At the entrance to the Star Dou Forest, the group did not rush in. Instead, they halted for a moment.
As the leading instructor, Yun Chuan followed protocol — there were things that needed to be said before entering. He looked over the seven students in front of him.
"The Star Dou Forest isn't like those soul beast preserves run by the Empire. In here, every spirit beast is truly dangerous. At any moment, you might encounter a thousand-year… or even a ten-thousand-year beast.
Once we enter, no one is to stray more than twenty meters from me. Without my order, no one is to attack a soul beast on their own. Is that clear?"
"Clear."
Oscar quickly began chanting his incantations. In moments, his hands filled with heaps of sausages and smoked sausages. He handed each person one of each.
"My recovery sausages will keep their effect for twelve hours whether you eat them now or later. The recovery sausage heals and restores stamina — also fills your stomach. The smoked sausage's main effect is detoxification."
Everyone accepted them and tucked them away carefully. They all understood — if trouble struck too fast for him to react, having them on hand might make the difference. Even so, the constant drain of soul power soon had Oscar looking pale; his facial hair only half-masked it.
"Since we're set, move out!" Yun Chuan waved a hand, sending Dai Mubai and Tang San to the vanguard. He himself took the rear, stepping across into the Star Dou Forest.
—
Once inside, the most excited was, unsurprisingly, Xiao Wu. She bounced with every step, practically glowing with happiness, as if this place held no danger at all. Yun Chuan knew better — she was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form. The Star Dou was her home turf; naturally, she felt no sense of crisis.
The terrain here was complex; no paths existed in this dense forest. As expected, the job of clearing the way fell to Dai Mubai. Yun Chuan could easily have commanded the plants to open a trail… but he had no intention of playing caretaker. He was here as team leader, not nanny.
Dai's soul rings flared as he entered White Tiger form. Tiger-claw blades sprang from his hands, slicing through thorn and bramble without slowing their pace.
Tang San followed close behind, senses sharpened to their peak as he scanned the surroundings. The others were just as alert.
Yun Chuan almost wanted to tell them, You don't need to be so tense — with me here, nothing in this forest can take your lives.
But then he thought… better to let them feel the pressure; it would be good training. After all, once this trip was over, he planned to part ways with Shrek. Staying here did nothing for his own strength. He'd only come to meet some of the "original cast" from the story — and maybe build a little goodwill with the female members. That goal was achieved. And eliminating two love rivals along the way…? All the better.
—
After about an hour of travel, midday found them still in the forest's outer zone. They'd run into several soul beasts already — mostly ten- or hundred-year types. Whenever possible they avoided direct conflict, though the few that attacked unprovoked were dispatched with a single slash from Dai's claws.
"Alright, take a break," Yun Chuan finally called. The students, taut with concentration, gratefully relaxed. Dai cleared the thorns around them to make an open space nearly a hundred square meters across.
They sat with their backs to trees.
Oscar dutifully offered up more of his sausages, but no one was thinking of taste — only of replenishing themselves as they drank from their flasks.
Here, on the forest's fringe, high-level soul beasts were scarce; it was relatively safe. But their goal — helping Oscar secure a suitable thousand-year ring — meant going deeper, where the danger level rose sharply and breaks would be harder to come by. Adjusting to peak condition here was a must.
They rested for about half an hour.
Abruptly, Yun Chuan sensed something approaching from afar.
He released his Plant Domain — spreading his perception out over a hundred li. Every living thing within was laid bare to him.
In seconds, he found the source: a winged serpent speeding their way… with an elderly woman and a young girl in pursuit.
'That should be the Snake Granny and Meng Yiran. Story inertia? Or is there really some so-called world correction, fate…?' Yun Chuan's eyes narrowed in thought. Outwardly, he only rose and said, "On your feet — a soul beast is coming."
It was still far enough that Tang San hadn't noticed anything yet, but if their instructor said something was incoming, none dared be careless. Weapons came out; stances readied.
"What is it, Teacher Tang?" Ning Rongrong asked from his side.
"From what I sense — a Phoenix-Tail Crest Serpent, somewhere between a thousand and two thousand years. Perfect for Oscar," Yun Chuan said openly.
"A Phoenix-Tail Crest Serpent?!" Tang San's eyes lit with surprise. "That's a rare one. The comb on its head has some remarkable uses. Oscar, you've lucked out."
Yun Chuan nodded. "If you take this beast, Oscar, the odds are high you'll gain a speed boost — maybe even flight."
Time passed. Soon even Tang San and Dai Mubai could feel the soul beast's aura. Their bodies tensed; eyes fixed ahead.
"It's here."
A rustle of branches — then the serpent burst into view. Six, maybe seven meters long, a pair of wings sprouting from its scaled body, a bright red crest on its head. Its features twisted into a predatory snarl as it arrowed toward them through the air.
Tang San and the others were just beginning to move when Yun Chuan waved them down. He had no interest in watching them play out some clumsy, drawn-out battle — and the Snake Granny and granddaughter would be catching up any moment.
"Get down here."
Against a mere thousand-year soul beast, Yun Chuan didn't even bother with a formal skill. His hand lifted, fingers clawing at the empty air. Soul power surged, sapphire-blue light weaving into a massive net that engulfed the airborne serpent.
With a tug, he yanked it from the sky.
BANG!
The Phoenix-Tail Crest Serpent slammed to the ground, still wrapped tight in the net of pure soul power.
No complicated sequence of skill activations — just raw, controlled power formed into a net to capture it outright.
The casual display left the Shrek students inwardly shaken.
Tang San, in particular, finally understood: that day he fought Teacher Tang… the man hadn't been serious in the slightest. Even using soul skills, he'd been toying with them. If Yun Chuan had simply used this exquisite net technique then, none of them would have escaped — he would never have even had time to draw a hidden weapon.
(End of Chapter)