Outside the Golden Tree.
Bei Bei paced anxiously, looking just like a husband waiting outside the delivery room, while Su Wen and Wang Dong'er whispered to each other.
"Will it work?" Wang Dong'er asked.
"Ninety percent chance. The remaining ten percent depends on her willpower," Su Wen replied calmly.
"If she can endure, she'll become the Blue Silver Empress. If not, it's over for her."
Wang Dong'er: "..."
"Ninety percent is already as if the heavens are feeding it to her. If she still fails… it just means her mind isn't strong enough. She might as well give up the difficult path and live an ordinary life," Su Wen said softly.
In the original story, Tang Ya actually had pretty good willpower.
She was resilient, as tough as Blue Silver Grass. It was just a pity that her life started in disaster—her sect was slaughtered, she bore a deep hatred, and in the end fell into darkness as an evil soul master.
Correcting things now should be fairly simple.
Hummm…
Several minutes later.
Tang Ya's body, wrapped in vines, was carried out from the core of the Golden Tree. The faint purple marks at the corners of her eyes had been completely erased, restoring her once lively and cheerful appearance.
"Congratulations, the surgery was a success…" Su Wen said with a beaming smile.
"Your martial soul has advanced from the simplest Blue Silver Grass to the Blue Silver Empress. In the future, you might walk a support-control path, with the vibrant vitality of Blue Silver Grass at its core."
"Then why not follow Ancestor Tang San's path?" Bei Bei asked in confusion. He wasn't just being argumentative—he truly thought Tang San's poison support-control was the best route for a Blue Silver Empress.
Although countless people had tried over the years, none succeeded…
But that divine halo is hard to resist. How could it be so easily ignored?
"I get it, the vitality route!" Bei Bei, though confused, wasn't stupid. Su Wen would never harm Xiao Ya, so between Tang San and Su Wen, he quickly chose the latter…
"I'm off to train the inner court disciples." Su Wen yawned and strolled away leisurely.
Inner Court.
By the side of Sea God Lake.
The inner court disciples were chatting, discussing their recent progress in the trials.
"I got stuck on a Soul Sage yesterday, one from the Holy Spirit Cult's seventh branch. No matter what I did, I couldn't get past. I died four times in a row, only barely managing to survive ten minutes against him."
"Those spiritual-type evil soul masters always get you without you even noticing…"
"Spiritual types are manageable. It's that Abomination guy that's torture. I don't even want to touch him, he's just disgusting."
"Sigh, only a month until the Sea God's Fate Blind Date. You think I have a shot? A few senior sisters have their eyes on me, fighting over me, but my heart is steadfast…"
"You have a shot—the circus has a spot for you."
"I'm not handsome?"
"Stop bothering my mirror, give it back!"
"..."
The inner court disciples joked around, keeping things light.
After all, the real pressure hadn't arrived yet.
Xie Huanyue sat in the crowd, looking particularly conspicuous, glancing around and mumbling to himself.
"Why isn't the boss here yet…"
"Hey, little fatty, who are you waiting for?" A young man in the red and white inner court uniform poked Xie Huanyue's arm.
"Senior, I'm waiting for the boss." Xie Huanyue scratched his head and grinned sheepishly.
This senior was his mission partner, and their relationship was pretty decent.
"You mean the person you met this morning?" the young man asked in surprise.
"Yup." Xie Huanyue smiled.
"I once roomed with the boss, he took good care of me…"
"Oh, so he's your peer." The young man crossed his arms and grinned. Anyone in Xie Huanyue's class had to be a rookie.
So he put on a senior's airs, "What's his name? I'll take care of him when he arrives."
"Su Wen," Xie Huanyue answered honestly.
"Who?!" The young man's eyes widened in shock, drawing all surrounding gazes.
"S-Su Wen…" Xie Huanyue's fat quivered, and he stammered in fright.
"You… you actually bunked with the Demon King?!"
More people gathered around, their faces full of amazement as if they'd discovered a new continent.
"Yeah…" Xie Huanyue was a bit lost.
He hadn't been in the inner court long, and had been on missions with upperclassmen for a while. He'd just returned to the Academy.
"We're doomed."
The young man slowly closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Our drill instructor… is the Demon King, Su Wen." Another explained to Xie Huanyue, glancing at the young man with some pity.
Giving your boss a nickname and letting them find out…
Oof.
What a tragedy.
"Alright, that's it for today."
Su Wen glanced at the exhausted group. Their legs were shaking, faces deathly pale, and he smacked his lips, still not satisfied.
"Dismissed."
Waving his hand, he ignored whether they could crawl back to the dorm, then turned to leave.
His training, of course, involved small worlds like Little Gold and Ice Empress. If they could benefit from extreme attributes and change their martial souls, great. If they could push their limits and increase their potential, that was good too…
However…
Su Wen looked surprised.
Sensing Gu Yuena's excited tone in his spiritual sea, he was a bit stunned: "Thunder Hell Prison Vine?"
"That's right, it's in the northern part of the Star Dou Great Forest, near the Heavenly Soul Empire's border. There's a Storm Valley there, where lightning is often gathered. A few days ago, the Myriad Demon King reported a Thunder Hell Prison Vine with several thousand years of cultivation, and it's said to be absorbing lightning to advance to the ten-thousand-year level."
"You still have a purple spirit ball, so it's perfect to capture it."
Gu Yuena said.
"Thunder Hell Prison Vine… definitely suits me." Su Wen chewed over the name, joy flickering in his eyes.
Although he was no longer the inexperienced boy lacking control-type power, this plant soul beast's potential was truly terrifying.
According to the original story, it carries the bloodline of the former first-rank god, the Thunder God.
And the Thunder God's position was still vacant…
After all, the Thunder God fell in a divine war.
If he could advance it a few times, maybe he could fill the Thunder God's vacancy.
These were all first-rank gods!
Wow.
Even Su Wen was impressed.
Maybe before he even ascended to godhood, the Divine Realm would already be full of his people (and beasts)…
The Divine Realm didn't actually discriminate much against soul beasts. The main restriction was Dragon God's rule—no matter how much you liked a soul beast, you couldn't pass on your godhood.
So even if Tang San truly wanted to stop him, he'd be powerless.
"Jie jie jie…"
Su Wen grinned.
"Hurry, the Thunder Hell Prison Vine's cultivation is rising fast. If you wait until it advances to ten-thousand-year, you won't be able to catch it," Gu Yuena urged.
"Alright!" Without hesitation, Su Wen flashed away into the depths of the Star Dou Great Forest.
But he didn't notice the barely suppressed excitement in Gu Yuena's voice.