The next morning, the sunrise poured in from the eastern horizon.
Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian, having just finished washing and grooming together, stood by the crystal floor-to-ceiling window in the top-floor hall of the Nine Treasures Pavilion, facing the morning sun and tidying their appearances.
Xu Zihuang had just used a red sandalwood comb to neatly comb Ning Tian's slightly disheveled hair when she turned around, giving him a half-reproachful, half-shy glare.
Although Ning Tian had received energy supplementation last night comparable to top-tier heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and her body basically showed no abnormalities, the mental exhaustion could not be concealed, no matter what.
Ning Tian said softly with a hint of complaint: "Tianhuang, it's already so late… how am I supposed to go to the Soul Fighting District now?"
It was almost time for the Shrek representative team to gather and train at the Soul Fighting District. If the two of them went now, they would definitely be late. If they ended up being the last to arrive, who knew what the other members of the Shrek team would think.
Although their relationship could be considered public knowledge, showing up at the Soul Fighting District like this would essentially be putting certain private matters out in the open.
As a girl, Ning Tian inevitably felt embarrassed. When she had talked with Tang Ya before, many things between her and Yu Tianhuang were so shy that she could hardly bring herself to mention them.
"Don't worry, we'll make it in time." Xu Zihuang smiled slightly, wrapped his arms around Ning Tian, and ascended to the open-air platform above the top-floor hall of the Nine Treasures Pavilion.
"Chirp chirp chirp!"
The Thunder Beast, which had been blown by cold wind all night on this platform, immediately jumped aggrievedly onto Xu Zihuang's shoulder, wagging its tail in a flattering manner.
Xu Zihuang tapped the ground lightly with his tiptoe and rose into the air, circulating his soul power to fly directly from above Shrek City toward Shrek Academy. At the same time, five black and one red soul rings appeared around him. The deep fourth soul ring suddenly shone brightly.
The surrounding light distorted, and the figures of the two of them actually vanished into thin air just like that.
"This is…?"
Ning Tian, leaning in Xu Zihuang's arms, immediately widened her eyes.
If it weren't for the clear sensation of the warm, smooth touch of skin against Yu Tianhuang's body, she would have even thought she was floating in a void. Her consciousness and movements were unaffected, yet she could not see her own body at all, nor could she sense her own aura.
What Xu Zihuang had imprinted with his fourth soul skill was precisely one of the rare innate soul skills of the million-year Tianmeng Iceworm, Simulation.
Back then, it was precisely this Simulation skill, combined with its enormous mental power, that allowed the Tianmeng Iceworm to scare away that Giant Demon Whale Emperor, which ultimately fell at Xu Zihuang's hands. This was one of the extremely practical innate soul skills of the Iceworm clan.
If it weren't for this innate soul skill helping them avoid natural enemies, the Iceworm clan would probably have gone extinct in the far north long ago.
This was also one of the reasons why Xu Zihuang was unwilling to fuse with the million-year Tianmeng Iceworm soul ring ahead of time. With the Imprint ability of his fourth soul skill, whenever he wanted to use Simulation, Mental Detection, Mental Sharing, and similar soul skills, he could directly imprint them from the Tianmeng Iceworm.
These three soul skills were originally abilities possessed by the Tianmeng Iceworm. Mental Interference and Soul Assault were the new abilities it granted to Huo Yuhao only after fusing with him.
If the Tianmeng Iceworm of that year had possessed the innate soul skills of Mental Interference and Soul Assault, even if it couldn't compare to those combat-oriented hundred-thousand-year soul beasts, at least with its massive mental power, it would have had the ability to protect itself.
However, for Xu Zihuang, these two soul skills seemed rather useless.
His sixth soul skill, Mental Force Field, already encompassed the effects of all mental control-type soul skills; Mental Interference was included among them. As for Soul Assault, he had even less need for it. At present, all the offensive mental-attribute soul skills he possessed, whether it was the fifth soul skill Mental Storm, the second soul skill of his sixth soul ring Soul Touch, or the head soul bone skill Evil Eye Gaze, completely crushed this so-called Soul Assault in both power and level.
