The Glory of the Sun and Moon in the Peerless Tang Sect

Fluffy dandelions, radiating colorful halos, merged into Xu Zihuang's body, and his wounds healed rapidly. However, the numbness throughout his body wouldn't subside quickly.

"Elder Cheng, this was my own idea, and it has nothing to do with Meng Lang and the others. You can all go out now; I need to cultivate for a while."

Having regained some strength, Xu Zihuang sat up and stopped Elder Cheng with a wry smile.

He was quite open-minded; how could one gain power without paying a price?

Old Cheng glanced angrily at Meng Lang and the others, then looked at Xu Zihuang, but ultimately said nothing more.

After everyone left the room, Xu Zihuang took out the dried ten-thousand-year whale glue and the demon soul great white shark head oil that he had just obtained the night before from his soul tool. After consuming a portion of each, he entered a state of cultivation.

Although I had endured immense pain, it was all worth it. After pushing my body to its limits, both my cultivation speed and the absorption of the effects of the Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue and the Demon Soul Great White Shark Head Oil seemed to have accelerated.

An hour later, to everyone's astonishment, Xu Zihuang, now dressed in clean clothes, reappeared in the basement beneath the castle.

This basement, spanning over 500 square meters, boasts excellent soundproofing. Members of the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps typically craft soul tools here.

Xu Zihuang gestured slightly to the crowd, then went directly to a table and began to attempt to inscribe the second level-three core magic array.

There are no shortcuts to inscribing core formations; it requires repeated attempts. However, Xu Zihuang, possessing the Golden Eyes, a spirit-attribute martial soul, has a significant innate advantage. His eyesight is at least several times that of an ordinary person, and with his photographic memory, he can memorize core formations after seeing them only a few times. Inscribing core formations often fails due to minute errors, but this rarely happens with Xu Zihuang.

Half a month later, he successfully inscribed his second level-three core magic array. This brought him one step closer to truly becoming a level-three soul master.

The maximum number of times he could withstand the impact of the waves was fifteen.

In the days that followed, he continued to train his body with the tides in the morning, learn to make soul tools in the afternoon, and cultivate his soul power in the evening.

A year later, the time he spent practicing Tidal Body Tempering had increased from less than fifteen minutes to two hours. It was in this almost self-torturing training that his physical fitness, willpower, and soul power level all improved rapidly.

During this time, a minor incident occurred: Whale Shark Pirate Leader Whale Gu, who had purchased the Soul Bone from the Great White Shark's head, was attacked and the Soul Bone was stolen, leaving him severely injured. This turn of events heightened tensions in the Moon South Islands.

All fingers seemed to be pointing at Crocodile Luo, the leader of the Crocodile Pirate Crew. But Whale Gu, the person directly involved, made no response.

Chapter 39 Three Years Later

A year later, Yao Yang publicly announced that he had found a cousin who had been separated from his family, which caused quite a stir on the entire Moon Pivot Island.

However, as this so-called cousin never appeared in public, he gradually faded from everyone's sight.

Spring goes and autumn comes, winter goes and spring arrives. In the Yue Nan Islands, where it is summer all year round, the changing of the seasons is not obvious, but the river of time has never stopped, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the course of these three years, the Yuenan Islands appeared to be in a state of peace and tranquility, but the undercurrents beneath the surface were keenly perceived by some observant individuals.

For example, Yao Yang, who is the Viscount of Yue Nan.

In the past, he would come to the castle where Xu Zihuang and others lived every few days, but recently he has only come once every two weeks.

Even Xu Zihuang, who was immersed in cultivation and detached from worldly affairs, gradually noticed the anomaly.

……

The edge of the inner bay in front of the castle is entirely composed of tightly joined, flat boulders, forming a sizable harbor square. Despite being Viscount Yue Nan Yao Yang's private harbor, not a single ship was docked here at this moment.

The rock walls at both ends of the sea prevent the waves from crashing against it, making this crescent-shaped inland sea appear much calmer. The dazzling sunlight shines on the rippling surface of the sea, like a clear blue sapphire reflecting brilliant light.

A boy who looked to be eleven or twelve years old stood quietly at the edge of the bay, his clear, deep purple eyes contrasting sharply with the azure sea before him. He was about 1.75 meters tall, with a slender and upright figure. His smooth, medium-length black hair cascaded down his back, while a few eerie purple strands adorned his temples and forehead, framing his handsome face.

Her exquisitely perfect features were flawless. Although she was young, the contours of her brows gave her an air of quiet authority. Her deep, noble eyes held no emotion whatsoever, making them impossible to fathom.

The young man was Xu Zihuang, who had been cultivating diligently on Moon Pivot Island for three years.

