A Journey to the Star Dou Great Forest [Recommendation Votes and Continued Reading, Dear Readers
"Changqing, get up, now!!"
Xuan Zi gnawed on a large chicken drumstick, one hand behind his back, watching a boy nearby whose clothes were in tatters and whose hair was a tangled mess.
Mu Changqing lay helplessly on the ground, his clothes soaked with sweat and traces of blood on his lips.
"Again, Elder Xuan!"
Bracing himself on his transformed Golden Dragon Claws, Mu Changqing shakily stood up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Three days had now passed since Mu Changqing had awakened his Martial Soul.
On the first day, Mu En had told Mu Changqing and Bei Bei that they had been chosen as the next-generation successors to the master and deputy master of the Sea God Pavilion.
Mu En told them that the greater their power, the greater their responsibility.
From Mu En's words, Mu Changqing learned that he had been kept in the Martial Soul Department while Bei Bei had been sent to the Soul Tool Department to better balance the two factions.
And so, on the first day, Bei Bei had moved to the Soul Tool Department with Zhang Lexuan. He would study there for the next two years.
Although Bei Bei and Mu Changqing had been separated, they would study under Mu En in the mornings and only study their specialized subjects at noon.
Mu En had examined Mu Changqing's physical condition. His physical strength and spiritual power far exceeded those of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster, and the maximum age he could withstand for his first Soul Ring was two thousand years.
Mu Changqing sighed with feeling that his years of hard work had not been wasted.
Ever since awakening his Golden Dragon King Martial Soul, Mu Changqing had vaguely sensed the Golden Dragon King bloodline turning against him. He therefore had to keep his emotions stable, or the Golden Dragon King would control him, reducing him to a mindless killing tool.
Xuan Zi was the sparring partner Mu En had arranged for him so that Mu Changqing could better master his own strength. His current grasp of the Golden Dragon King's power was still far too weak.
Why had Mu En chosen Xuan Zi? Because he was the only relatively powerful strength-type Soul Master in Shrek.
Mu Changqing tore his tattered clothes off and tossed them aside. Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, the lines of his muscles had become clearly defined.
Mu Changqing charged at Xuan Zi, clenching his Golden Dragon Claw into a fist and driving it viciously toward his face.
"Too slow! Your strength is too scattered!"
Biting into his drumstick, Xuan Zi shifted his head slightly and dodged Mu Changqing's golden dragon fist.
Xuan Zi's right hand instantly exerted force, gripping Mu Changqing's left arm tightly, while his left lower leg swiftly swept across both of Mu Changqing's lower legs.
Mu Changqing lost his balance in midair, and Xuan Zi threw him onto his back.
"Ah!"
Mu Changqing slammed hard into the ground and got a mouthful of mud and sand. The heavy impact sent fierce pain through his chest.
"Ah!"
"Third Soul Skill, Mire Restraint!"
Xuan Zi stepped on his Golden Dragon Claw as well, and a thousand-year Soul Ring flashed beneath Xuan Zi's feet.
A gravity mire two meters in diameter appeared around Mu Changqing. Its suction held him firmly, as though it would suck him into the soil.
"Hold out in there for ten minutes!!"
Xuan Zi leaped out of the gravity mire's range and sat to one side, watching the utterly bedraggled Mu Changqing before him.
Mu Changqing tried to push himself up with his Golden Dragon Claws, but he was not even a one-ring Soul Master. How could he resist the gravitational pressure of a rank ninety-eight Super Douluo?
He could only lie flat, embracing the ground and eating a mouthful of dirt.
Xuan Zi was not worried at all about Mu Changqing getting hurt. Mu En had told Xuan Zi to thrash him mercilessly during their sparring sessions. Even if he got injured, wasn't Elder Zhuang still there?
Ten minutes soon passed, and the gravity mire gradually dissipated. Feeling the gravity vanish, Mu Changqing let out a long breath.
"Go back and wash up first! Change your clothes!"
"I'll take you and Bei Bei to get your first Soul Rings in a little while."
As soon as Xuan Zi finished speaking, he turned into a streak of golden light and disappeared from beside Sea God Lake.
"Fuck, you thrashed me half to death!"
"Once I have seven rings, I'll beat the shit out of you!!"
