Tianyuan Pavilion. Before the meeting began, Zhu Ziyang found Xuan Zi and learned more detailed information about the black-robed mysterious person who had blocked their path.
According to Xuan Zi, the black-robed man's power was extremely strong, his aura thick and steady, and it made him feel powerless. Xuan Zi specifically emphasized that the sense of powerlessness this black-robed man gave him surpassed even that of Mu En!
Zhu Ziyang was basically certain that the black-robed mysterious person was the Titan Giant Ape. For some reason, he inexplicably thought of the burly man they had encountered the first time they went to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He always felt that the burly man was related to the Titan Giant Ape—perhaps they were even the same person.
After the inquiry, Zhu Ziyang left Xuan Zi's room and told him that he no longer needed to worry about academy affairs and should focus on recovering from his injuries. After all, the injuries he sustained this time were quite severe. Though his exterior appeared unharmed, his internal organs had shifted to some degree. If not for his strong cultivation, he would have collapsed long ago.
After leaving Xuan Zi's room, Zhu Ziyang appeared directly in the Tianyuan Pavilion hall. At this time, Elder Lin, Elder Zhuang, Yan Shaozhe, Cai Mei'er, and Ma Xiaotao were already seated. Why was Ma Xiaotao there? Because, despite not yet reaching the level of a Super Douluo, Ma Xiaotao, with her Ultimate Fire martial soul, already possessed combat power on par with a Super Douluo, thus qualifying her to attend the Tianyuan Pavilion meeting.
The content of this Tianyuan Pavilion meeting was actually very simple—only two matters.
First, fully promote the Yuntian Plan, striving to build a Yuntian Academy in every town on the original Douluo Continent within the next five to ten years.
Second, regarding the Empress Descent Plan, it was currently just one step away from final success. There was no need to discuss when that final step would be taken. The only issue worth discussing now was when the Sun Moon Empire under Zhang Lexuan's rule would unify the continent.
Only a unified continent aligned with Shrek Academy's ultimate reform plan.
The meeting did not last long and ended directly. The members left the Tianyuan Pavilion hall one after another, leaving only Zhu Ziyang still sitting in place.
He appeared deep in thought. In fact, there were several major issues he had not brought up for discussion.
The most pressing was naturally the development of soul guidance technology at Shrek Academy. He still had a rank-9 fixed soul cannon shell in his possession, but with both deans of the Soul Guidance Department absent, this matter naturally had to be postponed.
Next were soul spirits. He wanted to promote the soul spirit system, but the benefits of the soul spirit system were too great, and it involved the soul beast clan. Whether the soul beast clan would accept the soul spirit system was still unknown, requiring him to communicate personally. The entry point for this was Di Wu Huan'er. From her attitude toward soul spirits, she leaned in favor of them. With the endorsement of this daughter of destiny from the soul beast clan, Zhu Ziyang felt that promoting and establishing the soul spirit system should not be a problem.
Then there were Zhu Ziyang's views on the current development of the soul master world, the definition of the relationship between the soul master world and the secular world, and a series of fundamental issues concerning the soul master world—he mentioned none of these. First, because he only had a preliminary concept that was not fully formed, and second, because of his strength. If the soul master world were to be reformed according to his ideas, Limit Douluo would not be enough. Only a god could make everyone willingly comply.
Zhu Ziyang thought for a long time. Suddenly, he looked up, a smile tugging at his lips as he murmured, "Here he comes."
As soon as his words fell, Huo Yuhao's voice came from outside Tianyuan Pavilion. "Senior Brother, are you there?"
"Come in."
Huo Yuhao entered Tianyuan Pavilion, walked straight to Zhu Ziyang, and asked with hope and urgency, "Senior Brother, what exactly happened to Xiao Xiao's soul?"
"Xiao Xiao's soul has disappeared from her body. This is the root cause of her coma and the continuous loss of her vitality," Zhu Ziyang said. "The reason for her soul's disappearance is related to Qiankun Love Valley!"
"Qiankun Love Valley?!" Huo Yuhao's face twisted in pain. Clearly, he had a very negative impression of Qiankun Love Valley. He asked, "Senior Brother, do you mean Qiankun Love Valley took Xiao Xiao's soul?"
"Something like that." A gleam flashed in Zhu Ziyang's eyes as he continued, "To be precise, there's one possibility that a deity within Qiankun Love Valley abducted Xiao Xiao's soul. Another possibility is that Xiao Xiao's soul shattered within Qiankun Love Valley and dissipated into the world."
"This… this…" Huo Yuhao's face instantly turned ugly. He said, "Senior Brother, it was the God of Love who took Xiao Xiao's soul, right? Why would she do that?"
