Xu Mingxi informed the three elders about his current need for a ninth soul ring. He thought he would need to return to search for information on a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast, but he didn't expect the First Elder to give him a big surprise.
When the First Elder gathered information about hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts in Mingdu, although Xu Mingxi was looking for a soul beast related to the sun at the time, he also bought information about other hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts along the way.
"A soul beast related to the Silver Moon? I have some information, but this beast is rather special—it's a sea soul beast."
"A sea soul beast? Does it have a fixed habitat?"
"Yes, it's a hundred-thousand-year-old Silver Moon Dolphin. These dolphins mostly live near an island in the southeastern sea. However, this information dates back five or six years, and I can't guarantee the dolphin is still there."
Xu Mingxi frowned slightly. Sea soul beasts were clearly the type soul masters least wanted to hunt, as it was far too easy for them to escape.
At sea, if the power levels are similar, it's impossible for non-sea soul masters to catch sea soul beasts. They could end up fighting for a long time, only to achieve nothing.
Not to mention a hundred-thousand-year-old Silver Moon Dolphin. Let alone defeating it in the sea—even if they somehow managed to, the dolphin could escape easily at the first sign of trouble due to its intelligence. The chance of capturing it was slim.
"Grandfather, is there any news about other suitable hundred-thousand-year-old soul beasts?"
The First Elder pondered for a moment, stared at Xu Mingxi for a long time, seemed hesitant to speak, and finally nodded.
"Yes, but it's information from several decades ago. A Soul Douluo once saw a silver-colored Moon-Worshipping Wolf King in the largest soul beast forest of the Orlan Empire.
At the time, it was hunting a ninety-thousand-year-old Fire Lion. It howled at the sky, and the silver moon above shone brightly. The wolf king dashed like lightning and bit the Fire Lion to death in one move."
"Grandfather, do you have to exaggerate like that? Even a hundred-thousand-year-old soul beast wouldn't find it easy to kill a ninety-thousand-year-old one."
"What do you know, kid? It's all written in the intelligence report, which claims this was a firsthand account from the Soul Douluo. The information is old, and whether that silver wolf is still around is another matter.
If the report is accurate, then the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King must have been well over a hundred thousand years old back then. I wasn't even going to tell you about it."
The First Elder had shelved the information when he got it—too dangerous. After several decades, who knew how the silver wolf had grown?
But Xu Mingxi wasn't willing to give up. He wanted to try, even if the chance was slim. If he could hunt down the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King, his chances of becoming a god would greatly increase.
"Grandfather, let's go and take a look. Even if we can't beat it, with our strength we should be able to retreat safely."
The Silver Moon Dolphin was hard to find and even harder to capture. It seemed that the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King was their only option now.
Moreover, the Moon-Worshipping Wolf bloodline wasn't the best—not even as good as the Yangyan Crow's, let alone the top-tier beasts like the Blue Bull Python or Titan Giant Ape.
With the strength of the four of them, as long as the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King wasn't more than two hundred thousand years old, they should still be able to escape even if they couldn't defeat it.
Even though Xu Mingxi hadn't obtained his ninth soul ring, his strength had already reached the level of a Titled Douluo. He could easily fight newcomers among Titled Douluo like Snake Lance and Blood Stab.
The only reason he couldn't defeat Xu Zilong was because Xu Zilong's martial spirit was one of the strongest on the continent, and he wore several compatible soul tools. Not just Xu Mingxi—even Bone Douluo would probably suffer a serious loss.
The First Elder saw that Xu Mingxi had made up his mind and said nothing more. After all, the main goal of their visit was to make him stronger.
"Mingxi, we can go hunt the Moon-Worshipping Wolf King, but first we need to acquire some level-eight soul tools."
Ever since he had been forced into a desperate situation by a group of Soul Douluo using soul tools, the First Elder had longed for such equipment. After arriving in Haidu, he gathered a lot of information on soul tools with the help of Song Jiang.
He had now even become a level-two soul engineer himself and had no trouble crafting simple standard soul tools.
As for where to steal level-eight soul tools, the First Elder had already decided. The city of Risheng, where they had been trapped before, was a good choice. As a major city in the Sun and Moon Empire, it housed many soul tool research institutes, and certainly contained plenty of valuable equipment.
Sunrise City? You just want to get revenge for your broken arm—but that's not a bad thing either.
Even though Xu Mingxi still couldn't face Xu Zilong at the moment, that didn't mean he wasn't angry. It would feel good to vent while stealing soul tools.
He nodded to the three elders, and before leaving, he made sure to find Song Jiang again, as they had important business.
"Brother Song Jiang, can you check if there are any soul tools for navigation more advanced than the Shark Tooth in Haidu—or any soul tool that could help us return to the Douluo Continent?"
"Mr. Xu, are you preparing to return? Alright, I'll find the route right away."
After saying farewell to Song Jiang, Xu Mingxi and the three elders immediately set off for Sunrise City. He had been in a coma in the Demon Forest for half a year, and eight years had passed since he first went to sea. Time was truly running short.
It took just two days for the four of them to reach the outskirts of Sunrise City again. The city wall, previously destroyed by the First Elder, had been repaired, and the soldiers guarding the gate seemed relaxed, as if nothing had ever happened.
When Xu Mingxi entered the city wearing a mask, he was asked to remove it for inspection. The guard took one look and said it was bad luck, then waved him through.
Xu Mingxi wasn't angry and calmly entered the city. But before going in, he studied the soldier carefully and memorized his appearance and post.
The people of Sunrise City had forgotten their earlier panic and returned to normal life. The city was bustling again, with streets and alleys full of people. Xu Mingxi took in the scene, then moved with the three elders to the hotel closest to the City Lord's Mansion.
"Mingxi, the city lord of Risheng is a powerful level-86 assault-type Soul Douluo. He's also a level-eight soul engineer and skilled in using soul-guided cannons. We can handle him easily."
"Alright, we'll split up tonight. Grandfather, you and the Ninth Elder will attack the largest Soul Tool Research Institute in the city and seize all the soul tool information. The Eighth Elder and I will storm the city lord's mansion."
Xu Mingxi knew that if the four of them attacked the city lord of Risheng this time, it would surely trigger a massive manhunt by the Sun and Moon Empire. This time, the city officials wouldn't take things lightly. They needed to seize as many high-level soul tools and blueprints as possible—this might be their only chance.