"It's about Yuanen Yehui," Xu Yuan said. "Specifically, her second martial soul."
Yun Ming's expression shifted to one of sudden realization.
Seeing Yun Ming's reaction, Xu Yuan felt reassured.
It seemed the higher-ups of the Sea God Pavilion were already aware of Yuanen Yehui's situation.
Indeed, Shrek Academy only held admissions once every three years, and it was only natural that they would thoroughly investigate the most outstanding students in each cohort.
Moreover, Yuanen Yehui's case was particularly special. Not only was she a dual-soul master, but one of her martial souls was the mighty Titan Ape—a super martial soul—and the other was the Fallen Angel, which required the academy to personally verify that it wasn't an evil soul master's martial soul and provide a guarantee.
The inspection process had been personally overseen by Elder Cai, who naturally understood Yuanen Yehui's situation fully.
Just because Yuanen Yehui hadn't disclosed certain details didn't mean Shrek Academy couldn't uncover them.
Fallen Angels, the Demon Plane—these things had existed in the past.
"I'm aware of Yuanen Yehui's situation. We originally planned to intervene when she reached the Soul Sage stage," Yun Ming said as he looked at Xu Yuan. "Are you asking me to step in early and resolve the issue with the Demon Plane for her?"
Xu Yuan nodded.
"That's right. Because of her concerns about the Demon Plane, she has consistently hesitated to fully cultivate her Fallen Angel martial soul. If we resolve the issue with the Demon Plane early on, her soul power should increase at a faster rate."
Yun Ming gave a slight nod.
He could sense some flaws in this reasoning, but he saw no need to correct it.
"Dealing with the Demon Plane shouldn't be too difficult. The so-called Demon Gate depends on her cultivation level. Even if the Demon Plane attempts a forced incursion, it will likely wait until she reaches the Titled Douluo stage, as only then will there be powerful enough demons capable of passing through the gate into our plane," Yun Ming said calmly. "If we preemptively trigger the issue within her martial soul and force the Demon Gate open ahead of time, we can control its intensity to a manageable level. Once we subdue the Demon Plane, we'll be able to resolve the internal issues within her martial soul."
His tone remained calm throughout, clearly indicating that he viewed this matter as extremely straightforward.
"We in Shrek are also familiar with the Demon Plane. It's a plane of the same strength as the Douluo Plane, without any gods or true deities. With the restrictions of the Demon Gate in place, any forces entering from the other side will only be weaker."
After Yun Ming finished speaking, Xu Yuan finally chimed in: "Teacher, simply repelling the Demon Plane is far too easy."
Yun Ming's eyes flickered.
With just that single sentence, he understood Xu Yuan's meaning.
"You want to use that gate to launch a reverse invasion of the Demon Plane?"
Even as Yun Ming asked, he immediately followed up: "You must realize that if the stronger beings from the Demon Plane cannot pass through the gate, then I likely won't be able to enter their side either."
Xu Yuan smiled. "That's precisely why we need to actively increase the strength of the Demon Gate. I believe they'll cooperate."
If the Demon Gate were suddenly opened, the forces on the other side wouldn't be particularly strong.
By mobilizing Shrek's full strength, they could undoubtedly push the battlefront into the Demon Plane the moment the gate opened, secure the portal's location, and quickly establish a frontline.
"There's no need for a full-scale invasion of the Demon Plane. After all, our academy is still just an academy. My idea is simply to set up an anchor point there, making it easier for our students to venture there for training."
"Training there?" Yun Ming frowned.
That was another plane entirely, with completely different laws.
"Do you understand the consequences for soul masters who go there? While they might still be able to use their martial souls, they'll undoubtedly face suppression, and even their soul skills may become sluggish."
"All of that can be endured," Xu Yuan said.
Yun Ming was puzzled. He looked at Xu Yuan, seeking an explanation.
"Teacher, my progress in the Seven Forbidden Techniques is slowing down more and more," Xu Yuan said softly.
