujiu remained calm and composed. Having frequented all kinds of high-end occasions since childhood, she had long grown accustomed to such scenes.

Xu Tianxi followed the crowd's gazes and glanced at her. After recognizing her identity, he withdrew his eyes. The intelligence Xiao Changfeng had given him made this Star Luo Princess a high-priority figure.

That short-tempered Older Brother has a sharp eye, but his imagination is still too limited. The Star Luo Empire doesn't have any duke with a daughter like that.

However, no matter how noble her identity was, it had nothing to do with him. After dealing with the Evil Soul Masters and making his trip to the White Tiger Estate, he would travel to the Sun Moon Empire. There was no need for them to interact.

When his gaze landed on the soul beast dishes finally delivered by the tardy server, Xu Tianxi's eyes suddenly blazed.

The world was vast, but food came first.

At the same time, Xu Jiujiu's casually wandering gaze happened to sweep toward Xu Tianxi, keenly catching the changes in his expression and movements.

In this man's eyes, delicious food seemed more attractive than she was?

"Huh? These three seem somewhat unusual." Xu Jiujiu studied them for a few moments and discovered that Xu Tianxi and his two companions were all extraordinary. Every one of them had their face concealed by a mask, and none revealed any Soul Power.

Such control was no small matter. At the very least, only experts among Soul Ancestors could accomplish it—herself included.

"Your Highness, is something wrong?"

One of the leading powerhouses noticed that Xu Jiujiu's expression had changed and hurriedly asked with concern.

"Nothing. I merely noticed someone rather interesting."