Soul-Contracting Beast Seal, Codename Blade Demon

Hearing this,

Niu Gao was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously frowned. "Why are you leaving Longxing City now to train at the Great Soul Arenas in the major cities of the Star Luo Empire?"

"Xiao Feng, you're only seven and a half!"

"Isn't this a little too early?"

At his words,

the other elders also spoke up in agreement. "We also think it's too early. Xiao Feng, it wouldn't be too late for you to go out and train in another two years."

"If you want to hone your actual combat abilities, us old fellows can accompany you entirely..."

"Exactly. Although you're as tall as an ordinary eleven- or twelve-year-old child, Xiao Feng, your face is still immature. Anyone can tell at a glance that you're young. And your combat power and Martial Soul are too powerful. Once you show yourself at a Great Soul Arena, your talent won't be concealable."

"..."

Listening to everyone's advice,

Jin Feng smiled lightly. "Grandfather, Uncle, Elders, don't worry. I've considered all the issues you mentioned."

"So, I don't plan to travel outside under the identity of Jin Feng or with the Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Soul. Instead, I'll fabricate the identity of a genius with a blade Martial Soul and alter my physique and appearance while training outside."

"As for why I'm doing this,"

"the reason is simple."

"First: I want to hone my blade techniques, temper my blade heart and blade intent, and familiarize myself through actual combat with the fighting methods and characteristics of various Martial Souls."

"Second: I calculated that even though we just picked up more than a hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins from the Star Dou Forest, given the Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Soul's ever-growing appetite, the metal ores those Gold Soul Coins can buy will at most support its cultivation for one year."

"By then, if I'm still relying entirely on the clan's resources to cultivate, I probably won't need many years to eat the clan dry..."

"Participating in Great Soul Arena matches can not only increase my combat power, but also let me bet on my own victories and earn Gold Soul Coins to purchase the resources the Golden Horned Behemoth needs. It kills two birds with one stone!"

"Third: the Golden Horned Behemoth will need increasing amounts of metal in the future. If the Defense Clan continues to make purchases on such a large scale, no matter how discreet we are, we'll leave traces behind and draw attention."

"But if I train outside, I can purchase part of my cultivation resources in every city I pass through. And the closer I am, the more likely the Golden Horned Behemoth is to discover special metals that can help it."

Hearing this,

Niu Gao nodded in considerable agreement.

Then, seemingly thinking of something, he chuckled and teased, "You little brat, I'm afraid there's another reason you want to frequently switch cities for training. You want to place more bets on yourself and earn more Gold Soul Coins before the reputation from your winning streak spreads, don't you?"

"Hehe..."

Jin Feng grinned. "I'm poor, aren't I? To raise the Golden Horned Behemoth, that Gold-Devouring Beast, I have to budget carefully and earn more Gold Soul Coins."

Seeing how thoroughly Jin Feng had considered everything,

Niu Gao no longer tried to stop him. He nodded. "Fine, I agree to let you go, but you have to wait a few more months."

"Why?"

Looking at Jin Feng's puzzled expression,

Niu Gao glanced at the fifty-thousand-year head Soul Bone in his hand. "Given my current situation, after absorbing this head Soul Bone, I'm confident I can break through to the eighth ring within three or four months... Once I obtain my eighth Soul Ring, I'll personally take you out to train."

"You're not allowed to refuse, and you're not allowed to suggest having another elder take you out instead..."

"Everyone here understands how important you are to our Defense Clan, Xiao Feng. Therefore, you must be protected by the strongest person in the clan."

"Once I break through to the eighth ring, with the combat strength of my current Golden Horned Scaled Rhino Martial Soul, I'll be able to contend even against a Titled Douluo!"

Looking at his grandfather, whose tone allowed no argument,

Jin Feng nodded. "All right. Then we'll leave after Grandfather breaks through."

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, more than three months passed.

