First Victory, Heading to Shrek City

The Iron Arm Spirit Ape reacted quickly as well, immediately adjusting its body and raising both arms to block the sweeping kick that came at it like a staff.

The Qilin Martial Soul was inherently a super-tier assault-type martial soul. Aside from its extreme ice and water attributes, strength and defense were also its specialties.

Jing Chen had also absorbed a soul ring from a Behemoth soul beast renowned for its strength. The two complemented each other, further enhancing his physical power.

The force of that kick had already exceeded what the Iron Arm Spirit Ape could withstand, leaving it unable to resist.

Jing Chen kicked the Iron Arm Spirit Ape away as though it were a ball. It flew only a few meters before crashing into a tree, shaking loose rustling leaves.

Jing Chen landed steadily. Having often practiced fighting techniques, he found such airborne kicks easy to perform.

The moment he landed, he adjusted his posture and charged forward.

The Iron Arm Spirit Ape let out an angry roar. Jing Chen's kick had enraged it, and its aura became considerably more violent.

Jing Chen and the Iron Arm Spirit Ape engaged in close combat. With his formidable physique, he did not suffer much even when competing with a soul beast in physical strength.

Moreover, the ice attribute of his martial soul made the Iron Arm Spirit Ape extremely uncomfortable. Accustomed to warm environments, the Iron Arm Spirit Ape was highly averse to cold.

Especially since this ice was over one hundred and fifty degrees below zero. It was only natural for it to feel miserable in such frigid temperatures.

After several days of continuous practice, Jing Chen had gained a preliminary grasp of both the ice and water attributes of his martial soul.

He could use those attributes in close combat. Whenever his body came into contact with the Iron Arm Spirit Ape's, he would employ both water and ice attributes together.

The water soaked its body, then he used ice-attributed Soul Power to freeze it. This produced a better freezing effect while consuming less Soul Power.

Quite a few chunks of ice had accumulated on the Iron Arm Spirit Ape's body. The Extreme Ice froze its skin purple, slowing its movements as well.

After fighting for a while, Jing Chen summoned the Ice Crystal Behemoth Left Palm Bone without having fallen into a disadvantage.

He mainly wanted to test his combat power in his excited state, as well as whether that state would cause him to lose his reason.

As soon as the soul bone appeared, Jing Chen became excited, and his overall attributes rose by nearly thirty percent.

Already no weaker than the Iron Arm Spirit Ape, he quickly suppressed it after receiving the boost.

"Good. It's only excitement, not madness." Only after several minutes of battle did Jing Chen finally relax.

This soul bone's Passive Skill would not make him lose his reason. His earlier worries had been unnecessary.

"Yaya..." The Iron Arm Spirit Ape was intelligent too. Knowing it could not defeat this human, it did not stubbornly hold on and instead chose to flee decisively.

It swung from tree to tree and quickly vanished into the dense forest.

Jing Chen did not pursue it. His purpose of testing his skills had already been achieved, so there was no need to insist on killing the Iron Arm Spirit Ape.

"Let's go. It's time for us to head somewhere new." Jing Chen put away his martial soul, tidied his clothes, and caught Yi Yi as she pounced into his arms.

"Yiyi? (Where are we going?)" Yi Yi looked up, blinking her ruby-like eyes at Jing Chen.

Jing Chen smiled faintly, gently stroking Yi Yi's soft black fur as he said softly, "The Star Dou Great Forest."

After leaving the Nine Spirit Forest, Jing Chen returned to the wooden cabin. After washing up and packing his things, he locked the door and set off.

Once outside, he gave the cabin he had built and lived in for years one final look. He probably would never return here again.

Jing Chen ran onward. After obtaining his first soul ring, his physical condition had become several times stronger than before. He was faster and had greater endurance.

This time, he took less than half the time he once needed to run from home to Ye City.

After entering Ye City, Jing Chen went to a carriage rental shop whose location he had investigated beforehand. It specialized in renting out carriages.

Jing Chen spent thirty Gold Soul Coins to rent a relatively fast carriage and had it take him to Shrek City.

He was not going to Shrek City to join Shrek Academy. He simply wanted to go to that city; it had nothing to do with Shrek Academy.

The reason was simple. Shrek City was the closest city to the Star Dou Great Forest and one of the continent's two largest cities, with flourishing commerce.

Staying there would not only make it convenient for him to take Yi Yi to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt soul beasts, but would also make it easier for him to purchase metal resources.

If he wanted to establish Soul Tool production equipment in the coming years, he had to go somewhere that was conducive to acquiring metal.

In truth, many cities in the Sun Moon Empire were more suitable than Shrek City for purchasing metal, because they possessed richer mineral resources and placed greater emphasis on Soul Tools.

However, developing there would not benefit his future plans. Establishing a force in the Sun Moon Empire, then founding a nation and competing for the world—would be far too difficult.

Most critically, they were of different races. His fair and clean appearance resembled that of the original inhabitants of Douluo Continent, making it obvious that he was not from the Sun Moon Empire.

You were not even from that country, yet you wanted to rally its people to rebel against their own nation? How could that be possible?

Even if the rulers of the Sun Moon Empire committed some outrage that provoked public fury, the princes and nobles would step forward under the banner of reforming the court. It would not be his turn.

It was precisely because of this that he had not chosen to develop in the Sun Moon Empire. The racial difference would make it difficult for him to gain a foothold there.

After ruling out the Sun Moon Empire, if he wanted convenient access to metal while also being near a powerful soul beast forest, Shrek City was the best choice.

As for joining Shrek Academy, he had considered it at first, but quickly dismissed the idea.

It was unsuitable. Even if he could enroll in Shrek Academy early, it would not be of much help to his future plan of establishing a dynasty and unifying the continent.

Shrek Academy had always claimed that it did not participate in the continent's conflicts. Whether they truly meant it or were merely chanting slogans, they were destined not to help him.

Because helping him would be slapping themselves in the face. Would they disregard the reputation of the entire Shrek Academy for his sake?

If they learned that he intended to unify the world, they would probably consider how to stop him rather than offer assistance.

Joining Shrek Academy would bring little help and a whole heap of trouble. Why go looking for suffering?

Jing Chen left Ye City by carriage, heading for his next destination, Shrek City.

Ye City lay in the far northeast of the continent, several thousand kilometers away from Shrek City in the continent's central region.

The carriage was already traveling at a considerable speed, yet it would still take nearly ten days to arrive.

Sitting in the carriage, Jing Chen did not idly waste his time. Instead, he cultivated, read, and did things that mattered.

The book he was reading was a reward from the Artifact Spirit—the Rank 10 Soul Master's Handbook. He focused on studying the Soul Guiding Arrays within it.

Thanks to his experiences on Blue Star, he was already quite proficient in the construction of Mechas, Battle Armor, and all manner of weapons.

What he needed to consider now was how to combine Blue Star's technology with this world's Soul Tools.

Simply put, he needed to figure out how to use this world's Soul Guiding Arrays to empower those weapons and Mechas, allowing them to unleash extraordinary power.

After several years of research, he already had a rough idea. Once he refined it further, he should be able to begin experimenting.

As he studied the Soul Guiding Arrays, he also considered how machines could inscribe these arrays, thereby mechanizing the production of Soul Tools.

Assembly-line-style mechanized production was the best option for manufacturing Soul Tools in large quantities, and it would be the focus of his next stage of research.

Today's second chapter. The new book has set sail—please bookmark it and vote with recommendation tickets.