Regional Bounties, Dai Mubai's Invitation

When the carriage stopped at a small town for supplies, Xiao Qing stepped out and paused in front of a grocery stall at the town entrance.

Besides daily sundries, the stall had a stack of small, rough-papered booklets with curled edges, the word "Bounty" printed on their covers.

His heart stirred; he tossed a few Copper Soul Coins to the vendor, picked up the top booklet, and returned to the carriage.

The carriage continued on its way.

Xiao Qing opened the bounty booklet. It was very thin, with the contents roughly arranged by the size of the reward and the level of danger, accompanied by crude sketches or descriptions of features, as well as the general area where the target was last seen.

He scanned the pages carefully, from high-priced to low-priced, from heinous criminals to petty thieves.

After flipping through the entire booklet, he found no description related to "Xiao Qing," "Prism Ball," or "Multi-Soul Beast Summoning," not even a vague or suspicious piece of information.

That bounty of one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins seemed as if it had never existed.

Closing the booklet, Xiao Qing was silent for a moment, then looked up at Zhao Wuji, who appeared to be dozing opposite him, and asked in a flat tone, "Teacher Zhao, what is the coverage area for this kind of bounty booklet?"

Zhao Wuji opened his eyes and glanced at the booklet in Xiao Qing's hand, seemingly unsurprised by his interest.

He curled his lips into a slightly mocking smile. "This street-stall trash? It only covers the local area and two or three neighboring cities. The people who print these things have to consider costs and sales. Not every Tom, Dick, or Harry with a bounty on their head is worth spreading the word everywhere."

He paused, and seeing no expression on Xiao Qing's face, he added a few more explanations. "In the soul master world, there are countless bounty hunts every day. But only two types of targets are truly worthy of these cross-regional booklets or being circulated internally by major factions."

"The first type is when the bounty is high enough to tempt Soul Saints or even Title Douluo—for instance, over a million Gold Soul Coins, or top-tier soul bones and rare treasures as rewards."

"The second type is when the target themselves possesses immense strength or poses a massive threat, such as bloodthirsty Evil Soul Masters or traitors at the Title Douluo level. They are a plague wherever they go, so naturally, it is necessary to broadcast their presence."

"One hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins," Zhao Wuji shook his head, his tone carrying the certainty of someone who had seen it all. "Around Suotuo City, it might tempt some Soul Ancestors or Soul Kings to organize a pursuit."

"But once you leave this territory, who knows who you are? Whether it's a mercenary group or a lone soul master, they take bounties for profit, not for justice."

"Information gathering, confirming the target, tracking, and surrounding them—these all cost money. If the target escapes and leaves their original area of activity, the cost of cross-regional pursuit rises sharply, often making it not worth the effort."

"Unless the target possesses something more valuable to covet, or the bounty issuer adds more chips, a failed attempt usually means the bounty just fades away."

Xiao Qing listened quietly, his mind rapidly analyzing the information in Zhao Wuji's words. This aligned with his own speculations regarding the logic of this world where might made right.

Information dissemination was inefficient, regional barriers were significant, and profit was the primary driver.

One-Eye and his squad had failed on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, allowing him to escape into the forest, and afterward, he had moved far away from that region to Shrek Academy in the heart of the Heaven Dou Empire.

For Matthew, who issued the bounty, and the soul masters who might want it, the cost and expected return of continuing to hunt a young soul master with a "suspected special martial soul but unclear value" had likely become unbalanced.

In particular, they could not be certain whether Xiao Qing was dead or had been taken by another faction.

Of course, this did not mean he was absolutely safe.

Matthew's personal obsession or the standard internal procedures of Martial Soul Hall regarding special martial souls could still leave hidden dangers.

But at the very least, a large-scale, public, cross-regional pursuit had not been launched, which gave him precious time to catch his breath and develop.

"I understand. Thank you, Teacher Zhao."

Xiao Qing set the bounty booklet aside and stopped looking at it. This information allowed the string that had been pulled taut in his heart to slacken just a little.

