As they grew older, it wasn't just Wei Na and Mu Xue who had changed; Xu Zihuang had also changed.
In particular, ever since he successfully condensed and fused a spiritual attribute soul core, his deep purple eyes, already exuding an air of nobility, had gained an additional soul-stirring depth and vastness. Both Wei Na and Mu Xue were involuntarily drawn to those eyes, as if their souls were being sucked in, placed amidst a starry sky, their minds in a daze.
After a brief moment of stupor, the two women recognized him through Xu Zihuang's familiar facial features.
Wei Na's emerald-green eyes were the first to surge with a trace of mysterious silver light. She recovered slightly earlier than Mu Xue, but the shock in her heart was even greater than Mu Xue's.
Her second martial soul, the brain, was a top-tier spiritual attribute innate martial soul. Not long ago, she had also completed a silver-level second awakening through the Body Sect's secret method.
Yet even so, it had still caused her to feel that sensation, which meant that Yu Tianhuang's spiritual force realm far surpassed her own.
However, the one most shocked was Lang Ya. Four years ago in Star Luo City, his soul power cultivation had already reached level 89. In the years since, he had smoothly broken through to the Title Douluo realm.
A Title Douluo possessing a silver-level second-awakened innate martial soul of the spiritual attribute.
Within the Body Sect, there were more than a dozen elders at Title Douluo cultivation or above. He might not be the strongest in combat power, but his spiritual force realm was already comparable to the Body Sect's sect master, Du Bushi, having entered the tangible and qualitative level.
From the age of six, when he awakened his martial soul, it had taken him over forty years to reach this point. Relying on the spiritual attribute soul core condensed upon breaking through to Title Douluo, as well as hunting a spiritual attribute soul beast with cultivation nearing 100,000 years, he had finally completed his final transformation.
That spiritual attribute soul beast with cultivation nearing 100,000 years not only granted him an exceptionally powerful ninth soul ring but also dropped an ultimate head soul bone.
Through various opportunities and decades of bitter cultivation, he had with great difficulty caused his spiritual force to initially step into the tangible and qualitative realm.
And how old was Yu Tianhuang?
At most, not yet seventeen. Yet his spiritual force realm was already on par with his own, and even more stable than his.
Amidst the shock, an intense feeling of defeat rose in his heart.
All those decades of cultivation, he feared he had cultivated it all into a dog.
However, this emotion quickly dissipated, replaced by an indescribable excitement. Not just him, all the high-level members of their Body Sect had never given up on the idea of recruiting Yu Tianhuang. Back then, due to Shrek Academy's Dragon God Douluo Mu En, the Body Sect did not dare to make a move on Yu Tianhuang. But now that Dragon God Douluo had fallen, what reservations did they still have?
Of course, if Yu Tianhuang was willing to join their Body Sect on his own, there would be no need for so much trouble. If he was unwilling, they would consider other methods depending on the situation.
"Wei Na, Mu Xue, I didn't expect to meet you here." Xu Zihuang smiled faintly, greeting the two women, then performed a salute toward Lang Ya.
"Hello, Senior Lang Ya. Thank you for your kindness back then."
Lang Ya naturally knew what Yu Tianhuang was referring to. The life essence of the 100,000-year plant-type soul beast Heavenly Azure Vine held considerable benefits even for Title Douluo-level experts. To be honest, he had truly felt a bit heartbroken at the time.
After all, they hadn't managed to bring the person into their Body Sect, meaning those resources had been lost for nothing. Fortunately, now all those problems no longer exist.
Lang Ya looked at Xu Zihuang, his eyes flickering with refined light yet exceptionally gentle.
"It's fine. It seems you've made considerable progress in these years, little one. You're probably planning to rest as well. Why don't we camp together here? What do you think?"
"Since Senior Lang Ya has said so, I naturally have no reason to refuse." Xu Zihuang smiled calmly.
