The Adventure Begins! Destination: the Sun Moon Empire

The Adventure Begins! Destination: the Sun Moon Empire

"If you want the best school... then the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy is the only choice. I don't know if they still accept transfer students, but if they don't, the Mingdu Soul Engineer Academy next door isn't bad either."

Wang Dong pulled a map out of her Storage Soul Tool and began marking it up for Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu. Huo Yuhao asked curiously, "Wang Dong, I thought you kind of disliked Soul Tools. How come you're using a Storage Soul Tool?"

Wang Dong's voice faltered awkwardly. "Some things are still really practical in everyday life... And my thinking has changed a little since that day! Otherwise, I wouldn't have set my sights on the Sun Moon Empire. But seriously, are you planning to check out those two academies?"

"Mm." Huo Yuhao nodded. "Let's settle on that for now."

"Good. Then we'll go to the Sun Moon Empire by way of the Heaven Dou Empire's border." Wang Dong winked at the two of them. "I can't manage things through Star Luo, but I can get exit permits through Heaven Dou."

"Then I'll leave it to you, Wang Dong."

The route to the border between the two empires didn't overlap with the route to the Extreme North, so everything along the way was new and exciting to Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu.

At first, Wang Dong insisted on carrying her big pack, saying it made the trip feel more like an adventure. But after three days of rough travel, she quietly sorted everything inside and put it away in her Storage Soul Tool.

Huo Yuhao spent a few Copper Soul Coins at roadside stalls to buy some novels to read along the way. The most popular novels in the Douluo Three Kingdoms naturally told stories about people who had become gods ten thousand years ago. Whether it was Chronicles of Shrek's Seven Devils or Legend of the Tang Sect...

After reading for a few days, Huo Yuhao realized that the stories differed from book to book, and didn't quite match what they'd been told when they enrolled at Shrek Academy. He couldn't figure out which version was true.

As they walked, Chi Qiu recorded the rare flowers and plants she came across. Some of them weren't found in the Star Dou Great Forest, which she found fascinating. Since entering the human world, she'd learned how to write and keep notes.

Seeing Huo Yuhao's cheap, roadside history books made her think that Soul Beasts might need a history book or encyclopedia of their own. It might help many of the intelligent ones avoid repeating the tragedies of their predecessors.

When they reached the Heaven Dou Empire's border, the three stopped renting carriages and continued on foot. Wang Dong first took Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu to the last shopping street nearby, where she asked the tailor's assistant to put together two new outfits.

When he left the shop, Huo Yuhao wore a plain, narrow-sleeved tunic with several dark-ink cloud patterns embroidered around the collar. A deep-green sash was tied around his waist, with his Storage Soul Tool and White Tiger Dagger fastened to it. Simple trousers and boots completed the outfit.

He looked simple and capable. The plain clothes suited his dark hair and jade-green eyes, shedding the shabby air of his old clothes. Unlike the overly ornate Shrek uniform, which had forced a gaudy style on a child, this outfit made him look like a normal young man.

Chi Qiu chose a wine-red dress with golden twin-dragon patterns and copper-colored buttons. Fine gold trim edged its collar and cuffs. She also wore a dark-brown shawl over it, cleverly hiding some of the color and toning down the outfit's flamboyance.

Wang Dong still wore her white shirt and trousers patterned with golden-blue butterflies. Once Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu had changed, she was the first to exclaim excitedly, "Perfect, perfect! I knew my taste was good. These look much better than the Shrek uniforms."

"Sounds like you had a lot of grievances about them," Chi Qiu said. She clearly hadn't studied human clothing or fashion much.

"Yeah! Who told Shrek to slap metal elements onto the uniforms whenever they couldn't come up with a design? They were so heavy! And don't tell me that was part of their physical training, too."

Listening to her rant, Chi Qiu smiled almost imperceptibly. "They were heavy, that's for sure. This outfit is much lighter and more breathable."

Huo Yuhao didn't feel strongly about the change in clothes. Still, he agreed that the new ones were more comfortable. During training at Shrek, the uniform had been so stifling that he'd end up soaked in sweat. Even showering twice a day hadn't felt like enough.

"Are we going straight over there now?" Huo Yuhao pointed to the nearby border marker, making a startling suggestion that betrayed his lack of travel experience.

"How could we do that?" Wang Dong wore an exasperated look. "Huo Yuhao, this is the border. It's heavily guarded, and relations between the Sun Moon Empire and Heaven Dou aren't good. If you just walked across, the moment your left foot crossed the line, the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Guidance Rays would turn you into a sieve."

