Hidden Dragon Emerges, Stirring Wind and Clouds

A dragon trapped in a well for ten years would soar into the clouds the moment fortune favored it.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, four years had passed.

Over those four years, the continent remained peaceful, but the Pure Yang Sacred Leopard Clan flourished.

Zhuang Xingyu was ten years old, with Soul Power Level 34. Among the younger generation of the continent, only Qian Renxue cultivated slightly faster than he did. However, Zhuang Xingyu would soon surpass Qian Renxue.

Zhuang Xingyu's second soul ring was 3,900 years old, while his third was 10,030 years old. His soul ring configuration was the most outrageous on the continent—at least for now, excluding those undergoing God Trials.

A mere ten-thousand-year soul ring was easy enough to handle. With the body tempering of the Tai Chi Xuanqing Dao, Whale Rubber consumed since childhood, the powerful bloodline suppression of the Extreme Yin Yang Leopard, two innate domains—one weakening and one enhancing—and even the ability to reflect attacks, he could deal with it effortlessly.

Moreover, his Blue Silver Domain had fully awakened. However, Zhuang Xingyu disliked that name, so he renamed it the Life Domain!

After being processed by a fragment of the Chaos Bead, the Life Domain had actually evolved once, becoming even more powerful than before!

As its name suggested, this domain possessed healing abilities. No matter how severe the injury, as long as one's divine sense had not been shattered, they could instantly recover to peak condition with no side effects. It could be used three times per day, and the uses could not be accumulated.

It could be used not only on himself, but on others as well. Anyone whose Soul Power Level did not exceed Zhuang Xingyu's by thirty levels could receive its effects. It had no side effects on Zhuang Xingyu and consumed almost no Soul Power.

That was equivalent to gaining three extra lives every day!

Just imagine it: in the middle of battle, both you and your enemy were exhausted, but you suddenly returned to peak condition. Or after taking the enemy's full-force strike, their Soul Power was depleted while you recovered to your prime. It would be hard not to win!

Zhuang Xingyu could now be considered an all-round Soul Master. Whether it was the assault system, agility attack system, control system, defense system, healing system, food system, support system, strength system, or long-range attack system, he possessed abilities in all of them!

As for the summoning system, Zhuang Xingyu could summon Puppets! That counted as a type of control system too. (Puppets will appear in the next few chapters.)

Over these four years, the clan's strength had surged dramatically.

Murong Yunxue's Soul Power had reached level 89. She was infinitely close to level 90, yet she would still need several more years to break through. Level 90 was a massive hurdle; some people could not cross it even in their entire lives. Otherwise, Titled Douluo would not be so rare.

Zhuang Jingxing had initially been level 69. His sixth soul ring was over sixty thousand years old, and his seventh was nearly eighty thousand years old. Both were soul rings beyond the limit. He had also absorbed the Spirit Bone gifted by Zihan's parents. (The Supreme Elder already had a Spirit Bone in the same position.)

After setting aside the clan's affairs, his cultivation time increased, while the clan's resources were devoted fully to him. As a result, his Soul Power rose rapidly, and he was now a level 82 Soul Douluo.

Zhuang Jingxing had not absorbed it before because when he saved Zihan, he had only felt that the girl's clan resembled his own. Remembering what his clan had suffered left him heartsick. He had not coveted the Spirit Bone.

During their later interactions, he gradually came to regard Zihan as his own daughter. Seeing her relationship with Zhuang Xingyu, he knew they would surely become husband and wife in the future. No matter how things turned out, it would remain in his own family's hands. Thus, he had planned to leave the Spirit Bone for Zihan.

However, Zihan had been the one to suggest that he absorb the Spirit Bone.

"Uncle, you should absorb that Spirit Bone! In Zihan's heart, this Spirit Bone should have been yours from the start. If you don't absorb it, it will leave behind a heart demon, and I'll find it difficult to break through for the rest of my life. Besides, the continent is currently Stirring Wind and Clouds. Only by becoming a Titled Douluo can you better protect us and the clan. Even if I absorbed this Spirit Bone, without sufficient strength, I would only be coveted by outsiders. There would be no benefit at all."

After hearing Zihan's persuasion, Zhuang Jingxing's stubborn nature finally relented. With this Spirit Bone, he could break through to Titled Douluo sooner and better protect the children.

Zihan was still young. Even if she absorbed this Spirit Bone, she would not be able to grow strong within a short time, and it might instead bring disaster upon her. Once he became a Titled Douluo, he could find Zihan an even better Spirit Bone!

His mother, Li Xuanhua, was a level 72 Soul Saint.

His younger aunt, Zhuang Jingxi, was a level 71 Soul Saint.

Zihan was fourteen years old. With a thousand-year second ring, her Soul Power had reached level 44. In the original story, Tang San was only at this level at fourteen even after obtaining Immortal Herbs.

Unfortunately, Zihan had broken through too quickly. Otherwise, with the help of an Immortal Herb, her fourth soul ring could have reached ten thousand years as well.

Still, it did not matter. She could improve through God Trials in the future and obtain better soul skills through Spirit Bones. Besides, Zihan's fourth soul ring was 8,600 years old, already far ahead of those at the same level.

They could not possibly delay obtaining her soul ring by two years just for the sake of its age. Although Soul Power could still grow without obtaining a soul ring, its growth rate would be extremely slow! Look at Tang San—before obtaining a soul ring, the Mysterious Heaven Skill could not force a breakthrough no matter what.

