"According to the academy's original arrangements, you'll be setting out for Star Luo City in a week to compete in the Soul Master Tournament. Before that, though, you'll need to undergo three days of special training."
The members of Shrek Team followed Wang Yan down a little-used path behind the academy. As he led the way, he held a training plan in one hand, excitement flickering in his eyes.
"Special training?"
Ma Xiaotao and the others looked at Wang Yan at the front of the group, their voices tinged with obvious curiosity.
Then they turned to Dai Yueheng, who shook his head as well.
Even the official team members hadn't heard about this special training?
"What kind of training is it?"
Xu Sanshi leaned out from the back of the group, hoping it wasn't going to be anything too torturous. The past few days of training had already left him exhausted.
As a defensive Soul Master, he'd been made to let every member of the reserve team chase him down and attack him just to strengthen his defenses! Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan had been the worst of them.
Most of Xu Sanshi's injuries had come from those two. Jiang Nannan was one thing, but Bei Bei, why had he hit so hard? Were they even brothers?!
"You'll find out soon enough," Wang Yan said, then continued leading the way.
Huo Yuhao already knew what this special training was. Xia Liang had told him about it when he'd returned last time. Now he was wondering what the academy planned to have them do in the Twilight Forest.
Wang Yan soon led the Shrek team to a secluded spot.
"This place..." Xu Sanshi looked around and rubbed his chin. He remembered passing by here yesterday and finding the path blocked by a sign. At the time, he'd thought the academy was renovating one of the old buildings and hadn't paid it much mind.
Now it seemed the academy had started preparing for this training back then.
This temporary special training didn't look ordinary...
"Bei Bei, you know a lot of people. Have you heard anything about the training?" Xu Sanshi leaned over and whispered in Bei Bei's ear. Bei Bei had spent years at Shrek Academy and had a much wider social network than he did. Maybe he'd heard something in advance.
"You know what I've been doing these past few days. How would I know?" Bei Bei shook his head, sounding a little helpless. He'd been training all month, so it had been ages since he'd spent time with Tang Ya. With a few days off, he'd gone to make up for it, staying by her side the whole time—shopping, eating, and shopping some more. How could he know anything about this place?
"Ah, beauty leads a man astray."
Hearing Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi gave him a look of exasperated disappointment. Bei Bei, how could you have fallen so far?
"What right do you have to say that?"
Bei Bei looked at Xu Sanshi speechlessly. How did he have the nerve to say those words? He'd even chosen to repeat a year for Jiang Nannan! Bei Bei remembered that after Xu Sanshi had repeated the year and gone home, he'd come back to the dorm with barely a spot on his body untouched by bruises. He'd had trouble even sleeping.
"Tch."
Faced with that awkward question, Xu Sanshi chose not to answer.
Xiao Xiao followed at the rear of the group. Azure Phoenix sensed that something was off nearby.
"There's an energy fluctuation up ahead. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the Twilight Forest you mentioned."
After Azure Phoenix and Xiao Xiao learned that Xia Liang belonged to the Spirit Pagoda, they'd started looking into the organization and had naturally learned about its specialty.
The Twilight Forest.
Hearing that they were going into the Twilight Forest, Xiao Xiao grew curious about what it was like inside. The monsters there were said to be shaped like blocks.
Wang Yan soon led the group into a room. At its center stood a purple, liquid-like portal, two meters tall and two meters wide.
Xuan Zi had been waiting there for some time.
"All right, you've probably heard of the Twilight Forest. This is it," Xuan Zi said, then began explaining their mission.
"Your mission is to hunt one Naga, one Nine-Headed Serpent, and one Lich."
Three days to defeat three bosses. They seemed to have plenty of time.
"Each of these monsters has a cultivation of twenty thousand years. With your strength, they shouldn't be too difficult to hunt. The main purpose is to develop your ability to work together in the wild," Xuan Zi said. Twenty-thousand-year Soul Beasts were nothing to the official team members, especially not to Ma Xiaotao. The main goal of this special training was to get everyone working together.
"All right, you can go in. I'll be watching you from nearby. I won't intervene unless anyone's life is in danger. Of course, if I do step in, you'll be punished."
Xuan Zi had to go in as well to ensure their safety. But unless someone's life was in danger, he wouldn't interfere.
And if he did have to step in, whoever he saved would be punished.
"These are the supplies you'll need. You have three days, so plan your own route," Xuan Zi said, pointing to the pack beside him. Then he entered the Twilight Forest first.
Once Xuan Zi had left, the others went over to open the pack.
Inside were some food, a Magic Map, and a book.
That was right, a Magic Map.
The Magic Map was one of the Spirit Pagoda's signature products. To help Soul Masters explore the Twilight Forest, the Spirit Pagoda sold special maps that showed the terrain of the current Twilight Forest and the locations of its bosses.
