"Exactly."
The senior student nodded gravely. "Lately, the soul beasts in Star Dou Forest have not only begun gathering of their own accord, but every one of them has become restless. The closer you get to the Core Zone, the more obvious these signs become."
"Quite a few of us entered the Core Zone to investigate under the leadership of senior students from the Inner Court, but we all returned with our feathers clipped. Once the soul beasts in the Core Zone discover any trace of soul masters, they even roar incessantly, drawing nearby soul beasts over to attack us en masse."
"Star Dou Forest is now fraught with danger on every side. Many soul masters who originally planned to hunt for souls have canceled their trips there lately. Even ten-thousand-year Steel Teeth Mice are joining Storm Eagles to fight human soul masters as a common enemy. Who would still dare venture into Star Dou Forest?"
"We thought this unrest would only last a short while, but half a month has already passed, and the situation is only growing worse. That's why Director Du Weilun, who also shoulders responsibility for the mining district, sent me to ask what you think."
Chen Ping fell silent. Steel Teeth Mice and Storm Eagles were natural prey and predator, yet these two kinds of soul beasts had actually joined forces to attack humans. Something he knew nothing about must have happened within Star Dou Forest.
This inevitably left Chen Ping somewhat uneasy, but he could not think of what exactly had caused this situation.
It was not as though Chen Ping had no guesses at all. When soul beasts showed signs of unrest, the first thing that came to his mind was the prelude to a beast tide.
But the problem was that Shrek