This time, the one-month training trip meant that Xu Zihuang naturally couldn't just leave like that. Before departing, he found Fan Yu and Cai Tou and briefly explained the reason for the trip.
Although Fan Yu was a little worried, he also knew Yu Tianhuang's personality very well and ultimately didn't stop him. He only reminded Yu Tianhuang that if anything unexpected happened, he should immediately flee far away—safety first.
With storage soul tools, there was basically nothing that needed to be prepared.
Xu Zihuang changed out of his academy uniform in the dormitory and put on close-fitting black-purple attire. He then arrived at Sun Moon Plaza. Back then, Jing Hongchen had landed here with the group from Shrek Academy, and this was also the meeting place Xu Zihuang had agreed upon with Ju Zi and Ke Ke.
The sky was still early. The golden morning sun rising from the east had not yet strayed far from the horizon; it was warm and gentle. Ming Du, located in the central part of the Sun Moon Empire, had much lower temperatures than Shrek City in the south-central part of the continent, so this attire was perfectly suitable.
Ju Zi and Ke Ke didn't keep Xu Zihuang waiting long. Their graceful figures gradually appeared in his line of sight, perfectly backlit by the sunrise. Under the illumination of a few strands of golden sunlight, they seemed to gain an aura of sacred purity out of thin air.
The uniform short skirts of the female students at Sun Moon Royal Soul Mentor Academy were naturally unsuitable for outdoor training.
Ju Zi had changed into a set of white, close-fitting attire that perfectly outlined her curvaceous figure. Against the white outfit and the sunlight, her fair, crystalline skin stood out even more.
Ke Ke, on the other hand, wore a close-fitting cyan outfit. Though not as stunning as Ju Zi, she was still lovely and charming.
After a short adjustment period, Ju Zi had returned to her usual appearance—gentle, beautiful, and with a hint of lazy natural airheadedness.
Ke Ke looked at the smile overflowing on Ju Zi's pretty face and couldn't help teasing, "Sister Ju Zi, you aren't really falling for him, are you? You're actually willing to bring him home."
"Who said anything about bringing him home?" Ju Zi rolled her eyes at Ke Ke with a coquettish snort.
"It's just that I haven't been back in a long time, so I'm going home on the way. We'll also train in the Ming Dou Great Forest nearby."
Two-thirds of the border between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire consisted of the treacherous Ming Dou Mountain Range, while the remaining third was the Ming Dou Great Forest, famous for producing mutated soul beasts.
The border town where Ju Zi grew up was located in the southeast of the Sun Moon Empire, right near the junction of the Ming Dou Mountain Range and the Ming Dou Great Forest. Of course, some branches of the Ming Dou Mountain Range extended deep into the Ming Dou Great Forest, and soul beasts also lived on those branches.
Broadly speaking, those branches were also part of the Ming Dou Great Forest.
While the two girls were talking, they had already reached Xu Zihuang.
Ju Zi glanced at Xu Zihuang and said meaningfully, "Tianhuang, you should know where the Ming Dou Great Forest is, right?"
Xu Zihuang, sensing something, nodded very frankly.
"Of course I know. I trained in the Ming Dou Great Forest for a while in the past."
Back then, when they left the Sun Moon Empire's territory, they had skirted around the outskirts of the Ming Dou Great Forest, so saying this wasn't a problem.
Ke Ke couldn't help feeling a little surprised. Among the top five soul beast gathering places on the continent were the Star Dou Great Forest, the Evil Forest, and the Extreme North; next came this Ming Dou Great Forest. Even the overall quality and strength of the soul beasts in the Jingyang Mountain Range that Xuan Ziwen mentioned were slightly inferior to those in the Ming Dou Great Forest, barely ranking at the bottom.
