The bus sped along at full speed, traveling day and night without rest until it arrived at a small town nestled at the foot of an unnamed mountain range.
Under Black One's arrangements, everyone settled into the Tang Sect's local outpost. Jing Shaoyu and Ye Xinglan shared a room, as did the others—two people per room, regardless of gender.
Since they arrived in the town late at night, Jing Shaoyu and Ye Xinglan went straight to their room, washed up, and went to bed.
Lying on the double bed in the room, feeling Ye Xinglan's steady breathing beside him, Jing Shaoyu couldn't help but wonder—how were the others sleeping tonight? Same-gender pairings were fine, but what about mixed-gender ones? Surely they weren't all like Tang Wulin, locked outside by Dai Yun'er?
Speaking of which, Jing Shaoyu suddenly grew curious—was Dai Yun'er even among this group of fighters?
The next day, the sunlight was just right.
Ye Xinglan woke up to find Jing Shaoyu staring intently at her, causing her cheeks to flush as she huffed, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Heh." Jing Shaoyu chuckled softly and sat up. "Nothing, really. I just suddenly realized how cute you look when you're asleep, so I got a little lost in thought."
Though Ye Xinglan usually carried herself with a heroic, cold, and stern demeanor, in sleep, she was soft and graceful—completely different from her usual self.
"Even if you compliment me, I won't be happy!" Ye Xinglan's face turned slightly red as she quickly sat up. Her mind involuntarily recalled Jing Shaoyu's actions from the night before, and her beautiful eyes subconsciously glanced at her small feet before she tucked them further under the blanket.
Her delicate jade-like feet were crossed, her toes dainty and adorable, with toenails as translucent as seashells shimmering with a faint, alluring rosy glow.
Seeing this, Jing Shaoyu let out a bitter laugh. Last night, all he had done was swallow hard—he hadn't actually done anything. Was she really this jumpy about it?
"Alright, let's get up and go eat," he said, then took the initiative to climb out of bed.
Only after Jing Shaoyu had entered the bathroom did Ye Xinglan lift the blanket and glance at her slender, fair legs, which still bore faint traces of fingerprints. Then she looked at her small feet again, biting her lip in slight frustration. Why was he so fixated on her feet?
Time passed in a flash, and soon it was afternoon.
Black One led the twenty-nine White-level fighters and Jing Shaoyu—an unofficial member of the Tang Sect—into the forest behind the town, advancing steadily toward its depths.
They were heading into the mountains. Jing Shaoyu could feel the exuberant joy radiating from the surrounding plants, filling his heart with delight and ease. The natural ecosystem of the Star Luo Continent was indeed far better than that of the Douluo Continent. The only places he had ever experienced such reverence from all living things on Douluo were the Star Dou Great Forest and the Sea God Lake's forest.
Before nightfall, the group reached their destination—the summit of an unnamed mountain. There stood a simple stone hut, with an elderly man watching them from the doorway.
"Elder Wu!" Black One hurried forward, bowing respectfully before the old man.
Elder Wu nodded slightly at Black One, his gaze sweeping past him to rest on the group behind. His calm eyes scanned them until they landed on Jing Shaoyu, who wore a golden mask. A flicker of surprise and delight passed through his cloudy eyes as he nodded approvingly. "Not bad, not bad. This batch of youngsters has decent potential. And we even have a distinguished guest among us! Haha, let's all prepare!"
Black One offered no explanation, merely nodding in acknowledgment.
Elder Wu walked to the edge of the cliff at the mountain's peak. With a light tap of his ebony cane against the ground, a surge of immense Soul Power erupted from him. Nine soul rings shimmered brilliantly as thunder and lightning crackled around him, and in an instant, a colossal blue-purple dragon materialized before the group.
This elder was none other than a Titled Douluo, his Martial Soul—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!
As Elder Wu unleashed his Martial Soul, a soft white glow spread across the mountaintop. When he transformed into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and let out a deafening roar, the white light suddenly erupted into a dazzling spectrum of colors, shooting skyward and tearing a rift in the heavens. A profound and mysterious aura immediately seeped out from the fissure.
Faced with such a spectacle, the white-ranked fighters present were utterly awestruck. Even Jing Shaoyu was deeply impressed. The method of entering the Dragon Valley was unexpectedly straightforward—brutally efficient, really. He had assumed it would involve some elaborate teleportation array.