"Wait here a moment," she said. "I'll go get the exit permits."

Wang Dong turned and headed to a nearby, dark-brown, single-story building. The building had a solemn, imposing style, with no garish colors on its exterior. Only the front door was painted a solid, vivid red. A plaque hung beneath the eaves, its gold lettering on a red background impossible to miss: "Heaven Bless Heavenly Soul."

This must be where they issued exit permits. Huo Yuhao lightly nudged Chi Qiu. "Wang Dong will probably be a while. How about we go take a look over there?" He pointed toward the border marker, where soldiers from both empires were patrolling. Chi Qiu immediately understood that Huo Yuhao was interested in the Soul Tools carried by the Sun Moon Empire's soldiers.

"Don't get too close," Chi Qiu said. "Golden Perception tells me it's dangerous. Just use Spiritual Detection around here."

Huo Yuhao acknowledged her, and Spiritual Detection Sharing quietly began.

As he'd fused with the Ice Empress, his Sea of Consciousness had expanded more than twofold while enduring unbearable pain. The Power of Destiny and the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's strength had both replenished his Sea of Consciousness in time, leaving Huo Yuhao with an astonishing reserve of spiritual power.

A flash of gold glinted in his jade-green eyes as Spiritual Detection swept out five hundred meters. Its range could extend even farther when he scanned in a fan shape. Soon, his detection field silently enveloped the marching Sun Moon Empire soldiers.

When Huo Yuhao saw their situation clearly, a bead of cold sweat trickled down his face. He was lucky no one here had greater spiritual cultivation than he did. Even the weakest soldier in the unit was a three-ring Soul Elder, while their captain was a six-ring Soul Emperor. The Soul Tools they carried ranged from level three to level six, and every one of them had astonishing destructive power.

Chi Qiu saw them through the shared detection as well. Those Soul Tools surpassed anything she'd imagined. Sure enough, Shrek's Soul Tool Department was only a tiny corner of the Soul Tool world.

"They're incredible," Huo Yuhao exclaimed. "Just thinking about studying in an environment so focused on Soul Tools gets me excited."

"Now I want to learn more about them, too," Chi Qiu said with a nod. She thought of the future of the Soul Beasts.

The two crouched there, watching intently for a while longer. They only stopped when Huo Yuhao's spiritual power began to wane.

By then, the sky had darkened. The last traces of twilight still struggled against the western horizon. The grand doorway creaked open, and Wang Dong skipped out lightly, then jogged back to them.

"All done." Wang Dong took out three token-like items. "What a hassle."

There shouldn't have been any hassle, really. The Heaven Dou Empire didn't conduct a census or keep a population register, nor did it issue the documents needed to prove one's identity. As long as your reason wasn't too far-fetched, you looked like someone from Heaven Dou, and there were no problems with your identity, they'd let you through.

The thing was, Huo Yuhao was an undocumented Star Luo native, Chi Qiu came from the Star Dou Great Forest, and Wang Dong had grown up in the Clear Sky Sect without ever visiting anywhere else in Heaven Dou. She didn't even look like someone from Heaven Dou. That was why Wang Dong had spent so long talking the official in charge into approving their permits.

"Ahem, listen up!" Wang Dong cleared her throat and put on a serious expression. Huo Yuhao and Chi Qiu dutifully pretended to listen. She waved the tokens in her hand like a teacher imparting wisdom.

"When we leave, if the Heaven Dou people ask where you plan to go after finishing school in the Sun Moon Empire, say you're planning to return to the Douluo Three Kingdoms."

"After we cross over, if the Sun Moon Empire people ask the same question, say you plan to stay in the Sun Moon Empire."

"Got it?"

Huo Yuhao nodded thoughtfully.

Chi Qiu shook her head. "But whether we choose to return to the Douluo Three Kingdoms or stay in the Sun Moon Empire afterward, we'll be lying to one side or the other. What if they find out?"

Wang Dong waved her hand. "You're so innocent, Miss Chi Qiu! The Douluo Three Kingdoms don't even register people's identities. By the time we finish school, years will have passed. Who'll remember? And if you still want to develop your career in the Douluo Three Kingdoms then, you'll probably have to answer that question all over again."

Chi Qiu's innocent Soul Beast heart took a bit of a blow.

"Then let's go," Huo Yuhao said. "It's getting late. We should find somewhere to rest as soon as we cross."