If the Star Dou Great Forest gave people a feeling of unfathomable depth, then the Ming Dou Great Forest felt savage and ferocious. Neither the Sun Moon Empire nor the Star Luo Empire dared to station troops on the mountain ranges bordering the Ming Dou Great Forest, precisely because—for reasons unknown—the forest produced large numbers of mutated soul beasts. Those mutated soul beasts were extremely powerful and highly aggressive.
Thus, the danger of training in the Ming Dou Great Forest was, if anything, even greater than in the Star Dou Great Forest.
But thinking of Yu Tianhuang's terrifying soul ring configuration, Ke Ke felt relieved.
Ju Zi continued faintly, "The town where I grew up is right near the Ming Dou Great Forest. On this trip, I want to stop by home first. We can rest there and then enter the Ming Dou Great Forest to test soul tools."
Xu Zihuang deliberately showed a thoughtful expression before revealing a warm smile.
"Whatever you decide, Senior Ju Zi. Didn't Teacher Xuan say it? On this trip, you're the captain."
Ke Ke chimed in, "Alright, Sister Ju Zi, let's set off. It's a long journey; even hurrying at full speed, we might not reach it before dark. By the way, Tianhuang, did you bring a flying soul tool? If not, I have an extra one."
"Senior Ke Ke, I've thought of everything." Xu Zihuang replied, taking out an exquisite, small, deep-purple flying soul tool from his storage soul tool.
He and Ning Tian had bought it together at an auction. It was the most advanced flying soul tool currently available in the Sun Moon Empire—though only level five.
"Not bad. You even managed to get the most advanced flying soul tool from our Sun Moon Empire." Ke Ke praised, a hint of pride appearing in her eyes.
As a citizen of the Sun Moon Empire, she felt genuine pride in her country's powerful soul tool technology.
"Then let's go." As the captain, Ju Zi gave the order. The three released their flying soul tools and instantly shot into the sky.
Two blue tail flames spurted from the folded wings of Ke Ke's flying soul tool, which was overall sky-blue in color.
Xu Zihuang's and Ju Zi's were purple and orange-red, respectively—their favorite colors. Three pairs of folded wings unfolded in the air as they flew straight toward the southeast.
As Ke Ke had said, the journey was extremely long. This trip nearly crossed the entire southern part of the Sun Moon Empire, covering more than two thousand kilometers. They also had to account for rest and soul power recovery time.
The three flew effortlessly through the sky, and a faint glow emanated from their folded wings, forming a layer of light over their bodies. Even their hair wasn't excessively ruffled during the flight.
Ke Ke flew at the front, occasionally letting out excited shouts. Clearly, after being cooped up in the laboratory for so long, she was finally letting loose now that she was out.
After flying continuously for two hours until noon, Ju Zi and Ke Ke's soul power was nearly depleted, so they decided to rest for a while.
Seeing Xu Zihuang simply sitting on a rock with no intention of meditating to recover soul power, Ju Zi asked in puzzlement, "Aren't you going to recover your soul power?"
Xu Zihuang had been overlooking the scenery of the Sun Moon Empire's south the entire way. Had it not been for that palace coup, all of this would have been his fief. He felt some emotion in his heart.
Hearing Ju Zi's words, he subconsciously raised an eyebrow before reacting.
"Recover soul power? My soul power has remained full the whole time."
Ju Zi and Ke Ke exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes, and said in unison, "What a freak."
Although Ju Zi and Ke Ke had relied on medicines and special methods to raise their soul power to the Soul King level, their soul power lacked resilience when circulated. This was the side effect of rushing for quick success. They hadn't carefully experienced the various changes during the soul power increase process, so both their soul power accumulation and control were inferior to traditional soul masters from the Douluo Continent side.
Comparing them to Xu Zihuang was even less possible.
Xu Zihuang's situation was simply too abnormal. The soul power he consumed using the flying soul tool basically stayed in balance with his natural recovery rate.
Even Shrek Academy's inner court elite disciples like Beibei and Xu Sanshi couldn't achieve this.