With the addition of substantive, Form-and-Quality-realm mental power, it was likely that even a super powerhouse of Elder Xuan's level would not necessarily be able to see through the Simulation soul skill.
Xu Zihuang carried Ning Tian and smoothly flew from above Shrek City directly into the interior of Shrek Academy. At his full flight speed, crossing such a distance took only a few breaths.
During this short time, Xu Zihuang roughly explained the reason to Ning Tian, which also brought up the topic of soul spirits that the two of them had discussed during their intimacy last night.
Xu Zihuang delivered Ning Tian to the entrance of the Soul Fighting District, then turned and left. As he had told Ning Tian yesterday, next he would go meet Elder Xuan, then enter the underground world beneath the Golden Tree for closed-door cultivation, imprinting Mu En's Dragon Emperor Evil-Breaking Slash and Dragon Emperor Shock Territory Domain onto his soul rings.
The Thunder Beast, possessing intelligence no less than a human's, very sensibly jumped onto Ning Tian's fragrant shoulder. It knew that for the following period of time, it would be accompanying Ning Tian.
Watching Xu Zihuang's figure disappear, Ning Tian stood in a daze for a long while before finally recovering her usual demeanor. With an elegant bearing, she walked into the interior of the Soul Fighting District. A faint, heartfelt smile graced her pretty face, yet the look of contemplation in her eyes did not diminish.
This soul spirit method might very well be enough to change the entire pattern of the continent in the future.
When Ning Tian arrived at the Soul Fighting Arena, most of the Shrek representative team members had already gathered.
Seeing that only Ning Tian had come alone, Wang Qiu'er, whose expression was usually indifferent, slightly furrowed her brows, but the emotion in her eyes quickly returned to calm.
The others were similarly surprised.
The last to arrive were Zhou Sicheng and Cao Jinxuan.
After looking around and noticing that Yu Tianhuang was not present, Cao Jinxuan seemed to think of something and walked up to Ning Tian with a mischievous grin.
"Ning Tian, why didn't the captain come today?"
As he spoke, he exchanged a glance with Zhou Sicheng beside him, and the looks in both their eyes instantly became ambiguous.
Standing in the corner, Wu Feng's gaze had been fixed on Ning Tian the entire time. When Cao Jinxuan asked that question, she also just happened to notice some subtle marks on Ning Tian's snow-white neck. At first glance, they were hard to spot, but unfortunately, Wu Feng paid far too much attention to such details.
Her delicate body trembled slightly, her face turned pale in an instant, and she clenched her fists, coldly shouting at Zhou Sicheng and Cao Jinxuan:
"Shut up!"
Yu Tianhuang's strength far surpassed hers, and Ning Tian had already reprimanded her before, so in front of Yu Tianhuang, she didn't dare act out and could only behave obediently.
But now that Yu Tianhuang was not present, Wu Feng's fiery temper immediately flared up. Moreover, after suppressing it for so long, anger, pain, grievance, and unwillingness, all kinds of negative emotions almost drowned her. The way she glared furiously looked somewhat similar to how Wang Qiu'er had been completely suppressed by Xu Zihuang earlier.
Zhou Sicheng's expression turned cold, and he was about to stand up for his good brother.
Although Wu Feng's strength was decent, it was still far from enough to make them sincerely convinced. Even Yu Tianhuang, with such immense strength, didn't have such a big temper — what right did you have to act so arrogantly here?!
"Forget it, Sicheng."
However, Cao Jinxuan patted Zhou Sicheng on the shoulder, signaling that there was no need to provoke Wu Feng's bad temper at a time like this.
At that moment, Wang Qiu'er also spoke coldly to Wu Feng.
"You shut up too."
"What I say is none of your business?!" Wu Feng glared back, confronting Wang Qiu'er head-on as stubbornly as ever.
