Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Seaside Seclusion!

In the early morning, the sky beyond the enormous crystal window was gradually shifting from dark blue to bright blue.

The sky outside the window was an exceptionally clear blue today.

The brilliant golden morning sun filtered through silk curtains and scattered across the spacious room. Xu Tianyang, lying on the soft bed, slowly opened his eyes. His long lashes trembled slightly as his clear, ruby-like eyes faced the rising sun, reflecting traces of resplendent light.

He got up and walked to the windowsill. The first thing that met his eyes was the vast, boundless blue sea, with the sound of waves crashing against the rocks clearly audible.

He stretched his body slightly. The comfort that permeated him from mind to body nearly made him moan aloud.

"I've been looking at it for almost half a year now. Every time I see the sea, it relaxes me. No wonder so many people enjoy looking at the ocean."

After watching for a while, Xu Tianyang got dressed and went to the attached washroom to freshen up.

He lived in a three-story house with a massive courtyard outside, large enough for horses to gallop through.

By the time he descended the stairs to the first-floor hall, the maids had already prepared a carefully cooked breakfast for him.

There was a large piece of tender whale tail meat, pan-fried to a golden brown. This whale tail meat came from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Dragon Pattern Whale. Because it possessed dragon bloodline, its body was immensely powerful, making it one of the ocean's apex overlords.

Its flesh and blood were highly beneficial to human soul masters. Not only could they nourish a soul master's strength, but they could also fortify muscles and bones, especially for minors whose skeletons had yet to fully develop.

The other dish was a large bowl of clear soup slowly stewed with century-old jade ginseng and gastrodia. This soup nourished both the mind and body and could be considered an excellent nutritional tonic.

After breakfast, Xu Tianyang felt warm all over, indescribably comfortable.

A year and a half ago, the Sun Moon Empire destroyed the Moonflower Empire, unifying the Sun Moon Continent. Upon hearing the news of unification, the former Sun Moon Empire Emperor, Xu Tianyang's grandfather, laughed excitedly three times before his aged body finally gave out, and he passed away.

Xu Yunxiao had no time to deal with the many matters that came after unification. He hurried back to the Imperial Capital to hold the old emperor's funeral, then formally ascended the throne. The former Imperial Capital was officially renamed Mingdu.

Not long afterward, Xu Tianyang was invested as Crown Prince, while Mu Mengyu became Empress.

After spending a great deal of time handling affairs throughout the empire, half a year ago, the search party dispatched by Xu Yunxiao discovered this Hundred-Thousand-Year Dragon Pattern Whale in a coastal region.

It so happened that Xu Tianyang had reached level twenty Soul Power at the time.

Xu Yunxiao made a decisive decision. He brought Xu Tianyang with him, gathered a large number of the empire's top experts, and expended countless Soul Tools before finally succeeding in hunting that Hundred-Thousand-Year Dragon Pattern Whale. After absorbing its Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Xu Yunxiao successfully advanced to a level ninety-three Titled Douluo, earning the title Blazing Dragon Douluo.

It was also then that Xu Tianyang absorbed a thousand-year Dragon Pattern Whale and successfully advanced to the Soul Grandmaster realm.

The energy left behind by the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring was enough to push Xu Yunxiao to level ninety-five, the realm of a Super Douluo.

As for breaking through beyond level ninety-five, it was not so simple. A soul master needed to gain their own insights.

After Xu Yunxiao and Xu Tianyang broke through, Xu Yunxiao hurried back to Mingdu. This newly born unified dynasty had countless affairs to manage and could not do without him, its emperor.

Xu Tianyang did not return with him. Instead, he stayed behind. He had long planned to try a certain method of cultivation, but he had never had the opportunity in Mingdu. Now that the chance had come, he naturally had no intention of letting it go.

Xu Yunxiao did not object. He brought Xu Tianyang to a coastal city named Zhenhai City by the sea, where he began cultivating in seclusion.

After breakfast, Xu Tianyang felt warm all over, indescribably comfortable.

"Has Shuang'er not broken through yet?"

"Active energy fluctuations often come from Lady Shuang'er's room. She will likely break through today." Hearing Xu Tianyang's question, a lithe woman with the bearing of a leopard emerged from a dark corner of the room and replied in a hoarse voice.

