Training in the Star Dou Great Forest

The next day, Jing Chen still got up at seven. Nearly six hours had passed outside, but he had actually slept for eight hours.

He trained inside the Time and Space Divine Tower and ate breakfast there as well.

After washing up and getting ready, Jing Chen headed out. After asking for directions, he found a metal shop.

The purchase did not go particularly smoothly, mainly because he looked far too young, while the metal he wanted to buy was worth over two hundred Gold Soul Coins.

Over two hundred Gold Soul Coins was neither a small nor large amount, but for a child, it could certainly be called a huge sum.

The shop owner had assumed Jing Chen was just talking nonsense like a child and had not taken his words seriously.

In the end, Jing Chen could only explain that he was buying it for his father. He took out the Gold Soul Coins to show that he could afford it, and only then did he successfully buy the metal.

After buying the metal, Jing Chen also purchased a portable heating furnace, a metal workbench, and a hammer.

To make a Soul Tool, the metal first needed to be forged. These tools were somewhat basic, but they would do.

This six-year-old body really makes everything inconvenient. Once I have money, I'll need to hire people to handle these things for me.

After buying what he needed, Jing Chen headed toward the South City Gate while thinking to himself.

He was not far from the South City Gate. Before long, he left the city, and after going some distance, he began running.

His destination was the Star Dou Great Forest, where he planned to stay for a while.

The Star Dou Great Forest lay east of Shrek Academy, or more accurately, southeast of it. The forest covered an enormous area, making Shrek City seem tiny by comparison.

The north and south ends of Shrek City both fell within the north and south ends of the Star Dou Great Forest. The forest lay to the east, southeast, and northeast of the city.

Jing Chen ran eastward, as that was the shortest route, a little over sixty li.

If he had left through the East City Gate, the distance to the Star Dou Great Forest would have been even shorter, only a little over forty li.

Shrek Academy had been built on the eastern side of the city for two reasons: first, to better deter the Star Dou Great Forest; second, to make it easier for students to hunt Soul Beasts.

Over an hour later, Jing Chen arrived outside the Star Dou Great Forest and stood there looking at it for a while.

"The Star Dou Great Forest truly is beyond comparison with ordinary Soul Beast forests," Jing Chen murmured.

The thick trees, generally twenty to thirty meters tall, and the dense energy one could sense before even entering—it all surpassed the Nine Spirit Forest by far.

After standing outside for a while, Jing Chen entered the Star Dou Great Forest.

Once inside, the air became much fresher and cooler, making him feel quite comfortable.

Although he was still in the outermost region, Jing Chen did not relax too much and remained properly vigilant.

They said it was easy to dodge an open spear but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. He was not afraid of Soul Beasts such as wolves, tigers, and leopards; even if he could not handle them himself, Yi Yi could.

After all, this was only the outermost region, where powerful Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were basically impossible to encounter.

What he needed to watch out for were poisonous flowers and plants, as well as certain strange Soul Beasts.

These unusual Soul Beasts possessed bizarre abilities and unpredictable attack methods. If one failed to stay alert, one might suffer greatly.

As it was his first time in the Star Dou Great Forest, Jing Chen was rather cautious and did not move quickly.

The Star Dou Great Forest was teeming with Soul Beasts, and Jing Chen soon experienced that for himself.

Less than ten minutes after entering, he encountered a Soul Beast with several decades of cultivation.

When facing a Soul Beast of that level, Jing Chen merely drove it away and had no intention of killing it.

There was no use in killing it, so why bother?

Along the way, Jing Chen encountered quite a few Soul Beasts. Aside from an eight-hundred-year Man Faced Demon Spider that they killed, he spared all the others.

That Man Faced Demon Spider had been filled with murderous intent, looking as though it absolutely had to kill him. Jing Chen therefore did not hold back.

He killed the Man Faced Demon Spider himself without having Yi Yi intervene.

The battle had not been easy. He used his first Soul Skill and Soul Bone Skill, expending considerable effort.

The fight had also been quite dangerous. Several times, he had nearly been pierced by its spider legs.

Fortunately, he dodged in time and used solid ice to block the spider legs, preventing them from breaking his skin.

Otherwise, he would have been in serious trouble. If he had been poisoned by the Man Faced Demon Spider, his chances of survival would have been slim.

Although the battle had been dangerous, it had also given Jing Chen considerable combat experience. In his opinion, it had been worth it.

More than two hours later, Jing Chen arrived in an area mainly frequented by Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

After arriving in this area, he became even more cautious. He could still deal with Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, but Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were beyond his capabilities.

"Yi Yi, remember this location carefully. Don't forget it," Jing Chen instructed seriously, holding Yi Yi beneath its front legs.

"Yiyi? (Aren't you coming with me?)" Yi Yi looked at Jing Chen pitifully, clearly unhappy.

"I'm too weak. If I go with you, I'll only become a burden and slow down your hunting and devouring."

"If you act alone, you'll be much more efficient and can grow faster."

"Don't worry, we're only separating temporarily. We'll see each other again when it gets dark. It won't be long," Jing Chen soothed Yi Yi.

The little fellow had grown used to staying by his side. It even slept beside him, and they had never been apart for more than an hour. It was only natural that it would be reluctant to separate now.

"Yiyi... (All right.)" Yi Yi nodded listlessly.

"Be careful. If you can't win, run. Don't try to fight head-on, understand?" Jing Chen reminded it uneasily.

"Also, suppress your aura as much as possible. Your species is currently hated by everyone. If you let your aura leak out too much, you'll be ganged up on."

After saying that, he rubbed Yi Yi's little head, set it on the ground, and signaled that it could leave.

Yi Yi walked away from Jing Chen on its short little legs, dejected. The little fellow kept looking back, like a child who had never left home before and was suddenly leaving, its reluctance especially strong.

"Stop being so reluctant. Just be careful," Jing Chen said with a helpless smile. This little fellow was far too attached to him.

After watching Yi Yi disappear among the trees, he summoned the Time and Space Divine Tower and entered it.

Inside the Time and Space Divine Tower, he took out the metal he had bought that morning and began heating and forging it.

During Huo Yuhao's era, forging techniques were not advanced. There were no concepts like Spirit Forging or Soul Forging.

When crafting Soul Tools, forging metal was merely meant to increase its hardness and alter its shape.

These things could be achieved through repeated hammering. Aside from requiring some skill when shaping it, the rest was something anyone with hands could do.

Jing Chen had no special techniques when forging. He simply hammered with force.

He was quite strong, so forging was relatively easy for him. He could finish forging a metal component in just over ten minutes, making his speed very fast.

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