Shrek Academy.
The Sea God Pavilion.
"Xiao Yuan, your teacher is waiting for you over there. Go to the Demon Plane first."
After meeting Feng Wuyu, Xu Yuan learned of his teacher's whereabouts and didn't wait. He immediately passed through the Demon Gate.
However, unlike before, this time as he passed through the Demon Gate, he distinctly felt a forceful suppression—an overwhelming pressure from all directions in space.
"Space has materialized at this moment."
Xu Yuan took advantage of this time to further perceive the power of space, understanding its structure while also attempting to organize the spatial forces in front of him, making them more expansive so they wouldn't compress powerful energy bodies inward.
"This is the process of stabilizing a spatial channel."
Xu Yuan hadn't expected that he had already grown to the point where he could stabilize a spatial channel.
The transmission was brief, only taking the blink of an eye. In moments, Xu Yuan had reached the end and stepped out of the spatial gate.
Before him stood Yun Ming and Ya Li.
"Xiao Yuan," Yun Ming looked Xu Yuan up and down, nodding in satisfaction. He didn't hold back his praise, saying, "Not bad."
Just from the fluctuations of soul power, he could sense that Xu Yuan's cultivation had been smooth and flawless.
Moreover, he had also heard of Xu Yuan's achievements.
"Level 95 already? It feels like you're on the verge of breaking through to 96?" Yun Ming's perception was sharp, and his analysis of Xu Yuan's soul power fluctuations was thorough.
What surprised him wasn't Xu Yuan's soul power level but the aura of his soul power fluctuations.
"Are you cultivating according to the path of the martial soul as a medium?"
Xu Yuan nodded.
The path of the martial soul as a medium was one that Xu Yuan and Yun Ming had previously discussed—a path to godhood that both of them greatly acknowledged. The key to this path was using the martial soul as a medium to extend the soul master's perception, connecting with universal laws and achieving synchronization between the soul master and these laws.
Achieving this might be the catalyst for breaking through to the divine level of soul power.
The crux of this path lay in the cultivation direction during the Super Douluo stage—not continuing to integrate the martial soul into oneself or treating it merely as a tool to enhance personal strength. Instead, the martial soul became a medium through which the soul master could gain insights and merge those insights into the martial soul, promoting its further growth. At the same time, the soul master continuously infused their essence, energy, and spirit into the martial soul, aiding its transformation.
The martial soul, acting as a medium connecting the soul master to universal laws, might also serve as the catalyst for the martial soul to reach the divine level.
When the martial soul broke through to the divine level, it would likely become the catalyst for the soul master to ascend to godhood.
As for those martial souls that were already divine-level, they too were not without flaws. They couldn't be considered perfect martial souls, so gaps needed to be filled, or a fully divine martial soul could bypass the need to promote further growth by directly fusing the soul master's essence, energy, and spirit into the martial soul, aiding it in becoming the so-called medium.
A divine martial soul merely possessed the qualification, but if the soul master hadn't yet fused with the martial soul to that extent, they couldn't truly be considered its master—or, more diplomatically, the soul master hadn't fully developed the martial soul.
Xu Yuan's advancement from level ninety-four to ninety-five followed the path of the martial soul as a medium.
Clearly, this path was theoretically sound.
Because Xu Yuan was still completing the fusion of himself and his martial soul—but instead of absorbing everything from the martial soul into himself, he was further integrating himself into the martial soul, enriching it and promoting its growth.
"Hmm, following this path is basically correct," Yun Ming affirmed Xu Yuan's cultivation.
He had essentially verified the feasibility of this path.
In fact, even if Xu Yuan hadn't proposed this theoretical path to him, Yun Ming himself had already been walking a similar road. His Heaven Piercing Spear martial soul was nearly refined into a divine artifact.
It could be said that upon his death, this spear would inevitably become a divine artifact.
This was actually the accumulation of experience over ten thousand years on the Douluo Continent, used by soul masters to forge divine artifacts rather than striving toward breaking through to the divine level. In the traditional view of soul masters, this method allowed them to make full use of their cultivation after death, ensuring nothing was wasted.
However, this method was immature.
It didn't involve infusing one's own insights into the martial soul.
Everything simply improved passively as the soul master grew stronger, and only after their death did everything belong to the martial soul.
"Teacher, why have you called me here this time?"
Yun Ming's expression turned serious.
"I've traveled through many planes, and my gains are significant. In each plane, I paid attention to cosmic information, including details about the distribution of the universe. Among the planes connected to the Demon Plane, there are indeed a few linked to the wider universe. I've roughly organized the distribution of the universe's territories and preliminarily confirmed Douluo Planet's location."
