Star Dou Forest

"Ke ke ke! Teacher, oh, teacher, I never thought you'd deliver yourself right to my doorstep. Don't blame me for what happens next." Lin Yu covered his right eye with one hand and laughed wildly.

If anyone had been standing in front of Lin Yu at that moment, they would have seen a crimson glint in the corner of his eye.

The light in the corner of Lin Yu's eye wasn't an illusion, though. It was real. During this time, Lin Yu had developed his Second Martial Soul to the point where it could cling to his body, and he could change the color of its glow at will.

"In six years, I'll meet Tang San for the first time." Lin Yu's gaze turned icy.

"The protagonist of the Douluo World? I'd like to see just how tough your life force really is!" Lin Yu began making preparations. After all, he was leaving for Star Dou Forest tomorrow.

Originally, Lin Yu hadn't intended to wholeheartedly help the Spirit Hall. He'd only wanted to muddle through and fish for benefits. After all, as his strength grew, so would his body's cravings.

He couldn't be sure whether Bibi Dong's mind might change, but by now she was practically his. Naturally, he wouldn't stand by and watch her end up with the same fate as before.

"Let's go. This time, I'm planning to obtain my Third Soul Ring in Star Dou Forest." Lin Yu looked at Dugu Yan standing in front of him.

Compared with the group that had gone to Sunset Forest, this time they were much stronger. They had three Titled Douluo with them.

"Mm. Same as last time? Should we head straight to Star Dou Forest at full speed?" Yue Guan looked at Lin Yu. As he spoke, he was ready to carry Lin Yu there by air.

"No need. We can take our time this time. There's no rush." Lin Yu shook his head at Yue Guan.

He wanted to take in the scenery of the Douluo Continent.

"Sounds good. There really is no need to hurry." Dugu Bo had no objections, so they set off together.

Star Dou Forest lay directly south of the Heaven Dou Empire and stretched across two empires. It was so vast that its area was almost equal to the territory of the Balak Kingdom.

Two-fifths of it lay within the Heaven Dou Empire, while the other three-fifths lay within the Star Luo Empire. It was a vast, primeval forest with complicated terrain.

Star Dou Forest wasn't very far from Spirit City, so they arrived at its edge before long.

"Come on, Star Dou Forest is just ahead. Let's go straight in." Although it was already getting late, there was no need to worry about danger with three Titled Douluo—Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Dugu Bo—present.

"Xiao Yu, this time we won't help you obtain your Soul Ring. If you want the Third Soul Ring you're hoping for, you'll have to handle it yourselves." Once they entered Star Dou Forest, Yue Guan gave Lin Yu a stern warning.

"Hmm? No problem." Lin Yu was a little surprised, but didn't object. He simply nodded in agreement.

"Old Poison, the same goes for your granddaughter. Unless they're in danger, you mustn't interfere." After speaking to Lin Yu, Yue Guan turned to Dugu Bo, his expression especially serious.

Hearing Yue Guan's words, Dugu Bo glanced worriedly at Dugu Yan but said nothing. In the end, he nodded.

After all, he knew that a child kept wrapped in cotton wool could never grow.

"Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll be fine." Yue Guan hadn't meant to keep his words from anyone, so Dugu Yan had heard him. She had also seen the worry in Dugu Bo's eyes.

She raised her little fists and smiled at Dugu Bo, reassuring him that he didn't need to worry.

As she did so, Dugu Yan kept sneaking glances at Lin Yu, though she made sure he didn't notice. But she couldn't fool Yue Guan and the other Titled Douluo.

After saying this, Yue Guan took Gui Mei and Dugu Bo and disappeared from Lin Yu and Dugu Yan's sight to drive away the older Soul Beasts.

Although Yue Guan and the others had said they wouldn't intervene unless the two were in danger, they wouldn't leave them exposed to danger either. So they first drove away the powerful Soul Beasts.

"Old Poison, the way your granddaughter looks, it seems she's fallen for our Holy Son," Yue Guan said with a smile, teasing Dugu Bo.

"Get lost! You dead Chrysanthemum, are you even human? My granddaughter's only ten, and the Holy Son is only eight." The veins at Dugu Bo's temples bulged as he gritted his teeth and glared at Yue Guan. (There was a mistake earlier: Dugu Yan should be fourteen at this point. Please don't mind this little detail.)

Judging by Dugu Bo's expression, he clearly wanted to give Yue Guan a good beating.

Seeing Dugu Bo's face, Yue Guan stopped teasing him. Dugu Bo could be a real pain when he got angry, and besides, they were in Star Dou Forest and needed to keep a constant eye on Lin Yu and Dugu Yan's safety.

"Brother Lin Yu, what kind of Soul Ring are you planning to get this time?" Dugu Yan walked beside Lin Yu and asked what he had in mind.

"My Martial Soul is the Undying Emperor Spider, so a Soul Ring from a spider-type Soul Beast would be the best fit." Lin Yu told Dugu Yan his plan outright.

Unless something unexpected happened, he planned to obtain a Soul Ring from a Man Faced Demon Spider this time.

"A Soul Ring from a spider-type Soul Beast?" Dugu Yan pondered Lin Yu's answer.

"What about you? What kind of Soul Ring are you planning to get?" Lin Yu wanted to see what Dugu Yan would choose.

"Me? I don't know. But Grandpa told me before to choose a Soul Ring from a Soul Beast with powerful poison." Dugu Yan glanced around with her big eyes and answered casually.

"Let's go. We need to head farther in. The Soul Beasts here are still too young, only a few hundred years old. They can't serve as our Soul Rings." After speaking, Lin Yu continued deeper into Star Dou Forest.

"Wait for me!" Seeing Lin Yu move, Dugu Yan hurried to catch up.

"Something's wrong. Why are there so few Soul Beasts around here?" Lin Yu was searching for a Man Faced Demon Spider and looked puzzled. They had already gone fairly deep, yet they hadn't found many thousand-year Soul Beasts.

There were even fewer Soul Beasts suitable for the two of them. They hadn't found a single one.

"Old Ghost, do you know what's going on?" Yue Guan's expression grew grave as he asked Gui Mei.

By now, they had noticed something was wrong. There shouldn't have been so few Soul Beasts in this area.

Even when they had driven away the Soul Beasts earlier, they hadn't seen any Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts nearby. At this depth, there should have been plenty of both ten-thousand-year and thousand-year Soul Beasts.