Hagen Dazs Kingdom

As the strongest of the Heaven Dou Empire's four great kingdoms, the Hagen Dazs Kingdom had a standing army of over three hundred thousand troops.

There were also three Soul Douluo-level powerhouses within the royal family. The strongest was the previous King of Hagen Dazs, an eighty-ninth-level Soul Douluo already in his seventies or eighties. He likely had no hope of breaking through to become a Titled Douluo in this lifetime.

The other two Soul Douluo were also members of the royal family. They were generally over sixty-five years old, with nearly all their potential exhausted, and were only barely low-level Soul Douluo.

Even so, they were far better off than the other three great kingdoms. At the very least, they had confidence and some foundation, unlike the others, who had almost no powerhouses worth mentioning besides their armies.

The Hagen Dazs Kingdom also bordered the Far North and often faced the threat of beast tides from it. Thus, the entire kingdom valued martial prowess. Merchant caravans and Soul Master teams traveling through the area were countless, which in turn promoted economic growth. The Hagen Dazs Kingdom gradually flourished, even showing signs of breaking away from the Heaven Dou Empire.

Tian Meng had barely interacted with the human world before. He was curious about everything along the way, and after growing accustomed to Shen Hanyu, his chatterbox nature erupted almost completely. The noise nearly drove Shen Hanyu, who had always preferred quiet and solitude, to the brink.

According to the original timeline, Shen Hanyu had prevented him from wandering into the Star Dou Great Forest and being exploited by those Fierce Beasts. Without those painful experiences, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was not as cunning and meticulous as he would have been Ten Thousand Years later. Still, he was intelligent to the bone; otherwise, he would not deserve the title of a Mental Attribute Fierce Beast.

Unable to bear it any longer, Shen Hanyu simply entered a cultivation state. The Coachman was not much of a talker either, speaking fewer than three sentences a day.

Seeing Shen Hanyu enter cultivation, Tian Meng racked his brains for a long while before finally coming up with a solution.

A vast surge of Mental Power separated from Shen Hanyu's Sea of Consciousness and slowly condensed on his shoulder into the form of an ice silkworm. It was much smaller, only around twenty centimeters long, with a soft glow radiating from its body and a faint fragrance added to the air.

Shen Hanyu was startled awake. Looking at the little silkworm on his shoulder, he took a long moment to recover.

"Tian Meng?"

The little silkworm nodded and said, "This is a clone created by Brother using Mental Power as its foundation. Brother's consciousness can freely shift between your Sea of Consciousness and this clone. Even if this clone is destroyed, Brother will not suffer any harm."

Shen Hanyu gave a grunt and examined Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's body. "You do look much better like this. At least you've got some of that cute cat-and-dog charm now."

Tian Meng snorted. Then his body slowly wriggled through the air toward the window. Looking at the lively scene outside, he sighed with feeling. "So this is what the human world is like. It's far better than the world of us Soul Beasts, where all we know is cultivation and slaughter. Brother observed human cities with Mental Power a long time ago. Back then, they were nowhere near this lively. Humans were even just food hunted by Soul Beasts."

Shen Hanyu took a waterskin from his Soul Tool, drank a mouthful, then wiped his mouth. "Humans cultivate far faster than Soul Beasts, but our lifespans are limited as well. Even at Snow Empress's level, one only has a few hundred years at most."

"And you Soul Beasts are born with extremely long lifespans, yet your intelligence develops quite slowly. Cultivation is difficult for you too, and you can almost only rely on slaughter or the tempering of time. It is fair, yet distorted. There is no way to judge which is stronger or weaker, who is right or wrong."

Tian Meng sighed softly. "I've lived for hundreds of thousands of years, but for nearly nine hundred thousand years before that, I barely observed this world at all. Yet I have this feeling that, Hanyu, you are a variable—a variable in my predetermined fate. I don't know whether the outcome will be good or bad..."

Shen Hanyu smiled and pondered for a moment.

"I don't know whether it will be good or bad either, but it is fate nonetheless."

"Then... Hanyu, what is your goal?"

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly asked, the gaze in his tiny eyes turning serious.

Shen Hanyu looked at the bustling mortal world beyond the window. Thinking of all the beautiful things he possessed, he finally said, "Probably finding one or two kindred beauties, cultivating diligently, then pursuing those illusory godhoods. And in the end, surviving."

Sky Dream Ice Silkworm froze for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Hanyu, you're still so young. Why are you already thinking about life and death like some old man in his seventies or eighties? Listen to Brother. Brother guarantees that you'll definitely ascend to that illusory godhood. Don't worry, Brother has your back..."

Shen Hanyu did not take it seriously. He signaled for the Coachman to stop, tossed him three Gold Soul Coins, and got out of the carriage.

Tian Meng concealed himself with Mental Power and remained sprawled over Shen Hanyu's shoulder.

"How should I put it? I've always had faith in myself, and I've never doubted my talent."

Shen Hanyu strolled down the street at an unhurried pace.

"Besides, becoming a god is only the goal, not the end. Or rather, nothing in my plans will go unfinished."

For a moment, Tian Meng did not know what to say. He simply stopped paying attention to Shen Hanyu and stared eagerly at the goods sold by the various street vendors.

Shen Hanyu chuckled to himself. He bought some food with a few Silver Coins and handed it to Sky Dream Ice Silkworm.

"Try it. Human food—isn't it much tastier than the ice marrow you ate?"

Tian Meng took a bite, and his eyes immediately lit up. He wolfed it down while mumbling indistinctly, "Good... so good..."

Shen Hanyu smiled and continued toward the city center.

With Tian Meng's terrifying Mental Power concealing him, no one besides Shen Hanyu could see Tian Meng's existence. Even Shen Hanyu himself appeared ordinary in their eyes.

His originally dashing, outstanding looks became plain, and his extraordinary bearing turned simple and rustic. He looked entirely like a country bumpkin entering the city.

When they reached the center of Hagen-Dazs City, Tian Meng suddenly said, "Hanyu, I sense the aura of one of your human Soul Douluo. His body is filled with dense life energy. He's in the building to your front left."

Shen Hanyu followed his gaze.

It was a massive building, over two hundred meters long, built entirely from hard granite. The emblem of the Hagen Dazs Kingdom was carved upon it, along with an enormous sign that read:

Hagen Dazs Great Soul Arena

"Tian Meng, that's a human Soul Arena. Put simply, it's a place for fighting and settling grudges. This is the capital of the Hagen Dazs Kingdom, so having a Soul Douluo stationed in the Soul Arena isn't anything unusual," Shen Hanyu explained.

Tian Meng's little eyes rolled around, but he said nothing more and continued immersing himself in the prosperity and bustle of the human world.

Shen Hanyu did not pay much attention to it either. The previous Coachman had been unwilling to travel any farther, so he had no choice but to get off in Hagen-Dazs City and find another carriage temporarily.

Shen Hanyu could not be bothered to say much about it. That carriage had not been comfortable anyway, and changing to a more comfortable one was exactly what he wanted.

Suddenly, a young girl in a black dress emerged from the street corner. Her face was deathly still and cold, drawing Shen Hanyu's attention.

He had a strange feeling, as though something had emerged.

Tian Meng spoke at that moment as well. "Hanyu, that girl in the black dress not far ahead of you has an aura very similar to that Soul Douluo in the Soul Arena just now. They probably have some direct blood relation."

"But, well, Brother feels that there is something strange about them. I just can't tell what exactly is wrong..."