Chapter 33: Sunset Forest Training

During the following period, Yang Xiong spent the whole time training in Sunset Forest, basically traversing every area and witnessing all kinds of Soul Beasts.

However, given Yang Xiong's current Soul Power Level, he basically flees at the sight of high‑grade Soul Beasts; since he learned the first spirit skill Xuanming Transposition, which grants Teleportation, he can depart instantly unless the Soul Beast is too fast.

Especially after repeated training, his mastery of Teleportation became increasingly proficient; even when genuine danger arises, using Xuanming Armor can evade attacks from thousand‑year Soul Beasts, and as for Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beasts, as soon as Yang Xiong senses something amiss, he leaves immediately.

As for injuries, that's even less of an issue; even if wounded, after each escape he can quickly recover by using his second spirit skill Golden Heart, and even when attacked by poison‑attribute Soul Beasts he can instantly dispel the toxins on his body. This second spirit skill is indeed excellent, truly worthy of its origin from the top‑grade Soul Beast Golden Spirit Cypress.

Sunset Forest indeed hosts a huge variety of Soul Beasts; Yang Xiong himself has seen many impressive ones that could become his Soul Rings in the future. Notably, he discovered a single‑horned fire‑burst dragon with an age exceeding eight thousand years—truly a masterpiece among thousand‑year Soul Beasts—but unfortunately Yang Xiong needs at least a Fourth Soul Ring to absorb it.

However, for some unknown reason, although he encountered Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beasts many times, Yang Xiong always managed to flee desperately; these Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beasts seemed not to pursue him, which was rather odd.

Especially during several near‑death moments, the Soul Beasts that chased Yang Xiong seemed to be drawn away by something, or frightened away by something; it always felt off, as if someone were helping him eliminate certain mortal dangers.

Nevertheless, in this kind of training, Yang Xiong's rate of improvement was very rapid, both in combat experience and Soul Power increase.

Especially after enduring extreme mental strain each day and then hiding to cultivate his Soul Power, the speed of Soul Power increase remained relatively fast; in less than two months, Yang Xiong's Soul Power had already reached level 25, so this training proved worthwhile.

……

Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi looked at the letter on the desk and couldn't help but smile.

"Gu Shu, this kid Yang Xiong is actually quite good; he has already stayed in Sunset Forest for a full two months and can still improve his Soul Power through cultivation. It seems his talent is better than we imagined."

Gu Douluo snorted, "This kid is courting death; if we hadn't arranged for someone to protect him covertly, he would probably have been killed by those Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beasts long ago."

Ning Fengzhi shook his head, "You've underestimated Yang Xiong. Even without covert protection, he should be able to survive in Sunset Forest. I did assign Elder Jiu to follow him secretly, but that was only to deter those Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beasts and resolve lethal threats. With his cultivation as a Great Soul Master, he would have to face attacks from thousand‑year Soul Beasts on his own."

"You also know Elder Jiu's temperament; he is extremely reclusive in both life and work, and lives alone without children. If he didn't truly value this kid, why would he be so concerned about Yang Xiong?"

Gu Douluo nodded, "With Elder Jiu's protection, this kid, as long as he doesn't encounter a Title Douluo‑level master or a hundred‑thousand year Soul Beast, should at least have his life safe."

Ning Fengzhi nodded, "Elder Jiu receives reports every day; this kid Yang Xiong is hiding quite deeply."

"Not only does he possess an External Soul Bone, but in the Soul Fighting Arena he achieved thirteen consecutive victories without relying on spirit skills. Purely in terms of combat power, he likely has no equal among Great Soul Masters, comparable to the genius of a top‑grade martial soul like the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Now he survives alone in Sunset Forest; it seems I have indeed underestimated him."

"Gu Shu, if you truly value this Yang Xiong, you need to speed things up; if he keeps growing like this, Elder Jiu might even take him as a disciple."

Gu Douluo's face darkened at the remark, "Although Yang Xiong performs well, he has abandoned the defensive path, which truly disappoints me. I still want to observe this kid further to see whether he truly has the potential to protect our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."

"As for Elder Jiu, no matter how strong he is, he is only a Soul Douluo; compared to me, the gap is far too great."

Ning Fengzhi merely smiled without replying; regardless, a genius appearing in Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect is a good thing, especially since Yang Xiong performed even better than expected. However, cultivating Yang Xiong from now on will likely require considerable effort.

Since the first day Yang Xiong left Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, someone has been secretly following and protecting him, and that person is extremely powerful. This reflects the sect's regard for outstanding geniuses, especially Yang Xiong, who has made numerous great contributions to the sect.

Yang Xiong himself kept count of the days, having traversed every relatively spacious area of Sunset Forest.

That morning, Yang Xiong arrived at a very strange place.

It was an inverted‑cone-shaped mountain hollow, with thick heat rising from its depths; the entire hollow seemed enveloped by a black‑green aura, making it impossible to see the details inside.

But just standing there from a distance, Yang Xiong sensed that the green aura was a Deadly Poison, subtly containing both ice‑attribute and fire‑attribute toxins.

Over the years, Yang Xiong has been Body Tempering under ice and fire conditions, so his body already possesses a certain immunity to ice‑fire and is quite sensitive to such attributes.

At that moment Yang Xiong was overjoyed; after searching the entire Sunset Forest, he finally found the true purpose of this quest.

"Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan, this must be the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan. I never expected to obtain all this without any effort."

One must know that throughout Douluo Shijie, the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan is a place that can truly defy fate, and it is the greatest treasure of the entire Douluo Continent.

Over the years Yang Xiong has read many books and learned a fair amount about herbal knowledge, yet he remains clueless about treating others and has essentially no medical knowledge.

Therefore, Yang Xiong long ago abandoned the path of obtaining Immortal Herb by treating Dugu Bo.

Especially since Dugu Bo is capricious, killing at a whim over any displeasure; he would not care that I am an Inner Disciple of Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, and the sect could never truly offend Dugu Bo for my sake.

As for approaching Dugu Yan, that is even more unrealistic; not only is Dugu Yan already Yu Tianheng's girlfriend, but Dugu Bo has never given anything to his prospective son‑in‑law Yu Tianheng. Otherwise, with Yu Tianheng's potential and background, even a single Immortal Herb would make him far stronger than he is now.

Don't say Dugu Bo doesn't know Immortal Herb; Dugu Bo himself has considered many methods to remove the Spirit Poison from his martial soul and has certainly perused numerous Heaven Dou Empire texts on herbs.

Besides Immortal Herb, the Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan also contains many top‑grade herbs, such as Ten‑Thousand‑Year Ginseng and Ten‑Thousand‑Year Snow Silkworm; anyone with a basic knowledge of medicine can appreciate their value.

(End of Chapter)