As the strongest of the continent's three original nations, the Star Luo Empire far surpassed the Heaven Dou Empire and the Dou Ling Empire in overall strength. Had Shrek Academy not stood between them, the Star Luo Empire would probably have unified the Douluo Continent long ago.
The Star Luo Empire's vast territory covered almost half the continent.
Shrek City stood on the Lima Plain. In terms of straight-line distance, it was not particularly far from Star Luo City. Unfortunately, a mountain range blocked the way southwest of Shrek City, forcing ordinary travelers and merchants to circle around the Star Dou Great Forest from the southeast before entering Star Luo City. With that detour, a round trip took nearly a month.
Wang Yan had given Chen Tianyuan only half a month's leave, so he had no choice but to take the fastest route there and back.
After studying the map the previous night, Chen Tianyuan had settled on his route.
He would leave through Shrek City's southern gate, then use a Flying Soul Tool to fly over the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Once clear of the forest, he would head southwest. This route would bring him to Star Luo City in just three or four days.
Following the plan he had made the previous night, Chen Tianyuan left Shrek Academy that morning.
Mu En naturally knew all about it. He had specifically instructed Xuan Zi to follow Chen Tianyuan in secret whenever he left Shrek Academy, ensuring that nothing went wrong.
The Class 4 Flying Soul Tool Chen Tianyuan used had been developed by the academy's Soul Tool Department, and its soul power consumption was relatively modest. Its core array had been personally tuned by Fan Yu, one of the academy's only two Level 8 Soul Engineers, allowing it to convert less soul power into greater thrust.
The Flying Soul Tool resembled a backpack, though it was considerably larger. To keep the heat generated by its thrusters from melting the casing, its outermost layer was wrapped in a special heat-resistant metal, making it much heavier.
The shoulder straps had also been specially modified to include a parachute in case the thrusters failed and the wearer suddenly fell.
The invention of the Flying Soul Tool could certainly be called a major milestone in the history of soul tools...
Yet even a tuned Flying Soul Tool consumed a great deal of soul power. With Chen Tianyuan's current cultivation of level 39, he could sustain flight at maximum output for less than half an hour.
Chen Tianyuan therefore had to reduce his flying speed. Even then, he needed to stop every hour to recover his soul power and let the thrusters cool.
Chen Tianyuan spent the entire day alternating between flying and recovering his soul power. Even so, he had covered fewer than five hundred li.
By evening, seeing that the sky had darkened, Chen Tianyuan slowly descended from the air and landed in the Star Dou Great Forest.
Looking around, Chen Tianyuan was dumbfounded, and a sense of dread immediately rose in his heart. This was not the familiar Outer Area.
After putting the Flying Soul Tool into his Storage Ring, Chen Tianyuan climbed a towering tree and surveyed his surroundings.
By the faint moonlight, Chen Tianyuan barely managed to determine his location. He jumped down from the tree, frowning. If his judgment was correct, he was now deep within the Mixed Area.
The Star Dou Great Forest was far more dangerous at night than during the day. Temperatures plummeted, visibility was poor, and a soul beast lurking in the darkness might launch an ambush at any moment. Worse still, this was deep within the Mixed Area, where ten-thousand-year soul beasts were everywhere.
With that in mind, Chen Tianyuan had no choice but to take out his Flying Soul Tool again. An ambush by a ten-thousand-year soul beast frightened him more than the thrusters overheating and failing.
The Star Dou Great Forest was hardly quiet at night, with the cries of various soul beasts rising and falling. Compared with the noise of the thrusters, however, those sounds were nothing. Two crimson trails streaked swiftly above the pitch-black forest, heading toward the Outer Area.
Suddenly, a powerful surge of soul power dragged Chen Tianyuan downward like an enormous hand.
The thrusters died instantly. Before Chen Tianyuan could even react, he began to fall.
Without panicking, Chen Tianyuan immediately reached for the parachute cord on his shoulder strap. But as he glanced up, an enormous dark shape bearing a pair of terrifying golden eyes dived toward him at tremendous speed. Suspended in midair, he had nothing to push off against and nowhere to dodge. He was a sitting duck.
A cold snort rang out from a clearing below.
"Beast, you're courting death!"
A brilliant streak of starlight shot up from the ground, swept past Chen Tianyuan, and slammed straight into the dark shape behind him.
At such close range, Chen Tianyuan could naturally feel the terrifying might radiating from the starlight. Anyone capable of unleashing such a strike so casually was most likely a Titled Douluo.
Like a meteor flying in reverse, the starlight smashed heavily into the dark shape.
In the brilliant starlight, Chen Tianyuan finally saw the soul beast attacking him. It was actually a ten-thousand-year Golden-Eyed Cat Owl. Had its meter-long talons pierced him, he would have died instantly.
Chen Tianyuan deployed his parachute and drifted slowly to the ground. Two women, one old and one young, stood before him. The old woman had graying hair and a deeply wrinkled face. Dressed in black robes, she radiated extremely powerful fluctuations of soul power.
Without question, the old woman before him was the one who had intervened.
The young woman beside her was about as tall as Chen Tianyuan. She had long golden hair and wore a fitted white outfit embroidered with star patterns. Her oval face and delicate features carried an unmistakable air of nobility, making it clear that she was no ordinary person. It was also obvious that the old woman deferred to her.
Chen Tianyuan packed away his parachute and cupped his hands toward the two women in thanks. "This junior is Chen Tianyuan. Thank you for coming to my aid, Senior."
The old woman snorted coldly. "Boy, you truly have no fear of death, daring to use a Flying Soul Tool at this hour. If not for Her Highness's kind heart, you would have died who knows how many times over..."
Faced with the old woman's scolding, Chen Tianyuan dared not speak. After all, she was very likely a Titled Douluo, and she had saved him. A few words of reprimand were only fair.
"That's enough, Grandma Manyi."
The young woman beside her interrupted the old woman, then turned to Chen Tianyuan and asked, "Where have you come from, young brother? Why were you crossing the Mixed Area at night?"
Hearing the name Grandma Manyi, Chen Tianyuan froze for a moment. The old woman before him truly was a Titled Douluo-Manyi, the Nebula Douluo of the Star Luo Empire's Offering Hall.
That made the young woman's identity clear as well. She was Xu Jiujiu, the current Star Luo Emperor's younger sister and a princess of the empire.
Coming back to his senses, Chen Tianyuan looked at the young woman and said, "I'm from Shrek Academy. I'm heading to Star Luo City on business."
"Oh?"
Hearing that Chen Tianyuan came from Shrek Academy, the young woman became visibly interested. "Since you're from Shrek Academy, Little Brother Chen, you must be a young genius. May I ask what your cultivation level is?"
Unable to tell what medicine Xu Jiujiu was hiding in her gourd, Chen Tianyuan could only answer honestly. "I wouldn't call myself much of a genius. I'm only level 39 at the moment."
Xu Jiujiu was rather surprised. The boy before her looked fourteen or fifteen at most, yet he was already level 39. With the imperial family behind her, she had access to all manner of cultivation resources, but even so, she had only been a mid-ranking Soul Elder at his age...
In an instant, Xu Jiujiu felt the urge to win him over.
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