Chapter 524: Soul Beast Gathering Place

Another elder sitting next to him shook his head, his tone calm but with hidden concerns: "It's not that simple. The source of the news is reliable. Several major clans in the Xingluo Empire have been frequently mobilized recently. They may not take direct action against us Shrek, but they will definitely target our students. Especially you core students, you must be more vigilant."

Thinking of this, Lu Yu gritted his teeth and continued to analyze: "But something is wrong. The aura of that person just now definitely does not belong to any known strong man in the Xingluo Empire..."

The figure shrouded in black fog emerged in his mind. The level of the other party's soul ring, the cold breath, and especially the extreme murderous intent brought by that soul power made him feel uneasy.

"Title Douluo...is it the work of Spirit Hall?" Lu Yu clenched his teeth, his mind becoming clearer and clearer.

At this moment, there was a slight movement in the woods behind. Lu Yu stopped abruptly, his eyes sharp as a knife, and whispered, "Who's there?"

A chuckle came from not far away, and a familiar voice sounded: "Lu Yu, it's me."

A familiar figure walked out from the woods. It was his companion Wu Shuang, who was also a Shrek student like him. His face was a little pale, and it was obvious that he had just experienced a hard battle.

"Wu Shuang?" Lu Yu lowered his guard and frowned, asking, "Why are you here? Where are the others?"

Wu Shuang sighed, walked up to him, and lowered her voice and said, "We are scattered. The enemy's attack was too sudden, and the target seemed to be terribly clear, almost isolating all of us from the beginning. I just got rid of two soul kings, and now I find you."

"The goal is clear..." Lu Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, "It seems that our guess is correct. This is definitely a premeditated action."

Wu Shuang nodded and looked at Lu Yu with a complicated expression: "Who do you think is responsible? Didn't the elders of the academy suspect the Xing Luo Empire before?"

"The elders' guesses are correct, but this is not the style of the Star Luo Empire." Lu Yu analyzed calmly, "There may be a motive, but it is impossible to send a Titled Douluo. The man just now had a cold soul power and a grim aura. He is definitely not comparable to the soul masters of the Star Luo Empire."

"Could it be..." Wu Shuang seemed to have thought of something, but did not dare to confirm it.

Lu Yu sneered: "It's the Spirit Hall."

"Spirit Hall?" Wu Shuang's face suddenly changed when he heard this. "How is this possible? Why would they attack our Shrek Academy? We have no direct conflict with them."

"There is no direct conflict, but the Spirit Hall has never tolerated any threats." Lu Yu said in a low voice with cold eyes, "The strength and reputation of Shrek Academy have exceeded the tolerance range. Especially in recent years, the academy has cultivated more and more geniuses, which is a great threat to the status of the Spirit Hall."

"But..." Wu Shuang frowned and said, "Is it really worth it to take the risk of being exposed? Moreover, that person is a Titled Douluo. If he is really an expert sent by the Spirit Hall, why would he be such a person?"

Lu Yu was silent for a moment, then whispered, "Do you still remember the two Yin-Yang twin Douluo from the Spirit Hall?"

Wu Shuang's expression changed: "Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo?"

"That's right." Lu Yu nodded. "Although I didn't see that man clearly, the aura on his body is exactly the same as the description of Ghost Douluo in the rumors. His actions are secretive and his attacks are fierce. This is exactly Ghost Douluo's style."

"If it's really him..." Wu Shuang's voice trembled a little, "Then what should we do? A Titled Douluo is not something we can deal with."

"Calm down." Lu Yu took a deep breath and his eyes became firm. "If it is really Ghost Douluo, his target cannot be us small characters. He should be looking for someone more important, or destroying some key plans of the academy."

Wu Shuang nodded slightly and whispered, "So, our top priority now is to meet up with others as soon as possible, pass on this news, and let the academy be prepared."

"That's right." Lu Yu looked into the distance, his voice low but with great determination, "As long as we can bring the news back, this crisis may not be unsolvable. The Spirit Hall may be powerful, but the academy will never be easily defeated."

"Let's go." Wu Shuang nodded and continued moving forward with Lu Yu.

The two figures flashed through the forest and disappeared into the night. The air seemed to still be filled with a lingering chill.

As night fell, the sound of wind mixed with the rustling of grass and trees echoed in the empty mountain forest, and the air was filled with a tense atmosphere. Lu Yu hurried his steps, but carefully avoided any place where he might make a sound. He turned his head to look at the battlefield not far away, squinting his eyes slightly, his eyes full of thought.

