Not long after the Sea God Pavilion meeting concluded, Ye Guyi left Shrek Academy, just missing Jiang Nannan.
Ye Guyi planned to first go to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to meet Ning Tian.
On the night of the assassination attempt on Xu Tianran, the Shrek Academy team, the Body Sect, and the various sect teams from the three original empires of the Douluo Continent had broken through the Sun Moon Empire's soul guidance array blockade by digging tunnels.
The Heavenly Soul Empire had specially developed unique earth-boring soul guidance devices for this purpose. The tunnel extended from a viscount's mansion in the east of Mingdu all the way to the eastern suburbs outside the city.
The number of those earth-boring soul guidance devices was limited, and originally, the Body Sect and Heavenly Soul Empire forces would not have been able to bring so many people out. But with Xuan Lao joining them, all problems were easily resolved.
As the owner of the top-tier earth-attribute martial soul Taotie Divine Ox, and with soul power reaching the level of a rank 98 Super Douluo, Xuan Lao's control over the power of the earth was unmatched in the world.
It was precisely because Xuan Lao led the way and opened the path that the breakout plan could be carried out smoothly. And they managed to do so before the Sun Moon Empire's pursuing forces arrived.
After everyone safely entered Heavenly Soul Empire territory, they parted ways. Ning Tian returned to her sect at that time. She returned to mobilize the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's resources to search for the missing Xu Zihuang.
Although Ning Tian was the sole heir to the next sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she was not yet the current sect master and had limited authority. Therefore, for certain matters, she needed her father's support.
Ye Guyi's trip to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was to exchange information with Ning Tian and then discuss the follow-up plans for searching for Xu Zihuang.
During their nearly half-year of interaction, Ye Guyi had already come to acknowledge Ning Tian. Seeing Ning Tian's anxious and concerned expression that night, a trace of guilt rose in her heart.
Meanwhile, on Sea God Island of Shrek Academy, calm was maintained as always. Regarding the disappearance of Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er, Xuan Lao had specially instructed that it not be made public for the time being. But in reality, quite a few inner court disciples already knew about these matters.
Dai Huabin, Xiao Xiao, and the others, plus Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, and the rest who represented the Tang Sect in this edition of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition, altogether nearly twenty people.
In a wooden pavilion in the female student dormitory area on the west side of Sea God Island, Tang Ya carried food packed from the inner court cafeteria and gently knocked on Jiang Nannan's door.
"Nannan."
If Huo Yuhao's departure had other reasons, then Jiang Nannan's irreversible injury in this competition placed the vast majority of responsibility on her and Bei Bei.
In the end, Jiang Nannan had been injured while representing the Tang Sect in the competition.
Ever since returning to Shrek Academy and learning that Jiang Nannan's left leg could never recover, the guilt in Tang Ya's heart had grown even deeper.
"Nannan?"
Seeing no response from inside the room, Tang Ya knocked again. After a moment, as if realizing something, she directly pushed open the door and walked in.
Upon entering the room, a rich wave of soul power hit her face.
In the sealed room, a pitch-black, profound bone floated above the table. It was precisely Jiang Nannan's ten-thousand-year-old Ghost Shadow Leopard's left leg bone.
Tang Ya's expression changed drastically as she hurried forward. She discovered that Jiang Nannan had neatly organized and left some of her belongings here. There was also a letter on the table.
After roughly glancing at the contents of the letter and confirming her suspicion, she could no longer care about anything else. She clutched the letter tightly and rushed out in a hurry.
Tang Ya's black hair, tied in a ponytail, swayed left and right, and her pretty face could not help but turn somewhat pale.
"Nannan, why did you…"
Not long after, Tang Ya went to the male student dormitory area and found Bei Bei. Xu Sanshi, who shared the pavilion with Bei Bei, was not here at the moment.
Looking at the letter Jiang Nannan had left behind, Bei Bei's brows first furrowed, then relaxed with a sigh.
Tang Ya anxiously urged, "Bei Bei, we should quickly notify everyone and go find Nannan together. She probably hasn't gone far yet."
Bei Bei held Tang Ya's jade hand, his gaze deep as he stopped her.
"Little Ya, this is Nannan's own decision. We have no right to interfere. I'll go find Sanshi first."
"But… Nannan was injured because she represented the Tang Sect in the competition. I-" Tang Ya lowered her head, filled with guilt.
