A Clichéd Chance Encounter

After leaving Sunset Forest, Lin Yuan feared that Dugu Bo might suddenly come back to settle the score with him.

Only after sprinting several hundred li did he dare stop and rest.

Finding a secluded spot, Lin Yuan ate some dry rations and drank a little water, then sat cross-legged to recover the Soul Power and stamina he had expended on the journey.

The night passed without incident.

At dawn the next day, Lin Yuan removed his disguised black robe, bathed in a nearby river, and changed into clean clothes.

Then, like an ordinary Soul Master, he headed toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

His Soul Power had already reached level thirty-nine. Once he refined the Black Jade Divine Bamboo shoots, he would surely break through to Soul Ancestor.

So, he planned to first find a suitable, secluded cave on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, refine this Immortal Herb, and only then search for a Soul Ring.

Because it was closest to the border of the Star Luo Empire.

In the end, he found the nest of a century-old Firebird on a mountain in the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, at the border between the two nations.

After killing the Firebird to improve his meal, he released his Martial Soul and created a bamboo grove at the cave entrance to conceal it. He also scattered beast-repelling powder.

Only after doing all this did Lin Yuan feel at ease enough to take out the Black Jade Divine Bamboo shoot, peel it, and eat it.

Although the shoot's skin was extremely hard, the flesh inside was exceptionally soft, glutinous, and sweet, like a fully ripened peach.

Lin Yuan quickly swallowed the shoot flesh, then circulated the Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Formula to refine it.

He focused its medicinal effects on enhancing his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul.

As for his not-yet-formed second Martial Soul, if he was going to obtain one, it had to be the best.

He could only wait until he was strong enough in the future to acquire the Fire Dragon King beneath the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eyes.

Lin Yuan refined the Black Jade Divine Bamboo's Soul Power from afternoon until two or three in the morning before finally succeeding.

"Now I'm finally level forty too. Twelve years old, Innate Soul Power level three... it really hasn't been easy."

Lin Yuan could not help sighing inwardly.

Over these years, to become stronger, he had not hesitated to leave his parents and his hometown, enduring hardship and sleeping rough. During the three years he had spent away from home, he had spent nearly more than half his time dressed in black with his face covered and a veiled hat on his head.

Now, his efforts had finally borne some fruit.

Having just turned twelve and already reaching level forty, if he could find a suitable fourth Soul Ring, then on top of the Soul Power increase granted by the Soul Ring, he could gain another two or three Soul Power levels.

"The original work said that after absorbing the Black Jade Divine Bamboo, one's Martial Soul strength would be greatly enhanced. Its original flexibility would gain a powerful, unyielding aspect, greatly increasing the Martial Soul's combat strength."

"Let's see just how powerful the Lone Bamboo Martial Soul has become after refining the Black Jade Divine Bamboo!"

Three Soul Rings—yellow, purple, purple—rose from beneath his feet. Lin Yuan was just about to test the strength of his Lone Bamboo Martial Soul after refining the Black Jade Divine Bamboo Immortal Herb.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of clothes cutting through the wind. Then came a bang, as if someone had landed outside the cave from the air.

Could that Old Poison have followed me?

Lin Yuan was startled and could not help imagining the worst.

"Hehe, my dear little sister, surrender now. Today, you won't be able to escape your sister's grasp!" A somewhat seductive yet haughty female voice rang out from outside the cave.

Lin Yuan was somewhat taken aback, but he finally let out a breath of relief.

Since Old Poison had not come after him, the other party was merely passing by. There was nothing to worry about.

"Little sister, why look at me like that? Even if you find that playboy Dai Mubai, you still can't defeat Davis and me. If you come back with your sister now, I guarantee you'll live out the rest of your life safely and peacefully."

The woman's voice remained calm and unhurried, but her words carried a considerable threat.

Lin Yuan was instantly speechless. He had merely run in the opposite direction from where he had come when leaving Sunset Forest to avoid running into Old Poison. How had he happened to encounter this clichéd scene of Zhu Zhuyun hunting down her younger sister, Zhu Qing?

If there were no other transmigrators in this world.

Lin Yuan would certainly not mind playing the hero who saved the beauty. Perhaps he could even win the beauty's heart in the process.

After all, what man could refuse the little kitten from the first Douluo era before Dai Mubai had sullied her?

But in this dangerous world overrun by transmigrators, it was better for him not to show himself.

For now, it was best to lie low in secret and work hard to accumulate strength.

If he could laugh last and ultimately become a god, what woman would he be unable to have?

Still, the people Zhu Zhuyun had brought were not particularly strong. Only Zhu Zhuyun herself was a Soul Ancestor; the rest were Soul Elders and even Soul Grandmasters. She had truly gone to great lengths.

A Soul Ancestor, leading a group of two- and three-ring Soul Masters to hunt down a Soul Grandmaster, had pursued her all the way from Star Luo City to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest on the Star Luo Empire's border, yet had still failed to capture her.

The deliberate restraint was far too obvious.

Thinking this, Lin Yuan's curiosity got the better of him, and he silently crept toward the cave entrance.

Splat!

The sound of an arrow piercing flesh rang out, accompanied by Zhu Zhuyun's smug laughter.

"Give up, my dear little sister. Otherwise, you won't be so lucky later."

"Dream on." Zhu Qing's voice did not sound very weak.

"Hmph, refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit. Go! Kill her..." Zhu Zhuyun snorted impatiently.

By then, Lin Yuan had reached a boulder near the cave entrance. Under the cover of the bamboo grove, he began peeking toward the clearing outside the cave.

He saw four Soul Grandmasters surrounding and attacking Zhu Qing, whose figure was exceptionally curvaceous and whose face was cold and distant. Farther away, two Soul Elders with bow Martial Souls periodically fired Soul Power arrows in long-range attacks.

There was also an auxiliary-type Soul Grandmaster with a violin Martial Soul playing in the distance. The sound was faint, and Lin Yuan had to focus to barely hear it.

But for Zhu Qing, who was extremely close by, it disrupted her concentration.

Before long, two more Soul Power arrows had pierced Zhu Qing's shoulder. Her body was covered in wounds, and in the end, Zhu Zhuyun—who resembled her by sixty or seventy percent and had an even more exaggerated figure—struck her shoulder with a claw. Zhu Qing flew backward, crashed against a tree with her back, and gradually lost consciousness.

Seeing this, Lin Yuan knew there was nothing worth watching anymore.

Zhu Zhuyun would not kill her own sister. Rather than a hunt, this was more like driving her away. Otherwise, Zhu Qing could never have made it here alive.

Take that seemingly dangerous battle just now. If the group Zhu Zhuyun had brought had been serious.

With Zhu Qing being merely a Soul Grandmaster whose speed alone could rival a Soul Elder's, while all her other aspects were nothing outstanding, she would have died countless times already.

Just as Lin Yuan found it dull and was about to retreat into the cave, wait for dawn, and enter the Star Dou Great Forest the next day to search for a suitable fourth Soul Ring.

A sudden voice stopped him in his tracks. "So many people bullying one little girl—isn't that too much?"