9 - Forest, Sword Douluo and Bamboo.

The next morning, when everyone was still sleeping, Ye Zhen had just woken up. After all, it was going to be a very busy day. The area where Notting College is located is quite prosperous, with all kinds of shops outside. After all, business at the entrance of the college is relatively easy to do.

Among the many shops, there is a barbecue restaurant that is very good. It's quite famous on this street. Ye Zhen often came here during school weekends. The owner of this barbecue restaurant is also a soul master, a rare type of food soul master.

"Good morning, Xiao Zhen. I'm still opening up. Where are your two little friends today?" A fat bald man weighing almost 300 pounds greeted with a smile.

Ye Zhen stood before him, and the two had a terrible sense of parallax, as if this big, fat man could crush him just by falling over.

Ye Zhen didn't respond. His pair of big, round eyes glanced around randomly. When he saw a chair, his eyes lit up. He hurried over, grabbed a large teapot from the counter, and opened it to take a look.

Inside were some small, dry particles like burnt cumin mixed with other spices, and there was also a faint fragrance of herbs permeating from it.

"Uncle Leiluo, I'll take the spice first; I'll pay you tomorrow. I'm in a hurry today, I forgot to bring it, and I'll give it to you next time…" After speaking, Ye Zhen didn't wait for the middle-aged man and ran off.

"Damn it, wait... you little bastard, that's the spice I was going to use as a gift…"

Hearing the shouts from behind, Ye Zhen pretended not to hear and ran even faster.

[Negative emotion value from Leiluo increased by 166…]

What do you need to prepare for the Hunting Soul Forest? First aid supplies? Food? Drink? No, Ye Zhen tells you, you only need to bring a pot of spices and a set of spare clothes.

Notting City is 400 miles away from the Hunting Soul Forest. Ye Zhen was in a hurry, with ten days left before the end of the school term. He still wanted to graduate before the year was over.

The carriage was too slow, and Ye Zhen had to strap the small luggage on his back and start running.

This Douluo World isn't very convenient at this time. With no trains or planes, and no other means of transport, you can only rely on your feet to hurry.

To speed up the journey, Ye Zhen even opened the second of the Eight Gates.

The horse road outside the city isn't as smooth as it is within the city; it's all gravel roads with potholes. It hasn't rained much in recent days, and the ground is very dry. Ye Zhen's high-speed running figure kicked up dust into the sky. Some pedestrians passing by were covered in dust before they could even clearly see Ye Zhen's figure.

Passerby: "Ugh... What was that just now?"

Second Passerby: "I don't know, I didn't see it clearly, just heard a buzzing sound, and something like a rat passed by…"

[Negative emotion value from passerby increased by 6…]

[Negative emotion value from passerby B increased by 6…]

...

Along the way, the reminder of negative emotion values kept ringing. Time passed quickly with Ye Zhen in a hurry, and it wasn't until two in the afternoon that Ye Zhen finally ran to the outer market of the Hunting Soul Forest.

"Damn, this place is so lively, so many people…"

He looked at this bazaar built in the hunting forest and said emotionally.

This place reminded him of the subway station and train station when he just got off work in his previous life. There were people everywhere and some simple shops.

"There's a search, looking for a two-ring auxiliary soul master of level 20 or above, three spots left… rewarded…"

"There's a warrant to hunt 5,000-year-old soul beasts, seven are waiting, and a tank, the kind that can withstand but not advise… we have healers…"

"Eighteenth-level war spirit master, looking for a team…"

"What's the first spirit ability?"

...

Ye Zhen twitched the corner of his mouth. How could there be an inexplicable sense of familiarity in this scene?

Ye Zhen looked at the two guards standing at the gate. The one who was napping in broad daylight didn't seem very strong; should he sneak past or beat them up?

But, wouldn't there be strong guards in such an important place as the Hunting Soul Forest? Ye Zhen didn't believe it.

While Ye Zhen was thinking about which way to enter the hunting forest, not far away came a middle-aged man with long white hair and a sky-blue robe. His face was cold, and he faintly revealed a terrifying aura. Every step he took gave people a sense of oppression.

When the middle-aged man arrived here, he became the focus of the crowd.

Even though he didn't pay attention to the people around him, he still gave people the feeling of their skin being tingled by a sharp blade.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, and no one dared to make a sound.

Beside this middle-aged man was a small, white, and cute little girl wearing a blue short skirt, with a slight smile on her face. Her eyes looked curiously at the people present, seeming excited.

Ye Zhen frowned. He thought of a force with this combination.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Sword Douluo, and that little girl should be Ning Rongrong then.