Xu Yuan immediately perked up.
He instantly grasped Yun Ming's meaning.
With a rough map of the universe's territory and Douluo Planet's general position, exploration of the universe now had a clear direction, saving a great deal of trouble.
Of course, a critical factor in interstellar travel was wormholes. Only by traversing wormholes could one quickly move between distant points in the universe, significantly reducing the time cost of cosmic navigation.
However, Douluo Planet clearly lacked this technology at present.
Without a proper understanding of wormholes, how could they utilize them to achieve spatial leaps?
Thus, for true cosmic exploration, Douluo Planet would still require decades, or even centuries, of travel.
This didn't include encountering new issues along the way.
Still, determining this position held immense significance.
Especially now that Douluo Planet had established contact with the Demon Plane. One-sided contributions easily led to setbacks, but mutual efforts would make things much easier.
"These aren't the key points. This time, I called you here because something has changed in the Dragon Plane."
Yun Ming had recently visited the Dragon Plane and found it in dire straits. The oceans had completely spiraled out of control, and the dragon race's fortune had drastically declined.
"Teacher, what do you mean?"
"You brought back a dragon from the Dragon Plane and allowed it to inherit the Mountain Dragon King's legacy, right? Though this is a crisis for the entire Dragon Plane and the dragon race, I believe it's also an opportunity."
"Oh?"
Xu Yuan looked at Yun Ming, still not fully grasping his meaning.
"Xiao Jia received the opportunity of the Dragon Valley small world, inheriting a portion of the dragon race's fortune. Though the Dragon God has fallen, the dragon race's fortune still exists, and it's enough to salvage the current decline of the dragon race. With the recovery of the dragon race's fortune and the Dragon Plane itself on the brink of collapse, Xiao Jia has the chance to become the sovereign of the Dragon Plane."
Xu Yuan's eyes widened.
Genius!
Why didn't I think of that?
"Teacher, should I go bring Xiao Jia over?"
"No need. I've already summoned him here. I waited for you to ensure you wouldn't miss this opportunity."
Yun Ming looked at Ya Li.
"Brother Ming, you two go ahead. I'll stay behind to guard Shrek Town for three more months. After three months, I'll return to Douluo Planet," Ya Li said gently.
Xu Yuan looked astonished.
Returning after three months?
Hadn't Master Ya Li always been guarding this place? Why was she returning now?
Ya Li revealed a helpless expression.
"Because I'm about to break through."
She had been using the power of the Golden Ancient Tree to transform the surrounding environment, which amplified the feedback she received from her Angel of Prayer martial soul. Combined with the constant mental strain during the crisis of the God-Killing Missiles, she was now barely able to suppress the urge to break through.
Xu Yuan revealed a look of pleasant surprise.
Is Master Ya Li about to break through to become a Limit Douluo?
If that's the case, Ya Li at the level of a Limit Douluo on the Abyss battlefield could even yield results comparable to a quasi-god.
"We plan to hand this place over to Lan Muzi and Tang Yinmeng soon."
Xu Yuan was taken aback.
"Not to Elder Cai?"
Ya Li looked at Xu Yuan with a faint smile.
"Yue'er is also on the verge of breaking through. It wouldn't be appropriate to keep switching guardians, so we'll bring back Lan Muzi and Tang Yinmeng."
Xu Yuan hesitated for a moment but didn't object.
Lan Muzi hadn't gone to the front lines earlier, and Xu Yuan had assumed he'd been delayed by something. He never expected that Lan Muzi would be stationed here instead.
"Don't worry. They will be responsible for guarding the Demon Plane. Shrek Academy won't let them suffer any losses. We've unified the merit systems of the academy and the Blood God Legion. Even from here, Muzi and the others can exchange inner court merits for starlight energy to cultivate."
Xu Yuan said nothing further.
It was clear that the academy had already arranged everything properly.
Notably, with the impending breakthroughs of Ya Li and Cai Yue'er, Shrek Academy now boasted six Limit Douluos. In terms of combat power, that counted as seven, among whom three were at the quasi-god level!
Xu Yuan left Shrek City with Yun Ming.
With just a wave of his hand, Yun Ming caused a violent fluctuation in space. Xu Yuan felt as if he were being teleported, with the entire surrounding space rapidly shifting.
In the blink of an eye, Shrek Academy disappeared from view, and shortly after, he caught a fleeting glimpse of Yuan City.
