Xiso City

Xiso City was a border city of the Star Luo Empire. Because it connected to the Star Dou Great Forest, many soul masters gathered here, making it far more prosperous than other places. Of course, it was still nowhere near Shrek, which was filled entirely with soul masters.

"Mmm, delicious." Wang Qiu'er ate her ice cream with satisfaction. "This is where humans are the best."

"Honestly, it still doesn't taste as good as it did in my previous life." Wang Dong'er took a bite of her ice cream. "But it's still pretty good. Sweets are the best, after all."

"Industrial development isn't complete. Even freezing things requires soul masters, so without competition, there naturally won't be better flavors." Huo Yuhao studied the map they had just bought.

Once they reached a city, their pace could speed up considerably because they could pay to hire carriages. Most ordinary civilians on the Douluo Continent traveled long distances by spending dozens or hundreds of copper soul coins to follow caravans. Hiring a carriage alone was no small expense, not to mention the dangers along the road. Only nobles and merchants could afford both carriages and guards.

After finishing their ice cream, they went to Xiso City's largest carriage house. Since this city was relatively prosperous, it even had some tamed soul beasts available for hire. Wang Dong'er excitedly circled a huge gray rabbit, petting it, while Wang Qiu'er curiously examined the Hornscale Horses, wanting to know how they had been tamed.

Of course, the only soul beasts available for hire here were common tamed ones like Hornscale Horses. For anything slightly more advanced, they would need to go to a more prosperous city, or even the royal capital. Anything higher-grade than that would belong exclusively to certain sects.

The tamed soul beasts available at Xiso City's carriage house came in three kinds: Hornscale Horses, Gray Giant Rabbits, and Stonehorn Oxen.

Hornscale Horses had outstanding endurance and were not slow, making them suitable for long journeys.

Gray Giant Rabbits were fast, but their endurance was rather poor. They might need to switch carriages after traveling for a while.

Labor Oxen were strong, hardy, and had decent endurance. Unfortunately, after the Sun Moon Empire began producing soul-tool storage devices cheaply, they gradually disappeared from the market. Still, some wealthy mortal merchants continued to use them.

These soul beasts were generally driven by soul masters, which raised the hiring cost another level.

There was no need to consider Labor Oxen. Huo Yuhao hesitated between Hornscale Horses and Gray Giant Rabbits. He did not know whether they would be able to find replacement tamed soul beasts in the next few cities. If the Gray Giant Rabbits needed rest, it would cost them a great deal of time. Hornscale Horses were a little slower, but they had better endurance and required less downtime. All things considered, they might actually be faster.

They should hire Hornscale Horses instead.

"Hello, sir. I'd like to hire a Hornscale Horse carriage. How much would it cost?" Huo Yuhao asked politely.

The owner seemed to be in a good mood. "None left. The Nino Caravan bought all the Hornscale Horses."

"They bought them all? That's quite the expenditure." Huo Yuhao was a little surprised. Hornscale Horses were not especially rare, but buying every one of them still cost a considerable sum.

"You don't know? The Nino Caravan just recruited a Soul Grandmaster whose martial soul is a Hornscale Horse." The owner chuckled.

"What does that have to do with buying Hornscale Horses?" Huo Yuhao asked curiously.

"What do you know?" the owner said smugly. "That Soul Grandmaster's first soul ring is also from a Hornscale Horse. He can manifest his martial soul and then command other Hornscale Horses, understand? That means they can hire far fewer soul masters. Looks like the Hornscale Horse business is about to be monopolized by Nino."

"Martial soul mimicry?" Huo Yuhao said with interest. "So it can be used like that. I've learned something new. Where is their caravan headed? I want to go to Maple Leaf City."

Maple Leaf City lay beside the Mingdou Mountain Range and far from the White Tiger Legion. The three of them could cross the Mingdou Mountain Range directly into the Sun Moon Empire.

"You're going to Maple Leaf City? They're headed there too, but I have a recommendation. Uh... I did take his money, but he really is fast," the owner admitted frankly. "He's a newcomer running two caravans. He calls himself the Wolf King, and his martial soul is a werewolf. He can command packs of soul beast wolves, travel day and night, and his prices are cheap."

Packs of soul beast wolves! Still, it was not strange for a soul master's unique tamed soul beasts to appear here. Unable to compete against the higher-grade tamed soul beasts in bigger cities, coming to Xiso City to seek opportunities was perfectly reasonable.

"That's right! Cheap, but good. Would this little brother like to come along?"

Huo Yuhao turned and saw a tall man wearing a wolfskin hood and wolf-fur coat. His face bore scars, and his green eyes resembled a wolf's, sharp and full of life.

A Soul Elder.

"I thought you took the money and did nothing," the wolf-robed man said to the owner with a smile.

"Our carriage house values its reputation most. Look, I even put your recommendation at the very top." The owner pointed at the notice board. "When you make it big, come to me more often. I'll give you discounts on all your transport carts."

Huo Yuhao roughly assessed the man's aura. He should be a Soul Elder. If he truly could control wolf packs as the owner claimed, then he would be the preferred choice for nearly every caravan. Hiring him was equivalent to hiring both carriages and guards. Though expensive, it was much cheaper than hiring carriages and guards separately.

"Let me see the route map." Huo Yuhao sounded noncommittal. Upon hearing this, the owner handed him a map.

"It's roughly the same route as the Nino Caravan's."

Huo Yuhao frowned after looking it over. This route took too much of a detour, and the caravan would also stop at various places along the way. It would probably be slower than renting a Gray Giant Rabbit carriage. Even with rest stops, that would be much faster.

"Sorry, it feels too roundabout." Huo Yuhao returned the map and shook his head.

The wolf-robed man spread his hands in regret, then turned and left.

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to hire a Gray Giant Rabbit, a sweet female voice rang out.

"Little brother, want to give us a try?" Huo Yuhao turned and saw a young girl wearing a white hood with cat ears and a white cape. She wore neat black clothes, with two metal bracelets on each wrist.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Huo Yuhao did not mind having a better option. "Can you get a Hornscale Horse carriage?"

"Uh... not that."

The girl removed her hood, revealing chestnut hair styled into cat ears. They were not real cat ears, but simply her hair combed into that shape. Two short braids hung down on either side, making her look playful and cute.

"As long as you help us with one thing, we'll take you there for free. As for speed... that depends on your ability, customer. After that, you just need to cover food and lodging."

"Mu Xiaoqing, stop bringing up that ridiculous request of yours." The owner shook his head. "No one will agree to it, especially not someone with only one soul ring."

"Boss, don't scare away customers." Mu Xiaoqing said pitifully. "What if he agrees?"

Interesting.

"Tell me first. If it's too troublesome, forget it." Huo Yuhao looked uninterested.

"Help us catch a soul beast."