Mu Changqing rubbed his chest, which hurt fiercely inside, and headed toward his apartment.
At this point, Mu Changqing was the only one still living in the apartment, and it was empty inside.
Mu Changqing went to the bathroom and washed the grime off his body, then admired himself in the mirror for a moment, got dressed, and headed out toward the Golden Ancient Tree.
An old man and a boy were already waiting for Mu Changqing beneath the Golden Ancient Tree. They were none other than Xuan Zi and Bei Bei.
"Big brother, over here!"
Bei Bei waved his little hand, his eyes fixed on the figure not far away.
"Little brother, have you settled into the Soul Tool Department these past few days?"
Ever since awakening his Martial Soul, Mu Changqing had grown to over a meter and a half tall, a head taller than Bei Bei.
Mu Changqing stroked Bei Bei's soft hair.
"Elder Qian and Elder Xian both treat me very well, and Sister Lexuan keeps me company too."
"I've learned lots of new things!"
Bei Bei told Mu Changqing all about what had been happening to him, and Mu Changqing smiled faintly and nodded.
"All right, getting your Soul Rings comes first."
Xuan Zi flickered forward, grabbed their clothes, and lifted them up. Turning into a streak of golden light, he sped away from Sea God Island toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Shrek City was very close to the Star Dou Great Forest; one could say it had been built right beside it.
At Elder Xuan's speed, it was not long before they reached the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
As they walked, Mu Changqin saw many warning signs planted along the roadside.
"The distribution and habitats of Soul Beasts on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest have all been recorded through the academy's countless years of work."
"We'll help Bei Bei get his first Soul Ring first. For his first Soul Ring, he needs a light-attribute lesser dragon Soul Beast."
Elder Xuan explained as he walked.
Holding Bei Bei's little hand, Mu Changqing followed close behind Xuan Zi. Mu Changqing also began looking all around, as this was his first visit to the Star Dou Great Forest.
After ten thousand years of development, the Star Dou Forest had visibly shrunk. Soul Beasts with dragon bloodlines were already rare, let alone light-attribute dragon Soul Beasts within a specified age range.
Under Xuan Zi's guidance, the three soon arrived in the territory of light-attribute lesser dragon Soul Beasts.
Xuan Zi released his spiritual power and began probing the territory of the light-attribute lesser dragon Soul Beasts, but found none of a suitable age.
He then led Bei Bei and Mu Changqing roaming through the territory of the light-attribute lesser dragon Soul Beasts once more.
Finally, beside a stream in the light-attribute lesser dragon Soul Beasts' territory, Xuan Zi discovered a light-attribute lesser dragon of a suitable age for Bei Bei's first Soul Ring.
"Bei Bei, this Soul Beast is a Light Blade Dragon, around eight hundred years old!"
"Elder Xuan, I want that one."
Mu Changqing looked at the light-attribute lesser dragon in the distance. It was not large, measuring only a little over one meter forty in length. Its two foreclaws were very thick and strong, and its body was covered in fine, closely packed white dragon scales, radiating a gentle white light.
Xuan Zi did not hesitate any longer. He immediately unleashed his Soul Skill, and a gravity mire appeared beneath the Light Blade Dragon's feet. The Light Blade Dragon struggled in the mire, letting out shrieks.
Its shrieks frightened away the other light-attribute lesser dragons in the territory, and under the force of gravity, it sank into the soil.
The soil before the three of them churned continuously, and the Light Blade Dragon was spat out from underground. He had completely lost consciousness.
Bei Bei took a dagger from the storage Soul Tool on his person and plunged it into the Light Blade Dragon's eye, sending blood streaming out.
A yellow hundred-year Soul Ring appeared directly above the Light Blade Dragon's corpse.
Bei Bei immediately summoned his Holy Dragon of Light Martial Soul, sat cross-legged, and circulated his Soul Power, drawing the Soul Ring toward himself. Guided by Bei Bei, the hundred-year Soul Ring began entering his body.
A powerful force poured endlessly from the Soul Ring into Bei Bei's meridians, rampaging through them and making his body shudder violently.
Mu Changqing sat to one side, observing the changes in Bei Bei's expression as he absorbed the Soul Ring.
Because Bei Bei's body was strong, absorbing an eight-hundred-year Soul Ring did not put him under much pressure.