Thirty miles west of Qinghe City,
Notting City!
After entering the city, Xu Bai strolled down a relatively wide street, looking at the crowds coming and going and the buildings around him. He clicked his tongue inwardly.
Compared with medium-sized cities like Huangshan City and Qinghe City, a small border city like Notting City was far more backward.
Take the most obvious example: Notting City had very few shops and taverns, and its Spirit Hall and City Lord's Mansion were nowhere near the size of those in the two medium-sized cities, Qinghe City and Huangshan City.
At least the City Lord's Mansions and Spirit Halls in those two cities could just about be called imposing.
Of course, Xu Bai hadn't gone wandering the streets just to kill time comparing small cities with medium-sized ones. He was mainly there to gather some information.
After asking a few people, he easily got the information he wanted: Notting Junior Academy had opened two days ago.
"Two days..."
Xu Bai mused, trying hard to recall what he knew about Douluo Continent from his previous life.
According to the novel and anime, Tang San and Grandmaster entered the Soul Hunting Forest on the second day after Notting Academy opened, and encountered the Datura Snake on the night of the third day.
According to the manhua, they entered the Soul Hunting Forest on the fourth day and encountered the Datura Snake that afternoon...
Xu Bai looked up at the sky. The sun hung high overhead; it was noon.
"In that case, to be safe, I should go find that hundred-year-old Datura Snake in the Soul Hunting Forest first."
Having made his decision, Xu Bai found a swift horse, bought a map marking the general terrain of the Soul Hunting Forest, and headed straight for it.
When Xu Bai had learned that the Blue Silver King or Blue Silver Emperor blood needed for Little Blue's third revival could be replaced with Tang San's blood, he'd already started working out how to take it safely and naturally.
After all, the timing was far too convenient. Tang San seemed to have only Yu Xiaogang looking out for him, but lurking in the shadows was old silver-coin Tang Hao.
If Xu Bai showed even the slightest ill intent when he ran into Tang San, then once they reached somewhere deserted, he'd be sure to get a warning from the Clear Sky Hammer.
That wasn't an exaggeration. Given the power he'd shown so far, Titled Douluo might truly possess abilities that brought them halfway beyond the human.
Back in his previous life, he'd joked that Douluo was the bottom of the fantasy barrel, that the people of Douluo Continent were hydrogen people, and all that.
But after actually transmigrating to Douluo Continent, Xu Bai couldn't joke about it anymore. Because if the people of Douluo Continent really were hydrogen people, then of course he was one of them now.
After becoming a Soul Master, he'd gained an even deeper understanding of the gap between ordinary people and Soul Masters.
As a Beast Tamer, Xu Bai's physical strength should have been about the same as an auxiliary-type Soul Master's, perhaps a little higher.
But when he became a Soul Grandmaster, circulating Soul Power let him punch a massive hole in a tree so thick it would take a man to wrap his arms around. It wasn't difficult at all.
That was the difference. Even the weakest auxiliary Soul Master could kill an ordinary person as easily as a chicken.
The gap between ordinary people and Soul Masters was vast; the gap between Soul Grandmasters and Titled Douluo was even greater. So at this point, he couldn't take Tang San's blood by force. He could only use his wits.
Xu Bai had long since come up with a clever approach. It could be summed up in one phrase: "a hero saving a 'beauty.'"
The core of the plan was to use the identity of "lifesaver" to earn the short-term trust of Tang Hao, Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang.
As for the details, he had the broad strokes. He'd take things one step at a time from there.
The more complicated a plan was, the more likely it was to go wrong.
The horse was fairly fast. Before long, they reached a spot outside the Soul Hunting Forest, still a long way from the entrance.
As everyone knew, entering the Soul Hunting Forest required a permit issued by the Spirit Hall.
Getting one was an extremely troublesome process. You needed not only the Spirit Hall's approval but also guarantees from at least three nobles.
Xu Bai had no time to jump through all those hoops, so he chose another, simpler method.
You're the one!
Come on out, First!
A ripple suddenly appeared in the space behind Xu Bai, and First strode out, its enormous figure cutting an imposing and valiant silhouette.
And then...
"Arf?"
First tilted its head. Its majestic, fearsome air shattered in an instant, replaced by a clear and foolish expression.
'Beast Tamer, did you need something?'
"Open this iron fence."
Xu Bai spoke calmly. He was already used to First's sudden change in demeanor and wasn't surprised.
'That's it? Easy.'
First focused its thoughts. A strange ripple spread outward, and the iron fence opened smoothly under its control, like it was made of putty.
Xu Bai stepped through, with First right behind him. Once the man and beast were inside, the iron fence instantly returned to its original shape, as if nothing had happened.
"First, let's look around the outskirts for a bit."
Grabbing a handful of tiger fur and using it to pull himself up, Xu Bai swung onto First's back.
First grumbled twice in protest, then sped off.
Despite its massive size, it was remarkably nimble. It moved through the dense Soul Hunting Forest as easily as if it were on flat ground, and before long, it had vanished without a trace.
Whether in the novel or the manhua, the original story mentioned one thing: a four-hundred-year-old Datura Snake couldn't possibly appear on the outskirts of the Soul Hunting Forest.
The manhua explained that Datura Snakes shed their skin every two hundred and eleven years. At that time, they became extremely weak and needed to hide somewhere safe.
The Datura Snake in the original story—the one that nearly killed the Sea God—had disguised itself as a Vine Snake Flower, which in turn disguised itself as a Datura Snake to drive away intruders.
Then, as soon as its period of weakness ended, it ran into Tang San and his master.
As for the novel, Xu Bai couldn't quite remember. He only knew that it happened at night, after Luo Sanpao farted and blasted a few Nether Wolves to death.
"Since the novel version is hard to find for now, I'll look for the manhua version first!"
Xu Bai considered this, then took the rough map he'd bought in advance from the Beast Taming Space. "Vine Snake Flowers like to grow in cool, well-ventilated places. So the trees where one lives should be the kind that grow huge individually but are sparse as a group."
"There seems to be only one place in the Soul Hunting Forest that fits the bill..."
Having picked the right direction, Xu Bai patted First beneath him and said, "First, head that way. Full speed!"
'I'm already going full speed...'
First barked in annoyance.
The Soul Hunting Forest wasn't very big. At First's speed, it took only half an hour to reach the place Xu Bai was looking for.
"First, slow down and carefully sniff the air. If you smell something both fishy-sweet and tea-scented, let me know."
Xu Bai straightened his back and carefully scanned the area, then reminded First beneath him.
Curiosity flashed in First's eyes. It gave a slight nod and sniffed at the air like a puppy, trying to catch the strange scent its Beast Tamer had described.
Fishy-sweet with a hint of tea. What could that be? Sounds delicious...
First:￣﹃￣