Huo Yuhao selectively ignored the second possibility. Though he didn't know what it meant, soul-shattering sounded far worse than soul abduction, and his heart rejected such a possibility.
"Heh!" Zhu Ziyang was not surprised by Huo Yuhao's reaction. He sneered and said, "The God of Love fell long ago. How could she abduct Xiao Xiao's soul? Thus, the one who acted against Xiao Xiao could only be another god who usurped Qiankun Love Valley!"
"Senior Brother, you know which god it is, don't you?" Hearing Zhu Ziyang's confident tone, a strong hope surged in Huo Yuhao's heart. He immediately said urgently, "Please, tell me!"
"Yuhao, with your current strength, even if you knew which god it was, what could you do?" Zhu Ziyang did not give Huo Yuhao the answer but asked instead.
"I…" Huo Yuhao froze, then a smile uglier than crying appeared on his face as he murmured, "Yes, I'm just a Soul King. How could I contend with a god?"
"So, you have only one choice: become a god!" Zhu Ziyang gripped Huo Yuhao's shoulders, his gaze burning as he said word by word, "Only by becoming a god can you save Xiao Xiao. Otherwise, Xiao Xiao will die because of you!"
"Become a god?" Huo Yuhao's eyes were filled with confusion. The goal of becoming a god was both familiar and foreign to him. But when he saw Zhu Ziyang's burning gaze and heard that Xiao Xiao would die because of him, the confusion in his eyes vanished instantly. For the first time, he was so resolute. He stood up and shouted with unwavering determination, "Yes, I will become a god! I must become a god!"
"Very good." Zhu Ziyang nodded with satisfaction and said, "With your talent, becoming a Limit Douluo is not difficult. After becoming a Limit Douluo, you'll have hundreds of years to search for divine relics. So, your priority now is to increase your cultivation. Understood?"
"I understand!" Huo Yuhao snapped out of his daze, his face filled with fighting spirit and hope. He said, "I will definitely cultivate diligently!"
"Hmm, good determination." Zhu Ziyang smiled and patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder. "Go. In a few days, Senior Brother will take you to a place that can lend you a hand!"
"I understand, Senior Brother!" Huo Yuhao nodded heavily.
As Huo Yuhao turned to leave, just as he was about to step out of Tianyuan Pavilion, Zhu Ziyang spoke again. "Yuhao, when you have time, think more about the Teacher's final words. The answer you seek lies within them!"
Huo Yuhao paused, then nodded and left.
Zhu Ziyang watched Huo Yuhao's retreating figure, his heart undisturbed. He did not doubt that Huo Yuhao would become a god. After all, this was the son of destiny, someone even Poseidon Tang San wanted to claim. How could the gods of the God Realm remain indifferent? Moreover, Poseidon had already invested so much effort in him. If Huo Yuhao failed to become a god, wouldn't Poseidon suffer a massive loss?
Thus, from any perspective, Huo Yuhao's chances of becoming a god were high—only a matter of whether the path would be smooth or not. What Zhu Ziyang needed to do was guide Huo Yuhao and lead him in the direction Zhu Ziyang wanted to see.
"Ziyang, you're so optimistic about Yuhao?" Shortly after Huo Yuhao left Tianyuan Pavilion, a golden figure suddenly appeared beside Zhu Ziyang, looking in the direction Huo Yuhao had gone, voice filled with doubt.
"Teacher, it's not that I'm optimistic about Yuhao, but that Poseidon is optimistic about him!" Zhu Ziyang was not surprised by the golden figure, but his address revealed the figure's identity.
Dragon God Douluo Mu En!
It turned out that when Mu En fell, his body dissipated into the world, but his soul merged with the Golden Ancient Tree. This was the unified choice of all previous pavilion masters of Shrek Academy: after death, their souls merged with the Golden Ancient Tree. This meant they could continue to guard the academy, but it also meant they completely lost the possibility of rebirth or reincarnation.
Thus, no matter what, the feelings of all previous Sea God Pavilion masters toward Shrek Academy were beyond reproach.
"Alas! It's truly incomprehensible. How did that one become like this? Why does he make things difficult for us mortals?" Mu En sighed, then said, "By the way, Ziyang, this is for you."
Mu En tossed a blue-gold jade stone to Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang caught it, and immediately, a vast, all-encompassing energy appeared before him. A thick, continuous special energy emanated from the jade stone. His eyes widened slightly as he instantly recognized what this energy was.
Divine power!
