The group made its way toward the edge of the forest,
Deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, even its outskirts had no ground that could be called a road,
Beneath their feet, the tangled roots of towering ancient trees gripped the earth, while lush vegetation grew wildly, doing all it could to seize every spare patch of space.
Yan Shaozhe's voice was steady:
"Pick up the pace."
The students put away their laxness and horseplay, their expressions turning serious. They stirred their Soul Power and tapped their toes lightly against the ground, then began darting swiftly between the thick branches of the giant trees,
Once they entered the outskirts, even just the outermost edges, they were already in danger,
In front of Soul Beasts skilled at concealment,
The observation skills of low-ranked human Soul Masters were no match at all,
Moving along at a leisurely pace was no different from courting death.
Perhaps because Jiang Nannan was by his side, Yan Shaozhe hadn't sought out Lu Ran once since they set off. He had stayed at the front of the group the entire time,
There was no denying it,
Compared with Xuan Zi, who talked about training the students but was really just slacking off,
Yan Shaozhe took his duties far more seriously.
Along the way, he never let the group out of his sight. He watched every member, warned them when Soul Beasts appeared, directed the students in their response, and slowed their pace when he noticed someone tiring...
He was conscientious and thorough.
Aside from the three students from the Inner Academy, most of those from the Outer Academy weren't high-ranked. The strongest had only reached the Fourth Ring, and nearly all of them were seeking their Second or Third Soul Ring. Even Jiang Nannan, the most talented, was only at level thirty,
On top of that, this trip
Wasn't just about obtaining Soul Rings. It was also meant to help the students familiarize themselves with the terrain of the Star Dou Great Forest, learn how to face suddenly appearing Soul Beasts, and figure out how to avoid danger...
Although Yan Shaozhe wasn't teaching them every step of the way, he worked all the knowledge into each instruction he gave,
Still,
With all these goals piled together,
Their progress was indeed slow.
They had set out in the morning, but by dusk they were still in the outskirts.
The setting sun was almost swallowed by the horizon. In the surging sea of trees, the reddish afterglow couldn't penetrate the dense canopy,
Leaving the forest even dimmer.
"One last stretch. Stay alert."
Yan Shaozhe gave the group an order,
Seeing how excited the students looked, he shook his head inwardly. "Watch your surroundings. Soul Beasts could appear at any moment."
The students put away their smiles and continued forward cautiously.
Ask a novice Soul Master when it was most dangerous to enter the Star Dou Great Forest, and you might get all sorts of answers:
When entering an unfamiliar area, when encountering a powerful Soul Beast, when exhausted, when resting, when injured...
But ask an experienced Soul Master, and there was only one answer—
At any time.
Especially when they let their guard down. When faced with a Soul Beast that appeared out of nowhere, many Soul Masters wouldn't have time to react,
So they could never let their guard down.
As for why the Star Dou Great Forest seemed relatively peaceful and harmonious to Lu Ran...
It was of course because he had a powerful expert accompanying him, along with a means of keeping himself safe,
In front of a Super Douluo, the thousand-year Soul Beasts in this region posed no danger whatsoever,
But Lu Ran was nothing like an ordinary student,
For ordinary students, the Star Dou Great Forest was a dangerous place,
Yan Shaozhe couldn't treat their lives as child's play. He had to take this seriously.
After another stretch of traveling through the forest,
The view suddenly opened up:
Before them was an open clearing beside a lake, its ground flat and the broad waters reflecting the evening clouds on the horizon, shimmering with orange and fiery red. To the travelers who had been on the move all day,
It was breathtaking,
A cool evening breeze brushed lightly over them,
As if they had suddenly arrived in a peaceful paradise, so serene and relaxing.
Yan Shaozhe had the students search the area and make sure there were no signs of Soul Beast activity,
"We'll rest here tonight."
"Yeah!"
"Finally!"
"I'm going to wash my face!"
The students cheered. They were all tired after a full day of travel, and finding such a good place to camp was certainly something to be grateful for,
So they immediately got to work,
Setting up camp.
Even with Yan Shaozhe, a Super Douluo, leading them, he still forbade the students from lighting a fire, to train their vigilance and prevent them from getting into the habit of making fires,
After all, true danger often lurked in habits,
If they lit a fire out of habit and attracted a powerful Soul Beast,
They could only wait to die.
