Star Dou Great Forest!

After confirming that Tang San and his group had completely left Notting City for Shrek Academy, Xiao Lin waited another day before turning and heading in the opposite direction.

That direction led to Holy Soul Village.

Six hours later.

Xiao Lin stood on a hillside behind Holy Soul Village, looking down at the quiet little village below.

Dusk had settled in, smoke curled from cooking fires, and the village echoed with a few barks and the laughter of children at play. Everything seemed so peaceful and tranquil, as though untouched by worldly strife.

But Xiao Lin knew that this seemingly ordinary village concealed a heaven-shaking secret.

He made his way down the slope, passed through a dense forest, and arrived beside a clear stream. The water babbled gently, and the pebbles beneath its surface gleamed softly in the light of the setting sun.

Xiao Lin followed the stream upstream. After about the time it took to burn an incense stick, the view suddenly opened up before him.

It was a small valley hidden amid encircling mountains.

Birdsong and floral scents filled the valley. Lush grass carpeted the ground, wildflowers of every color bloomed in profusion, and the air was permeated with a refreshing fragrance. A waterfall poured down from the cliffside, gathering into a crystal-clear pool at the bottom of the valley.

All sorts of plants grew thickly around the pool, vibrant and brimming with life.

Xiao Lin's heart began to race.

This was the place.

In the original story, after Tang San's mother Ah Yin underwent Sacrifice, Tang Hao had buried her Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone here.

This Soul Bone was not only the sole inheritance Tang San's mother had left her son, but also one of the key foundations for Tang San's future rise.

And now, Xiao Lin was going to take it.

He took a deep breath, walked to the edge of the pool, crouched down, and reached into the water.

The pool water was freezing, but he paid it no mind. His fingers searched along the bottom, inch by inch. He knew the Soul Bone had to be hidden somewhere in the pool—perhaps in a crevice, perhaps beneath the mud and sand—and would require a careful search.

Time passed second by second.

The sky grew darker, and the moon climbed above the treetops. Silver-white moonlight spilled across the water, making it shimmer.

More than half of Xiao Lin's clothes had been soaked through by the pool water, yet he showed no intention of giving up. He was convinced the Soul Bone was here; it was merely hidden well.

Finally, when his fingertips brushed the underside of a protruding rock, he felt something different.

It had a smooth, warm texture, unlike the cold roughness of stone. It felt more like jade or bone. Xiao Lin's heart leaped, and he quickly pried the object out from beneath the rock and raised it before his eyes.

It was a jade box. When he opened it!

Under the moonlight lay a bone entirely blue-gold in color.

It resembled a section of lower-leg bone. Fine patterns covered its surface, and faint streams of light flowed beneath them. It felt warm and smooth in his hand, radiating a faint aura of life, as though it were still alive.

The Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!

Xiao Lin held the Soul Bone in his hands, which trembled slightly.

Six years.

He had waited six whole years, endured in silence for six years, and lain low for six years. At last, this moment had arrived! From this day onward, this Soul Bone was his! With it, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap!

Xiao Lin carefully put away the Soul Bone, rose to his feet, and took a deep breath of the valley's fresh air.

Moonlight shone on his face, illuminating the delighted smile at the corner of his lips.

"Tang San, thank your mom for leaving me this gift."

"I'll make good use of it."

Xiao Lin carefully wrapped up the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone and tucked it into the innermost part of his clothes.

The cold bone rested against his chest, carrying a strange warmth, as if life pulsed within it. The sensation was wondrous, like carrying a sleeping heart against his breast that could awaken at any moment.

Just as he was about to leave the pool, something caught the corner of his eye.

Within a crevice in a rock at the edge of the pool, an inconspicuous blue-silver blade of grass swayed gently beneath the moonlight.

Its leaves possessed a rare blue-gold hue. Its veins were clear, with faint light flowing through them, and it gave off a weak yet pure breath of life.

Xiao Lin froze.

He crouched down and leaned closer to inspect the little plant. The longer he looked, the more alarmed he became, and the more certain he was. This was not ordinary Blue Silver Grass. This was the Blue Silver Emperor!

And it was the only true Blue Silver Emperor on the entire continent!

In other words, this was Tang San's mother, Ah Yin.

Xiao Lin was stunned.

He had not expected Ah Yin's true body to be hidden right beside this pool. The original story seemed to mention that Ah Yin had left behind a seed after her Sacrifice, but he had never expected that seed to be near the Soul Bone, growing openly in a crack in the rocks without any concealment.

Should he take it?

Xiao Lin hesitated for only a second before making his decision.

Take it!

This was the Blue Silver Emperor, the one and only plant-type Soul Beast emperor on the entire continent.

Although it was only a sapling now and had no combat ability whatsoever, it contained the life essence and origin power of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Keeping it close might prove immensely useful in the future.

Besides, even if it proved useless someday, he could not leave it here.

If Tang Hao discovered it and brought it back to Holy Soul Village to plant, Tang San would still obtain it in the future. Rather than let Tang San gain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone for nothing, Xiao Lin might as well strike first.

Xiao Lin reached out and carefully dug the Blue Silver Emperor out of the rock crevice, roots and all. He wrapped it together with a small clump of soil in a clean piece of cloth and placed it with the Soul Bone.

After finishing all this, Xiao Lin did not linger. He turned and left the valley.

He moved swiftly, nearly jogging through the forest, over the hillside, and along the path he had taken here. Moonlight spilled over the woodland trail and lit the way ahead, but he did not dare relax his vigilance in the slightest.

Tang Hao could return at any time.

That terrifying Titled Douluo-level existence would unquestionably grind him to dust if he discovered that Xiao Lin had stolen the Soul Bone and the Blue Silver Emperor.

Although Xiao Lin now possessed some ability to protect himself, before a Titled Douluo, he was not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

He had to leave this place as quickly as possible—the farther away, the better.

Xiao Lin traveled through the night without daring to stop for even a moment.

He continued on like that for seven full days.

Seven days later, Xiao Lin finally stopped at the edge of a dense forest so primeval it seemed almost untouched by man.

He looked back down the path he had taken, and after confirming no one was following him, he let out a long sigh of relief.

After seven days of uninterrupted travel, he had completely left Holy Soul Village behind, left the central region of the Heaven Dou Empire behind, and arrived in a place entirely unfamiliar to him. Even if Tang Hao discovered the Soul Bone had been stolen, there was no way he could find Xiao Lin's trail across the vast continent.

He was safe.

Xiao Lin found a clean rock to sit on and took out his map to check his location.

Then he froze.

"This is... the Star Dou Great Forest?"

The map marked it clearly. The boundless green sea before him was the most famous and dangerous gathering place for Soul Beasts on Douluo Continent—the Star Dou Great Forest.

Xiao Lin did not know whether to laugh or cry.

He had merely wanted to run farther away, yet by sheer accident, he had reached the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest. He did not know whether this luck was good or bad.