Zhu Ziyang looked at Mu En in disbelief, but Mu En smiled calmly and explained, "You're not wrong. This jade stone indeed contains a strand of divine power. Four thousand years ago, when Golden Crow Douluo led the original Douluo Three Kingdoms to defeat the Sun Moon Empire and founded the Sea God Pavilion beneath the Golden Ancient Tree, Poseidon bestowed this blessing.
"It contains three strands of Poseidon's divine power, each capable of unleashing a Sea God's Light with immense power. The first two strands were used during beast tides in the past, and Beast God Di Tian suffered twice, which is why he's been quiet for so long.
"Now, only one strand of Poseidon's divine power remains. With you here, Ziyang, this divine power is no longer necessary for the academy, so I'm giving it to you. Perhaps you can gain insight into the difference between divine power and soul power."
"So that's how it is!" Zhu Ziyang's face showed realization, followed by a playful smile. "So, in the beginning, Poseidon did indeed protect the academy. Why has he become like this now? Is it his true nature revealed, or is there another reason? Tsk tsk, I'm getting more and more curious."
"Haha, this old man is curious too, but unfortunately, I won't live to see it. It's up to you, Ziyang." Mu En laughed upon hearing this.
"Alright, Teacher. Once I ascend to the God Realm and uncover the reason, I'll send the answer down to you all right away," Zhu Ziyang said with a laugh.
The master and disciple were in high spirits, and the Tianyuan Pavilion hall was filled with a joyful atmosphere.
....
God Realm.
Inside the Sea God Temple, Poseidon was in a foul mood. He had used so many trump cards this time, yet not a single plan succeeded. This was simply too damaging to his image as the wise and mighty Poseidon, who planned everything from behind the scenes.
Thus, he was now reviewing the reasons for his failure.
First, he violated God Realm laws by restoring Great Ming's divine priest strength to intercept and kill Zhu Ziyang and the Fire God inheritor, eliminating these two variables. However, he never expected Great Ming to be so useless, actually getting counter-killed by two mortals! This was a massive loss of face for Poseidon.
But Poseidon, being righteous and loyal, how could he blame Great Ming? It was all the Fire God's fault for giving a divine artifact to a mortal! Openly violating God Realm laws—he deserved death. This would be noted for now!
Second, he personally interfered with Qiankun Love Valley, attempting to pair Huo Yuhao with Wang Dong'er and eliminate the third party between them. Such a pure act of love was actually countered by that wretch, the God of Love. How hateful! If not for that wretch's interference, how could he have failed at the last step?
He was just one step away from deeply rooting Huo Yuhao's love in Wang Dong'er!
Fortunately, he was more skilled! Poseidon smugly extended his hand. In his palm curled a soul, faintly resembling a petite girl, though her face was unclear.
A flash of hatred crossed his eyes, and he already hated the God of Love in his heart.
That wretch, already fallen, yet he, as Poseidon, graciously managed Qiankun Love Valley for her. Such an honor, and she still rejected it? Hmph, as expected of a wretch. As punishment, the God of Love would never return to the God Realm from now on. A mere first-level god daring to defy him, Poseidon—she deserved punishment!
Finally, Poseidon extended his other hand. In this palm also curled a soul. A rare tenderness appeared in his eyes as he murmured, "Xiao Qi, it's almost time. Just wait a little longer! Daddy has already chosen your beloved. He is definitely the most suitable for you!"
At this moment, in another palace in the God Realm.
"I never expected Tang San to be so shameless!" the Fire God said angrily. The Water God beside him helplessly comforted him with gentle eyes.
"Alright, don't be angry. After so many years, don't we all know what kind of person Poseidon is?" the Water God said softly. "Besides, isn't Ma Xiaotao doing well? Honestly, this girl even moves my heart, but unfortunately, she's not suited for my divine position!"
"If I hadn't left a backup plan, that beast might have actually ruined my inheritor!" The Fire God was still furious. He hugged the Water God's waist, resting his head on her chest like a child, complaining, "A Shui, why am I so unlucky? Every inheritor I choose always has issues.
"The first was Ma Hongjun. I even gave him a backdoor, but he still failed. The second was Ji Dong, my favorite inheritor, but he was snatched by the Evil God. This time, Ma Xiaotao was actually targeted by Poseidon!
"Woo woo woo, why is my life so hard!"
"Alright, alright, it's all over now!" The Water God held the Fire God, her eyes full of tenderness as she softly comforted him. "Hasn't Ma Xiaotao already passed the eighth trial? With that Death God's inheritor around, I think she'll soon complete the ninth trial. Then, we can leave the God Realm's constraints and seek true freedom!"
"Mhm!" The Fire God left the Water God's embrace, his face full of anticipation.
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Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"The novel is already finished on Patreon."
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