Douluo Continent II: The Dragon King Suppresses the World!

Chapter 68 The Calm Before the Storm

After Jing Hongchen left, the Sea God Pavilion seemed to be shrouded in a heavy, gloomy cloud. It was so quiet that one could clearly hear their own heartbeat. The eight soul tools were quietly taken away under everyone's watchful eyes. Such shocking strength and methods were truly unfathomable.

Old Mu closed his eyes slightly, the wrinkles on his weathered face seeming to deepen further as he fell into deep thought. "Even I couldn't sense the strength of this newcomer. Has another Limit Douluo suddenly appeared on this continent? Alas, my days are numbered..."

At dawn, the sky was slightly overcast. Four figures quietly left Shrek Academy. However, they stopped as soon as they stepped out. Elder Xuan, holding his huge gourd of wine, looked at Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong in front of him with hazy, drunken eyes.

Elder Xuan said slowly, "Alright, you may go on your own. You all know the location of the Star Dou Great Forest, right? Go and find suitable soul beasts for you. I will protect you in secret."

Huo Yuhao and the other two responded in unison, "Yes."

Originally, only Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao needed to obtain their third spirit ring from the spirit beast, but Wang Dong volunteered to come along. His reason was very simple: the three of them working together would have no problem dealing with the thousand-year-old spirit beast.

After giving his instructions to the three, Elder Xuan vanished in a flash.

After Elder Xuan left, Huo Yuhao, Xiao Xiao, and Wang Dong set off, identified their direction, and headed straight for the Star Dou Great Forest south of Shrek Academy. In just two days, the three arrived at the outer area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest.

On the other side, Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena had returned to the core area of ​​the Star Dou Great Forest. Ye Qi'an looked at the eight soul tools in front of him with curiosity in his eyes and began to explore them. At the same time, he did not forget to release the Dragon God Core and let the life core in his body gather a large amount of life power.

Gu Yuena sensed the sudden surge of life force in the Lake of Life and slowly turned her gaze to Ye Qi'an.

At this moment, Ye Qi'an's forehead was covered with green-gold patterns, which seemed to contain endless vitality. As the life force continued to gather, the water of the Lake of Life rippled.

A rich aura of life instantly filled the entire space. Under the shroud of this life force, Gu Yuena could feel her injuries gradually healing. She closed her eyes slightly and wholeheartedly accepted the nourishment of the life force.

"Elder Yi, can you understand the soul guidance arrays in these soul guidance devices?" Ye Qi'an asked Ilex in his sea of ​​consciousness while fiddling with the soul guidance devices in front of him.

Electrolux's aged yet steady voice resounded in Ye Qi'an's mental sea: "The formations within these soul tools are merely for show; some formations are even completely useless, greatly hindering the attack power of the soul tools."

Ye Qi'an frowned slightly and continued, "Elder Yi, is there any way to improve these soul tools?"

After a moment of silence, Electrox said, "There is a way, but it will take a lot of time and effort. The core structure of these soul tools has some flaws, and to improve them, we need to fundamentally adjust them. First, we need to re-examine the soul guidance array, removing useless parts and strengthening the effectiveness of key arrays. Second, we need to find more suitable materials to replace some of the subpar components to improve the overall performance of the soul tools. However, I don't think that's your goal, is it?"

Ye Qi'an nodded, his gaze turning icy cold as he said in a deep voice, "I do indeed have other purposes. Researching soul tools is merely a prelude to my later plans. Soul beasts are dwindling in number, while soul masters are flourishing. I want to use their own methods against them, to let them taste what it feels like when the soul tools they've researched fall upon them one day."

He knew he was not a good person in the absolute sense. Since he had stood on the opposite side of humanity, he had to seek enough benefits for the soul beast race, even if it meant making enemies of everyone in the end. Ye Qi'an stared at the soul tool in front of him, and his plan became clearer and clearer.

Meanwhile, Huo Yuhao and his two companions had already ventured deep into the Star Dou Great Forest.

Since the Three-Eyed Golden Lion has been refining the Dragon Pill during this time, and Ye Qi'an has already diverted some of the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's fortune power, Ye Qi'an is not worried about any other emergencies, except for preventing the Stitched Monster's divine sense from invading and interfering with the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.

Without any external interference, Huo Yuhao and his companions' trip to Star Dou went exceptionally smoothly. With the assistance of Elder Xuan, Xiao Xiao obtained a soul ring of a thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear and an external soul bone. Due to some dramatic accidents, the Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear external soul bone ended up in Huo Yuhao's hands.

