Departure, Star Dou (Please Subscribe First)

Departure, Star Dou (Please Subscribe First)

"Sorry, sir, but we don't have any information on soul beasts that meets your requirements. Please try looking elsewhere."

At the Nine Treasure Pavilion in Star Luo City, a receptionist in a standard uniform spoke apologetically to Jiang Yue.

Jiang Yue waved it off, indicating that it was no matter, then left the Nine Treasure Pavilion.

Over the past two days, he had searched nearly every corner of Star Luo City. In the end, he had only found two relevant leads, both rather vague. They could only narrow down the general range of the soul beasts; he would still need to search for their exact habitats himself.

Jiang Yue was quite helpless. Spiritual attributes were just this difficult to deal with. Spiritual-attribute soul beasts were rare, and there were few spiritual-attribute Soul Masters as well. Naturally, few people needed information on spiritual-attribute soul beasts. With so little demand, there was no market for it.

The mercenaries of those soul hunting groups would not pay much attention to information with no market value. Even if they had such information, it would be useless if it could not be sold for a long time.

Moreover, information about soul beasts was time-sensitive. You might receive some intelligence a few hours ago and rush there eagerly, only to find that the soul beast had already vanished.

They all had to make a living! Who would gather information that practically nobody wanted?

Perhaps it was also because Star Luo City was relatively far from the Soul Hunting Forest. But if even a place like Star Luo City had little news of ten-thousand-year spiritual-attribute soul beasts, there probably would not be much information in the soul hunting towns either.

In the end, Jiang Yue concluded this trip to Star Luo City. The next time he came, it would most likely be to watch the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. As for participating? Not a chance. If Yan Shaozhe could withhold his reward for the freshmen assessment, what was to stop him from withholding the rewards after he joined the reserve team?

Trustworthiness was important. Previously, Jiang Yue might have trusted Shrek Academy's millennia-old reputation and believed that a ten-thousand-year soul beast was nothing to Shrek Academy. Surely they would not stoop so low as to deny him the reward for being the freshmen champion.

Now, however, because of Yan Shaozhe, Shrek Academy's credibility had hit rock bottom in his eyes. As long as Yan Shaozhe remained the dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, Jiang Yue would never change his opinion of Shrek Academy.

In the original story, Yan Shaozhe had been able to kick out a student from the Soul Tool Department who had already worked with the other team members for years, all for the sake of his own disciple, Ma Xiaotao. Now he had even withheld the reward Jiang Yue deserved as the freshmen champion. Would he not sacrifice Jiang Yue's interests again in the future if the need arose?

So, he could go watch that Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. As for everything else, he would see later.

Besides, Jiang Yue had no desire to get blasted point-blank by Death Messenger's corpse explosion.

Speaking of Death Messenger, with Huo Yuhao's current strength, he was basically impossible to select for this reserve team. Jiang Yue himself did not particularly want to put in effort under such circumstances either.

Then what kind of record would the main team achieve in its battle against Death Messenger this time?

That was truly worth looking forward to.

After being strengthened by Living Gold, Jiang Yue's physical condition had improved by far more than a little. Naturally, his return journey was much faster as well.

In just over a day, Jiang Yue caught sight of the Star Dou Forest in the distance. As his destination drew closer, he gradually slowed down. He was about to venture deep into the Star Dou Forest, so he had to make ample preparations.

If the soul hunt did not go smoothly, he might have to spend more than a month in that primeval forest. If he did not prepare supplies, he would truly be forced into wilderness survival.

With that thought, Jiang Yue abruptly changed direction and headed toward the nearby soul hunting town.

At the same time, atop a mountain not far from Heaven Dou City, the peak pierced through the sea of clouds and stood above all else. From here, the clouds surrounding it seemed like an endless ocean.

Amid the steep mountain rocks, an ancient, majestic gray castle stood among the peaks, carrying the imposing air of standing atop the highest summit.

It was impossible to imagine how such a massive castle had been built in a place like this.

The words "Clear Sky Castle" were prominently engraved above the castle's arched gate. This was clearly the secluded home of the Clear Sky Sect, once the number one sect on Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago.

