NOVEL WEB Chapter 796: Refugees
Just like that, the two of them passed through village after village, meeting different yet similar people, replacing lodging fees by helping them live better, constantly meeting and parting with various people.
During this period, Sun Ming learned skills such as farming, weeding, fishing, boat-building, weaving, silk-farming, etc., and modified the moves accumulated by these people over the years, combining them with his breathing, and taught them in a way that was easily understandable like mountain songs and folk tunes, to repay them for leading him to understand these skills and as compensation for lodging.
Dugu Yan also learned quite a bit, for the first time realizing that besides cultivating Soul Power, there were so many other things to understand, and once immersed, she could feel that the convenience in her future life came because of the masses providing.
Three months later, the two crossed Xingdou Great Forest, traversing through it, encountering few soul beasts attacking, as Dugu Yan's Crystal Dragon Martial Spirit carried strong dragon prestige.
Upon entering the heart of Xingdou Great Forest, the two saw an exceptionally clear lake where strange energy from heaven and earth gathered significantly.
"I didn't expect the depths of Xingdou Great Forest to be so fine; it would be perfect to build a small courtyard nearby for seclusion," Dugu Yan sighed.
Splish-splash!
At this moment, the water began to ripple, and a massive soul beast with a bull's head and snake's body emerged, its green scales glistening under the sunlight, with strange energy flowing within.
"Humans, this is not a place you should be," the Azure Bull Python spoke human words, its large bull eyes fixated on Dugu Yan, as if pondering something.
"Sorry, for intruding here, but we just want to pass through this forest."
Sun Ming observed the Azure Bull Python, his gaze landing beneath the lake surface where, within a peculiar space, a silver five-clawed giant dragon lay dormant, not in the long strip true dragon form like Dugu Bo's Bi Lin Emperor Dragon, but rather a winged dragon kind.
In terms of bloodline, this dormant one was indeed stronger.
However, among dragon-type soul beasts, those with high bloodline purity could all be called true dragons.
The Azure Bull Python sensed the powerful dragon-type Martial Spirit on Dugu Yan, possessing multiple elements, and even two extremely strong dragon-type soul bones.
Could this one be some ancient bloodline descendant or something like that?
"Go on then." Finally, the Azure Bull Python motioned for Sun Ming and Dugu Yan to pass through here—being able to reach the center of Xingdou Great Forest indicates their strength is definitely not weak, and since the two had no intention of challenging him, he wouldn't proactively pick a fight.
Thud!
On the other side, a massive gorilla nearly twenty meters tall stepped out of the woods, known in legends as the overlord among soul beasts: Titan Giant Ape.
"Humans!" The Titan Giant Ape roared, the pressure of a hundred thousand-year soul beast swept over, the Azure Bull Python wanting to prevent it was already too late, and soul beasts find it somewhat difficult to control their own pressure.
However, Sun Ming merely had the Heart Ape Martial Spirit possess him, a surge of heart power dispelled the Titan Giant Ape's pressure, even causing its pupils to contract and tremble, prostrate on the ground, fearfully saying, "Greetings...King!"
The Azure Bull Python was taken aback, then looked at Sun Ming's Martial Spirit, unable to discern anything, as the Heart Ape Martial Spirit can only be discerned by the ape-kind on its true nature, other races, unless with extremely strong bloodlines, cannot detect its origin.
For instance, if the silver dragon lying dormant beneath the lake awoke, it might sense something amiss with the Heart Ape Martial Spirit.
Sun Ming observed the Titan Giant Ape and said, "No need for this, just refrain from wantonly releasing pressure in the future. Since you've developed wisdom, think well and don't just rely on fists to solve things, or you might end up living less happily than before you gained wisdom."
"Yes!" The Titan Giant Ape replied respectfully.
Watching Sun Ming and Dugu Yan leave, the Azure Bull Python lowered its head beside the Titan Giant Ape and asked, "What's wrong with you just now? Why did you call him King?"
"What is that Martial Spirit?"
The Titan Giant Ape raised its head, describing the scene it had glimpsed earlier, saying, "Big Brother, my Martial Spirit is that of a super strong ape, capable of annihilating gods with a single gaze."
The Azure Bull Python looked at the Titan Giant Ape as if watching an idiot.
"Big Brother, don't look at me with those eyes. I assure you what I saw was real, even if the ancestor sleeping below were to awaken, it wouldn't be able to stop him with one hand," the Titan Giant Ape got a bit anxious.
"You're disrespecting the ancestor!" The Azure Bull Python's tone was unfriendly.
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"I'm not of the dragon-kind." The Titan Giant Ape felt a bit aggrieved, its tone getting lower and lower.
"Don't say this when Emperor Tian and the others return, or I won't speak on your behalf," the Azure Bull Python sternly said, then glanced in the direction Sun Ming and Dugu Yan left, "But that person being able to scare you probably indicates their Martial Spirit is top-notch; there's likely hope for divinity."
