At the entrance to the Star Dou Great Forest.
A group of people stepped into the dense forest.
They were the people from Shrek.
Zhao Wuji walked at the front, glancing back at his students.
"Stay close. The Star Dou Great Forest is no place to fool around."
Dai Mubai walked at the head of the group, clearing the way.
Xiao Wu looped her arm through Tang San's, looking rather excited.
Tang San, however, wore a solemn expression, his eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.
Ma Hongjun looked around, muttering:
"This place is creepy as hell."
Oscar followed behind, clutching a sausage in his hand.
"Yeah. I need to make more sausages. I don't feel safe."
Zhao Wuji spoke up:
"Oscar needs his third Soul Ring. Our goal this time is to find a suitable thousand-year Soul Beast."
Dai Mubai asked:
"Teacher Zhao, do you have a specific target in mind?"
Zhao Wuji shook his head.
"Let's head in first. We'll decide when we find something suitable."
Just then, Tang San suddenly spoke:
"Wait."
Everyone stopped and looked at him.
Tang San crouched down, studying the footprints on the ground.
"Someone got here before us."
Zhao Wuji's brows immediately furrowed.
"Are you sure?"
"The footprints are fresh. They were made two hours ago."
Xiao Wu leaned in too.
"Looks like there are several people's footprints here."
Dai Mubai's expression turned serious as well.
"Could it be another academy?"
Tang San shook his head. "I'm not sure, but we should be careful."
Zhao Wuji thought it over, then said:
"Keep moving, but slow down and watch your surroundings."
The group set off again, but the atmosphere had grown noticeably more tense.
Tang San walked in the middle of the group, his left hand already reaching for Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.
Xiao Wu sensed his tension and asked softly:
"Brother, what's wrong?"
Tang San looked at her warmly.
"It's nothing. I just have a bad feeling."
Somehow, he had a feeling that something big would happen on this trip to the Star Dou Great Forest.
Deep in the Star Dou Great Forest, at Star Lake.
A gigantic Soul Beast with a bull's head and a serpent's body lay coiled by the lake.
Its eyes were closed, as if it were asleep.
Suddenly, it snapped its eyes open.
A human had trespassed.
And this human's aura...
Was powerful.
The Sky Azure Bull Python immediately surged out of the lake, its massive body blocking half the sky.
It let out an angry growl, releasing the pressure of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in an instant.
"Human, trespassing in a forbidden place is asking for death!"
As soon as the words left its mouth, a gray-haired young man walked out of the woods.
It was Ye Qiong.
A faint smile played on his face.
The Sky Azure Bull Python stared at Ye Qiong, its pupils contracting sharply.
This human stood unfazed by its pressure.
What was more, the aura he emanated made even it feel threatened.
It stared at Ye Qiong warily.
"Human, what are you doing here?"
Ye Qiong looked up at it and got straight to the point.
"I need a Soul Ring. Offer yourself to me."
The Sky Azure Bull Python froze, then flew into a rage.
"Offer myself? You think you're up to it?"
Ye Qiong nodded without hesitation.
"That's right. I'm up to it."
The Sky Azure Bull Python roared at the sky, its pressure growing even stronger.
Yet Ye Qiong stood where he was, without moving an inch.
The Sky Azure Bull Python grew even more wary.
"Who are you, exactly?"
Ye Qiong smiled.
"I'm just a passing Pathfinder."
The Sky Azure Bull Python stopped wasting words. It opened its maw, and a beam of green light shot straight at Ye Qiong.
Ye Qiong merely sidestepped. The beam skimmed past him and blasted a long trench through the woods behind him.
Seeing its attack miss, the Sky Azure Bull Python immediately swung its tail at him.
Ye Qiong leaped lightly, dodging the strike with ease.
He landed on a tree and looked at the Sky Azure Bull Python.
"Negotiations failed. Guess I'll have to reason with you."
The Sky Azure Bull Python sneered.
"Where's your Martial Soul? Bring it out and let me see."
Ye Qiong summoned his baseball bat.
The Sky Azure Bull Python glanced at it, a flicker of surprise in its eyes.
An ordinary-looking baseball bat, without even a trace of Soul Power fluctuations.
That was it?
Seeing this, it immediately grew confident.
"Human, with that piece of junk and your Soul Emperor strength, you can't hurt me."
Ye Qiong's lips curled up.
Though he was only at level seventy, his Martial Soul was no ordinary one.
He had the Martial Soul Evolution Card to thank for that.
It had upgraded his originally ordinary baseball bat into Pathfinder's Exclusive Baseball Bat.
And the Pathfinder Baseball Bat was a superweapon capable of smashing the Iron Curtain Defense Field. Wasn't it perfectly reasonable for it to become a Super God-level Martial Soul in Douluo Continent?
So wasn't it also perfectly reasonable for it to boost Ye Qiong from level sixty-two to level seventy?
Mm, that really was perfectly hare-sonable.
He, Ye Qiong, definitely hadn't cheated.
With that thought, Ye Qiong's voice grew a little more confident.
"Whether I can hurt you or not, we'll just have to see."
"Rules are made to be broken!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he swung his baseball bat and charged straight at the Sky Azure Bull Python.
The next second, he flashed above its head and brought the bat crashing down.
Bang!
The Sky Azure Bull Python's head took the blow and dipped sharply.
Before it could even react, another strike came.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ye Qiong landed every blow on the exact same spot.
The Sky Azure Bull Python's head was ringing, and the world around it seemed to sway.
It tried to fight back, but Ye Qiong was too fast.
Every time it raised its head, the bat came crashing down.
At last, it could take no more and let out an enraged roar.
"Human! You've succeeded in making me angry!"
The Sky Azure Bull Python instantly went berserk, unleashing all its Soul Power as green light surged wildly across its body.
Ye Qiong didn't care in the slightest. He swung the bat again.
Bang!
One blow was enough to tear the Sky Azure Bull Python's flesh and draw blood.
The defense it had always prided itself on was utterly useless against this unremarkable baseball bat.
At last, it was afraid.
This human was too strong.
So strong that it couldn't fight back at all.
Another half an incense stick's time passed,
and the Sky Azure Bull Python finally collapsed, humiliated and beaten.
Its huge body sprawled on the ground, its face bruised and swollen as it panted heavily.
Ye Qiong dropped down, planted a foot on its enormous bull face, and rested the baseball bat against its neck.
He looked down at it, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Just as I thought, this really is the Galaxy Baseball Bat Hero's baseball bat. The power of these moves is no joke."
The Sky Azure Bull Python was furious and humiliated, but it couldn't move.
Ye Qiong pressed his foot hard against its face, crouched down, and spoke slowly:
"Little snake, give me a straight answer. Are you offering yourself or not?"
The Sky Azure Bull Python gritted its teeth in rage.
"Don't even think about it! When Er Ming gets back, he'll tear you to pieces!"
"Oh, I'm so scared~"
Ye Qiong sneered, then leaned close to the Sky Azure Bull Python's ear.
"Don't worry. It won't be long before he joins you."
"And maybe..."
Before you continue