...
After a short rest, the three officially entered the most famous gathering place of soul beasts on the Douluo Continent—the Star Dou Great Forest.
As soon as you step into the forest, the light dims instantly.
For Xuan Hao, it was as if he had traveled to the land of giants.
He used to be the king of the mountains in the grove next to Lanyun Village. The tallest tree was only a dozen meters high, and you could climb up and steal birds' nests.
But here?
Everywhere you look, there are towering trees.
The thick trunks of these trees require more than a dozen adults to encircle them, and their height is often over a hundred meters.
The dense canopy is layered and overlapping, blocking out the sun, with only a few rays of sunlight able to filter through the gaps like beams of light.
The ground was covered with a thick layer of humus, which felt soft and spongy underfoot.
All around were exotic flowers and plants that I had never seen before, and even the air was filled with a unique aroma that mixed the fragrance of soil with a faint smell of blood.
Upon arriving here, Hu Liena finally regained her confidence as a "senior".
"Don't look around, stay close."
Hu Liena walked beside Xuan Hao and pointed to a brightly colored vine next to them: "That's a ghost face vine.
Don't be fooled by its pretty appearance. If you dare to touch it, the barbs on it will instantly paralyze your nerves and wrap you up like a dumpling to be used as fertilizer."
Xuan Hao shrank his neck and silently moved a little further away from the vine.
Seeing Xuan Hao's naive and unsophisticated appearance, Hu Liena was in a great mood and explained things to him as they walked:
"The Star Dou Great Forest is different from the small forest in your village.
The terrain here is complex, and because of the abundant soul power, the plants grow extremely fast.
The path you trod today may be blocked by newly grown shrubs in a couple of days."
"Here, there are no absolute paths, nor are there ready-made road signs.
If a low-level Soul Master doesn't know how to distinguish directions and vegetation, once they get lost, it's basically a dead end, and they simply can't get out."
Xuan Hao listened attentively, nodding occasionally.
Bibi Dong walked at the front without interrupting.
She held a scepter and strolled leisurely, but the thorny brambles and bushes blocking her way would automatically part to the sides when they were a meter away from her, as if welcoming the queen's arrival.
Before we knew it, it was noon.
As they ventured deeper, the surrounding trees grew taller, and from time to time, the deep roars of beasts could be heard in the distance.
"Stop for a moment."
Bibi Dong stopped beside a relatively flat, huge rock.
"The mixed zone is just ahead. Hundred-year-old soul beasts are common there, and even thousand-year-old soul beasts occasionally appear. Let's rest here, eat something, and recover our strength."
Although this journey wasn't as tiring as the previous 100-kilometer run, the lack of roads and the need to overcome obstacles still took a toll on my physical strength.
Hu Liena obediently sat down next to Bibi Dong and took out two exquisite oil paper packages from her storage soul tool.
Once opened, inside were neatly cut pieces of deep red jerky, the meat translucent and even faintly emitting a faint soul energy fluctuation, and an enticing aroma of meat instantly filled the air.
"This is the shank of a century-old Black Horned Bull." Bibi Dong picked up a piece and put it in her mouth.
"It can quickly replenish physical strength and soul power, and it tastes good too."
Beside him, Xuan Hao silently pulled out a dark, hard object from his tattered cloth bundle.
That was the "specially made soul beast jerky" he bought at the town's general store.
Looking at the high-quality goods in Bibi Dong's hands, which were full of color, aroma, and taste, and then looking at the thing in his own hand that looked like dried tree bark, Xuan Hao felt the disparity of the world.
"Click".
He took a big bite, and his teeth made a crisp sound like metal clashing against stone.
With great effort, Xuan Hao chewed the meat in his mouth, which he couldn't tell was either ten-year-old wild boar or ten-year-old stray dog meat, and sighed inwardly.
When he bought this thing, the shop owner, who looked like a shrewd businessman, earnestly warned him:
"Young brother, entering the Star Dou Great Forest is no joke. To obtain a spirit ring, you need to prepare at least three days' worth of food!
That's if you're lucky. If you're picky about spirit beasts, it's normal to wander around inside for ten days or half a month."
"Besides, it's best to hire the Soul Hunting Team from our town. It's a bit expensive, but it's safer!
Otherwise, even if you're lucky enough to find a Soul Beast, without anyone protecting you while you absorb the Soul Ring, even a ten-year-old Wind Wolf could easily snatch you away!"
Thinking of this, Xuan Hao took another big bite of the hard jerky.
Although the food was a bit lacking, he didn't need to worry about the "protectors" aspect.
