Journey to Sunset Forest

"All right, I already have a teacher. A teacher for a day is a father for life. I will not acknowledge you as my teacher."

Tang San spoke with absolute finality.

Seeing Tang San's resolute attitude, then Fang Yuan standing nearby with his arms folded and a cold sneer, faintly radiating a powerful aura, Yu Xiaogang finally decided to follow his heart for once and give up on Tang San, his dream disciple.

He shot the two of them a cold glance, then called into the student dormitory again, "Then is there a student here named Xiao Wu? I wonder whether she would be willing to become my disciple?"

Among this year's student roster, Tang San was not the only one born with full Soul Power. There was also a female student named Xiao Wu.

Although Xiao Wu's Martial Soul was the Soft Bone Rabbit, not as extremely weak as Tang San's Blue Silver Grass—making it impossible to tell at a glance whether she possessed Twin Martial Souls—she was still a genius born with full Soul Power.

Settling for second best was something Yu Xiaogang could accept.

He desperately needed a genius disciple to put his teaching philosophy into practice and vindicate his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls Theory.

However, after witnessing the farce between him and Fang Yuan just now, no one would possibly take him as their teacher at a time like this.

"Get lost, get lost! There's no Xiao Wu here!"

Cursing aloud, Xiao Wu reached out and yanked Tang San and Fang Yuan into the dormitory, then slammed the door shut.

Bang!

Amid the swirling dust, Yu Xiaogang stood there with a stunned expression.

Inside the dormitory, the students looked curiously at the unfamiliar Tang San and Fang Yuan. However, Fang Yuan was older than them, so none of them dared approach and greet him.

Fang Yuan had nothing to say to a group of six- and seven-year-old children. After confirming that Yu Xiaogang had left the dormitory entrance, trembling with rage every few steps, he prepared to leave as well.

Before leaving, he rubbed Tang San's head and said, "The academy's opening ceremony is tomorrow, and classes officially begin the day after. But those aren't the most important things. Your Soul Power has reached the point where you need to absorb a Soul Ring. Tomorrow, I'll take you to obtain one so that you can continue cultivating."

Feeling the warm touch of the large hand on his head, Tang San respectfully replied, "Yes, Teacher."

Upon hearing the words "obtain a Soul Ring," Xiao Wu, standing among the students, stiffened slightly and awkwardly turned her head away.

After Fang Yuan left, the other students finally gathered around. They curiously examined the apparently expensive bedding and food box in Tang San's hands, asking all sorts of questions.

The next day.

The sky had only just begun to brighten when Fang Yuan had already led Tang San out through the gates of Notting Academy.

"Teacher, where are we going to obtain my Soul Ring?"

On the road, Tang San asked in a tone that could barely conceal his excitement.

His Soul Power had long since reached level ten, allowing him to obtain a Soul Ring. Before acquiring his first Soul Ring, no matter how he cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Tang San felt that his Soul Power had not improved in the slightest.

Driven by his desire for strength, his anticipation for a Soul Ring had reached its peak.

Turning to look at Tang San's expectant face, Fang Yuan said calmly:

"The Soul Hunting Forest near Notting City is basically a large breeding ground. The Soul Beasts there are too low-quality, and there may not be one suitable for you. Because the first Soul Skill comes from a low-year Soul Ring, it consumes the least Soul Power and is generally the skill Soul Masters use most often. It is therefore extremely important, and we cannot just make do with any random Soul Beast.

"As for the Star Dou Great Forest, it is a little too dangerous. So this time, we're going to Sunset Forest. Its Soul Beasts are more diverse than those in Soul Hunting Forest, yet it is not as dangerous as the Star Dou Great Forest. It lies east of Heaven Dou City. We'll reach it by crossing Vickerslock Plain from Notting City."

After hearing Fang Yuan's well-reasoned explanation, Tang San nodded in conviction.

However, Fang Yuan had not told Tang San that, besides the reasons he had mentioned, there was another very important reason for choosing Sunset Forest: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well contained a great number of Immortal Herbs, making it a veritable treasure trove. A single Immortal Herb could transform an ordinarily talented Soul Master into a genius admired by all.

Yet such a treasure trove was currently being used by Poison Douluo Dugu Bo as an ornamental garden. Whenever he had nothing to do, he would pick up scraps of grass roots and bark to chew on, using the properties of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well to suppress the toxins in his Martial Soul. It was simply a criminal waste.

If possible, Fang Yuan planned to see whether he could enter the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and select some Immortal Herbs suitable for himself and Tang San to take away.

His knowledge of medicinal herbs might not be all-encompassing, but that was fine. Didn't he have Tang San?

As an Otherworldly Demon, Tang San had studied the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in his original world and could identify all kinds of rare and exotic herbs.

Although Fang Yuan also had no idea how Tang San's past life, a low-martial world where people fought with cold weapons, could possibly have records of herbs from a fantasy world like Douluo Continent.

Even fantasy floor tiles were still fantasy. It was difficult to imagine such a world trying to compare itself to one where throwing metal shards and flying needles counted as combat methods.

Still, Fang Yuan had lived through an extraordinarily rich life. He had even seen worlds where people controlled superpowered bugs in massive free-for-alls, so he naturally had no trouble accepting such settings.

From Notting City to Sunset Forest, they would have to cross nearly the entire Silves Kingdom, so the journey was quite long. With Fang Yuan's cultivation as a six-ring Soul Emperor, getting there himself would not be difficult, but bringing Tang San along was another matter.

Therefore, after leaving the academy, the two did not head directly out of the city.

After purchasing some necessities for the journey, Fang Yuan led Tang San to the Spirit Hall Branch in Notting City. Relying on his six-ring cultivation, he rented a carriage pulled by a Soul Beast Pegasus from the Spirit Hall Branch.

The Pegasus was extremely fast. Fang Yuan and Tang San rode in the carriage day and night until they reached Heaven Dou City.

After handing the Soul Beast Pegasus and carriage over to the Soul Masters at the Spirit Hall in Heaven Dou City, Fang Yuan replenished some supplies in the city before leading Tang San toward Sunset Forest on foot.

Sunset Forest covered an enormous area and was one of the largest Soul Beast gathering grounds in the Heaven Dou Empire. Fang Yuan led Tang San through its outer regions, encountering quite a few Soul Beasts with cultivation levels of hundreds or thousands of years along the way. However, intimidated by Fang Yuan's Soul Emperor aura, none of them took the initiative to attack.

Along the way, Fang Yuan displayed extensive wilderness survival experience, as well as knowledge of identifying Soul Beasts and plants. Thanks to the hundreds of years of life experience he had accumulated across his lives, Fang Yuan's expertise was naturally exceptionally seasoned, far surpassing Tang San's, whose two lives combined amounted to only a little over thirty years.

Even Otherworldly Demons had their differences.

As they searched for Soul Beasts, he taught Tang San through both words and actions.

The direction they chose as they advanced was toward areas where the aura of life grew increasingly strong.

As they walked, Fang Yuan explained the path he had chosen for Tang San.

"Your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul grows throughout the continent. It looks ordinary and unremarkable. But its ability to adapt to the different environments of different regions already demonstrates its greatest characteristic: tenacious vitality.

"The path I have chosen for you is to absorb Soul Beasts with life attributes and strengthen the vitality of your Martial Soul itself."