Her name was Min Yingying. Her Martial Soul was the Shadow Leopard, and she was a level seventy-seven Soul Saint whom Xu Yunxiao had left behind to protect Xu Tianyang.

As for Xu Nianshuang, she had arrived three days ago. The second-year courses had ended by then, and Xu Nianshuang had come here on the grounds of seeking an opportunity to break through level twenty.

Mu Mengyu and the others did not stop her. They had someone send her to Xu Tianyang's residence. After meeting Xu Tianyang, Xu Nianshuang directly said that her opportunity for a breakthrough had arrived. She had now been cultivating in her room for a full day and night.

Xu Tianyang nodded. Once he had confirmed Xu Nianshuang's safety, he softly instructed, "I'll have to trouble you to watch over Shuang'er, Sister Yingying. There's still quite a bit of that Dragon Pattern Whale left. Have someone stew it. Once she breaks through, it will come in handy."

Leaving the first-floor hall, he found two flower beds before him, blooming with all sorts of rare flowers. A marble path stretched from the castle on the mountain all the way to the inner bay.

"Your Highness, the sea wind has passed. Today's waves are suitable for cultivation." In the flower beds, a middle-aged man who seemed to have been waiting for some time immediately approached with several others when he saw Xu Tianyang emerge.

"I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Tao." Xu Tianyang looked at them with a gentle expression.

Meng Tao and the others nodded with smiles. Their respect for Xu Tianyang deepened—not merely because of his status.

Although force could suppress everything in this world, people obviously found a benevolent ruler far more agreeable than a tyrant.

In Xu Tianyang's eyes, an emperor needed both inner sagacity and outward kingliness, both the kingly way and the domineering way, in order to be invincible. However, his current strength was still too weak, so the domineering way did not suit him.

With the group in tow, Xu Tianyang slowly walked along the path toward the inner bay.

The inner sea was exceptionally vast. A majestic warship entirely clad in metal armor was docked on its surface. It was a Sun Moon Empire naval warship, and the dozens of fearsome cannon barrels aboard were enough to support the warship's voyages into the depths of the sea.

Three people followed Meng Tao. The group of five did not board that enormous warship. Instead, they took two long, narrow boats out of their Soul Tools. The boats had no sails and only needed Soul Power infused into them to move.

Xu Tianyang lightly tapped the ground with the tip of his foot and landed on the bow of one of the boats.

The two boats sailed out of the inner sea one after the other, then continued south along the island for about a thousand meters before stopping beside a ten-meter-high rock.

"Follow the previous rhythm, but Uncle Tao can increase the intensity a little this time. If I can't hold on, I'll send a signal."

With practiced ease, Xu Tianyang landed atop the rock. The surface at its peak was extremely small, only enough for three people to stand normally. Waves occasionally crashed over the sea level, soaking the small platform.

"Begin!"

Xu Tianyang immersed his body in the seawater, pressed close to the rock, and looked at Meng Tao and the others with a solemn expression.

Meng Tao activated Martial Soul Possession and stepped back slightly, vigilantly observing the surrounding waters. This place was near the coastline and within the inner sea, so Sea Soul Beasts rarely came here, but nothing was absolute. Since Xu Tianyang's safety was involved, Meng Tao could not afford to be careless.

The remaining three also released their Martial Souls. Fifteen Soul Rings appeared, and the three stood in a row. Without exception, their Martial Souls were all water-element Martial Souls. Relying on their Martial Soul abilities, they could float upon the sea before Xu Tianyang.

At Xu Tianyang's command, dense blue Soul Power gleamed around the three of them as they each unleashed their soul skills.

Their soul skills differed, but they shared one common trait: they could drive the waves.

The surrounding seawater began to churn before suddenly returning to stillness.

But this was merely the calm before the storm.

From afar, wave after wave could be seen advancing toward them. Before long, an enormous wave rushed head-on. Its rising height was exactly level with the rock behind Xu Tianyang, and amid a deafening boom, it crashed heavily onto his body.

That was right. Xu Tianyang was undergoing Tidal Body Tempering.