In three years, his features had fully developed. Having inherited more of his mother's appearance, he looked more like a noble scion from one of the three great empires of the Douluo Continent. His skin was as white as jade, a sight that would likely make most women envious, making him seem nothing like someone with royal blood from the Sun Moon Empire.

Steady footsteps came from behind Xu Zihuang. The newcomer was Lin Long, whose cultivation was second only to Wang Xiao in the Imperial Dragon Soul Instructor Group. Having lived with Xu Zihuang for a long time, he had naturally been nourished by the rich spiritual energy surrounding Xu Zihuang. Within three years, his soul power had broken through two levels, reaching level seventy-three.

Wang Xiao went into seclusion to cultivate three months ago, and during this time he has been responsible for Xu Zihuang's safety during his cultivation.

Whether it was the Tidal Body Refinement that began three years ago, or the practical combat training with soul beasts that started half a year ago.

Linlong stopped half a step behind Xu Zihuang and gently reminded him.

"Young Master, everything is ready. This time it's five thousand-year-old sea demon elephants."

"Hmm." Xu Zihuang nodded calmly. Five thousand-year-old soul beasts would be enough to put a Soul Master of the Soul Sect level in danger, but for him, it was nothing out of the ordinary. He was no ordinary soul master; not only did he possess twin martial souls, but both of them were arguably the top martial souls of their time. One was the Golden Eye, a spirit-attribute physical martial soul, and the other was the Purple Emperor Thunder Prison Dragon, which combined the attributes of destruction and extreme lightning.

More than half a year ago, his soul power level had already reached level 30, and because of his ultimate martial soul, the quality of his soul power far exceeded that of ordinary soul masters.

Despite having a soul power level of only 30, his total soul power was approaching that of an average Soul Master.

In addition, with two thousand-year-old soul skills that he was becoming increasingly adept at using, he had always gained the upper hand in battles against soul beasts over the past six months.

Xu Zihuang removed his purple-gold robe, revealing a tight-fitting black suit. His physique wasn't the exaggeratedly bulging type; rather, it was more subtly defined. The muscles in his chest, abdomen, arms, and legs were clearly defined, exuding power with every movement.

This is all thanks to the tidal body tempering that has been practiced without interruption for the past three years.

Along the edge of the inner bay in front of them, there was a soldier from the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps at regular intervals, ready to provide assistance at any time.

On the distant sea, a patch of icy blue rapidly spread outwards, and a massive iceberg instantly solidified, connecting the crescent-shaped inner bay and completely sealing off the inland sea extending into Moon Pivot Island. Immediately afterwards, five jet-black thousand-year-old sea demon elephants were successively thrown into the inland sea by several soldiers from the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps atop the iceberg.

These five thousand-year-old sea monsters emanated a pale blue aura, and had two long, sharp tusks at the corners of their mouths.

The Sea Demon Elephant is a type of Sea Spirit Beast. Their most prominent characteristics are their extraordinary defense and strength. A fully grown Sea Demon Elephant can exceed seven meters in length. "Full-grown" means possessing over a hundred years of cultivation.

These five sea demon elephants, each with over a thousand years of cultivation, are over ten meters long, and their skin alone is over fifteen centimeters thick. Their skin is extremely tough and has super resistance to any physical attack.

Compared to other sea spirit beasts, the Sea Demon Elephant is relatively docile.

But no matter how docile they are, being captured and brought here by Xu Zihuang and his group inevitably unleashes their ferocity.

The moment Xu Zihuang jumped into the sea, the five sea monsters' eyes turned red, churning up a large expanse of water and swimming towards Xu Zihuang.

Every spirit beast has its strengths and weaknesses. The Sea Demon Elephant has formidable defense, but its attack power and speed are its shortcomings. However, when it is in water, its weakness in speed is compensated for.

"Om-"

In the blink of an eye, the five sea monsters had already traversed the inner sea, letting out a low roar as they rammed their massive bodies into Xu Zihuang.

Intricate and obscure golden patterns covered Xu Zihuang's pupils, and two purple soul rings appeared at the same time.

Xu Zihuang, who was well prepared, made no attempt to dodge the furious attack from the thousand-year-old sea monster.

He clenched his right fist and swung it with a tsunami-like sound, colliding heavily with the sea monster's body.

A large amount of seawater was stirred up. Despite feeling the immense force coming from his right fist, Xu Zihuang remained calm. His skin rippled rhythmically like ocean waves, perfectly neutralizing the force.

This is the real benefit he has gained from tempering his body through the tides over the past three years. This is not a soul skill, but a perfect combination of physical strength and one's own soul power, somewhat similar to the unique combat techniques of the Body Sect.

Chapter 40 The Martial Soul Instinct of the Golden Eyes - Dynamic Vision

While Xu Zihuang was dealing with the attack of the sea monster elephant, four other sea monster elephants swarmed in.