He could tell that Lang Ya had likely broken through to the Title Douluo realm. He was wary of Lang Ya, but not overly so. He lacked great confidence in confrontation against other Title Douluo, but spiritual attribute Title Douluo, like Lang Ya, were an exception.
His spiritual force realm was no lower than Lang Ya's, and he had similarly condensed and fused a spiritual attribute soul core. Lang Ya's spiritual attribute soul skills might not even pose a threat to him.
On the contrary, in terms of soul skills, he was even stronger than Lang Ya. Just the four 100,000-year soul skills from the pure spiritual-type Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler's soul ring and soul bone set were not easily resisted.
Moreover, Lang Ya and the Body Sect mainly harbored a desire to nurture talent toward him; the possibility of harm was low.
"Very well, we'll land here then."
Lang Ya nodded with a smile, descending toward the ground first. Xu Zihuang followed closely, with Wei Na, Mu Xue, and the other middle-aged man behind.
As Xu Zihuang, Wei Na, and Mu Xue controlled their soul tools to descend, their gazes met in mid-air.
Xu Zihuang maintained a calm smile throughout, but every time Wei Na met his eyes, a slight blush appeared on her beautiful face. That intimate contact from back then had left an extremely deep impression on this princess.
Yu Tianhuang's appearance and temperament were flawless, and his talent and strength were sufficiently outstanding. In the years since joining the Body Sect, although she had met many elite disciples of the younger generation within the sect, the only one who could rival Yu Tianhuang in talent and strength was that senior brother Long Aotian, who was immersed in cultivation all day.
In other aspects, the rigid and wooden Long Aotian was far inferior to Yu Tianhuang.
She respected Long Aotian, but the one who truly stirred unusual emotions in her and touched her heart was the young man before her.
Wei Na shyly averted her gaze from Xu Zihuang's, her red lips slightly parting.
"Tianhuang, let me introduce Uncle Mo to you."
The middle-aged man Wei Na called Uncle Mo was quick-witted and took the initiative to smile warmly at Xu Zihuang, easing the awkwardness for Wei Na.
"Young Brother Yu, hello. I'm called Mo Feiyun. Back then, the young lady and the others brought Her Highness the Princess and the heavily injured to your Shrek Academy. To my shame, my injuries were healed thanks to your academy."
"Uncle Mo, no need to be polite." Xu Zihuang understood in his heart. At that time, he had been busy executing the Ultimate Soldier Plan in the Soul Tool Department and hadn't met Mo Feiyun. But through memories from his previous life, he had some impression of him.
Mo Feiyun's martial soul was Cloud, somewhat similar to Jing Ziyan's Purple Smoke martial soul, but of higher quality. Judging from the soul power fluctuations in his body, he now had at least level 80 or above.
While Xu Zihuang conversed with Mo Feiyun, the four had already landed on the soft, fresh grass.
The area Lang Ya had chosen had some consideration. In this boundless plain, the terrain here was higher, offering a relatively open view.
Mo Feiyun took the initiative to use his soul power to shatter the knee-high azure-blue silver grass nearby, clearing a space. He set up five sturdy ox-hide tents around the campfire.
"Young Brother Yu, the wind is strong on the grassland, especially at night. With these ox-hide tents, meditating, cultivating, or resting at night will be much more comfortable."
"Thank you for the trouble, Uncle Mo." Xu Zihuang did not need to deliberately refuse Mo Feiyun's kindness.
Among the four from Wei Na's group, Mo Feiyun clearly had the lowest status. After finishing these tasks, he went to another high ground to keep watch. On this Lingbei Great Grassland, because it produced wild angular scale horses popular among nobles, there was no lack of teams wanting to tame these horses for a fortune.
But no matter how lacking in combat power angular scale horses were, they were still soul beasts. Ordinary people had almost no chance of taming them. Thus, most of these large and small teams consisted of soul masters.
For profit, conflicts between teams, even murder and robbery, were common. In short, this vast Lingbei Great Grassland was not as harmonious and beautiful as it appeared on the surface.
The campfire flickered in the wind, dispelling the chill.