"Lu Yu, are we really going to keep going?" the companion beside him asked in a low voice, with a hint of hesitation in his tone, "These men in black are too weird, it feels like they let us escape on purpose."

Lu Yu did not answer immediately. He was silent for a moment, then stopped and raised his hand to signal others to stop. He looked around and confirmed that there were no pursuers for the time being. He whispered, "It's really strange. They could have caught up with us, but they didn't. Such an obvious omission can't be an accident."

"You mean..." The other person frowned, his face full of anxiety, "Did you do it on purpose? But, why?"

Lu Yu's eyes flickered as he pointed in the direction of the battlefield: "Don't forget, Xue Qinghe is still over there. These people are chasing us on the surface, but their real target may be him."

"Xue Qinghe?" The companions looked at each other in bewilderment. "But... Xue Qinghe is from the Spirit Hall. Why would we attack him?"

Lu Yu smiled softly, with a hint of coldness in his tone: "This is the problem. Since these men in black don't intend to kill us, there is no need for us to play along. Now that we know who the target is, we just need to stay away from them."

"But if they are really coming for Xue Qinghe, then we..." One of the companions was interrupted by Lu Yu before he could finish his words.

"Listen to me." Lu Yu said calmly and firmly, "Don't be stubborn and don't act on your own. Our primary goal now is to save our lives, not to sacrifice ourselves to help others."

They stared at each other for a moment. Although they were unwilling, they were powerless to refute. They could only nod and say, "Okay, we'll listen to you."

Lu Yu nodded, turned around and walked in the opposite direction of the battlefield. However, after taking a few steps, he stopped again, frowning.

"What's wrong?" someone asked nervously.

Lu Yu looked up at the sparse treetops above his head. The moonlight cast a hazy shadow on the surroundings. He said in a deep voice, "Something is wrong. Let us go, but can we really leave?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a rapid sound of breaking through the air was heard. Lu Yu quickly turned around and saw several men in black suddenly appear on the treetops not far away, with weapons flashing in their hands. They did not attack immediately, but stared at Lu Yu and his party coldly, as if observing prey.

"They're chasing us!" someone exclaimed.

"Shut up, don't panic!" Lu Yu shouted, then drew the dagger from his waist and stood in front of everyone to protect him.

The men in black seemed to sense Lu Yu's alertness. The leader snorted and whispered, "It seems he has noticed it."

"Hmph, it's just a little mouse, how long can it run away?" another person said disdainfully.

Lu Yu heard it clearly. A cold light flashed in his eyes and he asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? Are you from the Spirit Hall?"

The leading man in black smiled playfully upon hearing this, but did not answer. He waved his hand and signaled his men to move closer, but still did not launch a real attack.

"Lu Yu, what on earth do you want to do?!" There was uncontrollable fear in the companion's voice.

Lu Yu took a deep breath, tightened the dagger in his hand, and said in a deep voice: "It's not coming for us. It's just delaying time."

"Delay time? Delay what?" asked another person.

Lu Yu looked around and quickly analyzed the current situation. Suddenly, he seemed to have thought of something, and his face changed: "Not good! They are waiting for Xue Qinghe to reveal his flaws! This is not a random attack, but a carefully designed trap!"

"A trap?!" Everyone gasped.

Lu Yu took a deep breath and said calmly: "I want to force Xue Qinghe to use his martial soul power. As long as he reveals a little, the real killer move will appear!"

"Then what should we do? Continue to escape?" someone asked anxiously.

"Run." Lu Yu said decisively, "The faster the better! Since we are not the target, they will not chase us. We still have a chance!"

After saying that, he waved his hand fiercely and led a few people to flee to the other side of the deep forest. As expected, the man in black just hung far behind and did not launch a fierce attack.

**

They ran all the way until they were sure there were no more pursuers. Only then did they stop, panting and sitting on the ground.

"Lu Yu... do you really think... Xue Qinghe can survive?" someone asked breathlessly.

Lu Yu looked up into the distance in the darkness, his eyes as deep as the sea. He said in a deep voice: "He is a member of the Spirit Hall, and it is reasonable that he will not be so easily calculated. But this time... not necessarily."

Everyone was silent, only the sound of the night wind blowing through the treetops echoed in their ears.

"Whether he can survive or not, this matter is over for us." Lu Yu turned his head and looked at everyone with a sharp gaze, "Remember, only when you are alive are you qualified to talk about other things. Now, there is only one thing we have to do - leave here and stay away from this storm!"