Zhao Wuji watched Xiao Qing calmly accept the explanation, and his estimation of the boy rose a notch.

Unflustered, capable of assessing the situation, and able to grasp key information—this kid's temperament was truly not that of a teenager.

It was already afternoon when they returned to Shrek Academy.

Zhao Wuji told Xiao Qing to return to the dormitory to rest, while he took Oscar straight to find Flender.

Xiao Qing watched them head toward the Dean's office, knowing Zhao Wuji was going to report the details of the trip, especially the shift in strategy behind Oscar's soul ring acquisition.

He returned alone to the familiar, slightly dilapidated dormitory building and pushed open the door to his room.

The room was not large to begin with, and after squeezing in three single beds and a few crude cabinets, the space was already cramped.

At this moment, Xiao Qing saw that in addition to the original three beds, a different style of wooden bed had been jammed against the wall, leaving only enough space in the aisle to pass through sideways.

Although he had anticipated that the dormitory would be tight with the arrival of new students, seeing the crowded scene with his own eyes still made Xiao Qing frown slightly.

The thought of expanding the building or applying for an independent dormitory became clear in his mind.

"Hey there, you must be Xiao Qing, right?"

A somewhat cynical voice rang out.

Dai Mubai was leaning on the innermost bed, toying with a silver coin as he looked at Xiao Qing. Ma Hongjun was sitting next to him, and the two seemed to have been chatting just a moment ago.

Dai Mubai looked Xiao Qing up and down and grinned. "Heard from Teacher Zhao that you guys went to the Sunset Forest? Looks like you had a pretty good harvest."

"But you're back just in time. Nothing to do tonight, interested in hanging out with your brother? I'll take you to a fun place to broaden your horizons."

"Word is a new joint opened up in Suotuo City, and the girls there are just so fresh..."

He winked at Xiao Qing, his tone full of the unspoken camaraderie between men.

Xiao Qing looked at Dai Mubai, then glanced at Ma Hongjun, whose expression showed a hint of interest but was mostly a habitual agreement.

He had no interest in such places for the release of pure physical desire; it was a waste of time, a drain on energy, and could potentially bring unnecessary trouble and risk.

In his eyes, with that time and money, it was better to cultivate for a moment longer or search for suitable evolutionary resources for his soul beast partners.

"Not interested."

Xiao Qing rejected Dai Mubai's invitation directly. He walked to his bed by the door, set down his small parcel, and began to tidy up.

The smile on Dai Mubai's face faded slightly; clearly, he had not expected Xiao Qing to refuse so bluntly, leaving no room for tact.

Dai Mubai considered himself a person of some standing, not just in Shrek but in all of Suotuo City, yet his initiative to invite a newcomer had been rebuffed so thoroughly.

He let out a soft huff and said nothing more, though a trace of imperceptible displeasure flickered in his eyes.

Xiao Qing did not care about Dai Mubai's mood; he tidied his belongings and turned to look at Ma Hongjun.

The potential of Ma Hongjun's Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul was immense, making his future ascent to Title Douluo almost a certainty, yet the flaws in his martial soul were equally severe; if left unresolved, they would only drag down his cultivation speed.

Ever since Flender had brought Ma Hongjun back to Shrek, he had never found a perfect solution for the evil fire; otherwise, Ma Hongjun would not be in his current state, frequently needing to visit brothels to vent his urges.

However, this method of dealing with the evil fire not only stunted Ma Hongjun's physical development but also eroded his willpower.

In the original story, the reason Ma Hongjun appeared so roguish, lazy, and gluttonous upon his introduction was inseparable from Flender allowing him to frequent brothels to resolve his evil fire.

A land of beauties is a grave for heroes.

Under Ma Hongjun's somewhat puzzled gaze, Xiao Qing spoke in his usual flat tone: "Regarding your evil fire problem, Oscar might have a way to temporarily alleviate or assist in controlling it. In the future, you may not need to go to those places so often."