The next day, as the morning sun cast its light over the earth, Su Chen had already stepped out of the Rose Hotel.
"Su Chen, where do you plan to go next? The Great Soul Arena?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked in an effeminate tone, smoothing the hair over his forehead.
Chrysanthemum Douluo knew that Su Chen had come here to train at the Great Soul Arena in Suotuo City.
"According to procedure, I should first report to Spirit Hall in Suotuo City, then head to the Great Soul Arena."
After answering Chrysanthemum Douluo, Su Chen bowed respectfully to him. "Elder Ju, I won't need your protection from here on. Thank you for escorting me here."
"Su Chen, that goes against the rules. Spirit Hall Seed Players all have elders protecting them in secret. Surely you're not refusing my protection because you're embarrassed?" Chrysanthemum Douluo noticed the peculiar looks the people around them were casting at him and Su Chen, and grew thoughtful.
As Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke, a trace of sadness flashed through his eyes. To a certain extent, a soul master's martial soul could make his body different from that of an ordinary person. It could even change his personality.
Others might not know it, but before awakening his martial soul, Chrysanthemum Douluo had been an ordinary man. Ever since awakening the singular velvet sky chrysanthemum, as his level steadily rose, he had been astonished to discover that not only his hair color, but even his voice and mannerisms were gradually changing.
Chrysanthemum Douluo knew that people jokingly called him a chrysanthemum behind his back, while some went so far as to spitefully call him a freak who was neither man nor woman. He felt utterly helpless about it all.
"Elder Ju, you've misunderstood. An eaglet that grows up sheltered beneath another's wings will never soar through the skies. Besides, I think there's somewhere you should go!" Su Chen hurriedly explained. He bore no ill will toward Chrysanthemum Douluo.
"Oh? Where?" Chrysanthemum Douluo asked curiously.
"The Imperial Capital of the Heaven Dou Empire!" Su Chen replied.
"The Imperial Capital of the Heaven Dou Empire?" Confusion appeared on Chrysanthemum Douluo's face.
Chrysanthemum Douluo did not understand. Even if he were to leave, he ought to return to Spirit Hall and Bibi Dong's side. Qian Renxue had already successfully infiltrated the Heaven Dou Empire's Imperial Capital; there was no need for him to go there.
On the contrary, if Chrysanthemum Douluo appeared in the Imperial Capital, he would be far too conspicuous and could jeopardize Qian Renxue's undercover work.
"Yes. Back in Spirit City, I once overheard someone mention something. Poison Douluo has an immortal herb Medicine Garden containing many immortal herbs. Rumor has it that there's a singular velvet sky chrysanthemum in there," Su Chen replied with a smile.
"What? A singular velvet sky chrysanthemum?" Chrysanthemum Douluo's eyes gleamed.
"And an eight-petal immortal orchid!"
"An eight-petal immortal orchid?"
"An aromatic silk beauty!"
"An aromatic silk beauty?"
"The Lovesick Heartbreak Red!"
"The Lovesick Heartbreak Red?"
"A cockscomb phoenix sunflower!"
"A cockscomb phoenix sunflower?"
"A narcissus jade muscle bone!"
"A narcissus jade muscle bone?"
"Yes, and supposedly there's also the Lovesick Heartbreak Red!"
"What? There's also the Lovesick Heartbreak Red?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo was beside himself with excitement. Every time Su Chen named an immortal herb, he would excitedly repeat its name. After several herbs, his gaze had become fervent, burning with an almost oppressive intensity.
"Yes. A soul master who accidentally wandered into that immortal herb Medicine Garden mentioned all these herbs. Supposedly, the Medicine Garden is surrounded by poisonous mist. He was a bounty hunter who hunted soul beasts in Sunset Forest. Once, while fleeing a soul beast, he stumbled into the Medicine Garden. It cost him several of his comrades' lives. As for whether there are any other immortal herbs inside, I don't know," Su Chen said solemnly.
Some things were too troublesome to explain, so Su Chen simply told a lie.
"Sunset Forest?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo murmured the name. Without waiting for any instructions from Su Chen, the space around him rippled, and he vanished from the entrance of the Rose Hotel. In his haste, Chrysanthemum Douluo had left without even saying goodbye!
An enigmatic smile curved Su Chen's lips. Having come to the Douluo Continent, did he really have to enter Shrek Academy to rise above the crowd one day?
No, of course not!
Without the immortal herbs in Poison Douluo's Medicine Garden, everyone at Shrek Academy apart from Tang San would be mud that could never stick to a wall.
Leaving Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Xiao Wu aside, Ma Hongjun's martial soul might be called the evil fire phoenix, but he could not even control his own evil fire. Useless!
Ning Rongrong's martial soul was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. Without an immortal herb, she could only reach the Soul Saint realm in her lifetime. Useless!
Without an immortal herb, Yu Xiaogang's soul power would never break past level thirty. He was useless too!
In this lifetime, if Chrysanthemum Douluo successfully found Poison Douluo's Medicine Garden and stripped it of every immortal herb, Su Chen would like to see what Shrek Academy could use to contend with Spirit Hall.
"This is the place!"
Su Chen stopped in front of a shop. The sign hanging above it was quite unusual, bearing the images of a sword, a hammer, and a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. It stood out sharply on the streets of Suotuo City.
As a member of Spirit Hall, Su Chen knew that those who could use Spirit Hall's Special Authorization Token as their shop sign were retired powerhouses who had once won illustrious reputations in the soul master world.
He stepped into the dimly lit shop. Bookshelves stood against three of its walls, displaying things that looked old but were worth little.
A wooden rocking chair stood in the center of the shop, with a middle-aged man reclining in it. His chin protruded slightly, his forehead was broad, and he had a hooked nose and wore black-rimmed glasses. With his knowledge of fifty thousand years past and fifty thousand years to come, Su Chen knew that this man was Flender, once the Flying Corner of the Golden Iron Triangle.
Su Chen swept his gaze around the shop. It finally settled on a table, where a piece of crystal the size of a human head lay. His eyes immediately lit up.
Yet Su Chen feigned indifference and wandered around the shop. He casually picked up a few worthless items, pushed them toward Flender along with the crystal, and asked, "Boss, how much for these?"
Flender opened one eye and glanced at the things on the table. They were all worthless. Then he looked at Su Chen, whose clothes suggested he was wealthy. Upon examining Su Chen's soul power, he found that it had already reached level forty. A gleam flashed in his eyes as he thought that this boy's talent was even better than Dai Mubai's. He promptly replied, "One hundred Gold Soul Coins!"
"Deal," Su Chen said with a smile.
"You're not going to haggle?" Flender asked, startled.
Flender had wanted to see whether Su Chen truly had his eye on those things. He had been waiting for Su Chen to haggle so he could slyly raise the price! Who knew how many wealthy young people he had fleeced with that trick? Yet Su Chen refused to play by the usual rules!
"It's only a hundred Gold Soul Coins. That's not expensive! I'm only buying these things to play around with anyway." Su Chen smiled, took out a pouch of Gold Soul Coins, and placed it on the table. He did not take any of the other items; they really were worthless junk. The crystal in his hand, however, was another matter entirely.
As for Flender, he stared at the junk Su Chen had left on the table, momentarily stunned. Somehow, he could not shake the feeling that something was off!
Before you continue