Calculating the time, there's a high chance that it is indeed Ning Rongrong. Among the Seven Monsters, she is the youngest, and she was born with a ninth-level innate spirit power. At this point, it's almost time for her to obtain her first spirit ring.

Ye Zhen suddenly had a bold idea—perhaps he could enter the hunting forest with these two people? Sword Douluo led Ning Rongrong and slowly walked toward the entrance of the Hunting Soul Forest.

The pedestrians blocking the road hurriedly moved out of the way, their eyes filled with respect. Although they didn't know who he was, they could tell he was powerful.

This was obviously a strong figure from a prominent family bringing the younger generation to hunt for their first spirit ring. No one wanted to do anything foolish like getting in the way.

As Sword Douluo led Ning Rongrong past Ye Zhen, he casually followed them toward the entrance of the Hunting Soul Forest.

Sword Douluo only glanced at Ye Zhen, and when he saw that Ye Zhen was just a child, he ignored him.

Ning Rongrong looked at Ye Zhen with curiosity, and Ye Zhen also looked gently at the little girl.

Ye Zhen was two steps behind them, neither too far nor too close, maintaining a position on the right side.

From this perspective, the three of them looked like they were a group.

When they reached the entrance, Sword Douluo showed a faint golden-purple symbol and entered without any concern for whether the guards could see it.

As Ye Zhen expected, the two guards at the gate didn't dare to stop them and bowed deeply.

Ye Zhen secretly admired his own cleverness. With joy, he managed to slip in.

"Kid, why are you following us?" Sword Douluo's indifferent voice sounded slightly hoarse.

Ye Zhen: .....

The pressure from the Titled Douluo with just a glance made Ye Zhen break out in a cold sweat, even though Sword Douluo didn't seem malicious.

Ye Zhen quickly clenched his right fist and pressed it against his left chest, following the standard etiquette of the Douluo Continent. He said, "Senior, this junior only did so because I didn't have a pass to enter the area. There's absolutely no other meaning. Thank you, senior, for taking me in. I'll be on my way now."

After speaking, Ye Zhen turned and left without any further hesitation.

People like Sword Douluo are very dangerous. They have a cold expression as if everyone owes them five million. Now that they've entered the Hunting Soul Forest, Ye Zhen can start hunting for his own spirit ring.

As for Ye Zhen's departure, Sword Douluo had no intention of stopping him. He merely watched indifferently.

He was a bit curious about Ye Zhen, curious that such a small child dared to enter the hunting forest alone. But that sense of curiosity wasn't enough for him to concern himself with Ye Zhen.

After the three of them parted not far from the entrance of the Hunting Soul Forest, Ye Zhen breathed a sigh of relief and headed off on his own path.

Even though it would have been easy to follow Sword Douluo, doing so might expose his own secrets unless he intended to follow the common route of obtaining a 100-year ring, but Ye Zhen obviously didn't want a ring like that.

Moreover, Sword Douluo treats strangers with indifference in the original book, and Ye Zhen didn't want to take any risks. He felt like he was holding a time bomb with Sword Douluo beside him. Now that they've gone their separate ways, and there's no threat of exposing his high-level combat power, it's time for him to seek out his rings.

Although this Hunting Soul Forest is an artificially created environment for the growth of spirit beasts, it was created jointly by the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Hall. There are various types of tall trees, unknown wildflowers growing everywhere, vines like dragons winding around, and a fresh scent of nature wafting through, making Ye Zhen a bit excited.

Walking alone in the dense forest, there are several paths that have been trodden by predecessors. Ye Zhen followed along the road and ventured deeper into the hunting forest.

The Hunting Soul Forest is divided into three areas. The outermost part has almost no spirit beasts; they're all ordinary animals like rabbits. This is the entrance to the hunting forest. Going a bit further, you can find some ten-year-old spirit beasts, and occasionally, you might encounter a century-old one.

The middle section primarily consists of century-old spirit beasts, and this is also the preferred area for most soul masters who are advancing in rank. If you want to find a thousand-year-old spirit beast, you have to go deep into the forest. As for the ten-thousand-year spirit beasts, it's uncertain if there are any in the Hunting Soul Forest. It's said that the Spirit Hall sends high-level soul masters to clear them out every year.

If Ye Zhen wanted to find a ten-thousand-year-old spirit beast in this hunting forest, the chances would be comparable to winning the lottery. He quickly ventured in with enthusiasm, specifically looking for a spirit beast to practice his combat skills and kill to see what its spirit ring would be like.

But Ye Zhen had been walking for almost half an hour and hadn't seen a single one, only some ordinary animals, which left him uninterested.

Just as Ye Zhen passed by a bamboo, feeling a bit dejected, he paused.