Whether it was luck or something else, even without the Three-Eyed Golden Lion incident, Huo Yuhao seemed to have been preordained and still obtained a ten-thousand-year soul ring. After the three returned to Shrek Academy, Huo Yuhao began the extreme training program under Elder Mu's arrangement.

During their time in the Star Dou Great Forest, Ye Qi'an and Gu Yuena's lives returned to a routine of going to three places and going to two different places.

In the morning, Ye Qi'an went to Siyuan Blacksmith Shop in Shrek City to continue learning spirit forging. He needed to fully master spirit forging before officially starting to make battle armor. At noon, he returned to the Star Dou Great Forest to study soul guidance arrays, and spent the rest of his time cultivating with Gu Yuena.

Over a year passed as everyone underwent comprehensive improvement. He Caitou and Jiang Nannan both reached level 49 in soul power, just one step away from becoming Soul Kings. Wang Dong had already reached level 44 in the same period, while Xiao Xiao, slightly behind Wang Dong, had also broken through to level 40. Among the Shrek Seven Devils, only Huo Yuhao's cultivation remained at the Soul Venerable realm, and his soul power had only just broken through to level 38.

Compared to them, Ye Qi'an, who was in the Star Dou Great Forest, had his soul power level raised to level 59 under the nourishment of a large number of spiritual items and life force given by Gu Yuena. He was only one step away from becoming a Soul Emperor and breaking the sixth seal.

Ye Qi'an's progress in forging was remarkable; he could forge almost any metal with spirit, a feat that once made the master craftsman Si Yuan question his own existence.

Under the restoration of that immense life force, Gu Yuena's injuries had recovered by about 70-80%, and now she could mobilize enough cultivation to handle many matters for the two of them.

During this time, the Imperial Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, also completely refined the Dragon Core. According to Gu Yuena's estimation, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's cultivation level after transformation was almost close to that of a Soul Saint. Now, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion follows Ye Qi'an around every day. Whenever Ye Qi'an feels tired from researching soul tools, she acts as a cushion, allowing Ye Qi'an to lean on her.

For more than a year, the Douluo Continent suddenly became unusually calm. The Sun Moon Empire's original restlessness disappeared, and the Body Sect, which had once appeared at Shrek Academy, vanished as quickly as it appeared, without causing any waves on the continent. This continent seemed to have entered a brief period of peace, waiting for the next storm to arrive.

At Shrek Academy, a figure slowly walked from afar. The newcomer wore a half-covering black and gold mask, revealing only a pair of crimson eyes, and his long golden hair was casually tied up with a ribbon.

Ye Qi'an walked into Shrek Academy, his steady steps seemingly carrying a unique aura. His long golden hair shone in the sunlight, and his black and gold mask added to his mysterious aura. Some students who had finished class cast curious glances at him, secretly speculating about his identity. Ye Qi'an did not linger and walked directly towards the inner courtyard.

At this moment, in the Seagod Pavilion on Seagod Island, Bei Bei, He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, and Wang Dong stood quietly in a row.

Old Mu lay quietly on the recliner. A year and a half had passed, and all of his hair had fallen out. His life force seemed to have come to an end, and he rarely even opened his eyes.

Originally, with Elder Mu's strength, he could have held on for a while longer, but because Ye Qi'an took away the life core of the Golden Tree and 60% of its authority, Elder Mu was unable to use the Golden Tree to assist him when facing the Poison Undying of the Body Sect. He had to forcefully unleash the Light of the Sea God using himself as the vessel, which accelerated the loss of Elder Mu's already dwindling life force.

As Ye Qi'an stepped into the Sea God Pavilion, his unique aura instantly drew everyone's attention to him.

Beibei and the others looked puzzled, unsure of who this person wearing the black and gold mask was.

Elder Xuan stood quietly beside Elder Mu, and standing with him were all the elders of the Sea God Pavilion, including Yan Shaozhe, Cai Meier, Xian Liner, and Qian Duoduo.

Ye Qi'an slowly walked towards Elder Mu, stopping a few steps away. He lowered his head slightly, looking at the old man whose life was about to end. A complex emotion welled up in his heart. He slowly took off his mask, revealing a cold and stern face.

Everyone was startled. They had never seen this person before, yet they felt a strange sense of familiarity about him.