Wang Qiu'er raised her head and stared expressionlessly at Wu Feng. Her pink-blue eyes suddenly transformed into dazzling golden vertical pupils.
This time, the sense of martial soul suppression that Wu Feng felt from Wang Qiu'er was even stronger. In extreme shock, she staggered backward. Amid scorching heat, fiery red dragon scales covered her body.
Even with her martial soul's enhancement, she could not dispel the fear that surged in her heart.
"Enough, Feng'er!"
Ning Tian's expression turned slightly cold as she walked to Wu Feng's side.
Wu Feng hurriedly withdrew her martial soul, afraid that the terrifying high temperature of her Red Dragon martial soul would harm Ning Tian. Then, looking wronged, she reached out to hold Ning Tian's hand.
"Ning Tian, I…"
Ning Tian ignored her and sidestepped, avoiding Wu Feng's movement. She turned to look at Wang Qiu'er.
"Tianhuang has gained some insight and breakthrough in cultivation and has gone into closed-door training. He asked me to pass on to everyone that during the time he is away, the team's training will be arranged by you, Wang Qiu'er."
Wang Qiu'er nodded calmly, then silently walked to the center of the Soul Fighting Arena. Before that, she faintly said one more sentence to Wu Feng.
"If you're unconvinced, you can challenge me anytime. If you don't have the ability, then keep your mouth shut."
In that instant, the pressure emanating from Wang Qiu'er's martial soul and bloodline suddenly magnified to the extreme. Wu Feng's legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, seemingly losing all courage to face Wang Qiu'er.
Zhou Sicheng curled his lip in schadenfreude, then walked with Cao Jinxuan to the edge of the Soul Fighting Arena.
Dai Huabin was concerned about the news that Yu Tianhuang had achieved a breakthrough and gone into seclusion. Nanmen Yun'er, Xiao Xiao, Xie Huanyue, Lan Susu, and Lan Luoluo all had relatively easygoing personalities and likewise did not get involved in the matter.
Because of Wang Qiu'er's overwhelming strength, no one felt much resistance toward training according to her arrangements.
…
On the other side, Xu Zihuang had also gone to find Elder Xuan at the Sea God's Pavilion. He took this opportunity to first ask Elder Xuan about the matter of a light-attribute soul beast's power crystal.
"A light-attribute soul beast's power crystal?" Elder Xuan, sitting in the main seat at the long table in the first-floor hall of the Sea God's Pavilion, raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Xu Zihuang nodded slightly and said, "Yes, Elder Xuan. I crafted a close-combat soul tool for my sister, the golden slender sword she took out during the Sea God's Fated Blind Date event. To be honest with you, the fire-attribute soul beast that became her seventh soul ring was a plant-type soul beast with a hundred-thousand-year cultivation. After that plant-type soul beast perished, it left behind a fire-attribute power crystal, which I embedded in the sword jaw of that Seven Star Blazing Light Sword. To maintain balance with it, I still need another light-attribute soul beast power crystal, and preferably one from a hundred-thousand-year light-attribute soul beast."
"Mu En's martial soul is the Bright Sacred Dragon. I believe his last three soul rings should all have come from hunting hundred-thousand-year light-attribute soul beasts. I wonder if there are any light-attribute soul beast power crystals left behind?"
"I see." Elder Xuan shook his head with a wry smile.
"Tianhuang, now that you mention it, you really have reminded me of something. Back then, Mu En obtained his seventh soul ring with the assistance of my master — that is, Mu En's teacher. It came from a hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Dragon Horse."
"A hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Dragon Horse?!"
"Yes, a hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Dragon Horse. In that era, Mu En was also an outstanding genius of his time." A look of reminiscence appeared in Elder Xuan's aged eyes as he sighed emotionally.