"Little ancestor! Put that down! You really can't take that!"

"That one won't do either! It's very expensive! Put it down! How about Second Dad personally picks something suitable for you?"

Inside a large room on the third floor of Clear Sky Castle, a place where no one usually came and which ought to have been utterly quiet, chaos reigned at this moment.

A powerfully built middle-aged man, whose explosive muscles could not be fully concealed by his clothes, wore an unprecedentedly panicked expression. Combined with his burly frame, it looked rather comical. A pink-blue figure was reflected in his brown eyes.

"This won't do, that won't do—what exactly can I take, Second Dad? I'm giving this to a friend, so of course I have to choose something good! I absolutely can't just give them some worthless junk from the roadside."

"Otherwise, I'll be completely humiliated! It wasn't easy for me to finally make a friend."

At home, before the elders who had watched her grow up, Wang Dong naturally returned to her true self. Her pink-blue hair cascaded down her back, and her pink-blue eyes shimmered like rippling water as she pouted at the adult before her, expressing her dissatisfaction.

"They helped me out tremendously at the academy. Of course I have to give them a gift in return. And I already promised them I would. Second Dad, do you want me to break my word?"

The middle-aged man had just been about to say something when he saw Wang Dong's eyes brimming with grievance. She looked as if she would burst into tears the moment he uttered a refusal.

Seeing Wang Dong like this, the man could not say another word. Yet his raised hands showed no sign of lowering, nor did he intend to hand over what he held.

"Xiaodong, even if you put it that way, Second Dad still can't give this to you. These are fruits formed from the lifelong essence of a ten-thousand-year Bright Light Tree before its death. They're genuine heavenly treasures! There aren't many such precious things in all of Douluo Continent, and our Clear Sky Sect only has around a dozen. It would be one thing if you took one as a gift, but you look like you're planning to clean us out!"

"Our Clear Sky Sect may have many rare treasures, but we can't withstand you throwing them around like this! You're the young sect master of the Clear Sky Sect. Once you become the sect master, all these things will be yours. You can't squander your own family fortune like this!"

"Since you put it that way, Second Dad, what's wrong with me giving some away? They'll all belong to me in the future anyway!"

Wang Dong planted her hands on her hips, speaking with complete confidence.

She might have been young, but she was not stupid. On the contrary, she was very clever. Did they think she did not know? It was practically impossible for her to inherit the position of Clear Sky Sect Master.

Although Wang Dong possessed the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul, nearly everyone in the Clear Sky Sect besides her, First Dad, and Second Dad had the surname Tang.

One reason Wang Dong had been lonely and friendless since childhood was that her surname was Wang. She did not fit in with the rest of the Clear Sky Sect, and in the minds of children, something so small was enough reason to exclude her.

"First Dad, judge this for me! My good friend helped me, so why can't I give them something as thanks?"

Seeing that Second Dad would not relent, Wang Dong immediately turned to seek help from the other middle-aged man, who was watching the scene with great interest.

The middle-aged man with loose blue hair blinked his blue eyes when Wang Dong called out to him, seemingly unable to understand why she had suddenly dragged him into it.

"Enough, Titan. If Xiaodong wants it, give it to her. They're only some heavenly treasures. The Clear Sky Sect has plenty."

"Besides increasing spiritual power, these fruits have no other use. There isn't even one person in the entire Clear Sky Sect who needs them. They'll just sit there otherwise, so since they're useless for anything else, Xiaodong might as well take them to give away."

"But—Big Brother—"

"Great! Thank you, First Dad! Hand them over, Second Dad. Stop resisting."

Titan looked reluctantly at the basket in his hands. These fruits tasted exceptionally good. At least leave a few for him!

Wang Dong took the fruit basket, only for the other hand gripping it to refuse to let go. In the end, Wang Dong had to tug hard several times before she finally wrested the basket away.

"Xiaodong, don't celebrate too soon. First tell the two of us about this friend you keep mentioning. For you to decide to give such things away, your friend's talent must be quite exceptional, right?"

