What excited her most was the half pot of chicken soup left over from yesterday.
Meat porridge and chicken soup made up the breakfast for the three of them. Although it wasn't particularly lavish, it was still quite delicious.
Unaware that, engrossed in her meal, Keke noticed a subtle change in Ju Zi's attitude towards Yu Tianhuang compared to yesterday.
After finishing breakfast and tidying up, Ju Zi locked the wooden door again. She then led Ke Ke and Xu Zihuang to visit every household in town.
Of course, Xu Zihuang and Keke went along on their own initiative.
There were fewer people in the town than Xu Zihuang had imagined, only a handful of dozens.
There were indeed more than a hundred survivors in the town back then, but many have moved away over the years. Most of those who remained were elderly people who lost their children in the war, and orphans like Orange who lost their parents.
Before leaving each household, Orange would leave behind some food and various daily necessities. The simple townspeople, knowing they couldn't refuse, would also very warmly give Orange some local fruits and vegetables to take with him and eat later.
Moreover, they were very polite to Xu Zihuang and Keke.
Orange declined the town's offer to see her off and quietly left the town with Xu Zihuang and Keke.
Lu Li, whom the three had met the previous night, seemed to have guessed that they were leaving and was waiting outside the town early on.
"Ju Zi, come back and visit whenever you have time. And Ke Ke and the young man, you're welcome too."
Xu Zihuang smiled and gestured to Lü Li.
Keke nodded emphatically and giggled.
"Uncle Lü, we would have come even if you hadn't told us. Especially the pheasants here, the meat is really good."
"Uncle Lü, on which branch do those wandering Nether Wolves usually operate? Let's go and wipe them out while we're at it, so as not to affect everyone's lives," Orange said, bringing up something she had been thinking about since yesterday.
"That's fine too."
Lu Li nodded in agreement and pointed out the specific location to the three of them.
The Netherworld Wolf is not a powerful soul beast, and most of the Netherworld Wolf pack are at the ten-year level. With the strength of the three of them, Ju Zi and Ju Min could easily deal with it.
After bidding farewell to Lü Li, the three continued their journey. Because a group of flying soul beasts, the Demon Vultures, lived nearby, they still did not use a flying soul tool to travel.
More than an hour later, they stopped at the foot of a mountain range deep within the Mingdou Great Forest. This mountain range was also a branch of the Mingdou Mountain Range, part of which was inside the Mingdou Great Forest, and the other part was closer to the town. The pack of Nether Wolves occasionally wandered into the vicinity of the town along this branch.
At this moment, Xu Zihuang also saw the soul tool that Xuan Ziwen had mentioned that needed to be tested.
It was a strange spherical metal object. Its overall diameter was over two meters, and it contained three seats: one in the front and two in the back. The sphere was sealed, but all four sides had windows separated by deep blue crystals, through which one could observe the outside world.
The sphere is connected to six thick, powerful metal legs at its base. Each leg is divided into three sections; the first section is extremely sharp and can easily penetrate rocks and soil. The second section of each leg is raised, and the third section connects to the lower end of the metal sphere.
Orange explained, "This is an all-terrain detection soul tool. We can control it by sitting inside the sphere through the core array. As the name suggests, this soul tool is suitable for all kinds of terrain. The sphere itself is made of high-density alloy, which can withstand attacks from level six soul masters and below. It also contains a level five soul tool shield, so we can control it from inside when we encounter soul beast attacks."
"Not only that, it also has the function of isolating auras. When we sit inside, we don't have to worry about being detected by soul beasts. If we encounter danger, we can retract our six long legs and release a layer of rubber on the outside to roll down from a height. Moreover, it is waterproof. That is to say, it will not be affected if we fall into water when necessary. However, in this Mingdou Great Forest, the latter two points should not be needed."
"Let's go inside first." Coco excitedly opened the crystal window in front, then held onto the metal handrail and crawled inside.
Although they were very familiar with all-terrain detection soul tools, this was the first time they had tried it themselves. After all, this all-terrain detection soul tool was a closely guarded secret of the Mingde Hall. If Xuan Ziwen hadn't been in charge of most of the core arrays of this soul tool, they wouldn't have had the chance to test its performance.
At Ju Zi's prompting, Xu Zihuang went in second. He and Ke Ke sat in the two seats at the back.
Finally, Orange sat in the main control seat and pulled the metal lever in her hand. The previously open window slowly closed, sealing the three of them inside the metal sphere.
Keke looked at Xu Zihuang, who had remained calm throughout, with a puzzled expression.
"Aren't you even a little surprised by this all-terrain detection soul tool?"
