Douluo Continent II: The Dragon King Suppresses the World!

Chapter 30 The Fourth Seal, Return Journey!

At dawn, by the Lake of Life, under the focused protection of Gu Yuena and the others, Ye Qi'an sat calmly cross-legged by the lake, taking a deep breath. He clearly felt that the Golden Dragon King's power within him, sealed for so long, was like a ferocious beast about to break free of its cage, stirring restlessly and ready to burst forth.

At this moment, Ye Qi'an's expression was extremely solemn. He made up his mind and prepared to break the fourth seal of the Golden Dragon King set up by the Dragon God. The surrounding air seemed to be affected by some mysterious force, instantly becoming heavy and oppressive, as if it had solidified.

Ye Qi'an closed his eyes tightly, concentrated all his energy, and carefully mobilized his soul power, slowly circulating it along a specific route. Gradually, beads of sweat began to seep from his forehead and slide down his cheeks.

In reality, every attempt by Ye Qi'an to break the seal set by the Dragon God was a severe test of his body and will. For him, there was no guarantee of success; only by giving his all could he possibly succeed by sheer luck.

As the soul power converged at the crucial moment like a tidal wave, Ye Qi'an roared, and in an instant, his entire body radiated a dazzling light. The Golden Dragon King seal, which had been hidden deep within his body, began to tremble violently, and mysterious runes shone with a brilliant and strange light.

As the light flickered more intensely, Ye Qi'an felt an incomparably powerful force, like a surging, turbulent wave, violently impacting his meridians. The pain washed over him like a tidal wave, almost swallowing his consciousness. But he gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, tensed his body, and stubbornly persevered through sheer willpower.

Finally, the light reached its peak, and with a deafening "bang," the Golden Dragon King's fourth seal was successfully broken. Instantly, an extremely violent power raged unchecked within Ye Qi'an's body. He dared not slacken in the slightest and immediately devoted all his efforts to controlling this power, attempting to guide it into his own soul power.

After arduous and painstaking efforts, Ye Qi'an gradually mastered this newly acquired and powerful strength. The moment he opened his eyes, an incomparably powerful pressure emanated from his body. Everyone was slightly taken aback when they saw the leaves, which had been drifting in the wind, suddenly freeze in mid-air.

"This is time, the Golden Dragon King's talent for controlling time, no... this is the Time Domain!" Gu Yuena noticed the leaves had stopped falling and blurted out.

As soon as Gu Yuena finished speaking, Di Tian and the others also showed expressions of utter shock. Compared to spatial attributes, time attributes are undoubtedly more precious and rare; in the face of time, space has to give way.

Ye Qi'an also clearly sensed the strange changes within a forty-meter radius around him, and similarly perceived the unusual nature of it. He knew that his domain was a time reversal domain, currently only capable of reversing forty seconds or briefly stopping time; the exact duration would only be known after he experimented with it himself. Moreover, after breaking the fourth seal, the skill of his fourth Qi and Blood Soul Ring, his fourth Soul Skill, was the Golden Dragon Rampage Domain. Thus, he indirectly possessed two domains.

At that moment, when Ye Qi'an unleashed this domain, within a forty-meter diameter radius centered on him, time seemed to be controlled by an invisible, gigantic hand. Everything became dreamlike and illusory, unreal and imperceptible. The flow of light seemed to slow down, and the dust particles in the air seemed to freeze in place.

In this unique realm, time is no longer an irreversible, unstoppable torrent, but rather a delicate thread that can be manipulated with ease. The power of rewind allows events that occurred within the past forty seconds to be vividly replayed, like a spectacular reverse-movie.

Ye Qi'an could see every minute detail, every slight movement, every subtle expression, even the arising and disappearance of every fleeting thought with unparalleled clarity. When he resolved to rewind time, the surrounding scenery would gradually become blurred, then, like a faded ancient scroll, be meticulously repainted, slowly returning to a specific moment in the past. This rewinding was by no means a simple, mechanical repetition, but rather carried the possibility of correction and change.

However, this powerful force was not without limitations and constraints. Each rewind consumed a significant amount of Ye Qi'an's soul power and precious mental energy, and the longer the rewind lasted, the greater the energy consumed. In that brief state of time stop, everything fell into absolute stillness. All sounds vanished instantly, the gentle breeze ceased to blow, and even people's thoughts seemed to be completely frozen. Only Ye Qi'an could think and act alone in this still world; this was the wondrous feeling of controlling everything.

