"What favor?" Yuanen Yehui asked.
At this moment, she felt a sense of relief.
Due to family circumstances, she had left her clan and come to Shrek Academy to train alone. She relied entirely on herself, though she had occasionally taken advantage of others' help, she always adhered to the principle of exchange, doing her best not to owe anyone.
When she needed help, she would also put in her own effort.
Before coming to see Xu Yuan tonight, she had been thinking about what she could offer him in return.
Unfortunately, she had concluded that she had nothing to offer.
Xu Yuan seemed to lack for nothing.
To her surprise, upon arriving, she heard Xu Yuan's request.
Yuanen Yehui looked at Xu Yuan with a mix of curiosity and anticipation.
What could it be that Xu Yuan needed her help with?
"Yuanen, your Fallen Angel martial soul must have some inherent flaws, right?" Xu Yuan cut straight to the point without hesitation.
He didn't beat around the bush, directly addressing the issue.
Yuanen Yehui hadn't expected Xu Yuan to bring up the problem with her Fallen Angel martial soul.
After a brief hesitation, she nodded but didn't elaborate on the specific flaw.
"I've seen you use the Fallen Angel before and felt its power—it's pure, devoid of any evil force," Xu Yuan said calmly. "However, there is indeed an issue with your martial soul. You haven't mentioned it, but I was curious and did some investigating."
Xu Yuan began leveraging his reputation as an information gatherer.
"According to what I've learned, there are certain martial souls that are not inherently evil, yet their very existence seems like a mistake—a remnant from another plane. The most significant of these is the Demon Plane, which serves as a coordinate or spatial node within the Douluo Plane. When a soul master with such a martial soul reaches a certain level of cultivation, they will open a gateway to the Demon Plane, allowing demons to descend upon the continent and wreak havoc."
As Xu Yuan spoke, he noticed Yuanen Yehui's face turn pale, her eyes filled with caution, and she instinctively avoided his gaze.
"Yuanen, we're teammates and friends. There's no need to hide anything from me."
"I know… Such martial souls naturally grow stronger over time, and the opening of the demon gate is an inevitable fact—no one can stop it."
"Rather than bearing this burden alone, why not actively seek solutions to minimize the disaster?"
"Are you going to cripple my martial soul too?" Yuanen Yehui glared at Xu Yuan, her eyes red with emotion as painful memories resurfaced.
Xu Yuan was speechless.
"Who said anything about crippling your martial soul?"
He raised his hands slightly to show he meant no harm, then continued explaining.
"Instead of passively waiting, why not take the initiative? Your strength alone is limited. It's better to seek out powerful allies to deal with the invasion from the Demon Plane."
Yuanen Yehui took a deep breath to calm herself.
"I'm sorry for doubting your intentions." She apologized to Xu Yuan.
"The favor I need from you is related to your martial soul issue," Xu Yuan said thoughtfully.
"I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation and need your help—or more accurately, I need the Demon Plane to descend."
Yuanen Yehui's eyes widened as she stared at Xu Yuan. She almost wanted to reach out and check if he had a fever.
Do you even realize what you're saying?
The descent of the Demon Plane?
It would lead to catastrophic destruction!
"I know what you're thinking."
Xu Yuan rolled his eyes.
"Don't think in such rigid terms. Your Fallen Angel martial soul serves as an anchor—a foothold for the Demon Plane to locate the Douluo Plane. But why can't we use it as bait to lure the Demon Plane instead?"
He laid out his plan.
"Rest assured, I won't do anything that endangers others' lives for my own cultivation. If the Demon Plane descends, I'll help you find powerful allies to handle the situation. You know my teacher is the strongest person on the continent—I can ask him for help. Additionally, my teacher in bloodline cultivation is also a Limit Douluo with near-god-level combat ability, and among those at the semi-divine level, he's considered top-tier.
I can also ask my uncle for assistance. Moreover, the Sea God's Pavilion has a quasi-divine expert. Yun Ming can surely convince her to act. And then there's my master's wife, the Holy Spirit Douluo. Though not a Limit Douluo, her martial soul has a clear suppressive effect on creatures from the Demon Plane.
If all these experts can't resolve the issue caused by the descent of the Demon Plane through your martial soul, then no one on the entire continent can."
Yuanen Yehui fell silent.
After a long while, she finally spoke with difficulty.
"You can rally so many powerful individuals… just for your cultivation?"
Xu Yuan smiled but remained silent.
How could this possibly be for ordinary cultivation?
This matter concerned his future—and not just his, but the futures of many others.
Though Yuanen Yehui didn't receive a direct answer, she found her own conclusion.
Xu Yuan's words undoubtedly opened a door for her—a door leading in a direction she had never considered before.
In truth, after examining her martial soul, experts like Cai Yue'er and other strong members of the academy were aware of its condition and had made preparations. They simply hadn't told Yuanen Yehui to avoid affecting her cultivation.
"So… you're suggesting I should actively open this gateway?" After a long silence, Yuanen Yehui asked again.
Xu Yuan nodded.
"That's right. If you continue cultivating normally while suppressing the formation of this gateway, you might delay its opening until you reach the Soul Emperor stage. However, once you can no longer prevent its resonance with the Demon Plane, the gate will become tied to your cultivation level. The stronger you become, the more stable the gateway will grow, allowing even stronger demons from the Demon Plane to enter the Douluo Continent, making it increasingly difficult for us to handle.
On the other hand, if you proactively respond to the Demon Plane's call and establish the gateway early, even if the other side cooperates fully, the anchor point provided by your martial soul ensures the gateway won't grow too powerful. It will have limits. It's even uncertain whether demons at the Limit Douluo level will be able to pass through the gateway."
Yuanen Yehui's eyes lit up.
That makes sense!
"So, bottling it up is the most foolish choice, Yuanen. You've chosen the dumbest path."
Xu Yuan was blunt.
Yuanen Yehui humbly accepted his advice.
Indeed, her previous mindset of shouldering everything alone was foolish and might have led to even more severe consequences.
Xu Yuan didn't scold her.
Yuanen Yehui's stubbornness in shouldering this burden alone stemmed from her family issues. Her grandfather wanted to cripple her martial soul, and her father had personally killed her mother. These 'truths' created psychological barriers she couldn't overcome.
If Xu Yuan hadn't proactively revealed this secret, even if she had encountered this gateway, she might not have chosen to push it open.
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