Douluo Continent, Star Dou Forest.
The carriage's jolting gradually faded as it slowed down.
After a day of travel, the carriage had gone from Xiao Family Village to the northern edge of Star Dou Forest, in the southern part of the empire.
As the place with the highest density of Soul Beasts on the entire Douluo Continent, it was unquestionably the most suitable place to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain Soul Rings.
Of course, that only applied to the outskirts.
The Soul Beasts on the outskirts of Star Dou Forest weren't very strong. Finding Soul Beasts with a hundred-year cultivation level or so, suitable for their First Soul Ring, was relatively easy.
Everyone got out of the carriage. The forest's terrain was complicated, with many changes in elevation, so the carriage would only be a hindrance here.
"Ugh, what a pain. We only had to escort Young Master Yu Lu while he got a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. We could've just looked around the outskirts. Now we've got an extra deadweight. If he gets ambitious and insists on venturing farther in, we'll be taking on extra risks for nothing."
"Exactly. The captain's original plan was to get in and out quickly on the outskirts. From what I've heard, Star Dou Forest hasn't been very peaceful lately."
The one speaking was the short-haired young man who had glanced sidelong at Xiao Yan in the carriage earlier. Now, he couldn't help complaining to his companions. His voice was low, but everyone present was a Soul Master with sharp ears and keen eyes. Xiao Yan had heard every word, too.
But Xiao Yan couldn't be bothered with him. As the protagonist, being looked down on was perfectly normal. If he had to slap everyone who looked down on him in the face, wouldn't that be exhausting?
The group continued several miles farther. The traces of civilization gradually disappeared from their surroundings, and the area grew increasingly primeval.
Looking at the scenery around him, Xiao Yan couldn't help furrowing his brow. Though this place was still on the forest's outskirts, it gave him a sense of oppression that... didn't belong in this area.
The group's leader noticed it, too. He raised one hand and made a gesture. The others immediately spread out into a defensive formation.
Once everyone was ready to face an enemy, the leader crouched down and concealed himself. After edging forward a few steps, he carefully parted the enormous ferns in front of him.
In an instant, the view opened up. The dense forest gave way to a wide lake. Its waters were clear, yet tinged with a deep, shadowy purple.
At the very center of the lake, an island like a mountain rose and fell ceaselessly.
Xiao Yan frowned at the sight. Strange. It's just an ordinary island in the middle of a lake. Why is Little Fire Dragon sending him such an intense sense of oppression?
Even without summoning his Martial Soul, Little Fire Dragon could still sense that oppressive feeling and transmit it to Xiao Yan without missing a single detail.
"Something's wrong. Everyone, be careful."
After thinking it over, Xiao Yan still quietly warned the others. But the short-haired young man who had complained about him earlier didn't take it seriously.
"Do we really have to be so jumpy? As long as we scout the area and make sure it's safe, we'll be fine. It's not like we don't have a scouting-type Soul Master in the group."
"Hunting Falcon! Possession!"
He had no intention of concealing his presence. With a decisive shout, he released his Martial Soul. A pair of wings gradually unfurled from his back. The young man beat them, sending a gale sweeping through the area, then soared into the air to scout ahead.
What a magnificent pair of wings!
Xiao Yan stared at the sight, his eyes wide.
Who among humanity didn't long to touch the sky? After transmigrating to Douluo Continent, Xiao Yan had also wished he would awaken a bird-type Martial Soul. Then he could fly into the sky and soar freely.
Even after awakening an egg Martial Soul, he'd hoped the egg would hatch into a bird—maybe a phoenix or some kind of Divine Bird.
Of course, that wasn't to say Little Fire Dragon was any worse. In fact, if things followed their natural course, his Little Fire Dragon would evolve into Charizard, and then, with Martial Soul Possession, he would also be able to sprout dragon wings and soar through the sky.
A moment later, the birdman... I mean, the short-haired young man circled once over the lake, then returned and shook his head at the leader.
"I didn't see any danger at all, and there aren't any Soul Beasts. We can go right down there."
"Mm."
The leader was still somewhat suspicious, but the scout had already flown around the area without incident. It seemed there wasn't much danger.
"Let's go. Young Master Yu Lu and Xiao Yan both have Fire-type Martial Souls. Most of the Soul Beasts living in this lake are Water-type or Ice-type, so we need to keep looking farther ahead."
The group set off again, but Xiao Yan could still feel that sense of oppression.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at the island in the lake, which seemed as tall as a mountain. It looked even more magnificent and immense than it had from up above.
"Crash—crash."
The lake water slapped against the shore, the waves surging as if a storm was about to descend.
"What a magnificent sight..."
Xiao Yan couldn't help marveling once more at the scenery of this other world. In his previous life, waves of this scale could only be found on an endless ocean. Yet here on Douluo Continent, even a lake like this could produce such enormous waves. It was truly astonishing.
Xiao Yulü noticed that Xiao Yan was distracted. He turned around to pat him on the shoulder, but he, too, was stunned by the sight before them.
"Yeah, you don't often see waves this huge. I thought we were by the sea."
"Wait, what do you mean, you don't often see them?"
Xiao Yan froze, then suddenly realized what he meant.
"You're saying waves this big shouldn't appear on a lake of this size?"
"Yeah... huh?"
Crash—crash—
The water roared as wave after wave surged toward them.
And at the source of those waves, the mountain in the middle of the lake... no, it wasn't a mountain at all. That "mountain" was slowly rising higher!
It was an enormous turtle of terrifying size! Its shell was the deep blue of the lake, covered in intricate, mysterious patterns. The mountain they had seen earlier was merely one corner of the creature's shell!
Only now did Xiao Yan finally understand the source of that oppressive feeling. But as the creature rose, an even more powerful pressure bore down on everyone!
"H-Heavens... that's a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, isn't it..."
The leader's voice was hoarse. The pressure nearly left everyone around him gasping for breath, and those who were a little weaker had already started trembling uncontrollably.
Xiao Yan had at least watched the anime in his previous life, so he knew that something of this scale had to be at least a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. He had no intention of challenging it, so he grabbed Xiao Yulü beside him and ran for his life.
"Why are you running? Form the battle formation! Protect Young Master Xiao Yulü!"
Seeing Xiao Yan flee instead of fighting, the short-haired young man roared angrily. With someone giving orders, the other guards snapped out of their daze and sprang into action. Soul Power shone around them as they quickly joined together to form a sturdy curtain of light.
"ROAR!!!"
The Black Tortoise let out an ear-splitting roar. The shockwave whipped up a gale, sending everyone's clothes snapping in the wind!
"Damn it, run! A bunch of people who aren't even Soul Douluos think they can challenge a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Are you idiots?"
Seeing that they were foolishly trying to fight, Xiao Yan tried to warn them. But blue light surged around the Black Tortoise, and it commanded wave after wave of water to sweep violently toward them!
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