8 Chapter 8: Sunset Forest
...
Douluo Continent, Sunset Forest.
In Douluo Continent, the three major gathering places for soul beasts are the Star Dou Great Forest, Sunset Forest, and the Sea God Island overseas. Of course, there is also the Frozen Land, but that's the plot of Douluo II, so let's not talk about it now.
"Damn it, it took me two months to finally reach Sunset Forest," murmured Zeng Yi as he walked through the bushes at the outer edge of Sunset Forest.
As a commoner, Zeng Yi couldn't enter the soul beast forests nurtured by nobles and major powers. He also didn't have the money to enter, so he had to come to the nearest Sunset Forest to find a suitable soul ring for himself!
Moreover, Zeng Yi was a little directionally challenged. Relying on the simple map given to him by the village chief and constantly asking passersby for directions, it took him over two months to finally arrive at Sunset Forest.
Walking alone in the forest, only the sound of his footsteps and rustling leaves could be heard, creating an unusually quiet atmosphere. This atmosphere made Zeng Yi involuntarily shrink his neck.
This environment reminded Zeng Yi of horror movies he had watched before he transmigrated, making him feel uneasy.
To be honest, Zeng Yi was quite afraid of supernatural phenomena.
Wait, isn't it that I am going to become a Sword God? How can I be afraid of these apparitions and monsters? Besides, with my current strength, proficient swordsmanship, tenth level of soul power, and the first stage of the Wind Sword Technique being perfect, even if a little ghost appeared, I could easily slay it. So why panic?
Thinking like this, he tried to encourage himself and calm down.
"This should be the outer edge of Sunset Forest, so there shouldn't be any abnormal soul beasts, right? As long as I'm careful, there shouldn't be any problem. Find a suitable soul ring and leave immediately, yes, that's the plan."
While walking forward, Zeng Yi muttered to himself.
Pushing aside the withered branches in front of him, Zeng Yi saw a partially decayed human skeleton on the ground ahead.
Looks like someone who, like me, came to Sunset Forest to pursue their dreams! What a pity, they are forever here.
Zeng Yi looked at the skeleton in front of him with a trace of sadness in his eyes.
But I will definitely leave this Sunset Forest alive.
Zeng Yi's heart was firm.
Wait... no! Have I been encouraging myself all this time?
What should I do now? Why am I pretending to be strong?
Should I say...
I will definitely not leave Sunset Forest alive?
That won't do either!
Oh, I'm so troubled...
...
Let's continue forward!
Thinking like this, Zeng Yi took a few steps forward, suddenly stopped, furrowing his brows with a serious expression.
The wind's aura...
It's chaotic...
Ever since Zeng Yi mastered the first stage of the Wind Sword Technique to perfection, he could clearly sense the movement of the wind within a ten-meter radius around him as the center. From this wind aura, he could perceive what he desired.
For example...
Danger.
This was why Zeng Yi dared to come to this dangerous Sunset Forest alone.
To the left!
A dangerous airflow came, and Zeng Yi immediately reacted, turning his head and seeing a black shadow rushing towards him.
"Squeak~"
Accompanied by a sharp, high-pitched sound, it broke the silence of the forest.
Zeng Yi quickly jumped to the right, avoiding this sudden attack by five to six meters.
"What the hell is this?" Zeng Yi let out a sigh of relief and looked towards the black mouse. It was about half a meter long, around thirty centimeters tall, with four claws gripping the ground. Its eyes gleamed red as it stared intently at Zeng Yi, emitting squeaky growls.
"So it's just a mouse-type soul beast!" Zeng Yi said with a relaxed smile, but he still drew the iron sword at his waist with his right hand, assuming a defensive posture. His eyes focused on the soul beast, remaining vigilant without letting his guard down just because it was a small mouse.
"It seems like you're mistaking me for prey, huh? Let me see what your name is and how strong you are, my little cutie."
Scan information.
Zeng Yi silently recited in his mind, and his pupils displayed the information of the soul beast.
