"Meetings always lead to partings; everything becomes a memory. The more we meet, the more we part."
~N0v03~
[FP: 24,678]
"It's already crossed five digits." Furina stared at the number, then turned her gaze outside the carriage, ignoring the three who were watching her with burning eyes.
It had already been more than two and a half days since their journey began. The nearest soul beast hunting forest lay about 209 kilometers from Soul Emperor Village, a place well-known as training grounds for novice Soul Masters.
Every soul beast there ranged from mere decades to a millennium in age, but none surpassed the Ten thousand-year mark. That made the forest famous among beginners. The stronger your helpers during soul ring hunting, the better the results. For Furina, having two Soul Ancestors and one Soul King meant her starting point was far above anyone else among her peers in the same academy.
As for how Grandpa Oggy managed to hire these three, the story went back to when the village once produced a Soul Emperor.
Long ago, a fallen Soul Master nearly massacred half a city in his bid to become a Spirit King. Reinforcements were hopeless as the city was small, backward, and too far away for help to arrive in time. By luck of heaven, the Soul Emperor passed through the city during his travels and executed the fallen Spirit King, earning the eternal gratitude of the city lord.
"No matter the condition, so long as it is not immoral or does not cross the bottom line of human decency I, or my descendants, will fulfill one request of Soul Emperor Village."
With that promise, Grandpa Oggy and the villagers decided to use the favor to hire Soul Masters for Furina's soul ring hunt. Though it meant losing a blank check, the value of cultivating a future Title Douluo far outweighed the cost.
Furina sighed, a faint curve forming on her lips. 'I don't think I can ever repay them in my life.'
Still, this was her home. No one was truly losing anything. All that remained was for her to transform the village into a great city, cultivate more power, and ascend to godhood.
For cultivating power, the village was the perfect base. Every follower she gained would work for the village, making it her headquarters and shielding her movements from prying eyes. And the villager have absolute trust in her.
"Ohh, finally we've reached our destination." Sophie leaned close, her breath brushing Furina's ear as she whispered softly, "You should be prepared for anything that happens inside the forest."
The warm breath sent a chill through Furina, making her body tremble and her brain crash. She tilted her head back and looked at Sophie with resentment.
"Big sister Sophie, could you please not do that? You nearly gave me a heart attack."
[Faith point: 520]
[Faith point: 430]
[Faith point: 440]
"Heheh, sorry, little Furina. Seeing you lost in thought, I couldn't help but tease you." Sophie crossed her arms, pinched her ear lightly, and apologized.
"Hmph."
"Alright, enough teasing. We're here, let's get ready to move," Liu Yushui said with a smile.
The carriage had already stopped, and one by one they stepped out. Xiao Li chatted with the driver, explaining what they needed, before the four strode toward the gate together.
Furina looked up at the giant wall, its just size alone make her feel like a toddler. She glanced around curiously.
What she saw looked nothing like a soul beast hunting forest, this gave her feelings of a bustling vegetable market, filled with people and stalls everywhere.
Sophie chimed in, "Do you see that giant wall? It was built by the Heaven Dou Empire and is jointly managed by both the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire."
She turned her gaze toward Furina, who also shifted her attention to her, and continued with the proud tone of an older sister teaching her younger sibling about life.
"This Soul Hunting Forest is famous as a training ground for new Soul Masters. Only decade or century-aged soul beasts reside here. And if you are lucky one in a hundred thousand, you might even encounter a millennium soul beast."
"So soul beasts can't get out of the wall?" Furina asked.
"Yes. The wall was built to protect people from soul beasts, and later it was repurposed into a soul ring hunting ground. No soul beast can cross it."
Furina scratched her chin, curiosity flashing in her eyes. "But what if the soul beast is a bird? Can they leave the wall?"
The question caught Sophie off guard, leaving her momentarily speechless. Just as she was struggling to find an answer, a giggle interrupted her.
"Yes, little sister, birds can indeed fly outside the forest," Xiao Li explained confidently. "But they are extremely territorial and rarely leave. Flying soul beasts, mostly bird types will hardly move beyond a hundred kilometers from their territory unless food becomes scarce in that area."
Furina nodded in understanding. If chased by a soul beast, leaving its territory zone might cause it to abandon the pursuit.
After passing through the gate, the three shared their soul master theories and practical experiences with Furina, holding nothing back.
This greatly expanded her knowledge reserves of Douluo, things she had never know from novels or donghua. After all, a story or anime could never reveal everything about a world; true understanding required exploration.
"Big sister Sophie, what type of soul ring are we hunting?" Furina asked eagerly. With her knowledge reserve expanded, she was excited about the unknown soul beast that would become her first soul ring.
Sophie smiled, pulling a map from her soul guide. Pointing at a marked circle, she explained, "Do you see this area? That's where most of the powerful century-aged soul beasts reside. There's a fountain and a large river nearby. We can find many water-attribute soul rings suitable for your martial soul."
Furina studied the circle on the map. It was drawn on the inner side of the western forest, with a fountain connected by a river flowing eastward.
'Hiring experts really makes things easier'. Furina sighed, deciding not to overthink and leaving everything to the future version of herself.