As the evening lights began to glow, the entire Shrek City was bathed in a sea of brilliant illumination.
The towering Nine Treasures Pavilion, standing as if piercing the clouds, shimmered with dazzling soul-guided lights, its radiance flowing vibrantly. It resembled an enlarged version of the Nine Treasures Glazed Pagoda.
Gu Lao stood at the edge of the top-floor reception hall, gazing far into the distance at the figures of Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian blending into the wide streets of Shrek's South City. The kindness in his weathered black eyes gradually faded, replaced by an endless depth. He let out a soft sigh, murmuring to himself.
"Tian'er, Great-Grandfather knows that as a girl and the heir to the sect leader, you've borne immense pressure from a young age. Your childhood was almost entirely spent studying and cultivating. But those are responsibilities you cannot escape. As the only daughter of the sect leader's lineage, you must shoulder the future of the sect."
"Great-Grandfather can see that you're very fond of Yu Tianhuang, and I'm also quite satisfied with this boy. But his talent is far too extraordinary. In a few years, he will undoubtedly become one of the strongest of this era. There will certainly be no shortage of talented female soul masters vying to get close to him. If you want to keep up with his steps and stay by his side, the pressure you'll face will be even greater than before. But Great-Grandfather believes that you, Tian'er, are no less capable than others."
"Don't worry about Great-Grandfather's health. Though at my age, I'm not far from my limit, I can still protect the sect for at least another decade or so. In the future, you can find a suitable opportunity to tell him that I know of a place where a soul beast perfectly suited to become the soul ring for his second martial soul resides. At that time, bring him to the sect to meet your father and me. With his current physical strength, and after taking the ten-thousand-year whale glue I gave him, by the time he reaches level 70 at the latest, he will surely be able to fuse with that soul beast's soul ring."
"It may sound somewhat shameless, but to bind him to us, Great-Grandfather can only make him owe our Nine Treasures Glazed Sect an even greater favor."
On the other side, Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian, heading toward Shrek's South City Gate, stopped almost simultaneously.
Ning Tian had naturally heard Gu Lao's transmitted message, while Xu Zihuang, through the keen perception of Tianmeng Iceworm, was aware that such a conversation had taken place.
However, Tianmeng Iceworm only knew that Gu Lao had spoken to Ning Tian from a distance and was unaware of the specific contents.
"Zihuang, that human is truly powerful. His cultivation is not far off from that of the Sea God Pavilion Master who taught you," Tianmeng Iceworm's solemn voice echoed in Xu Zihuang's mental sea.
Xu Zihuang wasn't too surprised by this. From the initial probing encounter, he had already formed some guesses in his mind.
"But I can sense that his life force is waning. It seems he's not far from his limit. If you use the Gold of Life to replenish his vitality, you could likely extend his life for some time," Tianmeng Iceworm continued, leaving it at that. He knew Xu Zihuang's character well—always preferring to make his own decisions.
"Hm," Xu Zihuang responded calmly, his expression unchanged.
He didn't mind helping Gu Lao extend his life as Tianmeng Iceworm suggested, but only if Gu Lao's continued existence would bring him greater benefits than his passing. In the coming years, if events unfolded as expected, the Sun Moon Empire would launch a war, and the continent's situation would undergo earth-shattering changes.
By that time, he would also possess considerable strength.
For now, everything remained uncertain, including the stance of the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect.
While communicating with Tianmeng Iceworm, Xu Zihuang also observed the changes in Ning Tian's expression.
Though Ning Tian had long known that Gu Lao's time was nearing its end, she couldn't help but feel a dimness in her eyes. However, her gaze soon turned resolute, and she murmured to herself in her heart.
"Great-Grandfather, I've never resented my background. I'm a part of the sect, and even without the title of the sect leader's heir, I would still contribute to the sect's cause. In fact, I should feel fortunate. It's precisely because I was born into the Nine Treasures Glazed Sect, as the sole heir to the sect leader, that I have the qualifications to stand by his side."
Lifting her head, Ning Tian met Xu Zihuang's concerned gaze.
Pretending not to know, Xu Zihuang softly asked, "What's wrong?"
Ning Tian gently shook her head, then stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Xu Zihuang's waist.
Inhaling lightly, she was intoxicated by the familiar, sun-dried scent of Xu Zihuang and the warmth of his body.
The crisp sound of their footsteps seemed to linger in her ears. The space around them felt disconnected from the world, leaving only the two of them, their bodies pressed close together.
Xu Zihuang gently stroked Ning Tian's platinum-colored hair, which carried a fresh fragrance, comforting her until her emotions settled once more.
Their appearances and auras stood out far too much among ordinary people.
Coming back to her senses, Ning Tian realized her actions had drawn the attention of many onlookers, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.
No matter how mature her mindset, she was still just a fourteen-year-old girl, and she couldn't help feeling shy in front of so many people.
"Let's go back to the academy first," Xu Zihuang said with a warm smile, taking Ning Tian's hand and leading her toward the South City Gate.
In the distance, Gu Lao stood by the amethyst floor-to-ceiling window on the top floor of the Nine Treasures Pavilion, watching their figures disappear from view with a gratified expression.
