[Completed the mission to take the new students on their first Soul Fighting assignment. Reward: 1,000 Stellar Jades.]
Late at night, at Amphoreus Academy.
Ye Qiong sat on the sofa, looking at the system's mission-completion notice. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
This system was certainly generous.
The missions it assigned weren't especially difficult, and it had even rewarded him with 1,000 Stellar Jades all at once.
"Just 4,000 more Stellar Jades, and I can draw another card. I wonder what the next mission will be?"
At that thought, Ye Qiong opened the mission interface.
However, when he saw the missions listed there, he froze.
[Mission 1: Take your disciples to the Star Dou Great Forest, participate in the main storyline, and seize an opportunity.] [Mission 2: Break through to Soul Saint.] [Mission 3: Obtain Soul Rings for the disciples who are about to break through.] [Complete all three missions to claim the rewards: 4,000 Stellar Jades and one special card.]
Having three missions assigned at once caught Ye Qiong by surprise.
"What a coincidence. Bai E and I both happen to need a Soul Ring to break through."
Even without the mission, Ye Qiong had planned to take Bai E to the Star Dou Great Forest the next day to obtain a Soul Ring.
But looking at the mission details, his thoughts immediately began to race.
He rubbed his chin.
"If I remember right, next comes the part where Tang San gets the Eight Spider Lances."
Seizing someone else's opportunity might sound a little underhanded,
but the other party was Tang San.
Ye Qiong didn't feel the slightest bit guilty.
In fact, he was even a little excited.
"The Eight Spider Lances? No, no, that opportunity's too small. If I'm going to take one, I might as well go for something big."
As he thought, Ye Qiong summoned his baseball bat Martial Soul.
He looked at the empty Soul Ring slot on it, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The next morning,
Ye Qiong had Jiang Zhu notify everyone to gather in the square.
Wang Sheng came out of the dormitory building yawning. He was the last to reach the square, looking as though he hadn't woken up yet.
Jiang Zhu glared at him.
"Hurry up. The teacher's waiting."
At her words, Wang Sheng shook his head and hurried over to join the group.
Ye Qiong swept his gaze over everyone and announced that they would be going to the Star Dou Great Forest that day.
Bai Chenxiang's eyes lit up at once.
"Teacher, are you taking Bai E to get a Soul Ring?"
Ye Qiong nodded.
"That's right. Bai E is exactly at level thirty, so he needs his third Soul Ring."
Hearing this, Bai E's face also took on an eager expression.
Ye Qiong pulled Tribbie over from the side and continued,
"This time, your task isn't just to watch. You'll also be taking part in the training."
"Teacher, are there a lot of Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
"A lot, and they're all dangerous."
Everyone looked a little nervous at that.
They had all heard that the Star Dou Great Forest was extremely dangerous—a forbidden zone for humans.
Jiang Zhu clenched her fist.
"Teacher, we'll do our best."
Ye Qiong said no more, instead gesturing to Tribbie.
Tribbie nodded at the sight of his gesture and raised her hand, summoning a golden triangular gate.
Everyone's eyes widened when they saw it.
"W-what is that?"
Tribbie smiled faintly.
"This is a Soul Skill of my Martial Soul, the Gate of Ten Thousand Paths. It can take you straight to the Star Dou Great Forest."
Bai Chenxiang stared at the golden triangular gate, her eyes full of curiosity. She muttered quietly,
"Straight there? If we used that to skip class, wouldn't we be home in the blink of an eye?"
Tribbie had sharp ears and smiled at her.
Bai Chenxiang immediately lowered her head, pretending she hadn't said anything.
Bai E stared at the gate too. For some reason, it seemed familiar to him, but he didn't dwell on it.
Ye Qiong stepped forward first.
"Follow me. Don't fall behind."
As they passed through the gate, the scenery around them changed in an instant.
Dense woods, treetops blotting out the sky, and a thick carpet of dead branches and leaves beneath their feet.
From time to time, roars echoed in the distance.
Wang Sheng looked around.
"We're here already? That was fast."
Jiang Zhu gazed at Tribbie with stars in her eyes.
"Teacher Tribbie, you're amazing!"
Seeing their reactions, Tribbie smiled gently but said nothing.
That was simply how her Martial Soul worked. She could open a gate anywhere on the Douluo Continent and travel through it.
Seeing this, Ye Qiong clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to him.
"From now on, you'll explore this forest on your own."
Wang Sheng froze.
"Explore on our own? Teacher, you're not coming with us?"
Ye Qiong shook his head. "I have other business to take care of. Teacher Tribbie will watch you from the shadows, but unless you run into danger you can't handle, she won't intervene."
"But, Teacher, we're not familiar with this place."
Ye Qiong looked at Jiang Zhu, who had spoken.
"That's why you need to find your own way. Hunting Soul Beasts and finding suitable targets for yourselves—all of that is up to you. You'll need to work together and make the most of each person's Martial Soul."
Bai E looked at Ye Qiong.
"Principal, let me lead the team."
Ye Qiong looked at him and nodded.
"All right. From now on, you're the captain."
Everyone agreed with Bai E becoming the captain.
They had all seen his strength for themselves.
They were confident leaving the team in his hands.
Seeing that everyone had reached an agreement, Ye Qiong turned to Tribbie.
Tribbie nodded to him, then followed him to one side.
"Principal, where are you going?"
Ye Qiong answered in a low voice.
"The core area. I need a new Soul Ring."
Tribbie froze.
"The core area? The Soul Beasts there are all at least ten thousand years old."
Ye Qiong smiled.
"That's why I'm going."
Tribbie was about to say something, but Ye Qiong raised a hand to stop her.
"I'm leaving the children in your care. Just keep an eye on them and make sure nothing happens to them."
Tribbie looked him in the eyes, then finally nodded.
"All right. I'll take good care of them. Principal, be careful on your way."
"Don't worry. I'll be back soon."
As the two teachers left, Bai E took a deep breath,
then began assigning everyone their positions and duties.
Everyone followed his instructions.
Bai Chenxiang spread her Sharp-Tailed Swift wings and flew above the treetops to scout,
Jing Ling moved swiftly between the trees on their flank, Wang Sheng and Huang Yuan led the way, Jiang Zhu stayed in the middle, and Bai E brought up the rear.
The group slowly ventured deeper into the Star Dou Great Forest.
They had walked for about half an hour when Bai Chenxiang suddenly swooped down from the sky.
Her face had gone pale. "There are signs of a fight up ahead. There's blood on the ground, and the bodies of Soul Beasts."
Bai E frowned.
"Take me to see."
With Bai Chenxiang leading the way, the group soon reached an open clearing.
Three Soul Beast corpses lay on the ground, each killed with a single blow.
The wounds were neat, as if cut by something sharp.
Wang Sheng crouched to take a closer look. "These wounds... don't look like the work of Soul Beasts."
Jing Ling quickly checked the ground nearby.
"There are claw marks. A large Soul Beast left them—at least two or three."
Bai E stared at the bodies, his frown deepening.
"A powerful Soul Beast has been here, and it's no weakling."
Jiang Zhu looked worried.
"What should we do?"
Bai E fell silent for a moment, then slowly stood and looked ahead.
"Keep going, but be even more careful. If we run into that Soul Beast, don't engage. Go around it." ```