A Spontaneous Trip

The next day, at noon, the sun was shining brightly.

In the farmyard, Di Yi lay lazily in a sunny spot, feigning sleep.

Little Blue wobbled about, amusing itself.

Xu Bai was busy preparing for his long journey, specifically making the pre-made meals that Di Yi detested most.

The purpose of this long journey was to find a third beast, and the destination was set for the Sunset Forest.

In truth, the safest method would be to search for suitable soul beast cubs in the territories of small to medium-sized wild soul beasts to serve as his beasts.

However, that would be too time-consuming, and besides, with two thousand-year soul beasts as his companions, Xu Bai finally possessed a modicum of self-preservation.

Although the Sunset Forest was one of the two major soul beast gathering grounds on the Douluo Continent, if he stayed only on the outermost periphery, the danger level would not necessarily be much higher than wandering through those smaller gathering grounds.

Moreover, the variety of soul beasts was far richer there, making the risk worth taking.

As for why he did not choose the closer Star Dou Great Forest, the reason was simple: he feared the Silver Dragon King, the co-ruler of all soul beasts, who resided at the bottom of the Life Lake.

After all, the Douluo Continent truly had a concept of destiny.

Although at this point in time, the Emperor Auspicious Beast, who carried the destiny of all soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, might not have been born yet, there was no guarantee that the Silver Dragon King didn't have similar soul beasts by her side, or that until that Emperor Auspicious Beast appeared, the destiny of all soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest was being borne by her, the co-ruler.

It wasn't that Xu Bai was narcissistic, but he felt that the moment he awakened his memories, he had likely caused significant fluctuations in the destiny of soul beasts.

If he were to enter the Star Dou Great Forest, he might be directly detected by that mother dragon.

With his current strength, being detected by her would be no different from being a fish on a chopping block.

There was a small chance he would be killed outright, a high chance he would be imprisoned, and of course, an infinitesimal chance he would gain the eternal friendship of the soul beast clan.

As for how small that "infinitesimal" chance was, Xu Bai could only tell you that he mentioned it purely for the sake of rigor.

After all, what if he were the protagonist of some fanfiction, and the handsome author decided to exert some influence?

"Alright, Di Yi, Little Blue, get into the Beast Taming Space."

After placing the last of the pre-made meals into the Beast Taming Space, Xu Bai stretched vigorously and spoke to his two beasts with a smile.

Entering the Beast Taming Space? Is there something up?

Di Yi raised its eyelids, questioning.

Little Blue, being very obedient, pulled its roots out of the ground and controlled its vines to slowly make its way over to Xu Bai.

"Naturally, it's to find you both a new companion." Xu Bai offered only this explanation, and without waiting for a reply, he snapped his fingers.

The next moment.

Hum~

A massive magic circle instantly manifested, pulling the two beasts—who hadn't yet reacted—directly into the Beast Taming Space.

"I am a Beast Tamer, not a pet sitter. If I tell you to enter the Beast Taming Space, you enter. Where do all these questions come from..."

Xu Bai muttered to himself and slowly walked out of the farm.

A carriage was parked outside; he had reserved it the previous night.

He boarded the carriage and greeted the driver.

The driver acknowledged him and steered the carriage, slowly heading toward the imperial capital of the Tiandou Empire, Tiandou City.

Inside the carriage, Xu Bai pulled back the curtain on the window and watched the fields flying past. He seemed to hear that familiar mechanical voice once again:

"Preparing to depart. The total distance is over a thousand kilometers, requiring approximately ten days..."

Fasinuo Province was on the southwestern border of the empire, while Tiandou City was located in the center, slightly to the northeast.

One on the southwestern border, the other in the center-northeast; the span covered more than half of the Tiandou Empire.

One thousand kilometers was merely the straight-line distance; the actual journey would certainly be longer.

However, considering that the Douluo Continent was a fantasy world, and he had paid a high price to reserve the fastest carriage in Qinghe City, ten days might truly be enough to reach Tiandou City.

"There is some benefit to being a lone wolf after transmigrating; at least I can embark on a spontaneous journey whenever I please..."

Thinking this, a self-deprecating smile tugged at the corners of Xu Bai's mouth.

The wheels rolled on, crushing the packed yellow earth of the main road and kicking up clouds of dust.

Ten days of scenery passed silently and rapidly outside the carriage window.

The landscape shifted from the somewhat desolate lands of the imperial frontier to the increasingly dense villages and towns lining the road. Now, even from within the carriage, one could feel the bustling prosperity pressing in.

"Young Master, we've arrived at Tiandou City!"

The driver's voice, clearly tinged with relief, rang out. Ten days was an exhausting ordeal, even for an experienced driver like him.

For such a long distance, had this young master not been exceptionally generous, he would never have accepted the job.

"Many thanks, this is for the fare."

Xu Bai stepped off the carriage and retrieved a pre-packed money pouch from his Beast Taming Space, handing it over. It contained exactly thirty Gold Soul Coins.

The carriage driver was an experienced hand; he took the bulging pouch, weighed it in his palm, and immediately showered him with thanks.

Xu Bai didn't think much of it, though he felt a secret pang of regret in his heart.

Had he not been afraid of being too conspicuous and inviting unnecessary trouble, he could have easily used First as his mode of transport.

Standing in place for a moment to ponder, Xu Bai decided to first take a stroll through this so-called Tiandou City.

In the original descriptions, this was one of the two great pearls of the Douluo Continent, alongside Star Luo City, and in terms of sheer opulence, it was said to be a cut above the latter.

The walls of Tiandou City stood a hundred meters high, with a base width exceeding one hundred and thirty meters, constructed entirely from a special type of stone.

Even though Xu Bai had seen his fair share of grand sights in his past life, he was still deeply shaken by the majesty of this city.

One could only say that even if this were the "bottom of the barrel" of fantasy worlds, it was still fantasy; many things could not be judged by common sense.

After entering the city gate, Xu Bai suddenly felt a bit mischievous. Having walked about halfway through, he saw that no one was around and pulled the dagger—forged from a special metal—out of his Beast Taming Space, dragging it hard across the wall.

Sparks flew, but when he leaned in closer, there wasn't the slightest scratch to be seen.

"Little friend, is this your first time in Tiandou City?"

A gentle voice suddenly rang out from behind him, giving Xu Bai, who thought he was getting away with something naughty, quite a start.

Xu Bai turned to look and, seeing that the newcomer was not a city guard but a young man dressed in decent attire, he let out a sigh of relief.

He put on an appropriately embarrassed expression: "Big brother has a sharp eye. How could you tell? It's just that I've never seen such a tall city wall before, and I was curious about how sturdy the materials were..."

"Hahaha, that's because I had the exact same thought when I first came to Tiandou City."

The young man laughed as he spoke: "Though, I only dared to touch it; I wasn't like you, going straight for it with a dagger."

He paused, then offered a bit of trivia:

"The bricks used for this wall are refined through a special process, and each one is worth quite a lot. It's said that a wall this thick can even withstand the charge of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast."

"I don't know if that's true or not, but a ten-thousand-year Soul Beast certainly couldn't cause any damage to this wall, let alone a dagger as delicately crafted as yours."