In Xu Yunxiao and Mu Mengyu's eyes, his Sun Pupil Martial Soul served the same purpose as Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Both were secondary Martial Souls intended to make it easier to attach Soul Rings to a second Martial Soul in the future.

However, Xu Tianyang knew that, as a top-tier Innate Martial Soul, his Sun Pupil Martial Soul had no less potential than the Purple Blazing Heaven Dragon. He had not given up on achieving a second awakening of his Sun Pupil.

Even though he did not know how to bring about a second Martial Soul awakening, the cultivation of an Innate Martial Soul lay in excavating the potential of one's physical body, repeatedly pushing oneself to the brink and breaking through one's limits.

Xu Tianyang's Tidal Body Tempering over the past half year was cultivation that continuously excavated his body's potential.

The waves struck his body with overwhelming force, yet the impact did not feel particularly intense. Although being submerged in the water made him feel suffocated, it was still completely bearable.

Submerged beneath the waves, Xu Tianyang struggled to open his eyes. Before him was nothing but an azure world. Every muscle in his body tensed as the Soul Power within him rapidly circulated, yet he was still dragged into the sea by the powerful waves.

During this process, his body repeatedly slammed against the rock behind him. Even with his physical constitution, he could not help letting out several muffled groans before gulping down several mouthfuls of seawater.

At that moment, he gripped the cracks in the rock tightly with both hands, barely holding on against the waves.

Before he could stabilize himself, another wave even stronger than the last swallowed his body once again.

Over and over again, Xu Tianyang did not know how many times he was battered by the waves. He only felt numbness spread throughout his body. His meridians, flesh, and bones all felt numb, and he could no longer even feel the existence of his hands.

Once he felt he had reached his limit, Xu Tianyang squeezed out the last trace of strength in his body and crushed a round object attached to the belt around his waist.

The next moment, a dazzling flash rose from the seabed. Meng Tao hurriedly acted to block the ceaseless waves in the distance, then dove into the sea and rescued Xu Tianyang.

They brought Xu Tianyang back to his residence and placed him in a wooden tub prepared in advance. All sorts of medicinal herbs floated in the tub. At a glance, they were all precious herbs capable of strengthening one's foundation and replenishing vital energy, yet they now floated in the tub as though they cost nothing.

"Move aside." At that moment, an elderly man who had long been standing by pushed Meng Tao away. Pink Soul Power rose as flowers radiating Life Aura entered Xu Tianyang's body one after another. Seeing Xu Tianyang recover, the old man could not help but persuade him, "Your Highness, why put yourself through this? The continent is at peace now, and the empire is prospering under Your Majesty's rule. With Your Highness's talent, if you cultivated step by step, your future achievements would surely be no less than Your Majesty's. Why torment yourself like this?"

"Elder Li, this is my own choice. Heaven gave me the finest talent. If I cannot bring it to its fullest potential, then when I grow old and look back, I will regret it." Xu Tianyang, who was gradually recovering, looked at the concerned Li Ran, his eyes filled with unshakable determination.

If he wanted the power to crush all before him, how could he possibly pay no price? From the very beginning, his goal had never been merely to become a Titled Douluo, but to surpass the Evil Emperor and even become a god.

"Ah!" Li Ran let out a faint sigh. He had lost count of how many times he had tried to persuade this Crown Prince Your Highness over the past half year, but every time, the result left him both moved and helpless.

Unable to do anything about Xu Tianyang, Li Ran could only turn around and glare angrily at Meng Tao, leaving the other man looking utterly wronged.

After confirming that Xu Tianyang had not sustained any lingering internal injuries, the two left the room and allowed Xu Tianyang to cultivate in peace.

Xu Tianyang took out a golden object from his Soul Tool. It was the Whale Rubber from that Dragon Pattern Whale. The energy contained in Whale Rubber from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was far too immense. Even after half a year, Xu Tianyang's current body had still not absorbed it all.

After consuming a portion, Xu Tianyang soaked in the medicinal bath and quickly entered a state of cultivation.

Although he had endured immense pain earlier, all of it was worth it. After his body had been pushed to the brink of its limits, both his cultivation speed and his absorption speed for the Whale Rubber and medicinal bath were much faster than usual.