When the carriage stopped at a small town to restock, Xiao Qing got out and paused at a sundries stall near the town entrance.
Along with everyday knickknacks, the stall held a stack of booklets with rough paper and curled corners. The word "Bounty" was printed on their covers.
A thought stirred in him. He tossed the vendor a few Copper Soul Coins, picked up the top booklet, and returned to the carriage.
The carriage continued on its way.
Xiao Qing opened the booklet. It was thin, with bounties arranged roughly by reward and danger. Each entry included a crude sketch or a description of identifying features, along with the general area where the target had last been seen.
He examined it carefully, page by page, from high-reward targets to low, from vicious bandits to petty thieves.
He reached the end without finding anything related to "Xiao Qing," "Prism Ball," or "Multi-Soul Beast Summoning." There wasn't even a vague, possibly related piece of information.
The bounty of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins seemed never to have existed.
Xiao Qing closed the booklet and fell silent for a moment. Then he looked up at Zhao Wuji, who seemed to be dozing across from him, and asked in an even tone, "Teacher Zhao, how wide an area do these bounty booklets cover?"
Zhao Wuji opened his eyes and glanced at the booklet in Xiao Qing's hand. He didn't seem surprised that Xiao Qing was interested.
He tugged at the corner of his mouth, wearing a faintly mocking smile. "This kind of stall trash? It only covers the local area and maybe two or three nearby cities. The people who print these things have to consider costs and sales. Not every bounty on some nobody gets spread far and wide."
He paused. Seeing that Xiao Qing's expression hadn't changed, he explained a little more. "There are plenty of bounties and manhunts in the Soul Master World every day. But only two kinds make it into booklets that circulate across regions or get passed around within the major factions."
"First, the reward is high enough to tempt Soul Saints and Soul Douluo. Say, over a million Gold Soul Coins, or a top-tier Soul Bone or rare treasure offered as payment."
"Second, the target is powerful or extremely dangerous. Evil Soul Masters who kill for pleasure, for instance, or Titled Douluo who've betrayed their faction. They're a menace wherever they go, so naturally everyone needs to be warned."
" one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins," Zhao Wuji said with a shake of his head, his tone carrying a veteran's certainty. "Around Suotuo City, that might tempt some Soul Ancestors and Soul Kings to organize a manhunt."
"But outside this area, who knows who you are? Mercenary groups and lone Soul Masters alike take bounties for profit, not justice."
"Spreading information, confirming the target, tracking them down, surrounding and killing them—all of that costs money. If the target escapes the area where they usually operate, the cost of pursuing them across regions rises sharply. Often, it just isn't worth it."
"Unless the target has something else worth coveting, or the person who posted the bounty raises the stakes, a failed attempt often means the bounty quietly dies out."
Xiao Qing listened in silence, quickly analyzing Zhao Wuji's words. It fit part of his theory about how things worked in this world, where strength reigned supreme.
Information traveled slowly, regions were sharply divided, and profit came first.
One-Eye and his team had failed on the outskirts of Star Dou Forest, allowing him to escape into the forest. Then he'd left the area and come to Shrek Academy, in the heart of the Heaven Dou Empire.
For Matthew, who had posted the bounty, and the Soul Masters who might take it, continuing to search for a young Soul Master "suspected of possessing a special Martial Soul, but whose exact value is unclear" might no longer be worth the cost.
Especially since they couldn't be sure whether Xiao Qing was dead or had been taken in by another faction.
Of course, that didn't mean he was completely safe.
Matthew's personal fixation and Spirit Hall's routine attention to unusual Martial Souls could still pose a threat.
But for now, at least, there was no sign of a large-scale, public manhunt spanning multiple regions. That gave him precious time to catch his breath and grow stronger.
"I understand. Thank you, Teacher Zhao."
Xiao Qing set the booklet aside and didn't look at it again. The information eased the taut string inside him, if only a little.
Watching Xiao Qing calmly accept his explanation, Zhao Wuji thought even more highly of him.
He didn't panic or lose his temper, knew how to read the situation, and could pick out the key information. This kid really didn't seem like a teenager.
By the time they returned to Shrek Academy, it was already afternoon.
Zhao Wuji told Xiao Qing to head back to the dormitory and rest, then took Oscar straight to Flender.
Xiao Qing watched them head toward the dean's office. Zhao Wuji was going to report the details of their trip, especially the change in thinking behind how Oscar had obtained his Soul Ring.
He returned alone to the familiar, somewhat dilapidated dormitory building and pushed open the door to his room.
The room was small to begin with. After three single beds and a few crude cabinets had been crammed inside, there was barely any space left.
Now Xiao Qing saw that another bed, made of planks and unlike the others, had been shoved against the wall. The aisle was so narrow that he could only squeeze through sideways.
He'd expected the dormitories to be overcrowded once the new students arrived, but the sight still made Xiao Qing furrow his brow.
The thought of expanding the building or applying for a private dormitory became clear in his mind.
"Hey there. You're Xiao Qing, right?"
A voice tinged with irreverence rang out.
Dai Mubai was leaning against the bed at the far end, turning a silver coin over in his hand as he looked at Xiao Qing. Ma Hongjun sat beside him. The two seemed to have been chatting just moments ago.
Dai Mubai looked Xiao Qing up and down, then grinned. "Teacher Zhao said you went to Sunset Forest. Looks like you had a good haul."
"But you're back just in time. You're free tonight, right? How about going out with your big brother? I'll take you somewhere fun and open your eyes."
"I hear a new place just opened in Suotuo City. The girls there are real beauties..."
He winked at Xiao Qing, his tone full of the knowing implication men shared with one another.
Xiao Qing looked at Dai Mubai, then glanced at Ma Hongjun beside him, whose expression showed some interest, though he seemed more inclined to go along out of habit.
He had no interest in places devoted to satisfying carnal desire. They wasted time and energy, and could bring needless trouble and risk.
In his eyes, that time and money would be better spent cultivating for another moment or finding suitable evolution resources for his Soul Beast companions.
"Not interested."
Xiao Qing rejected Dai Mubai's invitation outright. He went to the bed by the door, set down his small bundle, and began unpacking.
The smile faded from Dai Mubai's face. He clearly hadn't expected Xiao Qing to refuse so bluntly, without even the slightest attempt to soften the rejection.
Dai Mubai considered himself someone of importance at Shrek, and even in Suotuo City. Yet he'd gone out of his way to invite a newcomer and had been so rudely brushed off.
He gave a soft snort and said nothing more, but a trace of displeasure crept into his eyes.
Xiao Qing didn't care how Dai Mubai felt. Once he had unpacked, he turned to Ma Hongjun.
Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul had immense potential. It was practically a sure thing that he would one day become a Titled Douluo. But his Martial Soul also had a severe flaw, and if it went unresolved, it would only hold back his cultivation.
Ever since Flender had brought Ma Hongjun back to Shrek, he hadn't found a perfect way to deal with the Evil Fire. Otherwise, Ma Hongjun wouldn't be the way he was now, still needing to visit brothels to vent it.
But dealing with the Evil Fire that way not only affected Ma Hongjun's physical development; it also wore down his willpower.
In the original story, Ma Hongjun's lazy, lackadaisical attitude when he first appeared had a lot to do with Flender letting him visit brothels to deal with his Evil Fire.
A beauty's embrace is a hero's grave.
As Ma Hongjun looked at him with some confusion, Xiao Qing spoke in his usual even tone. "Oscar may have a way to temporarily ease or help control your Evil Fire. In the future, you might not have to keep going to places like that."
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