"Oh, for god's sake... where in the blazes have I landed?" he cursed inwardly, feeling as though his head was about to explode.

"Sister Jiufeng, you’re back..." Seemingly spotting Jiufeng, the little boy riding a toad dismounted his amphibian and immediately charged toward Ye Jingyu and the other figure.

When he saw the toad, as large as a calf, lunging toward him, Ye Jingyu's face instantly turned green, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head. A toad the size of a fist was frightening enough, let alone one the size of a young bull...

He tried to run, but found his legs seemingly rooted to the spot, utterly unable to move. He tried to shout, but felt as though something was lodged in his throat, silencing any cry. He could only watch helplessly as the toad leaped forward, arriving before Jiufeng and him in the blink of an eye.

"Huh? Sister Jiufeng, who is this brother? His face is so pale..." the little boy said with utter innocence, while the toad beneath him fixed its fist-sized eyes tightly on Ye Jingyu.

Pale face? Wasn't that a pretty boy? This little brat actually called him a pretty boy?

Ye Jingyu was furious, itching to teach the child a lesson, but the sight of the massive toad instantly dissolved every shred of his courage.

"This is Brother Ye Jingyu, a guest from the outside world. Chi Yiyun, is this a soul beast you’ve recently acquired?" Jiufeng chuckled warmly.

"Mhm, but I only managed to subdue it with my Dad's help," the boy nodded sheepishly.

"Heh, that's quite good. You’re only eight and you've already subdued a Rank Two Soul Beast. When you grow up, perhaps you’ll manage to capture a Rank Seven Sacred Beast," Jiufeng continued to praise him with a constant smile.

"I will work hard," the little boy nodded with all his might.

"Heh, such a good boy. Now, go back to your training," Jiufeng waved him off.

"Mm..."

Only after watching the boy ride his giant toad gradually disappear into the distance did Ye Jingyu feel his heart finally begin to beat again.

"Chi Yiyun is a genius rarely seen in a century among our Chi Yi Clan. He’s only eight and has already become a Rank Two Summoner," Jiufeng turned back and explained to Ye Jingyu.

"You mean he has already reached the Soul Cultivation Realm? Ye Jingyu knew that on the Dou Hun Continent, Soul Masters could generally communicate with other creatures, and with powerful enough soul power, they could subdue other beings as subordinates. However, typically a Soul Master could only summon one creature of the same rank, which served as their primary combat strength in the early stages. Therefore, Soul Masters were also called Summoners."

"Yes, according to the customs outside, that is correct," Jiufeng nodded.

Outside customs? Did that mean he hadn't actually transmigrated, but had merely arrived at some more primitive tribe? Hearing Jiufeng’s words, Ye Jingyu’s heart began to settle down.

Still, a mere eight-year-old achieving the Soul Cultivation Realm would have been a sensational figure in the Shu Yun Kingdom. It was known that the conditions for becoming a Soul Master were extremely harsh; one had to be born with immense soul power—a Soul Awakened—to even begin cultivation. Moreover, the path of a Soul Master was exceedingly difficult; for an average person to advance from a Soul Awakened to the Soul Cultivation Realm often took at least ten years. Thus, Ye Jingyu was not surprised that Chi Yiyun was a genius seen once in a century.

However, seeing the other youngsters running about with strange creatures, Ye Jingyu's brow furrowed again. "What about those children? Are they all Summoners too?"

"They are. Although they don't possess Chi Yiyun's talent, they are all Soul Awakened," Jiufeng said casually while leading Ye Jingyu forward.

"This... how is that possible?" Ye Jingyu was completely stunned. Soul Awakened individuals were incredibly rare, perhaps one in ten thousand was considered lucky. Yet, the children before him, all leading pets, numbered several dozen.

How large could this village be, accommodating perhaps a few thousand people at most? How could it possibly harbor so many Soul Awakened?

If the Shu Yun Kingdom knew about this concentration of Soul Awakened individuals, what would they do?

"What’s impossible about it? Our Chi Yi Clan is the noblest and greatest tribe in the entire Southern Barren Forest. What's a few hundred Summoners to us?" To Ye Jingyu's surprise, Jiufeng said this without a second thought.

Thump... Ye Jingyu felt his heart contract violently.

Several hundred Summoners? Hundreds... In the entire Shu Yun Kingdom, out of several million people, how many Soul Masters were there? Even counting the hidden ones, they surely wouldn't exceed five hundred. Yet, this small tribe had hundreds! If this news got out, what kind of sensation would it cause? How many factions would become fiercely envious?

"Actually, I don't know why, but in recent years, the number of Soul Awakened in our Chi Yi Clan has been decreasing. My grandfather told me that during our clan's peak, we had as many as a thousand Summoners, including over ten Rank Seven Summoners and one Rank Eight Summoner. Back then, no tribe in the entire Southern Barren Forest could stand against the Chi Yi Clan. But for some reason later on, people with the talent for summoning have become increasingly scarce," without acknowledging Ye Jingyu's stupefied expression, Jiufeng spoke plainly, though her eyes dimmed considerably—a subtle sorrow for the decline of a once-flourishing age.

Over ten Rank Seven Summoners—that meant over ten Soul Immortals, and one Rank Eight—a True Immortal, a god-like figure! That level of power would be enough to annihilate the Shu Yun Kingdom.

In a daze, Ye Jingyu felt he had stumbled into a truly marvelous world.

"We're here..." Just as Ye Jingyu was lost in his stupor, Jiufeng’s voice pulled him back to reality.

He looked up and saw before them a massive wooden structure, several times larger than the other huts, surrounded by a low, crude fence. Inside the enclosure, instead of the expected flowers and plants, were several jet-black wild boars, their excrement scattered everywhere, filling the air with a stench so thick it made Ye Jingyu’s brow furrow. Could this truly be the residence of the Chi Yi Clan Chief?

Before he could speak, Jiufeng stepped inside first. There were no guards at the entrance, so Ye Jingyu had no choice but to follow her closely into the wooden hut. Inside, he immediately saw animal skeletons and horns hanging on the walls, and the floor was thickly covered in animal pelts. However, perhaps because they were not cleaned often, a foul odor permeated the air.

It nearly made Ye Jingyu faint from the sheer stench, but Jiufeng seemed completely accustomed to it. Instead, she bowed respectfully toward the front of the room and announced, "Grandpa, I have brought a guest from the outside world. His name is Ye Jingyu..."

Only then did Ye Jingyu notice that at the very front of the room, amidst a pile of furs, lay a person—an old man so thin he seemed nothing more than skin and bones. Due to the dim light and his small frame, he was hard to spot if one didn't look closely. But when he opened his eyes upon hearing Jiufeng's voice, a sliver of green fire shot forth from them, making Ye Jingyu’s entire body tremble.