Another Encounter
" In the Douluo Calendar... the Belun Family migrated here, encountering Hundred-Year Soul Beast along the way, resulting in the death or injury of more than half of the family members."
"In the Douluo Calendar... it was midsummer, and months of continuous rain caused devastating floods, a plague broke out, and corpses littered the ground."
" In the Douluo Calendar... it was late autumn when Hurricane raged, forests collapsed, countless people and livestock went missing, and the harvest was completely lost."
"In the Douluo Calendar... it was the height of summer. The Norman was scorched, streams dried up, and reservoirs and ponds were filled with mud and water. Countless people died in fights over water."
"In the Douluo Calendar... it was early spring when the temperature plummeted, the dew turned to frost, and the rice seedlings suffered severe frost damage, resulting in a deficit."
" In the Douluo Calendar... the Gui Family moved here and took the initiative to contact unemployed Soul Master to establish a guard to kill Soul Beast."
" In the Douluo Calendar... the Soul Beast Forest was burned to the ground, farmland was cleared, and cities were built."
" In the Douluo Calendar... the Gui Family has been chosen, and a sacrificial ceremony will be held."
"Douluo Calendar... Minor Disaster"
"Douluo Calendar... Minor Disaster, Gui Rong's Betrayal."
"Douluo Calendar... No Disaster, Family Expansion."
" In the Douluo Calendar... there were no disasters, and idle Soul Master established academies."
"The Douluo Calendar... is free from calamity; the once desolate wilderness has become a paradise."
With a snap, Bai Cai closed the book with both hands, took a deep breath to calm herself.
Before the Gui Family moved here, the Belun region was plagued by frequent disasters, including floods, droughts, Hurricane, and frosts.
After the Gui Family moved here, they seemed to be blessed by the heavens, and the frequency of disasters decreased year by year, almost to the point of non-existence.
The boundary between everything is the sacrificial ceremony. Why does the Gui Family hold a sacrificial ceremony? What is the purpose of the ceremony? The closer we get to the truth, the more shrouded in mystery it becomes.
Divine artifact, divine position, or deity?
According to the inheritance records of the four gods— Asura God, Angel God, Rakshasa God, and Sea God —divine artifacts are exclusive to gods and require at least one trial. These trials are called the Nine Trials of a God, and one must reach the seventh trial or higher to master a divine artifact. Generally speaking, the seventh trial is equivalent to becoming Titled Douluo.
If the disaster was quelled by a divine artifact, then the successive heads of the Gui Family would certainly be Titled Douluo, or even Peerless Douluo.
However, since the decline of the Gui Family, no Soul Saint has appeared in any generation, so the purpose of the sacrificial ceremony was clearly not to control the divine artifact.
As for divine positions, the phenomena they create, such as the prohibition of Soul Skill, blazing light, and deep-sea pressure, can indeed change the surrounding environment. However, these phenomena not only quell disasters but also create abnormal areas.
Throughout Belun, there have never been any abnormal areas, so the influence of divine positions can be ruled out.
Deities?
Even if one ascends to a special deity, such as the Asura God, one can only remain there for a hundred years at most. Regardless of the history of the rituals, since the phenomena of ascension are basically impossible to hide, the academy will definitely know about it. If the situation involves a deity, sending Soul Elder would be idiotic.
The sacrificial rites are the source of everything, so normally it would be more appropriate to investigate them. However, with the Lord of Gui Yue City kidnapped and the main branch of the Gui Family nearly extinct, the clues to the sacrificial rites have been cut off. How can we even begin to investigate?
Unless they defeat the girl in yellow and force her to reveal information, how easy is it to capture a high-level Soul Master head-on?
This is an unsolvable closed loop unless external forces are used to break the deadlock.
Bai Cai turned her head to look out the window. There were very few powerful allies in the Belun region who could break the deadlock. Apart from the reclusive experts, only the Life Spirit Academy remained.
The next morning, at the city lord's mansion.
Bai Cai explained the situation privately, but omitted the disaster warning.
