Entering the Star Dou Great Forest

Luo Shang looked at him, silent for a long time.

"Your current physical fitness has already surpassed that of an average Spirit Ancestor."

Luo Yun blinked. "Really?"

"Mm. As for your spirit power, after this month of tempering, it has become increasingly pure." Luo Shang paused. "As for your mental power..."

He glanced at Luo Yun, a rare look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

"Worthy of being this King's son."

Luo Yun grinned, but his smile quickly vanished, for he knew that whenever his father wore that expression, a "but" usually followed.

Sure enough.

"But," Luo Shang said.

Luo Yun: "..."

"Your Sun Corona Sword possesses life and scorching attributes. Spirit beasts with such attributes are almost non-existent in the northern reaches of the Heaven Dou Empire." Luo Shang put away his wooden sword and turned around. "Therefore, we must make a trip to the Star Dou Great Forest."

Luo Yun was stunned for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"The Star Dou Great Forest? The legendary largest spirit beast forest on the continent?"

Luo Shang turned to look at him. "You are excited?"

"I have never left Frost Ridge City!" Luo Yun's voice finally held the exuberance a six-year-old child should have, but he quickly realized his reaction was too much, coughed, and straightened his small face. "...I mean, well, I haven't been out in a long time."

The corner of Luo Shang's mouth twitched, but he did not expose him.

Three days later.

Early morning, at the gates of Frost Ridge City.

Shen Yinshuang crouched down, carefully tying the straps of Luo Yun's cloak and tucking in his collar to ensure not a sliver of wind could get in.

"Once you reach the Star Dou Great Forest, don't run around. Stay close to your father."

"I know."

"Don't try to be a hero. If you can't win, run."

"I know."

"Don't..."

"Mother." Luo Yun interrupted her. "That's the eighth time you've said that."

Shen Yinshuang glared at him, but her eyes were already red.

She stood up and turned to Luo Shang, lowering her voice. "If he loses even a single hair, don't bother coming back."

Luo Shang nodded, softly comforting his wife.

"Alright, don't you trust this King's strength? How could I possibly let our son come to any harm?"

With that, he vaulted onto his horse, leaned over to pull Luo Yun up, and seated him in front.

"Let's go!"

Luo Yun sat on the horse's back, looking back at the city where he had lived for six years: the white walls, the snow-filled sky, and his mother standing at the gate, waving at him.

He suddenly felt a sting in his nose.

"Mother, I'll be back soon!"

Shen Yinshuang nodded with a smile, but she could no longer hold back her tears, which slid down her cheeks.

Luo Shang pulled the reins tight and gave a soft shout.

The horse's hooves crushed the snow, carrying the father and son away into the depths of the wind and snow.

Frost Ridge City grew smaller and smaller behind them, eventually becoming a tiny gray dot in the vast, white world.

Luo Yun sat before his father, looking at the boundless white wilderness ahead, his heart pounding rapidly.

This was his first time leaving Frost Ridge City.

And it was his first time stepping out into the real world.

A week later.

The outer perimeter of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Luo Yun looked up at the giant tree before him, his mouth hanging open in an "O" shape.

The tree was absurdly large; its trunk was as thick as the gatehouse of Frost Ridge City, and its canopy blotted out the sun.

The air was filled with the damp scent of soil and vegetation, a completely different world from the dry, cold snowfields of the north.

"Father, this tree... it must be over a thousand years old, right?"

"More than that." Luo Shang tied the horse to the tree and clapped his hands.

Luo Yun looked up again, his neck nearly snapping from the strain.

"Stop looking. Stay close to me once we're inside." Luo Shang checked his supplies, confirmed everything was in order, and headed toward the depths of the forest. "Don't fall a single step behind."

"Got it, got it." Luo Yun trotted to catch up, his cloak snapping in the wind behind him.

Once they entered the forest, the light dimmed instantly.

Towering trees blocked the sky completely, with only the occasional beam of sunlight leaking through the gaps in the foliage, casting mottled shadows on the ground.

Luo Shang walked at a measured pace, his gaze constantly sweeping the surroundings, his ears twitching slightly to catch every minute sound in the dense woods.

"Dad, why are you so nervous? Aren't you a Titled Douluo?" Luo Yun followed behind, finding everything novel and looking around incessantly.

"Even a Titled Douluo can step in dung." Luo Shang didn't look back.

Luo Yun paused, thought about it, and decided that while the words were crude, they seemed to make a lot of sense.

"The Star Dou Great Forest is divided into the outer perimeter, the middle layer, and the core circle." Luo Shang spoke as he walked, his voice low but perfectly clear in the quiet forest. "The outer perimeter is mainly home to ten-year, hundred-year, and thousand-year soul beasts. There are occasional ten-thousand-year ones, but not many. The middle layer is the territory of ten-thousand-year soul beasts, and the core circle..."

"Is the territory of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts." Luo Yun finished, "I've read that in books."

Luo Shang glanced at him sideways. "The books weren't a waste of time."

Luo Yun grinned and puffed out his small chest.

"But books aren't the same as reality." Luo Shang pushed aside a hanging vine and gestured for Luo Yun to pass. "Look at these tracks on the ground."

Luo Yun looked down to see a massive hoofprint in the fallen leaves, a circle larger than his own head, with the soil at the edges still fresh.

"This is the footprint of a Dragon Horn Rhino, at least eight hundred years of cultivation." Luo Shang crouched down and measured the depth of the print with his finger. "The depth shows it passed by recently and has significant weight. Dragon Horn Rhinos have short tempers; don't engage them head-on. Their weaknesses are their eyes and their underbellies."

Luo Yun nodded earnestly, committing every word to memory.

Along the way, Luo Shang was like a walking encyclopedia of soul beasts, explaining everything he saw.

Poisonous mushrooms, camouflaged vines, beehives hidden in tree hollows, which soul beast the droppings on the ground belonged to, and how fresh they were—he explained it all to Luo Yun.

Luo Yun listened with great interest, asking a question every now and then, all of which Luo Shang answered patiently.

After walking for about two hours, the light in the forest grew dimmer. Luo Shang stopped, took two rations from his pack, and handed one to Luo Yun.

"Eat something first. We'll rest for the time it takes an incense stick to burn."

Luo Yun took the ration, bit into it, and chewed with a blank expression.

"Dad."

"Hm."

"When will Mom's rations actually have some flavor?"

Luo Shang glanced at him. "When you can no longer eat them."

Luo Yun sighed and secretly stuffed half of the rock-hard ration into his pocket.

After the break, the two continued deeper.

The vegetation in the forest grew increasingly dense, and the path underfoot became harder to navigate.

Luo Yun stepped exactly where Luo Shang had stepped, following closely, though his eyes never stopped scanning the surroundings.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.

"Dad."

Luo Shang stopped at almost the exact same moment.

"What is it?"

Luo Yun didn't speak; his brows furrowed slightly, as if he were sensing something.