His sustained combat ability was naturally terrifying.
Possessing two top-tier martial souls, one of them an extreme martial soul, gave him a foundation far beyond ordinary people. A Soul King cultivation with soul power volume comparable to an ordinary Soul Saint—this had never appeared in the long history of soul masters.
It took Ju Zi and Ke Ke a full hour to restore their soul power to peak condition.
To reach their destination before dark if possible, they made do with some dried meat, hard rations, and clear water for a simple meal.
Ke Ke rested her chin on one hand, chewing the dry, tasteless rations with a bitter expression.
Yet she didn't complain. As Ju Zi's closest friend, she knew Ju Zi's background. Her father had been forcibly conscripted and sent to the battlefield against the Star Luo Empire, never to return. Her mother had also passed away from overwhelming grief.
The town where Ju Zi was born had mostly been reduced to ruins, only beginning reconstruction in recent years. A once-prosperous border town of over a thousand people now had fewer than a hundred survivors, mostly the elderly, women, and children.
In the past, Ke Ke accompanied Ju Zi home every year. This was also the time when Ju Zi's mood was at its lowest.
The three soared into the sky once more. Perhaps because they were getting closer to the hometown where she grew up, Ju Zi became somewhat silent, her gaze dim as she seemed immersed in memories. Xu Zihuang and Ke Ke tactfully didn't disturb her and fell behind her.
There were still more than a thousand kilometers to the destination. They stopped midway to rest again, and by the time they were nearing their goal, the sky was already filled with dense stars.
The night sky in the southern part of the continent was, as always, clear.
Under the bright moonlight and brilliant starlight, they could clearly see the continuous steep mountain range in the distance, as well as the boundless ancient forest connecting to its south.
It was the narrow Ming Dou Mountain Range stretching over a thousand kilometers and the southernmost soul beast gathering place on the continent—the Ming Dou Great Forest.
Due to the humid and hot climate, the trees in the Ming Dou Great Forest appeared even taller and denser than those in the Star Dou Great Forest.
To the west of the intersection between the Ming Dou Mountain Range and the Ming Dou Great Forest, faint lights could be seen. That was presumably the town where Ju Zi had spent her childhood.
Ju Zi, flying at the front, suddenly stopped and hovered in place, maintaining balance.
"Let's land here. In the area where the Ming Dou Great Forest and Ming Dou Mountain Range meet, there lives an annoying type of flying soul beast called Demon Vultures. They love to actively attack humans and birds flying past."
Demon Vultures were a very powerful type of flying soul beast, known as killers in the clouds. Moreover, they lived in flocks.
A flock of over a hundred, led by thousand-year Demon Vultures, could even threaten ten-thousand-year soul beasts. Flying openly like this really wasn't wise.
The three descended straight to the mountains, now less than twenty kilometers from the town ahead. Although the mountain path was rugged, with their Soul King-level cultivations, they could reach it within half an hour.
The silver moon slowly moved, tree shadows swayed. A cool breeze brushed their faces, accompanied by the incessant sound of cicadas.
"The moon startles magpies from the branches at dusk; the midnight breeze carries cicada songs."
These two lines perfectly described the beautiful scene before them.
If there were no war, the people of this border town might still be living a peaceful, carefree life.
Ke Ke looked at Ju Zi beside her and smiled brightly. "Sister Ju Zi, tonight you have to feed us well. I'm counting on you to show off your skills."
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Ju Zi, who had just composed herself, glared at Ke Ke in annoyance, then glanced at Xu Zihuang with a blushing face.
Fortunately, Xu Zihuang showed no particular reaction. He merely looked up at the town ahead, feeling a strange emotion in his heart.
Although for the sake of revenge and his ambitions, he had decided to abandon everything he could abandon, he always remembered his father's teachings: as a member of the imperial family, he should protect the citizens under his rule.
His grand wish to unify the continent also included the desire to end the wars on the continent.
