Two weeks later, Ma Hongjun and Xiao Wu both raised their soul power levels by one, reaching levels 33 and 34 respectively.
Another month passed, and Zhu Zhuqing, who had been in seclusion, reached the Soul Master level's soul power bottleneck before Ning Rongrong. However, Zhu Zhuqing wasn't in a hurry to go to the Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City to find suitable soul beasts, because Dai Mubai was also about to reach his soul power bottleneck.
Nearly four months after breaking through level 39, Dai Mubai was about to enter the realm of a four-ring Soul Master.
Frankly, Oschin was somewhat helpless after receiving news that Dai Mubai had begun his seclusion to seek a breakthrough. Last time, Oschin had been slightly ahead of Dai Mubai in soul power level increases, but this time, distracted by the creation of soul tools, Oschin clearly couldn't complete the breakthrough before Dai Mubai. Although, in terms of the difficulty of the breakthrough, Dai Mubai's was still higher.
Fortunately, Oschin wasn't in such a hurry; he could sense that his own soul power level was actually close to the breakthrough level. Reaching level 39 in about two weeks shouldn't be a problem, and there are still over four months until Tang San's return, as far as I remember. With that much time, Oschin felt he should be able to break through to level 40 before Tang San's return and the
immortal herb arrived. After all, only the final four parts of the battle armor remained—two large and two small—giving him about a month and a half to focus on improving his soul power level.
Three days later, Oschin received news of Dai Mubai's return from seclusion when he returned to his dormitory from class. According to Oscar, who had sent the message, aside from Tang San who couldn't return to the academy, the Shrek Seven Devils (although there were eight in total, only seven actually participated in the battle, hence the name) needed to go out and help Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing obtain the soul rings needed for their upgrades.
It's worth noting that Oscar's soul power level increase had slowed down, because while he couldn't yet craft his battle armor, he needed to prepare for his mecha upgrade.
After finishing lunch in his dormitory, Oschin received the details of the operation on his phone. Departure time was tomorrow morning, and Zhao Wuji would be leading the team alone. Sunset Forest was different from Star Dou Great Forest; the soul beasts living in Sunset Forest were far inferior to those in Star Dou Great Forest in terms of variety, quantity, and high-end combat power. If Soul Saints needed to be cautious in Star Dou Great Forest, they would be virtually safe in Sunset Forest unless they acted recklessly.
After receiving the specific operation instructions, Oschin decided to change his original work plan and prepare for the next few days of wilderness survival. With the foam metal hut, Oschin didn't need to worry about accommodation, but he needed to prepare food properly. His portable soul-guided refrigerator allowed him to carry a lot of pre-processed ingredients, and even finished or semi-finished dishes.
The first thing he needed to prepare was pre-made beef bone broth and chicken soup. After a whole day of trekking in the wild, dry rations for dinner would be quite unpleasant. A bowl of hot soup or a bowl of hot noodles would make things much more comfortable. Considering that making broth on the spot in the wild is impractical, to ensure a good soup in the wild, the broth needs to be prepared in advance, then frozen in molds. It can then be simply heated and boiled before consumption.
The second thing to prepare is various kneaded doughs: prepared and kneaded dough for ramen, braised noodles, and fried dough; and dough for fried dough sticks, bread, and pizza, prepared with yeast for low-temperature fermentation in the refrigerator.
The third thing to prepare is various marinated meats and fruits.
Finally, Oschin also prepared some dumplings. Freshly made dumplings, flash-frozen at ultra-low temperatures, retain their original flavor to the greatest extent, making them an excellent quick-to-eat semi-finished dish.
After a busy afternoon, Oschin used the evening to fully adjust his state. Because the gates of Tiandou City open relatively early, the students gathered at the academy gate at six o'clock the next morning. After confirming that no one had fallen behind, Zhao Wuji immediately led the group to the South Gate, the closest city gate to Sunset Forest in Tiandou City.
Due to the dense crowds along the way, the Shrek Academy students experienced the hardship of traveling on foot for the first time in a long time. It took the entire morning for the group of eight and their dog to reach the entrance to Sunset Forest.
After having lunch in a small town on the outskirts of the forest and recovering their soul power, the seven students quickly headed deeper into the forest. As usual, once the students had entered the forest, Zhao Wuji silently disappeared from their sight. The rest of the journey, including hunting soul beasts, would be up to the students themselves, with the help of their dog.
What pleased the students was that Sunset Forest, located in a temperate region, was a typical temperate broadleaf forest. Compared to the tropical rainforest environment of Star Dou Great Forest, the temperate broadleaf forest was much more friendly to human soul masters.
Firstly, there were far fewer branches and roots growing between the trees, making the task of clearing a path much easier.
Secondly, the temperature was better; the dense canopy blocked the midday sun, and a cool breeze blew through the trees, making it much more comfortable than the humid, sauna-like atmosphere of the Star Dou Great Forest.
These two factors alone greatly improved the students' impression of Sunset Forest. After advancing for about half an hour, it was difficult to see any traces of human soul masters on the surrounding trees. After carefully checking with their soul tools, the students began to equip themselves with soul tools.
Although their battle armor was mostly complete, Oschin still donned a mecha suit. On one hand, with Oschin's current soul power level, it was difficult to truly unleash the power of the battle armor; on the other hand, who said you couldn't wear a mecha suit over your battle armor?
After everyone had changed, the students adjusted their positions. Without Tang San, the team lacked a qualified flank protector and mid-to-close-range support.
To compensate for the lack of flank support, Oscar changed from standing at the front of the team to provide assistance to Dai Mubai, and instead partnered with Zhu Zhuqing to be responsible for the safety of the team's left flank.
..........
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