The moment they stepped into the forest.
A rich, herbal fragrance greeted them.
"Strictly speaking, it seems like there are good ingredients for alchemy everywhere."
With the experience of a fifth-grade Alchemist, entering the Star Dou Great Forest felt like stepping into a medicinal garden, and it held great appeal for Xuanyuan Sheng.
The scent of herbs and wood made him sigh with emotion.
"Alchemy?"
When the little loli Xiao Xiao heard the word, her eyes widened. She latched onto his arm like a koala.
She shook his arm back and forth, pleading, "Xiao Sheng, make some pills for me. That senior you recommended I go see last time is so weird. I don't want to go to her anymore."
After she finished, she paused, then asked in confusion, "Is she really our senior? Then why doesn't she go to the academy, and why does she wear a black robe all day and act like some mysterious person... And, and..."
By the end, Xiao Xiao scratched her head, looking embarrassed, and dropped the subject.
And what?
Xuanyuan Sheng was utterly exasperated with the little girl. It was just making some pills. What was there to be embarrassed about? She'd started talking and then got stuck.
But when he saw her face suddenly flush red, he gave up on asking. He figured she wouldn't answer anyway.
Ignoring the blushing, sullen Xiao Xiao, Xuanyuan Sheng turned his gaze back to the forest.
This world really was a paradise for Alchemists.
The only pity was that only a few people from the Xuanming Sect had managed to make progress in alchemy. They could improve aptitude and Soul Power, but their research focused entirely on things beneficial to water-attribute Soul Masters.
They could only be said to have brushed against the art of alchemy.
You could casually cut down a roadside Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo and get a Soul Ring from it, which showed that spirit herbs were everywhere.
You could pluck any Blue Silver Grass and use it to make pills. What a friendly world for Alchemists.
"Xiao Sheng."
Zhang Lexuan's voice came from behind them.
Xuanyuan Sheng and Xiao Xiao walked over to her together to see what their big sister had planned.
"You've never really fought a bloody battle before, so I want you two to fight some Soul Beasts and get a taste of blood. What do you think?"
She looked at Xiao Xiao and her younger brother, though she paid more attention to Xuanyuan Sheng.
It was fine if they weren't willing.
After all, she was almost a Titled Douluo.
If she couldn't even protect her family from seeing things like this, then what had all her cultivation been for?
"No problem. Of course," Xuanyuan Sheng said firmly.
Recently, the knowledge points Humanity's Luck had given him had been a little scarce. Fortunately, it had made up for the shortfall with some combat experience.
That was, the training ground formed by Humanity's Luck. He didn't know why it could only be activated at night, but it had given him enough combat experience.
"Against Soul Beasts?"
Xiao Xiao muttered under her breath.
To be honest, she really didn't want to fight Soul Masters right now. She still loved to fight, but getting beaten up every night and being called a little dwarf—who wouldn't be angry?
Of course, as long as she didn't have to fight the hazy figure in her dreams, Xiao Xiao's fighting spirit was still strong.
Every night, that person—whose looks, face, and height she couldn't make out—would suddenly appear in her dreams.
They were both at the same level of Soul Power and could only release two Soul Rings, but the other person started with two black Soul Rings, which had scared her half to death.
Fortunately, after a few rounds, she got used to it. More importantly, Xiao Xiao knew it was a dream, so the fear faded away.
"What's wrong?" Xuanyuan Sheng asked curiously, watching Xiao Xiao mutter to herself.
Wasn't this little loli the most violent? Why wasn't she pounding her flat chest and volunteering to go first?
"Nothing, Xiao Sheng. Good luck!"
Xiao Xiao thought happily that Sister Lexuan had been the first to win her over, hadn't she? That meant her status was a cut above Xuanyuan Sheng's.
Although Xiao Sheng had said he wanted to become Sister Lexuan's disciple, the formal apprenticeship hadn't started yet. Strictly speaking, whoever had performed the apprenticeship rites first should be the senior apprentice.
The more she thought about it, the brighter Xiao Xiao's eyes grew.
Her little yellow head was spinning rapidly.
Sisters like Sister Lexuan and Ma Xiaotao seemed to be the ones Xiao Sheng liked listening to most. So as long as she became his senior apprentice...
She could ask Xiao Sheng to warm her bed, help her bathe... Everything she'd ever imagined could be put on the agenda.
At Xiao Xiao's mischievous giggling, Xuanyuan Sheng took a step back.
The little loli was making that creepy laugh again. Better to let her go first.
Zhang Lexuan smiled warmly at them and nodded.
Not long after, Ma Xiaotao, now reduced to a laborer, arrived nearby with a group of Steel-Toothed Pigs.
There was no helping it. To show how hardworking she was, this sort of task had to be handled by her, Ma Xiaotao.
"Whew!"
"Sister Lexuan, what do you think of these? I picked them out carefully," Ma Xiaotao said with a smug smile.
The hardship now was for sweetness later.
Only by letting the enemy's guard down could she get what she wanted. That was called an open strategy. Did the little system understand?
Zhang Lexuan carefully inspected the Soul Beasts' ages with the system.
She found that Ma Xiaotao really had put in a lot of effort. Without the system, she wouldn't have been able to catch Soul Beasts with such suitable ages.
Now that the preparations were done, they could leave the battlefield to the two young Soul Masters.
Zhang Lexuan handed Ma Xiaotao several Soul Tools used to drive away Soul Beasts. With their intelligence, these Soul Beasts wouldn't try to break through the boundary, making them perfect for the two of them.
"They're Steel-Toothed Pigs! Xiao Sheng, let Senior—"
Xiao Xiao reached out to pat the person beside her, but her hand found nothing and swiped through empty air.
"Si—"
She slowly looked behind her.
Xuanyuan Sheng had already retreated to the treetops with Sister Lexuan and the others.
[Because your wild fantasies just now scared him, you'll be going first.]
The Love System kindly reminded her.
"You can read my mind?"
Xiao Xiao cautiously covered her chest. She didn't want to have no secrets at all. A beautiful girl's romantic fantasies were extremely embarrassing and not something she could tell anyone.
[Hell no, I can't read your mind. That lovestruck look on your face was plain as day. Anyone could tell what you were thinking.]
The Love System scolded her angrily in Xiao Xiao's mind.
Xiao Xiao instinctively covered her ears.
Several scattered century-old Steel-Toothed Pigs charged from behind her.
Feeling the ground tremble beneath her feet, her expression changed at once. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she summoned her Violent Gauntlets.
Up in the tree, Xuanyuan Sheng couldn't even begin to process Xiao Xiao's unbelievably talented Soul Ring configuration.
The Martial Soul he'd never seen before alone was enough to leave him utterly bewildered.
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