Suddenly, Long Aotian's expression tightened. He raised his head and sniffed the air, disbelief flashing in his eyes.
"Master, I think I smell the scent you were talking about."
Long Aotian scratched his cheek, finding the whole thing quite baffling. The aroma he caught was precisely as his master had described: unique, extraordinary, and utterly unlike any food found out in the world. Although the scent had been mostly diluted as it traveled through the air, it remained utterly captivating, like a slender little hand beckoning to Long Aotian and the old man.
The two exchanged a glance and, with a tacit understanding, walked toward the source of the fragrance.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao had no idea that the aroma of his secret grilled fish had already lured an old man and a youth from afar. The blend of various spices created a unique, punchy fragrance that reeled in the pair's hearts like two soul-catching hooks. Huo Yuhao had only one thought in mind: to eat a hot meal first, tidy up, and then press on into the Star Dou Great Forest.
Picking up a fish grilled to perfection, he took a bite. The charred skin was golden and crispy yet retained a slight chewiness. Blending with the spice-infused fish meat, the juices instantly burst inside Huo Yuhao's mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance on his lips and teeth.
In the past, Huo Yuhao had only used salt and perilla for seasoning, yet the grilled fish he made was already enough to haunt people's dreams and leave them yearning for more. How much more so now that he possessed a formidable arsenal of various spices?
Blended in precise proportions like principal and subordinate ingredients in a medicine prescription, the spices brought out the ultimate aroma of each fish. Coupled with his peerless Spirit Eye Martial Soul, which allowed Huo Yuhao to control the heat with absolute precision, the quality of these grilled fish was pushed to an unimaginable level.
After quickly finishing two grilled fish, Huo Yuhao dug a hole to bury the fish bones, along with the scales and innards from cleaning the green fish earlier. He spent a while longer grilling the remaining dozen or so green fish, packed them into his Storage Soul Tool, wiped his mouth, and resumed his march toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Having eaten two green fish, most of the fatigue on Huo Yuhao's body had dissipated. Granted, for someone of his growing age, two grilled fish should have been far from enough to fill him up. Yet he stopped at two, feeling roughly forty percent full.
He was about to enter the Star Dou Great Forest, and he needed to bring his condition to its absolute peak. Being too full would inevitably hinder his full strength. After all, he was currently nothing more than a tenth-rank Soul Scholar who hadn't even obtained a Soul Ring. Therefore, regardless of any other considerations, keeping himself in peak condition as much as possible was extremely necessary. As for worldly cravings, once he returned home, there would be plenty of opportunities to satisfy them again.
Not long after walking, a wooden sign by the roadside caught Huo Yuhao's attention.
"Fifty miles ahead lies the territory of the Star Dou Great Forest. Soul Beasts haunt this area; proceed with caution."
Sure enough, he hadn't gone the wrong way. He was finally about to reach his destination. Aside from excitement, Huo Yuhao felt a fair bit of tension. Touching the katana at his left hip, he suppressed the unease in his heart and marched forward with steady strides.
Becoming a Soul Master was his only way out—an obsession etched deep in Huo Yuhao's heart. On this continent where the strong ruled, ordinary people without strength could not control their own destinies. Therefore, Huo Yuhao's goal was crystal clear: to step firmly, step by step, into the ranks of the powerhouses of Douluo Continent.
After traveling a distance further, right as he was moving forward, a strange sensation suddenly arose in his mind. Huo Yuhao felt a slight stinging in his eyes and instinctively channeled his soul power into his Spirit Eye.
Faint currents of air swirled around his eyes, and Huo Yuhao seemed to see a dark shadow flash past the left side of the road ahead.
As an extremely rare mental-attribute mutated martial soul, the Spirit Eye possessed formidable early-warning capabilities. The sense of crisis instantly heightened Huo Yuhao's reflexes. He shifted his body slightly sideways. Although the movement was subtle, the next moment, a dark shadow lunged through the space Huo Yuhao had just vacated, flashing past and crashing onto the ground beside him.
With such a close-range opportunity to observe, Huo Yuhao instantly saw what the shadow looked like.
It was a baboon about a meter tall, covered in brownish-yellow fur with brown eyes. Its arms were exceptionally long, and its claws were sharp. Its canine teeth protruded from its mouth, and vicious light radiated from its eyes.
Having missed its first strike, the baboon let out a low roar at Huo Yuhao. Pushing off the ground with its powerful hind legs, it lunged at him once more.
"A Wind Baboon. My luck really isn't great."
Without even glancing at the incoming Wind Baboon, Huo Yuhao flicked his left palm, where several shuriken materialized. One of the shuriken shot out, striking precisely on the trajectory of the baboon's leap. With a soft "thud" and a splash of blood mist, the shuriken pierced straight through the Wind Baboon's left eyeball and embedded itself into its brain.
The Wind Baboon didn't even get to struggle; it only had time to emit a brief, sharp yelp before crashing to the ground. A faint white glow appeared on the baboon, and gradually, these white rays condensed above its body into a white ring of light. The ring was indistinct and its light flickered, but even so, it made Huo Yuhao gaze a few extra times.
This was a Soul Ring! Even if it was just a Soul Ring from a Wind Baboon, even if it was just a ten-year Soul Beast Soul Ring, once he absorbed it, he would truly be considered a real Soul Master!
Huo Yuhao slowly drew the katana from his left hip, his burning gaze fixed on the dense forest ahead. On the treetops, dark shadows either darted swiftly or stood still. Yet all these shadows shared one common trait: their gazes were locked tightly onto Huo Yuhao.
This was why Huo Yuhao had said earlier that his luck wasn't very good. Although Soul Beasts like Wind Baboons were generally weak—with most having a cultivation of only ten years and centennial Wind Baboons being as rare as phoenix feathers—they usually moved in packs. Once such weak Soul Beasts gathered together, they could often drive away predators with centuries of cultivation. Aside from young baboons that had failed to seize leadership of the pack or old baboons that could no longer hold onto their status as leaders, the vast majority of Wind Baboons never fought alone.
"Squeak, squeak, squeak—squeak, squeak—"
A Wind Baboon, noticeably larger than the others, stood upright on its hind legs. Its feet, resembling human hands, gripped tightly onto a tree branch to support its body. As this baboon's cry rang out, the other Wind Baboons immediately grew restless.