Thinking of this, Ye Qi'an slowly stood up, withdrew the Time Reversal Domain, and walked towards Gu Yuena: "I have successfully broken through the fourth seal. It's almost time for the report. Nana, we should return to Shrek Academy."

Gu Yuena nodded slightly and replied, "Alright, let's set off immediately."

Yes, twenty days have passed since Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena returned to the Star Dou Great Forest, and there are only ten days left before the start of school. Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena immediately set off, speeding towards Shrek Academy.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion gazed thoughtfully in the direction Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena had left, then turned and returned to the Star Dou Great Forest.

.........

The far north.

"Ice Emperor, stop struggling. You've tried many times already, you should know it's useless," said the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm in its uniquely lazy voice.

Hyotei coldly replied, "What do you want?"

Tianmeng Bingcan said gently, "I only want to be with the one I love forever."

"Is this how you love me?" After more than a day of reflection, Hyotei realized that he had been fooled.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm smiled slightly and said, "Don't be in a hurry, listen to me."

Hyotei said coldly, "What did you say? That you love me? If you truly loved me, why haven't you released your true form yet?"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm sighed and said, "My physical body no longer exists. Don't you think that what you've been seeing all along is my true spiritual essence, and not a spiritual simulation?"

Hyotei was stunned, exclaiming in surprise, "What? You only have your spiritual essence left, your body..." Only then did Hyotei notice Huo Yuhao lying on the ground, "Could it be this human?"

"No, no, of course not. He is my host, and I am his spirit ring, the first intelligent spirit ring in history."

Hyotei exclaimed in disbelief, "What? You actually became a human's spirit ring? How is that possible?"

Tianmeng Bingcan smiled bitterly, "Don't mention it. My tragic past is all because of you. Back then..."

"Neither you nor I want to die. We've lived for such a long time, so I've come up with the best way."

The story of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm finally piqued the interest of the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, who almost instinctively asked, "What method?"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said in a deep voice: "Creating a god."

"Creating a god?" Hyotei was taken aback, then became even more curious. "What do you mean by creating a god?"

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said in a deep voice, "I ask you, on our continent, which race has the most potential?"

Hyotei, having been drawn into the rhythm of Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's words, subconsciously asked, "You mean, humans?"

"Most importantly, the pinnacle of human achievement is beyond our reach. Do you remember what happened ten thousand years ago?"

Hyotei said, "The world changes color, and I become a god in an instant."

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said, "Exactly. That time, I sensed the presence of at least five great gods. Ice Emperor, you must know that only the lives of gods are truly inexhaustible!"

Hyotei fell silent.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm pressed on, saying, "When we soul beasts reach a cultivation level of 100,000 years, we all have one chance to choose to regenerate as humans. However, I am unwilling to try that illusory method, so I chose another way. That is to create a god, to create a deity. And although I am not a god, I can have endless life along with this deity and become a part of the deity."

Hyotei finally showed some emotion and asked in a deep voice, "How confident are you?"

The Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm said, "If it were just me, the chances of success would be no more than 30%. After all, I'm not good at attacking, and I can't give him enough ability to protect himself. But..." It paused here.

"But what?" Hyotei asked, puzzled.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm said, "I know what you're thinking right now, but you've forgotten one thing: your mental strength is far inferior to mine. More importantly, do you even have time to study the process I've already completed?"

"Then why are you wasting your breath talking to me!" Hyotei was immediately enraged.

"Of course, that's not nonsense. I have experience! I've done it before! And with the protection of my powerful spiritual essence, your chances of success are increased at least dozens of times. Yes, if I create a god on my own, the chance of success is no more than 30%. But if it's me and you together, then our chances of success will exceed 50%. More than half the chance of immortality—isn't it worth taking the gamble?"

Hyotei's pair of crystal-yellow eyes fell on Huo Yuhao, revealing a strange gleam.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm pressed on, saying, "How about it? You'd better think this through. Opportunity knocks but once. On one side is eternal life, on the other is destruction. You'd better think carefully about which is more important."

"Do I have any other choice?" Hyotei said coldly.

Tianmeng Ice Silkworm breathed a huge sigh of relief and said, "Release your spiritual essence. You don't expect me to just release you like that, do you? Your temper is not something to be trusted."

A hint of hesitation flickered in Bingdi's eyes. Once she released her spiritual essence, given the difference in spiritual power between herself and Tianmeng Ice Silkworm, there would be no turning back. She wanted to achieve immortality, but she did not want to be permanently bound to a human body. If she had a better option, she would never choose to create a god with Tianmeng Ice Silkworm. To her, Tianmeng Ice Silkworm was nothing more than food.

