After everyone finished introducing themselves, Elder Xuan said, "Same rules as always. I'm only tagging along as a formality—Lexuan and Ruoruo will be in charge of leading the operation."
With that, Zhang Lexuan stepped forward. "Now that introductions are done, let me explain the safety rules for this mission. First and foremost: obey all orders! For your safety—and the team's—no one is allowed to act without permission. Our destination is the mixed zone, possibly even the core zone of the Star Dou Forest. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous that area is."
Everyone nodded seriously in response.
"Good. Now, I'll assign our formation for entering the forest," Zhang Lexuan continued. "As the leader and strongest among us, I'll take the front and clear the path. Cheng Hui, you'll handle scouting."
"Yes, Senior Sister!" replied Cheng Hui, a man in his mid-twenties. He was the only agility-type soul master in the group, with a martial soul called Skycloud Roc—a high-speed bird-type beast. His soul power was rank 70.
"Zhu Lie, Long Yu, Luo Wei, Wu Ming—you four will cover the flanks."
"Yes!" the four responded in unison.
Zhu Lie was a brawny young man, a power-type soul master with the martial soul Unicorn Mountain-Splitting Boar, at rank 60. His soul excelled in both offense and defense.
Long Yu, cheerful and sunny, wielded a rare Golden Earth Dragon martial soul—an elite subspecies of bright-type dragons. He was also rank 60.
Luo Wei, a sweet-looking girl, had the top-tier weapon martial soul Heavenfeather Bow, known for long-range assassination and disruption. She was rank 50.
"Zhu Ziyang, Su Meng, Wanwan—you three stay in the center."
"Yes, Senior Sister," Su Meng and Wanwan replied. Zhu Ziyang, however, looked slightly awkward.
Su Meng was a petite girl with the mutant plant-type martial soul Rainbow Dandelion, giving her strong control and support capabilities. She was a support-control type at rank 50.
Wanwan, a rather androgynous boy, wielded the Jade-Scaled Serpent—a control-type beast soul. He was rank 60.
Being placed in the center, Zhu Ziyang understood it was due to his lower soul power. He accepted it without complaint.
"Ma Xiaotao, Shen Xu—you'll guard the center group."
"Understood, Senior Sister," they replied in unison.
Shen Xu, the other rank 70 soul master, had the top-tier weapon soul Void Sword. He was also a power-attack type.
"Ruoruo, you'll bring up the rear and manage overall control. Zhang Weiwei, support Ruoruo."
"Got it," replied Han Ruoruo and Zhang Weiwei.
Zhang Weiwei was a cold, commanding woman with a rare plant martial soul: Demon-Eyed Magic Tree—the same soul as the Ten Great Savage Beasts' fifth-ranked Myriad Demon King. She was the first human known to awaken this martial soul and specialized in spiritual attacks. She was rank 70.
After assigning roles, Zhang Lexuan addressed the final issue.
"One last thing—resource distribution. When a suitable soul beast appears, we'll work together to subdue it. Whoever it suits will land the final blow. If a soul bone drops, priority goes to the person absorbing the ring. If they don't need it, it goes to the academy for proper redistribution. We're all inner court students—let's not start infighting over soul rings or bones. Understood?"
"Understood!" everyone responded in unison.
"Then let's move out!" Zhang Lexuan ordered.
As elite students of Shrek's inner court, the group acted swiftly. Once they left Shrek City, they immediately organized into formation and set off at full speed toward the Star Dou Forest.
The Star Dou Forest
The most renowned soul beast habitat on the continent. Together with the Extreme North and Ming Dou Forest, it formed the three great soul beast regions. It was also known among soul masters as a graveyard—thousands perished within its depths every year. Even Title Douluos didn't dare roam freely.
Due to its immense size and variety of soul beasts, soul masters divided it into five zones:
The outer edge, populated mostly by ten- and hundred-year beasts.
The outer ring, dominated by century-level beasts.
The mixed zone, home to thousand-year beasts and the occasional ten-thousand-year or century-level hybrid.
The core zone, a forbidden area where ten-thousand-year beasts are the weakest present—and even hundred-thousand-year monsters may appear.
And at the heart of the core—the so-called Savage Lands—a place no human had ever entered. Only soul beasts over 200,000 years old could survive there. It was the domain of the Beast God Di Tian, who ruled over at least five Savage Beasts.
The journey from Shrek City to the forest wasn't far. After less than an hour of travel, the group reached a sign by the road warning:
"Danger – Enter the Star Dou Forest at your own risk."
"Everyone take a break, have something to eat, and get ready. We enter in half an hour," Zhang Lexuan instructed.
They stopped by the road. The towering Zhu Lie chuckled as he pulled out a multi-layered food box.
"Come on, everyone—try some buns I made!"
He walked over to Zhang Lexuan first, offering a layer of buns. But before she could take it, a blur of movement appeared. In the blink of an eye, someone snatched a box and disappeared.
Everyone knew exactly who it was. Zhang Lexuan sighed with a smile and accepted the rest of the buns.
"Thanks, Zhu Lie. His cooking is better than the chefs at the inner court cafeteria. Everyone—dig in!"
"Heh, that's right! If there's one thing I'm proud of, it's my food," Zhu Lie said proudly.
High in the trees, Elder Xuan examined his stolen bun and decided to let it go.
No one held back. They all gathered to enjoy the food. Zhu Ziyang tried a few and had to admit—delicious. His opinion of the burly senior improved on the spot.
"Haha! Zhu Lie, you've got skills! You'd better cook for us when we get back," Long Yu joked.
"I'm in!" Su Meng clapped happily. "These are the best buns I've ever had! If your dumplings are this good, your stir-fry must be incredible!"
"You little glutton!" Wu Ming tapped her head playfully.
"Haha, alright! Once we return, I'll cook a full feast for everyone. We'll celebrate our breakthroughs properly!" Zhu Lie declared with a hearty laugh.
After the meal, the team felt noticeably closer. With full bellies and peak condition, they quickly reformed ranks and advanced into the Star Dou Forest.
Zhang Lexuan led the way, her body radiating bright white light. Wherever she passed, even grass withered from her aura. Low-tier soul beasts didn't dare approach her overwhelming pressure, so the party advanced smoothly and without interruption.
It made sense. The outer zones were home to hundred- and thousand-year soul beasts—none of them would dare approach someone radiating the aura of a 70,000-year-level soul beast.
Since everyone required ten-thousand-year rings or higher, Zhang Lexuan didn't even slow down in the outer zones.
She led the group directly into the mixed zone.