The town where Ju Zi grew up lay within his father's former fief. Strictly speaking, everyone in this town, including Ju Zi, was his subject.
That was why, when he saved Ju Zi back then, he had shown anger. And why he felt a trace of guilt toward her.
However, in Ju Zi's eyes, his behavior told a different story.
"What's wrong?" Noticing the expression on Xu Zihuang's face, Ju Zi asked softly.
Xu Zihuang gave a wry smile. "Senior Ju Zi, to be honest, a few years ago, when I was training in the Ming Dou Great Forest, I passed through here. I remember that at that time, this place was still in ruins."
Ju Zi's gaze toward Xu Zihuang became even gentler, but she didn't rush to reveal that she was the girl Yu Tianhuang had saved back then.
"That's because this town was affected by the war with the Star Luo Empire that year. When war breaks out, it's only ordinary civilians who suffer." Ju Zi sighed lightly, her eyes growing misty. Large teardrops slid from the corners of her eyes.
"My father was forcibly conscripted because of that war and sent to the front lines, never to return. My mother also fell ill from excessive grief and left me."
"Sister Ju Zi, don't be sad. What's past is past; thinking too much only adds sorrow. We have to look forward—there's still so much beauty waiting for us in the future, right?" Ke Ke hugged Ju Zi and comforted her, then glared fiercely at Xu Zihuang.
"It's all your fault! All your fault for bringing up Sister Ju Zi's painful memories!"
Xu Zihuang was silent for a moment, then took out a silk handkerchief from his soul tool and stepped forward to hand it to Ju Zi.
"Sorry, Senior Ju Zi."
"The one who should apologize is me. You've come to my home, and as the host, I should be properly entertaining you. Instead, you're the ones comforting me." Ju Zi accepted the handkerchief Xu Zihuang offered and wiped the tears from her eyes.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about these things. Let's head to the town first—we're exhausted after traveling all day." Seeing Ju Zi's mood improve, Ke Ke hurriedly changed the subject, completely missing the fact that the Ju Zi who, in her impression, never accepted gifts from any man, had actually taken Xu Zihuang's handkerchief.
Ju Zi pulled Ke Ke along the mountain path, her tears turning into a smile.
"It's really getting late; let's go now."
"Sister Ju Zi, are you okay? Crying one moment and laughing the next?" Seeing Ju Zi acting so unusually, Ke Ke was utterly confused.
Xu Zihuang simply followed silently behind the two girls.
Soon, however, Ju Zi and Ke Ke started whispering to each other again and ended up falling behind him instead.
Fortunately, the town was within sight, so there was no worry about getting lost.
The outline of the town gradually became clearer. At the town entrance stood a wooden watchtower about ten meters tall. Several torches were placed on the watchtower, their flames flickering and dancing in the wind.
A middle-aged man in his forties, leaning half-asleep against the railing, instantly became alert. The man was thin and only about 1.7 meters tall. His messy, long hair hung down his back, half of what had once been gray-brown now turned white.
A sharp light flashed in his weathered, deep eyes, but his right arm was severed at the root.
Black soul power overflowed from his body, and his skin rapidly turned black. His eyebrows curled like two antennae.
One white and one yellow—two soul rings rose successively from his feet.
In such a remote small town, there was unexpectedly a Great Soul Master.
As he released his martial soul, he leaped forward. Seeing three indistinct shadows approaching, he heavily punched the ground with his left fist.
Second soul skill, Earthquake Wave.
A strong yellow halo instantly burst forth.
The middle-aged man's martial soul was the Thousand-Jun Ant, a type of soul beast commonly found in all soul beast forests. In the category of beast martial souls, the Thousand-Jun Ant held the same status as Blue Silver Grass among tool martial souls—a very standard low-level martial soul.
His second soul skill, Earthquake Wave, used the trembling power of the earth to make opponents within a certain range lose balance.