After all, the most elite "Soul Hunter Team" in the entire continent was sitting right across from him.
"Give."
Watching Xuan Hao struggle with that piece of "dried tree bark," taking each bite like gnawing on a bone, Hu Liena couldn't bear to watch any longer.
She handed over another unopened bag of Black Horned Beef jerky, her eyes filled with a hint of helpless concern.
"Here, have this. Don't chew on that; it hurts my teeth just looking at it."
Xuan Hao paused, glanced at the bag of meat jerky that exuded an enticing aroma, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.
But he quickly turned his head away, stubbornly tearing at the hard jerky in his hand again, and said indistinctly, "No need. Mine is fine, it's chewy and good for your teeth."
If I accept her things at this time, wouldn't I look pathetic?
"You…" Hu Liena's hand froze in mid-air, both angry and amused.
This little brat, he's so concerned with saving face that he's suffering for it.
She turned to look at Bibi Dong, her eyes pleading, as if asking: Teacher, what should we do with this stubborn donkey?
Bibi Dong didn't care about this little incident. For her, what she ate wasn't important; what mattered was the value of this child.
She wiped her fingertips, her gaze falling on Xuan Hao, and said bluntly, "Since I'm going to help you hunt for a spirit ring along the way, I need to understand the characteristics of your spirit first.
Although I sensed yesterday that it was a dragon-type spirit, I need more specific confirmation in order to select the most suitable spirit beast for you."
"Release your martial spirit and let me see it."
Upon hearing that it was a serious matter, Xuan Hao stopped being coy.
He put down the jerky in his hand that had almost broken his teeth, stood up, dusted off his backside, and took a deep breath.
This time, he did not perform the Martial Soul Possession, but instead mobilized the soul power within his body, drawing upon the throbbing deep within his bloodline.
"Buzz—"
A deep and majestic dragon roar suddenly rang out in the forest. Although it was not loud, it seemed to have a penetrating power that struck the soul, instantly silencing the noisy chirping of insects around it.
Immediately afterwards, a dazzling golden light rose up from behind Xuan Hao.
The light condensed, transforming into a huge phantom that hovered above his head.
It was a giant dragon with a body of shimmering gold, each scale seemingly cast from the purest gold, exuding an indestructible quality.
Its body was thick and its limbs were incredibly strong, especially its pair of dragon claws, which were sharp and heavy, as if they could crush space with a single grip.
What hits you isn't the scent of elements, but rather an extreme, pure, and breathtaking sense of power.
"This…" Bibi Dong's pupils suddenly contracted, her face showing undisguised shock.
"A golden dragon?!"
"A golden dragon?"
Hu Liena looked puzzled. "Teacher, what kind of dragon is this?
Is it stronger than the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex?"
Bibi Dong stared intently at the illusory figure behind Xuan Hao for a long time before slowly exhaling, her eyes filled with extreme complexity.
"Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex?
Before the Golden Dragon, even the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex can only bow down and submit."
"The Golden Dragon, the legendary ancestor of power, wields ultimate power and is even related to the Dragon God who once ruled this world."
"I originally thought it was just a legend, or that it had been completely extinct in ancient times."
"But teacher," Hu Liena asked doubtfully, "even if it is a top-tier martial soul, you shouldn't be so surprised, right?
Your Death Spider Emperor is also a top-tier royal martial soul."
"Nana, you don't understand." Bibi Dong shook her head.
"In the theory of the Soul Master world, there are some extremely powerful Soul Beasts that cannot appear directly in a human as a Martial Soul."
"For example, those ancient dragons that are almost extinct, and top-level ferocious beasts like the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear."
Hu Liena was taken aback:
"Why?"
"Because the human body is too fragile," Bibi Dong explained.
"The martial spirit and the host are one. The more powerful the beast martial spirit, the higher the requirements for the host's physical qualities.
Beings like the Golden Dragon and the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear, which stand at the top of the food chain, have bloodline power that is too domineering and violent."
"If a human were to awaken this kind of martial spirit, even if it were just for a moment, the fragile human body would collapse instantly because it could not withstand this terrifying power, and might even explode and die."
"Therefore, theoretically, it is impossible for humans to possess a golden dragon as a martial soul."
"At least in the recorded history of Soul Masters in Douluo Continent, there has never been a precedent."
"He was the first."
Hu Liena stared at Xuan Hao with an expression that resembled that of an ancient beast disguised as a human.
"No wonder you didn't even get out of breath after running for so long..."
"So you're not human at all... oh no, I mean your martial spirit isn't human... no, anyway, it's just really freakish!"