For example, at level 30, the meridians might be ten centimeters wide, allowing one cubic meter of Soul Power to be absorbed per hour. But after obtaining a soul ring and reaching level 31, the meridians would be thirty centimeters wide, and the absorption rate would become twenty-five cubic meters per hour. That was a qualitative transformation.

Furthermore, the higher one's level, the more Soul Power was needed to break through. If a Soul Master needed fifty cubic meters to advance to the next level, then a Soul Grandmaster would need three hundred cubic meters.

Otherwise, no one was stupid. Why bother obtaining soul rings at all? Wouldn't it be better to accumulate Soul Power directly to level 90 before getting them? Wouldn't all ten-thousand-year soul rings be even better?

If someone truly did that, they would probably die of old age before accumulating enough Soul Power to reach level 30.

Even Yu Xiaogang, the man who proposed this theory, had been stuck at level 29 for decades. After finally breaking through to level 30, his Soul Power did not suddenly skyrocket either. It was still slow as a pig.

The nine Core Clan Elders each increased their Soul Power by one level.

In addition, five new level 81 Soul Douluo and two new level 82 Soul Douluo had joined, becoming Core Clan Elders Ten through Sixteen.

The clan now had seventeen Soul Douluo, forty-six Soul Saints, ninety-six Soul Emperors, and one hundred eighty-eight Soul Kings.

The total number of Soul Masters had increased to 2,356, while the clan's total population had reached eighteen thousand.

The legion had expanded to five thousand members, and the population of their territory had risen to 930,000.

However, the Pure Yang Sacred Leopard Clan did not reveal all of this. Instead, it concealed a large portion of its strength. For example, the clan only showed ten Soul Douluo to the outside world, while Zhuang Xingyu and Zihan's true Soul Power and soul rings remained confidential.

Without considering top-tier powerhouses like Titled Douluo, the Pure Yang Sacred Leopard Clan was no weaker than the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and might even slightly surpass the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.

The next morning, Zhuang Xingyu kissed Zihan's forehead beside him—he really had not done anything yet—then quietly slipped away.

It turned out that Zhuang Xingyu planned to go out and train. After telling his family, Zihan had been extremely reluctant to let him go. She kept holding onto him and wanted to accompany him on his journey. How could Zhuang Xingyu possibly agree? Otherwise, how would he explain producing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for his grandmother?

With no other choice, Zihan stayed by Zhuang Xingyu's side, wanting to look at him for as long as possible. The two chatted through half the night as they had when they were children, then each went to rest.

But after Zhuang Xingyu left, Zihan opened her eyes. She touched her forehead, her face flushing red, then hurriedly buried her head beneath the covers. Breathing in Zhuang Xingyu's lingering scent from the blanket, she shed tears of reluctance. This was the first time she and Zhuang Xingyu would be separated for so long.

Though she was reluctant, this was a necessary path toward becoming strong.

Zhuang Xingyu intended to travel and train because staying in the clan all the time, without danger, would not allow him to improve himself in every aspect. More importantly, he needed an excuse to take out that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for his grandmother.

At the same time, he would take the Immortal Herbs! Tang San had swallowed them raw like some savage, wasting at least sixty percent of their medicinal potency.

Using the pill-refining techniques of Great Bamboo Peak from the Qingyun Sect to refine them into pills would not only fully bring out the Immortal Herbs' medicinal effects, but also grant them more functions and make them more broadly applicable. Even herbs that had failed to become Immortal Herbs and carried side effects could have their harmful effects removed.

The Chaos Bead granted a teleportation ability once every six years, and he had now gained another chance to teleport.

His clan's spies had previously informed him that Dugu Yan needed to obtain a soul ring. To get a better soul ring for his granddaughter, Dugu Bo had not chosen to hunt soul beasts in Sunset Forest. Instead, he planned to head to Star Dou Forest in two days to obtain one. He would not return for three or four days. It was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!

Zhuang Xingyu planned to use this opportunity to take the Immortal Herbs. His next teleportation chance would be used to go to the Heaven Dou Empire and obtain the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.

To avoid padding the word count and give you readers a better experience.

Here are explanations in advance for some content in the next chapter that may easily cause misunderstandings:

① On the way to Sunset Forest, Zhuang Xingyu did not travel quickly on the first day, stopping and starting along the way, because Dugu Bo had not left yet.

Later, after Dugu Bo departed, he directly used the teleportation ability.

② When going to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he used the Chaos Bead's teleportation ability rather than having the clan take action.

First, the reason would be difficult to explain.

Second, Zhuang Xingyu wanted to train alone so that he could take out a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone for his grandmother.

Third, Dugu Bo was a Titled Douluo. The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well was his lifeline, and he relied entirely on it to suppress his toxins. Negotiating with him would be too troublesome and require giving up considerable benefits. Since Zhuang Xingyu could obtain those things directly, there was naturally no need for such trouble.

(The reason for using the teleportation ability: the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lay deep within Sunset Forest, where there were many high-age soul beasts nearby. For the ten-year-old Zhuang Xingyu, they were temporarily impossible to handle.)

③ Zhuang Xingyu would leave Dugu Bo with a method to detoxify himself, as well as several pills to cure both Dugu Bo and his granddaughter of their poisons and allow Dugu Bo to improve his cultivation.

Zhuang Xingyu was a man of principles!

He would not be like Tang San, using a favor as leverage to threaten Dugu Bo into serving him.