Xu Zihuang and Lang Ya sat close together, while Wei Na and Mu Xue sat opposite, arms linked.
Wei Na's smile, blending gentleness and shyness, was indeed heart-moving. Her gaze inadvertently fell on Xu Zihuang repeatedly; this demeanor made it hard to associate her with the identity of the Tianhun Empire's princess.
Mu Xue glanced at Wei Na with a half-smile, a trace of amusement in her eyes. Leaning close to Wei Na's ear, she transmitted sound with soul power.
"Seeing the person you've been thinking about day and night, don't you want to say something?"
Wei Na, whose thoughts had been seen through, flashed a trace of embarrassed annoyance in her eyes, full of reproach.
At that moment, Lang Ya's voice caused the two women to stop their little actions.
"Wei Na, both you and Tianhuang have spiritual attributes, innate martial souls, and there is commonality between eyes and brain. Now is a good opportunity, you can exchange insights on cultivation."
Lang Ya spoke with a kind gaze.
He was extremely trusting and close to Xu Zihuang. This single sentence revealed a lot of information.
"Yes, Teacher." Wei Na subconsciously responded.
Xu Zihuang's brows raised slightly. He knew Wei Na possessed the brain as her second martial soul. As for Wei Na taking Lang Ya as her master, his memories from his previous life had no impression of this.
But it was reasonable.
Both Lang Ya and Wei Na's martial souls were in the brain; having Lang Ya guide Wei Na was most suitable.
"Senior Lang Ya, Wei Na, there's quite a lot of information in what you've said."
"Tianhuang, whether you admit it or not, possessing an innate martial soul makes you a member of our Body Sect. When your strength reaches a certain level in the future, you will be the new generation's Innate Body Douluo; this is an unchangeable fact." Lang Ya's smile did not diminish.
"To be honest with you, our Body Sect has already been conferred as the guardian sect of the Tianhun Empire, precisely to resist the restless Sun Moon Empire. Our Body Sect's reputation on the continent is indeed not great, but we are all willing to fight to protect the nation, even unto death."
There was no trace of boasting in Lang Ya's words, as if he were calmly stating a fact. Yet within this calm lay a moving firmness and dominance.
"Tianhuang, you are also from our Tianhun Empire. If you are willing to return to our Body Sect, I can now promise on behalf of the sect master to establish you as the sole heir to the next sect master of the Body Sect."
There was no need for any hesitation. Yu Tianhuang's golden-level innate martial soul second awakening ability was already sufficient for them to make such a decision.
Golden-level innate martial soul second awakening was not something anyone could achieve. Among the Body Sect's younger generation, the most outstanding Long Aotian, upon breaking through to Title Douluo, would at best have only a one-in-ten chance of elevating from silver-level innate martial soul second awakening to golden-level.
Hearing Lang Ya's words, Wei Na and Mu Xue were both stunned.
But Wei Na quickly reacted, decisively speaking softly: "Tianhuang, I can also promise on behalf of my imperial father a hereditary duke title."
A duke was undoubtedly the highest title, and a hereditary one at that. Among the four great empires on the current continent, hereditary duke titles absolutely did not exceed the fingers of one hand. The most typical was the Star Luo Empire's White Tiger Duke.
Moreover, a hereditary duke meant becoming at least the lord of a province. This was a true top-tier great noble with territory that could be passed down through generations.
Xu Zihuang calmly shook his head.
"Senior Lang Ya, Wei Na, thank you for your kindness, but I do not wish to leave Shrek Academy at present. Before Elder Mu passed, I promised him I would protect Shrek Academy well."
Lang Ya frowned, still unwilling to give up, continuing in a deep voice: "Shrek Academy has always proclaimed that it does not restrict the freedom of its students, right? Even stepping back, joining our Body Sect would not affect your protection of Shrek Academy. On the contrary, with the entire sect as your backing, would any force dare to move against Shrek Academy then?"
To persuade Yu Tianhuang to join the Body Sect, he was truly racking his brains.
