章 149: Chapter 144: Core Region

A couple days has passed since the incident, and as expected, the Shrek group came under heavy suspicion by some of the White Tiger Bodyguards, but that changed when Elder Xuan revealed himself to them and released his Titled Douluo aura.

Shrek Academy is a neutral party in the continent, except when it came to the Sun Moon Empire, what would they get for assassinating the the Duke and his family? Nothing but trouble, it was illogical.

More so for suspecting Elder Xuan. It's impossible. He had the power of annihilating a city or two, why would he do a long task of manipulating a boy and give him a bomb, rather than destry them outright with a sweep of his hand?

It was much more logical to think that a third party, an assassin, had orchestrated the attack; leveraging Dai Huabin as an unwitting pawn in their scheme. The logic behind this theory shifted suspicion away from the Shrek group, as it seemed unlikely that they would resort to such a convoluted method given their capabilities.

Their likely culprit is the Sun Moon Empire, considering that there was a high class explosive-type Soul Tool, which their experts have never seen before!

As for Huo Yuhao, who had shown a great amount of killing intent towards the Duke, they didn't suspect him as much. He was quite young, and seemed to be more of a Soul Master than a Soul Engineer judging by his killing aura, so there was no way he would be the one that orchestrated the event nor had the capabilities.

So without finding any evidence, the military finally let the Shrek group go and gave them information about the Hand of Death, the bandit group in the mountain.

According to the information they received, the Hand of Death mainly carried out its activities in and around the central region of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. When they had a designated target, they'd rush down the mountain and plunder them at the greatest possible speed. The entire bandit group numbered around three hundred in total, all of whom were young men in the prime of their lives.

Of them, about a tenth of their entire group were soul masters. Unexpectedly, nobody knew who the leader of their leader was; the only thing they knew was that he was at the very least a Soul King.

The reason why there was so little information about them was because the Hand of Death never left any survivors; their methods were extremely brutal.

The most recent piece of information was from roughly half a month ago: They'd fled into the Ming Dou Mountain Range after looting a group of merchants. This report also included the general direction in which they'd fled.

The army only had this much information because there was a possibility of a quarrel if they were to enter the domain of the Sun Moon Empire. As such, the Eastern Army couldn't help them out at all, to the extent that they couldn't even bring the flying-type soul tools they'd been lent into the mountains. Not like they could with the current situation.

After noon passed, the Shrek group gave a respectful bow towards Du Leisi and his group, who accompanied them to a certain distance into the entrance of the mountain, before they set off into the central region of the Mountain Range.

"Maintain your formation. Huo Yuhao, Chen Zifeng, and I will remain in front. Control-type and auxiliary-type soul masters will remain ten meters behind us. Yuhao, make sure to keep your Spiritual Detection up. Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, He Caitou you three keep up the rear. Let's set off!" Ma Xiaotao commanded, her allies showed serious expressions and obediently followed her commands.

Huo Yuhao didn't have any issue following her lead, not only because she had a higher cultivation but also because she had more experience in leading a team. Activating Spiritual Sharing Detection, he inwardly thought about the missed opportunity on getting rid of the Duchess.

He had secretly tried to infiltrate the medical tent she was hidden in, but she seemed to be guarded by 3 Soul Sages, 1 Soul Douluo and 1 hidden master that he didn't dare probe further, guessing it might be a Titled Douluo. No wonder she didn't die despite being a Soul Emperor.

'I'll think about my revenge later, the mission comes first.' Huo Yuhao thought, refocusing his mind on the task at hand. If he delved on his revenge, he wouldn't be able to concentrate making a secret plan for his revenge.

The Shrek group navigated the rugged terrain of the Ming Dou Mountain Range with cautious precision, each member on high alert for any sign of the Hand of Death.

The journey through the dense forest was tense but uneventful at first. Huo Yuhao's Spiritual Detection provided them with a comprehensive awareness of their surroundings, allowing them to avoid potential threats and navigate the most efficient paths; as it had a incredible range of at least 600 diameters.