Everyone nodded when they heard this. Although they still had doubts and uneasiness in their hearts, they chose to trust Lu Yu's calmness and decisiveness.

In the dead of night, several figures gradually disappeared into the depths of the dense forest. And from the direction of the battlefield, a low roar was faintly heard, as if some huge power was brewing...

Lu Yu adjusted his breathing, supported his knees with his hands, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He looked down at the map, which was an old and damaged hand-drawn map of the Beast Realm, with the words "Star Soul Canyon" marked on it in rough handwriting.

"Star Soul Canyon... a gathering place for soul beasts?" Lu Yu muttered to himself, raised his head and looked into the distance, a hint of excitement flashed in his eyes, "This is indeed a good choice."

He stood up straight, rolled up the map and put it back in his arms, and said softly: "The fourth soul ring is there, I hope I can encounter a ten thousand year soul beast."

As he was speaking, he heard a slight sound of grass leaves rubbing against each other. Lu Yu frowned and turned around quickly, his soul power condensed on his body in an instant. He saw an orange-yellow swift fox rushing out of the grass at an extremely fast speed, but Lu Yu just snorted coldly, a blue light flashed in his hand, and the long sword was already unsheathed.

"Are you in such a hurry to die?" Lu Yu's eyes were cold. He shook his wrist and the tip of the sword flashed a cold light. The Swift Fox screamed and was instantly knocked back ten meters. It rolled and hit a big tree and never moved again.

"Waste of my time." Lu Yu shook his head and sheathed the sword.

He looked up at the sky and found that the sun was hanging overhead. He estimated the distance and murmured, "It should be less than half an hour's journey."

Before he finished speaking, his soul power moved slightly, and his whole body turned into a blue shadow, running quickly in the direction on the map.

About half an hour later, Lu Yu finally arrived at the entrance of the Star Soul Canyon. Standing on the edge of the canyon, he scanned the scene in front of him. The trees in the canyon were tall, the vines were like a net, and the dense vegetation exuded a faint sense of oppression. He could faintly hear the low roar of beasts coming from the depths.

"It is indeed a gathering place for soul beasts." Lu Yu muttered softly, with a slight smile on his face. He walked slowly into the canyon, holding his sword handle with both hands at all times, and looking around vigilantly.

Suddenly, a low growl came from his ear. Lu Yu turned his head quickly, his pupils shrank, and saw a huge purple-striped ground bear slowly walking out of the shade of the tree, staring at him with scarlet eyes, as if it was angry because of Lu Yu's invasion.

"Ten thousand year soul beast!" Lu Yu was shocked, but soon calmed down. He quickly stepped back, a hint of fighting spirit flashed in his eyes, "Just right, let me test your strength."

The purple-striped ground bear let out a deafening roar, and swung its huge claws towards Lu Yu, making a sharp sound of breaking wind in the air. Lu Yu flashed and narrowly avoided the attack, then drew his sword from its sheath, and his soul ring lit up, with four soul rings rising one after another.

"Third soul skill, Flowing Light Slash!" Lu Yu shouted softly, swung his sword, and a blue light slashed straight towards the purple-striped ground bear.

The purple-striped ground bear reacted quickly and blocked the sword light with its forelimbs, but the huge force still made it retreat a few steps. Lu Yu frowned slightly and thought to himself: "Sure enough, the defense of a ten thousand year soul beast is not so easy to break through."

The purple-striped ground bear seemed to be enraged. It slammed its fists on the ground, instantly raising a dust storm. Lu Yu had to step back several steps to avoid its edge.

"This guy is not easy to deal with..." Lu Yu muttered, but then his eyes focused, his feet suddenly exerted force, and the whole person jumped into the air, and the long sword in his hand lit up again, "Try this!"

Just as Lu Yu was about to launch a second attack, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice coming from a distance: "Boy, don't waste your energy. This purple-striped ground bear is not something you can deal with alone!"

Lu Yu looked over and saw a middle-aged man in a black robe walking slowly towards him with a playful smile on his face. He held a dark red staff in his hand, and a soul ring flickered faintly behind him.

"Who are you?" Lu Yu looked at him warily, without relaxing the sword in his hand.

"Don't be nervous, I have no ill will towards you." The middle-aged man shrugged, then raised his head and looked at the purple-striped ground bear, "However, I have been eyeing this soul beast for a long time. It won't be easy for you to snatch it from me."