The Outer Region was mostly home to Soul Beasts under ten thousand years old. Soul Beasts had very low intelligence before reaching ten thousand years. When they saw a terrifying presence, they would flee in every direction, easily triggering a small beast tide.
If humans happened to be hunting Soul Beasts there at that moment, they could very well lose their lives as a result.
Although Ye Wen had become a Soul Beast, he wouldn't harm people recklessly.
"Sure, boss. Let's head back for now," Titan Giant Ape said.
"Mm. Go on," Ye Wen said with a nod.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Titan Giant Ape returned to the Lake of Life. The trio of Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai also planned to leave Star Dou Great Forest quickly in their humanoid forms.
Titan Giant Ape's appearance had indeed caused a small Soul Beast tide in the Outer Region.
Although they avoided the tide, large numbers of Soul Beasts had fled to take shelter, leaving their habitats and territories. With so many Soul Beasts on the move, it was also much easier to run into one.
That was because most Soul Beasts had fixed territories. This was especially true of carnivorous Soul Beasts, which had their own turf and wouldn't leave easily. They only hunted within the bounds of their territory.
With everything thrown into chaos, the odds of encountering a Soul Beast rose.
The three of them knocked down several Soul Beasts around a thousand years old along the way. In their human forms, they still had Soul Bones, so they could handle Thousand Year Soul Beasts.
Unexpectedly, they ran into a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast in the Outer Region!
It was a bear—a Berserk Demonic Bear that had only just reached the ten-thousand-year level.
"Roar!!"
The Berserk Demonic Bear stood in front of the three of them, roaring.
"Looks like our luck isn't great! We actually ran into a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast in the Outer Region." Ye Wen shrugged helplessly.
There were Ten Thousand Year Soul Beasts in the Outer Region, but they were rare. Usually, you hardly ever encountered one.
"I'll handle it." Xiao Bai was about to step in and switch to her Semi-human Form.
Just then, Ye Wen suddenly called out to stop her. "Wait! Someone's coming!"
"Third Soul Skill, Ice Scorpion Seal!"
Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt! Zzzt!
A woman in a pale blue dress rushed toward them. Ice rapidly spread across the ground, freezing the Berserk Demonic Bear in place.
Two girls followed behind her. One was eleven years old, while the other looked close to ten.
The girl who was nearly ten already had a hint of womanly charm about her. Her body seemed to have just entered the early stages of development, and her figure wasn't anything special—after all, how good could a ten-year-old girl's figure be?
But she was very pretty. Long blue hair fell over her shoulders, and her skin was fair, with delicate features. She wasn't particularly stunning at first glance, but the longer you looked, the more you noticed her beauty. There was something hazy and ethereal about it; the more you looked, the prettier she seemed.
"It's her." Ye Wen recognized the girl. She was Shui Bing'er, a beauty from one of the Five Elemental Academies, Skywater Academy.
"What are you three standing around for? Get over here!"
The woman who had frozen the Berserk Demonic Bear hurriedly called to them.
Ye Wen, Evil Tiger, and Xiao Bai ran over to stand behind her.
"Roar!"
The Berserk Demonic Bear broke free from the ice and lunged at the woman.
The woman was Skywater Academy's strongest teacher, Shui Xiuzhen. She was a level 71 Strength Attack System Soul Master, and her Martial Soul was a high-grade Ice Scorpion.
She had nothing to fear from a Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast. Shui Xiuzhen released another Soul Skill. "Fifth Soul Skill, Wrath of the Ice Scorpion!"
A huge Ice Scorpion formed from Soul Power quickly crawled toward the Berserk Demonic Bear. Wherever it went, the ground froze.
Bang!
The Berserk Demonic Bear was gravely wounded by the blow. Realizing it couldn't win, the clever bear turned and ran.
Shui Xiuzhen didn't chase after it. She had only stepped in to save the three children.
"Are you all right?"
Shui Xiuzhen withdrew her power and walked over to the three of them. Shui Bing'er and the other Skywater student came over too, curiously sizing up the three six-year-olds, their minds full of questions.
"We're all right now. Thank you for saving us, ma'am." Ye Wen cupped his hands in gratitude.
"You three look about the age when you'd just awakened your Martial Souls. What are you doing in Star Dou Great Forest? Where are the adults who came with you?" Shui Xiuzhen asked.
Anyone who came here usually had an adult Soul Master accompanying them. Children this young couldn't have entered by themselves.
Ye Wen understood that too, so he needed an excuse or they would become suspicious. His mind raced, and he quickly came up with one. "Our mentor brought us to Star Dou Great Forest to obtain Soul Rings, but we suddenly ran into a Soul Beast tide. My teacher died while protecting us in the tide."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Wen hurriedly gave Evil Tiger and Xiao Bai a look.
Evil Tiger and Xiao Bai immediately understood.
Without a hint of emotion, Evil Tiger said, "Yeah! Our teacher died!"
Ye Wen couldn't help rolling his eyes. Evil Tiger, could your acting be any worse?
Xiao Bai, on the other hand, was incredible. Tears streamed down her face as she sobbed, "Our mentor, our mentor did everything she could to protect us. She sacrificed herself to save us, but in the end, she was killed by those Soul Beasts. Waaaah!"
"We were orphans to begin with. Our mentor was our only family, and now, now! We have no family left. Waaaah!"
"Don't cry, little girl. Please, don't cry."
"Little sister, I don't know how to comfort you, but I believe things will get better with time."
Xiao Bai's performance convinced Shui Bing'er and the other two completely, and they felt so sorry for her that they gathered around to comfort her.
Evil Tiger was dumbfounded.
Ye Wen's mouth twitched. Was her acting really that damn good?
Wow, even I almost believed it!
Xiao Bai, you're something else!
"Teacher, they're so pitiful. Let's take them back to Skywater Academy with us." Kind-hearted Shui Bing'er hugged Xiao Bai, her face full of sympathy.
Shui Xiuzhen shook her head. "Skywater Academy only accepts girls, and only Soul Masters with water or ice attributes. Even I don't have the authority to make an exception for them. But I can help them find a place at another academy."
"Skywater Academy? It seems like a decent choice." Listening to their exchange, Ye Wen considered it.
His soul was no longer that of a child, and he also carried the memories of the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King. But he didn't know much about the human world of Douluo Continent—its culture, knowledge, history, or the many things and customs there.
He also wanted to learn about Soul Beast species and their traits, as well as the various plants and Plant-type Soul Beasts.
You couldn't learn everything about the human world by reading novels or watching television.
So Ye Wen was considering joining a Soul Master Academy to continue his studies and become more like a human, more like someone who belonged in this world.
He wanted to gain a thorough understanding of Douluo Continent. Joining an academy was part of his plan, but Nuoding Academy was definitely out of the question.
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