Outside a hotel room.
Li Yi knocked and waited for quite a while, but there was no response from inside.
"Could Duan Fan be cultivating?"
At the thought, Li Yi stopped knocking.
Li Ruolan came running over just then. From the look of her, she had obviously chased after Li Yi.
"Brother, why are you running so fast? Is it really that urgent?" Li Ruolan asked irritably.
Li Yi furrowed his brow. "I didn't come back alone. Elder Ghost Leopard came too."
"I was in such a hurry because I wanted to warn Duan Fan ahead of time, so he'd be mentally prepared to face Elder Ghost Leopard."
"Elder Ghost Leopard?"
Li Ruolan looked surprised, and the image of Wen Xiyue, the other genius student in Junior Class Ten, unconsciously flashed through her mind.
"They actually sent an elder over? Is this really necessary?"
"Duan Fan is only getting a Second Soul Ring. Do they need a Titled Douluo to handle it?"
Li Yi's furrowed brow relaxed slightly. "This shows how seriously they're taking the matter."
"After I returned and reported it, I was summoned by His Holiness the Pope that very same day."
"It was His Holiness the Pope who had Elder Ghost Leopard return with me."
The surprise on Li Ruolan's face deepened. "This matter even reached His Holiness the Pope?"
Li Yi nodded slightly. "His Holiness the Pope seems very interested in Duan Fan."
After saying that, Li Yi immediately added, "Of course, that's only my personal impression."
Li Ruolan could naturally hear the caution in her older brother's words. Given their status, they didn't dare make reckless guesses about His Holiness the Pope's thoughts.
"Weren't you here to find Duan Fan? Why haven't you knocked again?"
Li Ruolan pointed at Duan Fan's door.
Li Yi glanced at the door. "I knocked, but there was no response. I thought Duan Fan must be cultivating."
Li Ruolan's delicate brows knit together. "That doesn't seem likely. Duan Fan usually finishes cultivating by this time."
Li Yi smiled. "Maybe he's in a particularly good state today."
"You specialize in studying martial souls, don't you? Duan Fan's Soul Power Level is twenty. He hasn't obtained his Second Soul Ring yet, so both his cultivation speed and his condition will be affected. It's impossible for him not to notice any noise from outside while he's cultivating.
You already knocked just now. Even if he really was cultivating, you would have interrupted him."
Li Ruolan looked at Li Yi as if he were an idiot, and went up to knock on the door as she spoke.
"Knock, knock, knock—!"
"Duan Fan, are you in there? It's Teacher Li!"
Li Ruolan knocked several times in a row and called out a few times, but there wasn't the slightest response from inside.
Li Yi asked, "Could Duan Fan have gone out?"
"I'm right here on the first floor of the hotel. How could I not know if he went out?" Li Ruolan replied.
After speaking, the siblings looked at each other, both of their expressions turning grave.
Li Ruolan turned the doorknob again. This time, she didn't care whether the door was locked. She shoved it with all her strength, and it flew open.
The siblings immediately looked into the room, but Duan Fan was nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Duan Fan?"
Li Ruolan blurted out the question, a trace of panic flashing in her eyes.
"Don't worry. Elder Ghost Leopard must have arrived ahead of us and taken Duan Fan with him."
Li Yi walked into the room and stopped at the desk by the window. He picked up a token. "This is my token. When we left Spirit City, Elder Ghost Leopard asked for it and said that if I arrived before him, I should take it back."
"I was so naive to think that leaving before Elder Ghost Leopard would mean I could arrive before him."
"They've probably gone to the Star Dou Forest," Li Yi guessed.
Hearing this, Li Ruolan breathed a sigh of relief. "Should we go to the Star Dou Forest?"
Li Yi shook his head with a wry smile. "No need. By the time we reach the Star Dou Forest, Elder Ghost Leopard will probably already have brought Duan Fan back."
Star Dou Forest.
In front of a low, cone-shaped hill.
Two figures gradually took shape. They were Ghost Leopard Douluo and Duan Fan.
The moment Duan Fan's feet touched the ground, his stomach churned. He couldn't hold back a dry heave.
Ghost Leopard Douluo laughed heartily beside him. "You're pretty impressive, kid. You can still stand steadily."
"You managed to hold on for quite a while at my speed."
"Not bad, not bad."
After dry-heaving for a bit, Duan Fan quickly recovered. He looked at Ghost Leopard Douluo with helplessness in his eyes. "Grandpa Ghost Leopard, you're too fast. I feel like my body's about to fall apart."
Ghost Leopard Douluo laughed. "Haha, speed is what I've always excelled at."
"You're pretty good, kid. On the way back, I'll let you experience an even greater speed."
Duan Fan hurriedly shook his head. "Let's not. We don't actually have to rush so much."
Ghost Leopard Douluo chuckled, then got down to business. "This should be the habitat of the Black Flame Demon Fox you mentioned. I can sense two Soul Beasts hiding in there, and two more over there."
Ghost Leopard Douluo looked at the low hill ahead, then glanced at another hill off to the side.
Duan Fan carefully studied the surroundings.
Several low hills stood ahead, all of them bare.
There were many caves in the hills, and waves of heat drifted out of them.
Even standing in front of the hills, they could feel a scorching aura rushing toward them.
"Mm, this is the place."
Duan Fan had been near here with Li Yi and Li Ruolan a few days earlier, so he still remembered the surroundings fairly well.
Once he had confirmed the location, Duan Fan immediately activated his First Martial Soul, the Fantasy Pen. A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.
"Teacher Li Yi said the Black Flame Demon Fox is cautious by nature, so we need to use bait to draw them out."
As Duan Fan spoke, the Hundred-Year Soul Ring on his body lit up. He gripped the pen and quickly began to draw.
Silver lines danced through the air, and soon he had drawn a Dream-Weaving Spider.
The instant the drawing was complete, the Dream-Weaving Spider landed steadily on the ground.
"This Dream-Weaving Spider will make perfect bait."
Duan Fan controlled the Dream-Weaving Spider as it approached the caves, then looked at Ghost Leopard Douluo. "Grandpa Ghost Leopard, let's back up a little first, so the Black Flame Demon Foxes don't get scared off."
Only then did Duan Fan notice that Ghost Leopard Douluo had been looking at him strangely the whole time.
The next second, Ghost Leopard Douluo disappeared.
Duan Fan suddenly came to his senses. He glanced at his Dream-Weaving Spider and couldn't help cursing himself inwardly.
Has the wind blown my brains out along the way?
I'm explaining how to hunt a thousand-year Soul Beast to a Titled Douluo?
In the few short breaths Duan Fan spent mocking himself, Ghost Leopard Douluo reappeared. He casually tossed a huge black fox onto the ground.
"Pretty lucky. This Black Flame Demon Fox is right around fifteen hundred years old."
Before you continue