Chapter 41 - Star Dou Forest Once Again (Patreon)

Douluo Continent, Extreme North

The Extreme North was the northernmost place on the north of the Douluo Continent, which borders the northern territories of both the Heaven Dou Empire and Frost Spirit Kingdom.

Though with the recent expansion of the Frost Spirit Kingdom, the border of the Heaven Dou Empire and Frost Spirit Kingdom was getting smaller and smaller.

The entire Extreme North was a plain covered with ice and snow, with a very low temperature.

The temperature would drop even more after entering the Extreme North's core region.

There are hurricanes and biting winds high up in the sky, probably equivalent to a peak Soul Douluo's attack at full strength, which were incredible, and contain vigorous explosiveness, and these were just one kind of danger in the Extreme North.

The Extreme North's core region shared a name with the Great Star Dou Forest's Slaughtering Grounds. The Great Star Dou Forest's Slaughtering Grounds contained many Great Beasts, and the threat in the Extreme North's core region isn't from its Spirit Beasts – it is from its environment.

In such an environment, even Titled Douluo couldn't survive for too long. The air is incredibly dry, while the chilly winds cut like blades. Not a single stalk of grass could be seen, and the incredibly low temperatures could continuously burn down a soul master's soul power. It is almost impossible for them to live here.

Furthermore, Ice-Type Spirit Masters were a minority anyway. Therefore, very few Spirit Masters came to this place to hunt Spirit Beasts. This is the reason why the overall strength of the Extreme North's Spirit Beasts has grown to such a formidable level over recent years.

If not for the fact that this place isn't suitable for Spirit Beasts to live, it probably wouldn't take long for the Extreme North's Spirit Beasts to catch up with the strength of the Great Star Dou Forest's Spirit Beasts.

Since the creation of the Frost Spirit Kingdom as a buffer zone between much of the Heaven Dou Empire and Extreme North, Extreme North had thrived unlike any time before. The Fierce Beasts of the Extreme North acted as Sacred Guardians of the entire Frost Spirit Kigdom and defended them against the Heaven Dou Empire.

Meanwhile, the Spirit Masters of the Frost Spirit Kingdom blocked the entrance of the Spirit Masters into the Extreme North, patrolled the area, and monitored the situation. They even helped to search for the treasures and rare things that were then exchanged with the Extreme North for things like Spirit Bones and Spirit Rings.

Because dying Spirit Beasts could choose to sacrifice themselves to become a Spirit Ring for the Spirit Master. This was the most common method for the Spirit Masters of the Extreme North to obtain Spirit Rings, or they just hunted the Spirit Beasts in the regions where it was allowed.

One of the reasons why Di Tian, despite everything, allowed humans to hunt for the Spirit Beast was that if not for it, if not for the regulated hunting, then the population of the Spirit Beasts would go out of control.

Some species of Spirit Beasts, especially those of the Rat subspecies, bred so rapidly that every year one female would have two litters of young ones, from which approximately 50% survived until adulthood.

Which was a very high number.

So even for the Spirit Beasts, some kind of regulation was needed, or else, the resources of the Great Star Dou Forest would be depleted by the overpopulation. 

Qian Daoliu directly flew to the core depths of the Extreme North, as he encountered the chilling, biting winds of the Extreme North that could kill Soul Douluos in mere minutes. Even Titled Douluos would suffer greatly under the terribly freezing enviroment of the Extreme North.

The cores of the Extreme North were the most dangerous areas of the entire region, and the freezing temperatures were more than enough to freeze Titled Douluo to death. Especially the Titled Douluos who didn't temper their bodies and had weaker physiques, which would force them to protect themselves with their Spirit Energy.

But the chilling winds were so harsh that even Qian Daoliu had to admit that if not for the Celestial Spirit Mantra, he would have run out of the Spirit Energy in a few hours, and then the only thing that he could depend on would be his body.

Despite everything, he tempered his body in his younger years, and his physical strength was on the level of a Titled Douluo. While it paled to the Body Refiner Spiriti Masters that had much stronger physiques, it was still a pretty good achievement for someone to whom it wasn't a priority.

Fortunately for him, it didn't take a long... because as soon as he entered the area, he caught the attention of the ruler of the Extreme North.

Soon enough, a small snowstorm appeared not far from him, from which a figure of a woman stepped out. 

She looked like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old teenage girl. She had unrivaled beauty that could topple entire kingdoms. Her long, white hair flowed freely to her legs, and her sky-blue eyes were very clear.

It was as if she could see through everything in the world. Her slender and exceedingly beautiful body was flawless, and her long white dress wasn't adorned with any accessories but with ribbons. However, she still looked very elegant and ravishing.

She was the Snow Empress Xue Nu, the supreme ruler of the Extreme North and Spirit Beast with the cultivation of 700,000 Years. Just based on her raw power, she was comparable to Qian Daoliu, perhaps a bit weaker... but not that much.

And she was Heavenly Snow Woman.

The Heavenly Snow Women were Spirit Beasts that lived in the Extreme North's most core area and possessed the Ultimate Ice element.