For the next period, Xu Zihuang resumed his seven-day cultivation cycle.
After obtaining his fifth soul ring, he had sufficient soul power to support the inscription of more complex level-six core arrays. Relying on his martial soul's innate dynamic vision and powerful mental strength, his success rate in inscribing level-six core arrays was, as always, extremely high, with almost no chance of failure.
It could be said that his Golden Pupil martial soul was practically born for soul tools.
In just half a month, he began attempting and successfully inscribed a composite of five level-six core arrays, replacing the original core array in the short-blade Whale Fang.
In other words, the short-blade Whale Fang had become a genuine level-six close-combat soul tool, perfectly suited for his current cultivation level.
Not long after, Tang Ya also emerged from her seclusion, finally breaking through the level-40 bottleneck.
When Tang Ya achieved her breakthrough, Xu Zihuang was studying soul tool crafting with Fan Yu in the Soul Tool Department. It wasn't until that evening, when Ning Tian came to find him, that he learned of the news from her.
With less than half a month left until the end of the semester, Tang Ya still needed to participate in the outer courtyard's graduation assessment, leaving her with little time. Thus, the group decided to set out the next morning to hunt soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain a soul ring for her advancement.
Elder Mu, likely aware that Gu Lao was secretly following them, felt at ease allowing Xu Zihuang and Beibei to leave.
The next morning, Xu Zihuang and Beibei left Sea God Island together, arriving at the agreed meeting point outside Shrek Academy's East City Gate.
Perhaps due to the excitement of her impending advancement or the urgency of the outer courtyard's graduation assessment, Tang Ya had arrived early, pulling Ning Tian along with her.
The two girls stood hand in hand, appearing very close.
Compared to a year and a half ago, Tang Ya had grown taller, and her figure had become fuller. Dressed in black combat attire, her long black hair tied into a neat ponytail, she looked clean and sharp.
Her delicate face, adorned with lively black eyes, had taken on a slightly more mature air due to her age. However, the moment she saw Xu Zihuang and Beibei approaching, that composure vanished instantly.
"Beibei, Tianhuang! Over here!" Tang Ya waved at them, muttering with a hint of playful annoyance.
"Why are you two so late? Ning Tian and I have been here for a while!"
Xu Zihuang responded with a smile.
"Senior Xiao Ya, you didn't skip cultivating all night because you're excited about hunting soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest tomorrow, did you?"
The sky was only just beginning to brighten, and it was likely still nearly half an hour before sunrise.
Caught off guard by Xu Zihuang's teasing, Tang Ya's cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly denied it, though her heart wasn't in it.
"How could that be?!"
She then leaned in to whisper something in Ning Tian's ear, deliberately throwing Xu Zihuang a mock-glare.
Even as she neared adulthood, Tang Ya remained the same pure and kind-hearted girl, unchanged from before.
Ning Tian, long accustomed to the close camaraderie among the four of them, exchanged a smiling glance with Xu Zihuang.
Beibei stepped up to the two girls, shaking his head helplessly.
"Alright, let's get going. We'll aim to enter the Star Dou Great Forest by noon."
As he spoke, he retrieved a small, sleek flight soul tool from his soul tool storage.
Xu Zihuang and the others did the same. After a brief exchange, the four of them activated their flight soul tools, soaring into the air and heading toward the Star Dou Great Forest.
Joking aside, they couldn't afford to delay serious matters.
Shrek City was indeed close to the Star Dou Great Forest, and with the aid of flight soul tools, they arrived with an hour to spare before noon.
After meditating briefly to restore themselves to peak condition, they prepared to enter the Star Dou Great Forest.
Standing up, Beibei glanced at Xu Zihuang.
Xu Zihuang understood and said, "Senior Brother Bei, you take the lead. I'll cover the rear. Senior Xiao Ya and Ning Tian, stay in the middle and be ready to support us."
Though both Beibei and Xu Zihuang were Soul Kings, whether in terms of strength or abilities, Xu Zihuang was the most suited to guard the rear.
Beibei nodded calmly, and Ning Tian naturally had no objections.
Tang Ya, however, felt a sense of déjà vu. When she and Beibei first met Yu Tianhuang in the Star Dou Great Forest, it was with his help that she obtained her third soul ring.
With their formation set, the four entered the Star Dou Great Forest.
With Beibei, a Soul King, leading the way, they quickly advanced toward the inner regions of the Star Dou Great Forest. The soul beasts Ning Tian and Tang Ya needed to hunt were around five thousand years old, so they couldn't rely on luck in the outer regions.
Their initial destination was the mixed zone.
With Yu Tianhuang and Beibei present, soul beasts below ten thousand years of cultivation posed no threat to them.
As they progressed through the outer regions of the Star Dou Great Forest, the group naturally felt no pressure.
After more than two hours, they were nearing the mixed zone.
In the outer regions, they had encountered a few millennium soul beasts with suitable attributes. However, these were only around two thousand years old, far below their expectations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here are the chapters for today (づ￣3￣)づ╭～
"Don't forget there are 40 early chapters available on Patreon
[email protected]/facficmax10--------(@→a)