Bei Bei pulled Tang Ya into his embrace and gently shook his head, saying gravely, "Little Ya, you're right. We will always owe Nannan. But have you thought about it? Nannan's future cultivation path has already been destroyed. Not only will her soul power be difficult to advance even an inch, but her own strength will also be affected. Do you really think forcibly keeping her at the academy is good for her? Respect her choice."
Tang Ya stood dazed in place.
She knew everything Bei Bei said was correct, yet she only felt her chest tighten, finding it hard to breathe.
Powerless guilt and self-reproach intertwined in her heart.
Tang Ya raised her head with slightly red eyes and looked at Bei Bei, her expression forlorn.
"Why did so many accidents happen in this competition? Yuhao left, Nannan suffered severe injuries, and even Tianhuang has gone missing. If I had known it would turn out like this, I would rather have given up the chance to represent Tang Sect in the competition."
"Little Ya, you don't need to feel guilty about Huo Yuhao. You must remember, he betrayed our Tang Sect." Bei Bei reminded her solemnly.
"As for Tianhuang's matter, you actually don't need to worry too much. Tianhuang's strength is far beyond what we imagined. There is nothing he cannot accomplish. Believe in him; he will definitely turn danger into safety."
Then, Bei Bei sincerely sighed.
"Little Ya, do you believe that meeting and getting to know Tianhuang will be the greatest opportunity in our lives?"
Hearing Bei Bei's words, Tang Ya could not help but recall the circumstances of her first meeting with Yu Tianhuang, as well as the scenes that followed during their interactions.
"Come to think of it, Tianhuang really helped me a lot. I hope he can return safely soon. That way, Sister Guyi and Junior Sister Ning Tian won't have to worry so much."
Bei Bei comforted her by gently patting her head.
"Alright, let's go gather everyone first. Moreover, Nannan's matter needs to be told to Eldest Senior Sister and Dean Yan as well."
…
In the vast ocean opposite the Douluo Continent on Douluo Star.
Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er had been sailing on the Demon Whale for more than a month, yet all around them was still a boundless sea. There was no end in sight.
Perhaps just as Xu Zihuang had expected, the time needed to return to the Douluo Continent this time would be measured in years.
However, during this period, he discovered that with Wang Qiu'er by his side, the dragon scale at the center of his brow, which contained both Golden Dragon and Silver Dragon bloodline power, had its effect of condensing heaven-and-earth origin energy enhanced several times over.
As the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, the Emperor Auspicious Beast, Wang Qiu'er was naturally favored by the heavens. When cultivating, she could unconsciously attract heaven-and-earth origin energy. In the past, at Shrek Academy, she had deliberately controlled it to avoid exposing her identity, but now that there were only the two of them, there was naturally no need to do so anymore.
And now, the two of them, combining their abilities to condense heaven-and-earth origin energy, produced a complementary and mutually reinforcing effect. As a result, both benefited greatly.
Under these circumstances, Xu Zihuang's cultivation speed was almost on par with when he was at the Soul Ancestor or Soul King level. If things continued this way, in less than two years, he would be able to touch the rank 80 bottleneck.
When Wang Qiu'er had absorbed the twenty-thousand-year Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear soul ring back then, her soul power had directly risen to rank 62. Afterward, during the preparation period for the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Competition and the more than one month while the competition was held, her soul power had improved further and broken through to rank 63.
Today, on this foundation, she once again broke through the bottleneck and reached rank 64.
While condensing heaven-and-earth origin energy indeed accelerated their cultivation speed, it also attracted quite a few sea soul beasts with keen perception. Among them were some quite powerful ones, but fortunately, no hundred-thousand-year-level sea soul beasts appeared. All were easily repelled by Xu Zihuang.
In such an unknown deep-sea region, a bit more strength meant a bit more confidence. Thus, even knowing it might attract some sea soul beasts, Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er did not stop.
And under conditions of spending day and night together while constantly facing possible sea soul beast attacks, the seed called trust rapidly sprouted and grew in their hearts.
At dusk, as usual, Xu Zihuang switched positions with Wang Qiu'er and came to the front of the Demon Whale, simultaneously releasing the soul guidance protective shield.
The two sat facing each other.
In the middle area of the Demon Whale was placed a dark red crystal table. Undoubtedly, this was something Xu Zihuang had created using the second soul skill of his Golden Eyes martial soul, Mirror of Annihilation.
This table itself was also a soul guidance device with a heating function. On it rested a large pot likewise constructed from dark red crystal.
Strips of fresh sea fish were boiling and rolling in it, and the milky white fish soup fragrance filled the air.
