Chapter 80: The Great Military Training of the Star Dou Forest

Soon, the Demon Emperor returned.

"I added an extra layer of insurance for Lan Fozi, hoping she won't need to use it."

Looking at the Demon Emperor who was exuding frustration, Emperor Tian half-guessed, "You did it secretly; she probably doesn't know, right?"

This remark made the already frustrated Demon Emperor even more upset, and with a deep nasal tone, he murmured a few times.

"She's only been by my side for a few years. Why does she want to run off again?"

"Uh... maybe because one can always return to their parents' side, but can't stay there for long," replied Di Tian.

The Demon Emperor: "..."

After discussing a bit of parenting, Di Tian handed over the baton of guarding the place to the Demon Emperor, then headed towards the Star Dou Forest.

After all, opening the complex spatial passages wasn't a simple task.

Under the shade of towering trees, Di Tian had already arrived alone at the core area of the Star Dou Forest.

The dense trees and towering treetops made it so that sunlight could barely penetrate, plunging this part of the forest into pitch darkness.

Before him was a small lake, its waters crystal clear and so pure that it looked like a piece of sapphire crystal.

This was the Life Lake, the starting point of Di Tian's journey, and also the place he returned to today.

There was no time for unnecessary reflection. His large hand gently brushed across the surface of the Lake.

Though his hand was tiny compared to the vastness of the lake, it gave the sensation of touching every inch of the lake's surface.

The originally dim forest depth fell into complete, sightless darkness.

Above the lake, several silver stars sparkled, radiating spatial power, showcasing the few spatial passages in the Star Dou Forest.

Among these were a few spatial passages left behind by the Silver Dragon King, Gu Yuena, for easier access.

The rest were passages Di Tian had attempted to construct.

Fortunately, the two didn't interfere with each other, and Emperor Tian didn't need to destroy Gu Yuena's passages; a slight adjustment was enough.

"Yin—Yin—"

In the void, Di Tian transformed into darkness.

Soon, countless miniaturized golden-eyed black dragons burst forth from the darkness. Their sharp claws immediately tore open space along the existing passages.

Using their dragon bodies as digging tools and the Life Lake as their core, they slowly expanded in all directions.

As they passed through each soul beast's settlement and domain of powerful soul beasts, the mini gold-eyed black dragons would tear open a spatial cut, allowing easy access.

Afterward, they would stop expanding the spatial passages and command the leaders of those areas through dragon roars.

Whether it was a solitary soul beast or the leader of a soul beast tribe, their cultivation was mostly over ten thousand years. While they couldn't speak, they were highly intelligent and could communicate freely through spiritual power.

One such highly intelligent spiritual soul beast, a ten-thousand-year-old purple spirit beast, obediently knelt before a floating small dragon.

Its spiritual tentacles extended outward: "Yes, Lord Beast God!"

The purple spirit beast then offered advice: "Lord Beast God, these spatial passages are so complicated that it will be difficult for us to organize them all in a short time. When a large-scale war breaks out, we may not be able to use them effectively."

The chibi-sized golden-eyed black dragon slightly lowered its small head.

"The candidates for the training army have already been chosen. Doesn't the Spirit Pagoda often sell tickets for entering the Star Dou Fortress and hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Forest?"

"Since they chose to invade our territory, there's no need to let them leave alive."

"Once the main spatial passages are connected, we can begin the great training."

"Understood!"

Such scenes unfolded repeatedly at each soul beast settlement in the Star Dou Forest, as if following a predetermined script.

Over time, the intricate network of spatial passages began to spread across the entire Star Dou Forest in circles, layers, and rings.

Then, a large, winding arc connected back to the forest's core, which would later be the staging area for Bi Ji and Wan Yao Wang. Here, lower-level soul beasts in danger could receive Bi Ji's top-tier healing, and Wan Yao Wang, who controlled the Star Dou Forest's war machine, would provide support.

The preliminary work for the spatial passages was complete, and though more detailed adjustments were still needed, the great training of the Star Dou Forest could begin.

At the Life Lake, in the extreme darkness where no light could penetrate, a pair of golden dragon eyes suddenly opened, their golden pupils shining brightly as they scanned the area like dual ghostly afterimages.

Spiritual waves rippled out, and Emperor Tian's vast mental power spread like music, reaching every soul beast's ear in the entire Star Dou Forest.

Six soul beasts of the same rank responded with deep growls, soft calls, or mental waves...

The low beast roars echoed throughout the Star Dou Forest, sending a wave of unease among the soul masters who had just entered the Star Dou Forest after purchasing tickets from the Spirit Pagoda.

This was a classic seven-member soul master team from the famous Royal Soul Master Academy of the Sun Moon Academy.

The seven of them were here to complete the academy's graduation assessment.

They were required to survive for seven days in the Star Dou Forest, which was essentially a reward for their hard work.

After all, since three thousand years ago, when the Spirit Pagoda established the Star Dou Fortress, the Star Dou Forest had no longer been a place that anyone could just enter.

Each year, the tickets released by the Spirit Pagoda for hunting in the Star Dou Forest were astronomically expensive.

The seven before them had all met the graduation requirements of the Sun Moon Academy, becoming five-ring Soul Kings before the age of twenty, and also becoming a one-word battle armor master.

More importantly, they had all chosen to stay in the academy and work at the Ming De Hall, which was why they were specifically arranged for this kind of reward-like graduation assessment.

"Captain, did you hear that beast roar?"

A young girl, who was the auxiliary soul master of the team, cautiously summoned her martial soul, the Communication Treasure Mirror, and with small steps, moved beyond the protection of her teammates to stand beside the tall captain.

The team's strongest offensive soul master, a man with a True Dragon Martial Soul and a sturdy build, responded casually.

"In a soul beast's habitat like the Star Dou Forest, hearing beast roars is pretty normal, right?"

"No!" The small girl immediately responded firmly.

"Captain, please trust my instincts. The Communication Treasure Mirror is telling me that continuing deeper will be dangerous!"

"How about... we retreat back to the edge of the Star Dou Fortress and wait for a day before going back in?"

Unfortunately, her suggestion was quickly rejected by her teammates.

The team's defensive Soul King, unconcerned, shrugged and said, "Don't worry, with me here, we'll be safe."

(End of chapter)