Of course, even without a fire, they could still encounter a powerful Soul Beast. To Soul Beasts, human Soul Masters were a great tonic; eating one could directly add years to their cultivation,
Which was tempting indeed,
But it was like walking around at night in a white outfit,
While lighting a fire was like walking around at night in a white outfit covered in fluorescent powder,
They were better off exposing as little as possible.
While the sun hadn't completely set, the students hurried to pitch tents, make a shelter, and eat,
Pitching tents needed no explanation,
They set up the tents they had brought along to sleep in,
As for making a shelter, there was a plant-type Soul Master in the group. He planted one hand on the ground, and willow branches grew out of nowhere, twisting together to form the shape of a tent,
Then they kept stretching outward and weaving together like a giant net,
Covering all the tents tightly,
Blending perfectly into the surroundings.
From a distance, no one could tell it was a campsite. It could fool plenty of Soul Beasts whose senses weren't sharp enough.
Once the tents were ready,
Everyone took out their rations and sat in a circle to eat.
Jiang Nannan and Lu Ran sat on a boulder by the lake, facing the water as they ate their rations. The evening breeze lifted the ends of their hair,
Lu Ran chewed on a flatbread. It didn't taste like much, but it wasn't bad either:
"Did you make this yourself?"
Jiang Nannan had been eating in small bites. Hearing Lu Ran's question, she froze for a moment, then shook her head:
"I bought it..."
Now it was Lu Ran's turn to freeze,
He'd nearly forgotten that Jiang Nannan was a Second Ring Soul Master, and her mother was no longer seriously ill. She must have some savings, enough to afford flatbread that cost only a few copper coins...
"Sorry... I forgot."
Jiang Nannan's eyes lit up, and she asked eagerly:
"I can make it!"
"If you want some, I'll make it as soon as we get back!"
Lu Ran hurriedly stopped her,
"No, no... you've got the wrong idea."
"I just saw how short of money you were before, so I mistakenly thought you were still like that..."
Jiang Nannan's big, watery eyes curved into crescent moons,
She smiled and said:
"That was a long time ago..."
Because of you...
Night fell, cool and crisp,
Moonlight poured down, draping the entire Star Dou Great Forest in a veil of white silk,
Every so often, a few clear insect chirps sounded from among the trees,
Making the forest seem all the more quiet.
Lu Ran sat alone by the lake, enjoying the evening breeze. The tent area, covered by willow branches, lay not far away, and the students were cultivating inside,
In the rippling lake water, the Full Moon broke into countless fragments,
Shimmering without end.
Jiang Nannan clasped her hands behind her back, hooking her fingers together. She walked lightly without making a sound, cautiously edging closer to Lu Ran.
"Still not resting?"
Lu Ran asked without turning around.
Resting here didn't mean sleeping. It meant sitting in meditation to recover.
Jiang Nannan slowly came closer,
"I saw you sitting here the whole time, and no one came to talk to you..."
Lu Ran glanced at her,
Her gentle eyes outshone the Full Moon,
"You're already the fourth person to come find me. How could no one have talked to me?"
Of the first three, two were girls who wanted to get to know him. One had even been bold enough to try getting close, but he had avoided her and turned her down.
"But you're still all alone..."
Jiang Nannan said timidly.
Lu Ran sighed helplessly. He wasn't putting on an act on purpose. Sitting by the lake made it easier to spread his spiritual power through the water and send any aquatic Soul Beast that swam over straight into the Small World,
There was bait he'd scattered beneath the water along the shore, too,
In other words, he was actually fishing,
He just didn't have a rod.
Jiang Nannan kept a little distance as she sat down gently beside Lu Ran, then secretly edged closer to him,
Finally, she hugged her knees and rested her chin on them,
Quietly keeping him company as they watched the moon's reflection in the lake.
Lu Ran turned his head absentmindedly,
And happened to see Yan Shaozhe looking over at them,
In the moonlight, he could just make out his expression... It was the same as it had been during the day.
Thinking it over, Dean Yan had apparently been a ladies' man when he was young, too...
Huh?
Why did I say "too"?
Lu Ran suddenly frowned, puzzled.
Before you continue