In less than half a minute, the two came to a stop.
Xu Yuan extended his spiritual power, frowning at the surrounding scene.
"There used to be a Dragon City here, responsible for managing the Dragon Plane. However, it was destroyed by a massive golden dragon six months ago, leaving it in ruins. Afterward, he didn't rebuild Dragon City, as he still harbored some fear of that golden dragon."
It wasn't that he thought the golden dragon couldn't be dealt with—it was more that rebuilding Dragon City might result in it being destroyed again, so he decided against it.
As for the connection with the Dragon Plane?
To be honest, within the territory, there were already beings with fused demonic and dragon bloodlines, as well as purebred dragon descendants. The need for dragons from the Dragon Plane had largely diminished.
Had they not neglected its importance, how could Tang Wulin have slipped into the Dragon Plane unnoticed?
"A golden dragon?"
Xu Yuan pondered thoughtfully.
The mention of a golden dragon sparked a suspicion in him.
Especially since the timeline matched up—the destruction of Dragon City coincided perfectly with Tang Wulin's return.
"So, Tang Wulin entered the Dragon Plane before?"
Xu Yuan found this explanation plausible. It clarified how Tang Wulin managed to fuse the ninth and tenth seals.
The Golden Dragon King's seals weren't easily integrated.
Tang Wulin had previously relied on the power of the Dragon God's soul to consecutively fuse three seals, achieving a meteoric rise. However, after that, the difficulty of fusing additional seals skyrocketed.
"The seas of the Dragon Plane have completely spiraled out of control, and the fortune of the dragon race has declined."
The changes in the Dragon Plane aligned with Tang Wulin's situation.
So, what exactly did he do in the Dragon Plane?
"Did he steal the fortune of another plane again?"
Unconsciously, Xu Yuan used the word "again."
This situation was strikingly similar. Back then, the Auspicious Beast carried away most of the fortune of the Great Star Dou Forest.
When Huo Yuhao brought the Auspicious Beast to the God Realm, that portion of fortune was essentially severed from the soul beasts.
Strictly speaking, this portion of fortune wasn't stolen by Huo Yuhao—it was more like it was stolen by Tang Wutong.
Now, history seemed to repeat itself. Did Tang Wulin steal the fortune of the dragon race?
"Do you think that golden dragon was Tang Wulin?" Yun Ming had naturally noticed the shift in Xu Yuan's emotions.
Xu Yuan nodded.
"Wulin's bloodline power has increased significantly, and the timeline matches up. Didn't I also suspect he had Sea God bloodline?"
After briefly explaining, Xu Yuan chose not to divulge more to Yun Ming—not out of distrust, but because it wasn't necessary.
"Hmm, I don't know what he did, but it has created an opportunity for us. If Xiao Jia becomes the Plane Lord, almost all the plane's laws will open up to us. This is a rare chance for cultivation insights."
Yun Ming clearly valued this opportunity more.
Xu Yuan nodded.
Yun Ming led Xu Yuan toward the location of the Demon Gate.
Though the Demon Gate was sealed, the internal spatial connection remained intact.
Yun Ming casually swiped his right hand through the air, as if a sharp spear had sliced through space, creating a rift.
He stepped into it, and Xu Yuan followed closely behind.
Once the two entered, the spatial rift quickly healed.
They moved forward through space, entering a channel—this was likely the stable passage within the Demon Gate.
Yun Ming casually opened another exit from the side!
Xu Yuan looked at his teacher in astonishment.
After more than two years apart, he felt that his teacher had changed immensely.
"If you get the chance, traveling through more than a dozen planes and experiencing their laws will yield significant gains."
Xu Yuan slowly nodded.
But inwardly, he could only sigh.
He didn't have that kind of time.
Moments later, the two appeared in the Dragon Plane.
Xu Yuan was shocked by the environment of this plane.
Everywhere he looked, there were scars.
Physical scars—volcanic eruptions, rolling earth, and smoke-filled skies were visible to the naked eye within the horizon.
On a deeper level, Xu Yuan's most immediate sensation was of fracture.
This was the perception brought on by damage to the plane's laws, evoking a sense of decay.
"I've checked. The laws of the Dragon Plane haven't been tampered with—they are still intact. However, the plane's essence has been severely depleted, causing the laws to malfunction and giving the appearance of incompleteness."
------------------------------------------------------
40+ Chapters Ahead Guaranteed: patreon.com/EphemeralShadow
There's something for free patrons too! Free Patrons receive 1 chapter in advance :)