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Was the Silver Dragon Spear, as Na'er described, originally created by the Dragon God using two of his ribs?
Xu Yuan didn't know.
He had no way to verify it.
One could say that in such matters, anyone could claim whatever they wanted without issue.
Even the Silver Dragon King—if she claimed she was originally whole and that the Silver Dragon Spear was something she created later, what credibility would her words hold if Na'er insisted on her own version of the truth?
Thus, Xu Yuan didn't dwell on whether Na'er's explanation held water.
What truly caught his attention was how she had just described the use of the Blood Tempering Pool here.
A place meant for refining and purifying bloodlines was being used to abolish and strip them—there was no end to the ingenuity of this Lord of Hell.
Hell's ruler was indeed a remarkable individual.
Xu Yuan estimated that he had used the effects of this place to strengthen his four divine beast bloodlines, refining them from his demon bloodline-dominated heritage until they became dominant. Then, he abolished the primary status of the demon bloodline.
In other words, he removed the demon bloodline's central role, making the four divine beast bloodlines the core while using the demon bloodline as an adhesive to harmonize the four divine beasts' bloodlines.
It was a genius idea.
If that were the case, then this Lord of Hell might have planned from the start to restore his demon bloodline after his mind system reached a certain level.
"The Blood Master system..."
Having learned about Na'er's attitude and thoughts, Xu Yuan didn't disturb her cultivation further.
He could tell that Na'er was now at a critical stage.
Her bloodline power hadn't been completely stripped yet, and this final process likely needed to be completed through the Blood Master system.
Leaving the Blood Tempering Pool, Xu Yuan didn't return to the Demon Plane.
The situation in the Hell Plane was far richer than he had anticipated. This wasn't some alternate demonic world—it was a peaceful plane, abundant in life energy and in a phase of vigorous development.
Xu Yuan estimated that within the next ten thousand years, this world would produce at least a dozen figures similar to the Lord of Hell. The Lord of Hell himself would continue to grow stronger.
"The emergence of Alba in the Demon Plane, though it brought calamity, also provided an opportunity for the Hell Plane."
Xu Yuan sighed.
The Blood Master system was perfect—even more so than the Soul Master system on Douluo Planet, as it didn't require either party to die.
Though compared to martial souls, the pure bloodlines weren't as effective in boosting a Blood Master's cultivation, they didn't harm the beast race's interests either. Instead, they strengthened it.
The beast race and humans in this world formed a mutually beneficial relationship: stronger beasts made humans stronger, and stronger humans made beasts stronger.
The harmony achieved here wasn't solely due to the perfection of the Blood Master system—it was also spurred by the Demon Plane's influence.
With external threats, internal unity naturally strengthened.
The Tian Shan Mountain Range was home to many excellent Blood Masters. Xu Yuan directly sought out an eighth-rank Blood Master who had just ended his seclusion.
Chen Deng had just emerged from seclusion but still hadn't broken through to the ninth rank, leaving him frustrated.
As he stepped out of the third-ranked Blood Tempering Pool he occupied, he encountered a young man walking straight toward him.
Chen Deng frowned.
The Blood Tempering Pools in the Tian Shan Mountain Range were numbered from one to thirty-six, ranked by size.
The first pool, the largest, was the most prominent in the entire plane and was completely open, not monopolized by any single Blood Master. However, all the other pools were contested by various factions.
After the rise of the Lord of Hell, the second pool was claimed by the demonic royal family he founded.
Chen Deng's Chen Clan ruled over the Celestial Ape Holy Land, one of the three human sanctuaries.
The Blood Phoenix Clan, previously the strongest occupant of the second pool, hadn't competed with the Chen Clan for the third pool after being ousted. Instead, they took the sixth pool and occupied the twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth pools to compensate for their loss of the second pool.
Chen Deng, the current clan leader of the Chen Clan, had been stuck at the peak of the eighth rank for ten years. Despite thorough preparation this time, he still hadn't broken through to the ninth rank, which left him in a foul mood.
After all, in the Hell Plane, ninth-rank Blood Masters were few and far between. The Lord of Hell, a powerhouse comparable to a Limit Douluo, was the sole exception. Among Blood Masters, only the Blood Phoenix Clan's ancestor and a wandering human expert could rival Super Douluos. The remaining thirteen ninth-rank Blood Masters were merely equivalent to ordinary Title Douluos.
Reaching the ninth rank in the Hell Plane already made one a top-tier powerhouse!
