Chapter 5: Incident

Finding the Sunset Forest wasn’t too difficult.

After all, it’s the largest gathering place of soul beasts besides the Star Dou Great Forest. Although it’s uncertain if there are soul beasts of the hundred thousand-year level, there are certainly those above seventy thousand years, which would be more than sufficient for Jiang Jie, considering he already possesses the ninth soul ring of a titled Douluo.

So, when Jiang Jie passed by a village, he simply inquired about the direction of the Sunset Forest.

“You’re going to the Sunset Forest alone, kid?” a gray-haired old man, looking at the petite Jiang Jie with concern, asked.

“Yes, sir,” Jiang Jie nodded innocently, offering a harmless smile.

“It’s very dangerous to go to the Sunset Forest alone. Why don’t you go back home? The beasts in the Sunset Forest are ruthless,” the old man sighed, patting Jiang Jie’s head. “Even a ten-year soul beast isn’t something an ordinary person can handle. As long as you’re alive, there will be many opportunities to obtain soul rings in the future. At worst, you can join the Martial Soul Hall, child.”

Jiang Jie wasn’t surprised that the old man guessed he was going to obtain a soul ring.

After all, what else could one do in a soul beast forest besides obtaining soul rings?

“Thank you for your advice, I’ll be careful,” Jiang Jie nodded, then followed the direction indicated by the old man towards the Sunset Forest.

He appreciated the old man’s kindness, but all he needed was a hundred-year soul beast. Such beasts were usually not very intelligent. Setting up some traps, luring a soul beast, and combining it with his Realm of Devouring Demons’ Hearts, he could easily kill it without sustaining any injuries.

As Jiang Jie departed, the old man could only sigh softly.

Although he didn’t want to watch a child walk into the soul beast forest to his death, what could an ordinary farmer like him do?

Meanwhile, Jiang Jie, walking in the direction the old man pointed, initially thought of confirming the direction with a few more villages. After all, it’s always wise to be cautious when traveling without a map, especially in unfamiliar territory.

However, that turned out to be unnecessary.

[Ahead lies the Sunset Forest, with soul beasts roaming.]

Seeing the signboard with the emblem of the Tian Dou Empire, Jiang Jie silently thanked the old man in his heart, then proceeded deeper into the Sunset Forest.

While cautiously making his way through the forest, Jiang Jie pondered over what kind of soul beast he should hunt for his soul ring.

The Flame Wave Blood Blade’s characteristics were well-known: sharpness, bloodthirst, and the devouring aspect of the Realm of Devouring Demons’ Hearts.

Options for suitable soul rings for Jiang Jie were relatively limited.

Alone in the Sunset Forest, Jiang Jie moved cautiously, aware that the most unreasonable aspect of soul beast habitats was the fact that even the outermost regions could harbor thousand-year or even ten-thousand-year-old soul beasts.

Jiang Jie didn’t know how strong he was or what age of soul beast he could handle, so he had to be careful to avoid those that seemed difficult to deal with.

“Speechless. Is this the downside of having eyes but failing to recognize anything? I can’t even identify a single soul beast,” Jiang Jie, hiding among the branches of a tree, sighed as he watched seven or eight soul beasts drinking by a stream in the distance, covering his face in frustration.

Indeed, he didn’t recognize them! The original Yu Tianjie spent most of his days playing before awakening his martial soul at the age of six. Since the most basic academies require children to be six years old to attend, and considering Jiang Jie’s crossing over from another world, he was even less likely to recognize the soul beasts, only able to vaguely identify what kind of creatures they might be.

Snake, deer, leopard, tiger…

Yes, that’s all. He could only recognize their forms, as for their names, species, attributes, and ages on the Douluo Continent…

He didn’t know any of them!

Jiang Jie felt somewhat helpless, even feeling an urge to turn around and leave the Sunset Forest.

Just as he hesitated, torn between leaving or running headlong into a dead end, a terrifying aura descended.

Before this moment, Jiang Jie had always been curious about what it felt like to experience the so-called ‘aura of a strong person’ in novels. But now, he was completely overwhelmed by this aura without reservation.

It felt like his heart was being squeezed suddenly, as if even his heartbeat had become difficult, the air around him gradually solidifying, making it hard to breathe.

“Grandpa, I want that snake!” a crisp and pleasant voice rang out.

However, Jiang Jie, whose mind was somewhat blurred by the overwhelming aura, didn’t hear clearly. As powerful as the Flame Wave Blood Blade might be, Jiang Jie himself was merely a level ten quasi-soul master who hadn’t even absorbed his first soul ring yet.

The gap in raw power was too vast.

“Haha, good, obedient granddaughter. Grandpa will help you catch that snake and make a soul ring for you!” an elderly laughter echoed. With a surge of formidable soul power, it condensed into a large hand, grabbing the snake drinking by the stream.

It was a snake about six meters long, as thick as an arm, covered in dark green scales with beautiful patterns evenly distributed across its body.

Jiang Jie, overwhelmed by the sudden increase in pressure, couldn’t hold back any longer. With a tremble of his arms, the blue-black Flame Wave Blood Blade appeared on his arms, crossing them in front of him. After releasing his martial soul, the oppressive aura from the soul power also diminished significantly.

Though he was still dozens of meters away from the stream, he was already at the edge of the outburst of the soul power aura. Relying on the power of the Flame Wave Blood Blade, Jiang Jie managed to withstand the pressure in the end.

The hand that caught the snake hesitated for a moment.

“Huh, there’s another little guy here?” There was a hint of surprise in the old man’s voice as he looked at Jiang Jie, his gaze settling on the conspicuous Flame Wave Blood Blade on Jiang Jie’s arms. The calm expression on his face, which had always been indifferent, became somewhat solemn.

“I don’t know. If my soul power hadn’t affected him, I wouldn’t have noticed this little guy. It seems he’s also here to obtain a soul ring.” As a titled Douluo, he naturally could sense that Jiang Jie’s cultivation was bottlenecked at level ten and needed a soul ring to break through.

What surprised him even more was Jiang Jie’s age. After grabbing Jiang Jie’s arms with his soul power, the old man also casually touched Jiang Jie’s bones.

The conclusion he drew was: just past six years old.

What did this mean?

Innate full soul power!

(End of this chapter)