Lu Mingfei starts from Douluo

In any era and social group, capable people are always admired and envied. Even in a decadent feudal academy, a seven-year-old Great Soul Master is enough to crush the stench of class rule.

Discussions about Lu Mingfei at the Royal Academy have never stopped, with positive, negative, optimistic, and pessimistic views flowing in endlessly, but today everyone has fallen silent.

The news of Lu Mingfei's breakthrough had already spread throughout the intermediate academy before the morning theory class ended.

The seven-year-old Great Soul Master broke the hearts of countless senior students in intermediate academies—no, now we should say junior students.

The younger students sighed at the injustice of the world, shedding tears of envy, jealousy, and hatred. The younger students lamented that they had once had an opportunity to change their family's fate but failed to cherish it, and now it was only for those glamorous and cheap girls in the advanced academy to benefit from.

When Lu Mingfei was having lunch in the cafeteria, he experienced for the first time what it meant to be treated like a giant panda in a zoo. Hundreds of eyes followed his movements, and even the aunt at the window had tears in her eyes and gave him double the amount of soul beast roast meat.

"Hey, hey, hey, is this really necessary?" Lu Mingfei felt a little uneasy. He thought he had gotten used to this kind of gaze, but today it still gave her goosebumps.

Lu Mingfei glanced at the chubby guy at the third table in front of him, whose waist was proportional to his height. Yes, I'm talking about you.

What kind of look is that? Do I even know you? What the hell are you looking at?!

After a chaotic lunch, Lu Mingfei packed up dozens of steamed buns, stuffed them into his spatial soul tool, and slipped away. He wouldn't come to the cafeteria for dinner, fearing it would affect his appetite.

The next morning, Director Lin picked up Lu Mingfei in a horse-drawn carriage and sped out of the school gate.

Everything needed for the Soul Hunter was provided in the academy's warehouse; Lu Mingfei only brought his own bedding, food, and drinking water.

"Once you enter the Soul Hunting Forest, you are not allowed to make any rash moves. You must follow my instructions. Don't think that just because I am a Soul Emperor, I am invincible. Every year, countless Soul Masters perish in the Soul Hunting Forest due to various accidents." Director Lin stared intently into Lu Mingfei's eyes with a serious expression. Although even he himself believed that it was basically impossible for any accidents to happen, as a teacher, he had to teach his students various precautions in Soul Hunting.

This is also for the sake of the students' future.

"I understand, Director Lin." Lu Mingfei clenched his fist with unusual seriousness. "I won't joke with my own life."

He never dared to be careless when hunting soul beasts, after all, it was an unprotected zoo of soul beasts at the level of a primeval forest, with extraordinary creatures weighing several tons at a time. Last time, relying on his ability to fly and not having to touch the ground, he was a little scared when he saw the various soul beasts from afar. This time, he would be on the ground face to face. If he encountered soul beasts such as spiders, centipedes, or poisonous snakes, it would be comparable to a disaster monster movie scene.

As a massive city with over a million inhabitants, Tiandou City boasts dozens of academies of varying sizes, from elementary to advanced, creating a huge demand for low-level soul beasts. Although it is less than 200 kilometers away from Sunset Forest, the second largest soul beast forest, it is a forbidden zone for low-level soul masters. Without a soul master of at least Soul Emperor level leading the way, entering Sunset Forest is almost certain death.

Therefore, in order to meet the needs of low-level Soul Masters, the Heaven Dou Empire built three Soul Hunting Forests near Heaven Dou City, which are full of Soul Beasts ranging from ten to a thousand years old. Soul Kings can basically keep their teams safe.

Director Lin led Lu Mingfei to the First Soul Hunting Forest of Tiandou, located more than 100 kilometers south of Tiandou City. Its protected area is nearly ten times larger than the Soul Hunting Forest near Notting City, and the gathering place of Soul Hunters outside the forest is comparable to a town.

Before evening, they reached the outskirts of the town. Director Lin slowed down the carriage and slowly drove into the nameless town.

"We've arrived, get out of the carriage." Director Lin stopped the carriage in front of a hotel.

As soon as Lu Mingfei got out of the car, he noticed the hotel's name: Tiandou Inn. The fact that it was named after Tiandou was enough to indicate that it was a prestigious establishment.

Director Lin explained, "This is a special station set up by our academy here. It is cleared out in advance during the two annual Soul Hunting Seasons to accommodate only members of our academy. On other days, it is only open to members of the Heavenly Dou Nobles."

"Isn't that a bit too extravagant? Building a hotel just for hunting souls?" Lu Mingfei felt that he had underestimated the decadence of the feudal bourgeois aristocratic life.

