Tang San walked over to Huang Fei's bed. The bedding was folded neatly, and the pillow was placed just so, exactly as they had been when Huang Fei was there. The only difference was that there was no longer someone hiding under the covers all day. Tang San sat on the edge of the bed for a while, then got up and went to his own bed. He took out the Mysterious Heaven Skill and began meditating.
He knew Huang Fei's departure wasn't as simple as "going out to gain experience." Huang Fei definitely had his own reasons. If he didn't want to talk about them, Tang San wouldn't ask. That was the understanding between them.
At the city gate, Huang Fei left Nuoding City through the north gate. He walked about a mile along the main road, then turned onto a small path. The rain was still falling, but he neither sought shelter nor quickened his pace.
His bundle was small. The Forty-Eight Moons Embracing the Stars held everything he needed. Ever since the belt had fused with his body, it had become his most important trump card. The things stored in its forty-eight jewels would last him a very long time—gold and silver, dry provisions, several changes of clothes, and a few books about Soul Beasts and medicinal herbs that he had copied from Notting Academy's library.
Huang Fei walked along the path for about half an hour. Only after confirming that no one was following him did he stop.
He looked back. In the distance, Nuoding City had become a blurry gray shadow, barely visible through the curtain of rain. Tang San should have returned to Dorm Seven by now. Yu Xiaogang probably didn't yet know he had left, and Xiao Wu might eat a couple more carrots.
Huang Fei turned his gaze away and stretched a hand from his sleeve, watching the rain strike his palm.
His plan was simple.
Go to the Star Dou Great Forest.
It was the largest gathering place for Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent, with an abundance of species and a vast range of ages, from ten years to a hundred thousand. He needed a place where no one knew him, a place where he didn't need to pretend, a place where he could unleash his full strength. The Star Dou Great Forest was the best choice, perhaps even the only choice.
There were plenty of Soul Beast Forests on the continent, but few were as suitable for hunting as the Star Dou Great Forest. The Soul Beasts in the Soul Hunting Forest were too young, no older than a thousand years at most—not nearly enough for his Third Soul Ring. The Sunset Forest did have Soul Beasts a thousand years old, but it was near Heaven Dou City, and Soul Masters came and went frequently. His identity could easily be exposed.
The Star Dou Great Forest was different. It was vast, deep, and dangerous. Ordinary Soul Masters only dared to move around its outskirts. Those who ventured deep inside were high-ranking Soul Masters, and they paid little attention to one another. A "six-year-old child" venturing into the Star Dou Great Forest sounded absurd, but Huang Fei knew what he was capable of.
His Soul Power was currently at level thirty. With two Soul Rings of eight hundred and sixty years and one thousand six hundred and forty years, he might appear to be only a two-ring Soul Grandmaster—or, in fact, not even a two-ring Soul Master. To others, he looked like a child who hadn't even obtained his first ring. But his actual combat strength was far beyond that.
The Blue Silver Saint Emperor's bloodline had yet to awaken, but it was always there, in every root, every leaf, and every corner of his body. It provided more than just the suppression that came from the quality of his Martial Soul. It also gave him a kind of indescribable "adaptability"—the ability to grow quickly in any environment.
No matter how harsh the Star Dou Great Forest was, it couldn't be harsher than a six-year-old child crossing a thousand miles alone.
Huang Fei continued onward, walking a little faster than before.
The straight-line distance from Nuoding City to the Star Dou Great Forest was about eight hundred miles. The main road wound around, stretching a little over a thousand miles. At his pace, he could normally walk sixty or seventy miles a day. With breaks and supplies along the way, the journey would take about half a month.
He wasn't in a hurry, because there was no need. He couldn't rush obtaining his Third Soul Ring. He needed to find a suitable Soul Beast, take time to observe and study it, and make sure his choice would best benefit the Blue Silver Saint Emperor's future awakening.
Tang San had obtained his Second Soul Ring, so he would probably start practicing the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer soon. The foundation of the Clear Sky Hammer would gradually grow firmer.
As for Huang Fei, the bloodline of the Sky-Shattering Hammer was also waiting to awaken.
The system's rule was "always ten levels higher than Tang San." That rule wouldn't change just because he had left Notting Academy. As long as Tang San kept cultivating, Huang Fei would rise in tandem.
So he didn't need to chase after anything. He only needed to find a rhythm that suited him, appear where he was supposed to, grow stronger when the time came, and let everything else take its course.
Huang Fei walked along the path for about two days. On the evening of the third day, he reached a place called Blue Stone Town. The town was small, with a main street running from east to west and a handful of inns and restaurants scattered along either side. There weren't many people around, mostly traveling merchants and Soul Hunters.
Huang Fei found the most inconspicuous inn and checked in. The innkeeper was a man in his fifties. He was startled when Huang Fei walked in alone, but didn't ask any questions. After running an inn in a place like this for so long, he had seen all kinds of strange things. A six-year-old staying alone was unusual, but not enough to make a fuss over.
Dinner was a bowl of hot noodle soup. Huang Fei ate slowly and drank every last drop of broth.
Lying in bed, he listened to the insects chirping outside the window as all kinds of things crossed his mind: the bed at Notting Academy, the big tree in Holy Soul Village, Old Jack's white hair, and Tang San's smiling face.
He would see them again someday, but perhaps not yet.
It wasn't that he wouldn't go back. The time just hadn't come. Once he was truly strong—strong enough that he no longer needed to pretend in front of anyone—he would naturally return. Then he could stand in the sunlight, heedless of other people's stares.
Huang Fei turned over, pulled the covers up to his neck, and closed his eyes.
Early the next morning, he restocked on dry provisions and water in Blue Stone Town, then continued south.
Three more days passed. The fields on either side of the main road gradually gave way to hills, and the hills in turn became low mountains. The trees grew denser, and signs of human habitation grew scarcer. He occasionally met one or two traveling merchants. They nodded to each other as they passed, neither asking questions.
On the eighth day, Huang Fei came across a Soul Hunting team by the roadside. There were five of them, three men and two women. Their leader was a burly man in his forties, carrying a greatsword taller than he was on his back. He strode along with a fierce, vigorous gait.
When they saw Huang Fei walking alone, they wore the same expression as the innkeeper. The burly leader hesitated, then called out, "Little brother, are you alone? Where are you headed?"
"South," Huang Fei replied.
"South is where the Star Dou Great Forest is." The burly man frowned. "That's no place for you."
Huang Fei didn't explain. He looked the man in the eye and smiled.
"I know. I'm not going deep inside. I'll just explore the outskirts."
The burly man studied him for a few seconds, seemingly trying to judge whether he was lying. In the end, he shook his head and continued on with his team. After walking a dozen steps, he turned back and shouted to Huang Fei, "There are military camps stationed along the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. If anything happens, go to one and ask for help!"
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