"There's nothing surprising about it. Your Sun Moon Empire's soul tool technology is so far ahead of our original Douluo Continent, so I'm not surprised that you have this level. Moreover, the shortcomings of this all-terrain detection soul tool are obvious. With such a complex structure, the number of core arrays contained within must be considerable. To activate these complex core arrays, the consumption of soul power must be enormous. The effect achieved by consuming the same amount of soul power is far less than that of directly using the soul tool in battle. Such a soul tool doesn't seem to have much practical significance. However, this innovation is still commendable, provided that the energy problem can be solved."
Keke stuck her tongue out at Xu Zihuang, surprised that Yu Tianhuang had such a sharp eye. He directly pointed out the pros and cons in one sentence.
"You have good taste."
"Actually, Professor Xuan's research topic is how to enable ordinary people to use powerful soul tools and possess the power to contend with powerful soul masters. Tianhuang, don't underestimate this all-terrain detection soul tool. Our Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy has been researching it for a full thirty years. We've been constantly adjusting the fusion ratio of the core magic array and rare metal alloys, and only recently have we produced a finished product. Professor Xuan's research direction at Mingde Hall is how to transform it into a combat-type soul tool," Orange chimed in.
Xu Zihuang shook his head.
"If we can successfully transform this all-terrain exploration soul tool into a combat-type soul tool, it will indeed be a significant advancement. However, ordinary people are destined to be unable to compete with top-tier soul masters."
Even ten thousand years later, when battle armor and mechs appeared, those top-tier Soul Masters still stood at the pinnacle.
Soul tools can only unleash their full power when used by powerful soul masters.
This is a given fact, and it cannot be changed.
Both Orange and Coco looked thoughtful, but neither of them said anything in rebuttal.
That's how it is in this era, at least.
Chapter 264 The Ghostly Two-Headed Wolf and the Nightmare Man-Eating Flower
The three then traveled deeper into this branch of the mountain in an all-terrain detection soul tool.
Orange sat in the main control seat at the front, gripping the thickest metal rod in her left hand. Five spirit rings—two yellow and three purple—flashed in succession, their spirit power fully poured into them.
With a soft metallic clicking sound, the all-terrain detection soul tool began to move amidst the vibrations.
Xu Zihuang and the other two inside felt it even more vividly; the six long metal legs below exerted force simultaneously, supporting the sphere as it slowly rose.
The increased height also opens up the field of vision. In particular, the sapphire crystal window on the front has been specially treated to offer a 180-degree panoramic view.
"Keke, you control the soul-guiding shield." As Ju Zi spoke, she pressed a red button on her right, and a metal rod rose up in front of Keke. Keke clenched her hands tightly, ready to inject soul power at any moment.
"Sister Orange, I'm ready."
"Let's get going!" Orange shouted, then without further hesitation, she pushed forward slightly with the metal rod in her left hand. The six long legs beneath the all-terrain detection soul tool immediately began to move forward, gradually increasing their speed.
Xu Zihuang didn't pay attention to the changes in the soul power of the core array of the all-terrain detection soul tool. Instead, he thoughtfully looked at Ju Zi from behind.
Orange's ability to control her emotions is actually not much worse than his. If he hadn't saved Orange back then and made that black truffle stewed chicken that reminded Orange of her father's cooking, perhaps Orange would never have shown her most authentic self in front of him.
Although the mountain range in front of them was a branch of the Mingdou Mountain Range, it was not nearly as steep. The six sharp metal legs easily pierced into the soil and rocks, climbing more than two hundred meters and crossing the first small hill.
However, this all-terrain detection soul tool consumes too much soul power; this one use alone depleted nearly half of Ju Zi's soul power. And this was only after traveling for half an hour.
In other words, with Orange Soul King level cultivation, he could only control this all-terrain detection soul tool for about a quarter of an hour at most.
Due to the climate, the trees in the southern mountains are taller, and the vegetation inside is denser. Especially the thorns that twine around the trunks; some of these thorns not only carry toxins but can also easily tear clothing and skin.
Of course, none of this affected Xu Zihuang and the other two inside the all-terrain detection soul tool. The biggest problem it caused was simply the obstruction of their line of sight.
Fortunately, they had not yet entered the Mingdou Great Forest, so they did not need to worry about attacks from powerful soul beasts.
Occasionally, some Netherworld Wolves with ten years of cultivation would wander here. Even if they stood still, these ten-year-old wolves could not break through the defense of the all-terrain detection soul guide device.
Orange controlled the all-terrain detection soul tool very smoothly, but bumps were still unavoidable. Sitting on a hard chair was definitely not a comfortable thing. Before long, Keke was rubbing her bottom and frowning.