The deeper they ventured, the more the atmosphere thickened with a palpable sense of danger.

After several hours of trekking, the sky began to dim and Ma Xiaotao signaled for a brief halt. "Everyone, let's rest where we are for now. Don't light a fire, so that we don't alert them or soul beasts inadvertently. We still have some leftovers from earlier, I'll help heat it up for you all."

The students sat in a circle to rest, but Teacher Wang Yan soundlessly left. Ma Xiaotao didn't pay any attention to the fact that he'd left. Instead, she turned towards Huo Yuhao and asked. "Yuhao, what do you think our next course of action should be?"

Huo Yuhao raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Aren't you supposed to be the leader? Why ask me?"

Ma Xiaotao's classmates also held the same doubt. They knew about her ability to lead them well, but they knew more of her personality—her pride, so to speak. So her decision to seek Huo Yuhao's input was unexpected.

Ma Xiaotao smiled, sliding up closer to him. "In leading a team to battle, I'm confident. But this is no ordinary battlefield that we're heading into, we're heading into a crusade. This isn't a stage, a familiar training ground, or even a structured mission with clear objectives and known parameters."

"This is uncharted territory filled with ruthless bandits who won't hesitate to kill us if given the chance. Traps of all kinds could be laid. Your abilities, especially your Spiritual Detection, are crucial for our survival out here. Moreover, you're an exceptional control-type Soul Ancestor. Taking control over battlefields is your specialty. That's why I'm asking for your input."

Huo Yuhao nodded, understanding her reasoning. "Alright. First off, we need complete information on what we're dealing with. The information that we got from the Eastern Army is incomplete and mostly based on guesses. I suggest on sending in some scouts to figure out their overall manpower and the capability of their leader first, lest we die from a surprise attack."

"That sounds like a solid plan," Ma Xiaotao agreed and asked. "Well, who do you think we should send for scouting first? Xi Xi here is fast, but I don't think she has the experience of being unnoticed and getting us solid information."

"Which is why I'm thinking of sending in a small team in first, which consists of me, Xi Xi and Tang Ya." Huo Yuhao said.

Ma Xiaotao furrowed her brows. "Tang Ya? Why her also?"

"Because I'm good, that's why." Tang Ya interjected confidently, stepping forward. "Don't forget, I'm the former Sect Master of Tang Sect. Our predecessors didn't acknowledge it, but we are capable assassins when practising our secret techniques. Plus, my Dark-Blue Silver Grass can be used as an ambush on them later on."

"How?"

Tang Ya smirked and raised her right hand. Two yellow, one purple and one black soul rings appeared around her body, and a thick tendril of dark-blue vine slithered across her arm and she opened her hand to reveal seven pea-sized dark blue seeds.

"I've been experimenting a bit with my martial soul and turns out, I can compress a piece of my martial soul into a seedling form. These seedlings can grow rapidly and entangle our enemies if planted in advance, it can also act as a thick wall to corner them."

"They're also incredibly durable and can be controlled remotely. This gives us a tactical advantage. It consumes a lot of soul power so I only managed to create this many for now." She explained, deactivating her martial soul.

Ma Xiaotao looked impressed. "Alright, that could be very useful. We'll proceed with the plan. Yuhao, Xi Xi, Tang Ya—you three will form the scouting team. Stay hidden and gather as much information as you can. Avoid direct confrontation unless absolutely necessary. We'll remain here and wait for your return."

Huo Yuhao nodded, a determined look in his eyes. "Understood. We'll be back soon with the information we need."

"Um, don't we still need to find their hideout?" Xi Xi said.

"Don't worry, I think I know how you can find them." It was at that moment, Wang Ya returned.

"How?" Huo Yuhao asked, confused. He was still using his Spiritual Detection and he saw that Wang Yan didn't go too far from the group. He only made a brief stop before a strange tree before coming back. 'Was that it?' he thought as he gripped Wang Dong'er's hand, increasing his energy recovery.

