Soul Hunting Town

"Xiaogang, I'm taking Lin Mo now."

Before leaving Yu Xiaogang's dormitory, Flender looked back and waved to him in farewell.

"Go, go. But even if it's just to hunt a thousand-year soul ring, you must be extremely cautious when taking Lin Mo. Do not be careless."

Yu Xiaogang warned, "The Star Dou Great Forest is not like other places; danger lurks everywhere."

"Don't worry." Flender waved his hand without turning back.

Under Flender's lead, Lin Mo followed closely behind him as they departed from Notting Academy.

Once they stepped out of the academy gates, Flender's pace became noticeably lighter, while Lin Mo followed in silence.

The day was still early; shops along the street were just opening, and the breakfast vendors' stalls were still steaming.

Flender bought two flatbreads and handed one to Lin Mo.

"Eat this to line your stomach; we need to make good time," Flender said while chewing on his own.

Lin Mo took the flatbread and bit into it; it was filled with sesame paste.

He followed behind Flender and soon passed through the gates of Notting City.

Shortly after, on the outskirts of Notting City.

Lin Mo surveyed the desolate surroundings and couldn't help but ask, "Dean Flender, how are we getting to the Star Dou Great Forest? Are we taking a carriage, like when Grandmaster took us to the Soul Hunting Forest?"

Hearing this, Flender chuckled. "A carriage? How long would that take? I'll fly you there directly; it's much faster than a carriage."

With that, Flender instantly activated his Martial Soul Possession. Two yellow, two purple, and three black soul rings emerged slowly beneath his feet.

"Let me introduce myself again. My martial soul is the Cat Eagle, a rare agility-attack battle Soul Saint of the flying type. I am exceptionally fast. Since it's just you this time, I'll take you to the Star Dou Great Forest myself; otherwise, the time spent on the road alone would be far too long." Flender spoke with a hint of pride in his tone.

A Soul Saint with the ability to fly was still quite rare in this era.

This was the first time Lin Mo had observed Flender's Martial Soul Possession at such close range.

The wings granted by the Cat Eagle martial soul unfurled behind Flender, spanning four or five meters, with feathers of a grayish-brown hue.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Dean."

Lin Mo nodded slightly and activated his own Martial Soul Possession, simultaneously entering the state of Inversion of Three.

Flender stepped forward and placed his hands under Lin Mo's armpits.

Lin Mo felt a surge of great strength lift him up, and his body instantly felt weightless.

Flender flapped his wings, pushed off the ground with his legs, and soared into the sky with Lin Mo in tow.

Feeling the gale whistling past his ears, Lin Mo felt a wave of emotion.

Flight... I wonder when I'll be able to master that.

Lin Mo was deeply intrigued by the ability to fly.

Whether it was the speed of travel that ignored terrain or the potential to serve as a life-saving skill in a pinch, flight was incredibly appealing to him.

Unfortunately, his Body Spirit did not include wings, so he could not fly for the time being.

Moreover, if he remembered correctly, in this current era, one could not simply fly using soul power upon reaching the rank of Soul Saint, as was the case in later generations.

Flight remained the privilege of a select few soul masters; only those with flying-type martial souls, like Flender, could take to the skies.

However, it wasn't as if he were truly incapable of flight forever. Once his Inversion of Three reached the third stage, he would certainly be able to fly.

But that was still a long way off.

He was still a long way from breaking through to the second stage; although he had touched the threshold, he still needed to slowly refine his progress.

Before that, however, it wasn't impossible to fly; if he encountered some special opportunity, he might be able to master the ability early.

Aside from certain special soul skills, he could also rely on the auxiliary soul skills of teammates.

If his memory served him right, Oscar would eventually possess a skill called the Flying Mushroom Sausage.

Beyond that, there were soul bones.

One of the two major soul skills attached to the soul bone Ah Yin left for Tang San was flight.

Furthermore, certain special External Soul Bones, such as wing-type ones, could also grant the host the ability to fly.

Flight skills were still very rare in this day and age.

A pale cyan barrier of soul power condensed around Lin Mo, shielding him from the howling wind.

The noise subsided significantly, and Flender's voice came through clearly. Even while flying at high speed, Flender was able to multitask, educating Lin Mo on the Star Dou Great Forest:

"The Star Dou Great Forest is one of the three most famous gathering places for soul beasts on the Douluo Continent. It is vast in size, and the variety of soul beasts living within is incredibly extensive."

The closer one gets to the center of the forest, the more powerful the soul beasts become; it is said that there are even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts within.

As he said this, a hint of reverence colored Flender's tone.

Lin Mo listened silently from the side, not interrupting Flender's explanation.

In this current era, the exploration of the Star Dou Great Forest by soul masters is not yet complete.

Ten thousand years from now, the Star Dou Great Forest will be divided into several distinct regions based on the strength of the soul beasts found there.

The outermost area is the Outer Zone, where generally only ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year soul beasts are active, while ten-thousand-year soul beasts are quite rare.

Next is the Mixed Zone, which houses the greatest variety of soul beasts in the entire Star Dou Great Forest.

It is primarily inhabited by hundred-year, thousand-year, and ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

Venturing deeper leads to the Core Zone, where the number of soul beasts is far smaller than in the Mixed Zone.

However, every soul beast qualified to live here possesses formidable strength without exception.

Finally, there is the innermost Land of Great Ominousness.

Of course, in this current era, the most central part of the Land of Great Ominousness is the Lake of Life.

The Lake of Life, as it stands now, should be occupied by the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape, those two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

And they, in fact, are Xiao Wu's two younger brothers.

After briefly introducing the situation of the Star Dou Great Forest, Flender's tone grew increasingly excited.

"Lin Mo, you must maintain reverence for the Star Dou Great Forest, because this will be a place you frequently visit in the future.

The soul beast you are going to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain now is only for your second soul ring; you will need to obtain at least seven more soul rings in the future, and the best place to acquire these rings is undoubtedly the Star Dou Great Forest!"

Lin Mo nodded, indicating that he agreed with Flender's assessment.

Soon, amidst Flender's grandiloquent talk, he brought Lin Mo to a small town very close to the Star Dou Great Forest.

Flender lowered his altitude and landed behind a patch of woods.

Lin Mo also deactivated his Innate Life State, stretching his slightly numb shoulders.

Having arrived here, Flender no longer flew openly through the air with Lin Mo, choosing instead to proceed on foot with great discretion.