Because of Haiyuan City's geographical location, Lu Jingming either had to go into the sea to hunt sea soul beasts or head to the Bright Dou Mountain Range.
However, sea soul beasts were not suitable for Lu Jingming, as the attributes of most sea soul beasts focused on water and ice, which didn't align with the characteristics of his twin martial souls, Black Abyss White Flower.
As for the Bright Dou Mountain Range, it was originally a good option, not too far from Haiyuan City.
But recently, the border situation between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire had become tense, with small-scale conflicts erupting.
Duke White Tiger, Dai Hao, had led a portion of his elite troops to successfully invade a small city on the Sun Moon Empire's border.
At this moment, both sides were engaged in fierce battle in the Bright Dou Mountain Range area. This chaotic situation was clearly not suitable for hunting soul beasts.
When Lu Jingming received this intelligence, he was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected the Sun Moon Empire to be so weak at this stage, being easily invaded at a border city. What was even more perplexing was that the Sun Moon Empire hadn't used their powerful soul tools.
After Changli's detailed analysis, he suddenly realized the truth. It turned out that the one currently in power in the Sun Moon Empire was He Caitou's (Huo Yuhao's adoptive brother) father from the original novel, and He Caitou himself was still Prince Xu He.
He Caitou's father belonged to the conservative faction. Under his rule, despite the Sun Moon Empire possessing advanced soul tool technology, most of the soul tools that could play a crucial role in war were explicitly forbidden from use.
Moreover, Duke White Tiger Dai Hao was leading his personal guard, the White Tiger Army. This unit was extremely powerful in combat. Within the Star Luo Empire, besides the ten Soul Master legions composed of Soul Masters, the White Tiger Army's combat effectiveness was the most outstanding.
Due to the Sun Moon Empire's conservative military strategy, failing to fully utilize the advantages of soul tools, their army's strength was relatively weak. This allowed Duke White Tiger to successfully invade the Sun Moon Empire's border city.
Lu Jingming didn't comment much on He Caitou's father's decision, but he speculated that this might be the reason why the major changes in the Sun Moon Empire a few years later in the original novel didn't cause too much upheaval.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire had profound foundations; its Five Protecting Hands, Imperial Consecration Hall, and Mingde Hall were not to be trifled with.
Without the support of these forces, even if Xu Tianran's father had colluded with the Holy Spirit Church in the original novel, it would have been by no means easy to seize power.
In this world of extraordinary power, high-end combat capability, to a certain extent, could influence the succession of the throne.
Without the tacit approval of the powerful Silver Moon Douluo, Kong Deming, Xu Tianran's father, no matter how he plotted, could not have successfully seized power.
Clearly, the current situation of the Sun Moon Empire had caused dissatisfaction among many high-ranking officials within the country. They desired to elect a stronger emperor to change the current state of affairs.
Although Lu Jingming had the protection of Jingliu, the peerless sword immortal, and didn't need to worry about his personal safety, adhering to the principle of avoiding trouble whenever possible, he ultimately decided to head to the Star Dou Great Forest to acquire his first soul ring.
After all, he didn't come from any academy, and he didn't agree with the notion that "not daring to cause trouble makes one mediocre."
In his opinion, such statements were merely a manifestation of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Once they encountered truly powerful opponents, they would still have to behave.
At this moment, Lu Jingming and Jingliu were rapidly flying thousands of meters in the sky. The fierce winds howled past them but couldn't penetrate the soul power shield radiating an ice-blue light.
Lu Jingming was nestled in Jingliu's arms. Although he could smell the faint fragrance emanating from Jingliu, the experience was not pleasant.
Because Jingliu was wearing light armor, the softness that should have been there felt cold and hard.
The Star Dou Great Forest was located east of Haiyuan City. To get from Haiyuan City to the Star Dou Great Forest, they needed to traverse Star Luo City.
However, Jingliu was flying at an altitude of over three thousand meters, and the Star Luo Empire's existing anti-air mechanisms couldn't detect any movement at such heights.
Therefore, Jingliu didn't even bother taking a detour and flew directly towards their destination.
As they flew over Star Luo City, a powerful aura within the city detected the soul power fluctuations emitted by Jingliu during her flight.
But after a brief assessment, this person chose to ignore it. After all, someone who could fly freely at three thousand meters was by no means an ordinary Soul Master. Since Jingliu was merely passing through, there was no need for him to invite unnecessary trouble.
After passing over Star Luo City, they then flew over the Duke White Tiger's Manor. Lu Jingming looked down, and the protagonist of this world, Huo Yuhao, naturally came to mind.
As nobles of the Star Luo Empire, inquiring about the situation of the Duke White Tiger's Manor, as long as it didn't involve classified information, was not difficult.
After some investigation, Lu Jingming hadn't heard the name "Dai Yuhao," but he did learn about Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin.
Dai Yueheng was five years older than Lu Jingming and had just joined Shrek Academy, while Dai Huabin was only four years old, two years younger than Lu Jingming. From this, it was clear that Lu Jingming was the same age as Beibei and Xu Sanshi.
It was through understanding these circumstances of the Duke White Tiger's Manor that Lu Jingming finally definitively determined his current timeline. Huo Yuhao was still in his infancy, his martial soul not yet awakened, and his mother was still alive.
But Lu Jingming was firmly convinced that the God King in the Divine Realm had long set his sights on Huo Yuhao, the Son of Fortune bearing the Douluo Continent's destiny.
After all, the moment Huo Yuhao's mother passed away, that God King precisely retrieved her soul and took it to the Divine Realm.
It wasn't difficult to infer that perhaps at the moment Huo Yuhao was born, when the Douluo Continent's destiny subtly changed because of him, that God King had already keenly sensed the extraordinary nature of this Son of Fortune and had been paying close attention to him.
At this stage, Lu Jingming had no intention of exposing himself to the God King's gaze, naturally, he had no thoughts of approaching Huo Yuhao.
It's important to note that this God King was by no means broad-minded. "Vindictive, ruthless, and unscrupulous" were not exaggerated terms to describe him, as he originally came from an assassin sect.
In the eyes of that God King, Lu Jingming was undoubtedly an unstable factor. That God King, who had long regarded the Douluo Continent as his exclusive domain, would never tolerate the existence of an unexpected variable like Lu Jingming, who was beyond his control.
The outcomes laid before Lu Jingming were either to be meticulously plotted against by the God King and utterly erased, or to be like Huo Yuhao, bound by invisible chains and become an obedient "dog."
Therefore, before possessing sufficient strength and confidence, Lu Jingming was determined not to expose himself within the sight of that God King.