First Arrival in the Empire
November, 2607 of the Douluo Calendar.
[Heaven Dou Empire], Biqi Province, ' Shabak City '.
A group of six riders slowly entered the city with the flow of people. The six tall horses were all exceptionally fine, and the six riders on their backs were all dignified and imposing, exuding an aura that attracted attention.
On the city wall, Woma, the deputy commander of the city guards, glanced at the six riders, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the young man leading the way. He was secretly shocked. "An expert—! At least a Soul King Rank expert—!"
As the main Shabak City Biqi Province, one of the five major provinces of the Heaven Dou Empire, Woma's ability to serve as the deputy commander of the city guard is quite remarkable.
With his Martial Soul "Wuji Staff" and a level 48 Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor, Woma, at only 36 years old, is certainly a young talent!
But today, Woma discovered a young man whose aura was slightly stronger than his own, but who looked younger than him!
"Are they from Soul Master family in another province? Or from the Silves Kingdom?"
Looking down at the figure who had already entered the city gate and was no longer visible, Woma thought about the two places closest to the Biqi Province and murmured to himself.
He knew that the Shabak Grand Auction House in the city was going to hold a fairly large auction recently, and some people from other places had indeed been arriving one after another. However, there weren't many people with the strength of the person he had just met, and none of them were as young as him. He looked to be only in his early thirties.
After all, the truly good stuff will be searched for in the Heaven Dou City. What remains here, apart from having a wide variety, is only good enough to attract some Soul King Rank experts.
On the city's main road, Ling Yi spurred his horse forward, approaching Jiang Yuan, who was at the head of the horse, and whispered, "Brother Yuan, that person on the city wall just now should be Woma, the deputy commander of the city guard of ' Shabak City '..."
"Um?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan turned around in surprise, looked at Ling Yi, and asked, "Ah Yi, isn't this your first time here? How come you recognized him after only a glance from afar?"
Faced with Jiang Yuan's surprise, Ling Yi shrugged and replied casually, "It's precisely because this is my first time here that I should make some preparations... I asked the people in the association responsible for purchasing raw materials and selling equipment to come here in advance and inquire about everyone in ' Shabak City,' from the City Lord’s Mansion and the Grand Soul Master families to the lone Soul Master experts."
"I've seen descriptions and general sketches of people like Deputy Commander Woma who appear in public frequently..."
Hearing Ling Yi's words, Zhang Mufeng, Qingqiu Xin, and Long Yin, who were following behind, seemed unfazed. However, Li Zhishu, who was with the three of them, had a look of disbelief on his face, which was very similar to Jiang Yuan's.
Long Yin, holding the riding crop, reached down to Li Zhishu, which had been reduced to two layers, and gently lifted it, closing the other's gaping mouth. At the same time, he said with a grin, "Alright, Old Li, after spending more time with Brother Yi, you won't be so surprised—"
Li Zhishu raised his hand to brush away the riding crop thrust at his face, and glared at Long Yin with annoyance. "When did I get surprised? I... I was just thinking about whether we'd see any unique dishes at dinner later—"
"Have to--"
Long Yin didn't press the matter. Instead, he went along with Li Zhishu's words, swaying nonchalantly on his horse and saying, "At worst, you, Old Li, will cook for us yourself. Do you think you can neglect our taste buds and stomachs?"
Half a month ago, Ling Yi left Zhang Lei to continue to oversee matters within the Blue Silver Territory, and then took Zhang Mufeng and his two companions out of the Mountain Sea Estate to embark on another journey.
The first stop is "Wood Plant City," where we will meet with Old Master Jin to learn the exact details of the previous letter.
Meanwhile, we are also waiting for further detailed information.
The second stop was the Cold Wind Grand Camp, where they sought out Jiang Yuan had now broken through to the Soul King Rank.
In the year 2601 of the Douluo Calendar, when Ling Yi first met Jiang Yuan, he was 28 years old. Because of his maternal great-uncle, Grandpa Jin Gang, he personally brought Ling Yi, who was only 10 years old at the time, to meet Song Yao, the commander of the Cold Wind Grand Camp, known as the "Marquis of Cedar".
