The Might of an Overlord

The next day, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu packed all the supplies they had prepared into their Storage Soul Tools and set out traveling light.

After leaving the town, the two sped along.

At first, there were still traces of human activity around them, but the closer they drew to the Star Dou Great Forest, the more primeval their surroundings became.

The dense forest blotted out the sky and sun, like an endless green ocean, yet beneath that breathtaking scenery lay who knew how many hidden dangers.

Here, hundred-year soul beasts were merely the lowest of the low, while thousand-year soul beasts could only scrape by with extreme caution.

Only ten-thousand-year soul beasts were qualified to claim a territory, while hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were the undisputed overlords of the entire forest.

Without a doubt, this place... was a paradise for soul beasts!

Although this was Lin Yang's first visit to the Star Dou Great Forest, its fearsome reputation preceded it, and he kept himself on the highest alert.

Besides being vigilant, Xiao Wu also felt a measure of ease and excitement.

This was her home, the place where she had truly lived.

The two raced onward. With "Invisibility" on them, they could simply ignore some of the younger soul beasts.

As they ventured deeper, thousand-year soul beasts gradually began appearing around them.

But these soul beasts of two or three thousand years were not his targets either. The soul beast he chose this time had to be at least nine thousand years old.

As for a ten-thousand-year one, he had considered that too.

He simply did not know whether his current Spiritual Power could withstand the spiritual shock of a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

If he ended up turning himself into an idiot in one go, that would be a joke.

As they continued deeper, Lin Yang and Xiao Wu began proceeding cautiously as well.

Just then, something suddenly changed!

Roar-!

An exceedingly deep sound, like heaven and earth roaring in fury, suddenly came from far away, yet even at that distance, it made Lin Yang's and Xiao Wu's eardrums tremble.

Immediately afterward, the entire Star Dou Great Forest seemed to come alive.

Flocks of birds scattered in alarm, and countless beasts stampeded!

Even some ten-thousand-year soul beasts deep within Star Dou had begun migrating outward.

Such was the might of a forest overlord. A single furious roar could throw the entire forest into turmoil.

"What on earth is Er Ming doing, making such a huge commotion?" Xiao Wu covered her ears and could not help grumbling.

Feeling the constant tremors coming through the ground, Lin Yang looked at Xiao Wu and said quietly,

"He's probably here looking for you. Go take a look."

Xiao Wu hesitated, then finally stamped her foot.

"Then I... I'll head back for a bit. Er Ming really might have come out because of me."

"Mm, go ahead!" Lin Yang nodded.

"Be careful, then. I'll be back soon."

"No need. We'll meet at the inn afterward."

"That works!"

Once they had agreed, Xiao Wu turned, became a blur, and dashed into the depths of the forest.

Within a few bounds, she had vanished deep into the dense woods.

After Xiao Wu left, Lin Yang took a deep breath and began searching for a soul beast suitable for him.

The Titan Giant Ape's furious roar had triggered a beast tide of moderate size within the Star Dou Great Forest.

That spelled misery for those hunting soul beasts in the forest. They cursed furiously as they fled without looking back, wishing they had another pair of legs.

Under these circumstances, continuing to hunt for soul rings was clearly not a wise move.

Lin Yang, however, did the exact opposite.

Although the beast tide had caused chaos, it had also brought out many soul beasts rarely seen on ordinary days.

That gave him many more soul beasts to choose from.

Yet along the way, he encountered none that particularly suited his wishes.

Of the few soul beasts he shortlisted, some were too young for him to consider, while others were so old that he had to give them a wide berth.

As expected, Lin Yang gained nothing on the first day.

But he was in no hurry. The Star Dou Forest was boundless, and he had not even finished searching a tenth of the Mixed Area.

When night fell, Lin Yang found a secluded cave to hide in and made do with a simple meal of dry rations and jerky.

After eating, Lin Yang willed it, and a purple soul ring flashed beneath him. He closed his eyes and opened them again, his pupils instantly changing from black to blood-red.

He wanted to see what the little rabbit was doing.

The moment he connected to the view on the little rabbit's side, two dazzling rays of light suddenly struck his eyes like headlights switched on without warning.

They nearly blinded him.

Tears instantly streamed from the corners of his eyes.

Lin Yang cursed inwardly and hurriedly controlled "Invisibility" to screen out that layer of dazzling light.

"Invisibility" allowed him to roughly "see" how strong a Soul Master was.

The stronger they were, the more dazzling and solid the light around them became.

He had previously used this ability to pinpoint Tang Hao's location, and it had also helped him avoid quite a few powerful Soul Masters in Suotuo City.

Soul Masters did not display their imposing presence at every moment. Most of the light around them remained condensed rather than spreading, so Lin Yang had already grown accustomed to it.

These two forest overlords, however, were like enormously high-wattage light bulbs, proclaiming their existence every moment.

Of course, Lin Yang also knew perfectly well that they were intimidating the beasts and warning powerful humans.

Only after switching off this "powerhouse filter" could Lin Yang clearly see the forms of these two colossal creatures.

They were even more oppressive than he had imagined. Even through "Invisibility," their might still surged toward him like mountains bearing down.

Once unleashed, it would surely make heaven and earth change color.

Yet at this moment, these two overlords who stood at the pinnacle of soul beasts seemed somewhat... ill at ease before a little girl.

The Titan Giant Ape in particular could throw the entire Star Dou Great Forest into unrest with one furious roar, yet now he had deflated in front of Xiao Wu.

He even seemed a little cautious, with a slightly clumsy air of trying to please her.

Though that enormous body made the sight somewhat hard on the eyes, the scene truly made it difficult to hold back a laugh.

After confirming that Xiao Wu was safe and sound, Lin Yang disconnected "Invisibility," then took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and entered a light meditation to keep himself sufficiently refreshed for tomorrow.

The Star Dou Great Forest was not peaceful at night, especially after the small beast tide it had just experienced.

Many soul beasts' territories had been disrupted and invaded, leaving conflicts between soul beasts ready to erupt at the slightest spark.

Throughout the night, the cries, roars, and sounds of collisions from all kinds of soul beasts rang out near and far, only gradually subsiding at daybreak.

At first light, Lin Yang emerged from the cave where he had hidden and resumed his search for soul beasts.

In the end, he actually found a nine-thousand-year red gold beast.

The red gold beast possessed both metal and fire attributes, making it an excellent match for his Nichirin Blade Martial Soul.

Delight rose in Lin Yang's heart, and just as he prepared to launch an all-out attack,

"Roar-!"

A roar filled with violent fury suddenly exploded from deep within the dense forest. Rolling waves of sound swept toward him, leaving Lin Yang's ears buzzing.

Before he could figure out what had happened, the red gold beast looked as though it had seen a ghost, its imposing presence collapsing in an instant.

Without even sparing a thought for Lin Yang before it, it turned into a streak of red-gold light and plunged into the dense forest without looking back, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

At that moment, Lin Yang had no attention to spare for anything else either.

To terrify a nine-thousand-year red gold beast so badly, that roar had definitely come from a ten-thousand-year soul beast.