Balak Valley!

After traveling north from Suotuo City for three days, the two of them entered the territory of the Balak Kingdom.

The Balak Kingdom was the largest of the kingdoms subordinate to the Heaven Dou Empire. Its territory consisted mainly of mountains and hills, while its plains were relatively limited.

After entering the kingdom's border, the main road became winding. The terrain on both sides gradually rose, and distant ridgelines layered over one another in their field of vision. Traces of snow could faintly be seen on the farthest peaks.

The villages by the roadside were sparser than those in the heartland of the Heaven Dou Empire, but each village was larger. Most houses were built from stone and logs, distinctly different in style from the brick-and-tile buildings of the south.

Qian Yaoting bought a simple gazetteer of the Balak Kingdom along the way and read through it as he traveled.

On the evening of their second day within the kingdom, Qian Yaoting closed the booklet and said to Li Long, "There are wild Soul Beast populations in the mountains of southern Balak. Local hunters occasionally encounter ones that are more than a thousand years old. This country has no major Soul Master Academies. Soul Masters are mainly trained through family inheritances and Spirit Hall branches, so their overall level is somewhat worse than in the heartland of the Heaven Dou Empire. However, the mountainous environment is favorable for Soul Beasts, and the variety of wild Soul Beasts is actually richer than in the plains."

Li Long gave a soft grunt.

Over the past two days, he had also noticed the changes in the surrounding environment. The farther north they went, the higher the humidity became. The vegetation gradually shifted from broadleaf forests to mixed forests, with the forest floor covered