"Hold hands with your partners!" Black One barked before darting behind a pair of white-ranked fighters, grabbing their shoulders, and hurling them straight into the spatial rift above.
Truly, no frills—just pure efficiency and speed!
As Jing Shaoyu entered the Dragon Valley, elsewhere on the Douluo Continent...
Gu Yue stood by the window of her hotel room, gazing at the moonlit, star-speckled night sky, her eyes distant and shimmering with unspoken thoughts.
"Are you thinking about him?" came a teasing voice from behind—Na'er.
"Yes," Gu Yue admitted, a rare moment of candor, unlike her usual evasiveness.
Na'er was stunned, staring at her in disbelief, momentarily at a loss for words.
"Surprised that I'm being so open this time?" Gu Yue turned around, a faint smile playing on her lips as she regarded Na'er's shocked expression. "People change, don't they?"
"..." Na'er recovered from her surprise, her gaze hardening as she replied coldly, "But you're not human."
"Hahaha!" Gu Yue laughed, though her voice carried a trace of sorrow and helplessness. "Oh? You still remember that, do you?"
Na'er watched Gu Yue's uncharacteristic demeanor, an uneasy feeling creeping into her heart.
The sky was a clear, cloudless blue.
"So this is the Dragon Valley?" Ye Xinglan remarked, her delicate face alight with wonder as she observed the bright daytime sky. "It's daytime here, but it's night outside?"
"Time flows differently in pocket dimensions—basic spatial theory, Xinglan. Did you skip class?" Jing Shaoyu teased.
"Uh—" Ye Xinglan flushed slightly in embarrassment. She had skipped those lectures, but it wasn't her fault—the subject was unbearably dull, and the professor was a tedious old scholar who droned on without a shred of passion, practically lulling everyone to sleep.
She immediately shifted her gaze, scanning their surroundings. They were in a somewhat desolate hilly area, standing in a small valley surrounded by undulating, continuous hills. The tallest was over a hundred meters high, while the shortest barely reached ten meters. The vegetation was sparse, mostly shrubs with few tall trees.
A thin mist drifted in the distance, and the air seemed to carry a peculiar energy that weighed heavily on the heart, inexplicably evoking feelings of sorrow.
"Shaoyu, my Martial Soul and Soul Power have been sealed. I can't access them," Ye Xinglan said solemnly.
"Don't worry, I can't use my Soul Power either," Jing Shaoyu replied with a smile, then extended his right hand. "But my Martial Soul still works."
His Origin Sprite Martial Soul manifested, and three pairs of Wings of Origin unfurled. A soothing, joyful aura radiated from him, causing the surrounding mist to dissipate like snow meeting fire.
"Why is that?" Ye Xinglan asked in surprise, unconsciously leaning closer to Jing Shaoyu as she looked up at him with curiosity.
The natural energy emanating from him instantly eased the tension in her body and mind. "I'm not entirely sure," Jing Shaoyu mused. "Perhaps my Martial Soul operates on a higher level than the laws of this minor world."
Though the Dragon Valley minor world was relatively independent, it still relied on the Douluo Star. Its laws, influenced by the Dragon God, could suppress beings from the main world. However, they had no choice but to yield to Jing Shaoyu, who was essentially its future master.
"That sounds complicated, but whatever," Ye Xinglan said dismissively, her excitement returning. "If you can use your Martial Soul, we'll be stronger. I can't wait to see what this Dragon Valley minor world is like!"
With a light gesture, a brilliant golden sword appeared in her hand—a Soul Guidance Sword she used for training. Though merely a practice tool, it was a genuine fourth-tier Soul Guidance artifact crafted by her own hands.
"Alright, let's go," Jing Shaoyu said with a nod, taking her other hand as they moved forward.
After crossing a hill, they noticed something unusual about the Dragon Valley minor world—its gravity was slightly stronger than the outside world. Without Soul Power, this difference could pose challenges.
But for the two of them, it was nothing significant.
Two hours later, they left the hilly terrain behind and entered a flat, open plain, where their pace quickened.
"Those clouds look so strange!" Ye Xinglan exclaimed.
In the plain, they could see multicolored clouds drifting low in the sky, barely a hundred meters above the ground. The clouds shimmered in every hue—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple.
Ye Xinglan spotted them immediately, her curiosity piqued.
"Those must be the Dragon Clouds," Jing Shaoyu said, staring at the distant clouds. Even from afar, he could sense the immense energy they contained. "Come on, let's get closer."
