At the entrance to the Star Dou Great Forest.
A group of people stepped into the dense woods.
They were the people of Shrek.
Zhao Wuji led the way, glancing back at his students.
"Stay close. The Star Dou Great Forest is no place for fooling around."
Dai Mubai walked at the front of the group, clearing the way.
Xiao Wu linked arms with Tang San, looking rather excited.
Tang San, however, wore a grave expression, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.
Ma Hongjun looked around, muttering:
"This place is downright creepy."
Oscar followed behind them, clutching a sausage in his hand.
"Yeah. I'd better make more sausages. I don't feel safe."
Zhao Wuji spoke up:
"Oscar needs his third Soul Ring. Our goal this time is to find a suitable thousand-year Soul Beast."
Dai Mubai asked:
"Teacher Zhao, do you have a specific target in mind?"
Zhao Wuji shook his head.
"Let's head in first. We'll see what's suitable when we find it."
Just then, Tang San suddenly spoke up:
"Wait."
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
Tang San crouched down and studied the footprints on the ground.
"Someone got here before us."
Zhao Wuji's brows immediately furrowed into a deep crease.
"Are you sure?"
"The footprints are fresh. They were made two hours ago."
Xiao Wu also came over.
"Looks like there are footprints from several people."
Dai Mubai's expression turned serious as well.
"Could they be from another academy?"
Tang San shook his head. "I don't know. But stay alert."
Zhao Wuji thought for a moment, then said:
"Keep moving, but slow down and watch your surroundings."
The group set off again, but the atmosphere had grown noticeably tenser.
Tang San walked in the middle of the group, his left hand already resting on the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night at his waist.
Xiao Wu sensed his tension and asked softly:
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Tang San gave her a gentle look.
"It's nothing. I just have a bad feeling."
Somehow, he felt that something big was going to happen on this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, at Star Lake.
A huge Soul Beast with a bull's head and a serpent's body lay coiled beside the lake.
Its eyes were closed, as if it were asleep.
Suddenly, its eyes snapped open.
Humans had trespassed.
And the aura of this human...
Was strong.
The Sky Azure Bull Python immediately surged out of the lake, its enormous body blotting out half the sky.
It let out an angry growl, instantly unleashing the pressure of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
"Human, you dare trespass in forbidden territory? You're asking to die!"
As soon as it finished speaking, a gray-haired young man walked out of the woods.
It was Ye Qiong.
A faint smile rested on his face.
The Sky Azure Bull Python looked at Ye Qiong, its pupils contracting sharply.
This human was completely unfazed by its pressure.
What's more, the aura he gave off made even the python feel threatened.
It stared at Ye Qiong warily.
"Human, what are you doing here?"
Ye Qiong looked up at it and got straight to the point.
"I need a Soul Ring. Offer yourself to me."
The Sky Azure Bull Python froze, then flew into a rage.
"Offer myself? You think you're capable?"
Ye Qiong nodded without hesitation.
"That's right. I do."
The Sky Azure Bull Python roared toward the sky, its pressure growing even stronger.
Yet Ye Qiong stood perfectly still.
The Sky Azure Bull Python grew even more wary.
"Who are you, exactly?"
Ye Qiong smiled.
"I'm just a passing Trailblazer."
The Sky Azure Bull Python stopped wasting words. It opened its jaws and shot a beam of blue light straight at Ye Qiong.
Ye Qiong merely sidestepped. The beam grazed past him and blasted a long trench through the woods behind him.
Seeing its attack miss, the Sky Azure Bull Python immediately swung its tail at him.
Ye Qiong leaped lightly, dodging the blow with ease.
He landed in a tree and looked at the Sky Azure Bull Python.
"Negotiations have failed. I guess I'll have to reason with you the hard way."
The Sky Azure Bull Python sneered.
"Where's your Martial Soul? Let's see it."
Ye Qiong summoned his baseball bat.
The Sky Azure Bull Python glanced at it, surprise flashing in its eyes.
Just an ordinary baseball bat, without even a trace of Soul Power.
That was it?
At the sight of it, the python immediately grew confident.
"Human, with that lousy bat and the strength of a Soul Emperor, you can't hurt me."
Ye Qiong's lips curled into a smile.
Although he was only at level seventy, his Martial Soul was no ordinary one.
He had the Martial Soul Evolution Card to thank for that.
It had upgraded his ordinary baseball bat into the Trailblazer's Bat.
And the Trailblazer Bat was a superweapon capable of smashing through the Iron Curtain Defense Field. It was perfectly reasonable for it to become a god-tier Martial Soul in Douluo Continent, right?
So it was perfectly reasonable for it to send Ye Qiong's strength soaring from level sixty-two to level seventy, right?
Mm, that really did make perfect sense.
He, Ye Qiong, definitely wasn't using cheats.
With that thought, Ye Qiong's voice grew more confident.
"Whether I can hurt you or not, there's only one way to find out."
"Rules are made to be broken!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he swung his baseball bat and charged straight at the Sky Azure Bull Python.
The next second, he flashed above its head and brought the bat crashing down.
Thud!
The Sky Azure Bull Python's head was struck, lurching downward.
But before it could react, the bat came down again.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Every blow from Ye Qiong landed in the exact same spot.
The Sky Azure Bull Python's head buzzed, and the world swayed before its eyes.
It tried to fight back, but Ye Qiong was too fast.
Every time it lifted its head, the bat came crashing down.
At last, it couldn't take it anymore and let out an enraged roar.
"Human! You've succeeded in making me angry!"
The Sky Azure Bull Python instantly went berserk. It summoned all its Soul Power, blue light surging wildly across its body.
Ye Qiong didn't care in the slightest. He swung the bat again.
Thud!
One blow was all it took to smash the Sky Azure Bull Python's skin open and leave its flesh in tatters.
The defense it had always been so proud of was utterly useless against this utterly ordinary-looking baseball bat.
At last, it was afraid.
This human was too strong.
So strong that it couldn't fight back at all.
Another half an incense stick's worth of time passed.
The Sky Azure Bull Python finally collapsed to the ground, unable to bear the humiliation any longer.
Its massive body sprawled on the ground, its face bruised and swollen as it panted heavily.
Ye Qiong dropped down, planted a foot on its enormous bull face, and rested the baseball bat across its neck.
He looked down, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"As expected of the Galaxy Bat Hero's bat. This move really packs a punch."
The Sky Azure Bull Python was furious and humiliated, but it couldn't move.
Ye Qiong pressed his foot hard against its face, crouched down, and spoke slowly.
"Little snake, give me a straight answer. Are you going to offer yourself or not?"
The Sky Azure Bull Python gritted its teeth in rage.
"Don't even think about it! When Er Ming comes back, he'll tear you to pieces!"
"Oh, I'm so scared~"
Ye Qiong said with a cold laugh, then leaned close to the Sky Azure Bull Python's ear.
"Don't worry. It won't be long before he comes to join you."
"And even..."