Xu Yuan frowned.
Yun Ming was the master of the Sea God Pavilion and the strongest individual on the continent. His movements would inevitably draw the attention of many.
This was precisely why Xu Yuan had instructed Yun Ming to quietly come to the Star Luo side.
Now, however, Yun Ming's blatant disregard for others' opinions left Xu Yuan somewhat baffled.
Are you really not afraid that the Federation will suspect you of colluding with Star Luo?
Still, as the strongest individual on the continent, if he chose to stay, he must have his reasons.
"You two continue your journey across the continent. I'll visit some old friends here in Star Luo," Yun Ming said, disappearing from sight.
Mu Ye approached from a distance.
He had actually overheard the conversation just now. Yun Ming hadn't shielded it with soul power, but there wasn't much substance to it, so eavesdropping turned out to be fruitless.
Looking at Tang Wulin's surging blood essence, Mu Ye took a deep breath.
He really wanted to bring him back to the Body Sect.
What a pity.
Shaking his head, Mu Ye finally turned his gaze to Xu Yuan.
"Little Yuan, how effective was the tempering from the dragon soul?"
Xu Yuan shook his head. "Teacher, I didn't use the last bit of energy to temper my body."
Xu Yuan hadn't used the Dragon God's dragon soul to temper his body, so the reason his blood fluctuations weren't as intense as Tang Wulin's wasn't because he had digested it better—it was simply because his improvement was more modest.
"Alright." After observing Xu Yuan closely for a long time, Mu Ye sighed in resignation.
It seemed his improvement really was minimal.
Xu Yuan was speechless.
"Teacher, my progress in blood essence this time has been quite rapid. The tempering from the dragon souls and dragon clouds outside made my cultivation effect over these three months at least five times greater than usual."
Mu Ye blinked. Was that a lot?
Could it compare to Tang Wulin's absurd leap from Soul King-level blood essence fluctuations to Soul Douluo-level explosive strength?
Xu Yuan was speechless.
Indeed.
Tang Wulin was truly outrageous.
That was raw talent.
Pure, unadulterated talent.
The dragon soul's energy was merely the foundation. What truly caused such a dramatic leap in Tang Wulin's strength was the Golden Dragon King's seals.
This time, he had fused three layers of seals, which could be considered breaking through three major stages.
From Soul King level, he had leaped to become a powerhouse with the explosive strength of a Soul Douluo!
He could now rightfully be called a strong individual.
His four blood essence soul rings already surpassed the soul rings of his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
"Wulin, I have some other training plans, so I'll take my leave here. Farewell."
As Xu Yuan and Mu Ye departed, Tang Wulin took a deep breath.
This trip to the Dragon Valley had left him with much to reflect on.
"Brother Xu, you have so many secrets."
His previous ability to gather information had already been mysterious, and now he had directly orchestrated things within the Dragon Valley, dividing a portion of the Dragon God's dragon soul power between the Golden Dragon King and the Silver Dragon King.
After all, this time, both he and the silver-haired woman held advantages not only in bloodline but also in absolute power.
Yet Xu Yuan still managed to claim ten percent of the dragon soul's energy.
Even though it was only a small portion, it was still quite astonishing.
"If it weren't for you and the Silver Dragon King, he probably could have monopolized the Dragon God's dragon soul," Old Tang said within Tang Wulin's consciousness.
Bringing Yun Ming into the equation, Old Tang didn't believe Xu Yuan's initial plan was to share equally with Tang Wulin.
"He ultimately miscalculated many things. In this world, only those who hold power have a voice. Some things are beyond his reach no matter what."
---
"Old Tang, are you alright? This time, you..." Tang Wulin was somewhat worried.
Previously, Old Tang had been in deep slumber, constantly complaining about insufficient power. But this sudden burst of activity—would it cause him to dissipate?
"The main body of mine within you left behind three reserves of power. The intention was to assist you in suppressing the final seals when you fuse them," Old Tang deliberately altered the explanation, omitting that the reserves were meant to save Tang Wulin during life-and-death crises.
"This time, I've expended one reserve, meaning you now have one less safeguard for fusing the Golden Dragon King's seals."
"However, fortunately, you've absorbed the Dragon God's dragon soul energy this time. Your bloodline has been nourished by the numerous dragon souls in the Dragon Valley, and your fusion with the Golden Dragon King's bloodline has deepened. It's not a loss, but it's certainly not a gain either."
Tang Wulin nodded.
The first eight layers of the Golden Dragon King's seals had nearly killed him. He couldn't even imagine the later seals.
After all, each seal corresponded to a major leap in power. And there were eighteen seals within him!
Eighteen seals—translated into the cultivation of soul masters, wouldn't that mean transcending the level of gods long ago?
Was that something he could endure?
Old Tang's contingency plans had finally put Tang Wulin's years of worry at ease.
Two opportunities to suppress and stabilize—but the first sixteen seals would have to be endured by himself. With this thought, Tang Wulin's briefly settled mind began to hang again.
It seemed it wouldn't be that simple.
"Teacher, let's go to the Five Elements Lake."
"Are you going there right after leaving the Dragon Valley? Don't you want to find a place to digest everything?" Mu Ye asked in surprise.
Though puzzled, he still followed Xu Yuan, summoning Little Red and controlling it to follow Xu Yuan's mech toward the Five Elements Lake.
"Digesting there is fine. For the next half year or so, unless something unexpected happens, I should be in seclusion at the Five Elements Lake," Xu Yuan said.
Mu Ye was speechless.
That was a prison—the place where Tong Yu was imprisoned. You're going there to seclude yourself?
"True. You're probably interested in Tong Yu's inheritance," Mu Ye understood Xu Yuan's intentions well.
Xu Yuan's three martial souls, taken individually, were all top-tier martial souls. Combined with Xu Yuan's natural talent, they promised extraordinary achievements.
Xu Yuan cultivated all three martial souls simultaneously. His blood essence martial soul, the Heavenly Origin Five Elements Spear, benefited from guidance, the Body Sect's inheritance, and Yun Ming's instruction in spear techniques, making it his most prominent and powerful force.
His brain martial soul, as his primary focus, was the root of his natural talent, providing him with a solid spiritual foundation. During the Young Soul Master Tournament, Mu Ye had realized that Xu Yuan's true trump card was the illusionary techniques of his brain martial soul.
As for the Heavenly Origin Brush martial soul, it lagged far behind.
There was a Divine Brush Douluo in the Federation, but it was far too late for Xu Yuan to seek apprenticeship now. After all, he was already a Soul King and heavily associated with the Body Sect and Shrek Academy. As a high-ranking military figure, the Divine Brush Douluo could not take him as a disciple.
But mooching some inheritance might still be possible.
The problem was that Xu Yuan had no opportunity to approach the Divine Brush Douluo.
While Xu Yuan hadn't interacted with the Divine Brush Douluo, the Tong Yu imprisoned at the bottom of the Five Elements Lake was a perfect match for Xu Yuan's Heavenly Origin Brush martial soul.
If he could exchange ideas with Tong Yu, Xu Yuan might make further progress in mastering the Five Elements.
Mu Ye's guess was spot-on.
---
Five Elements Lake
Two mechs descended, merging back into their respective hosts.
"You?"
Before the two, a figure stood by the edge of the Five Elements Lake.
He watched the two mechs descend, his gaze cold. Seeing Xu Yuan's face, he showed a hint of surprise, then turned to Mu Ye.
"You're the demigod who broke through the other day? Why are you and Xu Yuan here?"
"So it's the Holy Dragon Douluo," Mu Ye stepped forward, shielding Xu Yuan behind him, and gave a slight bow.
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