They were living beings formed by the purest Ice-type Origin Energy of Heaven and Earth within the Extreme North's core region, and after countless years of gestation and growth, they had finally developed their own thoughts and intelligence.

At the same time, because they were currently in the Extreme North, even he would be especially cautious when fighting again here and now. She was in the natural habitat, and the environment was freezing and rich in the Ice-attributed Spirit Energy.

Fighting someone like her in her domain would be suicide. 

He doubted that even Di Tian would dare to do so.

"Why have you intruded on the Extreme North, Angel Messenger?"

The Snow Empress asked in a tone that was neither friendly nor hostile, keeping it purely neutral. Unlike the Spirit Beasts of the Great Star Dou Forest, those living in the Extreme North were more neutral, but that didn't mean that they liked humans very much.

Perhaps those of the Frost Spirit Kingdom are the rare exception to a certain degree.

"I bring a message from the Beast God and request on the Extreme North... everything is explained in the message."

He said as he passed her the sealed scrolls given personally by Di Tian that were addressed to the Snow Empress as the ruler of the Extreme North. He knew that Di Tian would be the best bet at convincing the other Fierce Beasts and Spirit Beasts rulers of the various regions to go with their plan.

Snow Empress took the message from his hands and opened the scrolls as she read the content, though her expression was very hard to read because there wasn't anything that changed even a bit.

Soon after reading it, she looked back at the Qian Daoliu and gave him a slow nod of her head.

"If you can deliver on the promise, then I agree. For the time being, the Extreme North will close itself to the world aside from the Saint Court as long as you don't commit murder and adhere to the rules."

This was already a better result than the initial negotiation with the Beast God.

Di Tian was someone who wielded immense power, and Qian Daoliu doubted that he could defeat him even in his current state. Perhaps if he reached the peak of the Quasi-God Stage of Limit Douluo, their power would be more equal.

But till then, the gap was too wide despite everything.

Still, the result was pretty good because the first step on the grand plan was finished.

With the initial negotiations done, the Extreme North, Sunset Mountain Range, and Great Star Dou Forest would be closing themselves to the Star Luo Empire and Heaven Dou Empire and implementing a ban on hunting Spirit Beasts above a certain threshold.

This rule would also be implemented against other Clans, Sects, and factions not affiliated with the Imperial Douluo Saint Court.

Basically, this would be the first move that would cripple approximately 80% entirely without the possibility of advancement, while the remaining 20% would need to take tremendous danger to obtain their next Spirit Rings.

Without the Spirit Rinks, the Spirit Masters would be able to reach only the peak of their current Realm. This would slowly strangle the weaker factions to death, as they won't be able to advance, while the stronger ones would be forced to take the risks.

And the risks were that, according to the agreement between the Imperial Douluo Saint Court and Spirit Beasts, the Saint Court would inform the Spirit Beasts about the human activities in their areas of influence, and everything.

Which would result in the people who would enter there dying.

Basically, the Spirit Beasts would be deciding for themselves how many people could hunt the Spirit Rings and everything related to that. 

The process started a bit earlier than anticipated, but it was primarily due to the fact that the research on the Artificial Spirit Ring was progressing rather well. With the input of the Di Tian and several of the Fierce Beasts that have proved to be invaluable, and Xuan Ziwen's addition of a technological approach, they had a timeframe.

Three years for the prototype.

Five for the first functioning device that could create an Artificial Spirit Ring up to the 999 Years, as the research was progressing rather fast. Though it was predicted that once the prototypes were finished, and depending on their result, the speed could be even more accelerated.

Qian Daoliu didn't know exactly what Di Tian gave them during the exchange because he didn't really understand the intricate structure of the Spirit Rings to any great depth, but it must have been something that contained a lot of knowledge about the Spirit Rings themselves.

It considerably sped up the development of the Artificial Spirit Rings, because they were becoming the most crucial project for the Imperial Douluo Saint Court. With the collective growth in the strength of Spirit Masters, the existence of the Artificial Spirit Rings was something that was desperately needed.

Or the situation would become literally apocalyptic in a few decades.

***

Great Star Dou Forest, Three Weeks Later

Hun Tiandi liked returning ot the Great Star Dou Forest.

He really liked the enviroment of the forests here.

Compared to the bustling cities and busy areas which were swarming wioth people, he preffered the tranquility and peace of this place.

Qian Renxue was preparing to break through to the Spirit Ancestor, which at the age of twelve was a staggering achievement, and her cultivation speed was even faster than his own.

Though that was primarily attributed to the fact that his "primary" Martial Soul was the Ultimate Martial Soul with Ultimate Slaughter Attribute. So his cultivation speed was much slower than the other Spirit Masters, especially when one considered that he had Innate Full Spirit Power of the 20th Level.

Hun Tiandi was here because he was searching for a suitable Spirit Beast for Hao Yue, who was nearing another evolution as he would reach the Realm of Spirit King. Right now, Hao Yue was already bigger than a horse, and it was expected that after another evolution, he would obtain another head and grow considerably.

This time, though, the one who was accompanying them to the Great Star Dou Forest was Her Holiness Bibi Dong herself. This was rather unexpected, but it seemed that Bibi Dong wanted to be a good parent and accompany her daughter to hunt for the Spirit Ring.