"Of course! That guy has the strongest talent I've ever seen. Even I'm not confident I could beat him. Oh, and during the freshmen assessment, he broke apart the Hell White Tiger Martial Soul Fusion Skill all by himself! Isn't that impressive?"

"You haven't revealed anything useful at all, Xiaodong. Do you really need to guard it so tightly?"

"Of course I do. He's only my friend, so why should I tell you about him? At most, I can tell you that he's the same age as me. After the break, his cultivation should reach four-ring Soul Ancestor, and he has an over-limit soul ring configuration just like mine."

"Alright, goodbye, First Dad and Second Dad. I'm going back to cultivate properly. This break, I'll definitely reach Rank Thirty!"

Only after storing the items in her storage Soul Tool did Wang Dong finally relax. After casually brushing off Niu Tian and Titan with a few words, she left the spacious room.

Only the somewhat aggrieved Titan and the pensive Niu Tian remained behind.

"Second Brother, what do you think of the person Xiaodong mentioned?"

"He's a thief! A bandit! Not only did he take all my fruits, he even stole some of Xiaodong's attention! He's utterly hateful!"

Smack!

Titan staggered. After steadying himself, he stared at Niu Tian's still-raised hand in surprise, unable to understand why his big brother had suddenly hit him.

"Have you forgotten what the one above said before? I was asking whether you think the person Xiaodong mentioned might be the one that person spoke of."

"Mm, Big Brother, if you hadn't said it, I wouldn't have remembered. He's the same age as Xiaodong and so talented. At first glance, he really could be. Should I follow her over when school starts and take a look?"

"It isn't certain yet, so what would you accomplish by going? How old are they now? We'll talk about it later. With that person's abilities, everything must be within his predictions anyway."

Niu Tian stopped the eager Titan. His gaze turned toward Wang Dong's room as though he were lost in thought.

Titan also fell quiet and simply remained there in silence.

At the boundary between the mixed zone and outer zone of the Star Dou Forest, the number of soul beasts had clearly increased significantly. There were even quite a few thousand-year soul beasts among them, though they were all from species with mediocre bloodlines.

Amid so many soul beasts, an invisible figure brazenly swept past them. Though the shifting air currents stirred up gusts of wind and caught the soul beasts' attention, they relaxed their guard once they found no enemies.

That figure was naturally Jiang Yue. If he had been alone, he would not have dared to travel through the Star Dou Forest like this. Doing so would have been no different from exposing himself beneath the eyes of countless soul beasts, easily drawing powerful soul beasts into unnecessary battles.

But Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was awake in his sea of spirit. With it there, its layer of silkworm molt could display the true power contained within it. Concealing Jiang Yue's figure from soul beasts that had not even developed intelligence was simply too easy.

Not only these soul beasts—Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was even confident it could hide Jiang Yue's trail before a ferocious beast. Of course, confidence was one thing. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm definitely did not want Jiang Yue to truly venture into the core region of the Star Dou Forest. That would be no different from courting death.

"Jiang Yue, just move forward without worry. I've expanded my spiritual detection range to the limit. As long as a spiritual-attribute soul beast suitable for you appears within this range, I'll find it."

"Mm. I'll leave everything to you, Tian Meng."

"Leave it to me. I'm a million-year soul beast, after all. Before me, the tricks of those ten-thousand-year spiritual-attribute soul beasts are completely useless."

It had to be said, the simulation soul skill of the Ice Silkworm clan was truly useful. Even when Jiang Yue passed almost face-to-face with certain soul beasts, they still failed to discover him.

Truly a notorious must-have soul skill for home, travel, murder, and arson.

After entering the mixed zone, one or two ten-thousand-year soul beasts began appearing around him. There were far fewer soul beasts than in the outer zone, but every one of them possessed far more powerful auras. Hundred-year soul beasts had practically disappeared here, so Jiang Yue's pace inevitably slowed.

"No, none of the soul beasts around here are suitable for you, Jiang Yue. You'll have to go deeper. Be careful."

"Alright."

The grass and flowers on the ground had grown so thick that they were nearly impossible to walk through. Left with no choice, Jiang Yue continuously leaped and maneuvered between towering ancient trees.