Yun Ming's gaze sharpened.
Slowing down more and more…
He was well aware of this fact. His mastery of the Seven Forbidden Techniques' ability to control heaven and earth had become increasingly difficult to improve.
In fact, ever since reaching the Limit Douluo stage, the boost provided by the Seven Forbidden Techniques had long since lost the overwhelming dominance it once held.
In other words, while the Seven Forbidden Techniques once allowed him to fight across multiple levels, now that he had reached the limit, its effects were weakening, no longer sufficient to create a fundamental gap between him and other top-tier experts.
This could be attributed to the fact that all Limit Douluos were among the strongest individuals on the plane, each a peerless genius with their own unique techniques.
However, from another perspective, theoretically, his Seven Forbidden Techniques shouldn't have stagnated like this.
The Seven Forbidden Techniques, in theory, were meant to control heaven and earth—a path with boundless potential, a grand and divine way.
And yet, it felt as though something was holding him back.
The more he sought to control heaven and earth, the more resistance he felt.
"Why go to the Demon Plane if your cultivation is slowing down?" Yun Ming didn't know what Xu Yuan knew, so he could only ask vaguely.
"During my three months in the Dragon Valley, my progress in the Seven Forbidden Techniques was significantly greater than in the outside world—and that was even while I devoted most of my energy to cultivating blood essence," Xu Yuan explained.
Yun Ming stared at Xu Yuan, silent for a long time.
Eventually, it was Xu Yuan who broke the silence.
"Teacher, it's clear that in other small worlds—or true planes—the progress of the Seven Forbidden Techniques will be much faster."
Yun Ming simply nodded in agreement, offering no further commentary.
Their eyes met briefly, and neither voiced the conclusion they had almost certainly both reached.
This plane… had an owner.
They didn't say it aloud, nor did they express it.
"When I return to the continent, I'll inform the Sea God Pavilion to prepare plans for conquering the Demon Plane."
Yun Ming paused mid-sentence, not continuing.
There was more he wanted to say—that the Tang Sect could also be involved.
But after careful consideration, he decided not to make that decision at this moment.
He would return to the Sea God Pavilion first and discuss with the other elders whether to involve the Tang Sect.
The Five Elements Lake was rich in elemental energy, so Yun Ming decided to stay here as well.
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
The fluctuations in Tong Yu's spiritual power grew increasingly intense. Unfortunately, Xu Yuan had to return to the Federation and wouldn't have the chance to witness Tong Yu's breakthrough to the Lingyu Realm.
Before leaving, Xu Yuan visited the bottom of the Five Elements Lake once more.
"Brother Yu, I must return to the Federation. This visit is to bid farewell."
Tong Yu's gaze was complex.
He sighed and said, "Little Yuan, thank you for everything these past six months."
Although Xu Yuan had never concealed his intentions and had always been upfront about helping him, he had genuinely provided substantial assistance.
Tong Yu was naturally a sensitive person, and over these six months, he had come to fully accept Xu Yuan in his heart.
"Brother Yu, remember the Five Elements Kirin Pearl I mentioned last time…"
"I can't condense a true Five Elements Kirin Pearl containing my entire essence for you, but I've prepared a quintessence infused with my bloodline and the inheritance of the five elements," Tong Yu said.
This was, after all, the bottom of the Five Elements Lake, where the five elements were most concentrated. Tong Yu had been accumulating these elemental forces for years in preparation for his breakthrough to the limit. Once his spiritual power eventually broke through, he could use these accumulated forces to quickly stabilize his realm.
Now, he had fused these accumulated five elemental forces with his Five Elements Kirin bloodline, creating a quintessence of the five elements.
"I don't know if it will meet your needs."
A swirling orb of light, cycling through the five colors of the five elements, emerged from Tong Yu's chest. It quickly condensed into a sphere where the five colors harmoniously coexisted.
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