Heaven Dou City

With their current level of intimacy, they had already met the conditions for Martial Soul Resonance. When they faced another crucial moment of stimulation, their Martial Souls should resonate, putting them into the same Semi-Martial Soul Possession state as yesterday.

Under the long-term influence of Martial Soul Resonance, perhaps they really could develop the Self Martial Soul Fusion Skill he had conceived half a year ago.

Coming back to himself, Ye Chen saw Combusken pulling aside the carriage curtain, gazing out at the scenery with a curious look.

As an External Martial Soul, Combusken possessed a certain degree of self-awareness. But once it was withdrawn into the Martial Soul Origin, it fell asleep, completely unaware of the outside world.

Unless its host summoned it, it couldn't emerge from the Martial Soul Origin on its own.

And every time Ye Chen summoned Combusken, it was either to cultivate together or fight together. It had never experienced ordinary daily life, so sitting in the carriage and admiring the view outside felt novel to it.

Watching Combusken admire the scenery and murmur to itself, Ye Chen's eyes lit up. Cultivating and fighting together could increase their intimacy, but might sharing everyday experiences be even better for that?

In any case, Soul Power was only consumed when Combusken was summoned or withdrawn. Once it was outside, using no skills meant it didn't drain his Soul Power.

So it seemed nice to summon Combusken often, travel the continent together, and grow together.

At the thought, a fond, fatherly smile spread across Ye Chen's face. Setting aside his thoughts about Combusken, he began planning what to do next.

Once he left Nuoding Academy, he would no longer have school to attend.

With all other conditions equal, Soul Beasts were always stronger than Soul Masters.

Rather than hide in some academy and fight Soul Masters, he'd be better off living in a Soul Beast habitat and fighting Soul Beasts. He could gain more battle experience and put it to use, which would help him advance his Soul Power faster.

Besides, if he lived in a Soul Beast habitat, he wouldn't need to worry about anyone discovering what made him unusual.

With thirty levels of Soul Power reinforcing his Body Martial Soul, and Combusken fighting alongside him, he could survive in the Outer Zone of any Soul Beast habitat. He was also strong enough to hunt Soul Beasts on his own.

As for which habitat to settle in, Ye Chen considered the original story and his own circumstances. In the end, he settled on Sunset Forest, outside Heaven Dou City.

According to the original story, Sunset Forest was home to many kinds of Soul Beasts, but few with ten thousand years of cultivation.

Only Sunset Forest's Core Zone was a gathering place for Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

That meant he'd be safe if he settled in the forest's Outer Zone.

As it happened, most of the Immortal Herbs mentioned in the original story grew near the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was hidden in Sunset Forest's Core Zone.

Once he had familiarized himself with the Outer Zone and grown strong enough to enter the Core Zone, he could start thinking about how to obtain the Immortal Herbs.

Most importantly, Dugu Bo currently had sole possession of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and its Immortal Herbs. He had a granddaughter named Dugu Yan.

If Dugu Yan wanted to obtain a Soul Ring and advance, Dugu Bo would surely bring her to Sunset Forest to hunt Soul Beasts.

By then, Ye Chen would have hunted and leveled up in Sunset Forest so often that he'd know the distribution of its Soul Beasts inside out. Perhaps he could use that to get acquainted with Dugu Bo and his granddaughter, Dugu Yan.

Once they had built a good relationship, getting the Immortal Herbs would be much easier.

Even if he couldn't get the Immortal Herbs through Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan, spending so much time in Sunset Forest would give him opportunities to steal them.

If Dugu Bo suspected him of stealing the herbs, Ye Chen could use Tang San's methods and arguments from the original story to resolve Dugu Bo's snake-venom backlash. That should keep him from being killed.

The Herb Transcript he'd gotten from Tang San also recorded plenty of knowledge about Immortal Herbs, enough to help him pick and consume the ones he wanted.

As he pondered, Ye Chen took the Herb Transcript from his bag and flipped through it with interest.

Combusken continued pulling aside the carriage curtain and admiring the scenery outside.

The carriage traveled west along the main road. After ten days on the road, it finally entered Heaven Dou City's territory.

Night had fallen, and the moon hung overhead.

They had finally reached their destination.

Ye Chen and Combusken pulled aside the carriage curtain together and stuck their heads out to look.

A hundred meters ahead stood a city gate topped with fluttering flags. Above the entrance were three enormous golden characters: "Heaven Dou City."

As the imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City was built on a grand scale. Its walls alone stood a hundred meters high, all constructed from the hardest granite.

Soldiers patrolled the walls and stood guard below, all clad in full armor and carrying spears. Their fearsome air spoke to their toughness.

After the soldiers standing guard at the gate inspected them, the carriage followed the crowd into the city.

Though it was already dark, Heaven Dou City seemed to have only just woken. Bustling crowds filled the streets, shops of every kind lined both sides, and peddlers and laborers streamed back and forth. The city was alive with activity, displaying the splendor of a prosperous age.

Suddenly, countless streaks of colorful light pierced the night with sharp whistles, shooting straight into the sky before bursting into dazzling fireworks.

The pedestrians looked up and cried out in amazement.

After taking in the streets and fireworks, Ye Chen lowered the carriage curtain and began meditating.

Combusken kept watching the streets through the window. The crowds of all kinds and the big city's splendor had opened up a whole new world to it, filling its eyes with shock and excitement.

At Ye Chen's request, the driver headed for the Great Soul Arena in the center of Heaven Dou City.

According to the original story, the Great Soul Arena was where Soul Masters fought with their Martial Souls.

Soul Fighting at the Great Soul Arena could bring fame and fortune. The place was full of Soul Masters who became famous overnight and commoners who struck it rich in a single night.

But if a commoner Soul Master with outstanding talent made a name for themself at the Great Soul Arena, they were bound to attract the attention of various factions.

His strength was too weak for that now. Ye Chen didn't want to deal with any factions yet. He just wanted to hurry to Sunset Forest, lie low, and grow stronger until he reached level seventy Soul Power before venturing out.

He wasn't going to the Great Soul Arena to compete in Soul Fighting. He was going there to gamble.

The Great Soul Arena wasn't just a place for Soul Masters to fight with their Martial Souls. It also provided a platform for spectators to gamble.

According to the driver, for each bout, each person could place only one bet. Once they bet on one side to win, they couldn't bet on the other. That meant each person was bound to either win or lose.

But things were different with Combusken.

He only had ten Gold Soul Coins on him. When they gambled at the Great Soul Arena, he could put five Gold Soul Coins on one side to win, then have Combusken put five on the other.

That way, whether he or Combusken lost the bet, one of them would win.

Since the Great Soul Arena's gambling payouts were based on odds, winning meant getting back not only their stake and the money lost on the other side, but also some extra cash.

Afterward, they could split the winnings into two equal amounts and place bets on opposite sides again. If they repeated the process, they'd make a fortune before long.

The only snag was that if Combusken lined up with the crowd to place its bet, the staff might bar it from gambling, even though it was Ye Chen's Martial Soul.

So before gambling at the Great Soul Arena, he had to find Combusken something to cover its appearance and figure. Once he dressed it up as a human, the staff probably wouldn't interfere as long as it had money to bet.

As for why he was so determined to make money through gambling, it was naturally so he could afford to buy Whale Rubber.

After eating a few pieces of Whale Rubber to strengthen his body, he could hunt Soul Beasts in Sunset Forest. That would give him a better chance of absorbing a thousand-year Second Soul Ring.