Wang Ya smiled. "I found a few Warm Mist Trees near us. For those of you who don't know, a Warm Mist Tree is a relatively rare type of tree whose core can be used to produce medicine. Its trunk is as hard as steel, which makes it extremely suitable to be used in various types of furniture. An old book I once read stated that Warm Mist Trees only grow in areas that're at least fifty miles deep into a forest. Furthermore, it stated that these trees like the coldness of Yin, thus their cores can help soul masters with Yin-attributed martial souls. Do you understand what this means?"

"This means that we're in the core region of the Ming Dou Mountain Range. At the very least, we've reached its border." As he explained, he then retrieved a tree trunk from his storage-type soul tool. The tree bark appeared to have been snapped in half by something, and a cylindrical hole was present within it.

Wang Yan continued, "This is the Warm Mist Tree. Its core is normally dark-blue, but as you can see, it's missing. In other words, it's been removed by someone."

"Considering who our target is this time, we can make a bold conjecture that this was done by either the leader of the bandits or by one of his subordinates, that means that we're not far away from our enemies."

"I can agree with teacher Wang's point," Ma Xiaotao said, "however, what basis are you relying on to say that we're not far away from our enemies? Don't these Warm Mist Trees grow in other areas?"

Wang Yan smiled confidently. "I mentioned that the Warm Mist Tree is a relatively rare type of tree, right? Since it's rare, it obviously doesn't appear very frequently. I've read a little about this place's geography and it didn't say anything about Warm Mist Trees appearing here. That means, this was cultivated by someone here, especially since it looked a bit too...unnatural."

Everyone present couldn't help but gain a new level of respect for Wang Yan by the time they'd finished listening to him. Of the fourteen students present, he'd only taught Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, Xiao Xiao, and Wu Feng. However, the four of them only knew that he was very knowledgeable and erudite in the field of martial souls; they'd never thought that his experience with the wilderness would be just as abundant.

'And I thought I was very knowledgeable about the wilderness thanks to reading almost every book in the outer courtyard library.' Huo Yuhao thought, feeling humbled. 'I really can't know and master all there is.'

"Huo Yuhao, Xi Xi, and Tang Ya, follow me." Wang Ya said, turning around.

The trio exchanged a glance and nodded. They said a few words to their friends before following Wang Yan deeper into the forest.

They moved silently, with Huo Yuhao momentarily used Spiritual Detection to scout their surroundings before deactivating his martial soul to preserve energy.

He didn't have an unlimited energy for Sea God's sake.

The dense forest provided ample cover, but also posed challenges with its thick underbrush and uneven terrain, to normal people that is.

The trio easily navigated the terrain thanks to their movement skills and physical strength, Wang Ya on the other hand, had to go all out to not fall behind. He was a Shrek teacher, but he was more of a scholar than the typical powerhouse teacher.

Wang Yan led them three hundred or so meters deeper into the forest, then stopped in front of a Warm Mist Tree. "Out of all the destroyed Warm Mist Trees I found earlier, the tracks near this one are the most recent. In other words, it was destroyed last. Yuhao, what do you think?"

Huo Yuhao's eyes turned goldish-red, his soul rings didn't appear as usual, using his genjutsu to hide them already became second nature, a three-dimensional image of their surroundings immediately appeared in their minds.

Huo Yuhao manipulated his spiritual power and everyone can see faintly sense a hillside five hundred meters to the left with numerous footsteps also seem to lead to the bottom of that hill.

Wang Yan nodded, giving Huo Yuhao a pat on his shoulder. "Good job, looks like we found their hideout. If I'm not wrong, they should be hiding in a cave there. Now change into your Shrek Guardian outfits and go scout ahead, confirm their identities and come back safely. Do you all understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

.....

AN: Anyone here watched the Soul Land anime series? What are your thoughts on them...?

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