Where is that initial eagerness now?
But to say she would complain wouldn't be entirely true. After all, she was a Soul Master with considerable Soul Power, and she could endure this kind of turbulence.
However, when Keke noticed Xu Zihuang's composed demeanor beside her, she felt unbalanced again.
With each jolt, Xu Zihuang's body would make just the right slight movements to mitigate the impact, like being tossed about by ocean waves.
These were all small techniques he had learned through the practice of body tempering by the tides.
Keke looked at Xu Zihuang speechlessly.
"What a freak! Is there anything you can't do?"
Xu Zihuang turned his gaze away from the window on the right and smiled as he met Keke's eyes.
"Senior Keke, you mean this little trick to reduce the impact? If you want to learn, I can teach you."
"Forget it, I definitely won't be able to learn it in a short time." Coco shook her head nonchalantly, showing great self-awareness. Then she asked with interest.
"I've noticed that your attitude towards me and Sister Orange is completely different from your attitude towards Wang Shaojie and Zimu."
At this point, she seemed to remember something, and quickly crossed her arms and widened her eyes.
"Tell me quickly, do you have any improper thoughts about me and Sister Orange? Confess and you'll be treated leniently, resist and you'll be punished severely."
Although that's what she said, her beautiful eyes were full of arrogance.
Even Orange, who was sitting in front, spared some attention to listen to Yu Tianhuang's answer.
“Senior Keke, what you say isn’t wrong. You and Senior Ju Zi are both so beautiful. It’s perfectly normal for me to want to get closer to you two,” Xu Zihuang said with a gentle smile.
"You have good taste." Keke smiled with satisfaction, revealing two cute little tiger teeth. But the next moment she became alert, her face showing suspicion.
"Wait a minute, what you're saying sounds like something a scumbag would say. You don't usually use this to fool young girls at Shrek Academy, do you? Let me tell you, Orange Sister and I don't fall for that."
Then, she changed the subject, her pretty face slightly flushed, and said...
"But if you cook for me and Sister Orange a few more times, you're not entirely without a chance."
She wasn't just saying that casually; she had seriously considered it. Aside from being a bit younger, Yu Tianhuang was practically perfect. It was bound to move her somewhat. If Yu Tianhuang were her age, given her personality, she might have boldly taken the initiative to pursue him.
Hearing this, Orange, sitting in front, felt a strange emotion rise within her for some reason. She was certain it was possessiveness, possessiveness towards Yu Tianhuang. Even though Keke was her closest confidante and friend.
But what right does she have to possess it?
Xu Zihuang also gave a reply in a somewhat joking tone.
"Senior Keke, you guessed right. I am a scumbag. I like to flirt with girls, but I'm not willing to take the initiative. How about that? Isn't my personality terrible?"
"You're kidding me." Keke pouted coquettishly, but her gaze unconsciously fell on Ju Zi, her expression enigmatic.
"However, I believe it's true that many girls are easily charmed by you."
There was something she didn't tell anyone last night. While asleep, Orange subconsciously uttered a few words: the names of Orange's parents and Yu Tianhuang.
Just then, Orange suddenly shouted a reminder.
"Watch out ahead, there are five Nether Wolves."
There were five wolf-shaped soul beasts, each about 1.6 meters long. Their bodies were iron-gray, but their eyes were a ghostly green, making them look quite eerie. Their tails were tucked behind them, and they silently moved their limbs closer.
"Sister Orange, I'll take care of them!" Coco's eyes lit up, and she called out in a sweet voice. She patted a red button next to her with her right hand, and then her body was ejected into an all-terrain detection soul tool.
This all-terrain detection soul tool was originally designed for transporting and protecting soul masters. Next to each seat is a button. Pressing it quickly opens the crystal window at the top, transporting the person in the seat to the outside.
Keke's body spun in the air and landed steadily on top of the all-terrain detection soul tool. With her straight and slender legs spread apart, she half-squatted, carrying a huge metal tube on her shoulder.
Fortunately, she wasn't wearing the standard short skirt uniform of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy; otherwise, such an embarrassing action would have been enough to expose the interior of the all-terrain detection soul tool to Xu Zihuang and Ju Zi.
Level 5 Wind and Thunder Cannon. This is a powerful long-range soul tool that Keke frequently uses. It combines the speed of wind with the explosive power of thunder. Among level 5 long-range soul tools, its power is second only to the Thunder Cannon and the Super Energy Cannon.
Netherworld wolves are naturally suspicious and generally dislike direct attacks. However, these five Netherworld wolves were an exception. They actually raised their heads, let out a sharp howl, and charged towards Keke.
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