Sunset Forest

The places where Soul Masters could obtain Soul Rings were all fixed.

They were nothing more than places like the Far North, the ocean, deserts, volcanoes, and forests. Most Soul Masters went to Soul Hunting Forest, Sunset Forest, or Star Dou Forest to obtain Soul Rings.

Forests held the greatest variety of Soul Beasts, and their environments were relatively less extreme.

Of the three,

Soul Hunting Forest was the smallest. Its Soul Beasts were all raised by the Heaven Dou Empire to help low-level Soul Masters without connections.

There was no need to say much about Star Dou Forest. Located in the center of the continent, it was the largest Soul Beast habitat on land.

It lay in the tropics, so its vegetation was denser and more humid.

Sunset Forest was medium in size, covering roughly half the area of the Hargen Das Kingdom.

Its elevation was higher, and its vegetation was not as dense as Star Dou Forest's. It looked fresher and more open, making it easier to explore.

Of course, it also had fewer types and numbers of Soul Beasts, as well as fewer powerful Soul Beasts.

The edges were mostly inhabited by Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, while Thousand-Year Soul Beasts gathered in the central regions. The core area was home to Soul Beasts with cultivation periods of around several tens of thousands of years at most.

Most Soul Beasts had cultivation periods between one thousand and ten thousand years.

There was no Sky Azure Bull Python, no Titan Giant Ape, and most importantly, fires could be lit here at night.

Compared with Star Dou Forest, it was less dangerous and closer to forces such as Heaven Dou City, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and the Elephant Armor Sect.

That was why more disciples from those forces came here to obtain Soul Rings.

Lu Shi arrived at Sunset Forest.

Dappled sunlight filtered through gaps in the thick branches and leaves, sketching patches of fragmented light and shadow across the ground. The plants in the forest grew just right—any denser and they would be crowded, any sparser and they would be bare.

It was like a natural painting.

He unleashed the Blue Silver Domain.

The Blue Silver Domain enhanced his spiritual power and allowed him to sense all information within its range.

"Come out! Mandala Snake, Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger, Flame Spirit Eagle!"

With a buzz, three figures appeared in flashes of red light.

"His!" "Roar!" "Screech!"

To be fair, Lu Shi could summon Soul Beasts without using Poké Balls, but he had grown increasingly fond of this sense of ritual.

Without a Poké Ball in his hand, it always felt like something was missing.

Putting away the Poké Balls, Lu Shi smiled and told them about today's goal.

They were to replenish the types of Soul Beasts within the Small World. He also reminded them never to kill any spider-type Soul Beasts they encountered. They were to bring them back, because he had an important use for them.

Once the Eight Spider Lances evolved by absorbing the power of the Ice Fire Immortal Herb, he would be able to devour the life energy of spider-type Soul Beasts and evolve the Eight Spider Lances.

After hearing this, the three Soul Beasts immediately charged off excitedly, each running away to hunt.

Howling all the while.

In only a short while, the Mandala Snake came over with a slender Green-Line Snake in her mouth, the little snake opening its jaws wide as it struggled.

Their venom caused paralysis and hallucinations, but was not fatal.

"His!"

For you!

Good things had to be shared!

The Mandala Snake wagged her tail, placed the Green-Line Snake on the ground, and nudged Lu Shi twice with her head.

Then she looked at him expectantly.

Lu Shi had eaten fruit with her before.

Therefore, the Mandala Snake believed that anything she found delicious would surely taste delicious to Lu Shi as well.

She liked Lu Shi the most. If she had something good, she had to share a portion with him.

If there was not enough to eat, she could simply catch more.

Lu Shi held her and explained why he would not eat it. Meanwhile, the Green-Line Snake, which had been despairing on the ground, saw it.

My chance has come!

Seizing the opportunity, it shot into the grass beside them.

And disappeared.

Its escape did not draw any reaction from Lu Shi or the Mandala Snake.

After Lu Shi finished explaining, the Mandala Snake was a little disappointed.

"His~"

But she quickly cheered up and continued working hard to fill the Small World.

Wriggling her tail, she headed in the direction the Green-Line Snake had escaped.

Originally, Lu Shi had planned to let the three Soul Beasts eat their fill, capture some powerful Soul Beasts to raise in the Small World, and choose some suitable weaker Soul Beasts to breed there.

They would serve as food for the food.

But what left him both amused and deeply touched was that the three Soul Beasts had all captured quite a few spider-type Soul Beasts.

First was a Black Widow Spider captured by the Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger.

It was somewhat smaller than a Man Faced Demon Spider, with legs two and a half meters long and roughly fifteen hundred years of cultivation.

This kind of spider was not as venomous as a Man Faced Demon Spider, but its ability to weave webs was uniquely outstanding.

Lu Shi thought about it. Since it was good at weaving webs and had been captured by the Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger, he might as well place it in the tiger's Small World.

He could have the Black Widow Spider weave webs along the cliffs. It would not take up any space anyway.

Then there was the Thunder Spider captured by the Flame Spirit Eagle.

Its entire body was covered in purple carapace, with eight spider legs extending from its back. Their tips could release electric arcs, and it was even smaller than the Black Widow Spider.

Its silk was bright purple. Once it wrapped around a target, it could trigger an electric paralysis effect, though it carried no additional venom.

Hmm... since it was lightning-elemental too, it could go to the Thunder-Patterned Sacred Tiger's place as well.

After that, the three Soul Beasts gradually brought back eleven spider-type Soul Beasts. The weakest had two hundred years of cultivation, while the strongest had fifteen hundred.

The Small World was filled all at once.

After all, every Soul Beast needed territory. It would be great if they understood that they were all nutrients, so there was no point in fighting each other.

As for enriching the Soul Beasts and capturing food, he could only say that he had barely accomplished it.

Lu Shi placed some hundred-year beast Soul Beasts and plant Soul Beasts inside as decoration.

All of this took seven days.

Afterward, he headed to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Ning Rongrong had already handled everything for him and notified the academic affairs office in advance. Lu Shi only needed to mention her name.

Lu Shi knew a little about Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Since it was called a royal academy, it initially only admitted noble children. One needed both Soul Power and a noble title to enroll. Otherwise, no matter how talented one was, it was useless.

The result of this requirement was that no noble children were willing to strive for improvement. Those of lower status had to lose to nobles of higher status, even if the lower-status student was stronger.

The reason was simple. To nobles, losing to someone beneath them in status was an insult. They were all noble children and would serve the empire in the future.

The noble who lost now might retaliate in the future.

A Soul Master's personal strength was one matter, while the power behind them was another. Individually, a lower-status noble might defeat a higher-status one.

But when it came to the forces behind them, they were certainly inferior.

So they could only lose.

Of course, they were all nobles and had to preserve appearances, so battles between students were quite restrained, stopping at the right point.

When the emperor eagerly hoped that Heaven Dou Royal Academy would cultivate geniuses who would astonish the empire,

what he saw instead were arrogant students heavily dependent on their backgrounds, restrained battles, and classes that were practically useless.

The emperor was immediately furious and issued a strict order for reform.

Later, the academy's atmosphere improved considerably and finally resembled that of a normal academy.

Later still, a small number of exceptionally talented commoners were allowed to enroll.

However, the fundamental problem remained unresolved. Noble ranks still influenced the entire campus everywhere.

Of course, none of this had much to do with Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. With the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect behind Ning Rongrong, even high-ranking nobles had to show her some respect.

The only thing that annoyed the two girls was that their figures and looks were too perfect, drawing the infatuation of commoner and noble students alike.

It made everything inconvenient.

Lu Shi, when are you coming? Without you, this place is so boring.