Star Dou

The Star Dou Forest is not something the Soul Hunting Forest can compare to.

The Soul Hunting Forest is small in scale and managed by human intervention; the entrance even has a cleared path.

The Star Dou Forest, however, is far wilder. There are no roads, so one must forge their own.

At this moment, Dai Mubai became the unlucky soul. His tiger claws were not being used for combat, but specifically for clearing brambles and thorns—in the literal sense.

Fortunately, after entering a certain area, there were traces of wild animal activity. The growth of plants here had been suppressed or outright destroyed, forming natural paths that made things much easier.

But at the same time, signs of soul beast activity also meant danger; those walking here were highly likely to encounter an attack.

However, this was the outermost perimeter after all. Even in the Star Dou Forest, one wouldn't encounter soul beasts over ten thousand years old here. In reality, ten-year or hundred-year soul beasts were the norm, with ten-year soul beasts being even more common.

Because the soul beasts encountered so far were not strong, Flender simply watched along the way, letting Jiang Jiu and the others gain a little experience and cultivate a bit of tacit understanding in coordinated combat.

The only pity was that Xiao Wu couldn't come, but Flender secretly mused that there would still be opportunities once Oscar, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others reached level thirty.

"Brother Jiu, I've noticed you seem very familiar with those soul beasts?"

Ning Rongrong was in the middle of the line, yet she still had the heart to observe Jiang Jiu.

"It's alright."

Jiang Jiu had been verifying what he had learned throughout the journey.

The variety of soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest was far greater than in the Soul Hunting Forest. Even among the ten-year and hundred-year soul beasts they bumped into on the outskirts, many were types he hadn't seen in the Soul Hunting Forest.

But just because he hadn't seen them in the Soul Hunting Forest didn't mean Xiao Wu hadn't drawn them for him.

Xiao Wu had taught him based on the general types of soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest, and combined with her vivid drawing skills, Jiang Jiu could indeed identify them accurately now. He knew the species and even the approximate age of the beasts by heart.

Only by mastering this knowledge could one avoid being "blind" upon entering the Star Dou Forest.

If one were like the Dragon Duke and Snake Matriarch, who obtained a two-thousand-year-old Man Faced Demon Spider for their granddaughter as a third soul ring, that would be nothing more than setting off fireworks.

This was the pain point of lacking a heritage.

Jiang Jiu himself had taken a massive shortcut.

There was no one who understood soul beasts better than him here. Even looking at the entire Douluo Continent, it was hard to say if anyone else understood them more thoroughly, completely, or in greater detail.

The soul beast knowledge Yu Xiaogang imparted to Tang San was already quite good, but compared to Xiao Wu, it fell far short.

Xiao Wu had even told Jiang Jiu about the changes in the Titan Giant Ape and the Sky Azure Bull Python every ten thousand years.

What more could one say?

Unfortunately, knowledge was just knowledge; speaking still required fists. No matter how much he knew, he still had to rely on Flender to help hunt for souls.

And soul hunting was a matter that relied heavily on luck.

After searching for a day, Jiang Jiu and Tang San exchanged a look.

Well, the thousand-year soul beasts the two brothers needed were nowhere to be seen.

Tang San was slightly better off; his targets included several types of soul beasts that were commonly seen. Although he hadn't seen any thousand-year-level ones today, he had seen hundred-year ones.

Whether they could be used was one thing, but it was at least a glimmer of hope.

As for Jiang Jiu, he hadn't seen even half a rabbit, let alone a Lightning Rabbit or a Soft Bone Rabbit.

He truly didn't know how Xiao Wu's mother had managed to survive to fifty thousand years. Xiao Wu herself was a second-generation soul beast with no reference value whatsoever.

"Let's stop here for today."

Following Flender's order, Tang San and Jiang Jiu naturally found a place to pitch their tents. The food was well-prepared, and the processed jerky tasted quite good.

"You two seem to have quite a bit of wilderness experience," Flender praised while eating the jerky.

At this point, there was no need to worry about who was taking advantage of whom; he, as the Dean, would have to be the one to keep watch at night.

"We've been to the Soul Hunting Forest quite a few times, after all," Jiang Jiu replied, while Tang San was still setting up snake-repellent powder.

"Did Xiaogang take you there?"

Jiang Jiu nodded.

However, Flender then shook his head. "That's not right. Xiaogang wouldn't be able to help you hunt for your second soul ring."

"It was a friend of Teacher's," Tang San said, returning to the group.

Flender felt the meat in his mouth lose its flavor. That was true; he had his own old friends, and Xiaogang certainly had his own new acquaintances.

"Tell me about it?" Flender felt there was nothing else to do anyway.

Ning Rongrong and the others also gathered around to listen to the story while eating, relaxing their tense nerves.

For someone like Ning Rongrong, the hunting of her first two soul rings could be described as a picnic.

Zhu Zhuqing hadn't had it that easy, but in the end, it had been arranged by her family.

Exploring carefully as a group like this was a first for them. Zhu Zhuqing, in particular, had been given a heavy responsibility, acting as almost half a scout.

"Brother Jiu, is your second soul skill actually Charm? I haven't seen you use it yet."

Everyone had their own focus when listening. Flender was more concerned with Yu Xiaogang, while Ning Rongrong naturally focused on Jiang Jiu.

Only now, hearing about his second soul skill, did she realize she didn't even know what Jiang Jiu's two soul skills were.

"I don't really have a use for it right now."

Jiang Jiu's current combat strength was divided into several parts.

In ordinary situations, his physical strength was more than enough. When combined with his Soul Power, he could hang his peers out to dry, and he didn't even need to use the lethal moves from his Soft Technique to do it—a little bit of leverage was all it took.

As for Charm, using it against someone of the same rank felt a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Let alone a Soul Grandmaster, even a Soul Ancestor would be stunned if Jiang Jiu used it; the mental fortitude of Soul Masters in this world was quite pathetic.

Jiang Jiu's current setup was perfect for fighting above his rank, but the target he had previously fought above his rank was Zhao Wuji, so there was no need to go looking for trouble.

The gap was simply too large; his entire repertoire of Soft Technique and Charm had no room to be put to use.

"Right, Rongrong, why have you been calling him 'Brother Jiu' ever since yesterday?" Oscar tried his best to find a way to interject into the conversation.

"Because Brother Jiu is Brother Jiu." Ning Rongrong narrowed her eyes slightly with a smile; she was beginning to understand the joy Xiao Wu felt.

Oscar was left completely bewildered. What was the meaning of Ning Rongrong's ambiguous answer?

"Some people just like being called that." Dai Mubai patted Oscar on the shoulder with the air of someone who had seen it all before.

Is it that he likes being called that?

The speaker had no intention, but the listener took it to heart. Zhu Zhuqing took it seriously and made a mental note of it.

On the other side, Flender and Tang San had finished their conversation.

"You all go back to your tents. I'll take the night watch."

Flender found a random tree, leaped up, and sat on a branch.

Only then did Jiang Jiu remember that Flender's Martial Soul was an Owl; he really was perfect for keeping watch.