Ning Tian: "Oh no, something filthy is trying to harm me."

Led by Zhang Lexuan, Jiang Hao and the others had already been walking for two days on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

This made Ma Xiaotao somewhat miss the speed Yan Shaozhe brought her,

as a single day was enough to make a round trip between Shrek and the Star Dou Great Forest.

Yet if Ma Xiaotao walked it herself, making her way out from the Mixed Zone took a full three days.

Right now, at the very back of the group, Jiang Hao was pressing on step by step to catch up with the others ahead, a giant sword the same size as him strapped to his back.

He deeply suspected that Xian Ling'er had deliberately set out to temper him, which was why she crafted a soul tool of a higher grade than his own soul tool ring for him to use.

The longer you carried a sword of this weight, the greater its weight felt.

The shoulder straps he used to secure the sword had rubbed against his shoulders for a whole day straight, wearing away a strip of reddish blisters.

"Hurry up, Jiang Hao! What are you dilly-dallying for?"

"If you don't pick up the pace, I'm not waiting and will fly off by myself!" Ma Xiaotao urged him half-heartedly with a puffed-up pout.

"You damn Ma Xiaotao! All you know is how to make sarcastic remarks; come on, try carrying it yourself." Jiang Hao shrugged, yet quickly continued to catch up with the group ahead.

This was his first day missing flying soul tools.

Time passed quickly as they left the Star Dou Great Forest and arrived at the outskirts.

Sure enough, they ran into that strange carriage once again!

It was still that fox-faced mask boy, driving those two horses that were even thinner than he was.

Zhang Lexuan raised a hand. "No need to say more. Thirty gold coins for Shrek City, I know!"

Training Bro, sitting on the carriage, was also shocked. He hadn't expected that the wild horses he had casually tamed by the edge of the forest would actually come in handy, nor that Zhang Lexuan would still remember him.

Except, unlike last time, this carriage was packed full of people.

"I never would have guessed. There are actually carriage drivers in the outer edges of the Star Dou Great Forest that I've never seen before."

That Five-Ring Soul King from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect reached out to feel around the cart, which looked as though it had just been split straight from a tree, and muttered to himself.

As a veteran powerhouse of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he had visited the Star Dou Great Forest no fewer than a hundred-odd times.

He had never spotted so much as a wisp of smoke out here in the outer ring. He hadn't expected that coming out this time would actually yield even a carriage; perhaps a town could even be built here in the future.

This location on the periphery of the Star Dou Great Forest was rather awkward.

The personnel entering and exiting were numerous, yet a bit further away lay Shrek City.

People with a fast pace basically had no need to linger here.

Thus, apart from a dilapidated entrance stone archway, there was nothing else here at all.

(This actually sounds like a good idea. Why don't we, Main Body, fix this place up and use it as our stronghold?)

In the depths of his mind, several of the forest clone's figures were resting in the woods. Beside them stood a large felled tree that had been sawed down.

Ever since Brother Tree came along, almost everyone had been fitted with a new face molded by him.

As long as it wasn't a soul master with the mental attribute deliberately inspecting them, they wouldn't be exposed.

Therefore, Jiang Hao had sent out quite a few clones.

He truly needed to develop his forces, but right now he lacked money.

Now, if a soul beast stronghold were built here to supply provisions and reinforcements for those passing through on soul hunting,

perhaps he really could make some money. Besides, keeping his clones inside his body every day made them terribly noisy and prevented him from accumulating experience.

It was better to send them out to get some work done.

It could just so happen to let him earn a little pocket money, too.

This place was close to the Star Dou Great Forest, allowing combat-type soul masters to train within it, while food-type soul masters could rely on this small town to earn gold soul coins.

It would increase his own revenue.

Food-type soul masters could also continuously refresh their proficiency through repeated creation, thereby strengthening their soul power.

"This proposal is indeed not bad, right down to my core."

"You thirty people will stay right here and establish the first stronghold, to be named the Thirty-Person Group!"

As night fell, the carriage finally halted at the gates of Shrek City.

Meanwhile, back at the forest they had departed from, the sound of saw blades pulling across the wood beside bonfire after bonfire cut the trees into individual planks.

The very first cabin on the outskirts of the forest was thus constructed.

"Handsome gentlemen and beauties, Shrek City has arrived. Mountains and rivers will meet again, so we'll part ways here for now. See you next time."

Training Bro drove the horses he had tamed and began his journey back.

"Ah! So where are you few planning to head next? How about coming to sit for a while at my Seven Treasure Pavilion?

There just happens to be an auction being held today. No doubt there will be things the few of you fancy."

Ning Tian was a rather lively person and took the lead in breaking the silence at the scene.

As for Zhang Lexuan, she calmly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said with cool detachment, "I'll pass. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'm leaving first."

Glancing at the carriage that had already sped off into the distance, Zhang Lexuan melted into the figures of the crowd.

"Since that senior has business, the two of you, let's go together." Ning Tian watched Zhang Lexuan leave, then turned her invitation toward Jiang Hao and Ma Xiaotao beside her.

Since someone was acting as a guide now, it was just the right time to head out and take a look.

Jiang Hao had stayed in Shrek for the past few years and was nearly at his wit's end from being cooped up.

With his meager amount of money, he reckoned he wouldn't be able to get into the auction house anyway.

Since someone was leading the way this time, he wouldn't lose out by going.

"Alright then, since we're already out, we might as well hang out a bit before heading back to the academy. Many thanks, Miss Ning."

"What's with the 'Miss Ning'? It feels a bit awkward when you say that. Our ages should be about the same; normally you can just call me Ning Tian," Ning Tian said cheerfully, her gaze landing on Ma Xiaotao.

"Fine. Since you're going, I'll accompany you. Leaving you lot alone together in the middle of the night isn't safe either."

As Ma Xiaotao spoke, the expressions of Wu Feng and Ning Tian turned somewhat subtle. Immediately afterward, however, Wu Feng was seen quietly shuffling closer to the group as she spoke the very first words she had uttered in the three days of the journey. "You two, have you heard about that incident from a while ago?"

Ning Tian heard her little sister speak, a sinking feeling of dread forming in her heart. "Oh no! There's something filthy."