The next day, at noon, the sun shone brightly.
In the farmyard, First lounged in a sunny spot, dozing.
Little Blue swayed back and forth, amusing itself.
Xu Bai was preparing for the long journey, which meant making the pre-made meals First hated most.
The purpose of the journey was to find a third Beast Tamer companion, and the destination was the Sunset Forest.
Actually, the safest approach would have been to search among the small and medium-sized wild Soul Beast gathering grounds for a suitable young Soul Beast to tame.
But that would waste too much time. Besides, with two thousand-year-old Soul Beasts at his side, Xu Bai had at least gained some ability to protect himself.
Although the Sunset Forest was one of the two great Soul Beast gathering grounds on Douluo Continent, the danger on its outermost edges might not be much greater than wandering around the smaller Soul Beast gathering grounds.
And there was a far greater variety of Soul Beasts there, so the risk was worth taking.
As for why he hadn't chosen the closer Star Dou Great Forest, the reason was simple: he was mainly afraid of the Silver Dragon King, the common ruler of the Soul Beasts, who was holed up at the bottom of Life Lake.
After all, there really was such a thing as destiny on Douluo Continent.
Although the Emperor Auspicious Beast, who bore the destiny of every Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest, might not have been born yet at this point in time,
there was no guarantee the Silver Dragon King didn't have another Soul Beast like that by her side. Or perhaps, before the Emperor Auspicious Beast appeared, the destiny of every Soul Beast in the Star Dou Great Forest was borne by her, the common ruler of the Soul Beasts.
Xu Bai wasn't being conceited. He felt that the instant his memories awakened, he had probably caused quite a disturbance in the destiny of the Soul Beasts.
If he entered the Star Dou Great Forest, there was a chance that dragon lady would notice him immediately.
With his current strength, if that dragon lady noticed him, he'd be no different from a fish on the chopping block.
There was a small chance he'd be killed outright, a great chance he'd be imprisoned, and, of course, an infinitesimal chance he'd earn the eternal friendship of the Soul Beast Clan.
And if you asked just how small that infinitesimal chance was, Xu Bai could only tell you he'd brought it up for the sake of rigor.
After all, what if he was the protagonist of some fanfic, and the handsome author decided to go all out?
"All right, First, Little Blue, come into the Beast Taming Space."
After putting the last pre-made meal into the Beast Taming Space, Xu Bai stretched mightily and smiled at his two companions.
'The Beast Taming Space? What's going on?'
First raised an eyelid and asked.
Little Blue obediently pulled its roots out of the ground, then slowly made its way over to Xu Bai with its vines.
"Of course I'm looking for new friends for you," Xu Bai explained. Before either Soul Beast could respond, he snapped his fingers.
The next moment,
a tremendous magic circle appeared, instantly sucking the two bewildered Soul Beasts into the Beast Taming Space.
I'm a Beast Tamer, not a scoop-the-poop guy. If I tell you to get into the Beast Taming Space, then get into the Beast Taming Space. What's with all the questions...
Xu Bai muttered to himself, then walked out of the farm.
A carriage was waiting outside. He'd booked it the night before.
He climbed aboard and greeted the driver.
The driver answered, then set the carriage moving at a slow pace toward the imperial capital of the Tiandou Empire: Heaven Dou City.
Inside the carriage, Xu Bai pulled aside the curtain and watched the fields flash past outside. It was as though he could hear that familiar mechanical voice again:
"Preparing to depart. The whole journey is over a thousand kilometers and will take about ten days..."
Fasinuo Province lay on the empire's southwestern border, while Heaven Dou City was northeast of the center of the Tiandou Empire.
One was on the southwestern border, the other northeast of the center—the journey spanned most of the Tiandou Empire.
A thousand kilometers was only the straight-line distance. The actual route would certainly be longer.
Still, considering Douluo Continent was a fantasy world, and that he'd paid a hefty price to book the fastest carriage in Qinghe City,
he might really make it to Heaven Dou City in about ten days.
"Being all alone after transmigrating does have its perks. At least I can take off on a whim whenever I want..."
As he thought this, a self-mocking smile crept onto Xu Bai's lips.
The wheels rumbled over the packed yellow earth of the main road, kicking up clouds of dust.
Ten days passed swiftly and silently through the scenery outside the window.
The somewhat desolate lands on the empire's frontier gradually gave way to increasingly dense villages and market towns along the road. And now, even sitting in the carriage, he could feel the prosperity washing over him.
"Young master, we're at Heaven Dou City!"
The driver called out, his voice clearly brimming with delight. Ten days on the road had been exhausting even for a seasoned driver like him.
For a journey this long, he wouldn't have accepted the job at all if this young master hadn't been so generous.
"Thanks for the ride. Here's your fare."
Xu Bai climbed down from the carriage, took a prepared money pouch out of the Beast Taming Space, and handed it over. It contained exactly thirty Gold Soul Coins.
The driver was a seasoned hand. He took the bulging pouch, weighed it in his palm, then immediately thanked Xu Bai profusely.
Xu Bai didn't think much of it, though he couldn't help feeling a little regretful.
If he hadn't been worried about drawing too much attention and inviting unnecessary trouble, he could have had First carry him.
After pausing to consider his options, Xu Bai decided to explore this so-called Heaven Dou City first.
According to the original work, it was a supercity hailed alongside Star Luo City as one of the two pearls of Douluo Continent. In terms of sheer grandeur, it surpassed even Star Luo City.
Heaven Dou City's walls stood a hundred meters tall, and the base was more than a hundred and thirty meters wide. The whole structure was built from some kind of special stone.
Even though Xu Bai had seen plenty of grand sights in his previous life, the magnificent city still left him deeply shaken.
All one could say was that even if it was the sewer of the fantasy genre, it was still fantasy. Plenty of things couldn't be judged by ordinary standards.
After entering the city gate, Xu Bai got an itch to try something. When he was about halfway through and saw no one around, he took out the dagger made from a certain special metal and slashed it hard against the wall.
Sparks flew, but when he leaned in to look, there wasn't so much as a scratch.
"First time in Heaven Dou City, little friend?"
A warm voice suddenly sounded behind him, startling Xu Bai, who'd thought he was getting away with mischief.
Xu Bai turned toward the voice and saw that the newcomer wasn't a city guard, but a young man dressed fairly neatly. Only then did Xu Bai relax.
He put on an appropriately embarrassed expression. "Big brother, you've got a sharp eye. How'd you know? It's my first time seeing a wall this tall, and I was curious whether the materials were sturdy..."
"Hahaha! I had the same thought the first time I came to Heaven Dou City."
The young man laughed. "But back then I only dared to touch it. You went straight to slashing it with a dagger."
He paused, then explained:
"The bricks and stones used for these walls are made through a special process. Every single one is worth quite a lot. They say walls this thick can even withstand the charge of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."
"I don't know whether that's true, but a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast definitely couldn't do any damage to these walls, let alone a dagger made from such fine materials as yours."