Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earth Dragon Sect

Listening to Zhang Lexuan, Ye An nodded in agreement.

This Evil Soul Master's strength really wasn't much to speak of. Of course, perhaps he simply hadn't had time to display it. But... compared to the "Grim Reaper's Envoy" who had appeared in the original story, he was far too lacking.

After all, that five-ring Soul King-level Evil Soul Master had once used Corpse Explosion right in front of Xuan Zi, a rank-ninety-eight Super Douluo, to blow the Shrek Seven Monsters into one death and six severe injuries.

Of course, it was also possible that Xuan Zi was simply too useless, rather than this "Grim Reaper's Envoy" being too powerful.

"What should we do with these corpses...?"

Ye An's gaze instinctively swept over the innocent villagers who had died here. He said softly, "Bury them here. There isn't a single survivor left in the entire village. We can't just leave their bodies exposed here."

"If it's just the two of us burying them... it'll be too slow."

As he spoke, Ye An winked at Zhang Lexuan, then raised his head and called out, "Uncle Peng! Uncle Yu!"

The moment his voice fell, two figures appeared abruptly beside Ye An.

Seeing the miserable state of the place, then looking at Ye An's expression, Jin Peng and Yu Bo both revealed helpless looks.

They were dignified Super Douluo, yet they had to do this sort of work...

Jin Peng and Yu Bo exchanged glances, each seeing the helplessness in the other's eyes.

But in the current Body Sect, Ye An was unquestionably the only prized treasure, holding an extraordinary status. Even Long Aotian, who was also the sect master's disciple, could not be mentioned in the same breath as Ye An. At only nine years old, he had undergone a Silver Rank second awakening of his Martial Soul. Before turning eleven, he had created a Self-Created Soul Skill and initially attained Unity of Heaven and Man. His Soul Ring configuration was even more terrifying—two purple and one black.

A genius like this naturally had to be indulged!

Besides, it was only burying corpses. It wasn't some major matter.

Seeing Jin Peng and Yu Bo get to work, Ye An carried corpses while raising an eyebrow at Zhang Lexuan, drawing a faint smile from her.

In truth, judging by Jin Peng and Yu Bo's ages, they would have been more than old enough to be Ye An's grandfathers. But calling them that way felt more intimate, while he also called Du Busi his teacher. If he addressed the two of them as grandfathers, it somehow felt rather strange.

So, he simply called the somewhat younger Jin Peng Uncle Peng, and the older Yu Bo Uncle Yu.

Neither of them had children. Not only did Ye An's form of address not offend them, it instead made them feel deeply gratified.

It was worth mentioning that the Body Sect currently had ten Titled Douluo, including Du Busi. Most of those ten Titled Douluo had not married. Only two had produced descendants and passed down their Body Martial Souls to them.

Ye An truly found it difficult to understand.

Body Martial Souls were already rare, and the Body Sect did not have many disciples. Under such circumstances, shouldn't the sect's members work even harder to continue their bloodlines and strengthen the Body Sect?

Even if the children they produced might not necessarily inherit Body Martial Souls, and could instead mutate or inherit their mothers' Martial Souls... wasn't that still better than having no hope at all?

With the efforts of the four of them, the corpses were quickly buried. Jin Peng and Yu Bo concealed themselves in the shadows again, while Ye An and Zhang Lexuan resumed their journey toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

The two drove their carriage southward. After another two days, they finally arrived at the Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Previously, under Du Busi's guidance, Ye An had never lingered in the Outer Area of the Star Dou Great Forest. Only now did he finally see the scene at its outermost edge.

Quite a few Soul Masters and mercenaries gathered in twos and threes in areas where the vegetation was not particularly dense. Some had set up camps, while others sold tents, insect-repelling powder, dried rations, and various other necessities for entering the Star Dou Great Forest.

"Seeking a thousand-year defensive Soul Beast! Our party has assault, defense, and agility-attack Soul Masters—looking for a support-type companion!"

"Forming a party to hunt Soul Rings! Looking for support-type and control-type Soul Masters! Help one another, fair prices for all!"

Seeing these people, both Ye An and Zhang Lexuan showed a hint of curiosity in their eyes.

Most of these Soul Masters were independent cultivators with neither a master's inheritance nor membership in a sect. When Soul Masters like them wanted to enter the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt Soul Rings, those with better social connections might have a few like-minded friends to accompany them. Those with poorer connections could only look for teammates on the spot around the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.

Ye An merely glanced over them twice before withdrawing his gaze.

And the arrival of Ye An and Zhang Lexuan did not draw these people's attention either.

Most people who frequented places like this were shrewd. Ye An and Zhang Lexuan's clothes and bearing alone made it clear that they were no ordinary people. No one would foolishly approach and invite trouble. At most, seeing how outstandingly attractive Ye An and Zhang Lexuan were, they gave them a few extra looks.

"Let's go. There's no need to waste any more time here. We'll head straight into the Mixed Area to hunt Soul Rings."

Hearing Ye An's words, Zhang Lexuan nodded lightly.

But in the next instant, a burst of noisy commotion came from behind them.

Following the sound, the two saw two carriages slowly approaching. Both carriages were exquisitely crafted, and it was obvious at a glance that the people inside were either wealthy or noble.

Ye An swept his gaze over them casually and quickly spotted the dragon-claw emblems on the carriages.

"These are... people from the Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earth Dragon Sect."

Ye An examined them carefully. The Heavenly Dragon Sect and Earth Dragon Sect, both located in Dragon City, had somewhat similar sect emblems. Yet upon close inspection, one could still distinguish the differences between the two.

The emblem carved onto the leading carriage was unmistakably the symbol of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, while the second carriage bore the emblem of the Earth Dragon Sect.

"The Heavenly Dragon Sect and the Earth Dragon Sect?"

A thoughtful look appeared in Zhang Lexuan's eyes as information about the Earth Dragon Sect and Heavenly Dragon Sect surfaced in her mind.

The Earth Dragon Sect was located in Dragon City, a fortress city in the north of the Heaven Dou Empire. It was a highly unusual all-female sect. Most of its members possessed a special Martial Soul known as the Rouge Dragon, a draconic Martial Soul with a uniquely annihilating attribute.

The Heavenly Dragon Sect, meanwhile, had once been the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, one of the Upper Three Sects ten thousand years ago. After Spirit Hall annihilated the clan ten thousand years ago, the surviving disciples rebuilt the sect, which gradually developed into the present-day Heavenly Dragon Sect.

But compared with the Heavenly Dragon Sect, Ye An's attention was focused more on the Earth Dragon Sect.

If he remembered correctly... the Earth Dragon Sect possessed a secret realm containing rare and precious resources such as Ice God's Crystal and Ten-Thousand-Year Mysterious Ice Marrow. It had been an important opportunity for Huo Yuhao in the original story.

Although Ye An was not an ultimate ice-attribute Soul Master and seemingly had no use for these treasures, treasures like these... had uses far beyond merely serving ice-attribute Soul Masters.