Bibi Dong was one of three Limit Douluos of the Imperial Douluo Saint Court, and she was one of two Demi-Gods.

Not to mention, she had Twin Martial Souls, both of the Spider-type, Death Spider Emperor and Soul Devouring Spider Emperor. Essentially, she was a very powerful Demi-God Stage Limit Douluo, especially with the Twin Martial Souls.

Having Twin Martial Souls usually meant that one had two sets of 9 Spirit Rings, with one having a significant difference in age compared to the other. And their abilities were far more versatile and powerful compared to those of ordinary Spirit Masters.

"Don't wander to the depths of the Forest and always be in my sight."

Aside from Qian Renxue and Hun Tiandi, there were also four other people present. 

Tang Hailan, Zhang Peng, Feng Ling, and Xu Tianzhen.

The trio that Hun Tiandi brought back to the Spirit Hall needed to hunt their first Spirit Ring, while Xu Tianzhen was stuck at the Spirit Rank 39 and only a step away from becoming the Spirit Ancestor.

So Bibi Dong took everyone to the Great Star Dou Forest.

All four have acclimatized to the enviroment of the Spirit Hall very well. For Feng Ling and Zhang Peng, it was pretty easy because this was the first time in their lives that they didn't need to care about having a roof above their heads.

Xu Tianzhen, meanwhile, rather liked the environment of the Spirit Academy, because she realized that their teachings on the Spirit Master profession, Spirit Energy Cultivation, combat classes, and everything related to it were far superior compared to the Sun Moon Empire.

The Imperial Princess of the Sun Moon Empire received the best education that the Empire could offer, but it paled behind what the Spirit Hall was teaching its students. 

She realized that the disparity in the Spirit Master development and Spirit Energy cultivation was like heaven and earth. She also learned how many Titled Douluos the Douluo Continent had, with many Super Douluos and even legendary Limit Douluos.

What was frightening for the princess was the fact that this wasn't anything unusual, because even the generation of Spirit Masters in the Douluo Continent would have a whole bunch of Super Douluos, and once every two or three generations, there would be a Limit Douluo born.

Something that could be considered totally unprecedented in the Sun Moon Continent.

The Sun Moon Empire barely had any Super Douluo, and even the number of Average Titled Douluos was nothing to be proud of for an Empire that had ruled the entire continent comparable to the Douluzo Continent for several centuries.

She could see that within the Spirit Hall and now, newly established Imperial Douluo Saint Court, Average Titled Douluos were nothing special, and there was actually a lot of them in their ranks.

While the Douluo Continent was really behind in terms of technological advancement, in terms of cultivation, it was far ahead compared to the Sun Moon Continent. The cultivation system of the Douluo Continent was more advanced and developed when compared to the Sun Moon Empire.

On top of that, they also had proper methods for cultivating their Spirit Energy, as Xu Tianzhen was able to learn the Spirit Essence Cultivation Technique, but only the simplified version of the Spirit Essence Cultivation Technique.

Yet, it was still very much superior to that Spirit Energy Gathering Method.

Hun Tiandi had plans for Xu Tianzhen as she was the key to controlling the entire Sun Moon Empire in the near future. 

The concentration of the Spirit Energy on the Douluo Continent was several times that of the Sun Moon Continent, but that was only the overall concentration. Sun Moon Continent had a higher concentration of Spirit Energy in particular areas of the continent, primarily in the places where various Spirit Ores were located.

But the rest of the continent wasn't anything special.

"Where are we going to as the next destination?"

Hun Tiandi asked as he rode on Hao Yue.

Austin Griffin was looking around everything with curiosity, as he liked returning to the Star Dou Forest very much because it meant that he could continue hunting for the Spirit Beasts and have a feast.

"First, we are going to hunt for the Spirit Rings for younglings. Spirit Beast of 1,500 Years, something around that would do."

Bibi Dong has decided that they would at first hunt for the Spirit Beasts for Tang Hailan, Zhang Peng, and Feng Ling. With their current cultivation, body strength, and Alchemy Pills that the three of them took, they should be able to withstand the Spirit Ring between 1,000 Years and 2,000 Years.

Which was basically level for the 3rd Spirit Ring for most of the Spirit Masters across the Douluo Continent. Everyone had already chosen their Spirit Ring, with Tang Hailan was focusing on cultivating the Shadow Moon Daggers.

As it was predicted, the Primordial Azure Dragon Martial Soul was too problematic for cultivation right after the start, and it could have several serious negative aftereffects on her cultivation if she chose it as the first Martial Soul.

Shadow Moon Daggers was an Ultimate Martial Soul with Ultimate Shadow Attribute, and it fit into Tang Hailan's combat style, so it was chosen as the first one that would be focused on her cultivation for the time being.

"That sounds like a pretty good decision. Can I leave the perimeter and explore the area on my own?"

Hun Tiandi asked as he wanted to explore the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest on his own, but out of respect for Bibi Dong, he preferred to ask. At the same time, he realized that this place was rather dangerous, and he didn't have that strong need to repeat the situation of his youth in his first life.