Seeing Xu Yuan approach, someone neither a descendant of the Chen Clan nor a prodigy of the Celestial Ape Holy Land, Chen Deng grew displeased.
This third pool belonged to the Chen Clan of the Celestial Ape Holy Land—what was this young man doing here?
"Who are you?" Chen Deng exuded an imposing aura, his overwhelming pressure filling the area. A will to fight heaven and earth pierced through the skies.
However, Xu Yuan remained unfazed, seemingly unaffected.
Chen Deng's expression shifted slightly.
At this moment, he realized that Xu Yuan wasn't some easy target.
Perhaps he was an old monster playing dumb.
"You probably haven't heard of my name, and there's no need to introduce myself. I'm interested in the Blood Master cultivation method and saw that you've just ended your seclusion, so I came to ask for some guidance."
Chen Deng's expression darkened.
He studied Xu Yuan, sensing his presence, and though his face remained heavy, his tone softened somewhat.
"A friend from another plane?"
"You're quite perceptive."
"I am the Great Elder of the Celestial Ape Holy Land and the current clan leader of the Chen Clan," Chen Deng introduced himself.
"Shrek Academy, Xu Yuan."
"I see." Chen Deng thought silently.
As the Great Elder of a holy land, he naturally knew about their plane's cooperation with Shrek Academy in the Demon Plane.
"You're interested in the Blood Master method?"
"Yes."
Chen Deng let out a bitter laugh. "From what I understand, your Soul Master system is much more refined. There are countless powerful Soul Masters, whereas we Blood Masters find it extremely difficult to break through to the ninth rank."
Xu Yuan shook his head.
"In this world, no system is useless. Every cultivation system has its unique strengths. The Soul Master realm is indeed prosperous, but it developed over countless years—it wasn't always like this. Two hundred thousand years ago, our plane was still in a primitive era."
Xu Yuan continued, "Your Blood Master system allows humans and beasts to complement each other. If it continues to develop, the humans and beasts of this plane will inevitably grow stronger, eventually reaching the scale of the Soul Master realm."
Of course, achieving the scale of the current Soul Master realm would require sustained, healthy development of the entire Hell Plane.
In other words, derivative systems like the Battle Armor system would need to emerge. Relying solely on the Blood Master system wouldn't be enough to reach the current Soul Master realm's scale, let alone surpass it or elevate the entire plane to godhood.
Every god-level plane's birth was the result of numerous coincidences.
To seize these opportunities, the plane itself had to be strong.
If one wasn't strong, how could they seize opportunities?
Take Douluo Planet, for example—if it weren't strong enough, it would be swallowed by the Abyss.
After exchanging pleasantries, Xu Yuan didn't waste more words.
"Elder Chen, I'm very interested in the Blood Master method. Would it be possible to make a trade with you?"
Xu Yuan didn't resort to force.
He wasn't the kind to take things by coercion. He approached Chen Deng with the intention of trading.
"Oh?" Chen Deng's expression shifted, showing interest.
"Our Celestial Ape Holy Land does possess many Blood Master techniques, but some core methods even I can't casually teach. That said, we do have many top-tier techniques."
Xu Yuan was surprised by Chen Deng's words.
So the Blood Master system had a mature technique framework, and it seemed that the highest tier was referred to as "Heaven Grade".
"Heaven Grade techniques?"
"Yes, I happen to have a technique called The Five-Element Celestial Technique, which involves cultivating with the bloodlines of five blood beasts."
Five-Element Celestial Technique?
Hearing the term "five elements," Xu Yuan felt this technique might be useful to him.
After listening to Chen Deng's introduction, he roughly understood the key points of this technique's cultivation.
It involved finding the bloodlines of five blood beasts, fusing them, and forming a cycle to create a Five-Element Blood Array, thereby gaining unpredictable power. The greatest benefit was that the five bloodlines could complement each other, allowing Blood Masters to enjoy cultivation efficiency akin to being in a contracted state at any time.
Though the Five-Element Celestial Technique didn't explicitly require the five bloodlines to align with the five elements, the five elements were undoubtedly a perfect match for this technique.
However, collecting five bloodlines wasn't easy. Different bloodlines could repel each other within the body.
"The Five-Element Celestial Technique has a significant flaw: the five bloodlines aren't easy to collect. Even balancing three bloodlines is already the limit for anyone other than the Lord of Hell."
Currently, in the entire Hell Plane, only the Lord of Hell possessed five bloodlines.