As soon as the carriage stopped, the person in charge of the post station came forward to greet it, while two employees drove the carriage into the backyard.

As expected of a luxury hotel, although the decor isn't luxurious due to low foot traffic, the service is absolutely impeccable.

It was only then that Lu Mingfei realized that the information on the Soul Hunting Forest strategy was actually collected and transmitted back to the academy from here.

Director Lin asked the person in charge for the information that hadn't been sent back yet this month. After reading it, he nodded slightly. There was no news of those rare dragon-type soul beasts being killed in the past few days, so they shouldn't have made a wasted trip.

"We'll head to the Soul Hunting Forest first thing tomorrow morning, so get some rest early tonight." After enjoying a sumptuous dinner, Director Lin gave Lu Mingfei these words of advice before going to his room to rest.

Hunting souls is a meticulous task; it requires not only being ready for battle at any time but also maintaining constant focus, keeping an eye on everything around you, and being attentive to your surroundings.

Lu Mingfei was just a greenhorn back then, completely unaware of all the precautions involved in Soul Hunting. Looking back now, his first Soul Hunting operation was incredibly reckless.

At night, Lu Mingfei did not rest. Instead, he opened the window and peered out towards the Soul Hunting Forest. His first soul ring came from a soul beast sacrifice, but this time it was a real soul hunt. He could not reveal his dragon might, so he had to kill a soul beast.

Of course, when the time comes, he will still have some hesitation in his heart. Just like when he helped his aunt catch the chicken wings and kill the chicken, he felt a little reluctant. But this will not become a psychological barrier for him to drink chicken soup.

The last time the dragon-scaled horse knelt down and begged for mercy, it only caught him off guard. But if the other party didn't make a sacrifice in the end, he would definitely still kill it.

After all, killing a few chickens will get you home; no one would choose the wrong option.

-

After daybreak, the two set off for the entrance to the Soul Hunter Forest.

The army guarding the Soul Hunting Forest is the Imperial Guard stationed near Heaven Dou City. They are clad in gleaming silver armor, their uniforms impeccable, and their discipline impeccable. Their primary duty is to provide immediate support and protection for Heaven Dou City; guarding the Soul Hunting Forest is merely a secondary responsibility.

Individuals generally need a Spirit Hall warrant to enter this Soul Hunting Forest, but for the Royal Academy, it's just their backyard.

After Director Lin presented the token symbolizing a teacher at the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, he was immediately saluted by the garrison troops, since the Royal Academy was the alma mater of the vast majority of nobles in the empire.

"Alright, from now on, no one is allowed to let their guard down." Director Lin took a deep breath and led Lu Mingfei into the Soul Hunter Forest.

"Be careful, this is a pack of wolves, led by a hundred-year-old soul beast."

"Be careful, this is a Firebird. It will launch a swift and fiery attack on its prey. This one should be a ten-year-old soul beast."

"Mingfei, this is..."

"Damn, boss, you're a Soul Emperor, can't you be a little more assertive?" Lu Mingfei was initially focused on exploring the map of the terrifying forest, paying close attention to his surroundings. But after only a few hours, Director Lin kept saying "be careful" and "Mingfei," completely distorting the horror movie atmosphere into an edutainment channel.

Lu Mingfei almost rolled his eyes. Why would a Soul Emperor like you be so startled by a mere ten-year-old caterpillar?

Actually, it's not that Director Lin lacks the demeanor of a strong person. As a Soul Emperor, he can naturally roam freely in the Soul Hunting Forest with ease, but this time, because he is carrying the soul ring of a future Title Douluo, he is inevitably a little nervous.

Fortunately, after walking for a while, Director Lin realized that he was drinking water frequently because of dry mouth. Finally, with the reminder from his prostate, he realized that he had overreacted along the way. After returning from his trip to urinate, he finally regained his composure.

"According to the map, we will enter the territory of the first dragon-type soul beast, the Flame Dragon Lizard, in about two hours. Let's take a break."

The Flame Dragon Lizard was their first target. Among the three Soul Hunting Forests, this soul beast had the most dragon-like appearance and the purest dragon blood. The other dozen or so dragon-type soul beasts were slightly inferior.

The two sat down on a large rock and immediately took out some dry food and water to eat.

In the Soul Hunter Forest, it is not suitable to bring things with strong aromas that easily leave a lingering smell, such as steamed buns. Therefore, dry food and naturally dried meat jerky are the best choices for Soul Masters.