Xu Zihuang still shook his head, then changed the topic.
"Although I do not wish to leave the academy now, if the Tianhun Empire faces difficulty in the future, I am willing to do my part."
Only then did Lang Ya's expression soften considerably, though getting him to completely give up was clearly not so easy.
Earlier he had said there were no reservations, but with the current turbulent continental situation, they definitely could not easily fall out with Shrek Academy. Even if bringing Yu Tianhuang back to the sect, they must use peaceful means as much as possible. The ideal situation was naturally for Yu Tianhuang to join willingly, leaving Shrek Academy with nothing to say.
Although Wei Na and Mu Xue had not heard the answer they most wanted, their admiration for Yu Tianhuang only grew. Their beautiful eyes widened as they carefully examined Xu Zihuang, their gazes overflowing with brilliant light. Facing such promises without wavering in heart, how many people could achieve that?
Xu Zihuang then took the initiative to break the slightly heavy atmosphere.
"By the way, Senior Lang Ya, Wei Na, Mu Xue, are you planning to hunt soul beasts to advance this time? From your auras, it seems you haven't reached the bottleneck for the next level."
With his tangible and qualitative realm spiritual force, he could tell at a glance that Wei Na and Mu Xue's cultivations were both in the fifties. Wei Na was slightly stronger.
"This time, it's Wei Na who needs to acquire soul rings. I'm just accompanying her and gaining some experience along the way." Mu Xue withdrew her gaze from Xu Zihuang, her voice as cool as her temperament.
"You already knew, Wei Na has twin martial souls. Our destination this time is the Extreme North, planning to add a few soul rings to Wei Na's second martial soul to allow her to break through to Soul Emperor faster, preparing for the next All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament. The latest news we've received is that the next tournament held in Mingdu will have changes to the rules."
Due to her appreciation and goodwill toward Yu Tianhuang, Mu Xue spoke unusually so much at once, and to a member of the opposite sex.
Wei Na took over from Mu Xue, smiling gently.
"According to the teacher, in the eastern part of the Extreme North live several spiritual attribute soul beasts suitable as soul rings for my second martial soul."
Choosing to add soul rings to her second martial soul at Soul King cultivation was naturally wasting the talent of twin martial souls.
But one must consider the difficulty of obtaining soul rings for spiritual-type martial souls.
It seemed easy for Xu Zihuang to obtain his fifth and sixth soul rings, both premium ones from the pure spiritual-type Evil Eye Tyrant Ruler. But those had been found after Mu En and Xuan Lao, super experts of that level, searched for a long time and seized the opportunity to capture together.
For the Body Sect to find such soul beasts and help Wei Na hunt them would only be more difficult, let alone nine in the future. The Body Sect was a sect, not belonging to Wei Na alone.
Even if they had the ability, unreasonable resource allocation would invite questions from other sect members.
In the end, it came down to Wei Na's talent not being high enough. If it were Yu Tianhuang, even mobilizing the entire Body Sect's power to hunt soul beasts for him would meet no objections from anyone.
Because Yu Tianhuang was the sect's future, almost certain to become a Limit Douluo, the sect seed capable of leading the Body Sect to greater prosperity.
Another point was that after completing her innate martial soul's second awakening, with the dual resources of the Tianhun Empire imperial family and the Body Sect, Wei Na's current physical condition was sufficient to absorb soul rings around 30,000 years.
That was already enough. After all, spiritual attribute soul beasts were too rare; finding ones above 50,000 years was extremely difficult.
Xu Zihuang asked with a strange expression: "So, you're planning to go to Qianling City in the Dou Ling Empire first, then enter the Extreme North?"
Wei Na and Mu Xue exchanged a glance, then asked in unison: "You too?"
"Mm. I left the academy this time for training. Although I may not necessarily enter the Extreme North, I do indeed plan to go to Qianling City first." Xu Zihuang responded honestly.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 40 early chapters available on Patreon
[email protected]/facficmax10--------(@→a)