"Huh? A faint fluctuation of spirit power?"

Ye Zhen carefully sensed it, his eyes lit up, and he realized it was coming from the unremarkable bamboo as he was passing by, so he didn't move his upper body and took a few steps back.

Standing next to the bamboo, Ye Zhen smiled, "You seem to be very discreet."

Lonely bamboo: .....

"Well, I haven't seen what a spirit ring looks like after a spirit beast dies..." Ye Zhen scratched his head, embarrassed, and looked at it with a smile on his face.

"If you don't speak, I'll take it as your acceptance... Your spirit has deeply moved me. I've decided to give you a decent way to die." Ye Zhen continued talking to himself. Then, he stepped forward. Only to return and deliver a solid kick right in the middle of the bamboo.

....

....

Ye Zhen was holding a bamboo stick in his left hand with a greasy roasted rabbit on the skewer and a bamboo cup in his right hand with clean water that carried a hint of bamboo fragrance. He was sitting down, enjoying his meal.

A 10-year spirit ring was floating beside Ye Zhen, looking somewhat starry and absolutely beautiful. After the death of a spirit beast, the spirit ring can only exist for an hour, and it was now in a state of dissipation as time was running out.

"Hey, this Spirit Hunting Forest is really a great place. The rabbit meat is not only fragrant but also very chewy. With this secret seasoning, it tastes even more refreshing." Ye Zhen gnawed on the last rabbit head with a satisfied look on his face and then tossed away the bones. He casually wiped the corners of his mouth, stood up, and started to venture deeper into the hunting forest.

His goal was the central area of the hunting forest, where there were more thousand-year-old spirit beasts, and the first spirit ring was to be found. Perhaps he would be lucky enough to find a hidden Ten Thousand Year Spirit Beast that hadn't been discovered by the Spirit Hall for his second ring.

Ye Zhen was concerned about the issue of not being able to fight. If he really encountered a ten thousand-year-old spirit beast, he would choose to upgrade the Sharingan to the Mangekyou on the spot. Otherwise, he planned to use the value of 15,000 to buy the two-tailed and three-tailed beasts first, and then there would be three large sources in his body, and the enhancement of various physical qualities would accelerate.

Upgrading the Sharingan costs 10,000 points, while the two-tailed beast costs 6,000 points, and the three-tailed beast costs 7,000 points.

The negative emotion value really isn't enough, making the choice so difficult that Ye Zhen had to plan carefully.

As Ye Zhen was walking deeper into the Spirit Hunting Forest, Jian Douluo and Ning Rongrong had already arrived in the middle of the Spirit Hunting Forest. Most of the spirit beasts here were hundred-year-old beasts, which were more suitable for Ning Rongrong. What the two were looking for was a pure power-type spirit beast.

And they were located on the only path Ye Zhen could take.

...

..

.

"Rongrong, what do you think of this iron-eating panda beast? It's about 350 years old. Pure power-type spirit beasts are rare among spirit beasts. If we can find it today, it's considered lucky, and its ring suits you." Jian Douluo pointed to a spirit beast that resembled a black and white bear that was napping dozens of meters away, with a smile on his face.

Ning Rongrong looked at it curiously and carefully and asked a little nervously, "Grandpa Jian, this iron-eating panda is so cute, it's so furry. Do we really have to kill it?"

Ning Rongrong's tone was somewhat innocent, and there was a hint of compassion in her eyes for the iron-eating panda beast. Such a cute, round little bear must be very comfortable to touch; if only it could be taken home as a pet...

If anyone else had asked, Jian Douluo would definitely have sprayed their face with water.

But the one who asked this question was Ning Rongrong. Ning Rongrong was the treasure of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. She was raised in the richest cradle in the world. Whether it was Ning Fengzhi or the two titled Douluos of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, they all treated her like the most precious jewel that existed.

Sword Douluo didn't want to be harsh with her, so he patiently explained, "Rongrong, spirit beasts are our enemies. Remember, you cannot have compassion for spirit beasts in the future." After Sword Douluo finished speaking, he gently touched Ning Rongrong's little head with affection.

While the old man was teaching the young woman, a small figure was about a hundred meters away from them.

Ye Zhen wiped the saliva from the corner of his mouth. He didn't know if panda meat was good or not, but he was curious.

Ye Zhen and Jian Douluo were separated by many trees; the jungle was dense. Naturally, Jian Douluo's perception was very powerful, but unfortunately, at that moment, he was seriously educating the princess of the sect, so he didn't notice the small figure hiding a hundred meters away.