It wasn't particularly strong, but it was enough to scare away the group of ten-year Nether Wolves that had been harassing them lately.
Yet to the middle-aged man's surprise, his yellow halo was forcibly contained within a limited area.
Looking closely, standing before him was a tall youth with purple eyes. It was this purple-eyed youth who had used soul power to block his Earthquake Wave.
The newcomers were undoubtedly Xu Zihuang.
Ju Zi and Ke Ke emerged from behind Xu Zihuang, and upon seeing the middle-aged man, their eyes lit up.
"Uncle Lü?"
"Ju Zi? Ke Ke?" The middle-aged man opened his mouth in surprise, and his tense body relaxed.
"Ju Zi, why are you back so early this year? The Sun Moon Royal Soul Mentor Academy hasn't started holidays yet, has it? And this young man is?"
The man called Uncle Lü by Ju Zi and Ke Ke looked at Ju Zi with eyes full of affection, but when his gaze returned to Xu Zihuang, it carried a hint of an ambiguous smile.
"Uncle Lü, he's my classmate, just like Ke Ke. We're out training this time and stopping by home on the way." Ju Zi hurriedly explained, seemingly afraid the misunderstanding would spread.
Xu Zihuang smiled and greeted Uncle Lü.
"Hello, my name is Yu Tianhuang. I study under the same teacher as Senior Ju Zi and Senior Ke Ke at Sun Moon Royal Soul Mentor Academy."
"No need to be so polite, young man. I'm Lü Li. If you don't mind, just call me Uncle Lü like Ju Zi and the others." Lü Li chuckled, his attitude very friendly.
Ke Ke asked curiously, "Uncle Lü, when did you build this watchtower? I don't remember it being here last year."
"Sigh. Lately, for some reason, a pack of Nether Wolves has wandered from the Ming Dou Great Forest to a branch of the Ming Dou Mountain Range near us. They've been coming to harass us from time to time. To prevent accidents, I've been keeping watch here." Lü Li sighed helplessly.
"Ju Zi, Ke Ke, how many days are you planning to stay? Everyone will surely be happy that you're back."
Ju Zi shook her head.
"Uncle Lü, we won't disturb everyone's rest tonight. We'll visit everyone door-to-door tomorrow."
"That works too. Then I won't keep you. Go back and rest early." Lü Li nodded, then seemed to remember something. He lightly leaped onto the watchtower and took down two mountain chickens tied by their legs and wings with rope.
"These are two mountain chickens I caught today. Ju Zi, take them back and treat Ke Ke and this young man well."
"Thank you, Uncle Lü." Ju Zi smiled sweetly. Ke Ke clumsily caught the two chickens and laughed happily.
"Yay! Tonight we get Sister Ju Zi's roast chicken!"
Before leaving, Xu Zihuang suddenly took out a bottle of white wine from his soul tool and tossed it to Lü Li on the watchtower.
"Uncle Lü, we'll be going now."
Lü Li instinctively caught it and stared blankly at the amber-clear liquid in the bottle.
When he was young and roaming outside, he had seen a fair bit. He could tell this bottle of white wine was definitely of the highest quality.
But when he looked up again, the figures of Xu Zihuang and the others had already disappeared into the town.
Lü Li smiled knowingly.
"This young man has a good character, looks worthy of Ju Zi, and is strong. Most rare of all, he actually earned that girl Ju Zi's approval."
The buildings in the town were mainly three-story wooden lofts, adapted to the humid and rainy climate here.
The roads were paved with stones of varying sizes—barely considered flat.
Ju Zi led Xu Zihuang and Ke Ke toward the center of the town while explaining to Xu Zihuang, "Uncle Lü is a very good person. During the war with the Star Luo Empire, it was he who later escorted everyone in town to safety. Unfortunately, when he was young in a soul beast forest, his right arm was poisoned by a poison-attribute soul beast's venom and had to be amputated."
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