"Dragon Clouds? What are those?" Ye Xinglan quickly caught up to Jing Shaoyu and asked.
As someone who'd been dragged along last minute, she knew nothing about the Dragon Valley.
"A special type of energy conglomerate," Jing Shaoyu explained. "Remember what I told you about the origin of this Dragon Valley pocket dimension?"
"I do," Ye Xinglan nodded. "You said this valley was a pocket dimension created by the dragon race, where many dragon corpses are buried. Are these Dragon Clouds related to those buried dragons?"
"Exactly. These clouds are actually a form of dragon spirit - they lack consciousness, operating purely on instinct, making them the safest type of dragon spirit here," Jing Shaoyu elaborated. "They're amalgamations of the lingering will, energy, and residual vitality of deceased dragons. They represent the valley's primary opportunities and resources."
"Really?" Ye Xinglan's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the clouds with new interest.
"Absorbing these Dragon Clouds can enhance a soul master's physical constitution, increase Soul Power cultivation, and may even impart a trace of dragon bloodline. All tremendously beneficial for future cultivation," Jing Shaoyu continued.
"See the different colored clouds? Each hue represents a different attribute. When they sense creatures with high affinity, they descend naturally. Though we can also actively release our aura to attract them."
"That's possible?!" Ye Xinglan's expression shifted from amazement to dismay. "This system is completely unfair to me!"
Her unique stellar attribute, combined with partial martial attributes, corresponded to dragon types that were exceptionally rare among their kind - mighty true dragons whose spirits would never manifest as mere Dragon Clouds even in death.
"Hahaha, don't worry - watch this!" Jing Shaoyu laughed at her dejected expression.
As they reached the area beneath the massive cloud formation, Jing Shaoyu raised his hand slightly. Immediately, the multicolored clouds churned violently, swirling rapidly before plunging downward like a waterfall, surrounding Jing Shaoyu in moments.
Hundreds of Dragon Clouds - crimson, golden, azure, ivory, violet, onyx - representing every elemental type imaginable, left Ye Xinglan utterly dumbfounded.
Jing Shaoyu plunged both hands into the cloud mass, then slowly spread them apart. The obedient clouds separated into two groups - one large, one small. With a pointed gesture, the smaller cluster drifted toward Ye Xinglan like an obedient pet.
Stunned, Ye Xinglan suddenly felt countless points of light dancing before her eyes as her body thrummed with exhilaration. "Shaoyu, this...?" she gasped in delighted surprise.
"Just sit and meditate," Jing Shaoyu said gently. "Treat them like ordinary heaven-earth energy."
"Right!" Nodding vigorously, Ye Xinglan immediately crossed her legs and closed her eyes in meditation.
Dragon clouds surged and receded around Ye Xinglan, rising and falling with her breath.
Jing Shaoyu smiled as he watched this scene before shifting his gaze to a larger dragon cloud nearby. A thought crossed his mind, and he sat down cross-legged, beginning to absorb the energy-rich cloud.
Before long, Jing Shaoyu awoke, having digested the dragon cloud's energy faster than Ye Xinglan—after all, he was a Soul King, while she was merely a Soul Grandmaster. Raising his right hand, palm facing upward, he revealed a multicolored orb resting quietly in his palm, wreathed in draconic aura.
This radiant dragon pearl was the condensed essence of the draconic energy he had absorbed from the clouds.
He had fully assimilated the heaven and earth energy within the dragon clouds, while the draconic essence had coalesced into this pearl. For others, such draconic aura or bloodline might be a rare opportunity, but to him, it was useless.
Did he plan to become a Dragon God? What would he even do with this draconic energy? Give himself a new weakness?
With a flash of light, the multicolored dragon pearl vanished from his hand. Though he had no intention of absorbing it himself, he could always feed it to his spirit souls—it was still energy, after all. Maybe it could help Hong Fei or Anya break through.
Over ten minutes later, Ye Xinglan also finished her meditation and stood up cheerfully. Jing Shaoyu raised a hand, extracting the draconic energy from her body as well.
"What's this?" Ye Xinglan asked, eyeing the radiant pearl in his palm.
"Draconic essence. Useless to us," Jing Shaoyu said with a laugh. "Well, unless you want a dragon bloodline—you could reabsorb it. Otherwise, we can just let the spirit souls devour it."
The moment she heard this, Ye Xinglan immediately wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Ew! No way! I don't want my Star God Sword turning into some weird abomination!"