The Astonished Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun, Heaven Dou City, Sunset Forest, and the Thirty-Thousand-Year Heavenly Fiend Tiger!

After squeezing into the crowd, Dai Mubai's gaze was instantly drawn to the portrait on the wanted notice.

It depicted a young man with a cold, stern face and piercing eyes. Most striking of all was the faint, flickering silhouette of a white tiger behind him.

"A White Tiger Martial Soul?!" Dai Mubai's pupils shrank, and his heart jolted.

His gaze swept quickly over the words on the notice, his expression growing graver the more he read.

"Wanted: A young Soul Master recently committed a monstrous crime within the Balak Kingdom, massacring nearly a hundred people in a baron's manor with extreme cruelty. This man is suspected of possessing a top-tier White Tiger Martial Soul and is exceedingly powerful. He has killed Black Eagle, a Soul Emperor-level expert. Anyone who provides a lead will be rewarded with one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins; anyone who takes his life will be granted a noble title and land!"

The terms were truly enticing!

A handsome reward was bound to bring forth brave men!

A great many people were already itching to take on the task!

But on seeing that the man could kill a Soul Emperor-level expert, some began to hesitate.

Dai Mubai's hand trembled slightly as towering waves surged through his heart.

A familiar figure instantly appeared in his mind-his second brother, Dai Fei.

"Could it... really be him?" Dai Mubai murmured, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

Young, with a White Tiger Martial Soul-and, coincidentally, his second brother Dai Fei had appeared before, so it would not be strange for him to be in the Balak Kingdom now.

Ma Hongjun noticed Dai Mubai's unusual reaction and leaned over to glance at the notice. His eyes immediately widened. "Damn! A White Tiger Martial Soul? Mubai, isn't that the same Martial Soul as yours? Could he be someone from your family?"

Dai Mubai was silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "If I'm not mistaken, this man... should be my second brother, Dai Fei."

"What?! Your second brother?!" Ma Hongjun cried out in disbelief. "The guy who nearly beat us to death last time?"

After they returned, Dai Mubai had told him some things about Dai Fei of his own accord.

That was how he knew.

Dai Mubai gave a bitter laugh and nodded. "That's right, it's him!"

Ma Hongjun shuddered as he recalled that battle.

That time, the two of them had joined forces, yet Dai Fei had still suppressed them so thoroughly that they could not fight back.

Even now, the memory of that terrifying pressure made his heart tremble.

"This guy... isn't he a little too fierce? He even killed a Soul Emperor?" Ma Hongjun swallowed, a trace of awe in his voice. "He's actually become this powerful! It'll be hard for us to get revenge!"

Dai Mubai took a deep breath and tried to calm his emotions.

He knew Dai Fei had always been strong, but he had not expected him to have reached such a level.

Killing a Soul Emperor and massacring a baron's manor sounded like something out of a tall tale, yet Dai Fei had done it.

"Mubai, what are you going to do? The gap between us and him is just too big!" Ma Hongjun asked in a low voice, his eyes showing a trace of worry and a deep sense of helplessness.

Dai Mubai was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. Dai Fei... has already taken a different path. What he's done is beyond my understanding."

Ma Hongjun patted Dai Mubai on the shoulder and comforted him. "Don't dwell on it. What happens with your second brother isn't something you can control. He's wanted by the Balak Kingdom now. I'm afraid a storm will sweep across the whole continent. We should look after ourselves first."

"Yeah, getting stronger is the most important thing now!"

"Besides, those people don't know him, and the portrait on this notice doesn't look like him either."

Dai Mubai nodded, but the complicated emotions in his heart refused to settle for a long time.

He knew that Dai Fei's appearance meant the internal conflicts of the Star Luo Empire had completely erupted.

And as a prince of the Star Luo Empire, he would have to face it all sooner or later.

The immediate priority was to make himself stronger!

As long as he was strong enough, he would not need to worry about any of it!

"Let's go back to the academy first," Dai Mubai said quietly, then turned and left.

Ma Hongjun glanced at the wanted notice, then at Dai Mubai's retreating back. He sighed and hurried after him.

Dai Fei had already left the Balak Kingdom and did not know he was wanted.

Several days later, Dai Fei reached the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial capital, Heaven Dou City!

As the political, economic, and cultural center of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City was far more prosperous than any city in the Balak Kingdom.

Its walls towered into the clouds, and people, horses, and carriages streamed through the city gates.

The buildings within the city were grand and imposing, the streets wide and clean. Shops lined both sides, displaying a dazzling array of rare treasures.

As Dai Fei walked along Heaven Dou City's main street, he looked around and could not help marveling at the city's prosperity.

Pedestrians filled the streets, with Soul Masters, merchants, and commoners mingling in a lively bustle.

Every so often, he could also see young nobles in splendid clothes riding past on tall horses, their heads held high.

"As expected of an imperial capital. It truly is extraordinary," Dai Fei murmured, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes.

He knew that although the city was prosperous, it was also the center of power, where undercurrents surged.

But none of that concerned him. He had only one goal: to grow stronger!

Dai Fei did not linger in Heaven Dou City. Instead, he went straight through it and headed for Sunset Forest outside the city.

Sunset Forest was one of the largest gathering places for Soul Beasts in the Heaven Dou Empire. Countless powerful Soul Beasts lived there, making it the ideal place for him to obtain his fifth Soul Ring.

Sunset Forest lay northeast of Heaven Dou City and covered a vast area. Its depths were shrouded in dense fog year-round, full of mystery and danger.

Dai Fei stood at the forest's edge, gazing gravely into its depths.

He could sense powerful Soul Power fluctuations emanating from the forest. Clearly, quite a few powerful Soul Beasts lived there.

"My fifth Soul Ring must be the Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring that suits me best," Dai Fei murmured to himself, then stepped into the forest without hesitation.

His own preference was to find a tiger-type Soul Beast between twenty and thirty thousand years old; that would be enough.

It was only a key, anyway.

Inside the forest, the trees were tall and dense, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns of light and shadow.

Dai Fei advanced cautiously, his mental power focused to its limit as he remained alert to any movement around him.

He knew that danger lurked everywhere in Sunset Forest, and the slightest carelessness could leave him beyond all hope of recovery.

Time flew, and three days passed.

Dai Fei ventured into the forest's inner region!

Only here were there traces of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts!

After walking for roughly another half hour, Dai Fei suddenly stopped.

His gaze locked onto a thicket not far ahead, where a faint fluctuation of Soul Power was coming from.

"A Soul Beast!" A glint flashed in Dai Fei's eyes, and the Soul Rings beneath his feet lit up instantly as he prepared to attack at any moment.

Just then, a gigantic Soul Beast burst out of the thicket.

It was a huge tiger covered in black fur, with scarlet eyes and fangs protruding from its mouth. It radiated a thick, murderous ferocity.

"That's a Heavenly Fiend Tiger! And it's a thirty-thousand-year Soul Beast!"

Dai Fei recognized the Soul Beast at a glance, and joy rose in his heart.

The Heavenly Fiend Tiger was an extremely rare Soul Beast, possessing tremendous speed and attack power. It was his ideal source for a fifth Soul Ring.

The Heavenly Fiend Tiger let out a low growl, a ferocious glint flashing in its eyes, then suddenly pounced at Dai Fei.

It was as fast as lightning, reaching Dai Fei almost instantly.