After resting for half an hour, the two set off again and soon arrived at the habitat of the fire dragon lizard. It was a barren rocky hill with charred four-toed claw marks all over the rocks, which was enough to prove that they had not come to the wrong place.

"It has a bad temper and loves sunlight. This mountain was probably burned down by it." Director Lin looked around. "Dragon-type soul beasts have a strong sense of territory and will not allow any other soul beasts to approach except for individuals of their own kind."

"Where is it now?" Lu Mingfei activated his Golden Eyes and scanned the hill in front of him, but found nothing. "Could it be hiding underground?"

The encyclopedia describes the Fire Dragon Lizard as possessing claws powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks. The numerous fissures in this rocky mountain are likely the result of the Fire Dragon Lizard sharpening its claws.

"No, I don't sense any spirit beasts around here. It must have gone out hunting, otherwise we would have been attacked before we even set foot on this mountain. The dignity of a dragon-type spirit beast wouldn't allow it to retreat in the face of an enemy." Director Lin's adoptive father said confidently, "Just wait here, it will definitely come back."

"Waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump? No, this is called walking into a trap?" Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, wondering if they were stealing someone's home.

Perhaps because of the oppressive aura of the dragon-type soul beasts, there were no soul beasts roaming around nearby. Director Lin and Lu Mingfei didn't even need to be on guard and just sat on the rocks at the top of the mountain.

I must say, this location is really great. It's surrounded by flat grass, and sitting here gives you the illusion of looking down at the ever-changing forest.

It's like... some kind of throne.

"Oh, right, Mingfei, this is for you." Director Lin took out a dagger from his storage soul tool: "After I severely injure it, you can deliver the fatal blow."

"Your first spirit ring is the sunflower. It had no combat power a thousand years ago, so you could easily obtain its spirit ring. But the Fiery Dragon Lizard is different. It is comparable to a thousand-year-old spirit beast after five hundred years. You must be clean and efficient when you strike to ensure that you deliver the final blow. I have seen many students make mistakes at the last moment and waste a spirit ring."

"No need, Director Lin." Lu Mingfei shook his head, took out his iron spike from his soul tool, and said, "I will end its suffering by stabbing it in the heart."

Lu Mingfei had no interest in torture or killing. Slitting someone's throat with a dagger would remind him of his aunt killing chickens and bleeding them, while stabbing someone through the heart with a sword would be cleaner and more efficient.

Before the sun set, a slender yet powerful figure darted out of the woods, flames spreading on its menacing dorsal fin, every movement exuding an inexplicable majesty.

"Finally back." Director Lin said quietly, and Lu Mingfei immediately stood up.

The Fire Dragon Lizard's vertical pupils spotted two figures, one large and one small, on the hill immediately. Its biological instincts told it that there was extreme danger ahead, but the dignity of a dragon-type soul beast did not allow it to retreat even half a step. That was its territory, its throne.

So it launched its attack, fueled by overwhelming rage, to prove that its noble bloodline was not to be trampled upon.

But the two figures, one tall and one short, on the hill remained motionless for a long time.

"What an arrogant fellow." Director Lin spoke slowly, and in an instant, six spirit rings appeared on the hill in the setting sun, swaying and floating like a tango chanting death.

"Damn it, why do I suddenly feel a strange sense of tragic grandeur?" Lu Mingfei, standing to the side, suddenly had a feeling that he was about to die: "Will absorbing the soul ring of this hot-blooded idiot have any side effects?"

"Ready, second soul skill, Wind Chaser Bullet."

Finally, less than ten meters from the mountaintop, four light bullets instantly condensed on the palms of Director Lin's wolf-shaped phantom and blasted towards the oncoming Fiery Dragon Lizard.

The Fiery Dragon Lizard is one of the absolute overlords of this forest, capable of rivaling thousand-year-old soul beasts, but it is utterly powerless in front of a Soul Emperor, whose strength is equivalent to that of a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast.

The four light projectiles struck the Fire Dragon Lizard's limbs almost simultaneously. After a piercing scream, its twisted limbs exploded in mid-air.

At the same time, Director Lin released a surge of soul power to ensure everything went smoothly, and cooperated with Lu Mingfei to finish up.

Lu Mingfei did not hesitate. He had already prepared to sheathe his sword at his waist as soon as Director Lin's second soul skill was activated.

The moment the golden eyes ignited, his entire body was like an internal combustion engine that had suddenly started, bursting forth with unparalleled speed and intensity.

The next moment, the golden soul power was condensed at the tip of the sword, and like a meteor tearing through the blood-red sunset, it instantly pierced through the heart of the Fiery Dragon Lizard.