The Mingdou Mountains

Without any visible movement from Xuan Zi, an extremely thin, lightweight Flying Soul Tool appeared on his back. It was more compact than Chen Tianyuan's, with dark red wings that spanned just under three meters.

Yet beneath each wing of this compact Flying Soul Tool were five thruster ports, with another two larger ports at the bottom, making twelve in total.

Twelve! Just how much Soul Power would that consume?

Xuan Zi began counting down. "Three, two, one."

"Move out!"

As Xuan Zi spoke, all twelve thruster ports blasted out incandescent white light.

An immensely powerful tug came from their waists immediately afterward. Perhaps Shang Yang of Qin had died under just this kind of pulling force...

The shrill wind howled past their ears. This was true high-speed flight.

But after only a few dozen seconds, Chen Tianyuan, whose physical constitution rivaled a Soul Emperor's, began to feel unwell.

It felt like motion sickness. His stomach churned like rivers overturning and seas raging, as though he would throw up at any moment.

Chen Tianyuan hurriedly released his Body Martial Soul, and a thin layer of silver light covered his body. Sure enough, after Martial Soul Possession, the pressure dropped sharply.

At their current speed, they would cover far more than a thousand li in two hours...

The western border of the Star Luo Empire.

It was late at night, and clouds concealed the moon, allowing not the slightest light through.

Suddenly, a streak of white light plunged like a meteor, trailing gold through the air as though slicing apart the pitch-black night sky.

The white light hurtled down from high above, only beginning to slow when it was less than a hundred meters from the ground.

A closer look revealed more than a dozen figures within that white light.

The white light landed smoothly on the grass, and the figures immediately scattered across the ground.

"Bleurgh..."

The sounds of vomiting rose one after another. They staggered about, some leaning against trees, some squatting, and others lying flat on the grass.

Chen Tianyuan braced himself against a tree trunk. Dizzy and nauseated, he felt as though he was about to vomit up his internal organs...

Even Soul Emperors like Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were suffering...

Xuan Zi, however, seemed entirely unaffected. He took the wine gourd from his waist, gulped down a mouthful, then wiped his mouth with his grease-stained sleeve.

It took more than ten minutes for everyone to recover.

Xuan Zi looked at Dai Yueheng and said, "Our landing caused quite a commotion. The troops stationed here should have noticed us already. When they arrive, you handle them."

Dai Yueheng nodded, but just as he was about to speak, he realized Xuan Zi had already vanished.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, indistinct figures appeared in the distant sky.

Dai Yueheng punched toward the sky. A streak of white light burst five meters above his head, releasing a dazzling white glow.

Now that they had a precise location, the dark figures in the sky flew toward Chen Tianyuan and the others.

Soon, a squad of thirty Soul Masters landed in a clearing not far from them.

All thirty wore tight-fitting black leather armor, and the Flying Soul Tools on their backs were black as well. However, these differed from the military Flying Soul Tools they had seen earlier. Their craftsmanship was superior, at least comparable to those He Caitou had made himself.

After landing, the thirty quickly formed a circle, surrounding the group.

Their leader was a stern-faced old man. His aura was stronger than that of the other twenty-nine, putting him at least at the Soul Saint level.

"Who are you? What is your purpose in landing at the border using Flying Soul Tools?"

With that, the old man and the twenty-nine people behind him all released their Soul Rings.

For a moment, the light radiating from their Soul Rings illuminated the previously pitch-black clearing.

The old man leading them was indeed a Soul Saint. His Soul Ring Configuration of three yellow, two purple, and two black rings was not optimal, but it was still quite outstanding.

The soldiers surrounding them were all at least Soul Ancestors, with several having already reached Soul King.

The atmosphere instantly dropped to freezing point, as though they would attack unless Chen Tianyuan and the others gave a reasonable explanation.

Dai Yueheng stepped forward and looked at the old man leading them, sounding rather pleased. "Elder Du, it's me."

The old man addressed as Elder Du was named Du Leisi. He had fought alongside the White Tiger Duke for many years and was among his most trusted confidants.

He froze for a moment, then narrowed his eyes and studied Dai Yueheng's face by the light of the Soul Rings.

A moment later, his face lit up with joy. "Ah! Eldest young master, it really is you!"

As he spoke, he looked behind Dai Yueheng. "And these people are?"

Dai Yueheng chuckled. "They're all my classmates at Shrek Academy. Where's my father? Is he in the camp?"

Du Leisi hurriedly ordered the soldiers surrounding them to withdraw their Soul Rings, then said, "The marshal is in the camp. I imagine he's already up for his morning exercises."

He stepped aside and extended an arm. "Eldest young master, distinguished students of Shrek, please follow me."

But having only just recovered, none of them had the strength to use their Flying Soul Tools again.

Dai Yueheng gave a wry smile. "Elder Du, please go back and inform my father first. We'll rest a little longer, then head to the camp."

Du Leisi nodded. "Very well. I'll return and report first."

With that, Du Leisi flew away with the other twenty-nine soldiers.

Only after resting for a full hour did the group take flight toward the camp under Dai Yueheng's lead.

Dawn was breaking now. The warm golden sunlight dispelled the night's chill and spilled over them, giving Chen Tianyuan the illusion that he had been born anew.

In the distance, great expanses of green military tents came into view. Backed by the Mingdou Mountains, the tents stood connected one after another.

To their west stood a long, undulating wall, at least thirty meters high and more than fifty meters wide. On the distant mountain road, stone-hauling carts were still bringing in enormous rocks...

Dai Yueheng said, "The Mingdou Mountains have rugged terrain. The range stretches southward, covering almost two-thirds of the border. The remaining third is a Soul Beast forest only half the size of the Star Dou Great Forest. It's called the Mingdou Great Forest."

"The Mingdou Great Forest is teeming with mutated Soul Beasts. They're extremely aggressive and pose a serious threat to the army."

"See that wall? It serves two purposes: defending against attacks from the Sun Moon Empire and raids by the Soul Beasts in the Mingdou Great Forest."

A few minutes later, they flew into the camp's perimeter.

Du Leisi flew up before them. "Eldest young master, the marshal has been informed. He's waiting for you and your companions in the central command tent."

Dai Yueheng nodded. "All right. Sorry for the trouble, Elder Du. Please lead the way."

They slowly descended from the sky and entered the camp on foot.

Once inside, Chen Tianyuan felt an air of grim, lethal discipline. Although it was still early morning, all the soldiers had already begun their drills...