Ye Zhen didn't think much of it. He wanted to enjoy a bit of life while he was here. Out of respect for the food, Ye Zhen didn't choose to attack stealthily, but when his foot was about to kick the bear's head, he gave a loud shout as a reminder.

"Whirlpool Konoha!!!!!"

The Iron-Eating Panda beast suddenly woke up from a nap and, upon opening its eyes, saw a foot growing larger and kicking towards it.

Iron-Eating Panda: ?? ??

"Boom ~"

A round thing like a ball was kicked a distance of seven or eight meters. With a "Bang!" it hit a tree and, after a few seconds of pause, it slowly slid down.

The skull of the Iron-Eating Panda beast was sunken, and there was no doubt it was dying and, after a few seconds, it died.

Sword Douluo: ?? ??

Ning Rongrong inwardly: NO!!!!!!

"Huh? I barely exerted any force, and you're already dead?" Ye Zhen smiled and patted his biceps, praising them.

[Negative emotional value of Iron-Eating Panda + 2660 ...]

[Negative emotional value of Chenxin + 966 ...]

Knowing the death of the previous beast, Ye Zhen was not surprised. When he killed the solitary bamboo soul beast, it also gave a negative emotional value of 1660. To confirm his thoughts, Ye Zhen also killed a ten-year-old cat. The cat soul beast also gave a negative emotional value of 1660.

This made Ye Zhen sure that killing an intelligent creature would directly give ten times its negative emotional value. (For example, if a negative emotional value of 166 is eliminated, it will produce a negative emotional value of 1660)

How do you know that killing intelligent creatures has a negative emotional value? Ye Zhen did an experiment. On the way, when he killed a common sparrow that hadn't become a spiritual beast, he didn't receive the negative emotional value from it.

The only difference between the two is that one has spiritual power, while the other doesn't. As for whether it's related to strength. By killing this Iron-Eating Panda beast, Ye Zhen not only wanted to eat bear paws but also get its points.

Ten-year-old spiritual beasts give 1660 points of negative emotion, and hundred-year-old spiritual beasts give 2660 points of negative emotion. This is very rewarding. Ye Zhen now has another channel to gain negative emotional value.

But when he saw the next system prompt, Ye Zhen suddenly had a bad premonition. Why is Sword Douluo also giving me negative emotions? Hmmm... This is a problem.

"Pat... pat..." A sound of footsteps rustling against fallen leaves came from behind.

Ye Zhen turned his head stiffly and saw Sword Douluo and Ning Rongrong looking at him curiously.

Sword Douluo was not in a good mood, looking at the hundred-year-old yellow spirit ring emerging from the body of the Iron-Eating Panda beast, the corners of his eyes twitched.

This is the spiritual beast prepared for our little treasure from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Did you really kick it to death? But, this boy, he still doesn't have a spirit ring. How could he kick to death a spiritual beast that is over 300 years old? This is a spiritual beast that even great spirit masters of more than 20 levels might not be able to handle. It's not an ordinary beast. How did he do this without a spirit ring?

Sword Douluo had doubts about this.

"Kid, how did you do that?" Jian Douluo asked suspiciously. He had lived for so many years, and it was the first time he had seen Ye Zhen as an anomaly.

"What?" Ye Zhen was a bit stunned.

Sword Douluo's face was dark, "I asked how you kicked this Iron-Eating Panda beast, which is over 300 years old, to death."

"Ah! It turned out to be the Iron-Eating Panda beast; I thought it was called a giant panda..." Ye Zhen clapped his hands with a look of enlightenment on his face. But when he saw Sword Douluo's face darkening more and more, his voice gradually became softer...

Ye Zhen was not a fool; he could probably guess that the plot had developed a bit and he might be inexplicably stealing the monster chosen by Ning Rongrong.

"Ahem, senior. I've just been exercising since I was a child, so I probably have a better physique..." Ye Zhen looked at Sword Douluo, a little nervous, he was panicking and couldn't deceive him suddenly.

However, Sword Douluo looked at him carefully and seemed to believe him.

Ye Zhen's body had been improved after a year of being nourished by the chakra beast and had become a treasure, comparable to a spiritual beast in human form. But who is Sword Douluo? He could naturally see Ye Zhen's physique.

Sword Douluo suddenly smiled: "Good boy, I didn't notice your special physique before meeting you, but you stole my precious granddaughter's spiritual beast. What do you think I should do?" Sword Douluo asked deeply.

Sword Douluo was not resentful, which made Ye Zhen feel more at ease.

Ye Zhen timidly whispered, "Senior, how about I marry her in the future?" He thought that since they were protective of her, he might get beaten a bit, but after that, they would probably want to separate from him, and he would be free to pursue his rings again.

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