Now, six years later, Jiang Yuan, who is now thirty-four years old, has gone from a level forty-fourth-level Power Attack System Battle Soul Ancestor to a level fifty-two Battle Soul King.
The "Iron Refining Gauntlet," Martial Soul inherited from the Jin Clan, was used to acquire a fifth Soul Ring Soul Beast General Song Yao, a level 69 Soul Emperor, through accumulated military merits.
At such an age and with such strength, even if he cannot compare to the heirs of those famous powerful forces across the continent, he is still a high-end talent who will be treated with respect wherever he goes.
On his first trip out, without a trusted expert by his side, Ling Yi naturally felt insecure.
Knowing his own limitations, Ling Yi didn't dare to ask for the secret protection of Titled Douluo- level expert, a privilege reserved for the two protagonists, Tang San and Qian Renxue.
As for having a Soul Douluo- level expert as a bodyguard, even princes don't usually receive this treatment when they go out. Only the emperors of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire have such a grand procession when they travel.
However, for Soul Saint and Soul Emperor below, if their talents are high enough, some teachers or even principals of advanced Soul Master Academy, out of love for talent, may still take on the role of team leaders, providing both instruction and protection.
Given how poor and shabby Shrek Academy was at the beginning of the original novel, why would Dai Mubai, a prince of the Star Luo Empire, willingly acknowledge the academy's teaching quality?
Aside from Dean Flender's ability to persuade and his various words satisfying the arrogant hearts of those immature teenagers, the truly luxurious teaching staff of three- Soul Saint and two- Soul Emperor also accounted for the majority of the factors!
Unfortunately, even with Ling Yi's improved aptitude and cultivation speed, he is still far from being able to have a dean-level figure from an advanced Soul Master Academy personally guiding him.
Consider the genius students in the original novel's "Heaven Dou Royal Academy Team": Yu Tianheng, the successor of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan; Dugu Yan, the granddaughter of "Poison Douluo" Dugu Bo; and Ye Lingling, the successor of the continent's number one healing Martial Soul, "Nine Heart Begonia." With such a lineup, the team leader was only Qin Ming, the newly promoted Soul Emperor.
A Soul Emperor, accompanied by seven Soul Elder, roamed the major cities of various provinces and kingdoms within the Heaven Dou Empire, fighting in numerous Great Soul Fighting Arena. Until they encountered the protagonist group, whose combat power was completely unreasonable. Despite having an absolute advantage, they suffered a crushing defeat due to information asymmetry, underestimating their opponents, and carelessness!
Fortunately, thanks to Lou Gao's personal experience and the information channels spread by the Blacksmith Association's Water Wood Duchy branch, Ling Yi knew that a Soul King was enough to lead people to travel all over the continent. As long as they didn't provoke powerful people, their safety was guaranteed.
Moreover, these people are not without combat capabilities and are not a burden.
Ling Yi is sixteen years old, three months shy of seventeen. His Martial Soul "Blue Silver Grass". He is a level 27 Healing System support Soul Master with the strength of a thousand jin. His Soul Power quality is comparable to that of Soul Elder. He can fight and heal.
Zhang Mufeng, Martial Soul "Mixed Iron Staff", level 24 Power Attack System Battle Soul Master;
Qingqiu Xin, Martial Soul "Wind-Chasing Seagull", Level 25 Agility Attack System Battle Soul Master;
Long Yin, Martial Soul "Snow Soul Bear", Level 25 Power Attack System Battle Soul Master;
Even Li Zhishu, Food System Soul Elder is also Support System Soul Master and whose Martial Soul is "Baguette," is so skilled that ordinary Grand Soul Master can't even get close to him when he wields a Thousand Refinement rod because he has practiced "Beast Martial Soul: Xingyi Fist" for many years.
A Soul King, accompanied by a Soul Elder and four Grand Soul Master —such a lineup was more than capable of proving useful upon first entering the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.