The guard captain frowned deeply, "A high-level Soul Master..."
So-called high-level Soul Master are usually above the seventh ring. The reason for this is that the Martial Soul Avatar is the most powerful Soul Skill. Under the Martial Soul Avatar state, the combat power is increased by more than one or two times. When Soul Saint activates the Martial Soul Avatar, Soul Douluo has to temporarily avoid its edge.
To capture a high-level Soul Master, it would be safe to require at least three experts of the same level; in other words, at least three Soul Saints.
Fortunately, judging from the clues, the opponent has not yet reached the eighth ring. There are not many strong people in the Belun region, and Soul Douluo can roam freely without any fear of being caught, so there is no need to disguise or hide.
Of course, Seven-Ring Soul Sage is no easy opponent. The city lord's guard can only send two Soul Emperors at most, and they need to go to the Life Spirit Academy to request assistance.
The Life Spirit Academy is no pushover either; going there might require us to cede a considerable amount of our interests.
For over two hundred years, the Gui Family has been unable to support the city lord's guard. The industry association has taken over the management of Belun, and the city lord's guard has been transformed into Soul Hunting team, heading to other Soul Beast forests. At most, the headquarters is located in Belun, and retired members work part-time as guards, catching petty thieves to give back to their hometown.
Asking for help naturally comes at a price, such as cultivation resources, personal connections, land and property, and Wulfric or disabilities.
The captain of the guard hesitated for a long time, then glanced down at the Apricot Blossom Medal. His eyes finally hardened. "Thank you. Please go back and inform the Belun Family that Wolf will remember this and repay them in due time."
The captain of the guard accepted the task, and Bai Cai left the city lord's mansion.
By relying on the Belun Family, informing the city lord's guards, and then influencing the Life Spirit Academy, this is the essence of alliances and betrayals.
Hiding one's identity to track down the girl in yellow is a poor strategy; even if one could defeat her, it would come at a high price.
Revealing your identity to visit the Life Spirit Academy is a mediocre strategy; it requires enduring several tests before gaining their trust.
Concealing one's identity and indirectly informing the Life Spirit Academy by contacting the city lord's guard through the Belun Family is the best course of action, as it avoids both danger and suspicion.
Upon arriving at the wine shop, Bai Cai was about to inform them when she caught a glimpse of apricot yellow out of the corner of her eye.
The girl in yellow, her face veiled by a thin veil, remains in the same spot as yesterday; time seems to have frozen there, never having passed.
The kidnapper, the harbinger of disaster, should normally return to the Bai Cai to await the capture of the girl in yellow by the Life Spirit Academy, and to find an opportunity to interrogate her.
The girl in yellow had clear eyes, while Bai Cai suddenly felt a pang of inexplicable heartache.
With a spirit stronger than other Soul Master of the same level, Bai Cai could even Frisk that the girl seemed to have withered away, leaving only her empty shell behind.
Like a kite with a broken string, free and unrestrained until it falls, or like a lone boat, adrift in the wind and rain, not knowing where to go.
"Could you show me around Belun?" the girl pleaded softly, her voice lonely and sorrowful. "For today only."
Normally, no Soul Master should agree to this, but due to some subtle intuition, Bai Cai chose to believe it for the time being.
"Today only." Bai Cai repeated simply, then turned and headed towards the bustling area.
The girl in yellow followed closely behind, saying nothing more.
After passing through several nearby roads, buildings suddenly rose up along the street, with multi-story high-rises everywhere, dazzling shop signs, and vendors calling out their wares. The scene of an autumn festival was so grand that it attracted the girl's sidelong glance.
Bai Cai was not a resident of Belun, so he didn't introduce himself, but simply led the girl around for a stroll.
Commercial districts, residential areas, smelting plants, and street-front taverns encircle the city of Belun, gradually approaching the Life Spirit Academy.
Outside the main gate of the Life Spirit Academy, yellow-clad Soul Master came and went in a constant stream. Bai Cai immediately stopped in her tracks; this style and color seemed to have left a deep impression on her.