"I'm back," Ye Qi'an said solemnly, his voice echoing in the air like a deep bell.

When Ye Qi'an spoke, everyone was utterly astonished.

Beibei was the first to react, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, her voice filled with doubt: "You're Qi An? How come you...?"

Ye Qi'an glanced at everyone and said in a calm voice, "For the past year or so, Nana and I have been training outside. Due to some circumstances, we happened to pass by Shrek Academy and came back to visit. As for my appearance, it's because of my martial soul evolution. To avoid unnecessary trouble, I wore a mask."

After hearing Ye Qi'an's explanation, everyone had different expressions. After Elder Xuan nodded slightly and explained the situation to Ye Qi'an, he asked him to stand next to the seven people. Ye Qi'an also put on the mask in his hand and stood there quietly.

The atmosphere inside the Sea God Pavilion was heavy at this moment, and everyone was worried about Elder Mu's condition.

Outside the Sea God Pavilion, sixty-nine inner court disciples sat quietly cross-legged in front of the door. Seated at the very front was a young woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with long black hair that reached her waist. Her delicate face was fair and flawless, like a piece of jade. Her hands, except for the thumbs, were crossed with the other eight fingers touching, and rested quietly on her calves as she sat cross-legged.

Behind her, the other sixty-eight inner court disciples, none of whom were over thirty years old, sat quietly in ten rows. Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng were in the second row behind her, as were Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan, Chen Zifeng, Xixi, and Gongyang Mo, though their positions varied according to their cultivation levels. Apart from Ma Xiaotao and Dai Yueheng in the first row, the others were positioned further back.

The girl sitting at the front slowly opened her eyes, a deep sadness flowing through her bright and wise black eyes. "Old Master Mu, are you really leaving?" Thinking of this, two lines of clear tears streamed down Zhang Lexuan's perfect face.

Inside the Sea God Pavilion, Elder Mu slowly opened his eyes. His originally dull yellow eyes became extremely clear at this moment. His gaze slowly moved to Bei Bei, who was standing on the far left, and then slowly moved horizontally, clearly stopping on He Caitou, Xu Sanshi, Jiang Nannan, Xiao Xiao, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Ye Qi'an, who had just returned.

"Children, do not grieve. I have lived in this world for over two hundred years. I have spent almost my entire life at Shrek Academy. Being able to protect the academy and watch children like you grow up one generation after another is my greatest pride. Today, I am leaving this world, but I hope you will send me off happily. Looking at you and all the students of Shrek Academy, I can rest in peace with a smile on my face."

Elder Mu's words echoed softly within the Sea God Pavilion, but everyone's mood grew increasingly heavy. Ye Qi'an stood to the side, his eyes behind his mask revealing complex emotions. All he could do was leave Shrek Academy a little room for maneuver; as for the others, that was beyond his consideration.

Beibei stepped forward, her voice trembling slightly: "Ancestor Xuanzu."

The moment the title "Ancestor" was uttered, everyone except Ye Qi'an, who knew the inside story, was shocked. Ancestor? This was clearly a title of seniority. Father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and then Ancestor. Bei Bei was actually a descendant of Elder Mu.

Elder Mu nodded and said, "I'm about to leave, and I have some things I must tell you. Xuanzi."

Elder Xuan quickly squatted down next to Elder Mu.

Elder Mu sighed softly and said, "Xuanzi, you are not young anymore. Don't get so emotional. I'm not leaving completely! Even if I die, I will forever protect Shrek Academy. Listen, after I'm gone, Xuanzi will succeed me as the head of the Sea God Pavilion."

"Yes," the elders replied respectfully in unison.

After confirming the candidate for the Sea God Pavilion Master, Elder Mu looked at Yan Shaozhe and the others and made arrangements for Shrek Academy. Yan Shaozhe and the others simply nodded in agreement.

Elder Mu sighed softly and said, "As the master of the Sea God Pavilion, I will issue one last order."

Upon hearing this, all the elders stepped forward and knelt down on one knee.

Elder Mu's voice slowly emanated from the Sea God Pavilion, spreading throughout the entire Sea God Island.

"From today onwards, we will focus all our efforts on developing the Soul Guidance System and promoting the integration of the Martial Soul System and the Soul Guidance System. If one day the Soul Guidance System can produce a Level 10 Soul Guidance Master, then the position of Sea God Pavilion Master will be inherited by him."

"Yes—" the elders replied respectfully in unison.

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(End of this chapter)