"The Heavenly Dragon Horse is an extremely arrogant soul beast. Even in the Star Dou Great Forest, they are very rare. It possesses the bloodline of the Bright Sacred Dragon. Although it has the form of a horse, the purity of its Bright Sacred Dragon bloodline is extremely high. After that hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Dragon Horse died, it naturally left behind a piece of dragon crystal. While this dragon crystal cannot compare to the dragon crystal of a true Bright Sacred Dragon, it is still the source of that Heavenly Dragon Horse's entire power. It perfectly fits your requirements."
"In fact, that dragon crystal is placed inside the room where Gu Yi is currently in deep meditation. Mu En placed it there for the purpose of assisting inner courtyard disciples who possess light-attribute martial souls in conducting deep meditation. If you need it, just take it after Gu Yi finishes his deep meditation."
Xu Zihuang hesitated and said, "Elder Xuan, that dragon crystal should be quite helpful to Senior Brother Bei as well, right?"
"The energy contained in that dragon crystal is only pure light-attribute energy. The actual bloodline power of the Bright Sacred Dragon in the Heavenly Dragon Horse resides mostly within the soul ring. The reason Mu En's Bright Sacred Dragon martial soul and bloodline were so stable was precisely because of that hundred-thousand-year Heavenly Dragon Horse's seventh soul ring. If in the future Bei Bei can also obtain a Heavenly Dragon Horse soul ring of a hundred-thousand-year cultivation or higher, his martial soul will truly be able to evolve into the Bright Sacred Dragon."
Elder Xuan smiled and said, "Refining that dragon crystal would indeed greatly accelerate Bei Bei's cultivation speed. Mu En's original intention was to wait until Bei Bei breaks through to Titled Douluo before handing the dragon crystal over to him. That way, it should allow Bei Bei to break through to Super Douluo in a relatively short time. But since it is you who needs it, I believe Mu En would definitely agree. Tianhuang doesn't have any psychological burden. The academy will make it up to Bei Bei in other ways later."
Mu En's dying instruction to him had been to pour all the academy's resources into nurturing Yu Tianhuang and help him grow as quickly as possible. That was why he made such a decisive decision.
"Elder Xuan, I am the one taking the dragon crystal, so naturally I should be the one to compensate Senior Brother Bei." Xu Zihuang gave a wry smile.
"During the half year I was out training earlier, I happened to obtain an extremely high-quality head soul bone. That soul bone is currently with my sister. Once she finishes her cultivation, I will hand it over to Senior Brother Bei together with the dragon crystal. I believe that soul bone will definitely be useful to Senior Brother Bei. Also, Elder Xuan, there is another matter I came to see you about today."
As he spoke, three rings of blood-red soul rings rose one after another from beneath Xu Zihuang's feet.
This time, even Elder Xuan could no longer remain calm. He abruptly stood up.
"This… this is?!"
"Last night, the Thunderclap Hell Vine bestowed two more soul rings upon me. Elder Xuan, the soul spirit fusion method is indeed feasible." Xu Zihuang replied with a solemn expression.
"The main reason I came to find you today is to inform you of this matter. The other reason is that I plan to enter the underground world beneath the Sea God's Pavilion for closed-door cultivation, so that I may truly inherit Mu En's Dragon Emperor Evil-Breaking Slash and Dragon Emperor Shock Territory Domain by imprinting them onto my second martial soul's second and third soul rings."
He had already laid this groundwork earlier.
Even if Elder Xuan and the other elders of the Sea God's Pavilion trusted him deeply, having too many secrets on his body would inevitably lead to suspicion. Therefore, he might as well voluntarily reveal some of them, such as this soul spirit fusion method.
By shifting everyone's attention to the soul spirit fusion method, naturally, they would no longer pay such close attention to him.
Elder Xuan took a deep breath, then spoke to Xu Zihuang with both relief and excitement:
"There is no rush regarding the soul spirit fusion method. Tianhuang, you should go cultivate first. Once you have imprinted Mu En's Dragon Emperor Evil-Breaking Slash and Dragon Emperor Shock Territory Domain onto the second and third soul rings of your second martial soul, you should be able to more deeply sense the wondrous aspects of this soul spirit."
"Yes."
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