With the aid of the Beast Scripture and the absorption of a fifty-thousand-year head Soul Bone, Niu Gao successfully broke through to the eighth ring.

With the assistance of the Second Elder and Third Elder of the Defense Clan, he successfully hunted a sixty-thousand-year Soul Beast and reached Rank 81 Soul Douluo.

During these three months,

Jin Feng's Soul Power Level rose to Rank 24 Soul Grandmaster. Aside from cultivating the Beast God Canon, True Body Heaven and Earth, and Myriad Transformations every day, he also began cultivating the movement-type secret art Absolute Space and the soul-control secret art Soul-Contracting Beast Seal.

By this day,

Jin Feng had achieved the beginner stage of Absolute Space, greatly improving his movement techniques. As for the soul-controlling Soul-Contracting Beast Seal, its cultivation difficulty was too high, and he was still exploring it.

Aside from Jin Feng himself,

the Golden Horned Behemoth Martial Soul had also improved considerably over the past three months. Its normal size grew from eight meters to nine meters, and the space within its Internal World doubled...

With everything prepared,

the day finally came for Jin Feng to leave Longxing City and travel to other cities to train and grow.

For this journey,

besides Jin Feng and Niu Gao, grandfather and grandson, they brought only Gu Yuena along.

Before leaving, Niu Ben took out several exquisite half-face masks and handed them to Jin Feng, asking in confusion, "Xiao Feng, can't you alter your own appearance? Why did you have me find someone to make several masks for you?"

Hearing that,

Jin Feng immediately picked up a mask and put it on. The corner of his exposed mouth curved slightly upward. "The reason is simple. It can be summed up in one word."

At this point,

Jin Feng turned to Gu Yuena beside him, lifted her chin with a finger, and asked, "Na'er, do you think I look handsome like this?"

Looking at Jin Feng's tall, slender figure, the exquisite mask on his face making him utterly mysterious and stirring endless imaginings of what lay beneath it, Gu Yuena blushed and softly said, "Handsome!"

After receiving Gu Yuena's response,

Jin Feng immediately shot his uncle a smug glance. At that moment, silence spoke louder than words.

"..."

Just as Niu Ben fell silent,

Niu Gao suddenly spoke from the side. "All right, stop standing around. Go back and do what you need to do. Xiao Feng, Xiao Na, let's set off."

After the three left Longxing City,

Niu Gao took out a map from his storage space and asked Jin Feng, "Xiao Feng, where do you plan to make your first stop?"

"Compass City!"

Jin Feng pointed to a spot on the map.

"Compass City is the most prosperous city within a thousand li, aside from Longxing City. With our carriage, it should take around seven days at full speed."

"It's perfect as a starting point."

"Once I make a name for myself, even if certain factions want to investigate my identity, they won't immediately suspect the Defense Clan in Longxing City."

"Fine!"

After determining their direction,

the three traveled at full speed for seven days before finally arriving at their first destination, Compass City.

Viewed from above, the great city was circular in shape. It was named for its resemblance to a compass. It had a permanent population of two hundred thousand, several thousand Soul Masters, and a tangle of forces from all sides, making it quite prosperous.

After entering Compass City,

the three first found a hotel and settled in.

Then they immediately headed toward the Compass Grand Arena in the center of Compass City.

Before long,

Jin Feng, wearing a half-face mask,

appeared at the registration entrance of the Compass Grand Arena. Behind him stood Niu Gao and Gu Yuena, whose physiques and appearances had been disguised to be completely different from their original looks.

After Jin Feng paid ten Gold Soul Coins,

a staff member of the Compass City Great Soul Arena immediately took out a form and said businesslike, "For your first registration to participate in Soul Battles, you need to provide a name or codename and fill in information such as your age, Soul Power Level, and Martial Soul."

Hearing this,

the well-prepared Jin Feng immediately said, "Codename: Blade Demon. Twelve years old. Rank 24 Soul Grandmaster. Martial Soul: Black Gold Blade."