.........

Shrek Academy.

It's that time of year again, the most important time of the year, the start of the new school year. Early in the morning, outside Shrek Academy, besides returning students, the vast majority of people were parents and relatives bringing their children to register for the new student entrance examination. Some senior students were also assisting teachers with the examinations at the school gate.

Twenty-eight days have passed since the start of the holiday, and in two more days, the new school year will begin.

The new students are busy with their entrance exams, while the returning students are also busy with their own promotion exams.

At least two-thirds of the returning students have already returned to campus. With the start of the new semester approaching, they naturally want to come back early to ask the teachers about the assessment content and seek their guidance.

A blue figure rushed forward at an astonishing speed from the shore of Poseidon Lake, quickly crossed Shrek Square, and arrived at the first-year dormitory building. Before long, it arrived at the dormitory door. Dragon God Douluo Mu En was still lying on a recliner with an air of leisure and ease.

"Hello, grandpa." Wang Dong said excitedly as he rushed into the dormitory building without stopping.

A hint of amusement flashed across the old man's face, but he quickly regained his composure, his eyes slightly narrowed, comfortably immersed in a state of half-sleep.

At this moment, at the gate of Shrek Academy, Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena had arrived at Shrek Academy after several days of travel. Originally, Gu Yuena only needed a spatial teleportation for the two of them to arrive, but Ye Qi'an had been testing the Dragon Emperor's Sky-Tearing Claw along the way, which caused the delay.

Upon entering Shrek Academy, the two walked along Poseidon Lake towards their dormitory. Ye Qi'an greeted Mu En upon seeing him, while Gu Yuena returned to their dormitory to clean. Since no one had lived there for a month, the dormitory was probably uninhabitable.

"Grandpa," Ye Qi'an said as he approached Mu En.

"You're back, and you've gotten even stronger. Not bad." Mu En, who was lying on the chair, opened his cloudy eyes and looked at Ye Qi'an sitting to his side.

Ye Qi'an smiled slightly and said, "This is all thanks to your guidance."

Moon nodded slightly.

Just then, a commotion arose not far away. It turned out that a group of freshmen were discussing the difficulty of the entrance examination, and each of them looked nervous.

Ye Qi'an glanced at it, then turned to Mu En and said, "Shrek Academy is always full of new hope and vitality at this time of year."

Moon smiled and said, "Yes, a new generation replaces the old. However, you can't afford to be complacent; the competition in the academy will only become more intense."

Ye Qi'an stood up and said, "Grandpa, I'll go back to my dorm to prepare. I can't fall behind in the new semester."

Mu En waved, and Ye Qi'an headed towards the dormitory. At that moment, Wang Dong, who was coming out of the dormitory, bumped into Ye Qi'an, who was also heading back to the dormitory.

Ye Qi'an stumbled from the impact and almost fell. He steadied himself and was about to lash out when he looked up and saw the flustered Wang Dong.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Ye Qi'an asked.

"Brother Ye, have you met Huo Yuhao?" Wang Dong grabbed Ye Qi'an's arm and asked without thinking.

"I didn't see him. I just got back. Hasn't Huo Yuhao returned yet?" Ye Qi'an shook his head and said, thinking to himself, "Isn't that obvious? Is Hyotei so easily persuaded?"

Wang Dong bit her lower lip, quickly got up, and ran towards the teachers' office area. Ye Qian returned to the dormitory and cleaned the dormitory with Gu Yuena.

At this moment, Wang Dong rushed into the teachers' office building and went straight to Zhou Yi's office. The office door was open, and inside, a student was talking to Zhou Yi.

Wang Dong was anxious and didn't bother to knock. He rushed in like a gust of wind, saying, "Teacher Zhou, Teacher Zhou."

Standing in front of Zhou Yi's desk were all students from Class 1, Grade 1. They were all startled when they saw Wang Dong rush in so hurriedly. To their surprise, Zhou Yi did not get angry when she saw Wang Dong. Instead, she stood up and the teacher and student spoke in unison in an urgent voice.

Zhou Yi: "Where's Huo Yuhao?"

Wang Dong: "Teacher Zhou, have you seen Huo Yuhao?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two of them paused in surprise, then said in unison again, "You're also looking for Huo Yuhao?"

.........

(End of this chapter)