A Gathering of Worthies (Please Keep Reading During the Trial Period!)

Star Dou Great Forest.

After crossing mountains and rivers, Gu Zhi successfully found the first waypoint at the outermost edge of this holy land of soul beasts.

Due west of Star Dou Great Forest stood a massive stone statue visible only to Gu Zhi. As long as he infused it with Soul Power, he would complete the task of lighting up the icon.

[Successfully lit up the Colossus Guardian icon. Reward: Constitution +5, Spiritual Power +5, Maximum Health +5, Total Soul Power +5, Attack +5, Defense +5, Speed +5, All Resistance +5, Primary Alchemy Compendium, Primary Artifact Forging Compendium, Primary Formation Compendium, Primary Cultivation Technique Compendium, Primary Magic Artifact quantity +5, Primary Talisman quantity +5, Primary Pill quantity +5...]

This string of special boosts left even Gu Zhi dazzled, and the viewers' comments completely lost it.

"What is this? One icon gives you this much stuff? Are you even playing?"

"Good lord! Forget all those +5s—where did all that stuff at the end come from? Is this still Douluo Continent?"

"Hey, replace alchemy and artifact forging with Tang San's Complete Guide to Hidden Weapons, then replace cultivation techniques with the Mysterious Heaven Skill. Doesn't it suddenly seem reasonable?"

"It really does! So everyone has cheats! Gu Zhi's is just a little more overpowered!"

"But isn't all this stuff useless to Gu Zhi? The Strongest Deity System alone is enough to make him invincible, so why give him all this?"

"Could it be that, other than the +5 rewards meant for Gu Zhi, everything else was prepared for other people?"

"The guy above hit the truth! Gu Zhi might not need them, but the natives of Douluo can use them!"

"Damn it! Why didn't baby Zhuqing come along? These rewards are incredible! Even getting a tiny share would let her soar!"

"My Rongrong! Where did all that cleverness go? Zhu Zhuqing might be too embarrassed to come, but are you too embarrassed as well?"

The comments grew more and more animated. At first, they were seriously analyzing Gu Zhi's gains, but soon they were all complaining that their favorite beauties had missed out on the rewards.

When the targets of those complaints saw the comments, they felt both regretful and amused. It was not that they did not want to tag along—they were simply afraid of holding Gu Zhi back!

"Alchemy... this could be useful..."

After claiming his rewards, Gu Zhi focused on the alchemy skill. What he lacked most right now was medical knowledge that could heal himself or others.

Artifact forging, formations, talismans, and the like were merely icing on the cake for him. Only alchemy, a method capable of bringing the dead back to life and restoring flesh to bone, was what he truly needed at the moment.

"Primary alchemy can only reach the level of top healing-system soul masters? Fine. It's better than nothing..."

After examining the skill, Gu Zhi had mixed feelings. The good news was that learning this craft would indeed put him among the ranks of top physicians. The bad news was that as his strength increased, it would sooner or later become obsolete.

"Gu Zhi still isn't satisfied? This is only primary alchemy, yet it's already better than Tang San's poison skills!"

"Exactly! If he casually refined a single pill, how many people would fight each other to the death over it?"

"Bro, take another look! This primary alchemy basically caps out at the Soul Douluo level! Its effectiveness on Titled Douluo is not even thirty percent!"

"At the end of the day, primary alchemy is still only at the mortal level! If intermediate or high-level alchemy appears later, that would be an immortal's method!"

"Are you thinking too far ahead? In my opinion, the timing of this alchemy is what makes it perfect! They're about to enter Star Dou Great Forest. How many heavenly treasures are in there? Without alchemy, Gu Zhi would definitely miss out on them!"

"The guy above is right! Isn't the most important part of alchemy the built-in guide to heavenly treasures? Without it, who knows how many good things he'd miss?"

"Look! Gu Zhi has realized it too! He only came to explore at first, but now he definitely won't leave without filling his bags to the brim!"

The comments exposed Gu Zhi's true intentions once again. Exploration of the new map immediately became exciting, and Gu Zhi was already prepared to thank nature for its bounty.

As he continued onward, Gu Zhi had only just reached the outermost region. Even if there had been any real treasures, they would have long since been picked clean.

He had originally planned to light up the entire outer map first, but now Gu Zhi only wanted to hurry into the deeper regions and search for all the good stuff.

"Ding! Hundred-year medicinal herb +1!"

"Ding! Hundred-year medicinal herb +2!"

"Ding! Hundred-year medicinal herb +3!"

Only after venturing nearly a hundred li deeper did Gu Zhi finally find traces of heavenly treasures. Almost every one of them was guarded by powerful soul beasts, or grew in unusual locations. If not for all the advantages Gu Zhi possessed, he might not have been able to obtain them.

The funniest part was that whenever Gu Zhi finally managed to harvest a medicinal herb, the comments would start flooding the screen. The more conscientious viewers would help record the herbs' properties and effects, while most simply wanted to watch Gu Zhi make a fool of himself.

"These comments are too much! He's already having such a hard time, and they're still laughing!"

Zhu Zhuqing looked furious as she watched the comments, wishing she could fly to Gu Zhi's side and help him immediately.

"They finally get to see him get stymied. Of course the comments are happy!"

Ning Rongrong held a small notebook and carefully recorded Gu Zhi's gains, looking every bit like a little housekeeper.

"Good news! Good news! We're going to Star Dou Great Forest too!"

Suddenly, Xiao Wu rushed into the dormitory with an excited expression, bringing Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong the latest news.

"Could it be? Has the headmaster decided to head to Star Dou Great Forest to help Oscar and Zhuqing obtain their soul rings?"

Ning Rongrong reacted quickly. Before Xiao Wu could finish speaking, she had already guessed the whole story.

"Can't you wait until I finish? Now there's no sense of mystery at all!"

Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at her, and much of her excitement immediately faded.

"Quick! Let's pack up right away!"

Zhu Zhuqing did not want to wait another moment. She wished they could set out immediately and arrive at Star Dou Great Forest the very next second.

"Fine, fine! If we get there early, maybe we can snag some rewards too!"

Ning Rongrong looked lazy, but her hands and feet moved swiftly. Even Xiao Wu picked up her pace, never once considering what major event this trip to Star Dou Great Forest would bring for her.

"Will I finally meet them? Should I think of an opening line?"

While everyone at Shrek Academy enthusiastically packed their things, an "unexpected encounter" was about to take place within Star Dou Great Forest.

One of the people involved was naturally the male lead, Gu Zhi, but there was more than one heroine in this chance encounter.

Liu Erlong, who had long been waiting along Gu Zhi's inevitable path, was considering her first words after meeting him. Meanwhile, Meng Yiran searched for her third soul ring while gradually approaching Gu Zhi's location.

As for the future Wang Qiu'er, the legendary Imperial Auspicious Beast currently known as the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, she was also running out from the deepest reaches of Star Dou Great Forest...