Wang Qiu'er drew her long, slender legs up, burying her face against her knees. Though her expression remained indifferent, her gaze was somewhat wandering, involuntarily drawn to the fish soup in front of her.
It could be seen that even the crystal-clear earlobes between her pink-blue hair strands had flushed red.
The dignified Emperor Auspicious Beast had never expected there would come a day when she would be captivated by food.
Where Xu Zihuang's gaze fell, two sets of dark red crystal tableware quickly condensed into being.
Although most of the items in his storage soul ring had been destroyed, with the second soul skill, Mirror of Annihilation, allowing him to casually create various tools and soul guidance devices, daily life was basically unaffected.
Being in the ocean naturally meant no lack of food, and fresh water could be obtained through Tianmeng Iceworm. As long as Tianmeng Iceworm collected water elements from the air and froze them into pure ice blocks, they could be used.
"It's ready." Xu Zihuang lifted the pot lid, ladled himself a bowl of fish soup with a spoon, and tasted it on his own.
Considering that they would need to support each other for a very long time to come, he was willing to let Wang Qiu'er eat the food he made. But to have him ladle soup for Wang Qiu'er and serve her, that was unnecessary. He would not do it.
After all, the relationship between him and Wang Qiu'er had not yet reached that level of closeness.
Moreover, Xu Zihuang had no intention of using this opportunity to tell Wang Qiu'er a few clichéd sob stories. Like the so-called "bun story" of someone.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never lacked material things, not even during the three years he was exiled to that isolated island. But those three years had inflicted far greater torment on his mental state.
Yet these things he would only bury deep in his heart and would never speak of them to gain sympathy by selling misery.
Wang Qiu'er, however, unceremoniously began to enjoy it.
Fresh sea fish sourced on the spot, seasoned with a bit of sea salt, had a unique flavor.
After one bowl of fish soup went down, she only felt the fresh fragrance lingering in her nose, an indescribable satisfaction.
At that moment, Xu Zihuang suddenly looked up, his gaze instantly sharpening.
Wang Qiu'er also felt a chill in her heart. A strange red light lit up on her smooth, tender forehead as she opened her third blood-red eye.
In the next instant, the sky where the golden setting sun had been suddenly turned bright blue. The sea rose, devouring the sky, as if the world had become completely covered by the ocean.
"Such rich life aura, such intense bloodline aura…" A bizarre voice rang in Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er's minds, filled with mockery and greed.
"I never expected that this seat would actually encounter two such special humans here. With your cultivation levels, you actually dare to leave the Star Sea Continent and venture deep into this sea region. Should I call you ignorant, or fearless?"
A figure stepped out from the towering, surging waves.
What appeared before Xu Zihuang and Wang Qiu'er's eyes was a young man with a sinister appearance.
The youth had short, deep-purple hair and a pair of eerie green eyes. However, only his upper body was human-shaped; below the waist were eight octopus-like tentacles.
Purple-green tentacles were densely covered in demonic patterns. Under the terrifying pressure he released, even the sea's surface began to tremble.
"Ferocious beast?!" Wang Qiu'er almost blurted out, her expression grave.
So-called ferocious beasts were super soul beasts with cultivation exceeding two hundred thousand years.
There were several ferocious beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest. Wang Qiu'er was all too familiar with the aura of this level of soul beast.
And relying on his tangible and qualitative mental power, Xu Zihuang could sense that the sea soul beast before him had only recently broken through the two-hundred-thousand-year bottleneck. It was indeed a genuine ferocious beast. In terms of combat power equivalent to human soul masters, that would be a rank 96 to 97 Super Douluo.
However, what concerned him more was the "Star Sea Continent" that it had mentioned.
"Star Sea Continent?"
Xu Zihuang knew that on Douluo Star, besides the Douluo Continent, there were two other continents. In his memories from his previous life, those two continents would later be occupied by the royal families of the Dou Spirit Empire and Star Luo Empire, who fled overseas, and then were renamed Heaven Dou Continent and Star Luo Continent.
He just didn't know which of the two this humanoid octopus was referring to as the Star Sea Continent.
As his thoughts turned, Xu Zihuang put away the Demon Whale, and together with Wang Qiu'er, they tacitly released their martial souls and rose into the air.
Wang Qiu'er's six soul rings around her were still within conventional understanding, but when the octopus ferocious beast saw the utterly shocking configuration of five black, one red, and one gold, seven soul rings, around Xu Zihuang, its originally narrowed green eyes instantly widened, and its voice turned gloomy.
"No… you're not a native of Star Sea Continent?!"
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