[Soul Beast: Black Poison Rat]
[Age: Ten years]
[Skills: Bite]
[Habits: Group living]
[Remarks: The Black Poison Rat is a relatively common soul beast in Sunset Forest. It possesses strong aggressiveness. Its two large front teeth are extremely hard, with powerful biting force. It excels at attacking prey with its claws and mouth, and it carries a weak venom that paralyzes its victims. Edible (but don't eat too much!)]
"Turns out it's just a ten-year-old soul beast! You scared me for a moment," Zeng Yi sighed with relief. The opponent wasn't strong, and he could easily deal with it.
At this point, many people might wonder how Zeng Yi could know the information about the soul beast when the system was supposed to be on vacation.
Let Zeng Yi explain it to everyone.
His own ridiculous system brought him to this world and then left him alone, extremely irresponsible. However, the system did leave him with some basic functions, such as checking his own attribute panel and viewing the information of targets, just without the cheerful electronic sound of the system.
Ah~ Without the system, I have no one to chat with anymore. It's really lonely!
There's nothing I can do. After all, I'm an orphan. So, why did I work so hard to memorize that Soul Beast Encyclopedia?
"Squeak~"
The Black Poison Rat let out a cry and quickly rushed towards Zeng Yi again. Zeng Yi evaded it and dodged the attack.
"Darn it! Don't treat me like a human... no, don't treat me as an animal. What's the point of having power?" Zeng Yi cursed at the soul beast.
Alright! If you want to die, I'll fulfill your wish.
Zeng Yi tightly gripped the hilt of his sword, staring intently at the Black Poison Rat. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, waiting for it to attack again.
The Black Poison Rat made its move, emitting a shrill cry as it charged toward Zeng Yi with lightning speed, its figure resembling a black lightning.
Zeng Yi kept his eyes on the front, exerted force with his legs, and rushed towards the black shadow, swinging his sword.
Slash!!!
In an instant, a flash of the swordlight passed by.
Zeng Yi and the Black Poison Rat swapped positions, with him remaining motionless. The sword in Zeng Yi's hand flickered with silver light, not a single drop of blood staining it.
A few seconds later.
"Whew~"
Zeng Yi breathed out a sigh, elegantly performed a flourish with his right hand, and sheathed the sword.
Killing an enemy with one sword strike without getting a speck of blood on oneself. So cool!
Zeng Yi shook his head, brushed his hair aside, and felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart.
On the other side, the Black Poison Rat had a red line running from its head to tail, and soon enough, it fell to the ground on both sides, blood splattering all around.
Zeng Yi turned around and looked at the scene before him, shaking his head.
"Tsk tsk, if I had known it would turn out like this, why bother?"
No!
Zeng Yi suddenly sensed something again.
The wind...
The aura is even more chaotic than before.
"Squeak, squeak~"
"Squeak, squeak, squeak~"
"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak~"
...
More rat cries resounded around him.
Zeng Yi gripped his sword again, remaining vigilant in all directions.
He noticed numerous red dots shimmering around him, and then many black figures crawled out.
Zeng Yi looked around, his neck slightly moving, a cold sweat dripping down his cheek.
Is this a joke?
There are so many Black Poison Rats, probably more than a hundred!
However, Zeng Yi suddenly remembered that Black Poison Rats seemed to be a group-living soul beast.
Looking at the numerous Black Poison Rats staring at him, assuming combat postures and emitting deep growls, Zeng Yi forced a smile with trembling corners of his mouth.
"Heh... Hello, everyone! Don't... don't get angry. We are all civilized beings, civilized creatures. Can't we sit down and have a civilized talk?"
The Black Poison Rats continued growling.
"Heh heh, my apologies, everyone! St... Sto-" Zeng Yi stuttered.
Zeng Yi was truly terrified. The Black Poison Rats weren't individually strong; each one was just a ten-year-old soul beast. If there were a dozen or so, Zeng Yi believed he could handle them. But with over a hundred...
Sorry for the disturbance.
In an instant, all the Black Poison Rats launched an attack on Zeng Yi.
"Oh my god! Help!"
Zeng Yi shouted loudly, using his sword to slash a few of them, and then he broke through the weak point of the encirclement.
Run!
Zeng Yi shouted in his mind.
Breaking through the encirclement, he sprinted at an unprecedented speed.
Should I stay and wait for death?
...