The Titan Giant Ape suddenly asked, "Big Brother, why did Emperor Tian and the others go out, leaving just us, Xiao Wu, and Aunt to guard...if Emperor Tian and the others were here, Aunt wouldn't have suffered an attack from human soul masters when we were out."
The Azure Bull Python replied, "It is said they are searching across the continent for treasures that might wake the ancestor sooner."
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"Xingdou Great Forest actually has two hundred thousand-year soul beasts!"
"After leaving a distance from the core of the Xingdou Great Forest, Dugu Yan marveled, 'And they are all top-notch among soul beasts, the Titan Giant Ape, and the Azure Bull Python, in terms of variety, are just right for the two of us.'"
"'Not just two, there's still one sleeping at the bottom of that lake. In terms of bloodline, it's even stronger than the progenitors of the two super soul bones you absorbed,' Sun Ming said, 'According to human soul power cultivation, she has already surpassed the hundred-level existence.'
"'So strong?' Dugu Yan couldn't help but shudder, 'But why is she sleeping?'
"'Not sure, I only sensed her hiding her aura, as if afraid of being discovered by certain existences...'"
Sun Ming looked up at the sky, as if seeing another dimension, "Combining Martial Soul Hall's data, guessing a bit, perhaps she's worried about the Divine Realm gods making a move on her. As long as gods exist, unless she transforms and retrains, she can't possibly walk the world in her true form, as hundred-level powerhouses can only stay in the mortal world for about a hundred years before ascending to the Divine Realm."
"But she didn't ascend—"
"Either she holds a grudge against the Divine Realm or wants to stay here."
Dugu Yan thought for a moment and guessed, "Maybe it's the former."
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Sun Ming asked with interest.
"After all, I also think the rule that soul masters add a soul ring every ten levels is targeted at soul beasts."
Dugu Yan speculated, "Perhaps that Silver Dragon fought a battle with the Divine Realm, recuperating on the continent, and the gods of the Divine Realm established the rule of having to upgrade soul rings to continue cultivation on the continent, constantly weakening soul beasts to disgust the Silver Dragon."
"I've seen Martial Soul Hall's data too, that Angel God fought against soul beasts, earning humanity's survival space and thus receiving universal belief, achieving the hundred-level."
"Perhaps, from the perspective of gods, both soul beasts and humans are pawns, but they dislike soul beasts more."
Sun Ming nodded, affirming the interesting nature of Dugu Yan's guess.
"Just interesting?"
"After all, we've never seen a god, so how can we be sure?" Sun Ming laughed, "Therefore, regardless of whether the guess is correct or not, it only holds interest, without actual significance."
"In that sense, that's true." Dugu Yan mused, then asked, "So, does blind guessing really hold no meaning?"
"Not exactly." Sun Ming shook his head, "A complete and logically-rich fantasy can serve as art, enriching a person's spiritual realm and stimulating imagination."
"That's why poetry and opera exist."
"If people only lived to eat, then wisdom would be redundant, like ordinary animals acting on instinct, having more stable reproduction."
Sun Ming spoke while Dugu Yan listened, the two chatted and laughed, not feeling lonely.
After leaving Xingdou Great Forest, the two arrived in the territory of the Xingluo Empire, changing their clothes into coarse cloth garments, looking like commoners aside from their skin and striking appearance.
The life of the people here was much worse compared to the Tiandou territory, and they even saw many pale and malnourished refugees along the way.
Sun Ming gathered them together, taking them along, begging for some food from suitable villages, then helping build some houses and cultivate some fields, returning to past teachings and settling some refugees there.
In every village passed, they acted this way, leaving some refugees to settle down.
During the journey, old faces among the refugees accompanying Sun Ming constantly decreased, while new faces increased, but under immersive influence, these refugees learned some skills, all expressing gratitude for Sun Ming's kindness.
When Sun Ming passed through Gengxin City, he impressed Master Craftsman Lou Gao with his blacksmithing skills, imparting his self-created Iron Hammering Skill, hoping the Blacksmith Association would provide jobs for the refugees behind him as an exchange.
Teaching someone to fish is better than giving them fish.
Sun Ming also stayed in Gengxin City for a while to teach these refugees until their health improved, then asked Lou Gao to arrange jobs for them.
For this hard-earned job, most refugees with somewhat strong bodies worked diligently.
If they were unwilling to work, there was nothing Sun Ming could do.
His benevolence was not for the lazy.
As such, most refugees stayed in Gengxin City, and Sun Ming wrote a letter, asking Lou Gao to have someone send it to Martial Soul City and the Pontiff Hall, requesting the pope to discipline the personnel of the Martial Soul Hall in Gengxin City.
Because the sect hierarch of the Martial Soul Hall here was too arrogant, and his subordinates were also rampant, always buying goods on credit, sometimes even directly seizing women in broad daylight.
For hypocrites, Sun Ming had no opinions, because as long as they are human, their hearts have little schemes.
It's just that the personnel of the Martial Soul Hall in Gengxin City went too far.