Sharp fangs stabbed at his body from all directions.

He could certainly choose to use his second soul skill, Mirror Annihilation, to completely suppress them. These five sea demon elephants were not a particularly powerful soul beast race to begin with, and their cultivation was only a little over a thousand years old. They simply could not possibly survive his second soul skill.

But doing so would contradict his original intention.

The reason he fought against various spirit beasts for the past six months was entirely to hone his combat experience. But in reality, he had another purpose: to put himself on the verge of death, thereby triggering the opportunity for the second awakening of his main spirit.

With his thoughts racing, Xu Zihuang took a deep breath and plunged headfirst into the seabed.

The average depth of this inland sea is about 100 meters, but the water pressure at 100 meters is easily withstood by Xu Zihuang's physical condition.

At a depth of 100 meters, visibility is only one percent of normal, but thanks to the powerful vision provided by the Golden Eyes, the impact is almost negligible.

A chill ran down his spine from behind, and Xu Zihuang looked up abruptly.

The five thousand-year-old sea monsters chasing after him spewed out ice bullets from their mouths.

These ice projectiles were entirely ice-blue, and as they glided through the seawater, they emitted strong fluctuations of soul power. The seawater in their wake began to condense at a visible speed, forming ice streaks of various shapes.

This is the Ice Blast Bomb. It's one of the Sea Elephant's most proficient soul skills, and also their innate soul skill.

Although the name is similar to the Ice Blast Technique of the Ice Jade Scorpion Clan in the far north, the two techniques are worlds apart in power.

There were at least a hundred ice bullets, densely packed together, blocking Xu Zihuang's path.

Xu Zihuang stared at the dense ice bullets coming towards him, and the golden patterns around his pupils became even more dazzling.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

Xu Zihuang seemed to be able to see the future, and he easily avoided each ice bullet with the slightest movement.

Human body outline!

"Just as I thought." Xu Zihuang's heart stirred slightly, and he used his left hand to brush aside a few strands of purple hair that were floating in the seawater and blocking his vision.

He certainly couldn't predict the future, but he could predict the trajectory of these ice bullets.

During his three years of cultivation, he inadvertently discovered the martial soul instincts possessed by his spiritual attribute martial soul, the Golden Eye.

Generally, only exceptionally powerful martial souls can possess martial soul instincts. For example, in the original work, Wang Dong's martial soul, the Goddess of Light Butterfly, possessed the innate ability to fly, which is a characteristic of top-tier martial souls.

Xu Zihuang's Golden Eyes martial soul instinct grants him dynamic vision that surpasses that of ordinary people.

In other words, everything he sees can be slowed down dozens of times at his will. Predicting the trajectory of these hundreds of ice bullets is naturally a piece of cake.

A flash of dark red light appeared, and Xu Zihuang slowly raised his arms. Dark red crystals began to spread from his palms towards his wrists, completely enveloping both arms.

Dark red crystal scales condensed and took shape, his two arms became extremely thick, and his hands turned into dragon claws, also covered with dark red crystal scales.

He did not switch his martial soul, and his second martial soul, the Purple Thunder Prison Dragon, did not acquire a soul ring, making it impossible for him to achieve the dragon transformation ability similar to that of the Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex family.

He simply used his mental power to subtly control the second soul skill of his Golden Eye Martial Soul to condense such a pair of dragon arms.

Relying on his own immense power and the fact that the dark red crystal was far harder than cold iron, he, as a control-type Soul Master, absolutely possessed the ability to directly confront a power-attack-type Soul Master of the same level.

"I hope this time I can get what I want." Xu Zihuang's eyes turned cold. Instead of retreating, he advanced, his dark red dragon claws protecting his body as he took the initiative to meet the five sea demon elephants.

Xu Zihuang was already swimming very fast in the sea, but the five sea monsters that lived in the ocean were even faster.

However, no matter how fast these five sea monsters were, they were as slow as snails in his eyes.

With his left hand, Xu Zihuang's dragon claw precisely gripped the tusk of one of the sea monsters, while his right claw brutally pierced its eyeball.

Crimson blood splattered everywhere, and the sea monster roared and struggled desperately. The seawater was instantly stained crimson.

Just as Xu Zihuang's right claw pierced through the eye socket and completely penetrated the brain, the struggle abruptly ceased. Specks of purple light gathered on the massive corpse of the sea monster and floated towards the surface of the sea.

The other four sea monsters that arrived a step later became even more frenzied after being stimulated by the blood of their companions.

Unless they are cunning spirit beasts like apes or wolves, most spirit beasts don't possess very high intelligence after a thousand years of cultivation. They mostly act based on instinct.

The four sea monsters in front of them were clearly of low intelligence.