Shrek City, Nine Treasures Pavilion.
Misty white vapor curled around the tea room, creating an atmosphere like a "fairyland on earth." The moment Chen Junting stepped inside, a rare look of distaste appeared on his face. His robes fluttered without wind as his mind focused, parting the obstructing mist like a sword slash.
"Master, must you make such a fuss over tea?"
Ye Xuanji held his teacup, taking a delicate sip.
Silent, he carried the bearing of a grandmaster. But once he spoke... "You kid don't know shit! This is what real tea appreciation looks like."
Not a trace of the Super Douluo's dignity remained.
"Yeah, yeah." Apparently accustomed to his master's true colors in private, Chen Junting merely glanced at the fine tea leaves being dumped directly into boiling water, inwardly lamenting the waste.
"Speak up—what's this about you summoning me here?"
Confident in his tea artistry, Ye Xuanji was about to pour his disciple a cup of carefully brewed tea. Instead, the "disciple" snatched the teapot and dumped its contents into a nearby bucket.
Before he could "explode" with anger,
Chen Junting's next words sealed his master's mouth.
"Master, I brought back a soul master with the Bone Dragon martial soul."
"What's his age and cultivation level?"
Ye Xuanji immediately sat up straight, his expression turning serious. He knew well that his disciple's Bone Dragon soul master couldn't possibly be one of those sewer rats.
If this person had decent talent... just like how the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect waited for their Seven Kill Sword soul masters, they'd waited far too long for a righteous Bone Dragon soul master. Of course, if the Bone Dragon martial soul possessed spatial abilities, that would be even better.
"Sixteen years old, Level 51 defensive battle Soul King. But his second and fifth soul skills both possess extremely rare spatial attributes."
"Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful."
Ye Xuanji forgot all about getting his teapot back, slapping Chen Junting's shoulder repeatedly until the young man winced in pain. Only after seeming satisfied did he finally let go.
"Truly unimaginable! The two martial souls we couldn't gather in ten thousand years have both appeared in this era. This holds extraordinary meaning for our Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect!"
After his emotional outburst, Ye Xuanji had Chen Junting lead him to meet the Bone Dragon soul master. From Chen Junting, he learned Gu Tianchen's entire story.
"Truly rare indeed."
After hearing it all, Ye Xuanji sighed with admiration.
If he put himself in those shoes, could he have done the same?
Probably not.
"Someone like him—our Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect can trust."
But when discussing the nobles involved, Ye Xuanji's expression lost its earlier warmth. "Those bastards are still at their old tricks. Since this child is willing to join our Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, we'll give him a grand gift. While we can't completely eliminate them, we can certainly cripple those bastards for a good while."
"We should also set up an orphanage for him."
Considering Gu Tianchen's heart, Chen Junting made his suggestion. After all, many children trafficked or stolen might never find their parents again.
Thus, the sect could take in the children he rescued. The Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was wealthy—what were a few more mouths to feed?
Ye Xuanji nodded slightly. "Agreed."
"Oh, Master—have you and the elders found suitable soul beasts? If so, we should proceed with the spirit soul contracts as soon as possible. Perhaps you might even break through again in the coming years."
"Do you think breaking through to Level 99 is so easy!?"
Ye Xuanji flicked Chen Junting's forehead—not hard, but with confidence in his eyes. After all, with the Star Luo Spirit Pearl, he no longer needed to condense his second soul core, reducing his breakthrough difficulty by at least half compared to other Level 98 Super Douluos.
As they spoke, the two arrived outside the room where Gu Tianchen was being received.
For the next several months, Gu Tianchen would reside at the Nine Treasures Pavilion in Shrek City, intensively studying all knowledge related to soul masters.
After negotiations between Ye Xuanji and the Sea God Pavilion, Gu Tianchen entered Shrek's Inner Court with special status, competing with Inner Court students to fully integrate his abilities.
Additionally, the sect provided him with a right arm soul bone from a seventy-thousand-year soul beast—identical to the one from his fifth soul ring's hunt.
In just a few short months, he broke through from Level 51 to Level 55.
Outside, significant ripples were spreading.
First, news of the soul spirit method made major powers covet the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, but they were restrained by the influence of their partner—Shrek Academy.
Then, when the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and Shrek Academy jointly signaled their intention to clean up the slave black market trade, the original three Douluo empires and major forces surprisingly united in a massive crackdown. Even nobles with vested interests in the trade remained strangely inactive.
For a time, even the black market grew unusually peaceful.
...
"This is the ancestors' joint skill."
"The End of Ten Thousand Bones · Heaven and Earth One Breath."
In the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's secret chamber, Ning Bowen took out an ancient scroll and handed it to Chen Junting.
Since this martial soul combination skill was developed by Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong through decades of cooperation—to protect the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect with a technique similar to martial soul fusion skills—it had long been recorded on this scroll, preserved in the sect's secret chamber for future generations' reference.
"Open it and see."
Unfurling the scroll, Chen Junting saw two distinctly different handwriting styles on either side. One was powerful and unrestrained, the other seemingly sloppy yet strangely profound.
'The old sword man and I, the old Bone Dragon, have roamed the continent for over a century. Though we never saw eye to eye, we became brothers in spirit (though I hesitate to admit it). Since joining the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the sect has treated us well. We voluntarily pledged to protect it for generations. Yet the Hao Tian Sect possesses several formidable secret techniques, the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus has its dragonification secret art to crown powerful beast martial souls, while our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect lacked any combat technique to awe the world. Thus, we created this martial soul combination skill, hoping to leave behind a powerful guardian legacy for the sect.'
Though compared to this era ten thousand years later, the combat power of Sword and Bone Douluos might seem lacking, they truly poured everything they had into protecting the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect of their time!
With reverence, Chen Junting continued reading the scroll, studying every essential point of this martial soul combination skill. From its initial concept to final formation, every detail was meticulously recorded, clearing countless obstacles for later generations.
Ning Bowen also explained what other ancestors had learned from this scroll, and the martial soul combination skills they'd developed.
Though compared to the scroll left by Sword and Bone Douluos, other ancestors' soul skills were instead recorded on the Wall of Faith.
"What about you? Do you need to study them?"
Chen Junting pondered briefly, then shook his head.
"We're not at that level yet. Seeing too much would only clutter our thinking and hinder us. Since our ancestors' combination skill aligns perfectly with us, we'll start from here."
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