A map for easy difficulty cost ten Gold Soul Coins, while one for normal difficulty cost a hundred. The prices were clear and transparent.
However, each map was tied to a single Twilight Forest. It was useless in any other one.
If they entered through a different portal, the old map became completely useless. Even so, the item remained in high demand among Soul Masters, selling out as soon as it was released.
Electrolux controlled the map-making process. By combining magic arrays and Soul Tools, maps could be produced without human involvement. The materials were bought from Soul Masters, with Xia Liang occasionally replenishing the supply himself.
Xia Liang's authority now let him create some low-tier Twilight Forest products outside, though not out of thin air.
After entering the Twilight Forest, Xuan Zi had already disappeared. No one knew where he'd gone, but since he was a level-98 Super Douluo, Ma Xiaotao thought it was perfectly normal that they couldn't find him.
"It's so dark."
The moment they entered, they felt the Twilight Forest's strange environment: eternal night.
Ma Xiaotao was the first to step out. She squinted slightly. There was a moonless sky above them. Once they channeled Soul Power into their eyes, they could make out the surroundings. They were in a forest.
"There's something on the map."
Xu Sanshi held the Magic Map. A route began to appear on what had been a blank sheet, extending outward as the surrounding terrain gradually lit up. Several colored boss icons appeared in different locations.
"Naga... Let me see which icon is the Naga."
Xu Sanshi pulled out the book, which described the monsters of the Twilight Forest. There weren't many kinds, and Soul Masters from the Extreme North had long since learned all about them.
"Green icon. Found it. Twenty thousand years of cultivation. Its main attacks are charges, tail sweeps, and gravity targeting."
To charge its enemies, the Naga had evolved under the influence of Douluo Continent, gaining the ability to pin down enemies with gravity before charging them.
Then everyone looked toward their accompanying teacher, Wang Yan.
"I'm here to record your actions, and keeping me safe is part of your test as well," Wang Yan said, a little embarrassed. But he was telling the truth. The strongest Soul Beast in the Twilight Forest only had a cultivation of twenty thousand years. Against Ma Xiaotao and the others, all Soul Kings, it wouldn't pose a threat as long as they didn't do anything reckless. So keeping Wang Yan safe would serve as another task, forcing Ma Xiaotao and the others to divide their attention.
As they traveled, Wang Yan wasn't allowed to fight on his own unless he was in danger. Ma Xiaotao and the others would have to handle things.
"Understood. Chen Zifeng, Xi Xi, protect Teacher Wang Yan."
Ma Xiaotao frowned at Wang Yan's assignment, but she thought it made sense. She sent Chen Zifeng and Xi Xi to guard him.
Chen Zifeng nodded and took up a position half a step to Wang Yan's right. Xi Xi quietly followed on his left. The two stood on either side of him like a pair of doors.
Ma Xiaotao then looked at Xu Sanshi, who was still examining the map and the descriptions of the Twilight Forest's monsters.
"Twenty thousand years? Then let's head over and see what we're dealing with."
When Ma Xiaotao heard that their target had only twenty thousand years of cultivation, she felt much more at ease. With her Soul Emperor cultivation, she could handle a Soul Beast of that age on her own.
What she didn't know was that Xia Liang had opened a separate room for them at Shrek this time. If they'd gone to the Extreme North Spirit Pagoda, Soul Masters at the Soul Emperor level would have had to pay extra to enter the Twilight Forest, and they would have owed more taxes on the items they brought out.
It all stemmed from a Soul Douluo. Some time ago, he had entered a normal-difficulty Twilight Forest, and his strength far exceeded what the dungeon was designed to handle.
Every boss had awakened and charged at him. Even a Soul Douluo couldn't withstand an assault from so many monsters, and he'd fallen on the spot.
It was the first time the Twilight Forest dungeon had gone berserk. Snow Empress had thought it was fun and recorded the incident. As for the dungeon that had gone berserk, she had erased it.
After that, the Spirit Pagoda had set restrictions based on cultivation level. When Soul Emperors entered, they had to pay more tax on the items they brought out. Before long, Soul Emperors stopped going in altogether. It was a terrible deal, and they couldn't make much of anything.
At Ma Xiaotao's order, the Shrek team set off toward the Naga's location.
But the Twilight Forest wasn't all that safe.
"Something's over there."
Huo Yuhao was the first to sense something was wrong. A few clusters of mist in the darkness ahead blocked his Spiritual Detection. He concentrated his mental power, and only then did he make out what they really were.
"Awooo—"
A wolf howled, revealing the monsters' identities: Twilight Forest monsters, Mist Wolves, with a cultivation of... a thousand years.
Before you continue