The Plan Is Underway

Thirty miles west of Qinghe City.

Notting City!

Entering the city, Xu Bai walked slowly down a wide street, clicking his tongue as he observed the passing crowds and the surrounding architecture.

Compared to medium-sized cities like Huangshan City or Qinghe City, Notting City, situated on the empire's border, appeared significantly more backward.

The most obvious signs were the scarcity of shops and restaurants, and the fact that the Spirit Hall and the City Lord's Mansion were nowhere near the scale of those in the medium-sized cities he had visited.

At the very least, the Spirit Hall and City Lord's Mansion in those two cities could barely be described as magnificent.

Of course, Xu Bai wasn't wandering the streets out of boredom to compare the disparity between small and medium cities; his primary goal was to gather information.

After asking a few people, he easily obtained the news he wanted: Notting Junior Academy had already been in session for two days.

"Two days..."

Xu Bai mused, his mind racing to recall memories of the Douluo Continent from his past life.

According to the plot of the novel and the anime, Tang San and Grandmaster entered the Soul Hunting Forest on the second day of the academy term, and encountered the Datura Snake on the third night.

If it were the manga's plot, they would have entered the Soul Hunting Forest on the fourth day, encountering the Datura Snake that very afternoon...

Xu Bai looked up at the sky; the sun hung high overhead, marking the hour of noon.

"In that case, to be safe, I had better head to the Soul Hunting Forest first and locate that century-old Datura Snake."

Having made his decision, Xu Bai found a fast horse and purchased a map marking the general terrain of the Soul Hunting Forest before heading straight toward it.

Back when he concluded that the blood of a Blue Silver King or Blue Silver Emperor—required for Little Blue's third rebirth—could be substituted with Tang San's blood, Xu Bai had already been calculating how to make the act of obtaining it both safe and natural.

After all, the timing was too coincidental. While Tang San appeared to be protected only by Yu Xiaogang, in reality, a "hidden old silver coin" named Tang Hao was lurking in the shadows.

If Xu Bai showed even a hint of malice toward Tang San, he would surely be met with a Clear Sky Hammer warning the moment he reached a secluded area.

This was no alarmist talk; based on the feats he had seen, a Title Douluo—a realm that could be called half-step superhuman—might truly possess such capability.

Although he had joked in his past life that Douluo was the "sewer of fantasy" and that everyone on the Douluo Continent was made of hydrogen, he couldn't bring himself to joke about it now that he had actually transmigrated. If the people of the Douluo Continent were truly made of hydrogen, then he was naturally one of them now.

After becoming a Soul Master, he had gained a profound understanding of the gap between mortals and Soul Masters.

As a Beast Tamer, Xu Bai's physical strength was likely on par with an auxiliary-type Soul Master, perhaps slightly higher.

Yet, when he reached the level of a Great Soul Master, it was no difficult task for him to leave a massive gouge in a tree thick enough for a man to hug, provided he channeled his soul power.

That was the gap; even the weakest auxiliary Soul Master could kill an ordinary person as easily as slaughtering a chicken.

The gap between mortals and Soul Masters was vast, and the gap between a Great Soul Master and a Title Douluo was even greater. Therefore, he could not forcefully seize Tang San's blood at this time; he had to take it through wit.

Xu Bai had already devised a plan for this: "playing the hero to save the 'damsel'."

The core of the plan was to gain the short-term trust of Tang Hao, Tang San, and Yu Xiaogang by assuming the identity of a "life-saving benefactor."

As for the specific execution, he had the general strategy; the rest would be played by ear.

After all, the more complex a plan, the easier it was for things to go wrong.

The horse was reasonably fast, and before long, he arrived outside the Soul Hunting Forest, far from the main entrance.

As everyone knew, entering the Soul Hunting Forest required a permit issued by the Spirit Hall.

The process of obtaining such a permit was extremely cumbersome; not only did it require the approval of the Spirit Hall, but it also necessitated the guarantee of at least three nobles.

Xu Bai had no time to fiddle with such things, so he chose a simpler method.

I choose you.

Come out, Number One!

A ripple suddenly appeared in the space behind Xu Bai, and Number One stepped out, its massive figure appearing majestic and imposing.

Then...

"Awooo?"

Number One tilted its head, its domineering and fierce aura instantly shattering, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated stupidity.

Beast Tamer, do you need something from me?

"Open this iron fence."

Xu Bai spoke calmly; he was already accustomed to Number One's contrast and felt no surprise.

Is that all? Easy.

With a thought from Number One, a strange ripple spread out, and the iron fence behaved like modeling clay, sliding open smoothly under its control.

Xu Bai stepped through, with Number One following closely behind. Once man and beast were inside, the iron fence instantly returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Number One, let's scout the outer perimeter first."

Xu Bai grabbed the tiger's fur and, using it for leverage, vaulted onto its back.

Number One grunted in protest before accelerating into a run.

It was massive, yet incredibly agile, moving across the dense Soul Hunting Forest as if it were flat ground. In the blink of an eye, its figure vanished without a trace.

Whether in the novel or the manga, the original work mentioned one specific point: a Datura Snake with four hundred years of cultivation could never appear on the periphery of the Soul Hunting Forest.

The manga's explanation was that a Datura Snake sheds its skin every two hundred and eleven years; during this time, they become extremely weak and must hide in a safe place.

The Datura Snake from the original work, which nearly soloed the Sea God, had disguised itself as a Vine Snake Flower, which in turn was mimicking a Datura Snake to drive away intruders.

It had just finished its period of weakness when it encountered Tang San and his master.

As for the novel, Xu Bai couldn't quite recall the details, only that it happened at night when Luo Sanpao let out a fart, killing a few Nether Wolves before the snake appeared.

"Since the novel version is a bit hard to find for now, I'll start by looking for the manga version!"

Xu Bai calculated in his mind and took the rough map he had purchased in advance out of his Beast Taming Space: "Vine Snake Flowers like to grow in cool, breezy places, so the trees in their environment should be a species that grows individually large but is sparse in population."

"It seems there is only one place in the Soul Hunting Forest that fits these conditions..."

Having determined the direction, Xu Bai patted Eleven beneath him and said, "Eleven, head in this direction at full speed!"

I'm already at full speed...

Eleven let out a disgruntled cry.

The Soul Hunting Forest was not particularly large, and at Eleven's speed, it took only half an hour to reach the place Xu Bai was looking for.

"Eleven, slow down. Carefully sense the scents in the air. If you smell both a fishy sweetness and a tea-like fragrance, let me know."

Xu Bai straightened his back, scanning his surroundings carefully while reminding Eleven beneath him.

Curiosity flashed in Eleven's eyes, and then it nodded slightly, sniffing the air intensely like a puppy, trying to catch the strange scent its Beast Tamer had described.

Fishy sweetness mixed with the scent of tea—what kind of thing is that? It sounds delicious...

Eleven: ￣﹃￣