Douluo Continent: Invincible from Being Forced into Marriage by a Goddess

Rustle.

Rustle, rustle.

In the Outer Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest, the forest breeze was exceptionally cool, stirring the lush branches and leaves of the giant trees until they rustled and fell.

Tremors soon spread through the ground, startling the birds in the forest into flight.

The little girl with orange-yellow hair noticed the disturbance in the forest and pointed toward its depths in confusion. "Elder Ghost, what exactly is happening in the Star Dou Great Forest right now?"

Guimei, clad in black armor, frowned. "Over the past two days, I cautiously entered the Mixed Circle to investigate. It was completely empty, as if the Soul Beasts within the Star Dou Great Forest had vanished overnight."

"I sensed that this was no simple matter. Just as I was preparing to send a message to report it to His Holiness the Pope, those Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts suddenly poured out from the Core Circle in full force."

"I have truly never seen anything so strange!"

The girl's pale yellow eyes shifted, making her look especially lovely. "Even Elder Ghost cannot make sense of the situation?"

"Yes!"

The black-armored man looked unusually grave. "Once we return to Spirit Hall, we must naturally report this matter to His Holiness the Pope. But our immediate priority is helping you hunt your first Soul Ring."

"Normally, a first Soul Ring should be no more than five hundred years old. Anything beyond that brings no benefit; you may simply explode and die."

Guimei gave the little girl before him a long look.

She was a child of extraordinary talent personally selected by His Holiness the Pope from among countless Soul Masters. She possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

As a Spirit Hall elder, he had been assigned to hunt her first Soul Ring. That alone showed how much weight she held in His Holiness the Pope's heart!

The two great empires faced each other across their borders, with the Star Dou Great Forest stretching between them. Neither invaded the other, and for the time being, no war had broken out.

Spirit Hall recruited commoner Soul Masters and reached deep into the lower levels of society, gradually gaining the momentum to become Heaven Dou's foremost organization.

If not for the previous pope's battle with Tang Hao, that scourge of the Clear Sky Sect, which left him gravely wounded beyond treatment and ultimately dead, Spirit Hall's influence would surely have spread even farther and wider by now!

Although the Outer Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest had the highest safety rating, it also had the greatest number of visitors.

Soul Masters held a lofty status on the Douluo Continent, but there were only four places where they could hunt Soul Beasts: the Star Dou Great Forest, Evil Spirit Forest, Soul Hunting Forest, and Sunset Forest.

Of them all, the Star Dou Great Forest had the most complete and abundant variety of Soul Beasts. Naturally, many Soul Masters came every day to hunt Soul Rings.

Guimei led the orange-haired girl through the forest, unlike other Soul Masters who cowered nervously and did not dare advance rashly.

Guimei was a Spirit Hall elder and a Titled Douluo of immense strength. Even Thousand-Year Soul Beasts could be dealt with in a single slap, so the Hundred-Year and Ten-Year Soul Beasts of the Outer Circle were naturally beneath his notice.

Yet at this moment, the earth was splitting apart. Soul Masters throughout the forest fled in panic, frightened out of their wits as they cried out:

"Run! Run quickly!"

Everyone who saw someone still trying to move forward urged them to stop.

Boom, boom~

A massive rumble traveled through the earth, and the soles of their feet could feel the ground shaking.

Someone said, "Do not hunt Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest anytime soon! A Soul Master just saw an enormous pitch-black ape inside. It has at least fifty thousand years of cultivation! One slap from it might be more than even a Soul King-level master could withstand!"

At those words, Guimei's figure traced an eerie arc as he leaped into the air and looked toward the depths of the forest. Sure enough, a colossal creature was racing through it!

The orange-haired girl asked, "Elder Ghost, why would a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast appear in the Outer Circle of the Star Dou Great Forest?"

A trace of fear appeared in Guimei's eyes. "A Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? That is the legendary king of the forest—the Titan Giant Ape!"

"Why would it appear at the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest?!" the orange-haired girl exclaimed.

Had this world truly gone mad?

Guimei knew that even with the power of a Titled Douluo, he would find it difficult to contend against that tyrannical Titan Giant Ape. Nor did he wish to place the orange-haired girl in danger.

"That Titan Giant Ape seems to be watching something. It almost looks as though it is waving goodbye to someone. It did not linger for long before returning to the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest."

Guimei breathed a sigh of relief, but why the Titan Giant Ape had appeared here remained a mystery!

If His Holiness the Pope were here now, Spirit Hall could gain another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and Soul Bone!

But that was only a matter of time...

Once we return and report this to His Holiness the Pope, we will come back and slaughter that Titan Giant Ape. Let us see how arrogant it can remain then!

As the Titan Giant Ape's towering, hill-like body vanished from everyone's sight,

two figures darted out from the forest, passing more than ten meters away from the orange-haired girl.

The orange-haired girl's eyes widened with a glance. She could only marvel at the boy's incredible speed and graceful movement technique.

Then his face from that first glimpse surfaced in her mind. After replaying it again and again, she found the boy's appearance breathtakingly perfect, stirring her maiden heart.

By the time she came back to her senses and turned to search for him, the boy and girl had already vanished among the people.