"Back then, the Lord of Hell visited our Celestial Ape Holy Land to study this Five-Element Celestial Technique. If he hadn't gained inspiration from it, we would've considered this technique useless and ignored it." Chen Deng chuckled bitterly.
"If no one could achieve it, how did this technique come into existence?" Xu Yuan was speechless.
So, in the entire Hell Plane, only the Lord of Hell had successfully fulfilled the requirements of this technique?
Then who developed this technique before the Lord of Hell?
Chen Deng let out another bitter laugh.
"Once, a ninth-rank Blood Master devised the prototype of this technique. He abolished all his bloodlines, rebuilt himself, and successfully perfected the technique using the bloodlines of five ordinary beasts."
Five ordinary beasts?
Blood beasts were the term human Blood Masters used for powerful beasts, while ordinary beasts were animals not even recognized by the beast race.
Ordinary beast bloodlines?
Do ordinary beasts even have bloodlines?
Xu Yuan guessed that the so-called ordinary beast bloodlines were likely artificially created, forcing ordinary animals without any bloodline traits to gain extraordinary powers and form what was called a "bloodline."
These were the lowest-quality bloodlines imaginable.
"Even with five ordinary beast bloodlines, that Blood Master restored his foundation and even advanced further."
Further advancement with five ordinary beast bloodlines?
Xu Yuan suspected it wasn't the bloodlines themselves that were extraordinary under this technique, but rather the transformation brought about by the Blood Master's own experiences.
The process of breaking down and rebuilding was crucial for any cultivator.
And those five ordinary beast bloodlines were also achievements of that Blood Master.
Developing his own path while standing at the ninth rank was far better than following an unsuitable one.
"However, after that, others tried to emulate this predecessor. Some managed to gather five ordinary beast bloodlines, but the fusion strength of those five bloodlines was even weaker than that of a single low-grade bloodline."
"After the rise of the Lord of Hell, he further refined this technique, finally enabling it to truly fuse the bloodlines of five blood beasts."
Listening to Chen Deng's explanation, Xu Yuan nodded.
It seemed the cultivation environment in the Hell Plane was quite favorable.
This Blood Master had realized his ideas, and his technique was later refined by others, benefiting future generations and helping them reach the limits below true godhood.
This Blood Master's success might illuminate the path for many others.
Walking one's own path, even if the results weren't ideal, still offered a chance to progress further!
"This Five-Element Celestial Technique is impressive."
Xu Yuan decided to study this technique.
"Alright."
Chen Deng directly retrieved a manual.
Xu Yuan sensed a special fluctuation emanating from the manual.
"Our Blood Master techniques aren't just about circulating primal energy. The most important part is visualization, and the inheritance of visualization can only be completed through transmitted imagery."
Chen Deng opened the manual, flipped to the last page, and pulled out a special sheet of paper tucked inside.
Xu Yuan sensed fluctuations of intent from the paper—it was clearly used for inheriting visualization techniques.
"This manual is yours." Chen Deng handed the manual to Xu Yuan, then watched him, waiting for the next step in their trade.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Yuan asked, "Elder Chen, as the Great Elder of the Celestial Ape Holy Land, does the technique you cultivate relate to apes?"
"Yes, I practice the Battling Heaven and Earth Divine Technique and am contracted with the War God Ape bloodline."
This was common knowledge, so Chen Deng stated it outright.
"Then allow me to grant you an opportunity."
As Xu Yuan spoke, his spiritual power spread outward.
Chen Deng's expression shifted slightly.
Before he could react, Xu Yuan's index finger touched his forehead, and a terrifying wave of spiritual intent descended into the depths of his consciousness.
Faintly, he saw circles of halos appear beneath Xu Yuan's feet.
Red, red, red, black, black, black, red, red, red!
Nine rings!
A ninth-rank Soul Master?
In their world, ninth-rank Soul Masters were Title Douluos?
Chen Deng wasn't from the Soul Master realm, so he wasn't sensitive to the colors of soul rings.
He only knew that Xu Yuan had nine soul rings—he was a ninth-rank Title Douluo.
As his final conscious thought flashed by, Chen Deng's will sank into an endless starry sky.
In the boundless starry sky, nine stars formed the shape of an iron rod, radiating dazzling light and drawing his attention.
"What is this..."
The fluctuations of the nine stars captivated his mind.
These fluctuations stirred his fighting spirit and even caused an unimaginable transformation in his visualization technique.
In his mind, the War God Ape wielding the Battling Heaven and Earth Divine Technique now held an iron rod.
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