Three Years

Time passed like a fleeting shadow, the years swept by.

Spring turned to autumn, flowers bloomed and faded. Three years vanished in the blink of an eye.

"Fifty miles ahead, you'll enter the Star Dou Great Forest. Soul Beasts have been sighted there. Stay alert."

Clear words were carved into a wooden sign by the roadside. Bai Cai looked up at the sky. Night was falling, and he had to make camp.

The border of the Star Dou Great Forest was indistinct. Some Soul Beasts had no fixed territory. Nether Wolves, Variegated Cats, Rodent Weasels, Wind Baboons, and other Soul Beasts usually lived in the forest's outer reaches, but traces of them could also be found along its borders.

These Soul Beasts were relatively young, most only ten or twenty years old. Unless a Soul Master was truly hard up, none would choose to hunt such creatures for a Soul Ring.

The Soul Master sects of the three great empires often cleared the edges of the Star Dou Great Forest, hunting these weak Soul Beasts to create secret-art Soul Bones.

Of course, some powerful Hundred-Year Soul Beasts occasionally roamed the forest's borders, preying on the weaker creatures. These included snake-type, spider-type, and scorpion-type Soul Beasts.

All things were born to counter one another. Nether Wolves, Variegated Cats, Rodent Weasels, Wind Baboons, and other Soul Beasts also preyed on the young of other species.

After nightfall, the Star Dou Great Forest grew dark and still, and became extremely dangerous. Nocturnal Soul Beasts were often powerful predators. When low-ranking Soul Masters entered the forest to hunt for Soul Rings, they should avoid lighting fires when spending the night.

Firelight could drive away weak Soul Beasts, as well as snakes, insects, rats, and ants, but it would also attract more powerful Soul Beasts.

Bai Cai's Soul Power was only at level twenty, and Ralts had no powerful attack-type Soul Skills. He had to conceal his tracks and choose the safest place possible to spend the night.

The treetops? Wind Baboons, Violent Apes, Datura Snakes, and other Soul Beasts made their homes there and hunted.

The ground? Nether Wolves, Variegated Cats, Rodent Weasels, Sharp-tailed Vipers, Triangular Vipers, and other Soul Beasts prowled and lurked there.

Bai Cai had carefully sought advice from several Soul Master teams that hunted Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. Most teams' solution was to take turns standing guard at night.

How could he keep himself safe, alone in the Star Dou Great Forest?

In a prosperous town near the Star Dou Great Forest, Bai Cai had mingled in taverns and happened to meet a Soul Elder.

This Soul Elder often ventured alone into the Star Dou Great Forest, selling information about Soul Beast territories, rare Soul Beasts, and other such matters.

In exchange for a cup of fruit wine worth four Gold Soul Coins, Bai Cai humbly sought the Soul Elder's advice and learned a wealth of wilderness survival skills.

Hunting the right Soul Beast wasn't something that could be done in a day. Sometimes, even after ten days or half a month of searching, he might not find the Soul Beast he wanted.

If his target was a pack-dwelling Soul Beast or a young one, he had to keep watching and wait for the right moment.

Of course, for noble Soul Masters accompanied by their elders, or academy Soul Masters protected by teachers, lighting a fire for the night could instead be a way to lure powerful Soul Beasts.

Bai Cai had to keep the secret of his Life Soul Ring hidden, so he couldn't team up with any Soul Masters to hunt Soul Beasts.

When venturing alone into the Star Dou Great Forest, his first priority was to build a shelter. Earth dens, caves, tree hollows, and rock shelters were all excellent places to make one.

Unfortunately, most suitable sites in the forest's outer reaches and along its borders had already been claimed by various Soul Master groups.

For ordinary Soul Masters, building a shelter in the forest's outer reaches or on its borders was a massive undertaking that could easily reveal their location. They might as well pay to join a temporary Soul Master group, or earn their place through strength, and hunt for Soul Rings together.

Following the advice of the Soul Elder who sold information, Bai Cai walked on and off, noting ancient trees whose trunks were wider than three people standing shoulder to shoulder.

Next, Bai Cai chose a suitable tree with no fresh claw marks, no signs of battle, and no droppings or strange smells nearby. A few feet from the trunk, Ralts carefully controlled Confusion, moving soil to dig a tunnel connecting the ground to the tree roots.

Then Ralts used Confusion to control a short sword, cutting upward along the roots and hollowing out the tree's heart to build a shelter hidden inside the trunk.

Trees transported nutrients through their bark, so losing their heartwood wouldn't affect their growth. In fact, many natural tree hollows came from ancient trees whose heartwood had rotted or been hollowed out by Soul Beasts.

All the waste from the construction, as well as the soil from digging the tunnel, was buried beneath the thick layer of fallen leaves in the Star Dou Great Forest.

He wove branches and vines into a screen to cover the tunnel entrance, then spread fallen leaves over it. A perfect shelter.

As the sun sank, Bai Cai followed the survival advice given to him by the Soul Elder who sold information, searching for fresh fruit and plant roots.

He moved the leaves aside, lifted the screen, and returned to the shelter. Ralts used Confusion to conceal their tracks. An invisible force controlled the screen, covering the tunnel entrance. The leaves shifted, restoring the camouflage.

The Star Dou Great Forest. Not far from Bai Cai's hiding place, two Soul Masters walked side by side, chatting and laughing. The one in front was a young woman, around fifteen or sixteen. Her long, smooth black hair was tied in a ponytail down her back, and her curvaceous figure, just beginning to bloom, was outlined by a pale blue outfit that exuded youthful energy.

Her phoenix-shaped eyes were bright and lively, her nose was straight, and her face was perfectly oval. A blush warmed her cheeks, revealing a hint of shyness.

A young man of about the same age strolled behind her. He was tall and slender, and the slanting rays of the setting sun glinted off his short, dark blue hair like brilliant gemstones.

The young man walked at an easy pace, relaxed, with his hands clasped behind his head. He was handsome, with a refined, gentle air.

"Bei Bei, do you think little brother Huo Yuhao..." With nothing better to do, the girl recalled Huo Yuhao's gestures and expression, then mused, "Could he be carrying some deep-seated grudge?"

"Xiao Ya, what makes you say that?" Bei Bei looked up at the star-speckled night sky. On any other night, he and Xiao Ya would have already started a fire and roasted meat for dinner.

"I just feel like little brother Huo Yuhao is on guard around us." Tang Ya patted her stomach, smiling with satisfaction. "He's very friendly, but there's a lion hiding in his eyes."

"That's true. Little Huo's outlook is far beyond his years. He even ventured into the Star Dou Great Forest alone when his Soul Power was low," Bei Bei said thoughtfully. "People are afraid of hardship. Unless they have no choice, they won't endure it—unless they've grown used to it."

"Little Huo's family probably isn't well-off. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone into the Star Dou Great Forest alone." Bei Bei hesitated, then said, "He must have been at the end of his rope."

"So you didn't just disagree with me—you took the chance to lecture me, too." Tang Ya turned around, indignant. "Bei Bei, you're so sneaky."

"Teacher Xiao Ya, my dear Teacher Xiao Ya." Bei Bei raised both hands helplessly. "I'm only doing this for your Tang Sect. When you're a commander with no troops, you can't afford to be picky."

"Pah! Who's your Teacher Xiao Ya?" Tang Ya put on a disgusted look and pretended not to know Bei Bei. "And you're part of the Tang Sect, too!"