As the moon sank lower, the entire dormitory for work-study students fell quiet.
After all, the work-study students at Nuoding Academy generally came from families that were not well-off, so they usually cultivated much harder.
The children had long since sat down cross-legged on their beds and begun cultivating.
Before long, however, Xiao Yan noticed Tang San and Xiao Wu slipping out of Dorm Seven. He had no idea where they were going.
Xiao Yan shook his head and immersed himself in cultivation once more.
Although the growth of his Soul Power had reached a bottleneck, his control over it was steadily improving.
Early the next morning, Grandmaster came to the dormitory and led Xiao Yan and Tang San out through the gates of Nuoding Academy.
"Teacher, where are we going to hunt for Soul Rings?"
Tang San was a little excited. Grandmaster took the initiative to explain to them:
"The Soul Rings you're hunting this time won't be very old, so we can go straight to a Soul Hunting Forest maintained by the empire. Most of the Soul Beasts there are ten-year or Hundred-Year Soul Beasts. There are very few Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, making it just right for you."
"They keep Soul Beasts in captivity?"
It was the first time Xiao Yan and Tang San had heard of such a thing, and they could not help growing curious about the trip.
"Teacher, this doesn't seem to be the road out of the city, does it?"
Xiao Yan watched Grandmaster lead them farther into the city and recognized that this was not the way out. He could not help asking in puzzlement.
Grandmaster smiled and said to them, "Our trip to the Soul Hunting Forest will take several days. How could we possibly set out just like that?"
The two followed Grandmaster through the market, buying supplies as they went.
Grandmaster bought ten liters of water, more than twenty jin of white radishes, and enough dry rations to feed the three of them for half a month.
Besides that, he prepared quite a few special items, including realgar powder and the like, enough to fill a large bag.
"Do you know what these are for?"
Grandmaster pointed to the various kinds of realgar powder and some special materials in the bag and asked the two of them.
"To keep Soul Beasts from bothering us in the wild, I suppose?"
Tang San had, after all, had similar experiences in his previous life, so he quickly figured it out.
Grandmaster nodded in satisfaction and handed all the supplies to Xiao Yan and Tang San. Quite at ease with having two six-year-old children carry several dozen jin of supplies on their backs, Grandmaster led them out of Nuoding City.
"The Soul Hunting Forest is northeast of Nuoding City, about three hundred li away. The journey will also be your time to train."
After they passed through the city gate, Grandmaster wore a faint smile as Xiao Yan and Tang San froze in place.
They were still carrying several dozen jin of supplies on their backs. With their physiques, they could manage for a short while, but three hundred li...
"Don't worry."
Grandmaster looked at their astonished expressions and nodded in satisfaction. Then he took two items from his robes and held them out to them.
"These are two precious Soul Tools I once obtained, but in my hands, they've been like pearls buried in dust."
Grandmaster smiled self-deprecatingly, and the two items were fully revealed to Xiao Yan and Tang San.
"This belt is set with twenty-four precious gemstones. Each gemstone contains a storage space of one cubic meter, making it a precious Storage Soul Tool."
"And this is a bracelet I received from an old friend. Although its storage space is only ten cubic meters, it also has the effect of disguising your appearance..."
With that, Grandmaster gently pressed a blue gemstone on the bracelet. Before Xiao Yan and Tang San's eyes, the thin, frail middle-aged Grandmaster transformed into a young man in his twenties.
Tang San and Xiao Yan clicked their tongues in amazement.
Grandmaster turned the bracelet again and returned to his original appearance, then held the two items out to them.
"You two decide. Consider these my gifts to mark your acceptance as my disciples."
Grandmaster smiled. Xiao Yan and Tang San exchanged a glance, and Tang San said, "In that case, senior brother, you choose first."
Xiao Yan did not hesitate. His gaze moved between the two Soul Tools before he finally chose the bracelet. Although the jade bracelet's storage space was only half that of the belt, Xiao Yan valued its ability to change his appearance more.
"In that case, the belt is yours, Little San."
Grandmaster handed the belt to the two of them and said, "These two Soul Tools have gathered dust in my hands for too long. Now that I'm giving them to you, I hope they can prove useful again in your hands. Give them names yourselves."
Xiao Yan looked at the jade bracelet in his hand. Two gemstones, one blue and one purple, were set into its black band. The band resembled a coiled black dragon, and the gemstones were its eyes.
"I'll call it... Black Dragon."
Xiao Yan nodded casually. Beside him, Tang San fastened the belt around his waist, looked at its twenty-four gemstones, and said:
"I'll name this Soul Tool Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges."
"Good." Grandmaster nodded. Looking at the supplies on their backs, he said, "To use a Soul Tool smoothly, you need to improve your control over your Soul Power. You'll spend this journey familiarizing yourselves with the Soul Tools."
Following Grandmaster's instructions, Xiao Yan and Tang San began channeling their Soul Power to put the supplies on their backs into the Soul Tools, then took them out again and again, repeating the process.
Perhaps because he had previously practiced Dou Techniques, Xiao Yan's control over his Soul Power had reached the pinnacle of perfection, and he could use Black Dragon with ease.
The Soul Hunting Forest was three hundred li from Nuoding City. It was not until noon the next day that Xiao Yan and the others finally arrived outside the forest.
"Soul Hunting party recruiting! We have a permit and need a control-type Soul Master!"
"Seven-person Soul Hunting party, fully equipped! Waiting for a permit to enter the Soul Hunting Forest!"
As soon as they arrived outside the Soul Hunting Forest, Xiao Yan and Tang San looked at the bustling scene and showed a hint of surprise.
As far as the eye could see, numerous colorful buildings had been put up outside the Soul Hunting Forest, giving it the beginnings of a small town. Quite a few Soul Masters wandered among them, calling out.
"That's perfectly normal. Wherever there are benefits to be had, people will gather. Hunting Soul Beasts is dangerous, so many Soul Masters on the Douluo Continent choose to huddle together for warmth and hunt Soul Beasts as a group."
Grandmaster's gaze swept over the Soul Masters calling out, then settled on Xiao Yan and Tang San as he said:
"Little Yan, Little San, remember this: these Soul Hunting parties are merely huddling together for warmth, each taking what they need. The moment they encounter danger, they'll fall apart at the slightest blow. In the future, you must find companions you can trust to guard your backs."
Xiao Yan and Tang San nodded lightly. Xiao Yan glanced over the Soul Hunting parties and asked:
"Teacher, what are these permits they're talking about?"
"The Soul Hunting Forest is a place where the empire keeps low-level Soul Beasts. To enter, you must have an imperial permit before you'll be let through. The soldiers on the outer perimeter all belong to the imperial army. Farther in, there are Soul Masters from the Spirit Hall carefully inspecting everyone's permits."
"Without a permit, you simply can't get into the Soul Hunting Forest."
The two nodded. After listening to Grandmaster's explanation, Tang San asked:
"Teacher, does the Soul Hunting Forest belong to the empire or to the Spirit Hall?"
"Quiet!" Grandmaster suddenly turned around and carefully surveyed their surroundings. Seeing the astonishment in Xiao Yan and Tang San's eyes, he explained:
"You two must remember this: when you're out in the future, don't talk casually about the relationship between the Spirit Hall and the empire."
Although Grandmaster had not said so outright, Xiao Yan and Tang San could already tell from his attitude that the relationship between the Spirit Hall and the empire was probably not harmonious.